December 31st, 1969
When you say Holland, you probably think of Amsterdam. But Holland has other places which are just as interesting, places such as Rotterdam for example . Rotterdam is the second city of Holland, population wise, and it has the largest port of Europe and the third largest port of the World behind Sjanghai and Singapore.
There is also a big lookout tower called the Euromast from where you can see a big part of the
city. Rotterdam is also becoming a big event city, with a yearly event called
Bavaria City racing. Where the city centre is closed for traffic and Formula 1 cars and other vehicles give demonstrations.
Another big event planned for next year is the Red Bull Air Race. The Red Bull Air Race is an airplane race that takes place over the entire world in only 10 chosen areas, where only the best pilots in the world compete against each other. The Red Bull Air Race is planned for 19 and 20 July 2008.
To get to Rotterdam, the best way is to take a train from Amsterdam. It will take about a hour to get there. Rotterdam also has 2 metro lines and several tram lines that take you through the entire city. If you are travelling to Rotterdam but want to stay in Amsterdam, check out Amsterdam apartments, or search by apartments type in Amsterdam.
Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
If you are looking to ski or snowboard in the US, the choices can be overwhelming. East coast vs. West coast; the Rockies, Sierras, New Mexico – where does one begin? For guaranteed fun – you cannot go wrong at two of America´s most famous resorts - Aspen and Vail.
Both located in the state of Colorado, these resorts offer more snow sports than you can shake a stick at. Vail is about an hours’ drive 
west from Denver (major international airport), making it accessible even for the day. The resort is simply huge. At over 3600 meters - it offers over 200 trails, 35 lifts and dozens of restaurants on and off the mountain. What makes Vail truly unique is it has 3 faces. Most ski resorts in the Northern Hemisphere face north to limit sun-exposure on the trails which preserves the snow. Vail not only has a northern facing side but a completely ungroomed south side.
The area is vast and since it faces the sun, the skiing is warm and comfortable for most of the season.The village of Vail is modeled off a Bavarian village with traditional structures and small streets. Accommodations range from hotels to apartments and villas. Vail is great for families looking for numerous options on and off the mountain.
Metaphorically speaking, if Vail = steak than Aspen = soufflé. Looking for more of a niche, ritzy experience than Aspen is the place to be. Home to many of Hollywood´s rich and famous, Aspen’s reputation for great parties and nightlife if almost as notorious as its excellent skiing. Located over 3 hours from Denver, Aspen attracts more long term guests. The resort has its own airport and guests tend to stay for at least a week. With this, the atmosphere is unique and more communal than Vail. The mountain is about half the size of Vail but still offers a wide spectrum of levels.
Vail accommodations vary from B&B´s, Inns to private homes for all tastes. Filled with 5 star restaurants and shops, the village is certain to satisfy any craving that may come up! Aspen Dolamite villa in Aspen is one place worth considering.
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Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
Germany is always known for its big Christmas markets. Also this year in Berlin there are over 50 Christmas markets and they are starting from 26 nov. and last until 26 dec . But that is not all, there are several activities in Berlin during Christmas like Berlin on Ice, A 700 sq m ice skating place in the historical centre of the city.
There are also a number of great Christmas shows in local theaters like Roncalli Christmas circus, Stars in Concert, Soap etc. Of course 
there are a lot of shops where you can do your Christmas shopping. And if you’re staying over new year there is a big new year’s eve party between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column with loads of fireworks and music stages.
For more information: You can view the Berlin Tourist Information site and for Berlin holiday apartments you can search Berlin apartments.
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Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
During December there is a smell of Christmas in the air of Berlin. Almonds, fried sausages, fresh fir-tree green, resin, cinnamon, oranges and a cool breeze allow the citizens to forget the hectic rush and their worries. You can see people laughing in the streets holding a cup of mulled wine or a pack of sweets. There are smiling children with a sparkle in their eyes everywhere, happy because they can stay up late, running over the Christmas markets and eat red candis apple, bananas dipped in chocolate sauce or candy floss in different colours.
Although nearly every street offers special Christmas lighting, wooden cabins and places to buy punch and mulled
wine, to really experience Christmas you have to visit at least one of the famous Christmas markets in the German capital, like the one at the Gendarmenmarkt, Alexanderplatz, at the Schlossplatz to have an amazing view over Berlin from the Ferris Wheel or at the Opernpalais Unter den Linden to enjoy art crafts from the Erz Mountains, Czech Republic or South Tyrol.
But wherever you choose to go, you have to try “Kale and pinkle” which is a specialty during the Christmas season as well as the Christstollen.
Berlin, of course, offers many more opportunities to enjoy the pre-Christmas period and surely, there is something to fit any taste and I can assure you, you will be a child once more as the Christmas miracle reaches everyone.
Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
With the Christmas Holidays over and with those of us in the Northern hemisphere now in the heart of winter time, many of us our starting to think about and plan our next big vacation, whether it be during Easter or in the Spring or summer. To help you out, I have detailed below five of my favourite travel sites, and ones I use regularly when looking for travel ideas. If you have any sites you yourself like, feel free to send blog comments with your favourites!
SkyScanner - This site crawls the majority of the budget airlines and allows you to view prices across a number of days so that you can clearly and easily see a comparision of different prices. This is a very handy site.
