Category Archives: Travel Guide

Malaga, Spain Travel Guide

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Malaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol. If this is your first visit to Malaga you are in for a pleasant surprise, that is because beyond its reputation of high rises and hen weekends there is a thriving city just waiting to be explored. In fact Malaga is cosmopolitan and cultured, full of fascinating sights and diverse architecture. So what is there to see in Malaga? Highlights include the historic thoughts of Alcazaba and Castillo de Gibalfaro which was built to protect the city centuries ago. Also located nearby is a remarkable Roman amphitheatre that lay undiscovered until 1951.

Malaga Cathedral

Another of Malaga’s historic landmarks is the magnificent cathedral towering over the city. The cathedral is affectionately known by locals as the one-armed lady. Completed in the 18th century, this is one of the city’s most iconic places. Of course like all good Spanish cities Malaga has an attractive Old Quarter which plays host to an array of atmospheric cafes and traditional tapas bars.

Picasso Museum

You can’t visit Malaga without hearing about its most famous son Pablo Picasso. The legendary artist was born at this house in 1881 and it was here that he began to show the first signs of his creative talent. On the best of Malaga excursion, you can visit Picasso’s birthplace to learn more about his connection with the city.

Alhambra Palace

If you have already seen Malaga sites before or if you would like to see a little more of what Spain has to offer, there are a number of shore excursions that can take you further afield. It all depends on which side of Spain you wish to see. Experience Moorish Spain with a visit to the Alhambra palace in Granada, it is one of the world’s finest examples of Islamic art. It is said that everyone should visit the stunning Alhambra at least once in their lifetime.

Neha

For a traditionally Spanish day ashore, you can take to the whitewashed town of Neha’s which is perched high on a hilltop overlooking the Med or perhaps you prefer net hut with its dramatic coastal views and vast caves. Alternatively, you could head to Marbella and Puerto burnoose to witness the wealth and glamour of Spain’s most exclusive resorts.

Visit one of the many local outdoor spots for a more relaxing experience. The La Malagueta beach is a perfect place to go if you want to enjoy sunbathing on soft sand. As you have now seen there is so much more to Malaga than meets the eye.

 

Explore Downtown Los Angeles

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Downtown Los Angeles is both gritty and glamorous and is an example of LA’s complexity as a whole. There are a variety of experiences not to be missed here if you are curious about ethnic, historic, or artistic sides of LA. Thanks to some friends of mine who own Edmonton Mudjacking and their recent adventure to LA, I’ve put together the top things to do in downtown Los Angeles.

For two of the best cultural attractions in downtown LA, go up to the top of the hill on Grand Avenue. The first one is The Broad, it’s the contemporary art museum. Admission is free, though you have to get a time ticket on the website to go in. Make sure you do that a bit ahead of time because if not there can be pretty long lines for stand by tickets. There are lots of cool stuff in there, probably worth an hour or an hour and a half inside.

Just next to The Broad is the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is the location of the LA Philharmonic and you can also take free guided tours and self-guided tours of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Most of the guided tours are typically in the morning, you can check their website to see the times for those as well. Walt Disney Concert Hall with its sweeping metal architecture is somewhat reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House.

Take a stroll through downtown LA’s Historic Core district and check out the theaters along Broadway. There were 14 original Los Angeles theaters, almost all of them are now defunct, but the architecture is pretty neat. It’s cool to see the old awnings; some of them like the Million Dollar Theatre is used for private events. But a stroll down Broadway is really great to check out old Hollywood before it moved up to actual Hollywood where most of the theaters that are still in operation in LA are today.

One of my favorite neighborhoods in downtown Los Angeles is Little Tokyo. The central of Little Tokyo is the cute Japanese village with blue roofs. There used to be 30,000 Japanese that lived here and now it’s only about five large city blocks, but it’s one of the best places to come for tasty Japanese food, Japanese snacks, and just Japanese culture. So if you are in downtown LA, definitely check out Little Tokyo and make sure you are hungry when you are here.

