USA travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Imagine a real city floating between oceans with its own airport, 20,000 residences and time-shares, thousands commercial outlets, 10,000 hotel rooms, casino, ferryboat transportation system, schools and hospitals, trade centers and parks. You live and travel at the same time, making every 2-3 years one revolution around the globe. And all this at very reasonable prices, with 1,000 sq. ft apartments priced at $1 million with $15-20,000 property fees per year. This can be reality in not so distant future, blurring the difference between the ordinary life, as we know it and the cruise vacation. Technology is no more an obstacle. What may become obstacle is the need of constant rejuvenation in order to keep the interest of the affluent customers.

The Freedom Ship as conceived by its father Norman Nixon must be a place for living, retiring, tourism and entertainment floating around the globe at low speed. To be honest it looks more like floating city than an ordinary ship. And because there would be no big enough ports to welcome this giant, the travelers will use the ship’s airport and ferry port to go back and forth when they decide to feel solid ground beneath their feet. If they decide not to leave their ocean city, there won’t be any reason to do the opposite. Everything that usually they have at hand on the land will be available at sea. That’s the strongest point of the Freedom Ship concept. At the same time it may become one of its weakest points.

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A seemingly growing trend in the cruise world is the residential cruise ship. And leading the way is The Magellan, at 860 feet long and weighing an incredible 72,000 tons. Facilities on-board include, restaurants, a spa, an indoor pool, an observatory, a greenhouse, a helicopter landing pad, a nightclub and a 450-seat live, satellite broadcast theatre. And, if that wasn’t enough, twelve new condos and a tennis court have now just been announced.

It is designed for the discerning traveler and if you have millions of dollars it will surround you with unparalleled luxury as you circumnavigate the globe.

With its unsurpassed craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail, the Magellan redefines luxury. It boasts 15 public and residence decks, with 212 exclusive homes, lavish amenities and impeccable service.

Continue reading Want to cruise with the most extravagant residential ship?

Thassos is a green greek island in the Aegean Sea and it is farfamed for its clean beaches, its hospitality, its tasty vine and the magnificent honey. The history of Thassos is lasting back into the antiquity. At that time, Thassos was famous for its goldmines and marble. Until today, you can see much archaeological treasures, which will make your journey to something special. Also the giant marble factories, which are exporting the marble in the whole world, will amaze you.

History of Thassos:

The island was colonized at an early date by Phoenicians, attracted probably by its gold mines; they founded a temple to the god Melqart, whom the Greeks identified as “Tyrian Heracles”, and whose cult was merged with Heracles in the course of the island’s Hellenization; the temple still existed in the time of Herodotus. An eponymous Thasos, son of Phoenix— or of Agenor, as Pausanias reported— is said to have been the leader of the Phoenicians, and to have given his name to the island.

Continue reading Olive trees, Ancient history and Cool Beaches, this is the Thassos island

In Dubai, space for hotels and beachfront villas is being created on four artificial islands being constructed off the crowded coastline. The first and smallest was completed in 2004 and is shaped like a palm tree. A phase under construction will comprise 264 smaller islands forming a vast map of the world. Altogether, four of these huge new projects are to be crafted out of rock and sand. Once building construction begins, concrete will flow in huge amounts.

Continue reading Dubai invests in artificial resort islands to attract tourism dollars

Hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists visit South Africa every year, and of these visitors plan a stop in Cape Town, the pride of the southern African subcontinent. Blessed with blue skies a balmy climate a rich cultural heritage and a magnificent backdrop of ocean and mountain, the Mother City boasts a profusion of museums, art galleries, restaurants, shops, theatres, night spots and landmarks.

Presided over by Table Mountain and skirted by the Atlantic Ocean and a string exquisite beaches, top attractions include the bustling Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the famed Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Cape of Good Hope Natural Reserve, the Cape Winelands, and Robben Island.

Continue reading Cape Town is city which you should visit!

The Solomon Islands is a double chain of islands located 1860 kilometres to the north east of Australia. Shaped by earthquakes and volcanic activity thousands of years ago, the 922 individual islands, of which 350 are uninhabited, are divided into nine provinces.

The six main islands of Choiseul, Santa Isabel, Guadalcanal, Malatia, Makira and New Georgia make up most of the 28,000 square kilometre land mass. Hundreds of smaller islands and atolls are scattered throughout the group.

Continue reading The Unique Solomon Islands

Ha Long Bay is a body of water of approximately 1,500 square kilometres in north Vietnam with a 120 kilometre coastline, in the Gulf of Tonkin near the border with China, and 170 kilometres east of Hanoi. Ha Long Bay means Bay of the Descending Dragon in the Vietnamese language.

Continue reading Ha Long – Bay of the Descending Dragon

Just amazing photo of the Maldives islands taken from Air. It has very very cool reflection of clouds in the water.

Continue reading Photo of the day – Maldives Air Look

The Cinque Terre are five coastal villages in the province of La Spezia in the Liguria region of Italy. They have been discovered by foreigners in the late 20th century and now they are among the most touristed areas of Italy. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all encapsulated in a national park of the same name.

The five villages are, from west to east Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

Monterosso al Mare is one of the five villages in Cinque Terre. The town is divided into two distinct parts: the old town and the new town. The two areas are divided by a single tunnel that caters to pedestrians and the very few cars in the town. The beach at Monterosso runs along most of the coast line and is well used by tourists and locals. The beach is the only extensive sand beach in the Cinque Terre.

Monterosso al Mare Main sights are The Castle, partially ruined, built by the Genoese and The Parish church of St. John the Baptist (1282-1307). On the facade, the main portal is surmounted by a fresco portraying the Baptismof Christ, and has four small marble columns. The church is on the basilica plan, with a nave and two aisles. The square-planned, medieval bell tower is crowned by merlons.

Continue reading Cinque Terre coastal villages in Liguria region of Italy

The Pont du Gard aqueduct is one really amazing masterpice of Roman Architecture and was built shortly before the Christian era to allow the aqueduct of Nimes (which is almost 50 km long) to cross the Gard river. The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers who designed this bridge, which stands almost 50 m high and is on three levels, the longest measuring 275 m, created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece.

Pont du Gard means literally bridge of the Gard river. The Gard river, which has given its name to the Gard departement, does not actually exist under this name. The river, formed by many tributaries, several of which are called Gardon, is itself called Gardon until its end.

Its construction is attributed to Augustus, son-in-law and aide, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Designed to carry the water across the small Gardon river valley, it was part of a nearly 50 km (31 mi) aqueduct that brought water from springs near Uzes to the Roman city of Nemausus (Nimes). The full aqueduct had a gradient of 34 cm/km (1/3000), descending only 17 m vertically in its entire length and delivering 20,000 cubic meters (44 million gallons) of water daily.

Continue reading Awesome Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard