Archives for 2008

Paris Travel: Good Value not Cheap

You can’t afford a luxury trip to Paris? There are options, here are some tips on getting more value for your dollar.

The single most important thing for a cost-effective vacation is pick you time. Times to avoid in Paris: Christmas, September/October when there are large trade shows. Do you want to splurg on a 5 star hotel? Rates are often cheaper at weekends and particularly in August, when the locals abandon Paris.

Try to time your departure so that you leave late at night having had a full day in Paris: your hotel will hold your luggage even if you have to check out in the morning. An extra day in Paris and no hotel expenses, perfect! Sleep on the plane its the best thing to do on them.

Don’t go alone: preferably take a couple of friends and share a room: you will normally pay the same for two adults as one and the third person is much less than half the tarrif for two.

Don’t hire a car . Don't waste your money hiring a car in Paris. The city is very walkable and the underground Metro is often faster than a taxi in rush hour. If you are hiring an auto for the remainder of your vacation, arrange it so that your hire period begins as you say au revoir to Paris.

Use an on-line travel search site to find the best hotel prices. Don’t just book with the first site you find though. Try five or six especially if you are looking for smaller, boutique hotels. Not all travel websites list all hotels.

Remember that many attractions including museums close one day a week: usually early in the week. If you are in town for those two days then double check which days your “must see” sites are open to avoid disappointment.

Don’t use taxis to hop around town: use the Metro for longer trips or walk: Paris is one of the most walkable cities in the world and most of the major sights and shopping areas are within easy walking distance.

A new development in inner city transport is the Vélib program (“vélo Liberté” or Freedom Bikes) by which it is possible to rent a bike for a very modest price. The first 30 minutes is free (plus a Euro1 daily fee payable by credit card) and prices rise raipidly for longer rental: designed to encourage you to drop off the bike and pick up a new one as you require: what a great reason to stop at cafe or two…

Paris is a wonderful city and who doesn’t want to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musse d’Orsay, Notre Dame Church. Make sure you make the effort to make it to top stared restaraunt at least once on your visit.

Choose a Paris Luxury Hotel for your next European vacation and really see a different side of that wonderful city. A central Paris hotel will help you spend most of your time in the city of romance not commuting from a remote suburb. Selecting the right Paris hotel or appartment can make a real difference to your trip: and give you lifelong memories.

Stopping Headlice Re-infestation

by The Diva

It’s one thing to employ proper headlice treatments when an outbreak occurs, but what about the cleanup? As with most pests, head lice cannot survive extreme heat. So, the best course of action in cleaning them out of your home is to dry everything that you can fit into your clothes dryer. This is great for stuffed animals, rag dolls, bedding, pillows, all sorts of clothing including towels, washcloths, etc. A timed cycle of around 15-30 minutes should do the trick.

I’m sure you have heard the suggestion that putting your clothing or stuffed animals into sealed plastic bags will suffocate head lice. This is not the case. More likely, by putting them into plastic bags the lice die of starvation. But there is a chance that doing this will not kill the lice and therefore a re-infestation can occur. This is not the case with putting articles into a high heat dryer for 30 minutes.

Obviously not everything will fit in your dryer. So, for things like carpeting and furniture, it’s best to vacuum everything thoroughly. Be sure to throw away the vacuum bag inside a sealed garbage sack, or empty the debris container for bagless vacuums, and remove it completely from your house. An outside garbage can is best.

There is no need to vacuum for 30 minutes in one concentrated area of course. A few times over the area will do fine.

You may also want to try creating your own “natural” repellent spray that can be made by using an average sized plastic spray bottle with about 20 drops of 100% Tea Tree Oil and water. Lice, among other pests such as ticks and mosquitoes, do not like the smell of Tea Tree Oil, and so it is a terrific choice for a repellent.

Once you have your mixture, simply begin spraying it on your furniture and carpeting. You needn’t over-spray and completely saturate your furniture. Lightly spraying will do the trick.

