Holidays to Turkey

Posted by admin in Turkey on 05 23rd, 2007 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Are you fed up with the daily grind? Are you struggling to face work, day in and day out. Wouldn’t you just love to get away from all the stresses of life and escape to a sunnier clime?

If the stresses of life are getting you down and you need a break away from things, why not think about a holiday to Turkey? The country of Turkey, widely regarded as a fusion between east and west, has an extensive coastline dotted with numerous stretches of beautiful beaches. Temperatures in the peak summer months reach a balmy 26C but can be higher in the event of there being a heat wave.

Getting to Turkey is very easy now with direct flights to Turkey from regional and hub airports throughout the UK and Ireland. Whether you want to fly to Turkey from London, direct to Antalya from Manchester or direct from Newcastle to Bodrum, there are flights available. You’ll also be pleased to know that flights to Turkey don’t have to cost the earth either, you will be surprised at just how affordable they have become. As the low cost airlines also fly into Turkey you can rest assured that prices will continue to stay competitive.

Hotels in Turkey are plentiful, as is the availability of apartments on a self-catering or half-board basis. In Turkey there are many privately owned villas that are also available to rent for a week or longer, depending on the owner. The beauty of renting a villa in Turkey is that you often get your own private swimming pool and much more privacy.

If you want a break away for you and your someone special, then why not go on holidays to Turkey. Affordable, sunny and with plenty of choice, Turkey is the ideal spot for a holiday in the sun!

Palermo

Posted by admin in Italy on 02 27th, 2007 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Palermo is a metropolitan cosmopolitan city. It is really quite a big city, as far as cities go in Sicily and should be a destination of interest for the traveler. It has a unique contrast of ancient and modern day city buildings and monuments throughout.

Restaurants in Palermo

As Sicily’s largest and most cosmopolitan city, Palermo offers great dining as well as great shopping opportunities. Though there are really good restaurants throughout Palermo, they are not very easy to find.

In general, we would suggest that you try the ones on the side streets instead of the ones near Via Amari and via Cavour which might be described as “tourist restaurants”.

The best restaurants and bars in Palermo include Antica Focacceria, Il Bagatto, Piazza Marina, La Cambusa Trattoria, Genio Trattoria, and Il Goliardo Trattoria-Pizzeria.

For the tourist, it might be good to note that the Piazza Olivella, hidden from the eyes of the casual tourists walking the main streets, is one of Palermo’s most popular spots. It’s the square near the archeological museum and San Filippo Neri church in a rectangle formed by via Cavour, via Roma and via Maqueda near the Teatro Massimo. About thirty dining places, including bars, are located in the square itself and also along via Orologio, via Bara and all’Olivella and the surrounding streets.

Cin-Cin is an elegant restaurant and one of Palermo’s culinary treasures, routinely ranked by critics as one of the city’s favorite dining spots. Cin-Cin’s cuisine is a highly-evolved yet traditional Sicilian cooking. If you want to find refined Sicilian cuisine you’re ready for an enchanting dinner at Cin-Cin, whose essential menu features grilled appetizers, superb main courses of beef, seafood and pasta dishes. The setting is serene: Cin-Cin occupies a number of rooms that allow an intimate ambience; a pleasant environment to enjoy a great meal.

Throughout Palermo there are excellent pastry shops and bars that serve ice cream, pastries, and sandwiches. If you want to sample these tempting delights in a leisurely setting, we suggest the charming outdoor cafes on Via Principe di Belmonte. Located in the best shopping district, Via Belmonte is closed to traffic.

Shopping at Palermo

The city doesn’t just offer great cuisine and fascinating history. Palermo also has some great shopping facilities and many better shops are conveniently located in the city’s centre around via Maqueda and via Liberta, especially on the side streets where you’ll find shops that sell everything from antiques to Sicilian-made specialty goods like crafts, ceramics and jewelry.

Famous sights at Palermo

Beyond this are the many landmarks, monuments and buildings to visit in Palermo. The Cathedral, Chinese Villa, Magione Church, Martorana Church, Mount Pellegrino, Politeama Theatre, Quattro Canti, Royal Palace, St Francis Church, St. John of the Hermits, Teatro Massimo, and Zisa are some of the many sights. As well, Mondello is a beautiful beach that can be visited during the day or night. It is not only a beach, but also a tourist and vacation spot as there are many shops and restaurants along its boardwalk. During the day it’s a lovely place to go for a swim or just to take a walk, and at night its beautiful lights along the water are dazzling.

