The San Francisco Bay Area which happens to be a favorite holiday spot for me and my family holds many pleasant and cherished memories of our holidays in those places. There are few places, which are so much haunted by tourists that you could visit them on your own. As a result you can decide on your own time and pace to visit. Good examples of the same are Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier39. By walking a couple of blocks you can see the Aquarium of the Bay, or cruise around San Francisco Bay, take some time at the Riptide Arcade on Pier 39 and go around the famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.

Those traveling without a guide might like to buy a San Francisco City Pass. Buying this would give you tickets to five hot spots, apart from free rides on the Cable Cars and an optional ticket which could be used at select optional places like the Steinhart Aquarium or Legion of Honor & Academy of Science.

There are some attractions again where you would enjoy more with a tour guide. While on Alcatraz Island, you could go solo, but having a lively tour guide or listening to earphones could make you aware of the interesting points when you go through them.

The Walking Tours of Chinatown are a must see. This adds to the behind the scenes colorful picture of the place. This tour takes you through the history and traditions of the local people and familiarizes you with the culture you would never understand on your own.

San Francisco has almost 30 fun and free walking tours of the city. For information on these free tours, visit http://www.sfcityguides.org.

It is the same for Napa valley tours. You could drive up to the place yourself while looking around, but a guided tour to some of the vineyards and wine tasting rooms would make it more interesting.

A 17-mile drive to the coast is also a favorite driving tour. The winding roads give you fantastic views of beautiful mansions and the country side. You would be traveling through Carmel and Pebble Beach Golf Club.

Whether you chose to visit alone or take a guided tour, should depend on your place of visit and what you want to see. Mixing a bit of both could make your travel tour worthwhile.

My husband and I decided to save up and go on the vacation of a lifetime. We have a friend who lives and works in Japan who speaks Chinese Mandarin fluently, having studied the language at Beijing University and has also worked in Taiwan. The plan was to visit our friend in Tokyo and see a bit of Japan. Then we flew to Hong Kong to spend some time there and then onto China. Our friend went with us, which made the trip a lot more fun and much easier, having someone to interpret for us.

Beijing is a fascinating place and we did the usual sightseeing, including exploring the Forbidden Palace and Tinnamen Square. One of the striking things is the amount of cars in the city and the background noise of tooting car horns. Then came the time to board the coach to take us to the Great Wall China. We had read as much about it as we could but nothing really prepares you for it.

I was determined to walk the wall, a portion of it anyway, as it stretches over 4,000 miles! When we arrived, it was very busy, mostly with Chinese people and a few foreigners sprinkled here and there. We walked one of the most popular stages of the Great Wall China. It is divided into watchtowers, gateways and old barracks, some sections dating back to the 5th century. The longest human made construction in the world surpassed all expectations.

Remarkably our friend, who has one leg, had walked the wall before and this was his second visit. He leapt ahead of me, on his crutches and disappeared into the distance! It was the hardest thing I have ever done and I was almost at quitting point sometimes but I persevered and completed my section. The Great Wall China steps are very steep in places and it takes every ounce of energy to climb them. There are several vendors there, selling clothing, post cards and other souvenirs. I proudly bought my I Climbed the Great Wall T-shirt, which I still wear today. Experiencing the Great Wall China was truly memorable and I would recommend it to everyone. Go to the gym first and get fit first, which is what I should have done but didn’t!

There is currently one Northern Mariana Islands casino, which is situated on the island of Tinian, one of the three principal islands that make up the Northern Mariana Islands. Tinian was formerly the site of a US Air Force base, notable for being the launching pad for the air raids that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Nowadays, the air base is closed, and in its place is a sumptuous hotel and casino complex, the Tinian Dynasty Casino, which has 33 table games offering all the usual card games, as well as around 450 slot machines and video games spread over some 75,000 square feet. The Tinian Dynasty Casino also boasts four restaurants, three bars, and a nightclub.

Like most tourist attractions in the Northern Mariana Islands, the largest group of visitors hail from Japan, but there is also a steady stream of travelers from the United States and China, attracted by the pleasant climate and friendly local people, and it is planned to increase the number of flights to the islands in the future. In order to benefit from tourist dollars, and to encourage new visitors to come to the islands, there are plans for further Northern Mariana Islands casinos on Tinian. One such proposed development would be sited on the hills across Tinian Lookout Point, and it is attracting interest from a Chinese consortium, but there are three other projects currently in development, reflecting the growing interest in building further Northern Mariana Islands casinos to cater to foreign visitors.

