Bars with panoramic views of Paris are few and far between, but here are three suggestions for where to go for a drink while soaking in the City of Light’s best vistas.


La Vue bar is located on the 34th floor of the Hotel Concorde Lafayette, in the 17th arrondissement to the north of Paris, affording it an unrivalled perspective that overlooks pretty much the whole of the capital.



The Terrass Hotel has a roof-terrace bar on its seventh floor, called, somewhat unsurprisingly, The 7th. Perched up high on the hill of Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement, it has a panoramic view of Paris, encompassing the grey roofs of the city skyline as well as the Tour Montparnasse, Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower,


Georges, located on the 6th and top floor of modern art museum the Pompidou Centre and named after the French president Georges Pompidou who was responsible for the building’s creation.

  

Front Desk: +972-0-22766777 • Fax: +972-0-22766770
 

Beautiful palatial façade and a charming courtyard with palm trees. Guests can relax in the outdoor pool or at the spa.

 
All air-conditioned rooms at the Jacir Bethlehem offer warm décor and a spacious private bathroom with bathtub. Each room has a balcony overlooking the hotel’s garden and a seating area with satellite TV.
A breakfast buffet is served each morning in the Baidar Restaurant. At other times during the day it serves tantalising local and international cuisine for lunch and dinner.

 
The Bethlehem Intercontinental features a fully equipped health club complete with sauna, massage rooms and Jacuzzi. There is a well equipped gym and heated outdoor pool. Billiards and tennis are also among the hotel’s leisure options.


 250 rooms spread over 12 floors provide a warm and pleasant home away from home and modern comforts such as satellite/cable TV, hair dryer, bathrobes, mini bar, bathtub. The complete list of recreational facilities is available at the hotel, including tennis courts, outdoor pool, sauna, jacuzzi, massage. Superb facilities and an excellent location make the Jacir Palace InterContinental Bethlehem Hotel the perfect base from which to enjoy your stay in Bethlehem.

Basic Travel Information

Consider traveling to the Cayman Islands -- Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac -- if you’re looking a vacation that includes some of the Caribbean’s most beautiful beaches and some of the world’s best scuba diving.

Location: In the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba and west of Jamaica.
Size: Grand Cayman 76 square miles, Cayman Brac 14 square miles, Little Cayman 10 square miles.
Capital: George Town
Language: English
Religions: Mainly Presbyterian
Currency: The Cayman Islands dollar (KYD). U.S. dollar widely accepted
Telephone/Area Code: 345
Tipping: Tips often added to bill; otherwise, tip 10 to 15 percent. Tip taxi drivers 10 to 15 percent
Weather: Temperatures vary little seasonally; highs in the low to mid 80s to lows in the 70s. Summer is hurricane season.

 

Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman is not only the most popular beach on Grand Cayman Island but also one of the most famous beaches in the Caribbean. However, it's far from your only choice for surf, sun and sand when visiting the three main Cayman Islands -- Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac -- and every beach in the Caymans is open to the public.

Seven Mile Beach is the Cayman Islands' premier beach resort district and one of the most beautiful and beloved beaches in all of the Caribbean. Actually more like 5.6 miles long, the beach is lined with luxury resorts, restaurants and shops and dotted with beach bars and water-sports centers offering snorkeling, kayaking, and parasailing rentals. The beach, on the west coast of Grand Cayman, also is a magnet for a variety of beach sports, particularly volleyball.
Overall, Seven Mile Beach fairly bustles with activity, which cannot be said of most Cayman Islands beaches. The surf is calm and there are some small reefs that are good for snorkeling.

Best Cayman Islands Dive Centers......................................

The Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) is the undisputed arbiter of great dive shops and dive centers around the world. PADI certification is a must for any worthwhile dive instructor or facility. But only a few are singled out as PADI Gold Palm Resorts, PADI Five-Star Resorts, and/or National Geographic Dive Resorts. Dive programs receiving this recognition truly are the best of the best, and the Cayman Islands have a number of resorts and programs that have been thus honored by PADI.