Just five blocks away from Little Tokyo is the LA arts district. The LA arts district is famous for having big murals of public art. It’s kind of an up and coming neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles. The parking is kind of tough here, there’s not a lot of it, but if you are into public art, and you want to take some great pictures in front of big murals then check out the LA arts district.

If you are hanging around the LA arts district and you are hungry check out Wurstkuche. As you come in the front door, they have a refrigerated case of interesting sausages, of course, there’s German bratwurst, but there’s also some more interesting items like the rattlesnake and duck. To wash your sausages down, they have a big Germanesque beer hall in the back. If you want dessert, well they have only sausages here. Right across the street is a place called Pie Hole which is famous in LA for pie by the slice. It’s not cheap though, those pies will cost you about $6 a slice, almost the same price as the sausage will at Wurstkuche.

Visit downtown Los Angeles’ Chinatown district, originally built in 1938 for some of LA’s Chinese culture. While this isn’t the biggest collection of Chinese culture in LA, there is a little old Chinatown plaza that has the old lantern lights, particularly picturesque at night, still a lot of good Chinese restaurants too. And in the background, you can hear some interesting old Chinese music. They have a little Chinatown gate at the front and a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, known to most people as Taiwan. Besides tasty Chinese cuisines, you can pick up some Chinese souvenirs.

Just between Chinatown and Union Station is Olvera Street, which is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles National Monument. This is where the city of Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by Spanish settlers. Olvera Street is like a pedestrian street with lots of shops and restaurants. You can get a lot of Mexican souvenirs, Mexican food, and this is also home to Los Angeles’ oldest structure, the Adobe which has been standing since 1818. So once you are done experiencing the Chinese culture in Chinatown, you can experience the Mexican culture on Olvera Street.

Walk over to Los Angeles’ LA Live District – it’s where you will find the Staples Center, Microsoft Theater, Wolfgang Puck, JW Marriott, the Ritz Carlton hotels and there are several restaurants here. This LA live district is most lively at night with the nightclubs and often the sporting events. LA Live District is also home to the Grammy Museum and the Grammy Walk of Fame.

4 Most Mesmerizing Gardens in Europe

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Spring is the best time of the year because the weather during spring time is so suitable for regrowth of those trees and plants that lost most of their leaves in winter. Slowly by slowly there will be more peeks from the sun and the air and the soil starts to warm up. Spring in full swing is a wonderland for gardeners and botanists because trees begin to thicken their leaves making it greener and fuller, and most significantly, flowers will start blooming here and there. Europe boasts a lot of magnificent gardens and although it’s quite hard to choose, we have decided to pick the top 4 mesmerizing gardens in this continent.

KEUKENHOF GARDENS, NETHERLANDS
Keukenhof Gardens is the world’s largest flower garden, also known as the Garden of Europe. Its name translates to Kitchen Garden in English due to the fact that it is a wide source of herbs that is used in cooking during the 15th century. If tulips are your favorite flowers then this would be heaven for you. Every autumn hundreds of gardeners plant 7 million tulip bulbs of different varieties in preparation for spring. So if you want to see these picture perfect tulip fields then visit Keukenhof Gardens around March to May each year.

MONET’s GARDEN, FRANCE
Claude Monet’s Oriental Floating Garden painting was conceived here in this beautiful flower garden in France. Aside from his stunning Impressionist paintings, Monet also worked hard in putting up together this famous garden. He spent the last 40 years of his life in this sweet splendor of poppies, peonies, sunflowers, daffodils, primroses and so much more. The garden is divided into 2, the flower garden and the Japanese-inspired water garden and both are just fantastically pleasing to the eyes.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, ENGLAND
This vast garden in Kew, London is much worthy to be named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A magical place for people from all ages, and is home to more than 50,000 different species of plants. Aside from the beautiful riot of colors, the garden boasts distinct landscapes and iconic buildings from renowned architects. Their plant and tree collections are from all over the world so expect to see bamboos, cherry blossoms and other tropical plants here.

