1. Lake Trasimeno

Photo source

Situated in the center of the country, surrounded by eight towns in the Umbria region, is
one of Italy’s largest lakes. The shallow waters make it a perfect spot for swimming as
well as fishing. Historic castles grace the lake shores and the one of three of the lake’s
islands still operates as a 15th century fishing village.

2. Lake Bolsena

Photography source

This body of water is not only a historically gem, but also geographically one as well. The
lake is actually a volcanic crater with islands that have emerged hundred of thousands
of years ago as a result of eruptions. The lake has many nearby attractions including
thermal spas, other tuscan towns and citadels, and gardens.

3. Lake Massaciuccoli

Photography source

Within driving distance from the historic city of Florence, Lake Massaciuccoli is located
in Torre de Lago. While the lake’s beautiful shoreline and nearby attractions, which
include the mediterranean sea, make this a popular destination for visitors and locals it
is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of the famous composer, Puccini. Puccini
composed some of his greatest operas from his home near the lake.

4. Lake Maggiore

Photography source

You will find this gorgeous lake in the North Eastern part of Italy just north of Milan. The
lake, which extends into Switzerland at it’s Northern point, provides breathtaking views
of serene waters and beautiful islands filled with palaces and gardens. A visit to this
lake provides you with a an interesting travel experience that includes a way to visit two
countries in one.

5. Lake Como

Photography source

This is, without a doubt, the most famous of all of Italy’s lakes. While it si the third
largest lake in Italy, it is one of Europe’s deepest and most beautiful. The area is
known for it’s wildlife, spas, mountains and forests. Lakeside villas line along the shores
providing visitors with unforgettable accommodations and ferries float along the pristine
waters, offering a romantic mode of transportation.

Photo by  jamesjustin on Flickr.com. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris is without doubt the Eifel Tower. Build in 1889, this tower celebrated 100 years of the French Revolution and since then has attracted millions of tourists from all over the world. The person who is responsible for the construction of the tower is Gustave Eiffel and after he finished his work, people named it after him. You can enjoy the high parts of this tower by using the elevators located at its bottom. However, you will be required to wait long because of the hundreds of tourists, including local visitors. According to an estimate more than 6 million tourists visit the Eifel Tower every year.

Photo by ell brown on Flickr.com. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

The River Cruise Seine is the second most popular attraction in Paris. If you are looking for a place to enjoy the famous Paris romance, what better can you do than take a cruise on the River Seine? You will be able to enjoy the romatic sunset over the city of love. If you are thinking about getting married to your partner, this is a good place to pop the question.

Photo by n_willsey on Flickr.com. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

One of the oldest landmarks of Paris is the Notre Dame Cathedral. The building works began in 1163, but the building was completed in 1345. Being one of the oldest and most beautiful cathedrals in Europe, Notre Dame is now open for tourists. When visiting, you should climb on top of its towers to get an amazing picture of the surroundings.

Photo by OliverN5 on Flickr.com. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

One of the largest boulevards of Paris is Champs Elysees that is also linked with the Arc de Triomphe. Built by Napoleon to celebrate his victories, today the Arc de Triomphe is located in the middle of two main roads, but it is still one of the most popular landmarks of Paris. For the best experience, visit the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees at sunset.

Photo by wallyg on Flickr.com. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

Do you want to see some more big cathedrals? If so, the Sainte Chapelle Church will be a good place for you. This church was built in 1248. During World War 2 most of the window glasses were removed for safe keeping, so now the cathedral looks the same way as when it was built.

• Know Your Route

Some may believe that an exciting road trip is one that is spontaneous. Going where the open road might take you is rarely a good idea, particularly when children are involved. It is proper to have a physical or digital map with notes for places the family can stop for food, rest, or emergencies.

• Get the Children Involved

Children will get much more excited about road trips when they are allowed to be part of the planning. Go over possible routes with them. Share ideas about activities and sites that are along the way. Pick up brochures that they may read and carry with them. When parents actively seek input from their children, the young ones feel as though they are an active voice in the trip and not simply along for the ride.

