Pia Morelli loves Thanksgiving. It is the one holiday of the year that the Mendham mother of eight and grandmother of eighteen sees her entire family. Not even Christmas brings as many people to her home at one time.

“My children are scattered up and down the east coast. Between flying in and driving over, they need several days to make the trip, visit, and to return to their homes. I would love to have everyone here for Christmas, but that just doesn’t happen, especially when the holiday falls during the middle of the week and people are unable to take extended time off from their jobs.”

Since her husband, Joe, died in 1995 Thanksgiving has taken on an added meaning. “Prior to Joe’s death we would get together, but not under one roof or at the same time. We would see some of the children at Thanksgiving and the rest at Christmas or get together between the holidays. It wasn’t the same. Joe died suddenly and unexpectedly and each of my children have insisted on this annual reunion. What better time than Thanksgiving?”

While her family members would prefer to go out to eat, Pia insists otherwise. “I’m retired, living with Cocoa [her terrier] and have plenty of time on my hands. I start baking my pies on Sunday and by Wednesday the gravy, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and green bean salad are done. On Thanksgiving morning, my daughter, Lisa, comes over and puts two turkeys in the oven. Joe Jr. and his wife bring the hams, while the stuffing and other fixings are completed by me in the morning. All the setting up, serving and cleaning up is done by the children. I kick back and watch football while eating pumpkin pie!”

Kyle McGathry will be continuing a tradition that has been going on in his family for nearly 50 years. With sons Kevin and Michael in tow, McGathry will be sitting in the stands watching a high school football game between Ridgewood and Paramus. “When I was a kid, it was Ridgewood-Fair Lawn. Years later Paramus replaced Fair Lawn and for awhile it was Bergen Catholic and Ridgewood.” The Ridgewood native looked at the Ridgewood- BC rivalry as hopelessly one sided. “Most of the games were never played on Thanksgiving because it was a given that BC would still be alive in the playoffs and would have just played the Saturday before. I think we had to wait until Saturday and it usually meant that Ridgewood was massacred.”

At this point in the season, Ridgewood is still alive in the playoffs with a scheduled meeting against Morristown on December 6th at Giants Stadium. “I know that Ridgewood just had a big battle with Hackensack on Saturday, but I think they’ll be ready. Funny thing, I think this is one Ridgewood team that could beat BC!” After the game, McGathry will be going to his mother-in-law’s house in Paramus. “My wife graduated from Paramus a year after I graduated from Ridgewood. She isn’t much of a football fan and stays home with our youngest. Fortunately, the rivalry isn’t dividing our family,” he noted.

Anne Chomesky doesn’t “do” Thanksgiving at least in the traditional sense. For years the single 40-something woman served food at a soup kitchen in Newark every Thanksgiving day. This year she will still be serving, but over at a friend’s house in Cedar Grove. Her friend, Clare, lost her father, who was her only living relative, this past Summer and Anne felt that she could be more useful spending the time with her. “The holiday season is very difficult for those without family. Clare’s father died in June and he was all that she had as far as family goes. Eight of us who either no longer have family or can’t be with them will be gathering together at Clare’s home to keep her company and to give thanks for what we do have. I thank God for this opportunity to be with friends who have become like family to me.”

However, wherever and with whomever you choose to spend the day, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

This article originally appeared on Townstead.com, a defunct site managed by Matt Keegan. It was part of his “Life in New Jersey” series of articles.

Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful article writing, web design, and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board. Please visit The Article Writer to review selections from his portfolio.

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In the likely case that you haven’t got the picture on casino gambling, then you’re invited to learn more about it here.

By common definition a betting hall is a building that organizes betting. Here, visitors will wager handling the coin operated machines or alternative games. Casino games in the main include methodically determined odds constituting them which insure the gambling house keeps hold of its lead above the gaming enthusiasts.

A huge number of betting house games can encourage you to become hooked very swiftly. Let’s scrutinize the stereotypical 1 armed bandit, a cash operated gadget with three plus gears which swivel when a knob affixed to it is moved. This gadget as a rule remits with reference to a sequence of pictograms displayed on the dials on the appliance. Unfortunately, betting saloon pastimes encourage the misconception of power, effectively tricking the gamester - the victim is endowed alternatives, but these will not really remove the customer’s fundamental odds. That is caused by the the betting hall never paying the full stake as hoped for. This strategy is generally noticeable in popular casino games such as seven-card stud poker, dice games, roulette or blackjack.