ROSE GARDEN, SPAIN
Roses are just hard to resist and visiting an actual rose garden would be a definite treat. From May to June, the Rose Garden in Madrid, Spain is at full bloom. Unlike the other gardens on the list, this one is relatively small in size, but the beauty of the blooming roses of all shapes, colors and sizes make up for the small area.

Ancient Ruins in Macedonia

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The Republic of Macedonia has earned the reputation as the hidden gem of the Balkan Peninsula, featuring some of the most fascinating destinations that are highly overlooked and understated, due to poor marketing. Apart from its diverse landscape, beautiful lakes and rich culture and tradition, Macedonia is home to number of ancient historical ruins and a total of 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites. If you’re planning on visiting Macedonia somewhere in the near future, you can’t miss out on visiting the following historic sites, which date back from both the medieval and ancient Greek period.

Heraclea Lyncestis
Perhaps one of the most well preserved ruins in the land of Macedonia is the ancient city of Heraclea Lyncestis, located just two kilometers from the city of Bitola. The name of the city derives from the ancient divine hero of Greek mythology, Hercules and the city was founded by the great Macedonian King Phillip II in 4th century AD. The city was established on the important trade route of Via Egnatia, which resulted in the fast prosperity of the city. Today tourist have a chance to admire the remains of the buildings, temples, columns and mosaics which once stood tall in the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia.

Samuel Fortress
Located on the hillside in the city of Ohrid is the largest preserved fortification in Macedonia, Samoilovata Tvrdina or otherwise known as The Samuel’s Fortress. The fortress is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city, with its walls reaching 16 meters high at its highest point and stretching for more than 3km in length. In recent time archaeologist uncovered new remains of ruins grounds which date back to the 3th century BC, many believing that it was actually built by King Phillip II. However during the course of history the fortress was destroyed and rebuilt several times, until receiving its final and present form, which dates back to Tsar Samoil in the late 14th century. Visitors can see this medieval marvel at any time of the year and there is not ticket for entrance.

The Aqueduct in Skopje
The Aqueducts were huge structures built in Roman times with a sole purpose of bringing water into large Roman settlements. The Aqueduct is located just 2km out of Skopje and its one of the most well preserved pieces of Roman engineering in the entire Balkan region, although it’s unclear to archaeologist when the aqueduct was actually built, few theorist suggest that it was built during the 1st century in order to provide water for the ancient city of Scupi.

Ruins of Stobi
Presumably the most popular archaeological site in Macedonia, are the ancient ruins of Stobi, once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Paeonia. The city was later conquered by the Macedonian armies and furthermore became a Roman colony until the late 6th century. The city of Stobi was founded on one of the busiest trade routes and today the ancient ruins uncover the luxury wealth which the city possessed. Stobi is definitely one of those sites you would not want to miss out on, as the grounds lay waste to ruins such as roman theaters, basilicas, swimming pools, temples, fountains all decorated with marbles, mosaics and elegant murals, portraying the immense wealth of this ancient city.

Traveling Makes You Awesome and Here’s Why

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Generally speaking, people who love to travel almost always talk and write about all the things that you can see and do in a certain place, and don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about that. It is actually a great thing to do, since such information gives people at least a bit of an idea as to what to expect should they visit the exact same place. However, I am not here to talk about that, because I am now going to focus all of my attention on something else. Now, you are probably wondering what am I talking about here, aren’t you? Rather than talking about what you can see and do in a certain city, I am going to talk about traveling in general, as well as why traveling makes you awesome. I know, it sounds different, doesn’t it? Of course it does, but that’s the whole point!

Many people don’t feel the same after they come back from a road trip, and I mean this in the best way possible. Although traveling is pretty much always a great experience (since you get to see new places and meet new people), it also has the ability to make you a better person. So, how does travel do this? Read on to find out how!

