 LEAF
PEEPING WITH AMTRAK
Golden shades of orange and red, glimpses of green interlaced
with forests and waterfalls: a full palette of colour awaits you
from your own spectator window.
Experience America’s fall foliage by train by taking Amtrak’s
aptly-named Maple Leaf route which links New York City with Buffalo,
Niagara Falls and Toronto.
This 500 mile journey takes in the Hudson River Valley, where
maple trees flourish on steep riverbanks in a lush landscape.
At Schenectady, the rocky cliff hangs over the tracks . The Maple
Leaf crosses the Niagara River on a high bridge with the Falls
to left side and travels towards Lake Ontario among small farms
and vineyards to reach the final destination by mid evening
THE
WORLD’S YOUNGEST CHRISTMAS MARKET
Tallinn’s Christmas market,
29th
November 2009 – 7th January 2010
This year Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, hosts its 8th Christmas
market since the tradition was revived in post-Soviet times.
The 64 wooden stalls that throng the picturesque wide open space
of Tallinn’s Town Hall Square around a massive central
Christmas tree will set up daily. During the 40 day period the
city expects to welcome up to 200,000 visitors to the traditional
heart of this picturesque, snowy city that nestles on the Gulf
of Finland in the north of the country.
http://www.visitestonia.com
 MONTSERRAT
VOLCANO
HALF-MARATHON
The Montserrat Tourist Board, in collaboration with the Montserrat
Volcano Observatory and the Fittest Man Running Club, will be
staging the first ever Montserrat Volcano Half-Marathon and
Fun Run this December in support of three Montserrat charities.
ICELAND EXPRESS
TAKES
A BITE OUT OF THE BIG APPLE
Low fare airline announces new flight schedule to New York City
Starting June 2010,
Iceland Express will fly out four times a week from Reykjavik’s
Keflavik International Airport to New York City’s Newark
International Airport.
With flights from London Gatwick to Reykjavik starting at £69
one-way including taxes, British travellers will be able to
fly onwards to the bright lights and big city of New York at
a fraction of the cost.
http://www.icelandexpress.com
or call 0118 321 8384.
HF HOLIDAYS
– LIST THE 10 BEST WALKS IN EUROPE
HF Holidays, the UK’s leading walking and leisure activity
holiday specialist is expanding its European walking programme
for 2010, with the new brochure due out in October.
At the same time, the company has published its list of the 10
best walks in Europe – as nominated by HF Holidays’
panel of voluntary walks leaders.
HF Holidays’ Top 10 Walks in Europe:
1 The Tour du Mont Blanc, France
2 Berliner Hohenweg in Zillertal Alps, Austria
3 La Jonction on Mont Blanc, France
4 Passo Pordoi to Corvara in the Dolomites, Italy
5 The Lycian Way along the coast of Turkey
6 Breche de Roland, Gavarnie in the French Pyrenees
7 Amalfi Coast Path on the Sorrento Peninsula, Italy
8 Malcesine and Monte Baldo above Lake Garda, Italy
9 Las Cañadas crater walk, Tenerife, Spain
10 Beaumes de Venise in Provence, France
Full details of these routes, with comments from HF Holidays’
leaders as to why they are so highly rated can be found by clicking-through
to this link http://www.hfholidays.co.uk
or phone 0845 470 7558
NY’
STATUE OF LIBERTY WELCOMES AGAIN
The
Statue of Liberty in New York reopened on the 4th of July.
It has been closed since the 11 Sep 2001 attacks for safety
and security reasons. The reopening will see upgrades to the
handrails on the staircase, and improvements on Ellis Island’s
crumbling seawall as well as staff available throughout the
Statue to aid visitors. The Statue will be open for two years,
after which it will be “closed again for work on a long-term
solution that will further improve safety.
COUNTRY
HOUSE WALKING BREAKS
Beat the credit crunch this Spring
with a selection of UK Classic Value Walking breaks with HF
Holidays - the UK's largest specialist walking holidays company.