Seven-card stud poker is really a highly popular casino pastime. The gambling buffs, religiously guarding their fully screened hands, bet into a central pot which is ultimately awarded to the last punter enjoying the winning set of cards. (Of course, the shameless bluff may well prevail too!)

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Like five-card stud, blackjack too is an immensely fashionable casino pastime. Much of its acceptance is due to the mix of luck and cleverness and choice making, not to forget a practise dubbed “counting”. This is a particular gambling tactics in which gamers can dramatically change the chances of the game for their own ends both by betting & procedural decisions based on the hands dealt.

Craps is yet another famous casino pastime involving the throw of two dice. Visitors will place stakes on the result of 1 roll, or on a succession of rolls of 2 dice. Quite unlike blackjack, there’s absolutely no available sustainable winning betting system punters can make use of to improve the odds.

Roulette is another famous casino based game — a croupier will twirl a roulette wheel accomodating thirty seven (in the case of French roulette) or, respectively exactly 38 (American or Vegas roulette) uniquely numbered receptacles in which a tossed ball will come to rest, thus signifying the winner and the other chances that will come with it. Assuming that a player has bet on a number and makes it i.e. it’s their lucky day, the set profit will be 35 to 1, the original stake proper will be tossed back. Thus in totality it is increased by thirty-six.

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There is practically no website without at least a form in one of its pages. Forms are useful to collect data from the website visitors and users. Once the user submits the form to the server, a form processing script must get the form data, validate that the user input matches the expected format for each field (e.g: email address field must be a string of text with the format of a valid email address) and process this information as desired. The script may save it into a database, send it by email or just do some processing with it and display the result. Validating the user input is essential to prevent malicious users from damaging your site.

A form definition in html starts with the form tag and ends with the /form tag. This tag can have several attributes like method (GET or POST), and action (the url of the form processing script). If use the GET method, the form data is encoded in the action URL. This method is recommended when the form is a query form. With the POST method, the form data is to appear within a message body. This is the recommended method when the form will be used to update a database, or send email, or make any action other than just retrieve data.

The form fields are used to collect the data. Generally a label is placed by each field, so the user knows what data to input. There are different kind of fields, among them:

Textboxes

Textareas

Drop-downs

Multi select

File

Radio buttons

Checkboxes

Buttons

Hidden

The hidden fields are used to send some data that the user does not need to see, along with the form. An example of this could be a form number, so the form processing script identifies which form has been submitted.

The File field allows users to upload a file. The form processing script will get the file together with the rest of the form data. For this field to work properly, you need to include this attribute in the tag: enctype=”multipart/form-data”.

Buttons are used to submit or reset the form.

Refer to an HTML guide for full description on the attributes and syntax of each tag. You may find a guide at http://www.w3schools.com/tags/default.asp or at http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/ among many other sites.

When the form is complex, it is useful to group fields in areas using the fieldset tag. Just place the fieldset tag, then optionally a legend Section Name /legend tag, then all the pertinent form fields, and the /fieldset tag after them.

It is possible to use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) or inline styles to change the look of the form controls.

You can bring your forms to a different level by combining them with the usage of scripting language like JavaScript. You can make the form react immediately to certain events, like the user clicking on a control, or a field changing its value. You can highlight the field that has the focus, for example. Or count how many characters have been entered in a text box or a textarea. You can make calculations and display the results automatically. The possibilities are endless.

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Erma Bombeck has written ‘there is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child’. It is a sentiment that echoes deeply within me, the benefactor of twelve years of Christmas magic followed by a few Christmases with the same flicker of enchantment, but mainly a strange sense of nostalgic emptiness, of something important lost. When I look around me for answers (and certainly sayings abound about the true spirit of Christmas, and how it has nothing to do with materialism but lies in charity, in generosity, in spirituality and so on) I can find many answers of the moral and religious variety, but very little about recapturing the silvery sparkle of magic which once characterised that sacred day. I remember not the actual gifts mystically transported into my stocking each year, so much as the astonishing thought that, only a few hours before, they had been high in the cold, starry night sky, on a sleigh covered in golden bells and pulled by reindeer. However is such a joy to survive the passage from childhood into adulthood?