Social Skills
When you are on the road, it is either sink or swim. So, what do I mean by this? What I mean is that you either end up with at least one new friend, or you just end up being alone once again. Traveling can help improve your social skills. Basically, you could end up being more comfortable talking to people you don’t know.

Confidence
Although traveling can help improve your social skills, another thing that it could help improve is your confidence. When traveling, you get to do some awesome things that you probably thought you were never going to do in your life. This can be anything and everything from swimming in an ocean to flying in a helicopter.

Happiness
When you travel, you learn how to become a happier person. You get out of your home to experience new things, and that is such an awesome thing to do. That is what makes you an awesome person that you are today!

Top 3 Hiking Spots in the USA

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If you are a fan of the great outdoors and hiking is your favorite hobby then head towards USA for one of the best hiking experiences of your life. The US is blessed to have plenty of national parks and protected areas and these places usually offer the best hikes to experienced and newbie hikers, alike. Read through 3 of the most amazing hiking spot in the US.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK.

Grand Canyon is one of the famous places in the USA and it is for a very good reason, too.  The layers of red rocks reveal Earth’s geological history dated back almost 2 million years ago and this gorgeous landscape is what attracts hikers from all over the worlds. One of the most popular hiking trails, especially for tourists is the Bright Angel Trail, because it is conveniently located near tourist lodges and descends to the copper-colored Colorado River. There is a 1.5-mile and 3-mile rest houses that can offer clean drinking water. You can also camp overnight since the trail leads to 2 campgrounds. The long hours of hiking is also equivalent to long hours of beautiful scenery.

 Hiking Spots in the USA

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.

Lakes, canyons, rivers, waterfalls and granite cliffs, Yosemite Park has it, and the park’s most distinguished hiking trail is the Mist Trail. As the name implies, this trail winds to 2 beautiful waterfalls, Vernal and Nevada Falls, the view of these cascading waters make the stopovers worthwhile. The mist from the falls can be very refreshing during hot days, but also makes the path slippery so extra caution is required for hikers. Experienced hikers can go forth to reach the more famed Half Dome, the most iconic rock formation of Yosemite.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK.

The 28-mile long Highline Trail boasts a breathtaking view along the Continental Divide. With every twists and turns, you will come across Glacier’s high alpine ecosystem teeming with flora and fauna. The first 7 miles of the trail is good for newbies but the trail begins to ascend so this trail is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Don’t miss to climb up to the top of the Continental Divide to experience a stunning bird’s eye-view of the Grinnell Glacier on the opposite side. Since this is a popular hiking spot, it would be best to start very early to avoid the crowd.

Find the best hiking boots you have in your closet and start to explore the amazing outdoors of USA. Explore the world by foot, the same as what the original people of the earth did because nothing beats fresh air, picturesque landscapes, challenging hikes and gorgeous lakes and waterfalls. They enjoyed it and I’m sure you’ll do, too.

How To Use Less Mobile Data When Traveling

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One of the most popular paradoxes in the modern travel industry is the fact that we become much more dependent on our tablets and smartphones when we travel than usual. Downloading travel plans, finding contact information, and even just checking a map all requires a stable data connection. Keep in mind that roaming data can be pretty expensive when you are outside your home country – that is unless you signed a deal with the right cell company.

Even if you are using a local SIM card, the mobile data can be much more expensive than what you might be used to. But don’t be afraid, because there is always hope. There are many different ways to use less mobile data, without having to get rid of any of its functions. And now, here is what you can do to reduce the mobile data usage to minimum when traveling!

Use Applications That Work Offline
Do you know what is even better than reducing the mobile data usage to minimum? The answer is very simple – not using any mobile data at all! Here is what you can do in order to accomplish this. Before the trip, take your tablet or smartphone and see if there are any good offline apps available for download. If you see something that might be of help, make sure to download it. Pretty much everything from city guides to currency conversion is available offline. The best thing about these apps is that you don’t need to have an active Internet connection to use them.

