Vacation

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1. Christmas Vacation is based on the late, great John Hughes' short story Christmas '59, the second Vacation story to be published in National Lampoon's Magazine. The first was Vacation '58, which was the basis for the original National Lampoon's Vacation. This explains the label on the home movie reel Clark finds in the attic: "X-Mas '59."

2. The Griswolds live right next door to the Murtaughs! Both Christmas Vacation and Lethal Weapon were filmed on the same back lot at Warner Brothers Studios. Also, the house front shown in the home movie Clark watches in the attic is the same one used on the television shows Bewitched (1964) and The New Gidget (1986).

3. The black Chicago Bears cap Clark wears appears in all four Vacation movies: National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), European Vacation (1985), Christmas Vacation (1989), and Vegas Vacation (1997). Like most every John Hughes character, Clark is from Chicago.

4. The movie has four Saturday Night Live alumni: Chase, Randy Quaid, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Brian Doyle-Murray.

5. Only two Christmas-themed movies came out in 1989: Prancer and Christmas Vacation. A 13-year-old Johnny Galecki (who plays Rusty) is in both of them.

6. In both Vacation and European Vacation, Rusty is presumably older than Audrey. But in Christmas Vacation, Audrey (played by Juliette Lewis) is the older sibling.

7. Frank Capra III was assistant director on Christmas Vacation. His grandfather and namesake, Hollywood legend Frank Capra, directed It's a Wonderful Life (1946), arguably the most-watched Christmas movie ever made.

8. It's the only Vacation movie not to feature Lindsey Buckingham's song "Holiday Road" throughout the entire film.

9. Cousin Eddie (Quaid) has a son named Rocky, a fact not unnoticed by Sylvester Stallone, who included footage from Christmas Vacation in his film, Rocky V. Plus, Rocky's Las Vegas T-shirt predicts the series' future: The next sequel would be Vegas Vacation.

10. Christmas Vacation is the final film of Mae Questel, whose film career began in 1930 as the voice of Betty Boop.

11. The old Dodge pickup that tailgates Clark and the family in the opening scenes of the movie is the same one driven by Kurt Russell in Overboard.

12. When Clark is in bed trying to read People Magazine with sticky fingers from the tree sap, the person shown on the cover of the magazine is Matty Simmons, this film's producer.

13. During the shopping scene, Eddie asks Clark if it was his company that "killed all those people in India." He's referencing the Bhopal disaster, also known as the Union Carbide disaster, which saw leaks from a Union Carbide pesticide plant go airborne. Thousands of people died and many more were hospitalized.

14. Galecki pays tribute to the man playing his dad when he looks at his bare wrist, pretending to have a watch on, and excuses himself after the Christmas lights don't turn on. The fake watch gag was a Chevy Chase trademark.

15. Saavy Vacation fans will notice Clark and Cousin Eddie drinking egg nog out of Wally World mugs. Wally World, of course, being the impetus for the title excursion in the original National Lampoon's Vacation.

16. Rocky doesn't have a line in the film.

17. Gene Autry's "Here Comes Santa Claus" scores the scene when the police storm the Griswolds' house. Coincidentally, Randy Quaid is Autry's third cousin.

18. Just before Clark gets locked in the attic, he pulls out an old present from a hidden slot: a card that reads "Happy Mother's Day 1983, Love Clark." The first movie, National Lampoon's Vacation, was released the same year.

19. If it looks like Ruby Sue is wearing a wig, it's because she is. The filmmakers decided young actress Ellen Hamilton Latzen's pixie haircut was inappropriate for her character.

20. All the presents on the credenza when Clark goes in to give his to Mr. Shirley are identically shaped and likely the same gift.

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21. The scene where the cat chews the Christmas lights wire and gets electrocuted was nearly cut from the movie. Prior to the first test screening, Warner Brothers executives wanted the scene taken out, fearing it might offend some viewers. But producer Matty Simmons championed the scene, and they eventually gave in. After the first test screening, the audience had scored the cat electrocution scene as their favorite in the film.

22. In several outdoor scenes at the Griswold home, a powder blue 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible can be seen parked out front. This was the last of the rare curved glass slab sides and is sought-after by collectors. The 1964 Continental convertible had straight glass windows to provide more interior space.

23. Christmas Vacation is one of three films released in 1989 to feature a trendy animated title sequence, a signature of late '80s/early '90s comedies. The other two are Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Troop Beverly Hills.

24. Roger Ebert wasn't a fan of Christmas Vacation: "The movie is curious in how close it comes to delivering on its material: Sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material, to be well on the way toward a payoff, and then it somehow doesn't work.”