These changes seem likely to bring more visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands, both from Asia and the United States. Some of these travelers will come for a change of scenery, or as part of historical pilgrimages to the islands involved in the War in the Pacific, but an increasing number are coming to play at Northern Mariana Islands casinos, which offer a pleasant diversion from the other attractions of these islands.

1. Personal Identity and Safety Tourists must carry valid personal identity documentation such as passport during their stay in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a very safe city according to the low crime rate. However, due to the densely population, it is not suggested to take a large amount of cash when going out since most of the shops in Hong Kong accepts credit cards. Expensive belongs should be locked in the safe in hotel. You could easily find policemen on the streets whenever you have encountered any problems.

2. Service Charges Most of the restaurants except fast food shops will add 10% service charges to the bill. Therefore, you may choose to give out the odd dollars from the changes as the service tips. For taxi driver or bellboy in the hotel, there is no pre set norm for the service tips, you may choose to give out whenever you think the service is deserved for.

3. Telephone Service All local telephone call is free except for the public telephone which charges HK$1 for every 5 minutes. Emergency call is 999 and it is free to call even in public telephone. You could either use IDD telephone call card or credit card for long distance call, or simply through operator for collect call in all public telephone counter.

4. Drinking Water The drinking water in Hong Kong reaches World Health Organization standard. However, you may also choose to buy the bottle water in the supermarkets if you think it is necessary.

5. Taxi All taxi only accept cash and they have invoice print out whenever you request. It is easier to catch the taxi in the taxi stop or outside the hotel. Many of the taxi drivers could understand simple English. It is suggest writing down your destination (in English) on paper to minimize misunderstandings. The taxi charges is based on the meter which is HK$15 for the first 2 Km and HK$1.4 for the subsequent 0.2 Km. Besides, there are tunnel charges ranging from HK$3-45 depends on which tunnel you have to take. The charging table is clearly shown on the inner side of the doors so you could check it before you pay. In case of any complaints or lost case, you may record down the name of the taxi driver and his license plate number which is clearly shown on the front seat stand, and reports to the police hotline: 2527 7177 whenever necessary.

6. Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Hong Kong has 6 MTR routes, which covers most parts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territories. Tsuen Wan Route: Tsuen Wan to Central Kwun Tong Route: Yau Mat Tei to Tiu Keng Leng Tseung Kwan O Route: North Point to Po Lam Main Route: Sheung Wan to Chai Wan Tung Chung Route: Tung Chung to Hong Kong Airport Route: Airport to Hong Kong Due to the convenience of MTR and the compact area of Hong Kong, most tourists find it is not necessary to rent car during their stay. Besides, due to the very heavy traffic and the complexity of the city roads, it is not recommended for tourists to drive. In case you really need car rental, you may consult your hotel, and be ready with your passport and driving license.

7. Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR) The KCR is the major railway which links up the New Territories and the city of Kowloon. It runs through Tsim Sha Tsui East to Lo Wu which takes about 40 minutes for the whole route. Lo Wo is the final station which you could pass through to enter China with valid visa. The train will depart for every 3 to 10 minutes, and the earliest one will be started at 5:35 a.m. while the last one will be departed at 12:20 p.m. The ordinary fair and the first class fair are HK$18 and HK$36 respectively from Hung Hom to Sheung Shui.

8. Tram The tram service has been started in 1904 and it is the oldest transportation system in Hong Kong. It only services the Hong Kong Island running from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan plus another route to Happy Valley. The earliest tram starts at 6: 00 a.m. and run until 1:00 p.m. and the fair is HK$ 2 for adult and HK$ 1 for children under age12. It is the cheapest transportation in Hong Kong, and you are highly recommended to take a ride at the upper stairs so that you could enjoy all the street scenery of Hong Kong.

9. Star Ferry The scenery of Hong Kong harbor is famous in the world, especially the night scenery. Besides, there is spectacular light show by the commercial buildings in the Hong Kong island at 8:00 p.m. every night which you must not miss. The Star Ferry has been serving on the harbor for more than 100 years, and the fair is less than HK$3 per rides. You could take the Star Ferry from Cental to Tsim Sha Tsui at around 8:00 p.m. You could enjoy the harbor scenery on the ferry and continue with the light show at the Starlight Road of Tsim Sha Tsui.

