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BARGAINS
EX UK
Spain's Costa del Sol, £299pp, Enjoy seven nights
B&B in the four-star El Paraiso Hotel for £299pp, departing
on 28 April from Gatwick. Price includes car hire and discounted
green fees. Book with ifyougolf.com Late Deals (www.ifyougolf.com)
with
Holiday.co.uk
5 STAR 2 NIGHT BREAK IN BRUSSELS From £129pp. Depart
Waterloo various dates in April. It maybe the birthplace of the
Euro but Brussels offers far more: the stupendous Grand Place,
great bars, beautiful Flemish architecture, and more varieties
of beer than can be imagined! With a city centre based hotel the
weekend break includes return Eurostar tickets and 5 star
B&B accommodation. Price based on two adults sharing
(transfers not included). Details from www.lastminute.com
Eurotunnel Motoring Holidays (0870
3332001), offer a trip to Northern France to enjoy the
Giant Sand Sculptures Exhibition at the pretty seaside town of
Hardelot on the Cote d'Opale.
Taking place between 8 May and 16 June this annual event is
aimed at
youngsters and adults alike, with exhibits reaching up to six
metres high.
Hardelot has miles of sandy dunes but the town ships in another
900 tonnes of sand especially for the occasion.
As an example of short break prices, a three-night stay at
nearby Boulogne, beginning, for example on 24 May, costs £168
per person (based on two sharing) inclusive of return Eurotunnel
crossing for car and passengers and accommodation with breakfast
at the Ibis Centre Vieille-Ville Hotel
Taste of Medieval London - From £87pp..This overnight break
includes full B&B at the 4* Thistle Tower Hotel located on
the banks of the Thames by Tower Bridge. Tel. 0113 208 7901 and
quote 'Great London Deals' at time of booking.
BARGAINS
in New York
in New York
If you like food, plan to be in New York June 24-28 for the
tenth
anniversary of New York's popular Summer Restaurant Week
(212/484-1222, www.nycvisit.com)
when more than 150 of New York's top restaurants offer
three-course prix-fixe lunch specials for $20.02.
Get Outdoors: New York Style
New York having the most parkland of any major U.S. city allows
us to
host the myriad of concerts, performances, festivals and movies
that are
planned this summer.
Kicking off the summer outdoor festival season June 10, Broadway
Under the Stars (212/484-1222, www.nycvisit.com)
features Broadway songs performed under the stars in the
beautifully restored Bryant Park. The next night, June 11,
join the festivities of the 24th annual Museum Mile Festival
(212/606-2296, www.museummilefestival.org)
on Fifth Avenue (closed to traffic) and visit nine of New York
City's finest cultural
institutions open free that evening to the public.
Grab a picnic and blanket and head to the parks all summer long
to enjoy performances by the New York Philharmonic (Avery Fisher
Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, 212/875-5000, www.newyorkphilharmonic.org)
and the Metropolitan Opera, (Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts,212/870-4542, www.metopera.org)
the summer concert series Central Park Summerstage,
(212/360-2777 www.summerstage.org)
and the Public Theater's New York Shakespeare Festival
(212/260-2400, www.publictheater.org).
Put on your dancing shoes for Midsummer Night Swing
(212/875-5766,
www.lincolncenter.org)
at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts where
enthusiastic crowds converge to participate in the country's
hottest
outdoor dance party. From swing to salsa, dance
instructors are on hand to give lessons, while many people come
by just to listen to the beat.
Each Monday at sunset pull up a chair at the Bryant Park Summer
Film
Festival (212/ 512-5700, www.bryantpark.org)
for classic movies on a 20 by 50 foot screen. If the
film doesn't hold your interest there's
plenty of people watching at hand.
Summertime in New York also brings excitement to the streets
with a
street fair, festival or parade happening every weekend.
Sample the
ethnic eats of New York during the Ninth Avenue International
Food
Festival, the cool jazz sounds of the J & R Downtown
JazzFest
(212/238-9000 x2438) and wind up the summer with the colorful
carnival
costumes during the West Indian Day Parade (718/773-4052).
The entire neighborhood of Harlem celebrates its history and
culture at Harlem Week (212/862-8477, www.discoverharlem.com)
during the month of August.
And for an original urban adventure, jump aboard
the free Staten Island Ferry and enjoy breathtaking views of the
downtown skyline and the Statue of Liberty.
The Times Square area continues to thrive and add exciting new
attractions. The Toys “R” Us (1514 Broadway at
44th St., 201-225-8392, www.toysrus.com) flagship
store which opened in November 2001 can hardly be considered
just a toy store. The 110,000-square-foot, glass-enclosed
building is the largest toy store in the world, the largest
retail store in Times Square and home to a 60-foot-tall Ferris
wheel, a giant roaring dinosaur, a life-size Barbie townhouse
and three floors of toys and games.
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