Belfast, Northern Ireland: Peace Brings Prosperity
Belfast, Northern Ireland, has put down the guns and opened its arms to the world. The agreement, brokered with the help of the US back in 1997, paved the way for an intensive construction and improvement program. Everywhere I looked I found a city building, improving and making a serious play for a stake in the enviable tourist dollars that come in such abundance in the south. The fabled ocean liner Titanic plays an important role in Belfast’s big money plans to transform and embrace a future of high technology and tourism. The ship was built in Belfast’s shipyard, and, as one local wryly observed, “It was in fine shape when it left here.”

Miraculous Macau: Modern and Mystifying
The name Macau brings to mind bygone days of pirates roaming the South China Sea, of a mysterious mix where East and West collided and the unfamiliar could be explored. Today Macau is still a place well worth visiting and is full of mixes, both modern and mystifying, with glimpses into the colonial past. The days of old smoke-filled casinos and pawnshops are over; Las Vegas’s biggest players are all building big bright new ones there.While I was amazed at the controlled growth, I often found myself exploring places such as the hilltop Sao Paulo Church, Monte Fort, Guia Hill and the Taipa Island. Gardens, museums and history are around every corner, and getting lost is highly recommended.

Ruse, Bulgaria: An Elegant "Mini-Vienna"
The walk to the center took me though a curious mixture of grey, monolithic apartment blocks and newer low rises, old mansions and quaint cottages with tidy little gardens. Then the main plaza revealed itself. Suddenly I felt as though I were in Vienna. With immaculate gardens of red tulips and violets, pine trees and working fountains, surrounded by sprightly, refurbished neoclassical and neobaroque buildings, Ploshtad Svoboda, or Liberty Square, seemed to have been plucked from a Hapsburg realm and transplanted in its entirety into the very heart of the Balkans.

CROSS THAT BRIDGE
A good girl quits it all to roam the world with her video camera
Sony Stark's Blog

Nicaragua: Many Attractions, Few Tourists
When I told my friends I was going to Nicaragua, they all said the same thing, “Be careful!” Years of news reports about civil war between the Sandinistas and Contra rebels had created the impression of a nation defined by political turmoil and violence. But the reality is that Nicaragua has been a peaceful democracy for more than ten years and has the lowest crime rate of any Latin nation. Nicaragua is a land of lush tropical forests, volcanoes, lakes, a bio-diverse river and endless miles of pristine coastline. And it has something else – a surprising absence of foreign vacationers. Unlike its neighbor Costa Rica, there’s little tourist infrastructure to interfere with unconditional immersion in the culture and environment.

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San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico: An Ethereal Highland City
Strikingly positioned in the highlands of Chiapas, there is an intense and otherworldly quality to San Cristóbal de las Casas. The streets rise and fall with brightly-coloured houses with green mountains all around. Rich in indigenous culture and history, the city is an anthropologist's dream. The Maya, who are descended from an ancient and ingenious civilization, are a strong presence in and around the city. In many respects, Chiapas more closely resembles Guatemala than Mexico. Mystical, indigenous and ethereal San Cristóbal: A visit here is sure to enchant and fascinate.

Renting a car in Europe
allows you to see more, do more and have more fun.
And it is not as expensive as you might think!

Travel Lighter: Ship Your Luggage
Everyone has had the possibility flash through their minds before a vacation that their luggage will not make it onto their connecting flight, or that it will get thrown onto the wrong plane and the next thing they know, they’ll be in Tahiti in snow boots and a snow jacket while their bathing suits and shorts will have conveniently made their way to New York. In addition to being fed up with having to carry heavy luggage around the airport, people have feared lost luggage for far too long. Thus, a travel trend has emerged to solve this problem: luggage shipping. Several companies offer door-to-door service without the hassle of lost, stolen or damaged luggage, or having to drag bags along on your travels.