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TOWN & COUNTRY October
- November 2003 Volume 3 Edition 5 |
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TOWN & COUNTRY October
- November 2003 Volume 3 Edition 5 |
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News | Destinations
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NEWS & SELF SERVICE CHECK IN US AIRWAYS has added new features to its self-service check-in kiosks Stateside today, which now enable customers to choose either English or Spanish for their kiosk transaction, as well as re-route and re-issue tickets if their scheduled flight is cancelled. The enhanced kiosks also now alert customers if In-flight Café meals are available on board their flight. The kiosk informs the customer of the price, includes a picture of a sample meal, and advises the customer that meals may be purchased on board the aircraft. Additionally, customers can view requests for assistance already present in their reservation at the confirmation screen. In the event that a customer's original flight is cancelled, self-service check-in kiosks will now re-route the customer on alternate US Airways, US Airways Shuttle or US Airways Express flights and re-issue the ticket with the new itinerary. US Airways has 443 kiosks in 83 airports throughout the USA, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. http://www.usairways.com/kiosk
For more information about the city’s wonderful restaurants, stores, museums, attractions and hotels click on www.nycvisit.com or call 1-800-NYC-VISIT to request a free Official NYC Visitor Guide. Once you get here, stop by NYC’s Official Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street, the City Hall Park Visitor Information Kiosk downtown at Broadway at Park Row or the Harlem Visitor Information Kiosk uptown at 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. USA: Liberty Bell Gets New Home America’s most cherished symbol of liberty will soon have a new home opposite the building where it was originally rung. Opening on 9th October 2003, the new Liberty Bell complex will include a chamber allowing visitors a view of the bell in relation to Independence Hall, and an interpretive exhibit area. For the first time, visitors will be able to see an exhibit about the Liberty Bell, focusing on its origins and its modern day role as an international icon of freedom. The exhibit will illuminate the Bell’s storied past, focusing on both liberty attained and on liberty not yet realised, as the Bell was adopted as a symbol by abolitionists, later by the women’s suffragists and eventually by freedom-seeking people around the globe. There will be special rooms for foreign language visitors to hear tapes in a dozen anguages, and a new film on the Liberty Bell produced for the National Park Service by the History Channel. The move is part of a $314 million makeover of Independence Mall. Included in the project are the National Constitution Centre, which opened on 4th July 2003; the Independence Visitor Centre which opened in November 2001; and the Independence Park Academy, a park educational facility for which funds are being raised. The Liberty Bell was created in 1753. The Bell was recast twice by Philadelphia’s Pass and Stow Foundry after it was shipped from the Whitechapel Foundry in London. It was placed into service in 1753, making 2003 the 250th birthday of the Liberty Bell. The large “crack” in the Bell resulted from an 1846 repair of a crack that occurred between 1841 and 1845. Visitors can enter
on 6th Street between Market & Chestnut Streets. Spectacular Fall Foliage Made Easy In Vermont Vermont will soon be ablaze with colour thanks to the state’s spectacular fall tones or hues. To assist the many who visit the state to see them, the State of Vermont runs an information hotline providing updates on where the best colours are. The “Leaf Peepers Hotline”, as it is known, can be called within the US on 1-802-828-3239 (or from abroad: 001-802-828-3239). This information is also updated regularly online and can be found at www.vermontvacation.com Canvas of
Colour: Fall Foliage in Pennsylvania The Purple Heart Highway cuts through the centre of the state and the route dates back to the times of frontiersmen travelling Penn’s Creek Path. Originally State Route 45, the road was renamed in 1994 in honour of all recipients of the Military Order of the Purple Heart – awarded to members of the military, wounded or killed in combat. Running over 200 miles from Huntingdon County to Mooresburg the drive passes Penn State University. As well as traversing miles of colourful forests, these routes also allow many opportunities to participate in excursions, activities and festivals along the way.For more information on fall in Pennsylvania and selected driving tours visit www.fallinpa.com. The site provides updates on the best location for peak autumn colour, seasonal event listings and accommodation along the route. UK to US Families travelling to America in the autumn could find themselves stranded at the airport if they have not followed new US passport rules, British Airways has warned. The airline wants to raise awareness of the new legislation which calls for all children, including babies to have their own passports. In addition, the US State Department now wants citizens of 27 mostly western European countries, who normally do not need a visa to travel to the US, to have updated 'machine readable' passports. The new rules, effective from 1 October, are part of tighter passport and security controls in the US following 9/11. Another measure coming into effect soon will require most people applying for visas to be personally interviewed by US consular officials overseas. http://www.us-immigration.com ORLANDO SANFORD International Airport, is to be the Air 2000 Florida gateway until at least March 2008. Air 2000 has been flying to Orlando Sanford since 1999. As the UK's fourth largest leisure airline, it typically operates service to Sanford from Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow airports using Boeing 767-300ER equipment. Air 2000 is the in-house airline for First Choice, Unijet, Falcon, JWT, and Eclipse Holidays. Orlando is also the main base of the resurrected Pan Am. http://www.orlandosanfordairport.com |
