Flowers to Fashion

Last weekend I took a trip to the Dallas Arboretum before the end of Spring bloom.  The Arboretum is brimming with vibrant colors and floras in species both familiar and exotic.  We walked the grounds, admiring the flowers that spanned the color spectrum from bright whites, to shocking pinks, neon yellows, and muted purples.  I couldn't help but think that Spring dresses more than ever have been mirroring the vibrant colors of these Spring blooms.  Inspired by my trip, I put together flowers to fashion with help from Net-a-Porter and present and past Spring Runway shows.

 

Flower Images via Travelmoon
1. & 8. Pucci Spring 2010 2. Alice + Olivia,  3. & 5. Marc Jacobs Spring 2011
4. Preen 6. Thread Social 7. Camilla and Marc 9. Tibi

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Make Healthy Choices When Eating Out

It is the time of year when everyone is really busy.  That usually means eating on the go.  Eating on the go and eating out do not need to sabotage your resolve to eat healthy. Tips I have for eating right on the go - remember it is all about clean, whole foods.

Always have snacks on hand that you can take with you in your car or wherever you need to go.  Fresh fruit, nuts, low fat string cheese and yogurt are great options.

When eating out try the following:

• Ask for water, unsweetened tea, or other drinks without added sugars.

• Always ask for whole wheat brad for sandwiches.

• Start a restaurant meal with a salad packed with veggies to help ward of hunger.

• Ask for salad dressing to be served on the side and don't use it all - low fat - not fat free.

•Choose main dishes that include vegetables such as stir fries, kabobs, or pasta.

• Order steamed, grilled or broiled dishes.

• Choose a small or medium portion.

• Order from the menu instead of visiting the buffet.

• If main dishes are more than you want, order an appetizer or side dish instead of an entree.

Try these over the next several weeks or when you are on the run. Remember it is all about choices - make the right ones!

Yours in health!

Ally

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ERIC LIEBIG 02

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Delightful Dives

Do you like to go diving and snorkeling? I do! If you haven’t done it yet and want to, there are a few cheap places to get certified. You can go to Koh Tao, Thailand. I believe as well that Roatan, Honduras, is cheaper than most. Once you get certified, the world is, literally your oyster, and your puffer fish and your loggerhead turtle. Below are some of my favorite places to dive, in order of preference.

- Sipidan, Malaysian Borneo - This was the perfect dive site. The water was clear, you could see for miles, the coral was brightly colored and there were huge schools of fish, turtles and sharks. This was a divers paradise.

- Dahab, Egypt, Red Sea - The Red Sea looks like a swimming pool. It is gorgeous. It is also warm. The area here was very clear and there was tons of great coral. The fish were plentiful and I even saw two octopus!

- Padangbai, Bali, Indonesia - We just recently went here, and although we got overcharged by the dive company, the dive was great. Again, you could see for “miles” and there were tons of schools of really colorful fish as well as plentiful coral.

- Cairnes, Australia, Great Barrier Reef - Of course this had to make the list, but surprisingly, it wasn’t my number one. The coral here was not as nice as the above mentioned sites, although there were tons of reef sharks and many fish.

- Koh Tao, Thailand - I learned here and it was a great place to learn, as the water is nice and warm and the seas are not too rough. Also the wildlife is plentiful and the water is usually clear. We did have a few days where the visibility was not as good, but all in all I count this a great place to learn or to dive.

So, now you are ready to go! Strap on your tank and let’s get diving!

Have you been diving before? If so, where? Did you like it?

This is part of the A-Z Blogfest. D is for Delightful. You can find my other “letters” HERE.

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Mount Usborne and Ceritos Corral

Forming the western edge of Wickham Heights, Mt Usborne reaches 705m (2,312ft) - making it the highest mountain in the Falklands. Usborne has a distinctive hulking shape, and rises impressively from the grasslands at its feet. Just under the peak hangs Black Tarn, a small lake formed by erosive forces during the last Ice Age approximately 15,000 years ago - a fantastic location for camping enthusiasts.

At the base of Usborne is Ceritos Corral, a large and well-preserved stone corral built in 1871 by a team of several men for the princely sum of approximately £7. The structure is comprised of approximately 55 yards of stone work and is located next to a running stream. Ceritos is a well protected corral incorporating the nearby rocky hillside. It was used to sort the fattest and best cattle from the resident herd, these animals would then be sent to Stanley for consumption by townsfolk.

Allow a whole day for an expedition to Usborne. Visitors should wear walking boots, wind/waterproof clothing and headgear as the terrain is rough underfoot and the weather highly changeable. Water and snacks are essential. Maps and a GPS for route-finding are strongly recommended; mists can descend very quickly and finding the exact location of a vehicle can be challenging even in the best of weather.