Firstly, it must be acknowledged that a good deal of childhood’s Christmas magic was facilitated by adults willing to survive on barely an hour or two of sleep for the days preceding Christmas, lay out extraordinary amounts of money and generally work tirelessly to accomplish the feat. Children as fortunate as myself were merely the passive recipients of delight after delight - the stuffed stockings, the candle filled, carol swelled cathedral, the tumblingly enormous pile of gifts under the glorious, glistening tree, the great feast, the extended family and excited overseas phone calls, smiles and happiness and cuddles. One of the key steps, then, is to understand that magic is an ingredient very actively woven into Christmas and that, as adults, we are the weavers and bearers of that luminous thread.

Widely accessible wisdom about the weaving is that children are central to the spirit of Christmas - our own, family and friends, and those whose names dangle hopefully from wishing trees and gaze at us from charity appeals on television throughout the Christmas season. When their eyes sparkle with the wonder of Christmas, the sparkle reflects onto us. If we cannot for ourselves remember the importance of decorating our trees with every glittering treasure we have collected over the years, hanging lights, setting up nativities with love and care, lighting little golden candles and playing glorious carols, then let it be for any child visitor who should happen to stop by, or else be invited as the guest of honour to offer the magic back to us. Have Christmas treats at the ready throughout December, and a little collection of wrapped gifts at the ready for an unexpected child visitor. And let every gift to a child have something of the Christmas magic in it. If the gift itself is not a snow globe (and surely a more magical gift was never presented to a child or an adult!) or a copy of Babar and Father Christmas or a little nativity set of its own, then tuck in a tiny Christmas angel or robin or star wrapped like a treasure in golden tissue. We too will share in the joy.

As human beings we thrive on our stories. If we think of a seed which we hope will spring forth a brilliant green shoot on Christmas morning, surely our stories are the best nourishment we can offer it throughout advent. And what an abundance to choose from! Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows offers a glorious Christmas chapter entitled ‘Dulce Domum’. Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did and What Katy Did Next all describe Christmas with its magic in tact. There is Louisa Alcott’s Little Women with its memorable Christmas scene, and Dylan Thomas’s nostalgic A Child’s Christmas in Wales. There is Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, Raymond Brigg’s heart- achingly magical The Snowman and the aforementioned Babar and Father Christmas by Laurent de Brunhoff. And, to save the best for last, there is the original Christmas story, complete with kings, angels, shepherds, a tiny baby and a guiding, glittering star, recorded especially beautifully in Matthew 1:18-2:11 and Luke 2:1-20. Let every day of advent be warmed and nourished by the Christmas reading our contemporaries, fathers and forefathers offer.

The other piece of folk wisdom from which we might draw is the centrality of charity in Christmas, that our gifts might not all be given for the thanks and whoops of delight they earn us, but rather be sown deeper into the spirit of the season, unwrapped and enjoyed somewhere unknown to us. There are a great many charities facilitating this process and they do great service not only to the have-nots, enabling them to participate in what many feel should be the happiest day of the year, but to the ‘haves’, who enjoy the great honour of partaking of this deeper magic. Let the gifts we offer at this time be selected with the same love and care as those we offer our dearest friends and closest family members. After all, the gift those unknown recipients offer in return is infinitely greater. As a final word on charity at Christmas, there is an idea that people should not take too much pleasure in it, but that the gifts should be given with a long face, reflecting an awareness that one ought to be doing more and that if the experience is too enjoyable for the donor, somehow it doesn’t count. Nonsense! The gift given with joy, excitement and love is undoubtedly the best gift of all. This Christmas, let our thoughts dwell a little on the delight and wonder our offerings will be facilitating somewhere there might otherwise be none, and be very deeply glad.

If Christmas is to glisten with any of the magic it held for us as children, then, we had better be active parties in creating it. We have made children our guests of honour as the creatures who rekindle that old flame, we have immersed ourselves into centuries of ancient stories which create and recreate all that is sacred to humans, and we have taken part in the mystical joy of giving to the stranger, who may always have turned out to be the frightened young mother, or the tired, faithful father, or the new child without a soft bed we know so well from the story. But part of the day we may feel we have lost as adults is the delight in the wonderful surprises the day used to hold, when the filled stockings simply appeared, when gifts were many and unknown, and when tiny treasures sprung from crackers. How is this ever to be resurrected? I feel sure the answer is that, at this point, action and faith must mingle together.