10. Hong Kong International Airport The most convenient route to the Hong Kong International Airport is through the MTR which takes about 23 minutes from Central. It passes through stations of Kowloon, Olympic, Tsing Yi, and the train will be departed for every ten minutes. With the MTR, you would never miss the airplane due to the traditional traffic jam. Other than the MTR, you could take the Airport Bus which starts from 6:00 a.m. at the morning until 11:00 p.m. at night. It covers most part of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon with major hotels.

The short answer to why Niagara Falls has such a following is good PR. People from far and wide have heard of Niagara Falls. I recently asked a friend from Taiwan if she had heard of Niagara Falls before moving to the states. “Of course!”, she replied, “we learned about Niagara Falls in grade school.” She went on to explain that most people who grew up in Asia consider Niagara Falls to be one of the most important sites to see in the U.S. Its reputation is also strong throughout Europe and India. The thought of missing Niagara Falls is akin to missing the Great Wall or the Taj Majal on a visit to China or India respectively.

The real key to Niagara Fall’s enduring lure, however, may be simply that it does not disappoint. The falls themselves have an undeniable dramatic beauty. Furthermore, the ever popular Maid of the Mist boat ride that takes tourists directly into the falls is truly thrilling. Beyond that, the town of Niagara Falls, Ontario has a certain dilapidated charm. As you stroll along Queen Victoria Park facing the falls on the Canadian side, you cannot help but get a sense of what it must have been like to visit in more innocent times; before we were jaded by extreme vacations and adventure tours. To think of someone actually climbing into a barrel and heading over the falls in 1901 (actually done for the first time by a 63 year old school teacher) still captures the imagination.

To get more insight into what impression Niagara Falls makes, I interviewed 40 people who had visited the Falls in the past several years. The survey, taken from a semi-randomly selected sample, is patently unscientific. However, the results are interesting nonetheless. (A few words about the sample: most respondents were not born in the US but were living here, the age range was from young adults to retirees, most had begun their trip in either New York City or Boston, and most had gone to the Falls on a bus tour.)

Here is a summary of the feedback:

Was it worth visiting? A resounding yes. Most respondents acknowledged that the eight hour trip from New York City was long, but surprisingly few seemed to mind. Several people expressed how much they enjoyed seeing the countryside and getting a sense of the “real” United States. Those who included a visit to Niagara Falls as part of a tour of Canada were the least likely to complain about the distance. Only one respondent expressed regret that he made the trip. He said he just did not find the falls themselves that impressive and did not think it was worth the long bus trip.

Most recommended attractions? Hands down the Maid of the Mist boat tour was suggested as the must-do activity. Several people also pointed out that this was the best way to view the falls for those who were not able to go to the Canadian side because of visa re-entry issues. The Cave of the Winds tour, which takes you by elevator to the bottom of the falls, got high marks for those who preferred not to take a boat ride. The helicopter tour also got raves, but only one person in the survey took a helicopter tour. The nighttime illumination of the falls got mixed reviews, with some calling it “stunning”, while others found it “tacky”. Several people who traveled with children also recommended exploring the town of Niagara Falls, Ontario. It offers typically touristy attractions that are sure to please kids.

How long should you stay? Almost everyone answered either one or two days. A few people thought only a few hours were sufficient to see the sights, and no one suggested staying more than two days.

When should you go? This is a little hard to decipher. Not surprisingly most people visited Niagara Falls in the summer. The few who did go in the winter said they were impressed by the falls surrounded by ice, but expressed regret that they could not go on the Maid of the Mist (it stops running in October). In short, it seems like you should not go to Niagara in the winter unless you are prepared for the cold. A few also recommended going in the fall to enjoy the foliage in Upstate New York along the way.

Bottom Line: Most people sampled in this informal survey thought Niagara Falls was a great weekend getaway and a good place to take visitors from abroad. If possible, include a stop in Niagara Falls on a visit to Toronto for a great long weekend trip from New York or Boston. Chances are you will not be disappointed in a trip to Niagara Falls if you go when you are prepared for the weather, do not stay more than two days, and do not have high expectations of the attractions outside of those related to the falls.

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China tour companies and travel agencies offer group and individual tours. Deep discounts are often available for hotels, rent-a-car, air tickets, and more – discounts can reach 50-70% of normal price. Even during the peak tourist season, hotel rates offered by many China tour operators can be quite affordable for Westerners used to the sky-high costs charged in Europe. Some of the most popular China-related travel agencies include China Comfort Travel, China International Travel Service, and several companies on the web.