Cayman Diving College is dedicated dive training facility in the Cayman Islands and holds the prestigious rating of a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Dive Resort.
The facility is based at the Treasure Island Resort, where we have a state of the art classroom and a large 7ft deep pool for confined water training.  Open water dives are either completed at our shore dive location on the Wreck of the Cali or from one of our four customized dive boats.

On the 24th of June Saint-Petersburg will become a Russian student’s capital. Traditional festival “The Scarlet Sails” takes place in Russian Northern Capital since 2005 and every year gets together graduated students from all the countries of former Soviet Union.



This year the festival is going to become one of the most expensive in modern history of this event: 20 milllion rubles from city’s government and sponsors’ help should make the last night of student life unforgettable. The celebration will start at 11PM on the 24th of June and will continue the whole night. The festival will be opened by the concert of popular Russian and foreign singers, that will take place on The Palace Square.


 After the concert students will enjoy an amazing firework show, that usually lasts for about half an hour. A ship with scarlet sails that will appear on Neva river will be the culmination of the night. It’s the symbol' from classic Grin’s book meaning the start of new life for the people who were in primary school just a few days ago.

Nuevo Vallarta is one of the most popular and fastest growing areas in Riviera Nayarit. This planned resort and residential community of "New Vallarta" has amongst the highest hotel occupancy rate in the country. This is where you find the really big deluxe hotels on sprawling oceanfront properties and residential developments in diverse settings: on golf courses, along canals that evoke Florida, beach front, and on flat smooth roads with very little traffic. In contrast to bustling PV proper, this area is super quiet and peaceful, offering luxurious privacy. Recently coming into its own after a rather slow start about 20 years ago, nicely complementing its wide sandy beach stretching as far as the eye can see are a wealth of services and amenities. Lots of good restaurants and bars, three world-class golf courses, a water park, yacht club, marinas, and an air-conditioned mall with over a hundred businesses, a supermarket, health center, cyber cafés and banks among them.



Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit offer plenty to do for people of all ages, the biggest problem you'll probably have is finding the time to fit them all into your schedule.
Lists of what we feel are the top 10 things to do in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.

 

Paradise Village Beach Resort & Spa

 

 

Phone: (322) 176-0200 or Toll free USA 1-866-978-7140, CAN 1-866-924-0862

Website: www.taheima.com  Indulge yourself in a tropical Mexico getaway - Tahéima, the new standard of excellence in wellness resorts. Conveniently located just 10 minutes from Puerto Vallarta International Airport, your experience at Tahéima begins with ease-of-access to all Vallarta has to offer.

Address: Nuevo Vallarta Riviera Nayarit Mexico

Phone: (322) 226-9700 or Toll Free: 1-877-VILLAGROUP

Website: www.villagroupresorts.com/resorts/villa-la-estancia-vallarta

Nuevo Vallarta Spa Resorts and Villa La Estancia Riviera Nayarit Spa Resorts.  This magnificent, recently awarded AAA four diamond resort is the ideal destination for your next luxury Mexico vacation. Indulge with world class amenities, five star panache, fine dining and a stunning location.

With 9,008,830 visitors in 2011, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles parts of Tennessee and North Carolina,  is the No. 1 most-visited national park.





Begin at the Sugarlands Visitor's Center, two miles south of Gatlinburg. There you can enjoy an interesting park film, visit the excellent natural history exhibit and participate in short ranger talks and slide shows.
Here you can pick up a park map or newspaper, have your questions answered by a ranger, and purchase books and guides to the park.

Visitor Center Hours:
January - February 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
March 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
April - May 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
June - August 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
September - October 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
November 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
December 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.



From Sugarlands, proceed to Cades Cove and enjoy the 11 mile Cades Cove Loop Road where the National Park Service maintains historical and cultural buildings and artifacts from this area's pioneer days.