The humble advent calendar can be a little source of daily delight if we let it. There is very little wonder in the garish, cheap-chocolate filled cartoony kind now so widely available, but the traditional glittery cards depicting snowy villages with Father Christmas in flight overhead, or the starry nativity still exist in some bookshops and many religious stores. The tiny hidden images, one to reveal for each day of the lead up to Christmas, retain all of their magic if we charge them with the sacred task of symbolizing something important about the day. The golden bell reminds us of the carols we can begin to enjoy, the little robin of the hungry birds to whom we can offer crumbs as Christmas treats, the fairy of the children’s wishes which, as adults, we sometimes have the power to grant. We must meet the Christmas spirit half-way, noticing the magic where it still sparkles fresh, and making much of the little surprises still hidden everywhere to delight us.

In her beautiful day book Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach describes a medieval Christmas Eve ritual of the preparation of a ‘Nativity Tray’. She writes:

‘Legend has it that on the night of the Nativity, whosoever ventures out into the night bearing a succulent bone for a lost and lamenting hound, a wisp of hay for a tired horse, a warm cloak for a stranded wayfarer, a garland of bright berries for one who has worn chains, a dish of crumbs for all huddled birds who thought their song was dead, and sweetmeats for little children who peer from lonely windows - whosoever prepares this simply abundant tray, “shall be proffered and returned gifts of such astonishment as will rival the hues of the peacock and the harmonies of heaven”.’

Breathnach has adapted the tray to include a string of cranberries, a few items of clothing she can bear to part with and the bone from her Christmas roast. This year I will add a couple of tiny wrapped gifts and a few gold coins and some frankincense. But for anyone taking part in this beautiful Christmas Eve ritual, part of the wonder will be reclaiming the tray on Christmas morning and inspecting the traces of gifts received, with all the wonder of the disappearing milk and shortbread we left out for that magical saint as children.

Above all, we must let our efforts to kindle the magic of Christmas be met by our faith that they will. We look for the star on Christmas Eve with a certainty that it shines a little brighter. We must go for a walk on Christmas Day, not just to see children delighting in new bikes and scooters, but to see the dew which glistens especially, the air bright with carols and bells. We must unwrap any little gift we are lucky enough to receive slowly and carefully, and find within it all the precious good-will the giver intended, so that fragrances are sweeter, flavours more divine, colours brighter and more vivid. This year, let us contradict Erma Bombeck, and wake on Christmas morning happier than ever to be exactly who we are.

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Most people envision Las Vegas as one big casino. Admittedly I was one of them, until I undertook the ride of a lifetime. Imagine soaring hundreds of feet above canyons of red and orange, walking over rocks that been sculpted by mother nature herself and floating down a river of dreams. These are the images that I will carry with me forever when I think of Las Vegas, Nevada.

After taking a break from about twelve hours of straight gambling, my father and I looked at each other and thought there must be more to Vegas than jangling slot machines and endless booze. So we asked our friendly concierge, at the Mandalay Bay Resort, for some suggestions and he arranged for the champagne lunch helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon.

Wonderful we thought, it looked good in the movies, might as well give it a shot. Neither of us was prepared for the adventure that we were about to take.

The helicopter company sent a limo to pick us up at the hotel. The ride lasted about five minutes then we were dropped off at the helicopter launch. Fellow passengers from all over the world chatted and waited for our journey to begin.

Moments later we took off for one of the waiting helicopters, with our pilot leading the way. Attractive and intelligent, in a boy next door kind of way, he quickly showed us how father and I ended up in a helicopter of our own because several of the other passengers decided to just fly over the canyon. The tour we chose actually had us landing on the bottom.

We soared for about a half an hour over a canvas which included every color imaginable painted by dessert, mountains and the Colorado river. Within thirty minutes of smooth flying we were over the canyon and able to see the landing pad, set in the middle of tumbleweed, mountains and cacti. As we disembarked the pilot helped us climb down the stone and dirt pathway to a little boat dock, where we met a family from Britain that would be our companions on our champagne lunch down the Colorado river.

