Archive for the ‘Vacations’ Category

Victoria& Alfred Waterfront is named after Queen Victoria and her second son Prince Alfred. More commonly known as V&A Waterfront, it is one of the most visited destinations of modern South Africa. The waterfront is uplifted face of the historic Cape Harbor. The construction of the basin was initiated by Prince Alfred.

The waterfront is no longer serving as a harbor only.  It now houses some of Cape Town’s most exquisite restaurants, grandest hotels, most luxurious apartments and exciting entertainment venues. Not only this, by exploring the V&A Waterfront, one gets to know well about the British reign and construction in South Africa.

Some of the worth visiting historical monuments and buildings located at the waterfront are: The Clock Tower, Time Ball Tower, The Dragon Tree, Robben Island Embarkation Building, Blackwater Prison and Chavonnes Battery. All these place are easy to access because a lot of companies are providing flights to Cape Town, Durbin and other cities of South Africa.

Time Clock Tower:

This tower was first completed in 1882 and used to be the port captain’s office. The typical old British style tower has a clock fixed at its top. The second floor of the tower is all mirrored so that the captain could judge the entire activity going on the port. The renovation of the tower was completed in 1997 and it is one of the most important parts of the modern waterfront.

Time Ball Tower:

Time ball tower was built in 1894 and was used to judge the performance of the ships. It had been in use for 40 years and was then abandoned for 60 years. The tower was renovated in 1997 and it now adds to the beauty of the waterfront.

The Dragon Tree:

This 100 years old tree is believed to have been planted by a sailor. The species is from Canary Islands. The tree is one of the biggest in South Africa and its sap was used for treatment purposes. After having been damaged in the storms of 2001, the leaves of the tree have been cut out for it to regenerate.

Robben Island Embarkation Building and Breakwater Prison:

The Robben Island Embarkation building was originally constructed as a jail but its purpose has changed a number of times. It now serves as museum and depicts the history of the island. Also built as a jail in 1860, the Blackwater Prison now houses a university and a hotel. Both are the attractive historical constructions of the Victorian era.

Chavonnes Battery:

This was built in early 1700 and is the oldest surviving building of the area. Chavonnes Battery was built as a fort and it later came to be used a hospital ward. Some parts of the archeological site are now open to tourists.

Other attractions at the V&A Waterfront include the seal breeding shore. Having a seal breeding shore near to human activity is very rare and this adds to attractions of the place. The South African Maritime Museum, housing models of old ships, is a great place to see. Furthermore the helicopter tour and the boating in the scenic waters is a differentiating experience. At the meeting point of Indian and Atlantic oceans, is the extravagant Two Oceans Museum housing more than 3000 underwater species. This place is a must see. To add to the charisma, the incomparable shopping, world class living and exquisite dinning make the V&A Waterfront, an ultimate tourist attraction. To enjoy all this, search for and cash your most cheap flights to Cape Town for an ultimate refreshing experience.

A 7000-cubic-inch suitcase stuffed, fully loaded, with over sixty pounds of supplies; tent, sleeping bag, stove, frying pan, octad changes of clothes, coffee pot, and God only knows what else. That was how I took my first solo trip abroad. By the time my trip was over six weeks later I had sold, lost, thrown away or cursed carrying three quarters of the clog I’d packed. So please, learn from my mistake. IF YOU DON’T NEED IT, LEAVE IT. That’s the only rule for packing for a trip abroad, which believe it or not can be the most essential part of the trip.

If you don’t need it, yield it. I can’t say it enough.
You can almost always tell the seasoned traveler from the new kid on the block simply by the size of their pack. The pack I ingest now is a small, 2100-cubic-inch backpack. It works perfect as a carry on everywhere I go. Sometimes, it is a real treat to see the professional traveler, someone who has been on the dawdle for years. These travelers usually have a bag smaller then a aggregation of purses, with some extra underwear, a toothbrush and a good book. When you think about it, what more do you really need?

My basic belief about what to bring on an around-the-world trip stems for the type of trip I like to take, with a comfort level allowing me to buy almost anything I need on the road. When I’m on the road the last thing I want to do is worry about my stuff. I have been on countless buses where bags are reaching soured at an interim stop and have watched as travelers dutifully think each bag that comes soured to attain trusty it isn’t theirs. I’ve also been walking with people who won’t walk down a very interesting but darkened road because they’re carrying an $800.00 camera. I’ve watched this type of person as they are approached by local towts. They inevitably grab their camera tight, or unconsciously check their money belt.

Children today are as intelligent as they come and providing a flourishing lifestyle for kids is rattling essential to their well being and overall growth. Active children are flourishing children and in order for them to stay active you hit to intend them away from the television or video mettlesome or computer that keeps them fixed to the chair and out of doors.

America has a problem with as many as digit in five kids being overweight. Children need to eat balanced, nutritional meals and flourishing snacks, and stay active. In a world as fast paced as ours it is difficult to be there for your kids when you hold downbound a full time job but the effort needs to be made. A flourishing lifestyle for kids is rattling important and involves making the time needed to prepare flourishing meals for your children. If left to their own devices we all know well what a child’s schedule would consist of and any child who controls his or her own fasting by zapping favorite foods in the microwave is in for trouble.

While it is the parents’ domain to ensure a flourishing lifestyle for kids, investigate has shown that there are several external factors that are also responsible for our fleshiness children. Fast food is the number digit culprit with their high calorie content and portion size. More children are being driven to school instead of good old fashioned ‘walking the two blocks to school’ concept. Of course this can also be attributed to child safety concerns. With the advent of the television, video mettlesome console and the computer it has become increasingly difficult to pry a child away and intend them outdoors to play.