Suggested route: Walk or drive to Ceritos corral. From here, walking is recommended, follow the fence line up the slope until you reach the Phantom crash site – a British fighter jet that came to grief on the slope during a routine flight in October 1983. Continue along the saddle past three rock tarns towards the summit cairn, enjoying the expansive views over Cape Dolphin and Berkeley Sound (the points of Point Stephens, North Arm and Port Howard Mountains are also visible on clear days). To see Black Tarn, head approximately 600 metres to the north of the summit cairn.

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Ordino: Ski Resort In Andorra's Pyrenees Mountains

Ordino is at 8 km north from Andorra la Vella. This village is 1.300 meters above the sea. A typical destination for mountain vacation in the Pyrenees Mountains, it is extremely cold in winter, thus becoming a great ski resort. During the spring and summer seasons an explosion of colors occur in this beautiful area and the old taverns and streets offer to the visitor an enchanting and unforgettable vacation. When not in winter, Ordino is excellent for excursionists that love trekking, where the village is more quiet and nature offers all its beauty. Casamanya Peak is above Ordino and while ascending it one can enjoy most beautiful landscapes. A Romanic church from the 13th century, the council and the ruins of La Meca Castle are great places to visit.

Ordino is great for biking as well, for taking photographs, for enjoying nature and for cultural visits. One example is the Post Museum, the Museum of Miniatures and the Iconographic Museum with artistic orthodox and Christian icons from the 16th to 19th centuries. Near Ordino is a beautiful forest called Bosque de Segudet, excellent for biking, trekking, and other activities. Ordino then becomes a great spot not only for skiing in winter but also for many other activities in different seasons.

Ordino has 25 ski slopes and is famous for its snow quality. The highest area in Ordino reaches the 2.620 meters above the sea, and because of the situation of this village, the snow comes here much earlier than in any other ski slopes of other areas. It has also 28 snow canyons, 26 km of ski slopes and a quantity of ski lifts and chair lifts. Excursions are available with snow motorbikes.

The sports center in Ordino offers activities and relaxation with several swimming pools, sauna, Turkish baths and spa. Fishing is also possible in Ordino, as well as mountain hiking at different levels.

How to get to Ordino:

From Andorra La Vella:

From Plaza del Princep Benlloch, take the first street to the right until Carrer del Doctor Vilanova. 

There is a traffic cirle. Take the third exit towards Carrer del Prat de la Creu. Continue straight along Carrer de Bonaventura Armengol and then through Avinguda del Consell d'Europa. Cross the branch and at the traffic circle take the fourth exit.

Continue straight towards CG-3/CG-4 and then take CG-3. Pass over 4 traffic circles.

Turn a little to the right in Carretera General and continue straight along Carretera General.

Then at the traffic circle, take the second exist towards CS-340.

Enter the traffic circle.

Ordino is after the traffic circle.

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Activity - Holiday Ideas Including the Great Barrier Reef

What kind of break are you planning for this year? Here are some activity holiday ideas to get your holiday juices flowing...

Let's kick off the activity holiday ideas list with water sports. How about snorkelling or sailing on the Great Barrier Reef, diving the Great Blue Hole in Belize, or diving with sharks in the Grand Bahamas? What about surfing Pipeline, Hawaii or doing a spot of windsurfing or kite surfing in Egypt. The Red Sea is recommended to all vacationers by more than one of our travel experts because you can dive, snorkel, windsurf or kite surf - so it's a multi- activity holiday idea!

Winter sports is the other big one when it comes to activity holiday ideas. Go skiing in Whistler, Queenstown, New Zealand or in Zermatt, or go snowboarding at Kicking Horse, Folgaria and Jurassik Snowboarding Park or in Ste Foy - how's that for a few ideas doe starters? Les Arcs, Meribel and Hirafu shouldn't be omitted from the list of winter sports activities either.

The activities involving adventure travel are also popular: lots of people fancy themselves spending their two week break from work rafting the Grand Canyon, paddling the Zambezi, camping with Saharan Nomads or paragliding around Oludeniz, Turkey. One of the most adventurous ideas for those holidaying is still Everest. Even if you're not up to attempting the summit, this could take you up to base camp.

If those ideas are too adventurous there are some soft adventure activity holiday ideas to try on for size. Fancy trekking New Zealand's Southern Alps via the Milford Track, or Chile's Torres del Paine, going on a cruise up the Nile or down the Ganges, driving the Alaskan Highway or exploring the Zambezi? These are all challenging activities that don't require years of fitness preparation.

