The Hidden Gem – Göteborg

Please welcome guest blogger, Richard, from thetravellerreturns.com

After many years travelling, I’ve found a real gem of a city, Göteborg (Gothenburg), which lies on the south west coast of Sweden.

The 40 metre wide lively Avenyn (Avenue) will intrigue you straight away. With the Poseidon statue at one end of the Avenyn and a marina at the other, and all the trams buzzing around you, it gives the city so much energy. The tree lined streets leading off the Avenyn gives it a very green city feel just makes you want to scurry around all day and look into every shop window or find a bar or cafe.

The vibrant café/bar culture and people watching will entertain you, while trying the huge array of food. Take a walk or lie down in one of 20 beautiful parks the city has to offer or by the river, which runs through the city.

If you’re caught out on a rainy day, there’s 25 theatres and 18 museums to choose from. Learn about Vikings and 12,000 years of history at the Göteborg City Museum by the impressive King Gustav Square. The centre has fantastic shopping areas, which gets really quite addictive if it’s Nordstan or the pretty little streets of Haga.

Scandinavia’s most popular amusement park is Liseberg, which attracts 3 million people a year. It re-opens after the summer in November and December for a spectacular Christmas market. Swedish cuisine including rein-deer and mulled wine is on the menu as you warm yourself up and enjoy the rides.

A walk by the sea front and harbour is a must see with the ‘Lipstick’ building and brand new Opera House overlooking the fantastic ships, yachts and ferries which will keep you snap happy. The particular big hit with me here is the amount of statues around the city and the amazing architecture; it just never gets boring because there’s always something to look at or something to do.

Sometimes nicknamed as ‘Little London’ because of early British influence of rich businessmen, Gothenburg offers a varied nightlife, which has something for everyone from nightclubs to Salsa evenings on boats.

For those on a budget I recommend Saluhallen market for a good hot dinner. Also there are many cheap Sushi offers dotted around the centre. Keep your eye out for the ‘After-Work’ deals; this is like ‘happy hour’ but four hours long on food and drinks. The Feskekorka (Fish Church) is a must for top quality sea food.

A big favourite of mine is Champs Sport and Grill just off the Avenyn which has recently topped the ratings for the best burgers and food in town and offers all the live sport you can wish for and an excellent service to boot.

Sport is huge here and has two easy to reach city centre stadiums. Football is played here as well as many music artists at these venues. Ice – hockey, basketball and indoor-bandy are the other big national sports.

Göteborg will really impress you with it’s high standards and if you’re after that something a little bit different with a touch of class, try this little gem, you won’t be disappointed.

Tourist Information: www.goteborg.com

Other sites: www.ilovegoteborg.se

Airports: Landvetter and Gothenburg City.

Reccomendations: www.champssportgrill.se

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Free in Rome: Rome Tour of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls

Please welcome guest blogger, Nancy, from nancyaiellotours.com

Most travelers visiting Rome miss the Grand Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls located less than a mile away from the Protestant Cemetery and the Pyramid of Cestius, an essential sight for many who undertook the Grand Tour in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Rome Papal Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura is an emotionally moving holy site for people of Christian faith as the burial place of St. Paul. There’s hardly any tourist here compared to the other places and this is the first thing you notice. The ceiling is very beautiful. The alabaster windows are stunning. The entire building is grand. I much prefer this Basilica to St. Peter because of how peaceful it is. Personally I think this place is underrated which makes it a bonus: no hordes of tourists or tour groups are usually insight!

Unusual things to know about Saint Paul Outside the Walls:
The interior perimeter of the Basilica is decorated with 265 medallions that depict the portraits of all Popes from Peter onward. A pointed light illuminates the portrait of the current Pope Benedictus XVI. Legend has it that the world will end when the empty medallions run out. There are only 14 left!

It always possible to recognize Saint Paul by his iconographic attributes: A sword and a book. Saint Paul was a Roman soldier, hence the sword, who was converted to belief in the Holy Scriptures, the book, by the appearance of Christ on the Road to Damascus.

One of the entrance doors to the Basilica is the so-called Holy Door, made entirely of bronze. This door is opened only during Jubilee years, when it allows the Christians who pass through it to have all their sins pardoned.

Enjoy your trip to Rome!

Who we are:
Nancy Aiello Tours is a leading private Italy tour company based in Rome, providing private sightseeing tours of Italy, Rome and the Vatican City with licensed Rome and official Vatican tour guides. Our Motto: Travel Italy at your own pace!
Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours provides private guided Rome tours and bespoke Italy sightseeing tours, creating itineraries that meet the highest requirements. Nancy Aiello’s Tours of Italy are designed for travelers who prefer the exciting aspect of traveling and exploring Italy, going on personal tours of Rome and the Vatican, Florence and Tuscany, Venice and Amalfi rather than on a typical organized group tour.