Of course, while this guide is for “natural” remedies, if you still feel unsafe about the conditions of your household items where lice can survive for a few days, then you can use a de-licing spray. But this is solely at your discretion. Vacuuming should work just as well. I hope these tips will help you in the future should you find an outbreak in your family.

Things To Do When You Stay In Cardiff

by The Diva

Cardiff is the capital city of Wales and is a great place to stay - not just for visiting places where the television series Dr Who was filmed or for when you watch rugby.

If you're a fan of history then you definitely have to visit the historic site of Cardiff castle. A guided tour of Cardiff castle ought to be well up on your "to do" list. The location can trace its roots back to medieval days although in more recent times you may well be visiting to be part of the audience for a rock concert or possibly the Welsh version of Mardi Gras.

Cardiff is a regular host for the Welsh National Eisteddfod. Every other year, opera fans from all over the world flock to the city for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World event. Not to mention the 250,000 or so people who go to the Big Weekend Festival, which has rides and other attractions in abundance. Cardiff's free outdoor festival is ideal for those people travelling to Cardiff on a budget.

Between them, Capitol Centre, St David's Centre and Queen's Arcade are the three main shopping arcades in the City. These three centres cater for almost every need: there are national department stores as well as smaller local shops that you'll only find in Cardiff. There are also plenty of other shopping opportunities to be found in Cardiff, including a number of shopping centres that date back to Victorian days, so others in your party can admire the architecture while you shop until you drop.

If you’re on an overnight stay in Cardiff, you may want to check out the musical scene in the city. There are a wide range of music venues ranging from small clubs and pubs right the way through to big venues. If you're uncertain, begin at the Brewery Quarter and work out from there.

There are plenty of hotels and guest houses in Cardiff, so you’re certain to find somewhere to stay when you visit Cardiff.

France Travel: Interesting Facts

by The Diva

Reims France

Fun Facts About France

The crowd is attracted to sparkling ski slopes of the Alps, sunlit vineyards and sun-baked beaches of this beautiful country. France is a country which draws more tourists than any other country. It is easy to see why this is the case given France’s great reputation for fine wines, good food, high fashion and relaxed lifestyle. But while a city like Dijon France, is undoubtedly a place to eat and drink till your heart is content, there’s much more to this fascinating country than only cutting-edge cuisines. Spring is known as the ideal time to visit, and others with flair for winter fun can slide at the Alps with their gear. The summers are very hot and winters are moderate. An all-weather coat and pair of comfortable shoes are a must. Women, especially, should carry cocktail dresses as some of the restaurants ask for it. Try not to wear sleaveless shirts when visiting religious locations as it is not respected in such places.

Culture

Although French is the national language, English is widely spoken here. Handshaking is customary greeting and women should be kissed on both cheeks and should be addressed as Monsieur or Madame. French people are popularly known for their like for stylish sportswear
and of course perfumes. Nudism is allowed on some beaches only. Social functions, fine restaurants, and clubs call for more formal dressing. When at a formal dinner, wait till the host gestures to start the dinner. Smoking is banned in public places.

Site Seeing

Paris, the city of love, is a massive city with many attractions in reachable distance thanks to the
highly efficient public transport system. It boasts of more than 80 museums and 200 arts
galleries. A trip to Disney land and the magnificent Eiffel tower will make the trip worthwhile.

The attractive tourists spots are the Arc de triomphe which spans over the tomb of an
unknown soldier, the forbidding gothic architecture of the Notre Dame cathedral, the picturesque
Sacre Coeur, to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Moulin Rouge and boat tours along the
Seine. Get the Carte Musees-Monuments pass, which gives access to 70 monuments and
museums.

Shopping

Although service tax is included in the bill, a humble tip won’t cost much. An extra dollar can be given as tip to the waiter. A tip of $2 can be left for the bus drivers.

Electricity

220-volt, 50-cycle AC current.