Next, head back the way you came and head south toward Oconaluftee on New Found Gap Road. Enroute, stop at the Chimney Tops where there is a 3/4 mile, self-guided nature trail through a cove hardwood forest. You can stop at the Chimney Tops picnic area and have lunch.
The Smoky Mountains are an excellent example of eastern vegetation, and one of the best ways to view the mountains' glory is on the Chimney Tops Trail. The trail climbs up to a height of 4,840 feet to a 360 degree view of the park, which has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve. For these reasons, this trail would have to be considered a favorite of the Natural Born Hikers, and it has the honor of being the first major hike accomplished by each original crew member. In addition, it doesn't matter how many times we hike this trail, it still keeps us coming back for more.

 
After this, continue south on New Found Gap Road to Oconaluftee Visitor's Center. Shortly beyond the visitor's center is the Mountain Farm Museum, a collection of old farm buildings from around the smokies area. Re-enactments of pioneer farm life are performed here from spring until late fall.
The Mountain Farm Museum is a unique collection of farm buildings assembled from locations throughout the park. Visitors can explore a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get a sense of how families may have lived 100 years ago. Most of the structures were built in the late 19th century and were moved here in the 1950s. The Davis House offers a rare chance to view a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight decimated the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s. The museum is adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.
 
Then head back north toward Gatlingurg, but take a quick stop at the Mingus Mill where daily demonstrations are held.

To complete your day, spend the evening in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville or Townsend.

A capital of the Inca empire, Quito has a rich pre-Colombian history. Ecuador's capital was founded on the ruins of the Inca city and remains the least-altered historic center in Latin America. A UNESCO World Heritage Center, the city's important sites include Baroque gems San Francisco and Santo Domingo monasteries, as well as La Compañía church and college. Central Bank Museum, The Equatorial Monument and El Panecillo observation point are other highlights. Drive or rent a taxi to see the city.


Casa Gangotena Quito Hotel

Newly-restored and overlooking one of Quito’s most important squares, right in the center of the historic Old Town of Quito, the three-story Casa Gangotena combines contemporary design and modern technology with ultra modern as well as antique furnishings to create exquisite comfort within a luxury hotel.  Because this is a renovated heritage building, the 31 rooms and suites are of varying sizes and locations but each one has been tastefully decorated, no expense spared. Casa Gangotena occupies an important place in Quito’s historic heart and its history stretches back to the Incas.  According to Spanish chroniclers, the mansion that is now the hotel was built on the site of an Inca temple. 

Top Attractions

La Capilla del Hombre - Museum

Once the home and studio of Ecuador's most famous modern artist, Oswaldo Guayasamín, this spacious museum in Bellavista, a northern residential area of Quito, now houses an extensive collection of the artist's own work, from the beginning of his 'career' at the age of 7, right up until his death in 1999. He is famous for his abstract humanist works, that both reflect and denounce the violence of the 20th century with its world wars, civil wars, genocide, concentration camps, dictatorships, and tortures. The museum is also home to some of the artist's extensive collection of archaeological, colonial and contemporary art, which he bequeathed to the city of Quito shortly before he died.







Quito History........................................................................

The history of this beautiful colonial city, full of legends woven over more than 400 years, is still alive in the memory of its inhabitants. To find its origin it is necessary to go back in time to the 6th of December in 1534, when the Spanish conquistadors founded the city with 204 settlers. Before then, the present-day site of Quito was inhabited by the Quitus, a tribe from the Quechua civilization in a strip of land that stretched from what is now Cerro del Panecillo in the south to Plaza de San Blas in the center. Called the Kingdom of Quito in the Pre-Hispanic period, buildings in this ancient city were made of carved stone and sun-dried brick. Later, Spanish architects incorporated the same materials into their grandiose constructions. At the beginning of the 16th century, the city adopted a monumental style with the construction, by the various Catholic missions, of the impressive temples of San Francisco, Santo Domingo, La Catedral and San Agustin. The main events during this period took place in or around these temples, which helped promote religiousness among the people.
The truth is that Quito history starts long before 1534, date of the Spanish foundation. Although pre-Hispanic traces disappeared with the conquistadors' arrival, it has been said that before the Europeans arrived, Rumiñahui, an indigenous warrior, set the city on fire and destroyed the temples of the Incas who lived there. Other legends tell of such characters as Atahualpa, last emperor of Tahuauntinsuyo, the Inca Kingdom, who was executed in 1533 by his Spanish captors, despite the fact that the Inca people paid a whole room full of gold and silver for his return. Figuring large in more recent tales is Xavier Chusig, a crossbreed (someone of mixed Indian and Spanish parentage) who changed his name to Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo to avoid discrimination and went on the found the first newspaper in the city. There are still other stories of Manuela Saenz, the first woman to join the Bolivarian army and who became the chief lieutenant of "the Liberator" Simon Bolivar.