Taking place at a
choice of the company's Country Houses across England, Scotland
and Wales, the 10 options on offer combine local guided walks
- requiring less coach travel - with free time to explore independently
or simply relax at the Country House.
Most meals - with
more value choices and picnic lunches on guided walking days
only - are included and evening entertainment is also provided,
plus every house has a bar and lounges.
Reservations: 0845
470 7558, http://www.hfholidays.co.uk
AMSTERDAM
MOBILE GUIDE
For the first time, travellers to Holland will be able to use
an iPhone or a mobile web browser to explore the city of Amsterdam
from the palm of their hand.
The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions announces the
launch of the Amsterdam Mobile Guide -- a free iPhone application
available now in the Apple App Store. Anyone with a mobile web
browser can also view the Amsterdam Mobile Guide at
http://us.holland.com/mobile.
SEE
MORE OF BARCELONA IN THE STORY- TELLING
CAR
Barcelona’s
talking, yellow sightseeing cars will be giving visitors a chance
to see even more of the famous Catalan city this summer. The
GoCar story-telling cars have doubled the size of their city
tour, with more than 800 “trigger points” in the
GPS guided audio tour using a combination of directions, information,
sound effects and music.
The three-wheeler cars, which launched in Barcelona last year,
take a driver and one passenger on a zippy tour of the city’s
famous landmarks providing clear directions and a running commentary
Prices are 35€ for the first hour, second hour 25€,
additional hour 20€ or for a full day 99€
It is highly recommended to book in advance online at http://www.gocartours.es
or call GoCar on 00 34 93 269 1792 The office is based next
to Santa Caterina market, 100m from the main Cathedral on Freixures
23.
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GERMAN UNIFICATION DAY.
20th Anniversary "Fall of the Wall"
Events
in Berlin.
Join the party. The fall of the Berlin Wall - a new beginning
in Germany and Europe - will be celebrated with a huge Festival
of Freedom on both sides of the Brandenburg Gate starting November
7 to 9, this year.
The highlight of this event is a symbolic staging of the fall,
using giant domino ‘tiles’. Scores of young people
have helped prepare for this event, decorating these dominos
with themes relating to the historic developments that moved
the world twenty years ago. On the evening of November 9, they
will watch as prominent artists, cultural VIPs and politicians
will set the dominos in motion and have the ‘wall’
come tumbling down again.
NEW
RAIL-CRUISE HOLIDAYS
AMAWATERWAYS, the fastest growing river cruise line in Europe,
is offering a new series of escorted European rail-cruise holidays
in partnership with York-based Great Rail Journeys.
The five itineraries take the stress out of flying, combining
the excitement and romance of First Class rail travel from St
Pancras International with the leisurely pace of a river cruise.
Itineraries
include:
Rhine Cruise – Nine days cruising the Rhine on Amalyra
or Amalegro, passing through the beautiful scenery of the Black
Forest, the Neckar Valley and the Rhine Gorge. Ports of call
or excursions include Breisach, Strasbourg, Mannheim, Heidelberg,
Rudesheim, Koblenz, Cologne and Amsterdam. The journey starts
at St Pancras International, with Eurostar to Brussels and First
Class rail through Luxembourg to Basel, returning from Amsterdam.
From £1,735 per person, with departures from April to
October.
For more details of AMAWATERWAYS river ships, visit http://www.amawaterways.co.uk.
see also Great Rail Journeys at http://www.GreatRail.com
ROUGH GUIDES LAUNCH
DIGITALLY INTERACTIVE BOOK
Rough Guides and PhotoBox have announced a partnership that
will see images from Earthbound:
A Rough Guide to the World in Pictures available for consumers
to purchase via a dedicated PhotoBox Pro Gallery.
