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Book A Break In Lanzarote This Summer

The annual school summer holiday exodus will shortly be underway in the UK. And despite the current economic climate millions still plan to hit the beach aboard. Trading the uncertainty of the weather in Britain during the summertime for golden sands and sunshine.

Spain looks set to be a major beneficiary once again – with the Canary Islands one of the most popular holiday hot spots with British tourists. Thanks to it´s great beaches and a perfect climate, with cooling breezes tempering the summer heat.

Lanzarote is the third most popular of these seven islands and the journey time from the UK is four hours long. Just bearable if you are planning a holiday on the island with young children. Cheap flights to Lanzarote are available via low cost airlines – or alternatively check flight comparison websites such as Flightline and Skyscanner to view the very best deals. Package holidays in Lanzarote are also available with a number of leading tour operators, such as First Choice, Monarch and Cosmos.

The bulk of the best accommodation in Lanzarote is located in the main holiday resorts. The largest and best known of which is Puerto del Carmen. Which is situated fairly centrally on the islands south east coast, close to the airport at Arrecife. Playa Blanca in the south is also emerging rapidly as a rival – thanks to its excellent beaches and wide range of good quality hotels.

During the summer months families can expect to pay from around €600 per week for a villa break on the island, plus the cost of flights. With hotels charging a similar amount of money. So it really can pay to visit the websites of the main holiday companies to check out their special offers and deals. Especially if you are planning a break on a budget. Alternatively plump for a stay in one of the islands many apartment complexes. Which also offer very reasonable rates throughout the summer.

Summertime is all about the beach on Lanzarote and there are loads of these to explore. Most of the beaches in the main resorts have been created using sand imported from the Sahara desert. But there are plenty of all natural playas such as Arrieta and Playa Quemada to enjoy. Just hire a car and head off the beach of your choice for the day.

Temperatures on Lanzarote stay well into the late 20´s even during September and October. So it’s also possible to enjoy a late summer break here after the children have gone back to school.

Cortina d’Ampezzo

In winter, Cortina offers 110 kilometers of downhill and 58 km. of cross-country ski runs.  Cortina d’Ampezzo is a famous alpine town in northern Italy. It’s in the Dolomites, part of the eastern half of the Italian Alps. In winter the town is a busy skiing destination, with several cable cars and access to many runs. With the professionals at the Cortina Adrenaline Center, thrills and  are available to everyone: taxi-bob, snow rafting, crazy sledge.

The rocky cliffs of the Dolomites that crown the town, like Tofane and Cristallo, represent a dream for every mountain climber.  Extreme sports enthusiasts can ride down Cortina’s Olympic Bobsled at 75 miles per hour. Those who enjoy less extreme sports will enjoy the resort’s sledding runs.

Many restaurants ranging from fine dining to pizzerias provide fantastic meals. Cortina cannot be discussed without mentioning the shopping.

Hiking, biking, skiing, sledding, skating, swimming, snow shoeing  all is here to be enjoyed. Cortina is  favourite destination of the tourists from all over the world.

The hotels are centrally located, offer good value, and have been visited by a Ski Europe representa-tive.
Hotel Miramonti ( 0436-4201 ), Hotel Oasi ( 0436-862019), Parc Hotel Vitoria (3246 4734).

Singapore

Singapore is very clean, efficient and marvelous place with open-air bars, where young Singaporeans with stylish hair toss back martinis until the early morning. As well as the Ministry of Sound, has opened a branch in Singapore that pounds with local dj’s.

But if you prefer to taste more deeply Singapore you should take a tour into the Singapore Botanic Gardens. They are a 157-acre park, where you’ll see a a medley of Chinese, Indians and Malays practicing martial arts, doing yoga and flirting.

Singapore has its share of white-linen restaurants, open-air food courts where each stall serves one dish and the cooks yell out their specialties like ballpark vendors. One of the most popular food village is located at the tropical park on the beach. With more than 50 stalls, the Village offers everything from barbecued tiger prawns to Indonesian satay to drinks made from grass jelly and aloe vera. Dinner for one, about 10 Singapore dollars, or $6.80 at 1.47 Singapore dollars to the U.S. dollar.