Getting There

The national airline that operates here is Air France. Airlines that are inexpensive provide services from within the UK. Paris-Charles de Gaulle also known as Roissy-Charles de Gaulle is the major airport of France, which is 23km away from the city. The airport provides services such as, taxis, limos, and coaches. The railway facility provided by the airport, claims to reach all the terminals within eight minutes. These trains run 24 hours. The other airports that offer flight services are Paris-Orly, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon and Toulouse.

Ports such as Havre, Atlantic, Mediterranean, and North Sea, are known for their building of cruise ships.

Duty Free Items

1. 250g of tobacco or 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars
2. 1liter of spirits over 22 per cent or 2liter of alcoholic beverage up to 22 per cent
3. 2liter of wine
4. 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette
5. 500g of coffee or 200g of coffee extract
6. 40g of tea extract or 100g of tea

Should You Try to Save Your Marriage if These Problems Sound Familiar To You?

by The Diva

Every marriage, not just some marriages, but EVERY marriage has some sort of marriage problems that couples have to deal with. Generally they are minor challenges that can simply be taken care of if the couple will accept the challenges and deal with them.

Here is some typical relationship problems that most couples face that should never lead to the ending of a marriage.

House work differences: I have seen countless couples who have major marriage problems that root from a very straight forward difference about who should be doing what at the house. Yard work, trash, painting, and maintenance are generally thought of as “man’s work” but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. Also cooking, cleaning, shopping, and taking care of the kids are considered the “woman’s job”, but again, that is not written in stone. Surely there are stuff that each person does more superior or is more able to do than the other, but that doesn’t mean that individual can’t do one of the other tasks not “specified” for their sex. If this becomes a concern, you should take a seat and talk about it and come to a decision who will do what, if that’s the only way you can settle it. However, I’ve always thought the best rule to go by is “if it needs to be done, just do it”; don’t wait for the “designated” individual to do it.

Trust Issues: It’s imperative to bear in mind that even though you are a married couple you are still two individual people with your individual interests and acquaintances. Just because you are married doesn’t mean you have to stop living. You should not have issues about your spouse spending time with friends outside of your house. Lack of trust will lead to uncertainty and uncertainty will lead to a miserable marriage. Even after being married for some time you may still be amazed about things you find out about your partner. You might want to check out, the 1000 Questions for Couples review to help you learn about your partner you might not by now be familiar with.

Feeling trapped: This is a very classic reaction for couples when they first get married; the lighthearted existence of being on your own has been replaced with household tasks and house work, and a partner you think you have to answer to. These kinds of feelings can lead to resentment and heated arguments. It’s all about setting up your standing inside the marriage and how you fit it outside the house. It can be for the most part hard for young couples who might be the first of their friends to get married. If this challenge is not tackled and dealt with quickly, it can produce more serious marriage problems . If you want to save your marriage and get passed these feelings of being trapped, I highly recommend you read the Mastery Guide to Saving Your Marriage & Stopping Your Divorce Review for some very helpful ideas about how to get through this tough time in your marriage.

Nit-picking: These are those little disagreements that get magnified and cause bigger and deeper arguments. The main challenge here is with pride because neither spouse wants to give in first and apologize. I’ve seen lots of divorces happen due to a tiny disagreement that went way too far. You have to learn to let go of your pride and beware of that saying you’re sorry is an extraordinary event. Some individuals just don’t know how to say they’re sorry; in cases like that, frequently it is best to have couples read The Magic of Making Up review to instruct them the fine art of forgiveness and saying they’re sorry. You know, some of the greatest romantic periods occur after an apology; don’t forget about that.

Marriage is all about give and take; it’s not about who is right and who is wrong. You’re both going to be incorrect at one time or another so remember, if you’re pointing the finger of blame right now, it’s bound to put back on your sooner or later. You should be thinking about the good things and not spending so much on the trivial stuff. You have a long way to go and just because you might see signs of marriage concerns, it doesn’t mean your marriage is doomed.

Paris Travel: Good Value not Cheap

Stopping Headlice Re-infestation

Things To Do When You Stay In Cardiff

France Travel: Interesting Facts

Should You Try to Save Your Marriage if These Problems Sound Familiar To You?

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