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srijeda, 30.06.2010.

Santorini: Cliffs, beaches and the sapphire sea

The afternoon crowd flowed down among mesos the shops, cafes and picture-postcard lookouts on the Greek island of Santorini, speaking at least a half-dozen languages.
It spread along the clifftop village of Oia's cobblestone walkways, drifting into storefronts or up the stairs to open-air restaurants, eddying to photograph scenes of white buildings with blue doors and blue-domed churches.
The crowd thinned to little more than a trickle down the 214 broad steps to Ammoudi Bay. There, seaside tavernas grilled the day's catch of fish and octopus. People lingered at outdoor tables, while a dozen small pleasure and fishing boats rocked gently on the Aegean. A cliffside pathway wound beyond to a cove, where you could lie in the sunshine amid the black volcanic rocks and swim in the sapphire sea.
"What is Santorini? It is an island of black rock," said Nicos Plevrakis, manager of the Hotel Belvedere, where my wife and I stayed. "It attracts sunbeams."
This "island of black rock" owes its unique, dramatic landscape to volcanic eruptions. A volcano, still active, stands at the center of a ring of islands, Santorini wow gold the longest. In between them is a vast, deep caldera, filled with water, surrounded by the islands' cliffs, volcanic rock, and black and red sand beaches. Geologists say an early blast created a tsunami that washed over Crete 60 miles away, wiped out Minoan civilization and reshaped this landscape.
The Belvedere, a clifftop boutique hotel in the main city of Fira, overlooks the caldera, a huge basin of dark blue water 500 feet below. You can even visit what's left of the still-smoldering volcano. Today it is an uninhabited island at the center of the caldera, reachable by boat.
Santorini is about a 45-minute flight from Athens. While tourism is down in Greece this year partly due to a financial crisis that has led to protests and strikes, the disruptions have had little impact on areas outside Athens.
Santorini's capital, Fira, with narrow cobblestoned alleys lined with storefronts selling clothing and jewelry, perches high at the heart of crescent-shaped Santorini. The island is about 30 miles long, with Oia and Ammoudi Bay at its northern tip, Akrotiri and a red sand beach at the southern end, and miles of black sand beaches along its southeastern shore.
The sea was startlingly blue up close. We rode to Oia on a public bus packed with day-tripping cruise passengers. But down at the seaside it was much quieter, and the sea was so clear you could see the small fish. Diving underwater it was the same, entirely blue and translucent, with dark blue minnows darting by.
Temperatures on the island are in the 80s in July and August and in the 70s in September. Tourist businesses close from November through March, including the Belvedere, where Plevrakis ran a tiny office, offered advice and made arrangements. He recommends July as the best time to visit.
My wife and I rented a two-seat SmartCar for 40 euros and spent a day driving the tight two-lane roads among motor scooters and four-wheelers with helmeted tourists, other subcompacts, speeding taxi sedans and large buses. We visited the monastery at the central promontory with a commanding vista and the large Santo winery nearby; photographed the dramatic red sand beach under a red cliff, and buy wow gold cruised the low coast road along the black sand beaches.
After an hour lying on two of the hundreds of lounge chairs under thatched umbrellas, and wading out into the surf, we had gelato and Greek coffee at a cafe and drove north back to Oia, and down to Ammoudi Bay for grilled fish and another swim. The water sparkled in the sunshine, and my wife said it was "like swimming in Perrier."
We also visited the Archaeological Museum of Fira, which has artifacts that include murals reconstructed from Akrotiri, an ancient settlement that was buried by the volcanic eruption some 3,600 years ago. Like Pompeii, it was preserved by the ash. It's now a major archaeological site (though the excavation site is not open to the public). Some believe Plato's storied Atlantis has roots here.
We took a sailboat from Fira's port, which can be reached by a staircase of 600 wide steps, via cable car, or by donkey. The sailboat, loaded with tourists, motored to the volcano for a hike and to an island where we swam in sediment-brown water heated from underground and then to the island of Thirassia for lunch, with a half-dozen tavernas lining its bay.
Thirassia's cafes were somewhat poorer cousins to the Santorini eateries that ranged from backstreet tavernas attracting mainly Greek customers to upscale restaurants with breathtaking vistas and long wine lists. Some restaurants took only cash.
Unexpected pleasures included the friendliness of the locals, and the fact that nearly everyone spoke English. At the hotel, we were upgraded to a room with a balcony and given a bottle of local wine, both free.
We watched the hourlong sunsets from our balcony or lingering at rooftop cafes. After the last direct rays disappeared behind the volcano, the spray of clouds high overhead turned dramatic shades of red, purple and blue.
Then the lights came up and shone from the windows of the neat white buildings, creating a glittering cascade along the cliffs in either direction under a cheap wow gold midnight blue sky.

30.06.2010. u 05:29 • 1 Komentara • Print • #

utorak, 29.06.2010.