Via Liberta Quarter

Via Liberta Quarter is a great area to visit. This area has a variety of landmarks and sights including Mount Pellegrino, Saint Rosalie’s Shrine, Chinese Villa, Favorita Park, Villa Trabia, and Ficuzza. It is also the area where Mondello beach is located, so be sure to make a trip there.

Mount Pellegrino offers amazing panoramic views of Palermo but it is most famous for the Sanctuary of Saint Rosalie, located near the summit along winding roads that travel through woods of Mediterranean stone pines. The Chinese villa, which is also located in this area, is a beautiful ancient home built in the Oriental style. The Chinese villa is located in the Favorita Royal Park and the nearby Pitre Folk Museum is open to the public. Favorita Park or the Royal Park is a vast wooded area, and rabbits and migratory birds are seen here occasionally. The Park is owned by the City of Palermo, and is an attractive entrance to Mondello Beach.

Sahara Las Vegas says: “SCREW YOU”

Posted by admin in Las Vegas, Nevada on 11 21st, 2006 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Sahara Hotel Las Vegas says: Screw You!

When going on a conference business trip and staying at a hotel for more than a week you definitely want a good experience, a short trip back and forth to the conference and all kinds of other attractions like shows, bars restaurants. That’s the reason why I chose the Sahara at the end of the north-strip to visit the Webmaster World – just 15 minutes to the convention center by the monorail was great last year – and so was my service.

But they proved me to be a jerk for booking 8 nights the second year in a row with them, just because I was too lazy to shop around and their rates were really cheap during the week.

Day 1 of the Dirt Horror at the Sahara Las Vegas

I arrived on Friday night and found my bathroom be – well, dirty… had that ugly long black hair near the washbowl and the whole room looked as if it wasn’t really cleaned. I thought – oh heck – they’re going to do it anyway next morning.

Day 2 of the Sahara Dirty Room Horror – Saturday

Nothing was done on Saturday during the day and when I went out Saturday night I though – hmm they are probably going to make my room in the evening as people are out then anyway…just to find out in the morning hours of Sunday when I came home that NOTHING changed.

Day 3 of the Sahara Dirt Desaster – Sunday

On Sunday I really thought – hey, I’m here at the Hotel the 3rd day and nobody gave a shit about my room, so I might have to ping somebody to do it finally. So I looked around and found that old and wasted Mexican lady on my floor and asked her nicely to make up my room when I leave in the afternoon. She looked in my eyes and confirmed that by even repeating the time to do it

Guess what – I came home at night and nothing was done, so I called up the frontdesk, called up the housekeeper service and told both that my room hasn’t been made up for 3 days in a row… both told me that they are going to take of that, and that of course THEY are not the responsible persons for that but that they will hand it to the ONEs that ARE responsible and that they’ll make up my room the next morning..

Day 4 of the Sahara Dirty Room Massacre

Believe it or not, the other day on Monday nobody showed up at my room as well.

I was really pissed off and called them up again. Again it was in the night hours but they promised to do it the next day and even sent somebody up to bring fresh towels (wohooo – we got fresh towels after paying 4 nights in a row) and I went to bed as I needed to get up.

Note that by Monday I suddenly got a strange allergic itching skin on my hands – which I definitely never had before in my life and as I write this it still itches a bit and looks infected. I must tell you that I finally believe that the lack of hygiene at the Sahara Hotel is responsible for that.

Day 5 of the Sahara Room Dirt Overkill

I got up early on Tuesday as the Webmaster World started and I was pretty sure that the cleaing is going to work out as I looked up that Mexican housemaid again and told her to make my room. After a really long day at the conference, a fabulous dinner at the Envy / Renaissance with folks like Chris Boggs, Andrew Goodman, Bill Slawski and others as well as some drinks with some of my clients I came home to my room at 1.30 in the morning – hoping to get some chilling sleep to be fresh during the next conference day.

What I saw was the whole mess I left behind – the 4 day old towels on the floor, a bed not really made up fresh for 5 days and NO SIGN of any work being done to that room… man I was pissed off… I mean the Sahara is cheap and you have to be ready to live in 15-20 year old furniture there… but what the heck was going on with the service? The really pissed me off that day as the only thing I wanted to do is SLEEP!