The boat captain was a tiny oriental man with sparkling eyes and a rich sense of humor. He handed out our picnic baskets and regaled us with stories of how the Grand Canyon was created. He also had the sense to stop periodically and help us get the most amazing shots of the canyon. He seemed to know every rock and ridge and was able to point out eagles and faces carved into the rock by millions of years of erosion.

At the end of our Las Vegas helicopter tour we flew back to the original launch and took our limo back to the hotel, content, awestruck and absolutely certain that we would return to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and our Las Vegas helicopter tour.

About The Author

Caterina Christakos is an international travel writer. For more free articles on Las Vegas go to http://www.lasvegashotelandcasinoreview.com

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Our winter getaway over the last two days was supposed to include a couple of different activities: snow-tubing and outdoor skating. Well, our outdoor skating fell through, due to the extraordinarily warm conditions, however, we had a beautiful day yesterday on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, where we enjoyed some great outdoor time on frozen Lake Simcoe.

Today, after our delicious filling breakfast at Nicholyn Farms Bed and Breakfast, we headed off for another adventure: snowtubing at Horseshoe Valley. Unfortunately the weather today was even less cooperative: as the day progressed it went from freezing rain to rain to a veritable downpour as we drove back to Toronto.

Nevertheless the morning was cold enough for our snowtubing adventure. My 8-year old nephew had never been snowtubing before, and knowing his penchant for high-speed adrenaline-filled activities, we knew that he would fall in love with this sport.

Horseshoe Valley is one of several Ontario winter resorts and in addition to downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and skating, it also features a snow-tubing hill. It’s a thrill to get pulled up on the hill, sitting on a refunctioned inner tube, and then getting linked up in a group of 2, 3 or 4 snow-tubers, who hold on to their neighbouring tuber’s handle and then get pushed down the hill by one of the staff members - with a spin and a momentum that feels almost like a roller coaster!

ATV riders are having fun on Lake Simcoe in Barrie.

Snowtubing is just one of the many fun winter activities that Ontario has to offer. Snow Valley Resort just on the other side of Highway 400 also offers snowtubing. Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood is another place for Ontario snowtubing enthusiasts.

Skating: Obviously hockey is Canada’s national sport and skating runs in the veins of many residents of this northern country. Virtually all Ontario cities, towns and villages have outdoor skating rinks and indoor arenas. Outdoor skating is free in many cases, and indoor pleasure skating is generally a very inexpensive sport.

One of the best known skating Ontario opportunities exists in Ottawa, on the 7.8 km long Rideau Canal, the world’s longest skating rink according to the Guiness Book of Records. The City of Ottawa lists its public skating information on the Internet.

Toronto’s well-known outdoor skating venues include City Hall, Harbourfront and Grenadier Pond in HIgh Park and the City of Toronto provides a list of leisure skating opportunities in Toronto.

Skiing & snowboarding: Although Ontario certainly doesn’t have the greatest vertical drop compared to international ski resorts, but it does offer 41 resorts for downhill skiers and snowboarders at the Ski Ontario website.

Cross-country skiing & snowshoeing: Ontario’s more than 120 cross-country ski areas are rivalled only by Quebec for sheer number and variety. Ski areas are operated by various organizations ranging from parks to clubs and resorts. The Ski Ontario website provides an extensive listing of cross-country opportunities across Ontario. Special offers for snowshoeing and cross-country getaways are featured on the Ontario Outdoor website.

Snowmobiling: Ontario offers more than 43,000 km (26,000 mi.) of maintained, interconnected, uncongested trails. It is the longest network of recreational trails in the world. The 248 member clubs of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs build and maintain this extensive trail network. Find more information about snowmobiling in Ontario in the Ontario Snowmobiler Magazine.

The kid on the right is wearing shorts! On January 28, 2006!!!

Iceclimbing: The north of Ontario is the heart of Ontario’s iceclimbing country and features ice-clad routes with heights of more than 90 m. Special ice-climbing getaways are featured on the Ontario Outdoor Website.

Dogsledding: Dog sledding has evolved from a utilitarian form of transport in northern countries to a unique travel experience. Some dogsledding operators have a guide drive the team, where at other places you may drive the sled yourself. The Ontario Outdoor Website features a variety of dog sledding adventures and getaways.

Urban Winter Getaways: For those who want to enjoy the best that Ontario’s cities have to offer over the winter time, there are a variety of special events going on. Many cities and towns throughout Ontario feature special winter festivals, starting with many festivals of light, tree lighting ceremonies and New Year’s celebrations in November and December, and continuing with a variety of special events, trade fairs and restaurant promotions throughout January and February. The Success with Ontario website features a listing of Ontario’s Festivals and events.

Major festivals include: Toronto’s WinterCity Festival and Winterlicious Ottawa’s Winterlude Winter Festival Niagara’s Icewine Festival

Ontario Accommodation Choices: Ontario offers a wide variety of choices for getaways. From all-inclusive feature-packed resorts, to down-to-earth farm vacations, to cozy bed and breafasts, secluded cottages and chalets and inviting country inns, Ontario has a wide selection of accommodation providers. Unique boutique hotels, and centrally located urban hotels round out the accommodation offers. Ontario Travel’s website offers a great overview of the accommodation choices available in Ontario.

There is plenty to do in the winter in Ontario, indoors and out. Nature lovers, urban explorers, adrenaline junkies, and romantic lovebirds will all find something to choose from to brighten up those cold winter days.

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Cardiff City Guide, including hotels

Introduction:

The Welsh capital, Cardiff, is really a city on the move. Home to over 350, 000 people, this city underwent a tremendous and progressive development over a period of time. It is home to an impressive coal empire and has evolved into one of Europe’s most beautiful maritime cities, embraced by lovely countryside. Of all the major reconstruction that the city has witnessed, a prominent mention should be given to the impressive appearance of the Millenium Stadium, which greets you as you come out from the railway station. The Millenium Stadium dominates the skyline on the western edge of the city center and is home to many major sporting and entertainment events.

If you visit Cardiff, you are sure to be impressed by the peaceful and carefree life that greets you. The city is famous for its quality of life. Though most of its residents live in the suburbs, they have to travel only for 10 or 15 minutes by public or private transport to get to the city center. The suburbs have a unique charm akin to villages and hamlets that dreams are made of.

Places of interest:

Cardiff Castle: Also known as Castell Caerdydd, Cardiff Castle was founded in Roman times and became the foothold of the Norman Empire. Even now you can see the ruins of the Norman Empire here. The Victorian look of the castle was the brainchild of the third Marquis of Bute (1848-900). He employed an architect called William Burges who decorated the ornate interiors of the castle with murals and added neo-Gothic towers with murals, stained glass windows and decorative carvings. The castle also has two military museums and massive grounds. The famous Bute Park came into existence from the grounds of the Cardiff Castle. Millennium stadium: This 72,500-seater stadium is one of the most modern and luxuriant sports stadiums in Europe. You can take advantage of the guided tours to visit the pitch, the royal box, the dressing rooms of the players and other areas. Cardiff Bay: This beautiful place introduces you to some of the finest architectural work in Cardiff. The Cardiff Bay barrage was open to the public after June 2001. This led to a creation of a fresh water lake and a 12 km long waterfront with parks, shopping complexes, entertainment centres, bars and restaurants. Techniquest, a science museum, and Norwegian Arts church arts centres are the other prominent landmarks here. Museum of Welsh Life (Amgueddfa Werin Cymru): This beautiful museum is set in 104 acres of Parkland, in St. Fagans, west of the city centre. You would be impressed with the extensive collection of precious Welsh literature, works and craftsmanship. There is a collection of historic Welsh townships, farms, tannery, pottery, Victorian schoolrooms etc, which have been purchased from different places in Wales and rebuilt in the huge grounds of the museums. Another notable image would be of the Iron-age Celtic village.