The Cancun Underwater Museum off the coast of the Mexico's No. 1 tourist destination was created two years ago with the submerging of about 400 life-size sculptures, many of them cast from local residents. The reinforced cement figures, which include a VW Beetle-turned-lobster haven, are meant to provide new habitat for corals and other marine life. The sculptures, part of a national marine park, also divert snorkelers and divers from fragile coral reefs.
The museum gets about 750,000 visitors annually.
 


 The Cancun Underwater Museum is a project to conserve the natural reefs of the area. Artist Jason de Caires Taylor is creating hundreds of sculptures, part of a series called “Silent Evolution,” that have been molded from members of the community and dropped into the ocean. The museum will form an artificial reef in the National Park on the West Coast of Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc, respectively, which should draw visitors (that’s us) and sea life — and in doing so help protect the natural reef.


MUSA is the result of a cooperative effort by the Cancun Nautical Association, Isla Mujeres Nautical Association, the National Marine Park and artist Jason deCaires Taylor. The museum, located within the protected waters of the National Marine Park off the Yucatan Peninsula, is divided into two sections, or galleries. The Salon Nizuc lies 13 feet deep and is intended for snorkelers. The Salon Manchones is 26 feet deep and open to both snorkelers and divers.

Where to stay

Cancun hotels in the area include the Omni Cancun Hotel & Villas, which features incredible lagoon sunsets and a set of cascading pools that lead to the beach and the Caribbean Sea. The kids will love the interactive aquarium and parents will enjoy the 18-hole golf course and numerous “watering holes” throughout the resort.
For those looking for a more adults-only experience, try the Temptation Resort & Spa, a hip all-inclusive resort for the 21-and-over crowd. The resort is a hit with couples and singles and tends to both stress and live up to its name.

Additional Information

The models for the sculptures include people from real life who live in Cancun and Puerto Morelos. In addition, 400 of the statues represent "The Silent Evolution," depicting a modern view of how the Mayans have changed over the years. The Cancun Marine Park attracts visitors from around the world, more than 750,000 each year, making it one of the most heavily visited underwater areas anywhere

Purpose

Materials

Ocean views are one of the top reasons to travel to Bermuda, and the La Serena spa at The Reefs Hotel & Club delivers. The view of the soft pink sand and transparent water are pure Bermuda. Spa guests are even asked to come 30 minutes early to sip herbal tea or fruit-infused water while soaking in the dramatic views of the Atlantic from the floor to ceiling windows of the relaxation room.


2. Maruba Resort Jungle Spa, Belize....................................................








In the midst of the verdant rainforest of Belize, the Maruba Resort Jungle Spa puts you in treatment rooms as natural as the surrounding jungle. Massages, mud wraps, facials and even manicures are done in thatched roof bungalows, where you can relax amid the scent of the jungle and the views of towering palms and blooming orchids. There is a whole menu of treatments that use the spa's Mood Mud, made from local natural ingredients with potent mineral properties said to do everything from stimulate healing to encourage confidence.


Maluhia Spa at Hawaii Island Retreat, Hawaii.........................


 


Aromatherapy oils aren't really required at the northern tip of Hawaii island's Kohala Coast, thanks to the refreshing scent of the surrounding evergreen trees. Beyond the trees is the tropical valley and the crashing ocean. It's no wonder that the Maluhia Spa at Hawaii Island Retreat at Ahu Pohaku Ho'omaluhia has glass walls. Enjoy a Reiki or deep tissue massage in one of the bungalows, or try an hour-long Kukui Experience where the body is exfoliated with kukui nut scrub, then massaged with kukui oil.

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