But the skyscrapers in the city-centre makes it easy to forget that parks cover much of this island. Today the city is most popular with its adventure sports. If you get up before the mercury rises and head to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, a 400-acre rain forest that is home to garrulous macaques and some 500 other animal species. Hiking and biking trails wind through the jungle, creeping with vines and giant ferns. Watch out for the flying lemurs: the possum-sized critters glide overhead between huge jelutong trees.

Singapore Airport Lounges

We’ve all been there, sitting around at the airport, waiting for our flight. Although the wait is usually no more than a couple of hours, it always seems to be so much longer. There is however an alternative to hanging around at the main terminal building at Singapore Changi Airport, drinking seemingly endless cups of coffee and watching the minutes tick by while waiting for your flight to be called.

There are 3 airport lounges in Singapore Airport that serve terminals 1, 2 and 3, all of which can provide a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the main terminal building.

Often overlooked by travellers, Singapore Airport Lounges offer great value for money providing access to a range of complimentary features and facilities including free snacks and drinks. What might of otherwise been a long and stressful wait can be substituted for something far more calming and entertaining.

So, next time you fly from Singapore Changi Airport, why not enjoy a little of the VIP lifestyle at one of the Singapore Airport Lounges.

Soria, Spain

Soria is a beautiful town in the heart of Spain. The time is stopped there and its ascetic grandeur — “somber oaks, harsh stony wastelands, bald peaks” — still retains the vision of Antonio Machado, one of the great lyric poets of the 20th century.

Poems from Machado are written on plaques on the walls of buildings. Although he only lived in the town for five years, it influences his most important work.

The monastery of San Juan de Duero was refashioned into a monastic complex by the Hospitallers, a group founded during the First Crusade.

Gormaz was once one of the largest castles in Europe. Situated on a hilltop with outstanding views to the horizon and the Duero on both sides, it was once a Muslim fortress.

Telluride, Colorado

Hamburg,Germany

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany, perfect destination to explore its culture walking or on water. The port of Hamburg is the second largest port in Europe. Huge numbers of rivers, canals and lakes offer many opportunities for sightseeing the city from water. Hamburg has more bridges than Venice, Amsterdam and London, all together.

The picture shows the Fleetschloesschen, a little canal castle, is a former public restroom, then a customs office and now a cafe and restaurant.

Homeowners in the famous Winterhude neighborhood kept their boats on the Goldbekkanal, one of the many branches of the Alster River. The Alster River flows under the Sengelmannstrasse Bridge in the Hamburg neighborhood of Ohlsdorf, nearly five hours from the city center.

Many of the buildings in Hamburg are converted into lofts and commercial space for publishing, advertising and architecture firms.

Hamburg has more than 40 theatres, 60 museums and 100 music venues and clubs.

Winter Breaks In Lanzarote

January is always traditionally the time when families start to think of their summer vacation. And especially during the recent spate of cold weather in the UK, countless numbers have been planning their next holiday in the sun. Whilst many will be looking at destinations for the summer months, there are plenty who don’t want to wait until then to some warmth on their skin.

Which is where the island of Lanzarote is able to come to the rescue. As one of the Canary Islands, it enjoys the best weather to be found throughout Europe. Even southern Spain has been suffering a cold wave of late, but in Lanzarote the temperature hovers around 20ºC on an average winter’s day.

This extremely gentle climate is the main reason why the islands have become a byword for winter sun, with thousands regularly visiting between October and March. Lanzarote is the eastern most island of the archipelago and has some of the driest weather, with an average of only twenty days rainfall per year.

The island’s entire lifestyle and culture is thus shaped by the climate, with a huge variety of water sports on offer at all times of the year. The coastal resorts are great places to practice windsurfing, parascending and the like, for those who don’t just want to sunbathe.

As a result of demand, the accommodation on Lanzarote covers a wide variety of tastes. With apartments and hotels firmly established, there is also a great range of holiday villas in Lanzarote to choose from. Especially in the main tourist resorts.