So once again I called up the front-desk and told them my problem. They handed me over to the housekeepers where I spoke to a lady who said she is NOT RESPONSIBLE and that she cannot do anything. So I called up the front-desk again just to speak to yet another clerk there and hear that the manager is only available at OFFICE HOURS and I must call at that time to file my complaint – but there should be a manager at housekeeping. So I called housekeeping a 2nd time just to speak to the same non-responsible lady again. When I called the front-desk the 3rd time to get ANYBODY responsible on the line I suddenly spoke to a rather nice sounding lady who suddenly showed SOME KIND OF CUSTOMER CARE – while all the other jerks before where just FINGERPOINTING at each other.

She took up my complaints, promised to inform the manage the other day as I certainly didn’t have the time and will to use my valuable time at the conference to contact Mrs. Hotel Manager when she finally showed up at her desk. Then they even sent up the night-maid at 2 in the morning to make up my bed, do basic cleaning of the room and made me feel confident that I am not the only person feeling annoyed by totally screwed up hotel operations at the Sahara.

Day 6-8 of the Sahara Hygiene Disaster

After spending more than 30 minutes calling back and forth thru the organizaton the room service worked fine from Wednesday thru Friday of my stay so I felt a bit more relaxed about it and was pretty sure that the more professionally acting lady really took care of my complaints and will consider the refund I asked her for to make up with the hassles.

Altough she mentioned that the management will come back to me eventually the next days they didn’t – so sign of that – and that certainly should have been a sign to me.

Day 9 – Payday for the Sahara Hygiene Disaster

So checking out on Saturday I expected a little gift, a refund on my invoice, at least a “we are sorry for the inconvenience” or what ever that clerk might have to do in such a situation.

Instead the lady printed my invoice, said thanks and turned away. Which really made me think – THAT’S IT ? Take my money and run?

So I asked her about my complaints and that I didn’t find any kind of compensation for that.
She was BLANK. Knew Nothing.

And after 10 minutes waiting for her after disappearing in the back room I heard that the manager on duty is on the phone and might get back to me soon. SO I told her that I’m leaving in 15 additional minutes and if they would be able to handle a 4 day old complaint in that time span.

Well – another 10 minutes later that big, unhealthy looking lady with her greasy hair and cheesy suite troubled her body thru the doors to approach me – probably double my own weight (and that is already a bit) to ask “SO YOU COMPLAIN YOUR ROOM WASN’T OK THE LAST DAYS?”

Well – After explaining the whole story again you read ALREADY and I told the others before already she said again I should have contacted her MYSELF during the office hours, which I still refused having to do – after all I issues SEVERAL COMPLAINTS to her employees.

What she did again – and that’s obviously the bad culture at the Sahara was fingerpointing back to her employees that they didn’t tell her ANYTHING and again that it is NOT HER FAULT that they didn’t tell her.

And anyway – she meant that it’s been a week ago that I got the bad service and should have told her EARLIER. Ignoring the fact of my multiple complaints in the past. Ignoring the fact that she was calling me a dumbass for ONLY complaining to the personal directly communicating with me.

HELL – who’S fault is it anyway if not the hotel manager’s if I get bad service, non-exististant complaint management and finally hit the wall to complain a last time during checkout just to hear NOT MY FAULT again?

Funny thing is that by that time that big ugly Mrs. “I am Yabbba Manager” already turned her displeasing back to me to say “goodbye sir…”

I got her back to ask if THAT IS IT. That I waiting for more than 20 minutes that day, more than 4 days after my complaints just to hear at least the ONLY responsible person tell me that it’s not my fault and that nobody would ever care if I would feel good about the stay, will ever come back or eventually tell the whole world about this finger pointing “not my fault” behaviour even by the highest people in the Hotel’s organization.

She replied with a simple and rude – “Yes sir, SCREW YOU – that’s what I said – good bye”.

I took that receipt, turned to the other clerk lady with “Has been a pleasure” and went off to the airport shuttle.

This lady certainly looked unhealthy, greasy and I wasn’T really sure if she’s 28 or 48 – heck, her bad physical condition is not even the case for some 58 old ones. But I figured that this is not the type of unhealthy looking you just get from bad eating habbits in stress jobs, lack of workout or some kind of wrong genes.

This “hotel manager” probably pissed of unhappy guests like me every day – dozens of them. And it seems to be a direct order to her employees to block of all complaints in early stages.

I am happy to be out of there and I certainly feel sorry for having picked this hotel a second time, as it definitely spoiled the otherwise amazing experience of the Las Vegas WebMasterworld 2006

And most important – I want to beware you of going thru the hassles that I’ve been to.
This was the worst experience in 15 years of business travel and 33 years of leisure travel.