Travel Picks: 10 wacky summer U.S. events

Fancy some mashed potato wrestling mesos ? Or what about the world's largest chicken dance or an Ernest Hemingway look-alike competition?
For travelers looking for fun event this summer, travel website TripAdvisor has come up with the top 10 wackiest summer events in the United States this summer.
"These offbeat events are sure to create lasting memories, without breaking the bank," said Karen Drake, senior director of communications for TripAdvisor.
1. Summer Redneck Games - July 10, Dublin, Georgia
The 15th annual Summer Redneck games, a one day extravaganza, features a mud pit belly-flop contest, armpit serenade, watermelon seed spitting contest and Redneck Horseshoes, in which toilet seats are thrown. A coveted prize trophy is awarded for each of the day's events: a half crushed, empty mounted beer can.
2. Barnesville Potato Days - August 27/28, Barnesville, Minnesota
This annual celebration attracts over 16,000 potato lovers who feast on potato produce and can enjoy over 40 unique events, including mashed potato wrestling, a potato wow gold peeling competition, mashed potato sculpturing, and a mashed potato eating contest.
3. Mid-Atlantic Hermit Crab Challenge - July 10, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Competing hermit crabs are showcased in uniquely decorated displays, with prizes for the Friendliest Crab, Shyest Crab, Most Unique Crab Display, and more. Those wanting more adrenalin can also enjoy the Crustacean 500 race, in which hundreds of crabs "race" along an eight-foot track on the beach.
4. The Wayne Chicken Show - July 9/11, Wayne, Nebraska
This is a must for chicken-loving travelers with the three-day event including the world's largest chicken dance, the best chicken legs competition, and the National Cluck Off, in which competitors have 15 seconds to win over the judges with their best chicken impersonation.
5. Roswell UFO Festival - July 1/4, Roswell, New Mexico
From promoting extraterrestrial education through expert speakers and workshops, to an alien pet costume contest and a July 4 fireworks show, festival goers are sure to experience a healthy dose of paranormal activity.
6. Weird Contest Week - August 16/20, Ocean City, New Jersey
This five-day extravaganza of eccentricity will see a quirky contest held at 11 a.m. daily in front of Ocean City's Music Pier, Boardwalk and Moorly Terrace. Try taffy sculpting, biting a cookie to create an artwork, or French Fry sculpting.
7. Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw - September 3/4, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin
Dried dung takes on an altogether different use at this annual event, held in Marion Park and attended by some 40,000 people each year. Travelers buy wow gold can vie to secure the longest throw in the Chip Chuckin' competition, with the current record of 248 feet the mark to beat, and enjoy clog dancing, live music, a 10 km run and more.
8. Hemingway Days Festival - July 20/25, Key West, Florida
The 30th annual Hemingway Days Festival, honoring the life and works of former Key West resident and author Ernest Hemingway, offers entertainment galore with more than 125 burly, bearded contestants expected to compete in the "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. There is also the annual "Running of the Bulls" -- a quirky take-off on Pamplona's famous run, featuring liquor barrels on wheels.
9. World Championship Cardboard Boat Races - July 31, Heber Springs, Arkansas
These races are set on Greers Ferry Lake where some 4,000 spectators gather to cheer on the competing corrugated cardboard craft racing to be first across the 200-yard course. Awards include the Pride of Fleet trophy for the best looking boat and the Titanic Award for the vessel that makes it at least 50 yards before meeting the most dramatic watery end.
10. National Tom Sawyer Days - July 1/4, Hannibal, Missouri
Now in its 55th year, this annual celebration of the works of Mark Twain takes place in the riverside town of Hannibal, where the novelist spent his childhood. Some of the festival's events are pulled straight from the pages of classic Twain tales, such as the National Fence Painting Competition, the frog jumping contest -- with amphibians cheap wow gold available to rent -- and mud volleyball.

29.06.2010. u 04:19 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

ponedjeljak, 28.06.2010.

Luxury resort opens at Disney World -- for pets

A new luxury resort opening mesos at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida boasts air-conditioned suites with televisions and a water park, but this resort is a bit different -- it's for dogs and cats.
The new Best Friends Pet Care Resort has more than 50,000 square feet (4,600 square meters) of indoor and outdoor space with runs, play areas, and room to accommodate up to 270 dogs and 30 cats overnight as well as "pocket pets" like hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and ferrets.
But for animals who enjoy their creature comforts it also offers four VIP suites with cheap wow gold TVs, raised bedding and private outdoor yards, a 1,300 square-foot (121 square meters) "canines only" water park, a grooming salon, orthopedic bedding, and treats such as ice cream and tuna on a cracker.
"Our goal is to ensure that pets staying with us have a fun, action-packed vacation -- just like their families vacationing at Walt Disney World," Dennis Dolan, President and CEO of Best Friends Pet Care, said in a statement.
Best Friends Pet Care Inc, founded in 1991, runs more than 40 pet care centers in 18 U.S. states as well as five boarding kennels at Walt Disney World Resort, which wow gold will be phased out with the opening of the new pet resort.

28.06.2010. u 04:59 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

petak, 25.06.2010.