• Consider a Theme

If your family has a final destination in mind, find a theme that matches that spot. Are you going to a park or historic landmark? If so, search for attractions and souvenirs along the way that will enhance the experience. If you are headed to the home of a friend or relative, find your own theme and incorporate it into the host(ess) gift that you bring along. The theme can be geographical, culinary, or something else entirely.

• Stop Often

The length of the road trip and the age of your children should determine the number of stops. Be prepared to stop every two to three hours for up to an hour at a time to let children exert their natural energy outside of the confines of a vehicle. Create Diversions The best road trip plans include ways to capture the attention of the entire family, taking their minds off of any boredom or irritation that may strike. Have handy a list of car games that the family can play together. Bring along music that is agreeable to all. Purchase new, small toys for young children that are only to be brought out when all else fails and allow teenagers to use electronic entertainment on a limited basis. Also, don’t forget to pack plenty of snacks and drinks.

• Prepare for Emergencies

An emergency situation is not likely, but it is always best to be prepared. Make sure you know how to change a flat and have the proper tools in your vehicle. Keep a list of emergency numbers with you, from vehicle repair to physicians. Also keep a first aid kit handy as well as extra towels and clean clothes in case car sickness strikes. A road trip with your family will create memories that are sure to last a lifetime. A well-planned road trip ensures that those memories are pleasant and cherished. Your family will surely want to relive the road trip year after year.

Antalya

Antalya lays on the southwest Mediterranean coast of Turkey, and in 2011 displaced New York City as the world’s third most popular destination. It is also Turkey’s largest seaport. The city won the Golden Apple Tourism Prize for the restoration of its historical architecture.

There are many places to dine. For an elegant evening at a legendary restaurant, try 7 Mehmet. The restaurant wins rave reviews from locals as well as tourists, and enjoys worldwide fame. Whether sitting on the beautiful large patio or under the spacious roof surrounded by the melding of wood, metal, and glass, the décor delights. The tremendous design plus the delicious food makes 7 Mehmet comparable to dining in a five-star New York City restaurant. For something casual that the locals love, try Dost Kofte. It serves traditional cuisine such as the doner kebab. All the tasty servings are so big, you can easily split them.

For shopping, check out Shemall Shopping Centre, where fashion brands like Calvin Klein, Steve Madden, and Lacoste abound. Kids can get wild at the Joker Land Fun Centre while adults relax at Gloria Jeans or Star Bucks. There are also many small kiosks throughout Antalya, selling handmade rugs, jewellery, and fine silks.

Bodrum

Bodrum is one of the more seasonal Turkey ports, and offers an array of good times and shopping. Located in South western Turkey, it used to be home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Masuoleum of Mausolus Halicarnassus.

The Marina Yacht Club is the place to be in Bodrum. It offers a view of the Bodrum Castle, which is home to the Museum of Underwater Archeology. MYC consists of four unique bars and three restaurants that each offers a distinctive cuisine. MYC also features live jazz, pop, and soul music. Marina Yacht Club is open all year. For a more laid back atmosphere, try Sünger Pizza across from the marina. The locals love it. They just underwent a complete kitchen renovation, too.

Bodrum shopping offers something for everyone. First, be sure to take in the open markets. There is a different one for every day of the week, featuring rugs, jewels, and clothes. Also, the Marina Shopping Centre offers many high-end brands, but also caters to those looking for deals. You will be able to browse for goods while enjoying the view.

Dalaman

Dalaman is a district as well as the main town in the district, located on the south western coast of Turkey. It has an international airport which serves as the gateway to Turkey for many travellers.