25. Despite being a "Christmas movie," Christmas Day is never actually seen. The film ends on Christmas Eve.

the source

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Most of us take a few days off around Christmas to spend time with our family and friends. While vacations seem like they should be restful, most of us sabotage our vacations and fill them with work and stress.
Here are six ways to make the most of your vacation so that you can return to work in the New Year ready to take on another year!

1. Check your emails only once a day.

One of the greatest benefits of technology is that you never are really away from the office. You can stay on top of emails at the grocery store, the car pool lane, or even the dentist chair. While this may be a huge advantage during the course of the year, it can make an otherwise restful vacation stressful. During your vacation, make a rule that you will only check your email once a day, and don’t break it!
Church leaders, be sure to notify your staff of your “holiday email rule,” and tell them that if the matter is urgent to be sure to signify that in the subject line. Turn off your email notifications on your phone, and enjoy time with your family and friends.

2. Don't answer your phone.

Many people assume that if someone calls, it must be important. While this may be true, not everything that is important is urgent. Let the call go to voicemail, and then determine whether the matter is urgent enough to call back right away or if it can wait until you return to the office. If you want to acknowledge the receipt of the voicemail, you can send back a quick text saying, "I got your voicemail, and I will be happy to deal with this when I return on Monday."

3. Go on a date with your spouse.

Holidays are a time filled with extended family members and friends. Take advantage of the extra hands, and go on a date with your spouse. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles are typically more than happy to entertain the little ones while you slip away for some quality time with your spouse. Ministry is hard, not just on those who are a part of a church staff but also on their spouses. Take time to debrief about the highs and lows of the past year and make goals as a couple and a family for the upcoming year. Enjoy your time together, and come back from vacation stronger together.

4. Sleep.

With friends and family in for the holiday, it is tempting to stay up late and say that you will catch up with sleep by sleeping in. Most of us know that this is not reality. Kids (even if they are not yours) are up early whether it is vacation or not. Staying up late while playing board games and watching movies is so much fun, and spending time with extended family is important – but neither of those are as important as being well rested. Coming off of the Christmas season while serving on a church staff is exhausting, and most of us build up a huge sleep debt. Make sleeping a priority for your vacation so you can start the New Year on the right foot.

5. Start healthy habits.

Speaking of starting the year off on the right foot, spend time while you are on vacation thinking about your goals for the New Year. Whether it be eating healthier, getting more sleep, spending more quality time with your spouse and kids, or exercising, vacation provides the time you need to break bad habits and start new ones.

6. Plug back in.

While on vacation, spend some extra time in prayer and in the Word. Not in research or study for your next sermon but in genuine time with God. Find peace in the scripture; find rest in the Word. As a Pastor or a church staff member, you have spent a year working long hours behind the scenes, serving your church and your family without rest. You are probably spiritually and emotionally spent. Spend time getting filled back up. Find time to go outside and enjoy creation or have spiritually encouraging conversations with your spouse or friends. Come back to work in the New Year refreshed, renewed, and ready to serve another year.

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HGTV host Matt Blashaw thinks the chief appeal of a vacation home is its convenience.
"It's an easy vacation," he explains. "The point is just to go have everything set up the way you want. You know the area, and you know you're going to have fun."

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The vacation may be easy, but the second mortgage probably isn't.

For that reason, Blashaw helps families on his show, "Vacation House For Free," renovate under-the-weather homes into retreats worth renting out when the family isn't in residence.


Of course, no house is actually free, but by earning money on the home when it would otherwise be vacant, homeowners can essentially get a vacation house that pays for itself.
"You're contributing to your wealth and your future," Blashaw says, "not throwing your money away on Hilton and Marriott. You're building equity in what I think is the best investment anyone can have, which is real estate. Plus, people want to have a place they can retire to, so it's a win-win."
It's not quite as easy as it sounds, especially if you've never undertaken a renovation. Here, Blashaw provides his top tips for turning your vacation home into a free home.

source

In Japan, there is a small island in the city of Takehara. It’s jam-packed with feral rabbits that are very comfortable around humans. With just some food and a calm approach, a human gets “attacked” by a hoard of bunnies. What a lucky guy!

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http://youtu.be/pY-GncsZ-UE

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Good night

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Summer is the best time for us to cash in those vacation days and go somewhere really special. But it’s important we take these getaways seriously, and avoid all the typical travel destinations. So check out some of the most original destinations in the world, and grab a Stoli cocktail when you’re ready to start browsing for flights and hotels.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore:

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Bahia, Brazil:

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Be the “Girl From Ipanema” in Bahia, Brazil. Seriously, this locale is where songwriter Vinicius de Moraes lived when he wrote the famously tropical tune. Close to the equator and the South Atlantic Ocean, beaches stretch along the coast and make it the perfect spot to enjoy coconut cocktails along the water.

Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya:

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A giraffe peeking into your bedroom? That’s just another day at Giraffe Manor. Built in the 1930s, this hotel has a resident herd (you read that correctly) of Rothschild Giraffes. Apparently, they “vy for your attention at the breakfast table,” so definitely hold on to your biscuits.

Kawachi Fuji Garden, Japan:

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This stunning flower arch is called “The Wisteria Tunnel” and you can visit it in the Kawachi Fuji Garden in Japan—just a 4-hour bus ride from Tokyo.


the source

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Japan wants to cut off its workaholics, and America could learn a thing or two from the proposal.

A measure slated to come before Japan’s parliament sometime in the next four months will require workers to use at least five of their 10 guaranteed paid vacation days per year. The United States, where many employees leave vacation days unused or don't have any at all, might do well to craft a similar model for its workers, even if Americans' reasons for ignoring paid time off are quite different from those of Japanese wage earners.

Overworking is a chronic problem in Japan. In the 1990s, the term for sudden death caused by exhaustion and overwork became a household name: karoshi.

Group identity is deeply ingrained in many facets of the ethnically homogenous country's culture, and Japanese workers are afraid of letting their colleagues down by voluntarily taking time off, says Paul Jaffe, a former longtime resident of Japan and consultant at Japanese Intercultural Consulting.

“People tend to not want to put burdens on other people and not push their own benefit ahead of others,” Jaffe told The Huffington Post. “It’s very common for people to have vacation days they don’t take.”

To convince workers to spend time away from the office, the Japanese government has created more national holidays in recent years. If the whole team is encouraged to take the day off, the thinking goes, then individuals will. But public holidays do not guarantee paid time off, so they may act as more of a nudge than a push. Now, the government hopes mandatory time off will help foster a culture in which workers prioritize their free time and expect colleagues to do so, too.

Many workers in the United States also leave unused vacation days on the table. About 40 percent of Americans didn’t plan to take all of their time off last year, according to a survey from the U.S. Travel Association and GfK, a market research firm. More than 20 percent of workers said the main reason was fear that their absence would prove them to be replaceable.

A survey released last month found almost 42 percent of Americans didn’t take a single vacation day in 2014. This Google Consumer Surveys report, published for travel website Skift, also found that women tended to use fewer vacation days than men, and that employees in younger age ranges were going light on vacation days.

A federal policy for mandatory time off, similar to what is being proposed in Japan, might allay the fears of workers spooked about losing their jobs for spending time away from the office. It would be a big step, though. As it stands, the U.S. is the only advanced economy that doesn’t require companies to offer paid leave.

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the source

Lisbon, Portugal

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1. Get your employees involved

Before you leave, take time to teach your employees what needs to be done. Be sure to write it down so they can't forget. You should also write out potential problems and the responses your employees need to take before they call you.

Then, you can go a step further and ...

2. Take a pre-vacation

This will make your employees more confident, and help you know you can relax. Not only that, you might find an employee who excels at a task and can take it over permanently, freeing you up for more important projects when you get back.

3. Pick your moment

You've probably been in your business long enough to know some slack times where things aren't as busy. It could be as simple as knowing what days of the week are busy vs. less busy.

4. Finish major projects

That way, you aren't sitting on a relaxing beach in Hawaii thinking about how to end the third chapter of that important financial report, or sketching out a new floor arrangement for your store's products. Nobody wants that.

5. Supercharge your communications

As a small business owner or high-responsibility employee, clients and employees are going to try to get a hold of you. You can put a stop to most of that by preparing your employees and letting your clients know you won't be available.

However, work doesn't stop just because you aren't there. There might be times that someone really needs to get a hold of you, which means keeping your phone on. But then you'll probably end up fielding less important calls, or at least having to silence your phone. There's a better way.

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Four-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is used to feeling the heat on the football field, but it was a decision he made on a recent family vacation to tropical Costa Rica that has him in hot water with his fans.

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The New England Patriots quarterback suffered through a brutal winter like so many Bostonians, so he jetted off for an early spring getaway to thaw out. During the vacation, Brady chose to take the advice of his haters and jumped off a cliff.

He didn't get injured during the jump into a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff, but he did post video of the experience to his Facebook page, saying, "Never doing that again! #AirBrady".

Pro Football Talk notes that the jump may have been a violation of Brady's contract with the Patriots, but it's unlikely the franchise will punish him.

