Bali for Romantic Beach Vacations

Bali for Romantic vacations is a beautiful Indonesian island situated on the western side of Lesser Sunda Islands, in between Lombak and Java lying east and west side, respectively.

Taman Ayun Temple Taman Ayun (beautiful garden) is a magnificent tourist spot built over a high table enclosed and bordered by ponds. The whole pond surrounding gives this temple a floating look, which attracts many tourist and visitors holidaying in Bali. The inside of the temple has merus, shrines and bales.

This indonesian island is one of the major and highly favourite tourist destinations, with its culture, beauty, beaches, music, paintings and rich art work.

Read more

Beach Holiday

I Love Touring Italy - Southern Calabria

If you are looking for a European tourist destination, consider the Calabria region of southern Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ionian Sea. Calabria is the toe of the Italian boot. There are excellent tourist attractions, and you won't have to fight crowds, but you may have to fight hot, hot summers. With a little luck you'll avoid tourist traps, and come back home with the feeling that you have truly visited Italy. This article examines tourist attractions in southern Calabria. Be sure to read our companion article on northern Calabria.


We begin our tour of southern Calabria at Pizzo on the western Tyrrhenian coast. We proceed south and west along the coast to Tropea. Then we continue mostly south along the coast to the capital, Reggio di Calabria. We leave the coast to visit the Aspromonte mountains and then continue east and north to Locri on the eastern Ionian coast. We head inland to Gerace and then go and west along the coast before finishing our tour a bit inland at Stilo. As always in this part of the world directions are approximate; you have to go where the roads go.

Pizzo, population about eight thousand, is a seaport and resort situated on a steep cliff overlooking the Gulf of Santa Eufemia. Its main attractions are the Baroque Church of San Giorgio (St. George's Church) and the Castle in which the French general Murat, an ex-king of Naples, was killed in 1815 after attempting to rouse the populace against the Bourbon kings.

Tropea, population about seven thousand, is one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Calabria. It lies between the gulfs of Sant' Eufemia and Gioa overlooking the sea. And yet it is still relatively undiscovered. You'll love its untamed white sandy beaches, which remind me of the sandy white stretches of the beaches in the Hamptons. Also the old houses, and ancient churches. Its Norman Cathedral has a special feature, unexploded U.S. bombs from the Second World War, each bearing a note of thanks to the Madonna. Near the main square is the medieval Santa Maria della Isola church and monastery, remodeled in Gothic style and touched up a bit after an earthquake slightly over one hundred years ago. If you fall in love with the town you may want to sign up for some Italian language classes. And don't forget the onions, the local onions are so good that Italians call red onions Cipolla di Tropea (Tropea Onion).

The city's most famous citizen, Umberto Anastasio, was born in 1902 but left for New York City about 1919. There he lived under the name Alberto Anastasia, a leader of Murder, Incorporated. He died in a hotel barbershop in a hail of bullets. Anastasia's fictionalized story was a part of the Oscar winning movie On The Waterfront.

Reggio di Calabria, population about two hundred thousand, is the oldest and largest city in Calabria. It sits at the base of a long mountain range running through the center of the region. Over the centuries the area has been subjected to multiple several earthquakes and tsunamis. Furthermore, the soil is difficult to work. The city was founded by Greek settlers in the Eighth Century B. C. and passed from one hand to another over the centuries. Interestingly enough it was home to the first dated Hebrew book, printed in 1475. The worst earthquakes were in 1783 and then in 1908 when an estimated 80% of its buildings collapsed and thousands of people were killed. It took a full generation for the city to recover.

Reggio di Calabria contains many interesting sights. We will start with arguably the most unexpected one, the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (The National Museum of Greater Greece), a very important archeological museum. Make sure to see the two Bronzi di Riace (Riace Bronze) statues of bearded warriors whose origin is subject to debate among the experts. While they were discovered by an amateur scuba diver in 1972, they didn't go on display for almost ten years.

The famous poet Gabriele D'Annunzio called the Falcomata promenade by the sea the most beautiful kilometer in Italy, and, believe me, it has a lot of competition. The old city is proud of its Greek walls; the section near the promenade dates back to the Fourth Century B.C. There are also Roman baths. Other sights include the church of Saint Gaetano Catanoso, named for the first saint from Calabria in five hundred years, and the Byzantine-Norman Chiesa degli Ottimati (Church of the Optimates) initially destroyed by the Saracens towards the end of the Sixteenth Century. Make sure to see the Venetian-style Villa Zerbi and the Pinoteco Comunale (Town Art Gallery).

The mile-high (actually more, about two kilometer-high) Aspromonte mountain range provides a real change of pace from the Calabria seacoasts. What a view. The name means "sour mountains." As you may well imagine its steep terrain and rocky soil are difficult to cultivate. You can find a ski resort at Gambarie east of Reggio di Calabria and an absolutely spectacular sanctuary Madonna di Polsi with an annual fair in late August and early September. Would you believe that some locals still speak a Greek dialect? Perhaps not surprisingly the local grape is Greco. Accompanied by some three thousand volunteers the hero of the struggle for Italian unification, Giuseppe Garibaldi, was defeated and captured in 1862 in the Battle of Aspromonte. But he had the last laugh a few years later.

Locri, population thirteen thousand, was founded about twenty-seven hundred years ago by a Greek tribe. Its famous lawmaker was the first to devise the written Greek code of law. He suggested that whoever proposed changing a law should do so with a noose about his or her neck, and be hanged if the amendment failed to pass. Talk about a sense of justice. The original city was abandoned in the Fifth Century and later destroyed. You can see some of the city walls and ruins of a Greek theater.