The Akkaya Garden Restaurant makes Turkish fare and also houses a bar that is quite popular. But the truly unique thing about Akkaya is all you can do besides eat and drink. People also go to trek through the gardens, swim in the pool, or jump in the lake, literally. You must arrange for transportation, or rent a car for the drive. Another hot restaurant is Palmiye Restaurant. The white linen clothes display beautiful Turkish flower arrangements, set off by soft lighting.

In Dalaman, Sarigerme is home to a market for tourists. Other markets occur on different days. Dalaman is also known for a wide range of furniture shops that have great selections for lower prices than other areas of Turkey.

Note: This isn’t a definitive list or top ten of beers, rather just a collection of some of the best places to go to enjoy your beer.

UK: The UK is not renowned for its lagers and the lager enjoyed over there is largely from mainland Europe. However what the UK is good for is ale and if you stop off in a traditional pub anywhere in Britain you should be able to sample some local ale from the tap. This will be one of the best ways to enjoy your ale, and it will allow you to know that you are drinking something local and traditional. In fact the UK is home to fifty Gold award winning brews so there’s a great variety to keep you travelling around the islands from pub to pub. While the UK isn’t just one country, it made sense to include Ireland seeing as it’s the home of Guinness (and you’ll note that the Guinness tastes even better when you’re out there).

Belgium: Belgium is the home of many very famous beers such as Stella, and is also renowned for its huge variety of different beers from the Abbey beers, to beers made from dark chocolate to those with strange colors and exciting glasses. For many Belgium is the number one beer country, so if you only visit one country for its beer, consider Belgium as a strong contender.

Germany: Germany is renowned for delicious lagers such as their Erdinger, but also for their great culture surrounding the consumption of beer – for instance allowing you to enjoy an icy cold beer in one of their famed beer gardens, and hosting the Oktoberfest beer festival.

US: And don’t forget the US – such a huge country is of course home to some great local beers. While beer isn’t as big a part of the culture as it is in same Germany, it’s still a big part of modern life, and is the home to 50 brews with Gold awards. Many American beers re light and highly drinkable lagers such as Bud, and the US is also home to some of the most imaginative and hilarious beer commercials in history.

Japan: If you want to travel a bit farther afield for your brew, then Japan is also home to a number of great beers and stouts. Drinks like Number 1 are very popular here and also overseas , but there are also lots of more obscure drinks you can try here as you might expect. For instance the Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout for is a beer made from espresso beans, cocoa, dark fruit, vanilla and chocolate.

Australia: Australia counts beer as its most popular drink, and has many locally produced lagers and ales to this end. Perhaps best known is Fosters, but there’s lots more you can try out here too.

If you’re traveling with children, one of your biggest challenges is going to be keeping your kids busy and entertained while you’re on your trip. The last thing you want is for your kids to be clawing at your sleeve, screaming “I’m bored!” You also probably want to have a bit of spare time so you can explore the city you’re in on your own time.

Here’s how to keep your kids busy while you’re traveling, so you can get some piece and relaxation or private exploration time.

The Parent Switchoff

If you’re traveling as a couple, one of the best things you could do for each other is to switch offkid duty at least once.

That’s where one parent watches over the kids while the other can do whatever they want for the day.

The wife might want to go for a spa or go for a day of shopping in the towns. The husband might want to try something active, like hang gliding or Thai kickboxing.

If there’s something one of you want to do that the other isn’t interested in, the switch-off is perfect. You both get a day off to explore that country however you want.

Having Playdays With Other Children

While traveling, you’ll very often run into other parents and children who are also on vacation. This is a great opportunity for them to have a play day together.

If the kids are young, then one or two parents should stay and watch over the kids. Having all four parents watching over a group of kids isn’t necessary. If you meet another couple, it’s entirely reasonable to leave your wife or husband with the kids (and they’ll do the same) and you can spend the day doing whatever you want.

If your kids are older, you can even let the kids play by themselves, provided they stay in the same general vicinity. For example, if your kids are 15 or 16 and they met a few kids who’re the same age, you could just let them play in the swimming pool or arcade area by themselves. You know they’ll have great company and they’re old enough to exercise good judgment.

