Travel News

Eating in Barcelona

mayacocinero — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:34:58 +0000

Where to Eat In Barcelona

Barcelona is a city of cultural history with an imposing traditional background. In addition to its sunning beauty it has got an assortment of traditional as well as modern dishes, and people of Barcelona have got a great culinary sense. The type of Barcelona restaurant you might like to eat at would depend on your eating preferences, i.e. whether you like Catalan food, Mediterranean meals, Seafood, or Barcelona’s traditional dish, Tapas. However, you can choose from the following restaurants that are specialists in one or many of these dishes.

Cal Pep (http://calpep.com/): If you want to get the real taste of tapas you should visit Cal Pep. It serves the best tapas in Barcelona. With great ambiance, hospitable and brisk service and amazingly great dishes, Cal Pep is a restaurant serving exotic and delectable food and great vine. Vinya Roel: Best known for its traditional Catalan food and amazing range of vines, Vinya Roel is a famous restaurant in Barcelona. Its trademarks are Cannellonis and black rice.

Cuines Santa-Caterina (http://www.cuinessantacaterina.com/): It serves four different kinds of categories of food, i.e. Mediterranean, Asian, vegetarian and Italian. This variety makes it one of the most sought after restaurants in the city. On top of that, its all-wood design and trees planted inside give the restaurant an esthetic look.

Moo (http://www.hotelomm.es): It is a very classy restaurant in the ground floor of the famous Omm hotel. It serves both traditional Mediterranean as well as modern food with variety of modified recipes, and the esthetics and atmosphere is lovely.

The Best Time to Go to Barcelona Spain

mayacocinero — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:56:50 +0000

When to Go to Barcelona

The time of the year, when you would want to visit Barcelona Spain depends on couple of factors, which are your preferences as to what type of weather conditions and the environment you like. Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate with summers lasting from May to October/ November, and winters from December to April/May. Rainfall also varies, and August, September and October are the rainiest months. So, if you love rain and want to visit Barcelona during rainy summer season, you can visit it from May to October, but if you like relatively drier and colder conditions, then visiting Barcelona during winter season should be preferred.

Although, snowfalls are very rare but they can occur during the months of January and February. Other factor that will let you decide on when to go to Barcelona is the crowd, the type of atmosphere and surroundings you like. Usually, August and September are the two busiest months, when tourists come in scores, but most of the local population is on breaks and vacations, making accommodation and shopping cheaper. So, if you like the lively and thrilling ambiance, mid-summers would be preferable for you. But, if you love mild temperature with not much rain and quiet surroundings, March and April are the best months when you can go to Barcelona.

Cape Town Sports and More

mayacocinero — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:09:57 +0000

Travelers will find many activities for the to do in Cape Town thanks to the diverse make up of the city. You find the coast and ocean along with hills and valleys and mountains. This leaves tourists with an ample range of opportunities when it comes to activities. Some of the most popular sports you can try out in Cape Town are sand boarding, boarding, kite surfing and abseiling. There is also climbing and bouldering for the mountain lover; plus plenty of mountain biking trails and horseback riding spots, even on the beach. Not to forget is also paragliding. For the less active traveler there are activities you can do, which just allow you to enjoy Cape Town and its marvels in total relax. One of these is sitting at one of the side street coffee shops in Chelsea Village or Olive Station. You can also watch Cape Town’s sunset in Camps Bay strip or in Blouberg at the beach, or on the top of Table Mountain. Either location will leave you in a dreamlike state. Have fun.

Traditions – The Mayan Calendar

mayacocinero — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:03:50 +0000

When you go to Playa del Carmen one of the traditions of this area that you will hear about the most is the Mayan calendar. Mayan calendar tours are also some of the most popular tours that travelers go on when on vacation here. This calendar is actually a Mesoamerican one. The Aztecs and other indigenous used it, but the Mayans perfected it. The cycle of the calendar is called the “Calendar Round”. It is based on a 260 day almanac year that gets combined with the 365 day solar year. The days of the two combined years can coincide only every 52 years. The Mayan calendar was not only a way to keep count of the days, but it was used to decide the pattern of ceremonies and it was what the people used for prophecies. A second interesting note is that the last five days of the solar year were considered unlucky days. Every Mayan calendar artifact shows symbols such as columns, figures, stairways and temples. They were all used to tell the date and/or time.

