Archive for August, 2009
How To Choose Your French Holiday Destination
As a holiday country France has everything broad sandy beaches bathed in sunshine dramatic mountain peaks and river gorges gently rolling emerald countryside with a timeless feel vibrant towns and cities with an uptotheminute cultural buzz. Everywhere you’ll find worldrenowned cuisine at reasonable prices friendly service space to breathe and time for the small courtesies of life. With so much on offer how to choose your next French holiday destination?
Most of France is easily accessible these days even on a budget which opens up plenty of choices. French holiday experts like French Connections can be a good starting point to narrow your selection with regional and travel guides and accommodation listings.
If you want to just nip across the Channel the Northern coast of France offers some seaside gems like smart Le Touquet with its golf courses gourmet restaurants and a huge beach for wind sports. Then there’s Honfleur with picturebook harbour and arty shops. Drive from here along the Cote Fleurie past beamed and thatched houses contented cows and apple orchards to Deauville favourite resort of elegant Parisians. Beyond lies Caen a good base to explore the Normandy landing beaches of WWII and the tapestry at Bayeux.
Brittany’s countryside and coast are largely wild and unspoilt; the region has a wealth of local festivals and cultural traditions. For wine lovers and those who enjoy historic houses and gardens the Loire is ideal. Travel from one domaine to the next taking in fairytale riverside chateaux likeVillandry with its formal potager combining vegetables with flowers.
The banks of the Dordogne river offer peaceful pastoral idyll alongside prehistory seen in cave paintings and excellent museums. For those who crave the freedom of mountains and nature the less wellknown Cevennes region offers mile after mile of breathtaking pineclad peaks.
The sunfilled South of France has happening resorts ancient cities oozing culture wild horses of the Camargue and countryside heady with heat and the scent of lavender and vines. No wonder Nice Bandol Montpellier and Arles are all favourite places. And talking of culture who could ignore Paris a world of enchantment on its own and one of the world’s most romantic cities?
So many enticing destinations; better start planning the holiday after next!
About the writer: Glynis Shaw is http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk the French property website for renting a holiday home farm house gite or villa in France or to buy and sell property in France.
How To Choose The Right Camping Tent
An important aspect of enjoying your camping experience is choosing the right tent.
Camping is one of the most fun outdoor activities but buying the wrong tent can dampen the whole experience.
There are some questions that you should ask yourself in order to ensure that you choose the perfect tent for both you and your family.
First of all a basic but important question to answer is how many people will be using the tent? This will help you to determine the right style and size you need.
You dont want to buy a tent that can hold just five people when you need one big enough for six or seven.
What kind of conditions should the tent be built to handle? Will you be camping in primarily warm weather? Or will you camp year round?
You should purchase a tent that can handle the conditions you’re likely to encounter. There are tents made for warm weather and there are 3 or 4 season tents.
How often will your tent be used? If youre planning to camp frequently you want to buy a durable tent. If youre camping with children you definitely want a durable tent!
How much interior space do you want or need? If you want to be comfortable you need to take sleeping space and storage into account. For example if you want standing room consider buying a dome tent.
Are you a hiker or backpacker? You should look for a lightweight tent that you can easily transport.
**Shapes And Styles**
Family Camping Tents
Family tents are roomy and generally hold four to nine or ten people. They usually have large windows and entry doors.
Dome Style Tents
The rounded shape of a dome tent adds strength good wind resistance and good interior space.
AFrame Style Tents
Aframe tents have a simple lightweight design. Theyre usually freestanding and easy to set up. Theres good room at the floor but less up top.
Umbrella Style Tents
Umbrella style tents have spacious head and floor space can hold many people and have good ventilation.
Different Season Tents
There are two three and four season tents. Two season tents are fair weather tents that are usually very inexpensive.
Three season tents are the most popular and are able to handle rain.
Four season tents have heavier construction to fight off wind stress and snow loads. Theyre made of higher grade fabrics and contain more poles for added strength. Four season tents can however be hot and heavy if used in moderate weather.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Shop for a variety of family tentsYou’ll find 3 person tents and larger 7 person tents
How I Took A Great Vacation That Cost Me Very Little
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Well to start out with I have to tell you that when its time for vacation or business I drive my car take a bus or go on the train if possible. I do not go up into the clouds for anybody or any reason. I hate the feeling of falling more then any thing else that a person could be put through. Oh yea you are saying right now its still the safest way to travel but when you do crash it is the longest time before you hit the ground so no thanks.
The first thing I do before going on vacation is get my car ready. I get the oil changed a few days before I leave on vacation. It seems to me every time I get a fresh oil change the engine runs smoother and the car gets better mileage. Also make sure your air filter is clean and your tires are at the right air pressure. These things might sound simple but they could get you a few more miles to the gallon which is a big saving these days. Also I add a fuel additive like Ultimateme2 in my gas tank and get additional miles to the gallon.
The next step is to find some good vacation packages which give you discount hotels or 3 day 2 night stay for a low cost. Some even give you free amusement tickets golfing rounds water country passes visa cards or even a fourth night stay where you are vacationing. Still dont get it then read on.
I personally have done many timeshare presentations through out my life time especially when I go to Florida. There we set up five appointments to visit different timeshares. In Florida you can schedule a tour at 7:30 in the morning so it doesnt mess up your whole day. What is cool is they give you breakfast and it is like eating at golden coral and when I am done eating they give me money or attraction tickets for many different attractions. With the money from the five tours and all those meals I bet I save 700.00 dollars right there.
The big reason I save a lot is I own a resort so I only have to pay a maintenance fee every year which is much less then I got for those tours just taken. It is not a lot to give up for what you receive in return. They will even give you another free vacation for going so you dont even have to pay for that the next time you take a vacation.
Getting different vacation packages is the way to go as there is a lot of things to do at a resort that are free swimming miniature golf tennis karaoke bingo and many other things so you hardly have to leave the resort to spend any money at all. I usually get some amusement tickets to Disney World or Bush Gardens and Sea World at the timeshare as a gift so I dont even have to get those unless I do more then one amusement park.
So there you have it sit back and see if you can come up with your own discount vacation packages and maybe a few ideas on how to get some of your vacations for free. Or simply go to vacationpackagestogo.com they have done the work for you.
About the writer: http://www.vacationpackagestogo.com