For Young Children on Your Trip

What if you have young children on your trip? What can you do to keep them entertained?

One of the best ways is video games. Yes, of course, you don’t want them to spend their whole vacation on video games. However, if you really want to just keep your kids busy for an hour or two, video games is one of the best ways.

Games are very portable. You can buy then a Gameboy DS or a PSP if you like. Or, if you have an iPhone or iPad, just download a few high quality games and let your kid have at it.

What if you don’t want to resort to video games?

Try to find other kids for your child to play with. If you can’t find anyone else, try to find an activity for them. For example, if your child likes to draw, set them up with a sketch pad and a pack of colored pencils.

Older Children

The secret to keeping your older kids busy is to give them autonomy, while making sure they’re safe. Kids love being able to explore on their own, to make new friends or to see new things. However, as a parent, it’s only natural that you want to be able to keep an eye on your kids to make sure everything’s okay.

Let your kids go off on their own, but make sure they know where they should and shouldn’t go. For example, let them know they can have their own adventure, but stay within the hotel, or within a block of the hotel. Make sure they have a cell phone in case of emergencies so you can contact on another.

These are a few different ways you can handle both younger and older children while you’re on your trip. One of the big secrets to having a fantastic vacation is being able to take some alone time. Use these techniques to take a break from childcare duties, if only just for a day, to really get some rest and relaxation.

]]> http://genuardis.net/how-to-keep-your-kids-busy-while-travelling.htm/feed 0 http://genuardis.net/how-to-pack-for-outdoors-festivals.htm http://genuardis.net/how-to-pack-for-outdoors-festivals.htm#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2013 09:31:09 +0000 borgkeren http://genuardis.net/?p=4872 As the summer fast approaches many of us will be eagerly and perhaps anxiously awaiting the festival season. Coachella might have already been and gone in LA but June to September is the key time for music and culture festivals. If you are lucky enough to have tickets to an outdoors festival this year, it is never too early to start prepping. How will you get there? Have you booked time off work? Are you camping and if so what do you need to camp? Was last year’s tent packed away in one piece?

How not to do it

My first trip to Glastonbury, a festival virgin, was a complete mud bath. It was 2007 and very, very wet, but I still had the most amazing time of my life. The rain had caused mass areas of thick mud and everywhere you turned people were slipping around and losing their wellies. By the time I was packing up my tent on the Sunday evening, I was feeling rather smug that I had managed to not fall over once and both my wellies had stayed firmly attached to my feet. However, on struggling back to the car, pushing my way through the hordes of people watching The Who my luck ran out. Plodding through the mud was hard enough, but it seemed having to walk whilst being loaded up like a donkey was impossible. I lost my balance and took a spectacular dive straight into the mud, with my sleeping bag, tent and pink leather holdall skidding off away from me. I did the only thing I could do; I laughed. I laughed so hysterically it took me a while to regain my balance, scoop up my belongings with my mud caked hands and stumble after my friends who hadn’t even seen me go down.

Priority packing

You would have thought I’d learnt a lesson about festival packing. Well I did learn one thing, I now always take a rucksack rather than holdall. But over time I seem to be taking more and more stuff. I like to be prepared you see and perhaps more comfortable than when I was younger. First things first, draw up a list of what you need and keep adding to it as more ideas come to you. Then edit that list or communicate with friends to make arrangements to share things. If you are a fashion lover like me, part of this preparation will involve choosing outfits but this can’t be done until nearer the time when you have a more accurate weather forecast. Layers are highly important and coloured leggings are a great way to create new outfits without having to pack too much. Take swimwear in case you want an outdoors shower or to lie around sunbathing during down time.

Some of the ways that people carry their stuff to the campsite is simply ingenious; shopping trolleys, wheel barrows, trailers, pushchairs, even a duvet dragged along like a sack. Anything like this will be of great help if you are coming in a car, but won’t really work on public transport. Think about how objects can double up, so a towel can be folded up to make a pillow, a coat can be an extra blanket and baby wipes have hundreds of uses. Most importantly, don’t take anything too valuable and relax and have fun!