DEALS A SANTA DAY TRIP TO LAPLAND Available between 6-24 December, prices start from £359 per adult and £339 for four to 11 year olds (£329 for two-three year olds) for return flights from a wide choice of airports, transfers, loan of cold weather gear, lunch, individual family visit to Santa – with gift for under 11s – plus an Arctic Circle crossing certificate, husky and snowmobile licences. Contact: Canterbury Travel (01923 822388, www.santa-holidays.com). A DOWNHILL DEAL More French Alps resorts appear in a new Ski brochure with increased accommodation capacity across the board – from luxury chalets to budget self-catering. New for this year, for example, is the family friendly resort of Les Carroz d’Araches where accommodation prices for a week at February half term start at just £143.50 each for a party of four sharing a studio – including return channel crossing for car and passengers. Contact: Leisure Direction 0208 324 3030, www.leisuredirection.co.uk MUSHERS' PARADISE  ALASKA:
THE WORLD MECCA FOR DOG SLEDDING Mention dog sledding (mushing) in Alaska and you immediately think of the world-renowned Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Yukon Quest, but many communities also sponsor local races. Visitors should consult ww.travelalaska.com to find out more about the North Pole Sled Dog Championship, the Gold Rush Classic Iron Dog Race or the Mushers Challenge Series. The famous 1049-mile Iditarod trail runs from Anchorage to Nome. Each year more than 1,000 dogs line up with human competitors from across the globe. On Saturday 06, March 2004 the 32nd race will start in downtown Anchorage, timed to coincide with the start of the USA's biggest winter carnival. After leaving the hustle and bustle of Anchorage, the mushers head out on the Iditarod trail, racing through mountain ranges and forests, across frozen rivers and along the windswept Bering Sea coast. Each hopes to be the first to reach Nome, the famous Far North town well known for its gold rush of the early 1900s. The scene is Nome during Iditarod is often called "Mardi Gras with Dogs," a reference to the revelry that can be found at the Miners and Mushers Ball and Iditarod Festival. Travelling farther north, dog sledding fever can be found in equal amounts in Fairbanks, where the Alaska Dog Mushers Association (ADMA) is based and the Dog Mushers Museum is located. Colder temperatures and snow in Fairbanks begin in early October, meaning the dog sledding season often stretches over five months. The ADMA host the North America Sled Dog Championships, a three-day event where mushers compete in a series of speed races where flying along the trail at maximum speed is more important than endurance. The 2004 dates are set for March 19-21. Alaska's second long distance dog sledding race, the Yukon Quest, a 1000-mile journey, runs between Fairbanks and Whitehorse over some of the toughest terrain the region has to offer. This year's event kicks off in Fairbanks on February 14, 2004. Although The Yukon Quest is not as well known as the Iditarod, some mushing authorities argue that the Quest is by far the tougher of the two trails, with four mountains to ascend and numerous pitfalls to manoeuvre along the frozen Yukon River. EX-UK.Sign up for a seven-night snowmobile safari with Canterbury Travel (01923 822388, www.laplandmagic.com) and travel through Finland and Norway right up to the Russian border. There are weekly tour departures for groups of five to eight (one person per snowmobile and minimum age 15 years) with a dedicated English-speaking guide between 27 December and 10 April from £1650 per person, twin-share. Included are return flights from Gatwick, transfers, seven nights’ full-board accommodation, the snowmobile tour including petrol and the hire of all equipment and clothing. FRANCE EX-UK Late season breaks in Northern France – where a family of two adults and up to four children can enjoy a seven-night stay for a total of £214 – are being featured by Canvas Holidays (01383 629000, www.canvasholidays.co.uk). This price applies to arrivals
until 25 October . Ex UK Travel is by first-class
rail all the way with one of the highlights being a Departure is on 23 December
from Waterloo at a cost of £1750 per person
USA USA: Italy In
Boston Like Thai
cookery? Tutorage is by
renowned Thai chef instructors, and comprehensive instruction Asia Direct offers packages to this property, and cost is from £792
per USA: .New Freedom Trail Audio Guide available for visitors: A new portable Freedom
Trail audio guide is now available for visitors to Boston. Boston’s
Freedom Trail, toured by more than 2 million visitors a year, includes
the 200-year-old USS Constitution ship, the Paul Revere House, the
Old North Church and thirteen other historic sites along a 3.5 mile
walking trail that is marked by a red brick line. The 90-minute guide
is available at the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau
Boston Common Visitor Center at the beginning of the Freedom Trail
(open daily 9-5) Cost is for $12.00 for adults ($10.00 second adult),
$6.00 for children.
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AUTUMN
IN NEW YORK CITY Autumn in New York is a fantastic time to
take advantage of everything the city has to offer.