Looking for Italy travel tips and Tricks? Visit Nancy Aiello Tours’ Blog

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How Jill and Stacey Became Jill & Stacey Do The Roo

Have you ever had one of those weeks where nothing is satisfying? Like there’s something more to life but you just don’t know what?

You hate going to work; its just the same mundane, monotonous, daily tasks and they start to drive you insane! It seems like everyday is less different from the next, you’re so tired of everyone’s same ol’ same ol’, and you have more bad days then good ones? That was me in 2008, I couldn’t shake it, neither could my best friend Jill, we were desperately craving a dramatic change in our lives. Then in early October of 2008, it happened, we were bitten by the travel bug!

If you are new to our web show http://www.jillandstaceydotheroo.com and just finding this blog for the first time allow me to re-introduce ourselves!

Jill and I (Stacey) are from Toronto Canada; Jill was a former model and hosted her own web series, TwentySomething. I was bored to tears in Advertising so I ventured out into the wonderful world of

Stand-up comedy where I was asked to be the regular resident funny girl on TwentySomething. Jill and I worked on that web show for 2 years; we had a regular following and quickly amassed over 2 million

Views worldwide! We loved being on a show together, and TwentySomething was a great way to discuss dating, relationships, the 20 something’s lifestyle, and the culture of us city girls! After 2 years of putting in hard time in our respected fields, Jill had always wanted a travel show and constantly proclaimed that she had to live by a beach somewhere in a warm country. I hated the cold, and was quickly realizing that if I wanted to do anything in the entertainment industry I’d have to travel and get my name out there because Toronto was going through a serious slump. A few days after my 28th birthday Jill and I were having drinks on a patio discussing the serious changes we needed to make in our lives. Neither of us were happy and we both knew there was a whole world out there waiting for us to share with everyone.

The conversation literally went like this:

Me: Jill I’m tired of this and I really need to get out, I’m thinking of moving in the new year.

Jill: Well I don’t want to stay here either!

Me: So you’re not mad that I don’t want to be on TwentySomething anymore?

Jill: No! I’ve wanted to do a travel show anyways…

Me: So where are we going?

Jill: I don’t know someplace warm? Like Australia?

Me: I was thinking of England for comedy?

Jill: But Australia’s way warmer and we could do a travel show about traveling Australia!

Me: Oh! We could call it Jill and Stacey Do The Roo, like a play on Kangaroo’s and Do the Dew!

Jill: DONE!

Me: SOLD!

Jill: So ready to start planning?

Me: Let’s grab a napkin, you got a pen?

We planned our trip/show for over a year – we helped design the logo, wrote the theme song, and worked closely with designers on how we wanted our site to look. Then in the spring of 2009 we started shooting how we were going about getting cheap flights, how we got our visa’s, we even tried to learn Aussie slang! Then in October of 2009 we made the journey from Canada to Australia to start our journey of a lifetime!

We kicked off our Australian adventures with a month long road trip from Sydney to Cairns with a little over 15 stops along the way! We tasted wines in the Hunter Valley, saw where some of our favorite wines actually come from, and stayed in the gorgeous Cottages on Mount View, definitely check them out! We took a crazy trip into the Bush in Coff’s Harbor where our tour guide swung an actual 5 FOOT EASTERN BROWN snake at our camera! EEEK! We jumped off 30 foot cliffs in Yamba, were scared out of our minds in the rescue boat in Ballina, learned how to surf in Surfers Paradise (or more like wipe out), drove mini-motorcycles in 1770, and snorkeled in The Whitsundays. Definitely check out our episodes under “THE ROO” to see how we managed!

It’s now February, and Jill and I have had a bit of a break from the road. We’ve settled into Surfers Paradise, for the time being, where we were approached by the Gold Coast Tourism board to feature

the Gold Coast the best way we know how! We hope you’ll watch as we: take surfing lessons from the legend himself Munga Barry, do loop the loops in a Tiger Moth Airplane, do spins and drive a SS V8 Commodore race car, go on a tribal kayaking tour with the Bulunjali, and that’s just to name a few!

We hope you’ll check out the site Jill and Stacey Do the Roo and tell us about your travels in Australia as well as any hidden gems that we might not have uncovered yet! Even if you haven’t traveled Australia but like chair surfing we have new episodes in “The Roo” every tuesday!

Hope to see Roo around!

