Pristine beauty. Tropical Climate. Beauty. Tranquility. Abundant nature. Friendly People. All this and more can be found in the Caribbean.
Did you know that people living in the tropics are more likely to have female babies? According to a US study this is the case! People are also meant to live longer and many of the discussed Blue Zones are actually located in the Caribbean.
Tranquility
Escape from the rat race and jump straight into Island life in an exotic destination. Imagine living in a world filled with unspoiled beaches, unrivaled views filled with sunshine. Spend your evenings watching turquoise water roll in, while you feel a light cool ocean breeze caress your cheek. For many people this is not a dream but a reality.
This tropical lifestyle has served as inspriation for many of the great American writers. For instance Nobel Prize and Pulitzer winner Ernest Hemmingway lived in fabulous destinations such as Key West, Florida in 1931. Bimini, Bahamas 1935 - 1937, he also has a short stint in Havana, Cuba.
So awaken that inspiration and why not embark on a tropical escape to paradise, there are great airfare deals waiting to be discovered..
Virgin Atlantic as founded in 1984 and Sir Richard Branson had the vision to create an airline, where people love to fly and also where people love to work. One of the unique things about Virgin Atlantic is that Sir Richard Branson is not your regular CEO which reflected in the way that he runs his airline.
Virgin Atlantic is in fact the holder of every major award with recent achievements including the Skytrax 2008 World Airline Awards – World’s Best Business Class Lounge, Globe Travel Awards Best Scheduled Airline to US/Canada Favorite Airline, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine Readers Awards 2008 Best Long Haul Airline.
Fleet
VS fleet consists of 38 aircraft: 13, Boeing 747-400s, 6, A340-300s and 19, A340-600s. The average age of fleet is only 6 years and 11 months.
World Record Attempts
Sir Richard Branson has been involved in many world record breaking activities;
1986 His boat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II crossed the Atlantic Ocean in record breaking time.
1987 Virgin Atlantic Flyer was the first air balloon to ever cross the Atlantic.
1991 The Virgin Atlantic Flyer crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Artic Canada at record speeds of up to 245 miles an hour! Now that’s fast.
1995 – 1998 Richard Branson made various attempts to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon however the weather never prevented him from seeing this dream come into life. They were in fact beaten by a Swiss firm in 1999.
Innovations
‘Flying without Fear’ program was established on 4 April 1998. It helps people overcome their fear of flying.
It is a one day program that is aimed at conquering a person’s fear of flying. The program consists of a session run by a VS pilot in the morning that discusses safety but also teaches people about things such as what are the normal sounds that would be heard during a flight and why they occur. This is then followed by a session on relaxation techniques.
At the end of the day session, participants are given the opportunity to conquer their fear and participate in a short flight.
As recently seen on The View, where Whoopi Goldberg went through the program live on air on the April 01 2009 to conquer her fear of flying.
Did you know? That Virgin Atlantic also flies to many of the major destinations in the Caribbean such as Jamaica, Havana, Antigua, St. Lucia, Tobago, Grenada, Barbados.
For cheap flights where you can save up to 65% on Virgin Atlantic Flights go to CheapOair.com
Traveling to the Caribbean isn’t just about finding the right cheap flight. We all know that a trip to the Caribbean is really all about where you stay and what you get to do when you get there.
Finding the right resort to fit your needs is the first step. What do you want to do when you get there? Are you interested in snorkeling? Wind-surfing? Reading on the beach? Gambling? Shopping? More adult entertainment and shows? Children friendly activities? Do you want to eat in the resort’s restaurants? Or find more local and native type places? Are you looking for a full-service resort that will cater to your every whim? Or are you interested in “getting away from it all?”
Martino Resort and Spa, rooms starting at $82 USD
Once you know the answer to the above questions, it is time to narrow down your search by country. The coastal Central American countries, such as Costa Rica, will have different amenities and activities than say Grenada or Martinique. Visit the main tourism websites for the countries you are interested in to see what activities are the most popular there. If you are concerned about safety on some islands, be sure to check with the CIA Factbook for travel warnings and passport restrictions before booking flights or hotels.
After you have narrowed down your search by country and activities, it is time to pick a resort based on price. Or you could skip steps 1 and 2 and boldly plan your vacation around a cheap hotel deal! Resorts in the Caribbean can range from $83 USD a night to $1,000 a night (or more) for a 5 star hotel. Why pay more when you don’t have to? There are great hotel deals to be found all across the Caribbean if you know where to look!
Last but not least, relax, have fun, and enjoy yourself! This a Caribbean vacation we’re talking about here! Our suggestion? Sing a Beach Boys song (we like “Kokomo”), grab a drink, and look for us under the nearest palm tree. We’ll see you there!
Looking for some good excuses to travel to the Bahamas? Look no further! We have all the excuses, I mean perfectly good reasons, right here.