Quintessential experience when in Italy: The opera

Opera is as fundamental mesos to Italy's soul as the Colosseum, Michelangelo or pasta. To attend an opera performance here in the summer is a quintessential Italian experience — especially if you're willing to brave the often-byzantine process for getting last-minute but astonishingly cheap tickets.
"I don't understand a word of Italian, but I had to be here for the experience," Dr. Ravindran Kanesvaran, a young oncologist from Singapore, confessed in a whisper as we waited in La Scala, Italy's most famous opera house, for the crimson curtain to open on "Aida."
Top tickets for the season-opener at La Scala in Milan go for about $2,400 (2,000 euros), but the last-minute seats Kanesvaran and I got for a midseason sold-out performance cost just $15 (12 euros).
The basic concept of opera — putting dramatic presentations to music — is universal, but the modern version was created at the end of the 16th century for Italian aristocracy. Largely thanks to late tenor and native son Luciano Pavarotti, it has become part of pop culture here.
Teatro alla Scala, the theater's official full name, was one of three iconic venues I hit last summer. It's the must-do for acoustics and prestige. The other two are notable in part for their settings: Arena di Verona, an almost-intact Roman amphitheater in Verona; and Torre del Lago Puccini, where another open-air theater sits on the bank of a marshy lake in Tuscany. It's next to the place where Giacomo Puccini composed many of his most famous operas.
From champagne flutes in gilded halls to a panini picnic on 1,900-year-old steps, the three evenings couldn't have been more different. Here are some details, along with a word of caution: Some shows have been canceled this year due to wildcat strikes over new government regulations.
TEATRO ALLA SCALA: Never mind that I was perched high above the swirls of gilded flowers and red velvet draperies, above four tiers of regal boxes and nearly up against the rosette-covered ivory ceiling. The firefighter on duty at the top gallery row inside this fantastically opulent 1770s theater approved of my choice of seat.
Top critics, he said, like to be in the gallery so no abundance of visual flourish could distract them from the sublime listening. No serious opera connoisseur myself, I found it hard not to be absorbed by Franco Zeffirelli's lavish staging of Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida."
Premiered in 1871 in Cairo, and next year at La Scala, the opera tells a tragic tale of love and pharaonic intrigue in ancient Egypt. The grandest of grand operas, its staging that July night was a profusion of massive choruses against gigantic hieroglyphs.
Then Radames, the hero captain of the Egyptian guards who spurns his king's daughter to love her slave, Aida, with devastating consequences for all, sang out the most wow gold celebrated solo aria, "Celeste Aida."
And I realized the firefighter was right. Eyes shut, I let myself be transported by this most poignantly lyrical political tirade masquerading as love song. After all, the paeans for lost motherlands sung by Radames and other Verdi characters are but thinly veiled, urgent calls to arms.
That was clear to Italians as well as to their foreign occupiers 150 years ago. In the 19th century, revolts rocked Italy until unification. Verdi, composing operas filled with appeals to freedom and cries against tyrants, literally became the voice of the patriotic Risorgimento movement.
He was so revered as a founding father of modern Italy that when he lay dying in his suite, steps from La Scala, the streets were covered in straw so no noise would disturb the maestro.
Listening to Verdi's music at La Scala is an immersion not only in art but history, and well worth the day I spent getting a rush ticket.
But the procedure was tortuous: Around 11:30 a.m., I got in line outside the theater so that my name would be among the 140 taken down by volunteers at the roll-call beginning at 1 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I got in line again to be given a number, with which I queued one last time to get the ticket that would finally grant me entry that evening. But it only cost a fraction of the front-row $300 tickets.
ARENA DI VERONA: If "Aida" is the grandest of Italian operas, its most stunning staging is at Verona's Arena, a first-century Roman amphitheater that has hosted theater performances since the early 1700s.
In the warm July dusk, I sat on the buy wow gold top row of giant limestone steps, as the sunset cast a salmon-pink glow over the city's medieval bell-towers and vine-covered hills, while strings opened the first notes.
In the 19,000-seat open-air arena, it's hard to distinctly make out the lyrics, but no setting can better display Verdi's dramatic monumentality. And Verdi's popular appeal is nowhere more apparent than in the contrast between the informal feel of the audience sharing jugs of wine and sandwiches on the steps and the over-the-top staging.
The first massive, full-orchestra chorus invoking war against Egypt's Ethiopian invaders was so thrillingly powerful that even the director jumped up and down. In "Celeste Aida," the tenor's lone voice miraculously filled the entire arena as the city disappeared in the darkness.
But the Arena experience is truly unsurpassable in "Aida'"s most famous moment, the triumphal march celebrating Radames' victorious return.
As trumpeters rang out deceptively simple notes, guards carrying torches filed down and lined up along one-third of the arena.
Four white horses pranced on the obelisk-fringed stage and knelt before the pharaoh while a ballet troupe swirled among the palms and sphinxes. The two toddlers sprawled between me and their German-speaking parents seemed as utterly enthralled as I was.
When "Aida" inaugurated the first summer opera season at the Arena in 1913, the audience included Puccini, whose operas are as renowned as Verdi's, though at the other end of the emotional spectrum.
Where Verdi's music excites fury and glory, Puccini's aims straight at the heart with sensuous, tear-jerking melodies.
PUCCINI FESTIVAL: Puccini penned some of his most famous arias in his Tuscan house by the marshy Lake Massaciuccoli in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Every summer, a Puccini festival is held next-door in an open-air theater. Ducklings scurry away as you enter via a lakeside wooden bridge.
Years ago, lantern-laden rowboats were sprinkled on the lake behind the stage for a performance of "Madama Butterfly." For last summer's performance of "Turandot," I thought the orchestra was going all out with gongs and cymbals until I realized a strong thunderstorm was exploding in the mountains behind our seats.
"Turandot" is Puccini's last, unfinished opera from 1924. It is the story of a namesake Chinese princess who resolves to marry only the suitor who can solve three riddles (she kills all the others). Finally a prince gets the three answers right, and tells Turandot she can only get out of marrying him by guessing his name.
One of the world's most recognizable arias is "Nessun Dorma," which the prince sings anticipating love's final victory as the dawn deadline approaches and Turandot remains clueless.
I grew up listening to Luciano Pavarotti's signature rendition of this powerful hymn to hope, so no other tenor, however good, will ever be quite as meltingly emotional for me.
But to experience this aria not in a theater, but among fragrant linden trees on a balmy night, is incomparable. No stage setting could so precisely replicate the fairy tale's first glimpse of a happy ending.
Most poignantly, it is the same lakeside evening cheap wow gold Puccini enjoyed, when this aria was still playing only in the mind of one of Italy's greatest musicians.
˙