Because of China’s large size (about the size of the United States), individual travel over a short time can be a logistical nightmare. Accordingly, China tour companies offer comprehensive tour packages that will allow you to see a lot of China as possible during a short tour. The China Tour Service offers several theme-oriented tours including a Tibetan adventure tour, a Silk Road tour, and a cruise on the Yangtze River Cruise. China Custom Tours offers a few special interest tours to remote or unique locations rarely seem by most tourists. This is only the tip of the iceberg. If you so desire, you can take a martial arts tour of China tour or go trekking in the Himalayas.

Foreigners visiting China should to register with their embassy in Beijing in case of loss of passport, accident, kidnap by a Yeti, or other unexpected difficulties.

An early reference to American chestnuts, ‘Castanea dentata,’ was given in John and William Bartram’s seed and tree nursery catalog, America’s first nursery catalog that was published in Philadelphia, PA in 1783. The Bartram family, famous American explorers and botanists, were close friends of Benjamin Franklin and U.S. Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The Bartrams supplied American chestnut trees to gardens at Independence Hall at Philadelphia and the personal gardens of George Washington at Mount Vernon and to Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, Va. President Jefferson was an avid plant collector and spent endless hours searching for profitable horticultural crops that were commercially suitable for American farmers. President Jefferson attempted and succeeded in intercrossing and hybridizing the various collections of Spanish or European species of chestnuts, ‘Castanea sativa.’ He also performed crosses on chestnuts forming hybrid crosses of the European chestnut, ‘Castanea sativa’ and the A merican chestnut, ‘Castanea dentata.’

Thomas Jefferson is documented to have personally grafted European chestnuts onto American rootstock, however, it is unclear why he did this, since the American chestnuts were more desirable and tasted better than the European chestnuts.

In his book, Travels, William Bartram never mentions any encounter or observation of the American chestnut ‘Castanea dentata,’ despite his extensive exploration of the Southeastern U.S., where the trees were growing in substantially large numbers in their native habitat. The mystery created by Bartram omitting references to this very significant inhabitant of American forests is a conundrum that may never be answered. Maps locating Bartram’s famous Philadelphia, Pa. arboretum and garden still actively used today as a tourist attraction documented the presence of chestnut goliaths in the garden border.

The legendary nuts harvested from the American chestnut had a superior taste and production capability over the European chestnut. These nuts were gathered and stored in the shade and coolness of fall, so that the starchy kernel could develop its spicy sweetness. The nuts could be shelled and eaten fresh, or they could be roasted over hot coals to improve the flavor. A common sight on the streets of New York City or Philadelphia was peddlers with mobile stoves roasting the fresh chestnuts in cast iron pans to offer for sale to pedestrians. The heavy crops of nuts in the native forests offered enough food for not only human populations, but also for animals such as bears, deer, squirrels, turkeys, and the now extinct passenger pigeons.

Chestnuts, because of their 42% starch content, can be ground into a powdered flour without deterioration for extended periods and baked into sweet, nutritious cakes. In Korea chestnuts are used in the diet much like potatoes are used in Western nations.

American chestnut trees were among the largest trees found in the Eastern U.S., sometimes measuring 17 feet in diameter, large enough to drive a carriage or automobile through. These nut trees were found growing from Maine to Florida and from the Eastern seaboard to middle America. Some scattered groves of chestnut trees could be found in Western States. The grandness and gracefulness of this amazingly beautiful tree was highly desirable in estate landscapes. The long white catkin flowers of the chestnut developed into a valuable food crop for the U.S. The tall, straight trunk of the tree was ideal for many uses, because it was easily split along the grain for timber and split-rail fences. The dense wood was strong and extremely resistant to rotting, thus making it perfect for telephone poles, fence posts, and other building materials.

The great gift to the New World of the American chestnut that provided food, shelter, shade, and wood resources, had all but vanished when the trees fell victim to a fungus infection, ‘Cryphonectria parasitica,’ in the year 1904. Many years earlier, a USDA plant explorer, Frank Meyer, noticed a fungal disease, later identified as chestnut blight, had entered U.S. ports in 1876 from China and Japan on nursery stock imported from those countries. Luther Burbank, perhaps the world’s greatest plant hybridizer, reported that he imported a number of chestnuts from China and Japan in 1884. The USDA official went before Congress in 1912 after the blight decimated American chestnut trees growing at the Bronx Zoo, and was personally given credit for his efforts to stop further debilitating diseases and plagues imported into the U.S. by enacting the Plant Quarantine Act of Congress.

