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Posts Tagged ‘Athens’

Greece – So Many Islands, So Little Time

March 3rd, 2009 No comments

Greece is a country that offers a huge variety of experiences and activities that you can indulge yourself in if you go for holidays there. In Greece, you’ll find everything from ancient beauty to modern entertainment. Greece has a very classical past and you will see this hallowed past reflected from its different sites and places.

Greece has many islands, each very beautiful in its own regard. You’ll be amazed by the beauty of these with white sands and turquoise water that looks like crystal. The quantity of the islands might make it a little difficult for you to choose the one that you ought to visit first.

An excellent start for you to begin exploring the islets is from Sifnos. It has truly engaged its Greek temperament. The islet is attractive and you will see a purely Greek routine here. There are numerous restaurants and cafes here that are placed right on the sand. In addition, there is also Platis Yialos, which is famous for being one of the highly attractive Greek towns.

Lesvos is one of the highly attractive and fascinating Greek islands. Fish is in profusion and there are pine forests and also olive groves. It has brilliant countryside and also spectacular beaches. It’s the third largest Greek islet. An added superior thing about it is that housing and food are highly affordable and of awfully good quality.

One island that you must not miss considering is Santorini. For a theatrical experience, you will be able to take a ship and go to the volcanic Caldera. If you see the dusk on the island, you would be certain to concur that it is unlike anything you have ever experienced before. For an experience of grace, go to Mykonos, which has been visited by all the well-known folks because of its style and thrill. There are cube houses and the Paradise seashore is a view worth seeing. On this island, you’ll discover some of the most excellent restaurants along with the most excellent nightlife. If you desire for a dose of history, take a trip on the ship to Delos.

There’s as well the windsurfing capital, Paros. You will be able to take pleasure in a lot of water games here. The island is extremely gorgeous and has a lot that is worth seeing. Paros is merely a short distance from Athens.

Crete is the chief Greek island and is similar to a country in itself. It has the Porto Elounda Deluxe Resort that is well thought-out to be one of the most excellent resorts in the world. There are a lot of hotels and restaurants and you can visit them, no matter you are looking for a high-priced holiday or are on a financial plan.

Chios is an attractive islet that has white sandy coastlines and is considered to be among the most mesmerizing islands. It has isolated coves and medieval villages. Several other islets that you ought to go to include Hydra, Skiathos, Kea, Corfu, Kefalonia, Naxos, and Kos.

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Pasadena By Way of Santa Fe

February 15th, 2009 No comments

Who doesn’t remember Johnny Mercer’s beloved song: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe? You know, the one made famous by Judy Garland in the movie The Harvey Girls? Come on, you hipsters — isn’t it cool to dig that big band sound and old movies? Well, trust me, Mr. Mercers ode to the old railroad line was a hit in its day — it even won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

One of the largest railroad lines, the Santa Fe was the brainchild of the indomitable Cyrus K. Holliday. Commissioned in 1859 by Congress to connect Topeka, Kansas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Though named for the New Mexican capital, the Santa Fe would never be able to directly serve the city, as the terrain was too difficult to blast through. Ah, the irony. Regardless, the Santa Fe’s tracks managed to reach Pueblo, Colorado in 1876. To compensate for the fact it took fifteen years to reach Colorado from Kansas, the railroad parceled the land granted to it and sold the parcels as homesteads. Not a bad idea: build towns that you will later serve. Note to self…

Without the wherewithal to fully capitalize on its innovative idea, the Santa Fe was a pioneer of interconnected freight services. The railroad owned a tugboat fleet and an airline (Santa Fe Skyway). This model allowed, in theory, Santa Fe to collect the revenues for all faces of freight delivery. When the railroad embraced passenger lines, they expanded their services with a bus line that delivered passengers to any number of locations.

Mind you, this isn’t the story of the Santa Fe, per se; its a story of how this massive railroad company infused a then-small town in California with a new vitality, one that is self-evident today. In the 1880s, no one seems to be sure exactly, the Santa Fe reached sleepy Pasadena. From that point on, the City of Roses became a resort destination for Midwesterner and Easterner visitors eager to escape the brutal winter.

Built within a stone’s throw of the Santa Fe station, the Hotel Green, in particular, would begin a boom in Pasadena motels and hotels that did not stop. As the tourists streamed in, Pasadena’s reputation as the Athens of the West was born. Now with a Beach Boys song and the spirit of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers infusing it, Pasadena remains something of a throwback to the glory years of California’s early statehood and the twilight of the once wild West.

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