25.06.2010. u 03:57 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

četvrtak, 24.06.2010.

Visit Bordeaux to see where the wines come from

There's something noble about mesos Bordeaux wines, and it's not just the proud heritage of their 100-year-old vines, their prominent place in viticulture history, or their world-renowned quality.It's also the "noble rot" responsible for creating some of the region's sweeter wines, which are being paired more frequently with main courses alongside their better-known Bordeaux counterparts.

Some people use the term Bordeaux ally, the way others might ask for a Cabernet, but Bordeaux wines actually come in several distinct varieties, such as sweet white wines and dry white wines, in addition to several different types of red wine. The Bordeaux region has multiple microclimates, fueled by rivers that wrap around the area in the southwest of France. And from these microclimates and variations in terroir (the vineyard soil and other growing conditions), winemakers are coaxing wines that are smooth and lush, rich and complex, with one eye on past traditions and one on the future.
The diversity of Bordeaux wines can be explored in person, in places like Saint-Emilion, about an hour's drive from the city of Bordeaux. One of the main red wine areas of Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion's wineries employ similar growing, harvesting and winemaking techniques, though its silky red wines are a stark contrast to those of its nearby neighbors.
Getting to Bordeaux is an easy one-hour flight from Paris, or a little over three hours on a high-speed (TGV) train. Arriving at the Bordeaux airport, travelers immediately will recognize the importance of wine to the region: Giant faux wine bottles sit atop the baggage claim carousels, and a vineyard grows right outside the terminal doors.
Unlike visits to wine regions in the U.S., though, most visits to vineyards and wineries should be arranged in advance, and appointments generally are required, as most wineries do not have public visiting hours for "drop-ins" or tasting. To get to the heart of the wine-growing wow gold region, it's best to rent a car, but since many wineries are hard to find on the rural, windy roads, be sure to have a set of good directions (a GPS in the car also is advised).
It's possible to make the city of Bordeaux a base for a visit, as it has several larger hotels. From there, many of the top wine destinations will be an hour or 90 minutes by car. Most of the smaller, picturesque towns have a handful of small hotels and B&Bs. Book lodging ahead of time, especially during the peak summer months. Late spring, summer and fall are the best months to visit; winters can be cold. Long summer days also offer more daylight during which to take in the picturesque vineyards and towns.
The town of Saint-Emilion, named for an eighth-century Benedictine monk, is nestled high on a hill, with nearly 200 acres of catacombs beneath the surface. They are still accessible in some parts of town, including at the winery Chateau Canon, where centuries-old candlemarks from workers excavating the limestone are still visible on the walls and low ceilings.
In spite of their cellar-like appearance, however, the catacombs are not generally used for storing wine because of high humidity. At Chateau Canon, some "old-school" winemaking practices are employed, such as the use of wood fermentation tanks, but they are coupled with modern technology and methods.
The Chateau Coutet vineyard, one of the oldest Sauternes producers in the Sauternes-Barsac region, is best known for its eponymous Premier Cru (first growth wine), as well as its prestigious Cuvee Madame. The winery's location between buy wow gold the Garonne and Ciron rivers provides the perfect blend of moist and dry climate conditions that produce a grape fungus called botrytis, which causes the "noble rot" necessary to produce the sweet wines.
Lately, Chateau Coutet (which Thomas Jefferson proclaimed the best of Barsac Sauternes back in the late 1700s) and other lush, amber wines are re-emerging not just for an aperitif or after-dinner drink, but also as wine that can be paired with main courses such as spicy curries, lobster and duck. However, this newfound popularity doesn't mean that the old-school way of doing things has been abandoned in southern Bordeaux: Many wineries painstakingly harvest grapes by hand, hectare by hectare, keeping each plot separate not only through the picking, but through maceration, fermentation and barreling. In fact, when wines are blended, it usually is the first "meeting" of the various plots within a vineyard.
In the Margaux region of Bordeaux, the Chateau du Tertre vineyard has taken a decidedly modern turn. Its minimalist decor inside gives it a clean, 21st-century feel, and its fermentation area is punctuated by an intriguing, egg-shaped concrete vat. Its 35-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines, along with some Petit Verdot, produce wines are deep yet sharp.
The average age of the vines at Chateau Haut-Bailly in the Pessac-Leognan region is also 35 years, but its vineyard includes four hectares of vines that are more than 100 years old. Old meets new outside of the vineyards, too, where fossilized rock marks the outside of the winery and modern sculptures grace the winery entrance.
Similar modern sculptures also can be seen at nearby Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, where a giant hare watches over Cabernet Franc vines. But whether one is seeking art or nature, modern or traditional, sweet wine or deep reds, the region of Bordeaux offers diverse and widespread appeal.
"Bordeaux is ... a beautiful region, and city with a full and rich history. Everywhere you look, you have a reminder that wine is deeply ingrained in the local culture," said Aline Baly, third generation owner of Chateau Coutet. "In the city, one discovers numerous cavistes, wine bars and restaurants with fabulous Bordeaux wine lists. But adventuring down the cobblestones streets, through the architecture, museums and its beautiful parks, reminds us that wine is only one thread cheap wow gold in Bordeaux's rich tapestry."