Hoover Dam & Colorado River

mayacocinero — Tue, 10 May 2011 10:50:47 +0000

An additional attraction in Las Vegas, besides the usual casinos, theatrical shows, dining, and partying; is the Hoover Dam and Colorado River. The Hoover Dam is near the Black Canyon and just a short distance from the city. Millions of tourists come here every year. The dam has been named one of the top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th century.

Plenty of tours are offered. You get to see the dam Power Plant, or the parts you decide you want to visit, and it lasts about two hours. You go down 500 feet with an elevator and guide to see the power plant generators (in the base of the dam). Tourists also get to see the diversion tunnels and stand atop a 30 foot pipe from where you will get the chance to have a spectacular view of the Colorado River and Lake Mead. Remember this is only one type of tour, if you visit when you’re there make sure to have them tell you what your other options are.

Tokyo Curiosities and Sites

mayacocinero — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 10:25:39 +0000

One of the most appealing cities in Japan for its culture, diverse fun venues, and technological progress is Tokyo. In addition to cultural and novelty experiences there are also some sites you should check out. One of them is the Asakusa Kannon Buddhist temple. It is one of the oldest temples in Tokyo. The National Diet Building is another one. It is unique just in its name, but tricky too in what one thinks the building represents because of this title. It sounds like a nutrition center, but the building is actually home to the Japanese legislature, the Kokkai. A last stop you should look into is the Imperial Palace open to visitors on January 2 and the Emperor’s birthday, year around you can visit the gardens if you can’t make it on those dates.

Off the beaten path

mayacocinero — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:00:45 +0000

When visiting a city or place foreign to us the tendency is to see the most renowned sites and attractions. Sometimes it is also nice to do something “unpopular” and probably more local or unique to the typical. I realize why the MET, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and more Manhattan and New York sites are famous and there’s no discrediting them, they are definitely musts, but the atypical is just as beautiful. New York is usually a city that many walk and take subways in, but there’s always another mode of transportation that you can use: bicycles. The “off beaten path” tour you want to take while in New York is one where you bike from Battery Park to Hudson River Park. On your bike ride you get to look at New York from a different perspective and you go through two of the city’s most renowned parks. At the end of your journey you can enjoy a coffee, snack or drink at one of the first cafés you see, like the Boat Basin Café.

Key West Activities – Beaches, Diving, and Fishing

mayacocinero — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:45:27 +0000

In Key West some of the beaches you can go to for a bit of relax and sunbathing are Smathers Beach, Higgs Beach and Fort Zachary Beach. The latter beach is the most interesting because there is a Civil War museum and picnic area with tables where families and friends can hold barbeques while enjoying their day. In addition to the beach you can also go for bicycle or moped ride around the town. Diving is a third activity that travelers enjoy here because of the extensive and varied marine life you can find when going on your diving tours. Associated to marine activity is fishing. You can charter a fishing boat in Mallory Square and head out for your day of fishing.

Universal Studios – Dining at CityWalk and More

mayacocinero — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 11:30:15 +0000

One of the theme parks you will visit for sure while in Orlando is Universal Studios. While most of the day will be spent on rides and touring, eventually you will have to dine. Maybe it will be only in the dinner hours, but a couple ideas for where to eat and possibly affordably eat is a good idea. A main dining area at Universal Studios is CityWalk. Here you can find many restaurants and clubs for after dinner. Two places where you can find good priced meals are at Bob Marley and Pastamore Ristorante. The former meal venue offers Caribbean cuisine. Accompanying your meals can be the live reggae music that gets played. The latter place mentioned for meals is an Italian cuisine restaurant (pretty obvious considering the name includes “pasta”). The menus here range between fifteen to twenty dollars. A third option that falls under a bit more costly menu is Emeril’s. New Orleans cuisine lovers will definitely want to stop by and try the food.

Where the gods Once Stood: Athens

mayacocinero — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:55:56 +0000

One of the oldest cities in the world, Athens, dates back at least 3,400 years. It is where the first city-state came to be and where the mythological gods, Odyssey’s tale and more mythological stories were located at one point or another throughout their adventures. Tourists that go to Athens enjoy visiting attractions such as Odeaon of Herodes Atticus, Syntagma Square (http://www.athensguide.com/syntagma.html), the Temple of Hephaestus, Kolonaki Square, the National Gardens and the National Archeological Museum. Embracing this must historical journey you should be pleased to know that you will see many ancient remains, as well as beaches and entertainment venues for the after hours of site-seeing.