Auto-Playing Videos Are Bad For Your Mobile Data
When you are on a cell connection, auto-playing videos tend to use a whole lot of mobile data. That being said, make sure to disable auto-playing videos in any app that allows you to do so. How you do it depends on the app itself, but in general, it can be done.

Download Google Chrome
If you don’t have Google Chrome installed on your phone, make sure to download it before hitting the road. Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers in the world. When its Data Server is on, it reduces the mobile data usage by up to 50%, which is pretty good. There is even a nice-looking dashboard that shows how much mobile data you have saved in the last month. Such a good feature, isn’t it?

Why You Should Visit Canada This Year

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Canada seemed to be a very popular topic during the elections that took place in the United States of America. There are many Americans out there who said that they would move to Canada if Donald Trump was to end up winning the whole thing. There is even an episode of South Park where Canadians built a wall to prevent Americans from entering their country. And you probably already know what happened next, right? While some Americans did in fact move to Canada, others did not.

So, you are planning to visit Canada soon, aren’t you? If you are, don’t change your plans. It is safe to say that over the last few years, this country has experienced a significant growth in stature on the world stage. That being said, Canada is one of the most interesting countries in the world. And now, here are some of the reasons why you should visit Canada this year – or as soon as possible!

Canada Is Affordable
If you have ever been to the USA, then you know that it is a pretty expensive place to spend any length of time. Although Canada is not the least expensive country in the world, it is much cheaper than America. This is especially true if you compare the value of the US dollar to that of the Canadian dollar.

It Is a Beautiful Place
A lot of people don’t even realize how big Canada really is. The reason why is most likely because those people still haven’t met many – if any – Canadians. However, there is nothing weird about this, since Canada has a relatively small population – about 35 million people. So, what does this mean? This means that Canada is filled with natural beauty, and it is a place where you will never be overwhelmed by the number of people around. That being said, if you are a nature lover, you are going to love this place.

Fun For Everyone
In Canada, there is something for everybody. Whether you love to travel alone, or you enjoy bringing your family with you, Canada is a great place to visit. As the owner of L&G Sports and Therapeutic Massage put it, Canada is the land of opportunity, grace and beauty. Canada is also one of the safest places that you can possibly visit. With this in mind, there is no doubt that both you and your loved ones will have fun in this beautiful place.

Best Activities To Do While Travelling – Guide For Tourist

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Traveling is an awesome thing that most of the people like to do, especially on their vacations to make a good memory. If you are one of those people who gets easily bored by the long journeys then you have to do different fun things to make your trip awesome. Adding different things into your traveling will give many other advantages along with fun.  So you can enjoy your time in the way you prefer. Here are some useful guiding tips for the tourist to make their vacations special.

Record All Of Your Memories:

Keep your camera with you and record all the special moment of your travel, it will help you to create an awesome memory that you can recap and see with your family or partner. Try to not miss any moment of your trip

Do Not Spend A Lot Of Time On Mobile Phone:

The excessive use of mobile while traveling can make your tour bore or other tour mates may start to feel bored with you. So do not use mobile more than it is necessary to use. It will not be good to get a benefit from a beautiful trip.

Order and Try New Foods:

Every country has its own special foods that they like most. You must prefer to taste different and most famous foods of their country. In this way, you can get an opportunity to taste a different and yummiest thing that you may never taste before. You will definitely enjoy the flavors of unique foods.

Hiking:

One of the best ways to experience a city or town is hiking that most of the tourist do. Most of the time greatest sites are nearby the tourist attraction just required a little bit of effort to get to, but many people do not take time to explore while traveling.

Get More Information About Historical Places:

As a tourist, you should visit the famous historical places to know about the history of this country. You can hire a person that will guide you and tell you everything about the history of the country you are traveling. It will create more interest in your trip and make it really special and unique

Meet New People:

Most of the times we do not like to talk other people around us just because of our busy secluding routine but on holidays vacation trips you can get a chance to meet new people and build a good relationship as well.