24.06.2010. u 04:44 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

srijeda, 23.06.2010.

Texas' mystical Caddo Lake beckons visitors

As Capt. Ron Gibbs navigates his pontoon boat mesos down a narrow waterway lined with bald cypress trees dripping Spanish moss, he shuts off the motor. The only noise punctuating the silence is birds calling as the boat glides under the bright summer sun on Caddo Lake.
Visitors to this lake tucked away in Texas' forested northeast corner find a mysterious labyrinth of swamps, sloughs and bayous, home to a vast array of wildlife from owls to eagles to alligators. A boat tour of the lake takes visitors through seas of bright green water lilies, down shaded watery avenues and past islands of dense forest.
"There are some areas that are so primeval it'll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up," said Gibbs, whose Graceful Ghost Steamboat Company Inc. is one of several outfits offering boat tours of the lake. "It's a supernatural feeling. It's downright spooky in some areas."
"It's hauntingly beautiful. It's an enchanting lake," Gibbs said.
The lake's "flooded forest," which has trees that are more than 400 years old, was created when the lake level rose after bald cypress trees germinated on the dry lake bed in a low-water period, said Todd Dickinson, park manager of the state's 484-acre Caddo Lake State Park.
Tourists are drawn to the lake and state park, which is bordered by the 8,000-acre wow gold Caddo Lake Wildlife Management Area and the 7,000-acre Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge, for the camping, boating, kayaking, bird watching, hiking, fishing and hunting.
The 27,000-acre lake about 170 miles east of Dallas straddles the edge of Texas and Louisiana, where it becomes open water.
Dickinson said each season offers something new on the lake. In the summer, the lake shimmers under the hot sun and the vegetation is in full bloom, showing off bright greens and colorful flowers. By fall, the bald cypress trees are turning a rusty red, and when the temperature drops in the winter, the lake takes on a silvery glow as the trees lose their leaves. In the spring, more fisherman appear and the lake begins getting greener.
"This lake just comes alive with something new each week," Gibbs said.
A first glimpse of the lake can be bewitching.
"It looks very prehistoric. Really magical, enchanting, otherworldly," said Vanessa Adams, a biologist for the wildlife management area.
Bird watching can be especially interesting, said Adams. One a recent summer afternoon, there were great blue herons wading in the water.
Adams said that in the fall, when buy wow gold wading birds are doing their "post-breeding wandering," there can be some unexpected sightings in the swampy lake.
English sisters Marilyn Jones and Anita Harris from Liverpool made a stop on Caddo Lake as part of a tour of Texas after reading about it in a guidebook. They said the lake did not disappoint, with Jones describing it as "brilliant, beautiful."
"The atmosphere is just completely different," Harris said.
About 17 miles west of the lake, visitors will find the genteel town of Jefferson, which has its own historical ties to the flooded forest.
Now a small community of elegant homes, antique stores and bed and breakfasts, Jefferson was once a bustling river port, with steamboats traveling up the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the Red River, through Caddo Lake and down Big Cypress Bayou to Jefferson. But in the 1870s, a "log jam" on the Red River above Shreveport, La., was broken up, opening up the main course of the river and lowering water levels so much that steamboats could no longer make it through to Jefferson.
With its tree-lined lanes of antebellum homes and a downtown square near the Big Cypress Bayou, the town makes a relaxing stop. For elegant dining after a day on the lake, try the Stillwater Inn, located in an old Victorian home.
"The beauty of coming to Jefferson is you can come in, park the car, throw away the keys and walk everywhere," said Juanita Wakefield Chitwood, executive director of the Marion County Chamber of Commerce.
Far away from the bustle of Texas' big cities, and a marked difference from the open prairie and desert that people often associate with the state, Caddo Lake and its surrounding forests offer something different.
"It's not like anything else in Texas, that's for sure," said Rick Lowerre, president of the Caddo Lake Institute, a nonprofit founded by musician Don Henley to help protect the lake.
"That flooded cypress forest, thousands of acres of it, is pretty cheap wow gold magical," Lowerre said.

23.06.2010. u 04:02 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

utorak, 22.06.2010.