Following the example of President Thomas Jefferson in crossing various species of chestnuts to obtain hybrids with vigor and offspring that might have, within the genetic material of the tree, a built-in resistance to disease, the USDA began hybridizing American chestnuts, ‘Castanea dentata,’ the Chinese chestnut, ‘Castanea ‘mollissima,’ and Japanese chestnuts, ‘Castanea crenata.’ Thousands of chestnut hybrids were obtained, however, the American and Chinese offspring were the most promising, whereas, the Japanese chestnuts were excluded. The European genetic types of chestnut trees were also omitted, because they were also struck down to some degree by the chestnut blight.

Since the hybrid seed of outcrossed chestnut trees were so widely variable and with such unpredictable germination results were unavailable, the seed of a hybrid selected tree did not demonstrate much promising consequence towards establishing profitable commercial chestnut orchards. The chestnut, outstanding hybrid selections, were grafted with extreme difficulty, thus the USDA was unfortunately forced to abandon its efforts on chestnuts in 1960.

It should be mentioned that the chestnut blight does not affect the roots of the trees and consequently shoots arise from the stumps that eventually produce a few scattered nuts that can be used to further the research in obtaining immunity in a hybrid offspring of the American chestnut ‘Castanea dentata.’ The chestnut blight only affects the Chinese chestnut trees, ‘Castanea sativa,’ in a minor superficial way. It became important to recognize that this immune quality could be transmitted into an American chestnut hybrid even when the presence of the Chinese chestnut immunity factor was only one-sixteenth of the final genetic composition of the hybrids that could be obtained from the cross of C. dentata and C. mollissima.

Luther Burbank reported intercrossing chestnuts from a resulting gene pool that involved crossing Chinese, Japanese, European (Italian), and American chestnuts to include also chinquapin trees. Out of this genetic blend, he managed to develop a dwarf chestnut 1 ½ ft tall that produced nuts from the seed after 6 months from being planted. He also managed to produce a crop of chestnuts from everbearing trees that involved chestnuts and flowers being produced month after month continuously. The nuts were a mammoth size of two inches in diameter, each weighing an ounce or more in clusters of 6 to 9 nuts per burr. In the natural state, the spiny burrs act as armor that protects the nuts from squirrels and birds.

More recent observations of the Italian pathologist Antonio Biraghi have shown that certain survivors of the European chestnuts, C. sativa, are believed to contain a form of chestnut blight that has been genetically weakened in virulence by an internal virus to the extent that the effect, called ‘hypovirulence,’ appears to demonstrate that the virus affected chestnut trees have acquired a measure of immunity to the deadly chestnut fungal blight. These clones are believed by many plant scientists to be capable of imparting a new immunity into the new C. dentata hybrid crosses with C. sativa and backcrossing onto parental genetic types and are being evaluated.

Many chestnut trees are offered by mail-order and internet companies today, offering an optimistic and productive future for commercial chestnut tree orchards. Some of these offerings are available through the valuable insight and efforts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its research facilities.

As a city, Birmingham is packed with places to visit, enabling you to get a real taste of the city’s culture. Just a few of the places include:

Birmingham Cathedral: Built in 1725, this is one of the city’s most beautiful historic buildings, complete with four Pre-Raphaelite stained-glass windows.

The Royal Air Force Museum: Treat yourself to a stunning display of aviation history and witness over seventy aircraft situated within three separate wartime hangars. You’ll see Spitfires, Hurricanes, Vulcans and more.

Cadbury’s World: One of the country’s biggest and most popular museums. You’ll find out about the history of chocolate, and how it originated in South America, as well as seeing a genuine production line. Of course, a visit isn’t complete without sampling the produce…

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery: Witness a huge variety of exhibits that range from spooky Egyptian mummies to a wooden toy collection for the kids. Treat yourself to some culture and examine the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens: An astonishing fifteen acres of beautiful gardens are available for exploration, as well as four glasshouses containing exotic plants.

