Hello from ottawa ottawa s byward market and the mardi gras experience at fat tuesdays

After our arrival in Ottawa this afternoon and a very brief rest at our hotel, we went out in search of a satisfying dinner. The Lord Elgin Hotel is just about 15 minutes walk away from the Historic ByWard Market area, which is one of Ottawa's main entertainment areas. Winterlude is a great time because during this winter festival, many of Ottawa's restaurants offer entertainment and special events. Our destination was Fat Tuesday's, a New Orleans-style restaurant that is known for its Cajun Creole cuisine and its contemporary dishes. After we refreshed ourselves and got organized, we headed off at about 6:45 and started our walk toward the ByWard Market, Ottawa’s prime entertainment area. We crossed the Laurier Bridge, which is the setting of quite a few of my husband’s anecdotes about Ottawa’s winter cold which he got to experience in full force during his time at the University of Ottawa in the early 1980s. We too noticed that there was a stiff fresh breeze coming off the Rideau Canal and by pure coincidence we did a smart thing: we headed into the Rideau Centre, Ottawa’s largest shopping centre. For about 15 minutes we got to walk inside past all the retail stores, totally sheltered from the biting wintery wind. Well, it didn’t take us long at all to get to the heart of the ByWard Market, and a friendly guy at a Beavertail sales booth (Beavertails are Ottawa’s famous trademark pastry) gave us directions to Fat Tuesday’s, home of Ottawa’s Mardi Gras experience. Once inside this stylish yet cozy bar/restaurant we had a chance to get a lay of the land from Manny Garcia who’s the general manager and one of the co-owners. He told us that Fat Tuesday’s was created about 4 years ago and is an independently owned restaurant (not part of any restaurant chain). Fat Tuesday's combines an upscale Cajun/Creole kitchen with live entertainment and great friendly service, and it’s a place where people of all ages congregate. When we were there the place was packed and the waitresses were dressed up in bustiers and some were wearing face masks in keeping with the Mardi Gras theme. The staff seemed to have a lot of fun and they enjoyed interacting with the customers. Our appetite had been building up appropriately and for me, the escargots in a garlic-white wine sauce were just the thing to warm up the palate. After this tasty appetizer I followed up with a Mediterranean salad of baby greens with goat cheese and a citrus vinaigrette. Manny came over and persuaded us to try the Pacific rim seared tuna with a pepper crust in a sweet teriyaki sauce, accompanied by shaved ginger and a wasabi mayonnaise. A delicate and tasty treat. We even had a chance to meet the chef himself. Executive chef Neil Baker told us about himself and we found out that we had a true cosmopolitan world traveler in front of us. As the child of diplomatic parents, Neil was born in Singapore and has also lived in Barbados, Kenya and Thailand. He’s run restaurants in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York City and now Ottawa. Needless to say, Neil is going to be my next contact for an interview about this international lifestyle. Neil also made a couple of interesting comments about global cuisine. He mentioned that the same culinary themes reappear across the globe. Chinese fried rice is essentially the same as Jambalaya which is essentially the same as Biryani, with a slightly different mix of spices thrown in. And the world's most popular cuisines are those based on the dishes of poor people. Neil insisted that we have dessert and we had Bananas Foster, which is a mouthwatering concoction of flambйed bananas with caramelized sugar and rum and some vanilla icecream thrown in with a twist of cinnamon on top. I was going to stay away from dessert, but Bananas Foster totally corrupted me. I wasn't going to worry about the extra calories since we are going to go skating on the Rideau Canal tomorrow anyways. At 10:30 every Friday and Saturday night Fat Tuesdays serves up the dueling pianos, a live show where the audience can request their favourite songs from two piano players. Today unfortunately the second piano player was significantly delayed, and given our packed schedule for Saturday, we were unable to stick around for the second piano player to show up. But virtuoso no. 1 played his heart out and really got the crowd going. The place was packed and everybody was in a great mood. So, it’s just past midnight now and I am looking forward to another action-packed day tomorrow: some skating on the Rideau Canal (to work off that delicious banana dessert), watching the famous Bedzzz Races on Dow’s Lake and then the Fire and Ice Culinary demonstrations at Confederation Park right across from our hotel. It is definitely time to get some rest for a big day and hit the hay……