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Repeat foreclosures may be on the rise and the underwater mortgage may now be a permanent fixture in the US housing market, but you can certainly forgive the 0.01% — for whom none of that is relevant — for not caring because when your net worth exceeds $30 million, the question isn’t “can I pay my mortgage?,” but rather “where should my fifth residence be?” For these buyers, who understand Janet Yellen’s contention that accumulating financial assets is important and who have thus benefited from the fabled “wealth effect,” it’s as good a time as any to buy (another) vacation home, which is why vacation home sales soared nearly 60% last year on top of 30% the year before that. Furthermore, one in five home sales in the US is now a vacation home and as Moody’s told WSJ, there’s no reason why that figure shouldn’t rise going forward — “more or less.”

Via WSJ:

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Last year’s estimated tally topped the previous high from 2006 to become the biggest year for vacation-home sales volume since the Realtor association started tracking the market in 2003. Vacation homes accounted for 21% of all sales last year, the highest share since the survey’s inception.

The small sample size of the Realtor group’s survey, which was based on responses by just 1,971 people who bought U.S. homes in 2014, led some economists to posit that the results might be exaggerated. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, suggested that the gains in the report might “overstate the strength” of that market.

Still, Mr. Zandi noted that vacation-home sales account for one-fifth of all home sales and “that should more or less rise over the next five to 10 years” as the income and number of vacation-home buyers increases...

The number of buyers is likely to grow in the years ahead as 76 million-plus baby boomers advance in age and buy vacation homes that eventually will become retirement homes.

Meanwhile, the prospect of rising prices has spurred buyers to act sooner than later. Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, which have hovered below 4% since November, are poised to rise later this year as the Federal Reserve increases short-term rates. And median resale prices on all homes, which increased by 7.5% from a year ago to $202,600 in February, are likely to rise further if the overall inventory of homes available for sale remains tight.

Kris Anderson, team leader with Your Premier Team at ReMax Excalibur in Scottsdale, Ariz., said her team of six agents handled 10% more vacation-home transactions last year than in 2013...

Two of her agency’s clients, Steven and Roberta Strader, bought a three-bedroom home in Surprise, Ariz., last month with the intent of spending up to five months a year in it. The couple, both 72 years old, split time between Arizona and Lacey, Wash.

Mr. Strader said the value of an Arizona condo that he and his wife bought in 2005 had risen enough to justify selling it this year and combining those proceeds with some stock-market gains to buy the house in Surprise for $225,000. “We felt that the market was strong enough that we could take some assets to spread around in more than just stocks,” he said.

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With the global population of ultra high net worth individuals growing at a 6% annual clip, and with the middle class set to becomes extinct thanks to, among other things, slumping wage growth for everyone other than America’s “supervisors,” we suspect Moody’s may be correct to forecast robust demand for vacation homes going forward, which we suppose is a good thing for the US because as we noted less than a week ago, the US is the most popular country on the planet when it comes to secondary residence purchases by the world’s 0.01 percenters and New York boasts the largest number of ultra high net worth individual-owned residences in the world.

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Meanwhile, in Russian oligarch world, economic instability and the prospect of having to pay taxes is becoming too much to bear which is why, as The Telegraph reports, the 111 people who control 20% of Russia's household wealth won't be buying their next vacation home in Russia:

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Russia’s richest and most powerful are set to leave in droves, seeking to avoid a tax squeeze and the fallout from the country's economic crisis.

The majority of oligarchs interviewed for a new report on Russian have said that they are likely to leave the country in the next few years. Of the 30 Russian nationals included in a study by Campden Wealth, in partnership with UBS, more than half said that there were likely to move abroad, although not imminently.

Of those living in Russia, more than one in four said they had plans to leave within five years. Participants in the Campden study jointly control $2.5bn (£1.7bn) of personal wealth, and businesses with turnover of $6.5bn last year.
One Russian national interviewed by Campden said: “Russians, if they haven’t done so already, are considering relocation out of Russia. Clearly London is a key jurisdiction of choice.”

New rules introduced at the start of the year have meant that foreign business owned by Russians are now subject to Russian taxes, putting the squeeze on the wealthiest in a country where just 111 individuals control nearly a fifth of all household wealth.

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Beyonce has just blessed her BeyHive with a few amazing pictures of her and her husband Jay Z's recent romantic getaway to Hawaii.

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The superstar couple celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary by making even riding in the back of a pickup truck seem glamorous, as well as dispensing some sweet advice to a shy nine-year-old fan, and now Queen Bey is showing us just how lucky the "99 Problems" rapper really is.

The 33-year-old singer was gorgeous as usual in the multiple new photos she posted on her website on Wednesday, but it's these flawless bikini pics that have everyone really taking notice. Rocking a skimpy cream-colored crochet one-piece and her ever-present body chain, Beyonce wasn't shy about showing off her famous curves in this racy selfie.

