Archive for July, 2010

Marbella.

I was reading about the First Lady’s visit to Marbella, when I was reminded of my own visit to Spain.  Way back in 1992, I spent a week in Malaga.  I remember it was incredibly hot, but absolutely wonderful.  The beaches were great, the sea was miles and miles of warm blue green waves.  The tapas bars were fabulous and the nightly flamingo dancing in the streets was incredible.  I’ve never been to Marbella, but I hear reports from friends about enjoyable holidays there.

When I was in Malaga with friends, we took a day trip out to Ronda.  A small City about 60 miles west of Malaga.  Whilst there, we visited The Plaza de Toros, the old bullring in the region.  Although I’m not the hat wearing type, I wish I had one that day.  I almost passed out with the heat!  We visited beach front bars at night and even made friends with some hunky Spainish guys.  They invited us to a party  one evening on a fabulous yaucht, one of them owned, good times!

The Deep Blue Sea.

The scariest thing I did was, paddle out to sea on one of those inflatable beds.  Relaxed, happy and chatting away with my friend Deb, as we hung on and paddled out.  We were enjoying the sun, warm sea and atmosphere so much, that I didn’t notice just how far out to sea we were.

When I looked back, I could bearly see the beach and almost panicked.  Almost. ” What’s the big deal”, I hear you say.  “I COULDN”T SWIM”, (still can’t, shameful I know).  Anyway, we made it back okay and my heart returned to it’s proper resting place.

Malaga, Spain is beautiful, if you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth a visit.  As for Marbella, I’ve heard nothing but good things, so I’m sure the first Lady will enjoy here time there.   Whichever city you choose to travel to, remember to get travel insurance for all parties travelling.

For cheap flights to Marbella or Malaga, check out our cheap flight deals page.  Or see Lowcostholidays Mabella offers.

Photo By: Lolo, wikipedia.org.

Tate Britain Exhibition.

There is a new Tate Britain Exhibition in London, my home Town. A city full of historic art, culture and hertigage.  This Summer, The Tate Britain Art Gallery is hosting a unique exhibition.   The show entitled “Romantics” will be showing works of Graham Sutherland, a 20th Century English artist.

Other works of famous English painters/artists of the 18th & 19th Century will also be featured.  They includes; Henry Fuseli, Joseph Mallord, William Turner, John Constable, and Samuel Palmer.  This particular Tate Britain Exhibition will be overflowing with artistic delight.

The exhibition will run until next year, so if you are outside the UK and are unable to travel to London this year.  Don’t sweat, you can make it next year.  You don’t have to travel throughout the high season to come and see this wonderful show.  I’m not suggesting the Winter months, but Autum and Spring are always great months to find cheap travel.

Tate Britain Exhibition Details.

EVENT: Tate Britain Exhibition – “Romantics”.
LOCATION: Millbank, London SW1P 4RG.
ADMISSION: Free, except for major exhibitons.
OPENING TIMES: Every day 10:00am – 18:00pm.
DATES: 9th August 2010 – 31st July 2011.

If you do live in London, and enjoy art, there shouldn’t be much of a problems for you to get over to see this latest Tate Britain Exhibition.  A drive, hop on the Underground or Bus would get you there in no time.  If you are flying to London, you can check online with Expedia for flight information.

You can get travel insurance comparisons from here, or with your local travel agent.

Photo By: Paul Farmer, wikipedia.org.

City Of Gold.

In Dubia, one of the thing there is lots of is gold.  In fact there is a whole City of Gold just waiting for you to visit.  Recent reports on travel trends have increasing numbers of people travelling to Dubia.  A 16% increase of visitors have been report in the past six months.

Travel to Dubia is more popular than ever right now, so what is the attraction?  Well business is one, the other is the climate, the intrigue of a far away destination with much to offer could be another.  I think peoples  interest in the City of Gold, is also another reason.  Whatever your reason, do make sure you take out travel insurance.

What is the City of Gold?

In Dubia, there is a place called the Gold Souk.   It is a traditional market in the business district of Deira.  Dubai is also often referred to as the City of Gold, because of this district.  It has more than 200 retailers that trade almost exclusively in gold, and gold jewellery.  The gold is usually 22k or 24k and will vary in price.  Cash buys will save you money, and allows you to haggle on price.

If you like gold, and want to save money on your gold purchases.  A trip to Dubai could prove profitable as well as enjoyable.  A few stores to take note of are, Alukkas, Barakat and Yasin jewellery, Damas, Marhaba.  In September 2010, Emirates will launch flights to Dubai from Manchester.

If you want to experience the City of Gold for yourself.  You can look up  cheap flights deals on our flights page.  If you are interested in a package deal to Dubia visit Opodo or Lowcostholidays. 

