Beaten Track

We had a very exciting weekend visiting London this weekend, more so for me as it was my first time seeing the sights and we managed to fit quite a few in – museums, the London Eye, Madame Tussauds and even a show at the Cambridge Theatre.

We set off early and decided to try and beat the crowds at the London Eye and it wasn’t too busy luckily and the sights were truly spectacular and you can see for miles, and we even managed to get a bit of sunshine on our ride too.
I really enjoyed the Natural History Museum which has some fantastic exhibits on at the moment and we managed to see some really interesting things including the absolutely brilliant ‘The Deep’ exhibition which was fascinating and I learnt loads about what really lives under the sea, which is not necessarily what you always expect and can some of the creatures look more like they are from a horror movie rather than Finding Nemo.

Madame Tussauds was great fun and the waxworks really are uncanny, there were plenty of fantastic Kodak moments and I have some great pictures of me posing with the Queen, Simon Cowell and even Shrek! Definitely recommend this for anyone taking a trip to London – it was great fun!

We rounded off our day out with a trip to the fantastic Cambridge Theatre in the West End, which is a beautiful theatre in itself but the Chicago, our show of choice, was absolutely brilliant!

There was a serious amount of razzle and dazzle going on here, and the cast all put on brilliant performances bringing the glamorous story of Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly and smooth lawyer Billy Flynn to life. This is a real West End classic and the calibre of the show was one of the best I’ve ever seen, so if you get a chance to see a show in London then this should definitely be on your list.

Many times we travel and find that there is something about our holiday that we find unsuitable, unpleasant or inconvenient. There are ways to go about complaining, and making it an experience that won’t sour your holiday altogether. First, start with a compliment and tell the person you are complaining to what you enjoyed about your experience with them (be it at their accommodation, restaurant etc). This will start things off on a good footing. Then, politely explain what it is you want to mention. Listen to the person if they have an explanation, and it sounds plausible and reasonable. If not, explain to them why not, and make a reasonable demand for restitution. For example, if the radio did not work in your room, don’t ask for a free night. But if your coffee was cold at the cafe, then perhaps it could be free. Always remain polite and courteous, and don’t go in looking for something for nothing, or an argument.

Going on holiday is an important part of the year that everyone waits eagerly for. Once the destination is chosen there are other things that must be take into consideration. And one of the most important is to think about catering during holiday.

All hotels offer, for extra money, breakfast, lunch and dinner in their rates. But this is not always the best option, especially when your budget is limited. In these cases, the best decision is to opt for a self catering service. This decision is better because you can buy food from a supermarket and save money, and secondly because you can choose what you want to eat. Another advantage to you if you choose self catering, is that you have the opportunity to test local food in specific restaurants and find out about the traditions from a specific region.
There are available many services that allow you to search and book online self catering holidays, providing all the information you need. Tourists can also choose to book self catering apartments, which is even a cheaper option. In this way they can buy the ingredients and cook their own food.

In the end we have to admit that catering is one of the most important issues that must be carefully analyzed before going on a holiday if we don’t want to spend a heap of money on it.

Even if the business related to holidays and online booking sis well maintained, there could still many complaints regarding it. When tourists have decided on a destination, the second step they have to do is to search for appropriate accommodation. Considering that they are visiting for the first time a specific place, they don’t know where the best place to spend their nights is. And the majority will search and post questions on different tourists forum asking for reviews for a specific hotel.

But there are still many cases when the decision taken is not the best one. In these cases people could be unsatisfied with the accommodation conditions and with the services offered. There are many cases, when booking online and arriving at the destination, tourists find out that at the specific hotel the rooms are not available and they are moved to another hotel. Tourists become frustrated and the best thing that they can do is to complain to the travel agent of the association they used.

Usually complaints procedures are quite complicated because these agencies have entire pages of specific Terms and Conditions that (most probably) tourists do not read properly. Even if the agency will offer a free conciliatory service to its customers, there are few changes for a tourist to obtain a refund even if his holiday was a nightmare.

Holiday parks are attracting millions of tourists every year. Usually the facilities offered by these parks vary, from those with only the basic necessities to those that have the full range of utilities. There are some holiday parks that have a free camping option, which means that tourists can camp in areas without facilities (or with few facilities). These option suit best tourists with a low budget, and for whom the most important thing is the destination - and not necessary the place they sleep.

On the other hand, holiday parks will also offer high standards of accommodation both for families or singles, including clubs, evening entertainment, indoor pools and many other facilities. A major advantage that tourists can benefit from if they choose a holiday park is that their pet can join them on their holidays. Of course this differs from one park to another, and depends on the pet they have; but tourist can find more details about this from the holiday park’s administration.

Whether tourists need an ideal location, quiet and relaxing for their families, or whether they are looking for adventure, entertainment and lot of fun, holiday parks will fulfill their needs. What they have to do is to decide on the perfect place they want to spend the holiday.

France is one of the most developed countries in Europe, attracting millions of tourists yearly. Due to its geographical position, France presents a great variety of forms of relief: mountains, plains, and hills - and half of its border is represented by coast line.
La Cote D’Azur is the most attractive part of the country. Along the coast, tourists can find Cannes, most known for its festivals, Grasse, the city of perfumes, Nice the city of carnivals and Monte Carlo, well known for gambling.

Another “must visit” place is the Loire Valley where tourists can visit some of the most well-known castles In Europe, for example Le Chateaux de Chambord, Chinon and Chenonceaux.

For those who prefer high altitudes, the best choice is a resort in the Alps. No matter what season it is, tourists can choose from a wide range of activities including extreme sports.

On every guide’s list we encounter the Eiffel Tower (the emblem of the country), the Cathedral “Notre Dame de Paris” and the Louvre. Paris is also known for the influence it has on the fashion world.

It’s difficult to describe in a few lines French holiday destinations, because this country has many traditions and a deep culture. If someone needs only one reason for visiting France then that could be the wine’s diversity and quality.

Barcelona, the capital of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and a major economic centre. Beside the administrative function, the city is also an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination.

Due to its location on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona has a warm climate perfect for tourists. The city has seven well developed beaches, totaling 4.5 km; the most frequented are Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches.
For those who prefer visiting ancient buildings and architectural masterpieces, the city offers a variety of options, many of buildings dating from the medieval times, even earlier. The representative construction of the city, the Sagrada Familia church, is one of the main attractions along with Park Gűel, Palau Gűel, Casa Milà, Casa Butalló and Castell des tres Dracs. Barcelona has also a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well known collection of Romanesque art and others focus on contemporary art, history and archeology.

All this, along with a multitude of parks, the sport traditions and the many venues for live music and theatre, makes the city of Barcelona a main tourist attraction.