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Why there so many Beyonce's photos in there? :o:

Well, when I'm on my vacation, I always take my camera with me. I'm a photograph, but not on the regular basis, just for fun))) Also I always take my laptop with me and even during the vocation I'm all in Forex, Fresh doesn't let me go without joining new contest or a promo, he-he :(happy): I also do a lot of diving and surfing and, so one day my back will tell me "thank you!"

Didn't sea you there, turtle.

A green sea turtle photobombed Diovani de Jesus' group picture while he was on vacation on Apo Island, in the Philippines earlier this month, according to a caption from Caters, a news agency based in the United Kingdom.

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On his blog, de Jesus explains, the "shallow area" where the picture was taken "is a feeding ground for sea turtles."

"This is a reminder that humans and creatures like this gentle [sea turtle] can co-exist," de Jesus said.
Experiences like this could become more rare. The World Wildlife Federation notes that "nearly all species of sea turtle are classified as endangered."

A host of reasons account for the turtles' dwindling numbers, including poaching for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, habitat destruction and climate change. Global warming changes sand temperatures, which affects the sex of turtle hatchlings, the WWF said.


the source

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Before having a child, my wife and I had always prided ourselves on being travelers and not tourists. We liked out-of-the-way places; my research often took us to absurd locations like the Democratic Republic of Congo near rebel-held territory or old Khmer Rouge bases on the Thai-Cambodian border. We hated anything that smelled of a prepaid vacation package and we generally avoided hotels, preferring guesthouses or staying in locals’ apartments.

Yet as soon as the baby arrived, our concept of an ideal vacation underwent a complete inversion. I’m not sure what happened; even now I’m embarrassed to recount how quickly we undermined all of our rules for travel. I remember sitting in our living room two winters ago, shivering in our long underwear and sweaters that smelled vaguely of day-old baby vomit and staring longingly at pictures of all-inclusive resorts that once upon a time would have caused us to break out in hives. It was almost hormonal, the urgency with which we were drawn to a place where you essentially beach yourself like a lost whale. But we would not be dissuaded; we were determined to get a little heat on the epidermis and so, as the East Coast was locked in the grip of a particularly ferocious and unrelenting winter, we flew with our 3-month-old son, Holt, to Central Florida. It was our first trip with the babe and we were, in a word, terrified.

As it turned out, that weekend in Clearwater Beach was one of the best of our lives, perhaps because it also coincided with Holt waking up to the particulars of the world, as babies often do around three months. You could see it in his eyes. He blinked, as if to say, “Oh, so this is where I am. O.K. — I can work with this.” A part of me felt bad that he was coming into consciousness poolside, surrounded by overweight and sunburned Americans lightly drooling to Jimmy Buffett tunes, but hey — the world ain’t all pretty, kid.

We stayed at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort on a little spit of white sand overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. As is customary at these types of places, we didn’t do anything. I put Holt in a fancy sling contraption and shuffled him from the pool to the beach and then back to the pool. When Mom took him, I found myself desperate to feel like an adult again, even if only for an hour. Strange that adulthood equated to collecting about three towels too many from the towel boy, then elbowing my way to a prime spot on the deck so that I could slurp an overpriced piña colada and roast my pasty flesh while staring at the same page of a book for 20 minutes. And you know what? It was awesome.


the source

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If you’re thinking about buying a vacation home, you aren’t alone.

Vacation home sales across the country are soaring, mainly for two reasons: Declining prices mean deals can be had, and empty nesters are flooding into the market.

Baby boomers looking ahead to their days of leisure are snapping up vacation homes at a faster pace than ever, particularly in beach resorts in the South and the West.

the source

MasterCard just released its 2015 global destination cities index.

The index provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities around the world by looking at the number of international visitors that are predicted to visit the cities in 2015.

This year, Asian cities dominated the list, along with a few European cities.

Here are the 10 most popular cities in the world with international visitors.

10. Hong Kong, China: 8.66 million international visitors

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9. Seoul, South Korea: 10.35 million international visitors

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8. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 11.12 million international visitors

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7. Singapore 11.88 million visitors

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6. New York City, USA: 12.27 million international visitors

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5. Istanbul, Turkey: 12.56 million international visitors

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4. Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 14.26 million international visitors

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3. Paris, France: 16.06 million international visitors

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2. Bangkok, Thailand: 18.24 million international visitors

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1. London, England: 18.82 million international visitors

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Goals and vacation don’t sound like they go together. After all, vacations aren’t supposed to be work, and goals seem like work. But Harvard Business Review makes a valid point—setting goals for your vacation helps you prioritize what you want to get out of them.

