Holiday

I love travelling and I am always looking for somewhere different to travel and one place I visited and which is perhaps a lesser common place than normal, but worthwhile visiting, is Andorra.

Andorra is situated between France and Spain, sat on top of the Pyrenees, but it’s relatively easy to get to from Barcelona or South-Western parts of France. The best time to go up there largely depends on what your interests are. If you are into hiking I highly recommend the summer time and mid winter for skiing. Two winters ago I went to Andorra in January but there was very little snow and thus skiing ws pretty much impossible. Best to check the ski reports online first.

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

I have been to a few tango festivals in my life, and thought I saw the beauty of the dance, but I was wrong. Not until a few months ago, when I finally had the privilege to go and see the place where tango originally came from. Of course, there are great Tango dancers all over the world, but to my opinion you don’t see the beauty of the dance until you actually go to Argentina.

What you will then realise, is that it is so much more than just a dance. It has history, culture, drama, and above all; passion! Nowhere you witness that passion more than in Buenos Aires. After all, the Argentineans are the ones that made this dance to what it is. As the dance and the lyrics for the songs were inspired by most lonely man, who left their family and frequently went to clubs or dance room to forget about their “hard, bad life”, the dance shows a lot of sadness as well.

It’s also one of the few dance were the dancers look serious and isolated in their own “world”, instead of dancing around with a rather dum grin on their faces what you see in so many other classical dances. As the Argentinean couple is gliding over the dance floor, you find yourself in a trance like state, and you are so moved by their passion and love for their dance.

To my opinion, because of the history of the dance, the sadness and passion for the Tango is only really reflected by the ones that feel the history, the Argentineans. You can have the best “technical” dancers in the world dancing right next to them, but you would still not notice them. Instead, you will be put under a spell by the old Argentinean couple right next to them.Go and see the Café Sabatino, the Almacén de la Milonga and the Viejo Bailetín del Palomar in Buenos Aires, where the Tango shows some of her oldest roots. Learn more about Tango and also book Bueonos Aires accommodation.

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

I spent quite a few years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and I found that there any many great places to travel around in that area: The Everglades, Miami, Tampa and Orlando if you don’t mind the drive. One of my favourite places though in Florida is the Florida Keys.

The Keys are an absolute must in my opinion, if you visit Florida. Just the drive if amazing and it must surely be one of the most scenic drives in the world, as you drive down the two lane road across bridges and waterways, past mangroves and palm trees.

In Key West there are some great attractions and one which is especially popular is the home of Ernest Hemingway’s house. The Keys are also excellent for diving, fishing, sightseeing and simply for hanging out and enjoying the beaches, bars and cafes.

One of the best way’s to get to The Keys is by flying into Miami or Fort Lauderdale and then hiring a car for a few days or a week and driving down. You can find Florida Keys accommodation for your stay and flights can be found on expedia.com and expedia.co.uk

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

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

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.

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

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.

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

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.

If you are still yet to book your Berlin Xmas accommodation, you can try www.holiday-velvet.com/berlin.

---

Subscribe to this newsfeed. Get all updates sent to your RSS reader.

---

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

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

Source: Holiday Velvet Team

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

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.

- Contributor: Oakley Johnson

Source: Holiday Velvet Team