When it comes to finding something to do, you’ll find that Birmingham has it covered. Some ideal places for pursuits include:

The Ackers: If your family’s into sport, then enjoy taking part in a variety of activities including climbing, canoeing, skiing, snowboarding and more. Occupying over seventy acres and located just two miles from the city centre, The Ackers couldn’t be more convenient.

Second City Canal Cruises: Enjoy cruising down the Birmingham canals and buy gifts from the souvenir shop.

The National Sea Life Centre: Witness over sixty displays of exotic marine life, and find yourself enthralled by the undersea world. See giant turtles, reef fish and sharks too.

Newbrook Farm Experience: Visit a working farm and keep an eye out for the many rare breeds of animals that include cattle, hens, pigs, ponies and goats.

Woodgate Valley Country Park: The perfect place for walkers, with mile upon mile of tracks to explore. There’s something for the kids too, with a farm, play area and a fun pony-trekking centre.

If you’re feeling hungry after touring Birmingham, you’ll discover that Birmingham is renowned for its culinary diversity – meaning that you’ll find the right meal, no matter what variety of food you’re looking for. Within the city, home-cooked traditional British food goes hand-in-hand with exotic cuisine from India and China, and all of Birmingham’s eateries are in easily accessible locations. Whichever end of the scale interests you – whether it is a simple takeaway or a slap-up three-course meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant – Birmingham has it covered. Here’s a small selection of the city’s eating-places:

City Café Birmingham: Service, style and ambience are on the menu at this top-rated restaurant that offers a la carte menus, a famous Sunday lunch buffer and a vegetarian garden. Enjoy a live Jazz band every Thursday evening.

Metro Bar & Grill: Free-range meats are the order of the day here, along with a comprehensive fish board that changes daily. Metro also serves a range of sandwiches and simple snack foods if you’re looking for something quick.

Peppers: Birmingham’s top-rated Indian restaurant has every kind of Indian dish imaginable, and you’ll be spoilt for choice when you see the menu. The restaurant’s ethos is value for money. San Carlo Ristorante: Authentic Italian food is what this restaurant offers, with many of the ingredients imported directly from Italy. The chefs and the management bring real individuality to the menu.

Opus Restaurant: Seasonal and regional are the keywords for this eatery’s menu, which offers genuine British meals with the ingredients locally sourced.

When it comes to finding somewhere to stay in Birmingham, the only problem you’ll experience with Birmingham is the amount of options available – so many, in fact, that you’ll be spoilt for choice! Short breaks and long stays are catered for in hotels and guesthouses in the city centre or on the outskirts. Further, the prices range from the immediately affordable to more expensive and luxurious rooms. If you’re looking for an alternative, then you’ll find that Birmingham has plenty of options ranging from campsites to self-catering accommodation. There are also special packages available, such as the spa break, where you’ll find yourself pampered into luxury.

When you’ve finished exploring Birmingham by day, you’ll discover that the city comes alive at night with some of the coolest pubs and nightclubs around. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing sit down and drink, or want to party away the small hours, you’ll doubtlessly discover the ideal venue. The Nightingale Club, located in the heart of the city centre, has three levels incorporating numerous bars, discos, a restaurant and a games room. Meanwhile, The Jam House is a nightclub supported by music maestro Jools Holland, and holds up to 600 people. Alternatively, Rick’s Garden Café & Bar in Birmingham offers you the opportunity to enjoy Mediterranean cuisine under the stars.

The above information should give you some idea of just what Birmingham has to offer as a city. There’s something to keep you occupied whatever your interest, with a whole range of different cultural activities. If you’re traditional, you’ll enjoy visiting the city’s many museums and art galleries, and learning about Birmingham’s history. If you’re part of a family, you’ll discover attractions that have proved to be popular with thousands of children while in Birmingham. Eating, shopping, seeing and doing… all four bases are covered when you come to Birmingham.