Things to do:

Travel- The public transport in the city is provided by the bus. The main provider is the Cardiff Bus. The buses have an operation time of 0530-2330 hours. The buses have reduced hours during the public holidays and the weekends. Alternatively, you can hire the services of a taxi. They are either black hackney cabs or cars with company logos that indicate that they are used for public transport. There are companies like Black Cabs, DragonTaxies and Central Taxis, which can help you hire the services of their taxis. Visitors are expected to pay about £4.00 for a trip across town. The traffic is quite heavy during the peak hours, which would be Monday through Friday 0800-0900 and 1700-1800. If you want to rent a car, then you would have to own a valid driving license. It could usually be a national driving license. If you are a tourist, then you may also do with an International Driving Permit. You need to check the kind and the grade of insurance given to you along with the car hire. Eating: Follow the gradation of the restaurants as per the prices, if you plan to eat out at any of the restaurants in Cardiff: Assuming you eat a three course meal accompanied by a half litre of wine, then you should expect to pay the following prices for different grade restaurants: **** (over £40) *** (£25 to £40) ** (£10 to £25) * (under £10) The prices usually include taxes and tips.

Shopping: You can shop till you drop in the specialist shops and boutiques within the seven Victorian and Edwardian arcades situated in the city centres. Important departmental stores such as Howells are open from 9am to 6pm, although this is not a rule. There are some shops that are open on Sundays too.

Special activities: Wales is home to a lot of Eisteddfod festivals around the country. You can feel the ancient Celtic heritage in their music and movies. You can purchase the tickets to the cultural events in Cardiff through phone, box offices or online. The city is famous for the male choir voice, which is the hallmark of the Welsh pride.

Food & Drink:

Tiles: This is an internationally acclaimed part of the St. David’s hotel. The restaurant has the best seafood in Cardiff and you could also have a breathtaking view of the Millennium Waterfront as you savour the seafood with a tasty glass of wine. Underdeb: This is one restaurant that is so popular that you would have to reserve seats for the place days in advance. Home to some creative and tasty dishes; this place would keep you craving for more.

LeGallois: This hotel is famous for some interesting and distinctive French food with a Welsh twist. You also get the best customer service and a pleasant ambience.

Izakaya: This trendy Japanese restaurant at the Millenium Quay has the best Japanese Sushi food (more than 70 varieties) in Cardiff.

Dorothy’s: You get the taste of local food to make you feel like a red-blooded Welsh with the best fish and chips you could find. The chicken curry is one more dish you cannot miss. Benedicto: You have the best of Italian dishes here. The wine tastes amazingly fine and you can have a gala time here. However, you would have to keep away from smoking if you want to enjoy the food and the ambience.

Hotels & Accommodation:

Cardiff has an abundence of beautiful hotels with excellent accommodation facilities. The hotels could be classified into 4 different pricing categories:

**** (over £150)

*** (£100 to £150)

** (£50 to £100)

* (under £50)

The prices listed above are for a double room per night, including tax and breakfast.

Here are selection of hotels in cardiff: Cardiff Park Plaza Angel Hotel Thistle Cardiff Millennium Lodge Cardiff Sandringham Hotel The Royal Hotel Macdonald Holland House Hotel The Big Sleep Hotel The Lodge by Macdonald Novotel Cardiff Centre Village Hotel Cardiff Cardiff Moat House Hotel Quality Hotel Cardiff Future Inn Cardiff Bay Campanile Hotel Cardiff The Copthorne Hotel Cardiff Manor House Hotel Tadross Hotel VALE HOTEL, GOLF & SPA RESORT Best Western Mount Sorrel Hotel

Entertainment:

The New Theatre Park Place, founded in 1909 and refurbished in the 1980s, is a premier venue in Wales for hosting popular plays, theatres and dances. The New Wales Millennium Dance Center is another famous place for international choreographers and native dancers to exhibit their talents. Mary Ann Street, Capital Odeon and the Millennium Plaza are important venues to screen mainstream movies.

Cardiff is a city that is still growing. With the Welsh getting its due as a nation in its own right and the city completing its 50 years as the state capital last year, Cardiff is the perfect resort for any tourist who wants to witness a city on the road to progress and prosperity, albeit retaining its strong Celtic roots.

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Hundreds of skiers will soon be dusting down their salopettes and darting off in search of the biggest snow.

And undoubtedly the result of your carbon footprint will be virtually as far down the list of vacation to dos as a turkey sandwich after the Christmas holidays.

But last Christmas, a sluggish snow was in the headlines and holidaymakers were panic stricken about the smattering of snow disappearing almost as soon as they put down.

Ski organisation Chalet1802, placed at the foot of Monte Bianco in the French Alps, is one of the only independent businesses to go carbon neutral and give snowboarders an environmentally friendly choice whilst reserving their ski vacations.