It's often taken vacations with certain expectations in mind—mostly to relax. Then I’ll forget all about that expectation by trying to cram a month’s worth of activities into a week. HBR suggests a better way:

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it pays to know upfront what success looks like in a vacation, so you don’t end up frittering away limited time. Your goal may be to reconnect with your spouse, spend quality time with your kids, catch up on reading, kickstart a new fitness regimen, make progress on a novel you’re writing, or literally just vegetate. Any of those are worthy goals, but they should be articulated upfront so you can prioritize them.

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It’s a goal, but it’s more like a goal for having fun. I do think it’s important to make sure this is a low-maintenance goal. It’s more of a priority, really. You don’t want to come back from vacation feeling like you’ve failed at something, and you certainly don’t want to come back feeling like you need a vacation from your vacation.


the source

U.S. News & World Report Announces the 2015-16 Best Vacation Destinations in the World

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U.S. News & World Report, a nationally recognized publisher of consumer advice and information, today announced its 2015-16 Best Vacation Destinations in the World. The new rankings – designed to help travelers plan memorable vacations, honeymoons and weekend getaways – feature the World's Best Places to Visit as well as region-specific lists, including the Best Places to Visit in the USA and the Best Places to Visit in the Caribbean.

"The U.S. News Best Vacation Destinations highlight places around the world that have charmed seasoned travelers and day-trippers alike," says Liz Weiss, travel editor for U.S. News. "With so many great options to choose from, travelers can use our rankings to narrow down their options and plan their trips."
To identify top vacation spots worldwide, U.S. News analyzed more than 350 destinations and used a methodology that combines expert analysis and user voting.

2015-16 Top 5 World's Best Places to Visit:

1. London
2. Bora Bora
3. Barcelona
4. Paris
5. Sydney

2015-16 Top 5 Best Places to Visit in the USA:

1. Maui
2. Yellowstone
3. Grand Canyon
4. San Francisco
5. Yosemite

2015-16 Top 5 Best Places to Visit in the Caribbean:

1. St. Lucia
2. British Virgin Islands
3. Cayman Islands
4. U.S. Virgin Islands
5. Curaçao

Regional ranking lists that have received a minimum of 10,000 user votes over the last year are identified as Best Vacations in their market; the top-third of those lists receive a gold badge.

the source

1.) Cannes: Although better know for it’s film festival, the city of Cannes is an idyllic holiday maker’s paradise with stunning beaches, amazing restaurants and a pretty solid nightlife. To be fair, there had to be a reason why all the celebrities flock there right?

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2.) Antibes: Located about halfway between Cannes and Nice, Antibes boasts of amazing weather over summer – coupled with beautiful beaches which make it the perfect French summer getaway destination.

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3.) Saint-Tropez: Playground of the rich and famous – this is not a place that would typically come onto my radar straight away but I’ve been looking at potentially holidaying here and it’s not quite as expensive as it seems. Of course some things are (if you stay at only the poshest hotels and eat at only the nicest restaurants) but that can be said of any towns or cities really so have a gander at this beautiful French gem when you’re thinking of potentially holidaying in France.

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4.) Marseille: This is not quite as luxurious as some of the other places on this list (which, on the flip-side, means that it can be a more affordable option) but it is still worth visiting. In addition to the beach, the town has such a rich history and is ideal for the holidaymaker looking to get a decent mix of sight seeing and beach life.

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5.) Nice: Nice’s reputation precedes it. Even simply saying you’re thinking of going to Nice to your friends conjures up images of luxury, decadence and summer fun worth holding out for.It’s always ‘nice’ whenyou go on a beach holiday where there’s so much more to offer in addition to beautiful beaches and Nice is definitely one of those places in France that ticks all the right boxes.

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the source

The German city of Nördlingen is located in the center of the valley - impact craters formed by meteorite.

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A psychologist has teamed up with an online ticket company to formulate what makes the perfect getaway — and it could mean leaving your smartphone at home.

“Kids are very proficient at using mouses, screens, or clicking onto things,” Dr. David Holmes of the U.K. told ABC News on Monday. “The tendency is that their attention spans have been reduced. In order to have good family interaction, you have to kind of limit, or put a ban on using technology and that goes for adults as well as children.”

Holmes worked alongside FloridaTix.com after the site surveyed 2,000 families about what they feel makes the ideal family vacation.

Holmes then created the formula that he says measures the factors of a perfect family vacation.

Those factors include lifetime experience (LE), quality family interaction (QI), quality activities (Q), accommodation quality (AQ), weather (W), screen freedom (S) and overall cost (C).


the source

If you have trouble recalling that sand-in-your-toes feeling of a long vacation; you're not the only one. New data shows that a whopping 56 percent of Americans haven't taken a real vacation (one week away from the office) in the last 12 months. What's worse? That’s up from 52 percent in 2012. It's not that we don't need a week away from the grind, it's that we just aren't clocking out. But why?