Meet Justin Bieber's rockin' dad

Justin Bieber would be nowhere without mesoshis mother, Pattie Mallette: She posted the now-infamous videos of himon YouTube, relocated to Atlanta with him so he could launch hisrecording career and keeps him grounded with chores and a curfew.
But in honor of Father's Day, it's time to pay tribute to the man behind the boy: Jeremy Bieber.
ThoughJustin was raised by his mom in Stratford, Ontario, his father hasalways been a part of his life. "I have a great relationship with mydad," the pop star, 16, told Seventeen. "When I wow gold was younger, he taught me how to play some songs on the guitar, like 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' by Bob Dylan."
WhileMallette, 36, turned Justin on to Boyz II Men, Jeremy, 37, exposed himto harder-rocking groups – and has since helped him with an importantrite of passage.
"He's the one who got me into classic rock andthen turned me on to stuff like Guns N' Roses and Metallica," Justintold the magazine. "He taught me how to drive too. He's cool."
So what else is there to know about the man who calls himself Lord Bieber on Twitter?
Jeremylives in Canada, where he is married and has two younger children,Jazmyn and Jaxon. According to his Tweets, he thinks Dumb and Dumber"has to be the greatest movie of all time" and will "never get sick of"Seinfeld.
Meanwhile, on a personal Web site he created seven yearsago, Jeremy revealed he reads The Sword of Truth fantasy novels andloves to play buy wow gold thecard game Spades. But that's not all: "I love the outdoors. I followand play a variety of sports. I love camping and boating, but most ofall, I love to travel."
The site is also loaded with shirtlessphotos of Jeremy showing off his tattooed chest – as well as photos ofhis son as a young boy. (Earlier this year, the teen got his firsttattoo: a seagull to match one his father has.)
"My life is myson," Jeremy wrote on the site. "He is 9 years old and is the mosttalented person I know. He's a 'looker' too (just like cheap wow gold his dad)!"

22.06.2010. u 04:02 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

ponedjeljak, 21.06.2010.

Tea, coffee reduce heart risk: study

A new research suggests that people mesos who drink tea or coffee in moderation are less likely to die of heart disease than coffee and tea abstainers, according to media reports Saturday.
The research team studied tea and coffee consumption among 37,514 people in The Netherlands, and followed the participants for 13 years to monitor heart disease and death.
They found that those who drink between three and six cups are 45% less likely to suffer coronary problems compared to people who had less than one cup daily.
And drinking more than six cups of tea a wow gold day was associated with a 36% lower risk of heart disease, compared to drinking less than one cup.
People who drank more than two, but no more than four, cups of coffee a day had about a 20% lower risk of heart disease than people who drank more or less coffee or no coffee at all.
No effect of coffee or tea consumption on the risk of stroke was seen in the study.
The researchers believe that the health benefits are down to antioxidants found in both drinks which remove damaging free radicals from the body.
Ellen Mason, Senior Cardiac Nurse buy wow gold at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study adds further weight to the evidence that drinking tea and coffee in moderation is not harmful for most people, and may even lower your risk of developing, or dying, from heart disease.
"However, it's worth remembering that leading a healthy overall lifestyle is the thing that really matters when it comes to keeping your heart in top condition.
"Having a cigarette with your coffee could completely cancel any benefits, while drinking lots of tea in front of the TV for hours on end without exercising is unlikely to offer your heart much protection at all."
The study was published online June 18 in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis cheap wow gold and Vascular Biology.

21.06.2010. u 04:50 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

subota, 19.06.2010.

Serbia wary of 'machine-like' Germany

Serbia are hurting after mesos their opening defeat to Ghana and must show no fear if they are to stop 'machine-like' Germany here on Friday, striker Milan Jovanovic says.
Germany, arguably the team of the tournament at the World Cup so far, can all but seal a last 16 ticket with victory over the Serbs.
A stylish 4-0 demolition of Australia in their opener has left Joachim Loew's German side sitting pretty atop Group D.
Mathematically it is possible they could still be squeezed out but that would require a combination of improbable upsets, not least Australia's transformation from makeweights to maneaters in their remaining games.
But Serbia are not in South Africa by accident, having excelled in qualifying to wow gold top their table forcing former champions France into the playoffs.
And Jovanovic has called on his teammates to go for Germany's jugular after his side's 1-0 reverse against Ghana in their first match.
"Defeat has influenced our mood," the Standard Liege striker told FIFA.com.
"We had expected to win the match against Ghana and we are all hurt by that failure. We missed out on our aim against an inferior rival and now we are in a position where we have to get as many points as possible against better teams than us.
"Germany were very impressive against Australia. They have made the biggest impact at the World Cup so far. They are like a machine, they have seven players going forward.
"If we want to upset them, we will have to show no fear and play the best we can, because we face a better team."
Sami Khedira, who has successfully replaced the injured Michael Ballack in Germany's midfield, is wary of a Serbian backlash.
"We have to be ready to run against Serbia and display the same brand of football we produced against Australia," said the 21-year-old.
"This game is no foregone conclusion, the Serbs will be very fired up and dying to get something from this match."
Goals from Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Thomas Mueller and Cacau got Germany's 2010 campaign off to the perfect start.
While other World Cup title contenders like Brazil, England, France and Italy have struggled to varying degrees in their first games Germany were buy wow gold cool, confident and clinical.
A new German star was born in Durban with unheralded Mesut Ozil's impressive performance in midfield.
"We have always sought an out-and-out Number 10 and now we have found one," said striker Klose.
"Mesut has made the position his own for Germany. He is an absolute bonus for us."
Mueller, who produced a superb strike for Germany's third goal against Australia, cautioned that the euphoria generated by the win would evaporate with a poor result on Friday.
"The international press are heaping praise on us, when you play well you are everyone's darling, but if we lose 2-0 to Serbia, they will tear us apart, so we need to keep our feet on the ground," said the 20-year-old.
The Bayern Munich star added: "We are not the fantastic team which everyone makes us out to be.
"But we have every reason to look forward to the Serbia game cheap wow gold with quiet confidence, it will be a different type of game as they desperately need a win."