Gerace, population three thousand, sits on a hill composed of sixty-million-year old fossils from the sea. The site has probably been populated for about ten thousand years. Believe it or not, this little town once contained more than one hundred twenty churches. Among those remaining churches are the Norman Cathedral, the largest church in Calabria includes the Eleventh Century Prison of the Five Martyrs of Gerace, the Thirteenth Century Church of St. Francis with a beautiful Baroque altar, and the Tenth Century San Giovannello (Little St. John). You'll enjoy Gerace's medieval town and the remains of an old castle, probably dating from the Tenth Century.

Stilo, population three thousand, was founded by the Greeks. In 1940 the area was the site of the Battle of Calabria, also called the Battle of Punta Stilo, one of the biggest naval encounters of World War II. The Italian navy and the combined forces of the British and Australian navies both claimed victory but the battle was considered to be a draw.

This town's most impressive sight is the Ninth Century Byzantine Cattolica di Stilo which is really beautiful inside and out. Other churches include the Cathedral, the Church of San Domenico, and the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino. And don't forget to see the Norman Castle and the Fountain of the Dolphins.

What about food? There's lots of it in Calabria. Reggio di Calabria 's best gelateria, Tonino in the Corso, makes a red onion ice cream (as well as others based on squid ink and nduja, the local spicy salami). Let's suggest a sample menu, one of many. Start with Spaghetti al Ragu di Totano (Spaghetti with Squid and Tomato Sauce). Then try Cinghiale all'aspromonte (Wild boar Aspromonte style). For dessert indulge yourself with Passulate (Spicy Nut and Sultana Biscuits.) Be sure to increase your dining pleasure by including local wines with your meal.

We'll conclude with a quick look at Calabria wine. Calabria devotes about sixty thousand acres to grapevines; it ranks 13th among the 20 Italian regions for the acreage devoted to wine grapes. About 91% of its wine is red or rosé, leaving 9% for white. The region produces twelve DOC wines. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. Only 2.4% of Calabria wine carries the DOC designation.

Most Calabria wine comes from the northern part of the region. If you can find it, you should try the sweet Greco di Bianco DOC wine grown from a southern Calabria version of the Greco grape, and the similar non-DOC Greco di Gerace.

------------------------

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but he prefers drinking fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and people. He knows about dieting but now eats and drinks what he wants, in moderation. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel website http://www.travelitalytravel.com which focuses on local wine and food.

Read more

Cheap Travel Ideas

Find out about cheap travel options or how to take more vacations when you have a tight budget. How can you find somewhere to stay that does not cost a lot. When is the best time to book a hotel room in hotel chains and get the cheapest room rate. Barcelona city break.

Read more

Dog friendly hotels norfolk

Lately the choice of dog friendly bed and breakfast, for dog owners visiting Norfolk is a lot better. There is a really dog friendly hotel in one of the most attractive Norfolk coastal villages, Cley: Your dog can even come into the restaurant area. You will also find you can stay in the larger town of Wells Next the Sea. Or a small country hotel near King's Lynn, in its own grounds offering fishing rods and a rowing boat free of charge from the hotel. Dogs are very welcome here and the hotel is close to a pub in the nearby village.

Read more

Dog Friendly Hotels Wales

reviews of dog friendly hotels and restaurants with rooms in the Wales countryside. Find HOTEL WITH AN EXCELLENT RESTAURANT USING FRESH LOCAL FOOD close to Snowdonia and within easy reach of the city of Chester.

Read more

Pet Friendly Hotels in Wales

Find Reviews of Dog Friendly Country House Hotels in Powys, Wales. Hotels situated in rolling acres of grounds with plenty of space for you and you dog to roam and enjoy. These hotels welcome dogs and their owners, often at no charge for the dog. There is even a romantic country house hotel that is dog friendly - must see! Find the best dog friendly hotels for you and your pet in Wales. travel blogging,

Read more

Country House Hotels in Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a county that possesses some beautiful countryside and wide sandy beaches - just the place to travel with your dog. The county starts from the urban sprawl of South Yorks, up to the wild beauty of the North York Moors and the East Riding coastal bays. There are some very good dog friendly country house hotels with free Internet access in all rooms.

Read more

Dog Friendly Hotel - Torquay, Devon

A dog friendly hotel with Wifi Internet access in all rooms, the Hillcroft Hotel in Torquay, Devon, is also gay friendly and caters for special diets. In short, this is a laid back hotel where nobody gets stressed. In fact the hotel also offers a range of massage, Reiki and Hopi Ear candle treatments to guests. This is a well situated base for exploring the other resorts in Torbay and South Devon.

Read more

Business Hotel with WiFi where pets are welcome

If you like to find a hotel with Internet Access for business travel or for your vacation, and if you take your dog with you, here is good news. We have found some pet friendly hotels where you and your dog will be welcomed and you can also keep in touch online during your stay. Have a look at these pet friendly hotels with WiFi. These country house hotels are in Gloucestershire, a rural English county with Royal connections. For visitors seeking the classic English landscape and views, this is a top destination.

Read more

Budget Travel Website

Get the best advice on where to stay on your next vacation - did you know you can save as much as 60% off the room rates at major hotel chains worldwide? But you have to know how to make your bid: find out how to get the lowest hotel rates possible

Read more