1 – Romance

It’s difficult not to get caught up in the romance of a visit to Paris. Wandering around the Left Bank by the Seine, or exploring Montmartre, makes it easy to soak in the atmosphere that makes Paris one of the premier honeymoon and getaway locations in the world. Going out for an intimate meal, or exploring the city’s arrondissements on foot makes Paris a memorable experience for any couple, while creating an atmosphere that is hard to not be taken in by.

2 – Art

Paris is arguably the European capital of art, and is defined by both the size and the importance of the Louvre, as well as by the Musee d’Orsay, and the many boutique shops and small galleries around the city. With too much to take in on a single trip, many simply head straight to see the Mona Lisa, or stick to exploring the Louvre.

3 – Diversity

A few days in Paris can mean taking in a diverse range of locations, as long as you’re prepared to put in the travel. The bohemian atmosphere of the Left Bank and the Latin Quarter is distinct from the glossier, high end fashion of the 8th arrondissement, as well as the business district of the 2nd arrondissement. A trip can take in a few of these places, or can focus on exploring a particular arrondissement in depth.

4 – Shopping

Paris is well known for its shopping experiences, with designer brands like Armani and Luis Vuitton well represented, while fashion and bargain hunters can search the city’s extensive flea markets and vintage shops. The city is also defined by the variety of the centre of the city, and the chance to venture out into the outskirts of the centre to the Cignancourt Flea Market on weekends.

5 – Food

You’d be hard pressed to find a more gourmet city in the world than Paris, from luxury restaurants like Le Meurice and Maceo serving up world class cuisine, to the street markets and quality of the everyday food. Key spots such as Saint Michel are recommended for outdoor markets, while every visitor should try some of the bread and pastries of the many boulangeries around the city. In this way, it is always possible to eat well in Paris, even when travelling on a budget.

It is best to start your travel checklist a month prior to you leaving. You will have more time to think about specific items you might need and you may just come across better deals with regards to your accommodation that won’t be too late to change. The suggestion is made that you make use of a handy online to do list software tool that you will find by visiting smartsheet.com

What Your Travel Checklist Software Tool Will Tell You

The technology of our modern era is simply amazing. Imagine! Software tools that can guide you in the right direction to help you not forget very important things. Look at some of the handy to do’s, that needs doing before you even leave home:

• Making sure your beloved pets are taken care of when you are not there, is your number one thing to do on your travel checklist
• Next is to make potential thieves believe that someone is still at home by asking your kind neighbor to keep an eye on things while you are gone. They can make sure your mail and newspapers gets cleared from you mail box regularly
• If you are connected to security officials, it might be a good idea to ask them to do security checks periodically, while you are gone

The Fun Part of Your Travel Checklist

This is the part enjoyed by most people. The planning part of your trip. First, work out your budget and make sure that you make a travel checklist of everything that is going to cost you and plan ahead.

Make sure all your traveling itineraries are in order and be certain that all passports are in order, your visas are ready, and that you have your drivers license on you. Make certified copies for safety reasons.

Ensure you have an outfit for every occasion you are planning on attending, and that you have enough socks and undergarments as well as a bathing suit. Should you plan on doing any sightseeing, it may be a good idea to pack in some comfortable shoes that you have done a lot of walking in.

It is in your best interest to leave expensive jewelry at home for your own safety. If you are going to stay at a hotel, it might be an idea to leave items like shampoo, lotion and soap at home as these are already provided.

Get yourself a travel or gadget bag for your iPad, smartphone, iPod, camera, and other electronic apparel you will be taking with you on your trip. Another item on your travel checklist should include a small umbrella in case of a few unexpected raindrops coming your way. You will find all other much needed items on your travel checklist that you have downloaded from the internet.