Hotels in Birmingham

Birmingham NEC/Airport Premier Travel Inn City Inn Birmingham Campanile Hotel – Birmingham Copthorne Hotel Birmingham Birmingham Great Barr Hotel Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport The Norfolk Hotel Portland Hotel Ye Olde Station Guest House Birmingham, Shustoke Days Inn Birmingham East Britannia Hotel Birmingham Macdonald Burlington Hotel Best Western The Westley Hotel Central Guest House Express by Holiday Inn Birmingham Castle Bromwich Heath Lodge Hotel Express by Holiday Inn Birmingham NEC Novotel Birmingham Airport Hagley Court Hotel Apollo Hotel Corus hotel Birmingham South Bridge House Hotel Fairlawns At Aldridge(Best Western) RAMADA BIRMINGHAM (FORMERLEY DAYS HOTEL) Express by Holiday Inn Birmingham Oldbury M5, Jct. Novotel Birmingham Centre Paragon Hotel Thistle Birmingham City Birmingham Edgbaston Jurys Inn Birmingham Premier Apartments Birmingham The Edgbaston Palace Hotel

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City Tourist Attractions

This fascinating country has much to offer travelers. China’s capital of Beijing is home to the mysterious Forbidden City and some of the best-preserved sections of China’s Great Wall. The city of Xian hosts one of the world’s greatest archaeological treasures, the Terra Cotta Warriors; and Shanghai offers gleaming skyscrapers and designer boutiques side by side with the historic Old Town.

Yangtze River Wonders

Although many tourists come to China to see these key sights and shop, travelers who limit themselves to the cities miss one of China’s most amazing treasures-her life blood, the mighty Yangtze River. Flowing 3,964 miles, the Yangtze is the world’s third-longest river, carving its way through the stunning “Three Gorges” on its way to the world’s largest dam. By combining a land trip with a river cruise along the Yangtze, tourists can witness the misty mountains and sheer cliffs of these famed Three Gorges, the engineering marvel of the Three Gorges Dam and turquoise waters of the Lesser Three Gorges, as well as catch a glimpse of China’s traditional culture, from farmers plowing with water buffalo to colorful pagodas clinging to the cliffs.

Language Barriers And Food

Many potential travelers to China are concerned about the language barrier and “fried rice syndrome”-day after day of the same, poor-quality food. With the combination of a Yangtze river cruise and key city tours in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai in one package, however, a cruise-tour solves these concerns while offering the best of China’s attractions. The leader in the industry, Viking River Cruises, offers four different China cruise-tours for the traveler. Each is all-inclusive with intra-China air, English-speaking guides who escort travelers from airport arrival to departure and hotel stays in five-star/best-in-city properties. The company has operational offices in both Beijing and Chongqing that ensure the menus offered during the tours are of high quality and variety, and regularly reviews all aspects of the land tours, from hotels and restaurants to their own team of experienced guides.

For the cruise portion of Viking River Cruises China itineraries, travelers sail on Viking Century Sky or Viking Century Sun, the newest, most luxurious ships on the river. Both ships feature all-outside cabins, each with a private balcony. The company is unique in China in offering onboard Swiss management to oversee operations, plus Western food alternating with Chinese menus by celebrity chef Martin Yan.

Yesterday I had to sign up for my Spanish course at the University of Havana. The Campus of the University is an astoundingly beautiful collection of classical buildings and a Cuban tank graces the entrance to the library.

At 9 am all the foreign students, about 40 of them, met in the Edificio Varona and we were shepherded by various professors into a very antiquated lecture hall. (By the way, of the 5 or 6 washroom stalls in the women´s bathroom, only 1 or 2 have toilets in them, no toilet seats, and no running water in the sinks. Again a sign of rather run-down infrastructure…)

There they told us about the program, but only in Spanish, which was okay for me, since I speak Spanish, but about half the group was completely lost. We then had to do a quick written placement test to assess our existing Spanish skills and then the bureaucracy began.

We found out that we needed the following documents:

- a copy of our passports

- an official copy of the hotel guest card and/or a copy of the licence of the private Casa Particular

- 200 CUC (Convertible Cuban Pesos) in cash for a 2-week course or more for other courses

- 40 CUC for changing our tourist visa to an academic visa (in fiscal stamps which we had to obtain abuot 5 km away)

- 2 passport photos

- 25 CUC in cash to expedite our academic visa if we are in town for only 2 weeks.

I linked up with a bunch of foreign students and we headed off together on our quest to fulfill the Cuban desire for Burocratismo. We first obtained cash at bank at the Hotel Havana Libre, then got the passport pictures done (to be ready for pickup 3 hours later), then searched for the other bank on Calle 23 that would provide us with the 40CUC stamps for the academic visa. With extremely long lineups everywhere, this took us about 2 or 3 hours.

Then we got really hungry and we were approached by a local “Jinetero” (restaurant tout) who promised us a complete meal with main dish, salad and side dish for 6 or 7 CUC. We walked with him, only to find out that the wait at the Paladar (private restaurant) would be about 45 minutes to even sit down, not including food preparation time.