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The Arts scene in Ireland – a brief guide – Part 1 – Dublin

Please welcome guest blogger, TJ Miles, from tjmilesart.blogspot.com for the first part in a 4 part series on Art in Ireland.

Ireland

It’s a magical place of myth and legend. She has inspired countless creative people over the centuries to create great works that have added to the rich culture of the inhabitants. From all areas of the arts – theatre, literature, poetry, painting and sculpture, the art movement in Ireland has always been strongest through the most testing times in her history. A rich tapestry of artistic threads have woven their way into the very psyche of the people who live there. Culture is to be found in every church, seen on every street corner, heard in every pub, witnessed in every day life and celebrated throughout the 32 counties on a daily basis. From the Giant’s Causeway in the north to the Beara peninsula in the far south west and from Belmullet in the wild west to the Wicklow mountains by the east coast you will find countless artists, studios and private galleries to visit on your journey of discovery. This is a quick, but by no means exhaustive, guide to the main art centres and points of interest in each of the major cities that you can visit. It simply cannot take in the enormity of the arts movement in Ireland in one sweep, so vast is the reservoir that awaits the wading visitor.

Dublin

- Capital city of Eire, and home to -

The National Gallery of Ireland

Located in Merrion Square right in the heart of Dublin, the National Gallery is a wonderful source of historical artworks from the 14^th century leading right up to the modern day. View the likes of Ireland’s most important home grown artists such as Yeats, Hamilton, Lavery and Orpen. Move onto Gainsborough, Velázquez, Vermeer, Turner, Monet, Pissarro, Picasso, Rubens and Signac. The list is impressive and well worth a day’s visit. From summer until winter 2009 there is also the added bonus of the ‘Edvard Munch Prints’ temporary exhibition. You will find the National Gallery right next door to the Natural History Museum (known locally by wise-cracking Dubliners as ‘The Dead Zoo’).

Ireland Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)

Royal Hospital, Military Road, Kilmainham, Dublin (close to the Guinness factory)

A place I pay homage to over and over again and never tire of visiting. IMMA pushes the boundaries of art as we know it. While not necessarily recognisable names, except to aficionados of the modern art movement, the artists who exhibit here make us think about how we view the world. Although I must confess even I am at a loss to follow some of their installations sometimes. Rousing stuff and another great day’s outing if you have the time. It may be best seen after the beer tasting in the Guinness factory in case you get too excited.

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Alternatives to the Wine Vineyards in Barossa Valley (Australia)

Please welcome guest blogger, Akila, from theroadforks.com.

If you travel with someone else, you may end up going to places that might not interest you.  In the Barossa Valley, we saw several husbands, wives, or friends dragged along to vineyards and wine tastings even though they did not enjoy wine.  For the non-wine drinkers out there, consider this list of Barossa Valley alternatives while the wine lover in your life checks out the vineyards:

Saltram Pepperjack Ale: This hoppy Australian red ale is made with a dollop of Saltram’s Shiraz.  Though Barossa Shiraz is in the beer, apart from a faint redness, it does not look or taste like wine.  Instead, the wine adds sugar and a fruity finish to the ale.

Bethany fortified wines: While several wineries make fortified wines, Bethany is the only Barossa Valley winery to produce a white fortified wine.  Fortified wines, like ports, are made from grapes harvested late in the season, mixed with brandy, and then aged for years in wood barrels.  The Old Quarry Fronti, made from Muscadelle and Frontignac grapes, surprised us with its sweet, floral essence, and notes of orange marmalade.

Linke’s Bakery:  After all those spirits, stock up on some pastries and desserts at the wonderful Linke’s Bakery in Nurioopta.  Their Kitchener buns, filled with unsweetened cream and sweet jam, are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an anytime-I’m-hungry-snack.

Barossa Valley Cheese Company:  Every wine region has a cheese company but they range in quality.  Luckily, the Barossa Valley Cheese Company is worth a stop.  Founded by Victoria McClurg, a winemaker, the cheese company focuses on developing locally sourced cheeses that match well with or without wine.   For $15, you can get a take-away box filled with slices of four cheeses, crackers, and dried fruit.

Angas Park Fruit Company:  The Angas Park Fruit Company is one of Australia’s most successful dried fruit companies.  In Angaston, you can watch the apricots and plums go through the drying process and purchase plump dried fruits to take with you.

Lyndoch Lavender Farm: Once you fill up on spirits and food, walk through the carpet of purple at Lyndoch Lavender Farm.  In addition to the pervasive soothing scent that surrounds the farm, they sell oils, herbs, and kitchen supplies to take home with you.

No matter whether you are a wine lover or hater, you will find plenty to do in the Barossa Valley.

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