Vatican City

Posted by admin in Italy, Rome on 08 28th, 2006 | No comments yet - be the first one!

The Vatican City, is actually one of the smallest cities unto itself and is the smallest independent nation in the world. It is the official home of the Pope of the Roman Catholic church and yearly it attracts millions of people and for many different reasons.

Every twenty five years it is said that to pass through the gates of the Vatican is to be forgiven for all of your sins, and all those of your loved ones forever. The year 2000 was the last occurrence of this event. So be sure to visit again in 2025. Some people visit to get a glimpse of this historical site that is the pinnacle of the Roman Catholic religion, others to see the Pope himself and yet others to view the amazing architectural design and construction of the church and the amazing sculpture and art inside.

The entrance to the Vatican is quite masterful, and grand. There is a great circular open space that is surrounded by great roman pillars that are so perfectly designed that if you stand in front of one you can not see the ones behind it, as they are so perfectly aligned. This is not only a very powerful design but also this was created without the use of modern day equipment to make the approximate measurements that were needed to make the columns so perfectly aligned in this way.

Another fascinating fact is that the Vatican City actually has its own postage stamps and issues its own coins. It is actually even declared a separate region from Italy, basically its own country and so therefore has its own postage stamps and coins. Image this tiny region with its own postage stamps and coins is actually mainly one grand building, a church and the home of the Pope. The Vatican City has its own post office, commissary or supermarket, bank, the automatic teller machines ones in the world to use Latin, and railway station.

The view of St. Peter’s Square from the top of Michelangelo’s dome is a completely unobstructed view of the Vatican City. However the view of St. Peter’s square in the early morning is exquisite. The lights surrounding and shinning on the building are just breath takingly beautiful.

The Vatican City is itself of great cultural and artistic significance. The buildings within its boundaries such as St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine chapel are home to some of the most beautiful art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini, and Michelangelo. The Vatican library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance in the world.

The art which is most famous in the Vatican City are the paintings created by Michelangelo. Michelangelo created two of the most influential fresco paintings in the history of Western art, on the ceiling and on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, called the Last Judgment. Later in life he designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Entering St. Peter’s Basilica, ensure that your upper body is fully covered, and that includes your shoulders. It is not permitted for people to enter the Basilica without their shoulders covered as respect to the holy place, so make sure that when you visit you are wearing something with sleeves. As you enter the building, there are usually many people in line with you waiting to enter.

Your first glimpse of the inside of the great doors is the art and architectural design, the beautiful dome ceiling covered in painting and stain glass, and the golden alter. This church really represents the head of the Catholic Church as it is so beautifully and masterfully designed and decorated, by the most highly talented artists in history. You will not be disappointed by the amazing creation of the Vatican City.

Venice, Colorful Burano and the Glass Blowing Industry Murano

Posted by admin in Italy, Venice on 08 25th, 2006 | No comments yet - be the first one!

At the travel office at our hotel in Venice, we were advised to spend a day visiting the twin islands Murano and Burano. Their amazing surroundings and the atmosphere are so similar to Venice’s, that we won’t even realize we left the city. The islands are also well known for their industries. Murano is famous for the murano glass blowing industry, while Burano is famous for its lacework.

Both of the islands lie north of Venice. Murano lies about 2 miles north of the city and comprises five little islands clustered together, while Burano lies near Torcello. We took a vaporetto from Piazalle Roma to get to the islands.

Glassmaking first existed as industry in Venice and by the 10th century was widespread in the city, becoming the city’s foremost industry by 1200. But after 1217, the city leaders required the furnaces to be moved to Murano in order to protect Venice from fire. Also they passed a lot to forbid the import of glass and entry of foreign glass in the city. These moves gave Venice the monopoly in the glass industry over Europe. Around the 17th century, the popularity of the Murano glass began to decline but a businessman named Antonio Salviati, started selling the glass outside Venice, hence boosting the industry as well as tourism.

The glassworkers were allowed to wear swords and enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venice state, while the glassworkers’ daughters were allowed to marry into Venice’s blue-blooded families. But on the other hand, the glassmakers weren’t allowed to leave Venice. The reason was very simple: they were the only craftsmen in Europe who knew how to make mirrors and who developed refined technologies for producing glass (smalto – enameled glass, aventurine- glass with threads of gold, millefiori – multicolored glass- and lattimo – milk glass)

We also found out that the glass was made to be functional, not decorative but the pieces always came out more beautiful than planned. They are indeed a work of art and usually are displayed rather than used. Today they produce jewelry and other decorative objects as well (paperweights, figurines, vases and tableware), all bearing a very high price tag and considered luxury items all over the world.