So we walked up Calle 21 and a private restaurant owner approached us for a meal and we gave in and came inside. It was a beautiful colonial villa, except that the guest room with is obligatory 3 tables and 12 seats was in a dark small dingy room completely without windows.

However, we had a delicious home-cooked meal, I had roasted chicken with rice & beans, salad and a lemon soft drink, all for 8 CUC (about 8 US$). 2 of my student colleagues were from Germany and the other fellow is from Toronto as well, but originally from Poland. We had some great conversations and it was interesting linking up with a bunch of Europeans in Havana.

After a brief rest in the hotel, my friend Pedro again picked me up in the evening and I couldn´t help but tell him about my experience with the Cocotaxi driver yesterday, who had tried to pick me up, despite my clarifications and statements that I was married and not interested in any amorous activities.

Pedro explained that sexual relations in Cuba are a relatively common, easy-going thing and that it is very common for people to link up for quick “meaningful overnight relationships”. He referred to the Cuban people as very “passionate and hot-blooded”, I guess that explains a couple of the advances that I have been receiving so far, particularly since there is also quite a lot of sex tourism where men (and even women) come to Cuba to engage in easily available erotic experiences.

Pedro and I walked through the old town and of course along the Malecon (the seafront boulevard) and saw the beautiful Plaza Vieja and the Plaza de la Catedral where a mass was being held for the passing of Pope John Paul II.

This was very interesting, since Cuba is a Communist / official atheist country and there are much fewer Catholics today than before the Revolution. Actually much of Cuba´s religion is a mixture of Catholicism and Santeria (religious practices of the African slaves). Regardless of religiousness, Cuba has declared a 3-day “duelo nacional” (a national mourning period for the Pope) and the mass was attended by hundreds of people.

Pedro and I then had a nice meal in the “Barrio Chino” (Havana’s Chinatown) for 5.60 CUC (less than US$6) for 2 people and 2 vegetarian meals and soft drinks. After a nice dinner he again flagged down a local private car driver and gave him about 1 CUC for picking us up and dropping us off at my Hotel. At midnight I dropped into bed, exhausted.

However, at 4 am this morning I awoke with major intestinal problems. Apparently my Chinese meal had not become me so well and I had serious digestive issues emanating from both sides of my body. This morning I realy felt rotten and I ended up using my own medical kit for the first time and took some Immodium.

I was unable to eat breakfast, but I made my way to the university where at 9 am our classes started. Surprisingly the placement test had put me into the level of “perfeccionamiento”, the highest level and the level of Spanish in my class was indeed very high. The class consists of 7 students, a young woman from England, a young female medical student from Denmark, a middle-aged female doctor from Finland, a young male law student from Sweden, a young woman and man from Norway and myself from Austria/Canada.

Obviuosly there is a very heavy Scandinavian slant in my class and it seems everyone in the class is a hobby sociologist, political scientist, environmentalist and historian. We asked some rather tough questions about Cuban life, the political system, the economic hardships, the double economy, the situation of women and blacks in Cuba, machismo and the situation of the environment.

Some of these questions made our female professor feel extremely uncomfortable and it seemed like she was squirming under the barrage of probing political and sociological questions. She got very defensive a few times about the Cuban system and only after we discussed the good and bad aspects of European and Canadian societies did she loosen up a bit and become a bit more open and frank about the real Cuban life. It seems that to this day Cubans have to be very careful about what they say in public.

For example, she frankly admitted that racism still exists in Cuba and to this day it is still a country with a lot of machismo. However, she did not admit that Internet access and access to non-Communist media is forbidden for Cubans, she simply explained it as an economic issue. (Several of my colleagues had heard otherwise in their travels in Cuba, simply that a Cuban is not allowed to have access to the Internet). She also admitted that it is not allowed for Cubans to visit the tourist areas of the Cayos (e.g. Cayo Coco) which is exclusively reserved for tourists and Cubans have no access to that area whatsoever, a definite point of contention among the locals.

Class ended about 1:20 and my upset stomach did not allow me to intake any food. I headed back to my hotel, slept a little and have been on the Internet for the past 2 or so hours (racking up a bill of about $US 20.00 or s0), documenting my trip.

It´’ll be a quiet evening tonight since I am trying to settle down my stomach. But I am sure the adventures and the learning will continue tomorrow.