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Even though we're told the recession ended years ago, there's still a widespread feeling that "it’s not over yet." For one thing, real wages are still down relative to before the recession.

According to a Gallup poll from this past May, Americans are still holding onto their dollars, and vacations can be viewed as the ultimate luxury spend. Do we need to go back to the days of piggy banks to put away dollars for a week on island in the sun? Try socking away a few clams every paycheck into a special "vacation fund" savings account. A few months or a year later, you can take that break without racking up major debt.

If you're an hourly contractor, or don't get any paid time off, the expense is even more — loss of wages for the week plus spending more money to lounge around on a hammock somewhere exotic. That can feel like just too much strain on the budget.

A cheap solution might just be in the form of the staycation. Sleep at home and explore your city during the day like a tourist. Just don't check that work email when you get back each night! Here are some quick tips on making your staycation a real relaxing one.

the source

What's the worst that could happen if a few hundred yards of road shut down in downtown Palm Springs? From a traveling standpoint, maybe nothing more than a little bit of inconvenience, but let's discuss that.

Several days ago, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians announced it wants back jurisdiction of several sections of road: Calle Encilia between Amado and Andreas roads, westbound Andreas between Encilia and Calle El Segundo and southbound Encilia between Andreas and Tahquitz Canyon Way.

The street "vacation" request comes amid the tribe's master plan for a hotel project that replaces the Spa Resort hotel. Few details have been released on the project, which is on 22 acres opposite the Spa Resort Casino at Andreas and Encilia.

the source

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How many times have you uttered, “I need a vacation,” in the past year? With 2015 winding down, many American workers are still sitting on unused vacation days.

Americans are increasingly reluctant to take vacation, despite the negative consequences, including fatigue, stress, poor morale, reduced productivity and strain on family life.

In an effort to curb employees from becoming workaholics, some companies require that their workers take their vacation time, CNN Money reports. Balsamiq is one of those companies.

Giacomo Guilizzoni is the founder of Balsamiq, which makes rapid wireframing tools for web design and app mock-ups. He told CNN Money that the company’s U.S. workers weren’t taking enough time off, so he implemented a mandatory vacation policy.

“We expect people to take at least 20 days of vacation, in addition to nine national holidays,” said Guillizzoni, who along with half the company is based in Italy, where vacation days are “written into the contract, and pretty much sacred.”

Jobs site Anthology is trying out a mandatory vacation policy. Its employees get all major holidays off, two weeks of paid vacation and five flex days, according to CNN Money.

Although some companies have unlimited vacation policies, they aren’t always effective in getting workers to take time off. Anne-Marie Slaughter, president of the nonpartisan think tank New America and author of “Unfinished Business: Men, Women, Work, Family,” told TechRepublic that she implemented a use-it-or-lose it policy with vacation time when she first started New America.

the source

The first step to freedom is opening your mind to a sense of adventure.

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WorldWide staffers received a late holiday gift this year when they returned to work and were given unlimited paid vacation time. The independent employee-owned network of 12 agencies is moving from the more traditional policy of accruing vacation days for personal time off, to flexible time off where there is now no limit.

"In an entrepreneurial company, you want a results-driven culture of trust. You want to find the right people, and it's important to give them the right choices to blend work and life," said CEO Robert Vallee Jr., who explains there's no limit on the paid FTO other than "reasonableness." "Everybody's got a job to do, deadlines and targets are set, and you're still expected to meet them."

How it's working at one agency

Argonaut believes in giving employees the space to find things that inspire. Imagine a job where you're paid to go off and write a screenplay, take a family vacation in Malaysia, study improv, learn film editing or just walk the Santa Cruz boardwalk with your fiancé.

That's a snapshot of some of the recent out-of-office time enjoyed by the 85 staffers at the agency, which also gives employees $500 a year to "enrich their creativity." "We're an industry hinged on creativity," said Margo Menapace, head of culture and talent. "You have to find the things that inspire you." Menapace added that the only catch is making sure the time off is appropriate with work schedules and deadlines: "We trust you. We know you're going to come in, get the work done and be responsible."

the source

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Legend has it that the Oracle of Delphi connected priests with super natural beings who passed along advanced technology and information.
And conspiracy theorists claim that is how a modern-day laptop ended up in a Greek sculpture from 100 BC.
But historians say the sculpture is just a deceased woman 'touching the lid of a shallow chest'.

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‘I am not saying that this is depicting an ancient laptop computer,’ StillSpeakingOut, conspiracy theorists, said in a video he released on YouTube in 2014.
‘But when I look at the sculpture I can’t help but think about the Oracle of Delphi, which was supposed to allow the priests to connect with the gods to retrieve advanced information and various aspects.’