1. Bahamians drive on the left side of the road. This is a good time to see just how ambidextrous your driving really is.
2. If math isn’t your thing, go to the Bahamas in order to avoid confusing currency exchange rates. The Bahamian dollar is equal to the U.S. dollar.
3. No passport, no problem! Nassau Paradise Island is one of the few places that will allow U.S. citizens to enter the country without a passport. There is one little catch though- the U.S. will require your passport as proof you are a citizen in order to enter back into the country.
4. Many hotels allow children under the age of 12 to stay free! And even provide activities to keep children entertained while the adults engage in more adult activities.
5. The expected high temperature for Monday, April 6, 2009 is 78 F. The low temperature is predicted to be 75F. In comparison, New York City is predicted to be a high of 60, and a low of 45. And that is just unacceptable!
6. The water temperature in the Bahamas hardly ever drops below a perfect 72 degrees F.
7. Beaches, beaches, and more beaches.
8. Your tweenage daughter will love you forever if you take her to see the Jonas Brothers live at Atlantis.
9. Snorkeling is just not something that can be done at a desk. And it must be done!
10. The captain’s hat in your closet will make a lot more sense if you take it sailing.
11. Fishing! You can finally say, “I once caught a fish this big!”
Many Americans associate all Irish cuisine with Shephard’s Pie and Corned Beef and Cabbage. But if you are looking for real authentic Irish grub, you won’t find either on the menu.
Irish meals can be divided into 2 categories- dishes with cabbage and potatoes, and those without. Irish foods also tends to involve seafood and bacon.
One of the most traditional and popular Irish foods is Irish Stew. A typical recipe looks like this-
Traditional Irish Stew
Ingredients
4 potatoes, thinly sliced
4 medium onions, thinly sliced
6 carrots, sliced
1 pound Canadian bacon, chopped
3 pounds lamb chops, 1-inch thick, trimmed, and cut into small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
2½ cups water
4 potatoes, halved
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Or you can try Irish Stew at the 4.5 star rated Seanachai Restaurant in Ring, Dungarven, Co. Waterford, Ireland.
Many Americans associate Corned Beef and Cabbage with St Patricks Day and Ireland. But to make it truly an authentic Irish dish, it should be prepared with bacon (pork) instead of corned beef. In older times, only the upper classes, or noble ranks, could afford beef. Commoners could only afford pork. So this popular dish, made mostly by commoners, was typically made with bacon. It wasn’t until the large Irish immigration to the United States that it became more popular to serve the dish with beef, because beef was more affordable than pork in the U.S.
One more popular Irish dish is Colcannon. The British version is called Bubble and Squeak. It is quintessentially Irish, made with potatoes, garlic, and cabbage.
Memorial Day is an American holiday with a long history and many traditions. The day was originally called Decoration Day and began in 1868. It was a day designated to remember those who died in our nation’s service. What was once a solemn day has morphed into a celebration of the unofficial start of summer, with beach trips and barbecues.
Honoring the true meaning of Memorial Day is still a value held close by many Americans. For those looking to honor U.S. Servicemen and women on Memorial Day, here is a list of events and locations that still hold memorial services.
New York City may host of the most popular Memorial Day celebrations, as Fleet Week overlaps with this national holiday. Fleet Week is a celebration of the various sea services. Thousands of sailors, marines and Coast Guardsmen from the US Navy and US Coast Guard attend the celebrations with the main event taking place on Memorial Day itself. Visitors can enjoy demonstrations of maritime skills, take tours of ships and visit exhibits explaining life at sea.
No matter where you go to honor or celebrate Memorial Day, whether a big town or small, take a moment to stop at 3 p.m. local time for the National Moment of Remembrance. This is a time for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to “Taps.”
The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, opened in November 2005 with 302 rooms and 92 suites. It is located on 1.3 km of private white sandy beach and is surrounded by 85 hectares of beautifully landscaped gardens. The 8 story, kilometer-long mansion has a total of 850,000 square meters in floor space (in comparison Buckingham Palace in London has a mere 77,000 square meters).It’s set in 1,000 hectares of landscaped parkland where 8,000 palms and other trees have been planted, 100 water fountains play, a 6.4km jogging track, two swimming pools and underground parking for 2,500 cars. Decor of the suites and rooms “blends Arabian regal splendor with the latest technology,” the Palace says – it’s heavy on marble (from 13 countries) covering a total of 93,000 square meters, with more than 6,000 square meters of 22-carat gold leaf and 1002 Swarovski chandeliers, the largest weighing 2.5 tonnes.
Room costs, of course, are appropriate to the luxury of the hotel. However, CheapOair.com has secured discounted rooms starting at $1,000,000 USD/night. This exclusive offer is available only on 1 April, 2009.
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