The oldest of which is Puerto del Carmen, formerly known as La Tiñosa. And the holiday villas in Puerto del Carmen are some of the most individual and appealing to be found across the island. Most are ensconced in lovely mature tropical gardens, where bougainvillea and hibiscus flower all year round.

Further south, the latest resort to have been developed is Playa Blanca. Which has grown over the last ten years as the demand for holiday accommodation has also risen. Holiday villas in Playa Blanca are of recent construction and tend to be very modern in style, with spacious lounges opening on to sun terraces and private pools.

The smaller and more northerly coastal resort of Costa Teguise has a different mix of accommodation. With many of the holiday villas in Costa Teguise only a short walk from the main beach at Las Cucharas, making them ideal for families with young children.

A Weekend In Paris

From the mime in white makeup to the Chanel-clad grande dame walking her poodle, Paris practically sags under the tonnage of its stereotypes. The exquisite retro-chic restaurant Chez Julien, left.

Many of the Paris’s streets are home to most young creators. Inside the futuristic funhouse called Lieu Commun, you’ll find housewares from Matali Crasset, a protégée of Philippe Starck, as well as electronic music CD’s and street wear.

This 17th-century mansion turned expo space works with heavyweights like Takashi Murakami and Sophie Calle.

The brainchild of the artist and fashion designer Shinsuke Kawahara, this new minimalist-cool restaurant has generated a cult following for its clever French-Japanese hybrid cuisine.

Mi-Va-Mi is the place where where the lines are shorter, the service is friendlier, and the falafel (5 euros) and spit-grilled shwarma (7 euros) are almost equally good.

Florence Finkelstein gathers bagels for a customer in her Marais bakery.

For those hard-to-find antique dolls, try Lima Select, an emporium of unusual dolls and figurines. Tours of the Marais district are offered by Paris Walks. The two-hour excursion includes architecturally splendid old town houses, the memorial to the Shoah and the 17th-century St.-Paul-St.-Louis Church, seen here along with its reflection in a shop window.

Holidays In Puerto del Carmen

Puerto del Carmen is the spot where tourism first really took off on Lanzarote,

the fourth largest of the Canaries. Transforming what had until then been a tranquil little fishing village called La Tiñosa into the most popular holiday destination on the island.

Package holidaymakers first started to visit Lanzarote in serious numbers in the early 1970´s. And at this time they would all head for the old harbour area of Puerto del Carmen. Where the first apartment complexes and hotels were constructed. Since then the resort has expanded enormously and now extends some 8km to the east to encompass Los Pocillos and Matagorda.

Puerto del Carmen is nominally divided into two main zones. The Old Town, which is clustered around the harbour. And the New Town – which basically runs parallel with the main beach of Playa Grande and the resorts main thoroughfare of the Avenida de las Playas.

The resort enjoys a sheltered and well projected location on Lanzarote´s tranquil south east shoreline and its popularity is largely based on the quality of it’s beaches. Boasting around 8km of fine golden sands. The largest of which is Playa Grande – where visitors can enjoy excellent facilities such as showers and sun loungers. Although there are plenty of other smaller beaches to explore around the resort such as a Playa Chica, close to the Old Town.

There are plenty of accommodation options available for visitors. Puerto del Carmen is served by two main hotels – the Los Fariones and the San Antonio. And is also home to one of the largest selections of holiday villas in Lanzarote .

The best of which are located in areas such as Risco Prieto above the Old Town Harbour and Los Mojones.

The resort has been undergoing something of a transformation over the last year. As local tourist authorities have invested millions of Euros in improving the resort’s infrastructure and facilities. As a result the Old Town harbour area now plays host to a luxury marina. And the seafront promenade as been part pedestrianised – making it a far more attractive area for tourists to stroll long and enjoy. In addition a new golf course, only the second on the island, has opened recently on the outskirts of the town.

Puerto del Carmen is ideal for anyone who likes to combine quiet days by the pool or on the beach with nights on the town. As the resort boasts the best selection of bars, clubs and restaurants on the island.

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