Cheapflights.co.uk - This site is similar to SkyScanner in that it details a selection of airline flights. This is different though in that it includes the major airlines such as British Airways and Air France, rather than focusing on budget flights. This site is regularly updated and a very handy site.
OpenJet - This is another handy price flight comparision site which you may want to check after checking SkyScanner and Cheapflights.co.uk, just to ensure you have found the best price.
For holiday apartments and accommodation worldwide try Holiday Velvet.
- Contributor: Paul Symonds
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Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
Without meaning to sound in any way negative, and to take away from the great pleasue our holidays and vacations can bring us, many things can go wrong when you are travelling abroad. There are though soem things we can do to make our travels more trouble free. Below 3 quick ideas. Please also feel free to send us your ideas, via blog comments!
1. Make sure that you scanned copy of your passort and other important travel documents and ensure that you email these to your web based email address (i.e. a Yahoo or hotmail account). You will then be able to access a copy of your documents from anywhere in the world if you need.
2. Do learn even just 10 words of the local language. Even if you cannot say any more thank please and thank you and a few more words. Just saying those 2 or 3 words can get the locals on your side. Even a few words in the local language, shows some effort has been made on your part and you will find locals often act more friendly and helpfully, towards you.
3. Do buy a small pocket travel guide i.e. Lonely Planet guide. There is little point in trying to save a few dollars, Euros or pounds on not buying such a book because the book itself will pay for itself with even the most simple information, such as how and where to get travel card on local transportation. The books have paid for themselves ten-fold for me wherever I have travelled. My favourites are the Lonely Planet Series.
One final tip, make sure you check Holiday Velvet apartment and villa rentals website before travelling. The prices can mean you save on the cost of a hotel stay!
Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
When the desert gem, Dubai comes to mind one often thinks of glitzy hotels, expensive shopping and the highlife. However, with a bit of research and knowledge even the frugal traveler can enjoy this rapidly transforming playground.
Dubai Accommodation – Avoid the larger hotels which can run cost up to hundreds of dollars per nights. Save big when renting a villa or an apartment. Another bonus is one can
usually cook in-house cutting back on the high restaurant bills.
Transport – Dubai has no metro system and taxis can cost a fortune - so cut down on costs by renting a car thru car-hire agency who now provide small cars for 55 dollars a day.
Low season – Many recommend visiting the city during Ramadan when capacity is lower and often business owners lower their rates. Avoid going during peak period like the Dubai Shopping Festival, which typically runs from late December through January.
- Contributor: Oakley Johnson
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Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
Hamilton, Alonso, Räikkönen – if you know these names and want to see them at their best, than the Formula 1 race in Barcelona on April 27 is the place for you. Activities, parties and events begin around April 24 and continue throughout the week until race day.
The Gran Premio de Espana race itself is held in Montmelo - about a 40 minute trip north of the city. The track 4.655 km long 
and the race consist of 66 laps. The race draws enormous spectators which usually top out at over 115,000.
If you are interested in attending ticket information can be found at Barcelona Culture F1 and for great F1 accommodation in Barcelona try Holiday Velvet.
Contributor: Oakley Johnson
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Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
Are you a movie-buff who also likes to hang out on the beach and get some sun? Then maybe the Algarve International Film Festival on Portugal´s south cast is the place for you.
The popular seaside town, Portimao has their own film festival every year. The Algarve International Film Festival is Portugal´s oldest film event which dates back to the early 70´s.
Held during the month of May, the Algarve Film Festival attracts many top Directors and offers screening in numerous villages along the coast including in Lagos, Albufiera, Loulé, and Tavira.
The festival is broken down into 5 main catergories of films and these are:
- Retrospective
- FICA 30 (Previous winners short films)
- Short movies
- New Territories
- Annecy section.
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Source: Holiday Velvet Team
December 31st, 1969
Once again, everybody could sin unpunished for a few days in Germany. Although Carnival already starts on November 11th at 11.11 a.m. the “Crazy Days” start on Thursday with the “Altweiberfastnacht”.
Pirates, clowns, witches, fairies, princesses and kings, Charlie Chaplin and many more historic people strolled through the cities. Whether you’ve been to the Rhineland or the East, the cities or the villages, everywhere the p
eople, young and old, big and small, where dancing, laughing, eating tidbits and drinking.
The biggest and most famous one, though, is in Cologne where on Thursday at 11.11 a.m. the street Carnival is officially opened by the three principal Carnival figures: the Prince, the Peasant and the Virgin. Over the weekend you saw thousands of “Jecken” in the city and celebrations and parties were held in every pub, restaurant, in every house. The Highlight was on Rose Monday, when the six-hour long procession with 10,000 of the city’s gaudily-dressed inhabitants took place.
But all good things must come to an end. On Tuesday, “Veilchendienstag”, the fifth season of the year ended with the “Nubbelverbrennung”, where you burn the spirit of carnival to atone for the sins committed during the last 6 days. Then, on Ash Wednesday, the “Jecken” go into restaurants and pubs where the traditional fish dinners are served. You should think about going to Berlin to enjoy the colourful spectacle next year which is part of Germany’s unique culture. You can learn more about
Altweiberfastnacht and also book
holiday rentals in Germany for the amazing Altweiberfastnacht festivals.
Source: Holiday Velvet Team
city. Rotterdam is also becoming a big event city, with a yearly event called Bavaria City racing. Where the city centre is closed for traffic and Formula 1 cars and other vehicles give demonstrations.