19.06.2010. u 04:31 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

četvrtak, 17.06.2010.

History-making Swiss shock favourites Spain in World Cup

World Cup favourites Spain comatose mesos to a shock 1-0 defeat to unfancied Switzerland in their aperture bold of the affray actuality on Wednesday.
A bedrock solid defence and a amazing goalkeeping accomplishment from Diego Benaglio saw the Swiss yield the advance in the 51st minute through Gelson Fernandes and sustain beachcomber afterwards beachcomber of burden to authority on for the win in the Group H clash.
The achievement was Switzerland's first-ever over Spain in 19 amateur dating aback 85 years.
"It is a celebrated victory," said Switzerland's German drillmaster Ottmar Hitzfeld.
"We haven't baffled Spain for such a continued time. We accept taken a footfall appear the additional round, but now added will be accepted of us. We accept to abide alert and focussed," added the 61-year-old, one of alone three coaches to accept won the Champions League with two altered clubs.
His Spanish analogue Vicente Del Bosque said that his ancillary had done evrrything but score.
"We did all that was accessible but we lacked accurateness area it mattered," said the above Absolute Madrid coach.
"They again bent us on the counter-attack. Now, we accept to balance our motivation.
Fernandes' accolade ambition was absolutely the blazon pundits said the Swiss ability account adjoin a Spanish aggregation whose glossy casual bold bootless to catechumen area and cutting possessional advantage into annihilation concrete.
A long, beeline goalkick was best up by striker Eren Derdiyok, whose aisle was blocked by an advancing Iker Casillas.
In the melee, the brawl squirted into the aisle of apostle Gerard Pique who fell as he askance aggravating wow gold to bright the ball, and the Cape Verde-born Fernandes was larboard with the easiest of tap-ins.
Derdiyok could accept fabricated it two for the Swiss but saw his crowd with the alfresco of his bottom backlash off the column in the 74th minute.
Spain will be larboard blame themselves afterwards assertive abundant of accessible play, while Vicente Del Bosque's alternative action will be questioned afterwards the absolute appulse of strikers Jesus Navas and Fernando Torres off the bench.
But the Spanish, fielding the courage of the ancillary that won Euro 2008, did accept their chances.
In the aboriginal acclimatized 45 minutes, Pique's attempt was parried by Benaglio, and David Villa fabricated a absolute assortment of a cantankerous rather than shooting.
Benaglio, who saw key Fulham apostle Philippe Senderos bending off with an abate abrasion afterwards bisected an hour, was activated added as Spain apprenticed in the buy wow gold second-half afterwards traveling abaft to Fernandes' goal.
In abbreviate succession, Villa was baffled by a diving Benaglio, Andres Iniesta saw a crimper accomplishment absence the posts by a metre, and Torres askance and accursed top and wide.
Alonso again saw a 30-yard ammo of a bang appear aback off the woodwork with Benaglio able-bodied beaten. Navas had a attempt able-bodied adored by the Swiss babysitter and went almost advanced anon after.
But the Swiss, generally arena with nine of their 10 outfield players abaft the ball, captivated on for the celebrated win and gave themselves achievement of advanced to the additional round, as they did four years cheap wow gold ago in Germany.

17.06.2010. u 04:29 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

ponedjeljak, 14.06.2010.