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The statue, ‘Grave Naiskos of an Enthroned Woman with an Attendant’ is on display at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California. Those who don’t believe in aliens or time travel, say the object is a wax tablet that ancient Greeks used for writing with a stylus or pen



the source

Indian man could be first recorded human fatality due to a meteorite

Indian officials say a meteorite struck the campus of a private engineering college on Saturday, killing one person. If scientists confirm the explosion was due to a meteorite, it would be the first recorded human fatality due to a falling space rock.

According to local reports, a bus driver was killed on Saturday when a meteorite landed in the area where he was walking, damaging the window panes of nearby buses and buildings. Three other people were injured.

the source

Are you still waiting for summer time?

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happiness is the way

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Winter vacations usually take the form of travel to warmer climates, basking on sunny beaches, drinking pina coladas and flaunting the good weather to folks back home.

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Not so with Bonnie and Mike Vance, of Mt. Pleasant.

They had visited most continents, but not Antarctica or Asia. So, this year, along with some traveling friends from Wisconsin, it was off to Antarctica. FYI, winter in the Midwest is summer in Antarctica, but don’t plan on working on your tan. Highs are in the neighborhood of 45 degrees. But you can take your golf shoes if you like — the spikes might work as good ice grippers.

Bonnie and Mike drove to St. Louis, hopped a flight to Miami, met up with their Wisconsin friends, then flew to Buenos Aires.

They loved Buenos Aires, except for one thing. Bonnie had her purse stolen, losing credit cards, drivers license, cellphone, etc. Fortunately, her passport was back in the hotel safe. Mike, who is a lawyer and magistrate judge, found out first hand what it is like being on the other side of a police department, not speaking the language and dealing with a lot of misunderstandings. To top it off, one of Mike’s credit cards had been compromised.

But everything was worked out, and they were on a cruise ship to Montevideo, Uruguay, then the Falkland Islands. After a two-hour jeep ride through terrible rocky terrain, they saw their first penguins. Rock hopper penguins are really cute. The parents hop up and down this 100 foot cliff to the water and back to bring food to their chicks. On the jeep ride back, one of the jeeps got stuck in a peat bog and had to be pulled out.

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Then it was back on the cruise ship and off to Antarctica. There is this Beaufort scale wind chart that goes from 0 to 12. They were at a nine, with 30 foot waves and 50 knot (57 mph) winds, making drunken sailors out of them all. Spray was hitting the observation-deck windows, ten stories up. Passengers were told to stay in their cabins. Mike got a little sea sick, but ginger in hot water straightened him right out.

the source

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1. Create a travel budget with the Travel Budget Calculator from IndependentTraveler.com.
2. Research travel costs with BudgetYourTrip.com.
3. Plan a Disney vacation with the Disney Vacation Account Budget Estimator.
4. Track expenses with the Trail Wallet - Travel Budget & Expense Tracker app.
5. Check flight prices with the Skyscanner app.
6. Track down cheap vacation rentals with the Airbnb app.
7. Secure package deals with the Kayak app.

the source

Tokyo at Night
Photo by Jim Lopes

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5 Most Epic Beaches, Oceans, and Islands to Photograph Now

In honor of Earth Day (April 22), we’re shining the spotlight on the Four Elements: Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire! This month on ISO, you’ll find stories about the best 500px photographs that capture these four elements in a groundbreaking way—and the crop of talented photographers behind the shot. You can follow all our Four Elements posts on social media with the hashtag #PlanetPX. Let’s move on with our next Element—WATER!

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When it comes to spectacular seaside escapes and island living, I look to the swoon-worthy photos of 500px community member Sarah Lee for a surge of inspiration—and instant wanderlust. Hailing from Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, Sarah is obsessed with camera viewfinders, swim fins, and the sea. Her passion for underwater and surf photography was shaped by a childhood spent constantly playing in and around the ocean.

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Her goal as a photographer? To capture and enhance the beauty that surrounds her. I’ve been a long-time fan of her work now, so I caught up with her and asked her to share some of her favorite destinations in the world for underwater and ocean photography with me. Thanks to her recommendations, I have summer AND travel on the brain again.

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1. Dreamiest Beach to Photograph: Number One Beach, Dominica
2. Dreamiest Ocean to Photograph: Ba’a Atoll, Maldives
3. Best for Underwater Photography: Tavarua Island Resort, Fiji
4. Best Sunrise to Photograph: Manly Beach, Australia
5. Best Sunset to Photograph: Byron Bay, Australia

the source

Wow! These are all good tips and pleasant information in relation to savings and vacation plans. Actually, I'm also contemplating on these because our family has a plan of spending a few days abroad.

Sunset over Panama City
Photo by Josue Friedrich

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New York City 1944 - colorized

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Immigration form for entering earth. C.1969

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