These days another kind of activity is popular - volunteering or learning activity holiday ideas. Attend Genghis Khan Warrior Training in Mongolia, volunteer to help care for the Orang utans at Sepilok, Malaysia, work with AIDS orphans in South Africa, study wildlife photography in Tanzania, or just learn to hula in Hawaii - all of these activities can be expanded into a whole idea for your vacation. And once you start talking animals some people know they're looking for a wildlife based activity - something where they'll get to meet some of the world's furrier, scalier, or toothy inhabitants. What about taking on a flying safari along the Skeleton Coast of Namibia, or following in the hoof-steps of the Serengeti Wildebeest Migration? Walking with leopards and floating with hippos in South Lauangwa or birdwatching in the Okavango River Delta?

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Best Places to Visit in Vietnam

Vietnam is just one of the countries in Indochina Peninsula that is blessed with soaring mountains, abundant rice fields and a number of interesting attractions to pay a visit.

Start your holiday vacation by coming around the Halong Bay or rather be called as the Bay of Descending Dragons. It is called as such because it is composed of two thousand limestone islands that similarly like monoliths when they rise.

All in all, there are twenty caves on the island opened for the public visit. The most popular would be the Cave of the Sticks. But take it easy folks! It is quite impossible to explore the bay in 24 hours. That’s why; it is best-recommended to rent a tour boat while touring. You can check with your travel agent the best available tour schedules.

Have some time and appreciate the rich and historic French-influenced architecture in Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam). You just cannot believe your eyes once you see the one-pillar pagoda. It is called as the Goddess of Mercy and it was built as early as 1049. After the old pagoda, walk around and explore the museums. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology should be your first destination. Every detail you want to understand about ethnic groups (there are 54 of them) is found here. The construction of this museum started 1987 and was opened to the public ten years later (November 12).

The Cuc Phong National Park

For those people who seek for real fun and entertainment, it’s time to persuade your whole family and friends to visit Cuc Phong National Park - which is the largest national park and the largest nature reserve in the country. Current reports also reveal the park receives a steady stream of foreigner tourist each year.

The park is located in the foothills of north Annamite Mountains and for that; its lowest temperature clocks at 32 Fahrenheit and the highest rises above 85 Fahrenheit. In case you want to see how the entire park looks like in its driest months, you must book you visit during December and January.

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Monday Escapes

It was a couple of Springs ago that I visited this city via a wild road trip from New York City...

It may lend itself towards Summer travel where I hear it comes alive and festivals abound, but I have found myself in an unconventional Spring Break locale once or twice.  My Senior year of college a friend and I decided to visit Boston during sub-freezing temperatures.  This caused many people to scratch their heads with wonder, as to why we weren't in Cabo or Cancun.  

But being from California, sometimes I took temperatures for granted and craved a change, which meant a location with real weather, even if that weather happened to mean that I had to pack gloves.

The beauty of this city is that if the temperatures gets the best of you, you can practically traverse the whole place underground.  There is world class shopping, restaurants, and if you parlez vous francais, you will be quite welcome.  It is also known for being the bachelor party central of the North.

Images via Travelmoon

It's Montreal.

Have a great week!

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Car Talk

Car Talk has dual meanings for me. First I am going to talk to you about the radio show on NPR. If you haven’t listened to Car Talk, you should. You can download one free every week as a podcast on iTunes, or listen to it on NPR; I think it is on Saturdays, but I am not positive, as I usually just listen to it as a podcast. Anyway, whether or not you like, or have, cars, you will love the sassy attitude and corny jokes that Click and Clack provide for you each week. Two Italian guys from Boston, they are funny, witty and they actually do know a bit about cars.

This brings me to the second subject:  My car. I have a super old car. It runs great, but there is only one problem. About 10 years ago, a lady hit me in the front drivers side and it dented the fender and smashed out the headlight housing and bent back the hood a little. Right afterward, I moved to San Francisco and didn’t need a car anyway, so I never fixed it. I put it on the front lawn in the driveway at my parent’s house and left it, not knowing if I would need it or not.

So, now I am trying to decide if it is worth fixing OR if I should just scrap it and go and buy another used car somewhere else. I really don’t know. It does run great. However, it is a diesel, which is good for mileage but bad for the environment. The interior is nice; I had just put a rebuilt engine in it right before the accident; all the power windows work. It is not a super crappy old car. The only thing wrong with it is that it has a big dent. Oh, and it’s a 4 cylinder and barely makes it up hills! But I can live with that.

It will probably cost a couple of thousand (hopefully less, but that’s a generous estimate) to get it back on the road again.

What should I do? Also, do you listen to or like Car Talk?

NOTE: This is a post for the A-Z blogfest. C is for Car. You can find others below.

A is for A Day.
B is for Bookmark.

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