Photo By: Imre Solt, wikipedia.org.

Travel Insurance.

The FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) have discovered that 19% of British travellers, travel abroad without travel insurance.  WHY? That’s my question.  I can’t stress my own opinion strongly enough.  Except to say that travel insurance, is something I just figure into the overall cost of my travel plans.  I know this is the case with most people, but still, 19% of all Brits travelling worldwide, that’s a lot of people.

My earlier blog post on 17th June 2010 talked about annual travel insurance.   However, if you only take one holiday a year, you could get single trip travel insurance which is cheaper.  When you add up what your overall holiday cost is, it’s worth the small investment.

Since I came across this recent article which quoted such high numbers of Brits travelling with any cover.  I just thought covering the issue of travel insurance was worth another mention.  Better safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

Exchange Rate.

The exchange rate for Sterling to Euros or Sterling to the US Dollar changes on a daily basis.  A recent survey by the Post Office found that millions of people who exchange Sterling to Euros at airports.  Are in fact exchanging at a much higher rate than the usual sources.  The survey targeted Birmingham, Liverpool, London Gatwick, Luton, and Manchester Airports.

According to the PO’s report, the exchange rates and commissions at airports, are lower than those of your local Bank or Post Office.  An estimated 1.2 million tourists are wasting an average of £16.60.   While £16.60 may not sound like much, it could pay for a meal or another additional excusion while on your holiday!

Is The Exchange Rate At Airports Costing You?

If you get the chance, maybe it would be worth checking the exchange rate before you travel.  that way you just might get the best deal for your money.  Most local Banks and Post Offices have the Currencies and exchange rate prominently displayed outside or just inside, so it’s hard to miss.  I use the online currency convertor Xe.com all the time.

I’m not sure how you can check a particular airports’ exchange rate with that of your local Bank or Post Office to compare prices before you travel.  I guess give the airport a call and asked to be transfered to their Bureau de Change department?  If you’re still thinking about a holiday destination, check out the Special Offers Page.

Photo By: Ove Tøpfe.

NYC Restaurant.

If you happend to be in New York next week, and decide to go out for a meal at a NYC Restaurant.   You just might find yourself in the middle of the 2010 NYC Restuarant Week.  There are 275 restaurants participating in this year’s Restaurants week.  You can sample many local cuisine from restaurants in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

The culinary experience will see many different cuisines including, Japanese, French, American, Sea food, Italian, Greek, Thai, Spanish, Mediterranean, and Vietnamese to name a few.

American Steak Houses.

As well as the particiapting restaurants, NYC has some of the greatest American Steak Houses.  Keens is one of them, established in 1885 and had famous diners such as Buffalo Bill and Teddy Roosevelt.  Other Steak Houses are; Knickerbocker Bar & Grill in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn est. since 1887 and Strip House, Union Square, Manhattan.

There will be no shortage of food choice going on.  Even if you are not interested in the actual NYC Restaurant week, treating yourself to a juicy steak is my idea of a great hearty meal.  Our cheap flights page will give you an idea of what kind of flight deals you can get.

Details of Event.

EVENT: NYC Restaurant Week.
LOCATION: New York City.
COSTS: Set lunches $24.07 – $25.00; set $35.00.
DATES: 12th – 25th July 2010.

If you fancy a trip to New York City to join in with the NYC Resaurant week, you can check on hotels & city breaks at Lastminute.com or Lowcostholidays New York City Breaks.

Always remember to get travel insurance.

Photo By: Pascal Konings.

2010 Tour de France.

The 2010 Tour de France is due to start in a couple of days.  What a great reason to travel to France for a City Break, or short holiday.  If you are a cycling enthusiast, what could be more exciting than to the see a part of the Tour de France Live.  If you are based in Europe, it’s a short trip.  If you are further afield and in need of a short break,  It would be a worthy event to witness.

This amazing event is in it’s 97th year and it will cover a total distance of 3,642 kilometres.  This year as in the past, the tour is being launched from Rotterdam, Netherlands on Saturday 3rd July 2010.   Thousands of people will line the route, and you can be one of them if you decide to travel to France or Netherlands.

The 2010 Tour de France completes in Paris.  One of the most visited cities in the world, with France being the most visited Country in the World for a few years now.  I’m not sure who the favourite is to win the 2010 Tour de France, but here’s best wishes and good luck to all the riders!

Details of Event.

EVENT: 2010 Tour de France.
DATES: 3rd July – 25th July 2010,
ROUTE LOCATIONS: Rotterdam, Netherlands; Reims, France;
Champs-Elysees in Paris, France.

For cheap flights, see Opodo or Lastminute.com for city breaks.

Don’t forget to get travel insurance.

Photographed by Vlaam, wikipedia.org.