Chalet1802 proprietor Kiahna said: Last winter was quite a surprise with the hottest wintertime in 50 years in Europe. It was mild and the snow didn’t last so a lot of the early season skiing season in the Alps was limited. We determined to go carbon negative to assist in the preservation the snowboarding resort.

Kiahna said: We’re not assaying to prescribe to punters but we believe it is of import to give the clients the selection without augmenting the cost of the vacation. When the client book with us they may more than off set their carbon footprint and we absorb the extra prices. Naturally we still have a sauna and a hot tub - guests require luxury but not at the expense of the surroundings, so we looked at means of lessening the results of a skier driving over here for a ski holiday.”

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There are very important reasons why the Travel Industry is looking for reliable Travel Coordinators. One of the major reasons is ‘International Travel Safety’ has become a major concern. Let’s look at this realistically. We as Americans are not looked upon favorably in the world. No matter how much foreign aid we provide we cannot make people “like” us. When we visit foreign countries, they are nice to us; they are even respectful and accommodating, however, do they like us?

Needless to say, we need to stay together when traveling to far away places. We must be aware of our surroundings and alert at all times when traveling outside of the US. The age old game of “mentally” ignoring a group of people because of their race creed or color has reached epidemic (International) levels.

When in a foreign country if we do not speak the language then we do not know what is being said nor do we understand the consequences of what has been said.

Travel for many of us is a deep embedded addiction, an addiction that cannot be done away with just because of foreign issues or the state of the world. (I believe this addiction to be normal since the earth is traveling around the sun at about 65,868 miles per hour) Travel, since the beginning of time has been and will continue to be one of the most educational experiences that any person can encounter. Travel is a multi-billion dollar industry and will continue to be as long as the boarders are open.

So what must we do?

We must create new ways to travel safely.

The T360 Travel Group has come up with a way to help Americans Travel more safely. Again, this too is an ancient old method of travel. Even the wagon trains traveling west were not exempt from this method.

Group Travel with a couple of differences.

A Group Leader that is common to everyone on the trip.

The second difference is that every family or individual traveling would need to insure his/her trip. This one act alone covers your assets at home and aboard. This is what we call a “financial link” between you and your family, your assets back home and your safety aboard. (Travel Insurance is NOT expensive) Regardless of what happens on your trip… you will have a solid connection to your finances other then your credit cards.

The third difference is that the trips are registered with the US State Department in case of emergency.

Agencies are looking for Travel Addicts; I mean Coordinators all the time. I guess you are wondering why a Travel Agency would be looking for Travel Coordinators? Most people would say that would be the job of a Travel Agent. Wrong! Most Travel Agents do not travel that often. They are busy booking travel for their clients. They loose money every time they leave their office.

Travel addicts are the people who arrange their life to accommodate last minute travel.

A Group Travel Coordinator would have the following attributes: commitment, loves travel, like people, have confidence in marketing, can give attention to detail, love to coordinate, and can your common sense more then your college education, then you qualify to Travel FREE.

I suppose you are wondering how a Travel Coordinator travels FREE. Easy, when you book 6 people or 15 people or what ever number the Travel whole seller sets one person goes FREE. The Host of the Group Travel provides the Insurances and the necessary Seller of Travel Permits. It is truly a group effort that can pay off big.

Example: Say you have 9 people that want to go to China. You have a mark-up of 15% on the wholesale price, plus you get one free hotel and air if 6 people sign-up. Your mother and father, sister and cousin, your girlfriend and her husband want to go and the lady at the church wants to go. And when another lady at the church found out from the Pastor that Mrs. J was going, she decided to go to. (Your husband said if he wants to see China he would go to Chinatown) So you now have 8 people, 9 counting yourself. You get one free travel pass and you can decided to lower your package price at the last minute because you did not need the extra 15% mark-up, or you can keep it for any emergency during the trip or you can use it to market your next trip. It’s up to you!

Travel Coordinator Trivia. If you can see a problem already with the above travel group, then you truly understand Group Travel. Think about how you would handle the situation.

If you are interested in becoming a Travel Coordinator you can sign up at http://www.travel360degrees.com/free_vacation.htm

This article was written by Cassandra Ingraham, webmaster and Travel Coordinator for http://www.travel360degrees.com

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