We found all that information at the Glass Museum (Museo Vetrario), located in the Palazzo Giustinian, right near the island’s center. Also many glassworks can be visited and most of them date from the medieval times.

While on the island we also visited the Church of Santa Maria e San Donato, which is known for its twelfth century Byzantine mosaic pavement. Also legend has it that it houses the bones of a dragon slain by Saint Donatus.

On Burano, we first went to the Lace Museum . We found out that needlepoint lace was born in Venice in the 15th century. It actually derives from embroidery and is inspired by the stitches that create transparency in the design (in Italian, punto tagliato).

The industry became so popular that a School of Lace was founded in 1872. Later on the lace lost its popularity and the school had to close. Now the building houses the Lace Museum. Within the museum we admired all the laces produced over the centuries, as well as drawings, personal journals, photographs and work techniques.

Burano is also known for its colored houses, very famous among artists. We were told that if someone wants to paint the house, the owner must send a request to the government and they’ll respond which colors are allowed in the lot.

While on the island we also visited the Oratorio Santa Barbara and the Church of San Martino.

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…

Posted by admin in Italy, Verona on 07 27th, 2006 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Ever since I’ve read Shakespeare’s “Rome and Juliet” (and later seen the movie) I’ve dreamt of visiting “fair Verona”, the Italian city home to the world’s most famous lovers. Even though Shakespeare had never been to Italy, the tragic story of two lovers from Verona was well known and written before Shakespeare.

With my girlfriend Natalya, this was sort of a great honeymoon destination. Altough it was hot as hell (as one can imagine in summer) the experience was amazing and every corner of a picturesque street made me feel like I was there when the action in the play took place.

Fortunately before cruising there by car from Padua, I looked up some information about the city Verona. A good idea is to always check out the city’s official website (in this case the portal commune ). Good thing I used to take some Italian lessons when I was younger! Also I’ve looked up information about the landmarks related to Romeo and Juliet (two excellent sources: Let Romeo & Juliet Show You Verona, Italy and Romeo & Juliet, Verona) and was dieing to find a cozy romantic restaurant for the perfect dinner.

Verona is the second largest city after Venice, in the region called Veneto (in the North of Italy). It’s one of the few Italian cities to best preserve the historical heritage. Verona is home to the Roman Amphitheater (also known as The Arena), which dates back to the first century A.D. A lot of interesting buildings caught our eyes, among them: Palazzo Barbieri (where the Town Hall is), Gran Guardia Palace, The Roman Theatre and Palazzo Guastaverza.

After reading through some travel booklets, we decided to start our meeting with the most famous lovers of all times, by first visiting Juliet’s House (It., La Casa de Giulietta). It is one of the locations I’ve been dieing to see in a long while. The house is located in Via Cappello. The building is breathtaking: tall with mellow brick façade, dating from 13th century. Too bad the house is not opened for the public. Though Shakespeare never mentioned to balcony in his play (only said that Juliet’s window was “above”), it’s probably the most important landmark related to Juliet’s house. Just below the balcony we admired the bronze statue of Gulietta and we even managed to take a picture with it. Rubbing the right breast is said to bring luck…guess what we did? It’s amazing how many people queue up to do that!

Hand in hand, we started walking along the narrow streets, packed with ancient buildings with terracotta roofs. We were trying to find Romeo’s House. It took quite a bit of searching until we found the House of the Montagues (Romeo’s house) on Via Ponte Nuovo, just close to Piazza Erbe. Unfortunately the house is in such bad condition that no one is allowed inside. But our booklet read that the house was built in the 14th century, with Gothic elements.

A little sad to see that Romeo seems to be of less importance for the municipality, we decided to look for Juliet’s tomb. It’s located in the monastery of Capucins, in Via del Pontiere, near the river. There isn’t much left of the old monastery, only the cloisters and the chapel. Within the grounds we saw the stone sarcophagus, on a stone floor covered by a dim light. It seemed to be the perfect resting place for a tragic heroine. I only wondered why we couldn’t get a hold of Romeo’s tomb.

Strangely enough we were told that newlyweds have their wedding photos taken at the site of the tomb. And someone even told us we could have our own wedding there as it is one of the top 10 locations to get married.