The collection of images, extracted from the first photography
book from travel publisher Rough Guides, will be available to
purchase as prints, canvases, acrylics and much more via PhotoBox’s
Pro Gallery http://www.roughguides.com/earthboundphoto
See also our review
BALTIMORE
Da Vinci - The Genius
See da Vinci's inventions brought to life with scale models by
modern-day artisans, never-before-seen secrets of the Mona Lisa
and more. At the MARYLAND SCIENCE CENTER in Baltimore Now until
January 31.
GERMAN CHRISTMAS
MARKETS
There are so many wonderful things to see and do in Germany
leading up to Christmas: Stroll along festively decorated streets
and explore our enchanting Christmas markets with their seasonal
music. Listen to choirs, the sounds of bells and trumpeters,
and attend one of the many concerts, covering classical to gospel,
in churches and on the markets’ outdoor stages. Adorned
with decorations and festively lit, the pedestrian zones and
shopping centres offer everything a heart could desire.
Augsburg
Christmas Market
11/23/2009 - 12/24/2009
Sun - Thu 10:00 - 20:00
Fri - Sat 10:00 - 21:00
http://www.augsburger-christkindlesmarkt.com
Baden-Baden
Christmas Market
11/23/2009 - 12/27/2009
Mon - Sun 11:00 - 21:00
http://www.baden-baden.de
Berlin Christmas
Market
11/24/2009 - 12/31/2009
Sun - Thu 11:00 - 22:00
Fri - Sat 11:00 - 23:00
http://www.visitBerlin.de
Cologne Christmas
Market
11/23/2009 - 12/23/2009
Mon - Sun 11:00 - 21:00
http://www.koelnerweihnachtsmarkt.de
Dresden Christmas
Market
11/26/2009 - 12/24/2009
Sun - Thu 10:00 - 20:00
Fri - Sat 10:00 - 21:00
http://www.dresden-tourist.de
http://www.dresden.de/Striezelmarkt
Frankfurt
Christmas Market
11/25/2009 - 12/22/2009
Mon - Sat 10:00 - 21:00
Sun 11:00 - 21:00
http://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de
Munich Christmas
Market
11/27/2009 - 12/24/2009
Mon - Fri 10:00 - 20:30
Sat 09:00 - 20:30
Sun 10:00 - 19:30
http://www.muenchen.de/Christmas
Markets
http://www.muenchen-tourist.de
Nuremberg
Christmas Market
11/27/2009 - 12/24/2009
Mon -Thu 9:30 - 20:00
Fri - Sat 9:30 - 22:00
Sun 10:30 - 20:00
http://www.muenchen-tourist.de
Stuttgart
Christmas Market
11/25/2009 - 12/23/2009
Mon - Sat 10:00 - 21:00
Sun 11:00 - 20:00
http://www.stuttgart-tourist.de
For information on
other Christmas markets and dates, please visit
http://www.cometogermany.com
DEVELOPMENT
AT MAJOR SPANISH RESORT
 The
latest addition to PortAventura at Salou in Spain is the Gold
River Hotel.
The park at PortAventura offers adventures from all corners
of the globe including Polynesia, Imperial China, the Wild West
and Mexico. Gold River is a themed hotel. Set back in time,
it captures the atmosphere of the Gold Rush in the North American
Far West. There are eleven buildings and twenty-four cabins
plus four new swimming pools, four restaurants, three bars,
a shop and a minimarket . For information http://www.portaventura.co.uk
or tour operators
FREE
SHUTTLE TO VANCOUVER ATTRACTION.
 The
Capilano Suspension Bridge is one of Vancouver's most popular
attractions and now it's even easier for visitors to get there
from downtown via a free shuttle service. Located just over the
Burrard Inlet on the North Shore, this 230-foot high swaying footbridge
is a must-see. Breathe in the cedar-scented rainforest air as
you make your way across the bridge and enjoy the unique perspective
of Treetops Adventure, a walk high in the trees. Shuttles depart
daily from three convenient locations in the downtown core (Canada
Place, Hyatt Regency, and the Blue Horizon Hotel). htttp://www.capbridge.co
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