Belinda Carlisle Memoir Captures Punk Roots, Pop Stardom

Singer Belinda Carlisle reveals mesos a double-edged life in a new memoir from her burgeoning glory days in the all-girl band the Go-Go's to decades of cocaine use that masked her personal insecurities.
"I was like the good girl, bad girl, there were no grey areas for me," Carlisle said in a recent interview recalling how her days growing up in poor suburban Los Angeles where the contrast between being both a shoplifter and popular high school cheerleader formed patterns for her life.
Her recently released book, "Lips Unsealed," -- a play on the hit Go-Go's's 1981 smash hit song "Our Lips Are Sealed" -- details much of Carlisle's early days forming the band in L.A's punk scene and becoming "the first female band (formed by women) to write our own songs and play our own instruments. It was pretty revolutionary," said Carlisle.
After obsessions with bands like Queen and the Sex Pistols, Carlisle and guitarist/songwriter Jane Wiedlin helped start the new wave band but were clueless about how to perform.
"The punk scene was great in that anybody could be in a band and be terrible, including us," said Carlisle, now 50. "We started from zero, we didn't have a Svengali. We had no idea how to play our instruments."
But soon they played in L.A. clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go and gained a following with their high energy and punk image that saw Carlisle sporting a crew cut, changed hair colors and experimenting wow gold with outrageous outfits.
"It was never a contrived image. We just looked that way. It was a combination of punk, rockabilly and tiaras, torn stockings and stilettos," Carlisle said. "And we just had these angelic faces that hid a multitude of sins."
Endless partying began from the early days as the band toured with British ska band Madness and played rough clubs in U.K. cities like Newcastle and Leeds. In those venues, the Go-Go's sang their demo version of the early single "We Got The Beat" and were spat on -- a practice known as "gobbing."
"It was horrible. I remember coming off crying and covered in snot," she said. "It was lonely and it was dangerous, five little white girls from southern California being thrown in with all these hard-core skinheads."
Carlisle recalls in the memoir struggling to get signed to any record label, with executives believing all-female bands wouldn't sell. "At that point we said, screw it, screw everyone, we'll show the entire industry," Carlisle writes.
Eventually they were signed to IRS records who steered them to a more pop-orientated sound for their debut album "Beauty and the Beat" that launched the band to global success.
Carlisle's cocaine habit then careened out of control. She struggled with the drug for decades through her later solo career, which began after the Go-Go's broke up in 1985. Her solo hits included "Mad About You," "Heaven is Place on Earth," "Leave a Light On" and "Summer Rain."
"I loved it from the first buy wow gold time I did it. And I thought one day when I can afford this I will buy lots of it, and I did," Carlisle said of her cocaine addiction. But she gave up after a pivotal moment hallucinating in a hotel room. "There was no question in my mind I was going to die."
Her drug use, she said, was fed by her low self esteem, her struggle with weight and the lack of a proper father figure growing up.
These days she meditates, practices a drug recovery program and is about to embark on a farewell tour with the Go-Go's. And she's thankful the band did not emerge from the Los Angeles club scene and find stardom in today's tabloid world.
"There is no way I could have gotten away with what I did," she said. "Graveyards cheap wow gold at 2 o'clock in the morning on acid, I don't think so."

14.06.2010. u 04:52 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

Belinda Carlisle memoir captures punk roots, pop stardom

14.06.2010. u 04:33 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

nedjelja, 13.06.2010.

What is happening between my best guy friend and I?

He was the very first mesos friend I made when I first moved up here several years ago. We both were in relationships and had never been single at the same time until now. We know most everything about each other, hang out all of the time and have seen each other at our worst.
A few years ago I told him that I love him. Yes I was a bit inebriated at the time, but that is always when your true feelings come out. He was just in a new relationship at the time and I was in a very unhealthy one. Thankfully, we stayed friends despite my little outburst which normally would make a guy run for the hills. Shortly after that, I got out of my bad relationship. It felt good. He was continuing on with his relationship that seemed to be going well for him. Only thing was she never was social or wanted to go hang out when all of us friends were getting together. I'm not the only one who thought she just wasn't right for him.
I always give my friends hugs when I see them and he was no different. The only thing was when we hugged I always felt this little spark. A couple of times I would give him a ride home and wow gold when we said goodbye, he kissed me. I felt guilty because he was still in his relationship, but it wasn't anything too major and it felt nice. About a year and a half into their relationship, it ended. He hooked up with a couple of mutual friends a couple of nights, but for some reason he always felt it necessary to tell me what happened. I never understood why he felt obligated to tell me that he slept with someone. I mean we're just friends right? We continued to hang out as usual - movies, drinks, friends, fires, etc. Then a few months later, him and his ex got back together.I asked him if he was happy and he never really said yes, just that "she's good for me." They got back together for about a month, and she dumped him again. All the while I'm still there. You know.... the friend....
We have been there for each other always over the years. When I needed a place to stay when I broke up with my boyfriend, he let me have his couch. When he needed help with anything I was always there to lend a hand. About a month after their final break up, we started to hang out a lot more. We've always been flirty and then one night he kissed me. We snuggle up on the couch together and watch movies and what not. Whenever I used to stay over at his house, I always slept on buy wow gold the couch. One night he asked me to stay but with him in his room. No, we didn't sleep together, just kissed a bunch and got a little handsy. Every time we would kiss after a little while he would stop and say "no you are my good friend," then we would end up kissing again a little while later. Because of his actions there I was confused on what he actually wanted. Did he want me as just a friend or more?
The next time I went over to his house, I slept on the couch because of his whole "friends" thing but he slept on the couch holding on to me. He had a bad back at the time and when I asked him why didn't he sleep in his bed he answered, "because you were out here."
We went camping this last weekend, and his dog came over to my tent where my dog was (they are best friends too) and so I got up and brought her back to cheap wow gold his tent. That night it was a bit rainy and so because I had my backpacking tent and a big wet dog, I stayed with him since he had way more room. Before we went to sleep, we kissed as usual and snuggled up and he said "I love you." He had said it once before but just like me I think he might have had a few. Is it our subconscious speaking for us?
I have yet to hang out with him since the camping trip since it is a work week and what not. I don't want to be his rebound girl, but since he already had his fun the first time they broke up, do I have to worry about that? Do I just wait and see where things go? I just don't risk my friendship with him, because if I do end up getting hurt, then what? I am so confused on what is going on. I don't want to talk to him about it because I think it might be too early still... Any insight into this situation would world of warcraft gold be great help.

13.06.2010. u 10:36 • 0 Komentara • Print • #

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