Our “encounters” with Romeo and Juliet were pretty much finished and we were searching for some romantic things to do. We were told that the view from Torre dei Lamberti is magnificent and we could see the most beautiful panoramic view of the city from the top. So we headed to Piazza dei Signori and entered through the courtyard of the Mercato Vecchio (Engl. Old Market ) and we took the stairs to the top. The view was indeed magnificent. A romantic place to end a romantic day. Or maybe not…

I surprised my girlfriend with a romantic dinner at a secluded cafe, just near Piazza Erbe.

Alcatraz – The Rock

Posted by admine in California, California Travel, San Francisco on 09 23rd, 2005 | Read Comments(4)

San Francisco: For tourists this means Golden Gate Bridge and Cable Car, China Town und Pier 39. If you are sick of the hurly-burly , take the ferry and travel to a completely different world: Alcatraz, the island located 2 kilometers from the city in the bay of San Francisco. Once fortress, then prison and finally occupied from the Indians, the Island stands under nature protection today and is part of the Golden Gate National Park.

People, who visit Alcatraz, have to consider some rules: So for example eating and drinking is only allowed at the pier and visitors have to keep away from the locked off ranges. This is about the sea gulls, which breed between flowers, bushes and trees. The plants once where cultivated by the families of the prison guards and spread all over the island today.

Prison guards although than prisoners left Alcatraz more than 30 years ago: The prison was closed in 1963 about to high costs. But stories and myths about “The Rock” are still alive: Al Capone, “Birdman” Robert Stroud or the 14 attempts for outbreak: On a walk over the island and through the cell buildings the past and it’s myths becomes alive. And all this under the watchful view of the sea gulls. They are the new and probably also the last guards of Alcatraz….

	click pictures to enlarge!

Ferries to Alcatraz leave in San Francisco at Pier 41. The journey lasts only 15 minutes, but you should take minimum 4 hours into account for a visit on the island. In summer the ferries are completely written off. An internet-reservation in advance is advisable and helps to save time: You can pick up your tickets at ticket-machines and you have not to wait in the queue.

The world’s highest thrill rides

Posted by admine in Las Vegas, Nevada on 09 19th, 2005 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Are you a thrill seeker? You will find the ultimate in excitement in Las Vegas at the Stratosphere Hotel. In the 108th floor, at the top of the tower, the world’s four highest thrill rides are located:

Insanity gives you the thrill of being flung over the edge of the Tower and literally facing downward at the City of Las Vegas below. The Ride consists of an arm that extends out 64 feet over the edge of the Tower and will spin passengers at up to three ‘G’s.’ As the ride spins faster and faster, the riders are propelled up to an angle of 70 degrees.
X Scream is an open vehicle that propels riders head-first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower and dangles them weightlessly above the Strip before pulling it’s riders back and over again for more (click pictures to enlarge!).
The High Roller Coaster is the highest roller coaster in the world at 909 feet above the ground. It rockets around the tower pod on 840 feet, traveling 32 miles per hour.
The Big Shot catapults 16 riders from the platform up the Tower’s mast to a height of 1,081 feet. Traveling at 45 miles per hour, riders experience 4G’s as they reach the top, and feel negative G’s on the way down.

Take care, if you visit the Stratosphere thrill rides in summer: It’s very hot in Las Vegas and you have to wait for your ride in the queue outside without sunprotection. So take a hat or a cap and a bottle of water with you!!

Visit the Stratosphere thrill rides online and check out details und rates! Check out also more about thrill rides all over the world at google directory and yahoo directory

California on 4WD Chevy Blazer

Posted by admine in California, Cool Trips on 07 11th, 2005 | No comments yet - be the first one!

we have a car…California might have some good streets, but there are places where we need some extra grip and power… dead cities, deserts, dirty und dusty roads….

The Winchester Mystery House

Posted by admine in California, Cool Trips on 04 28th, 2005 | No comments yet - be the first one!

Actually I have to plan my sightseeing program for San Jose. In august Christoph will visit a conference and I will be hanging out during the four conference days.
Now I found some info about the Winchester Mystery House that sounds interesting: This 160-room Victorian mansion was designed and built by the widow Sarah Winchester. 38 years – from 1884 to 1922 – she was working on her construction project, even at night and on holidays. The result is a house of 2,500 square meters with 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 40 stairs, 40 bedrooms, 6 kitchens and 3 elevators.
The reason for this strange behavior of Sarah Winchester was her believe in ghosts. She thought, the ghosts could be exorcized by building on her house and designing bizarre features, for example doors to nowhere or stairs that lead to the ceiling.
Today the house is open for visitors and they offer different tours. Check out details, rates and schedules here.