Those dirty mexicans oh really

When my wife and I announced that we were moving to Mexico, one of my wife's relatives asked us, "Why do you want to live with those dirty Mexicans?" Besides wanting to slap some sense into this person, I was particularly sickened (as in wanting to projectile vomit Linda Blair-style) by this hideous and most heinous stereotype. I have wanted to know since then where this originated. I think, after doing what writers do—too much research, I have finally found it. Apparently, historians, those guys we all love to read, have been recording these views for years. David J. Webber wrote extensively on the origins of anti-Mexican stereotypes. (Thank you very much, David. It took only two years to find you!). Webber has carefully written on the views that are responsible for today's prevalent stereotypes of the Mexican people. He wrote, "Mexicans were considered, he wrote, "bigoted, greedy, tyrannical, fanatical, treacherous, and lazy". These characterizations of the inhabitants of Mexico congealed especially during the decades following Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821…" [1] Many have written about the American-Mexican relations of that period. These writings, when taken as a whole, form a tidy little picture of how an American ideology portraying Mexicans as inferior evolved, thus justifying the American government's action against Mexico. Remember the Alamo? Another one of those tantalizingly interesting historians, Cecil Robinson, wrote, "Pioneer America could find little to approve of in the Mexican society it collided with, being affronted in all its major convictions by Mexican attitudes, real and alleged. Americans, in their Protestant individualism, in their ideas of spirit and hard work, in their faith in progress through technology, in their insistence upon personal hygiene, in Puritanism and racial pride, found Mexico much to their distaste because of its priestly power, its social stratification with a pronounced sense of caste, its apparent devotion to pleasure and its indifference to cleanliness, and its reputation for pervasive sensuality ... Adding to all this was the Anglo-Saxon's contempt for a people who had lowered themselves to a state of general cohabitation with the Indians and had thus forfeited the right to be considered "white." (Robinson, 1977)" [2] Now isn't that interesting? My point of bringing all this up is because of a Reuters' news item, Bed bugs threaten to put bite on U. S. Hotel Industry. Writer, Paul Simao, reports of a lawsuit brought against the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York in which a couple was severely bitten by bedbugs. Can you imagine that? The case was settled out of court. (For the record, the Helmsley folks have rectified the admitted problem.) Bedbugs tend to occur in environments that are in disarray, untidy, messy...(dirty?). In addition, their bites are not as harmless as one might think. "Bedbugs may be a vector for hepatitis B and, in endemic areas, for American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease)." [3] So the cleaner your sleeping environment is the less chance you are going to have those nasty critters crawling all over you at night biting the snot out of you. The rich irony of this is that a MEXICAN businessman filed the lawsuit brought against the Helmsley people for their dirty bedbug-breeding hotel rooms. Don't you love it! [1] EXPERT REPORT OF ALBERT M. CAMARILLO; umich. edu/~urel/admissions/legal/expert/camarill. html [2] Ibid [3] emedicine/derm/topic600.htm

Combine travel and golf on your next holiday

The United States is renowned for its golf courses, and you can take advantage of this on your next vacation. Why not explore one of the best American courses when you take a holiday? If you are enthusiastic about the sport, then a golfing vacation is right for you. America is replete with deluxe golf courses for you to enjoy. Many resort towns across the United States offer all-inclusive golf holiday packages for those who want to combine their favorite sport and their holiday. Places like Orlando, Las Vegas, Hilton Head, Phoenix, and Myrtle Beach cater to the golf tourist. Expect to be soiled by beautifully-manicured greens and luxurious hotels overlooking the courses. If you are unfamiliar with these resorts, here is a little more information about each. Orlando, Florida is most famous for Disney World and Universal Studios, but the city doesn’t neglect grown-up amusement. There is a plethora of golf courses to choose from. You can have your own fun in the sun while the kids ride the roller coasters. You can golf in Florida at any time of year because of its warm climate. Florida is a great place to escape to in the winter, when your own golf course in covered in snow. Not only Orlando, but Miami, Pensacola, and Naples offer fabulous golf opportunities. Las Vegas is not only known for its crap tables and slot machines, but also its golf courses overlooking gorgeous mountain vistas. You can golf within the city or outside, but either way you know you will be challenged by complex sandstone bunkers and dry heat. Las Vegas is a great place to improve your games, both golf and blackjack. Hilton Head, South Carolina is one of two South Carolina resort towns well-known for their golf game. Hilton Head is small, but it boasts over twenty golf courses, as well as its sandy beaches. If you are done golfing and swimming, then visit one of the fascinating historic sites around Hilton Head, like the Palmetto Dunes Plantation or Pinckney Island National Wildlife Preserve. Phoenix, Arizona is a hot climate made for golf. There are over one hundred courses in Phoenix where you can not only enjoy a great eighteen holes, but you can also absorb the spectacular local landscapes. Not only can you play golf, but you can also visit the many Native American historical sites and museums in the area and gain appreciation for America’s native history. Choose a hotel or bed and breakfast that offers a desert view. Be sure to ask about the Phoenix concert series and local places to visit. Myrtle Beach is an ever-popular resort town for golfers and beach-goers alike. In addition to its miles of magnificent beaches, Myrtle Beach also plays hosts to over one hundred golf courses. The mild South Carolina climate allows you to golf there year-round. Wear your sunscreen and be prepared to party at night – Myrtle Beach has a booming nightlife. Travel and golf always make a great combination. Improve your game and enjoy some down-time on your next holiday.

Botswana safari the haven of wildlife sanctuaries

Vast lands…wildlife…well, anyone may have those two in Africa but not definitely like the experience that may be had from Botswana Safaris. This vast piece of land is only one of the few where wildlife need not compete for land and resources with man. The land area is as large as France yet the population counts only to mere 1.6 million people. As an outcome, wildlife has increased in great number that the place becomes a sanctuary for the finest games in all Africa. Being the world's largest exporter of diamonds, Botswana no longer has to compete with the tourist market. Yet as grand as its land offers for safari fanatics, it can't help but attract as many tourists as its resources may allow. However, the government decrees the limited number of people allowed to penetrate Botswana safaris, thus the significant increase in prices, which ultimately made it as an exclusive safari destination. Kalahari dessert dominates 84% of all Botswana. Though it is a dessert by name, Kalahari is not much like a dessert, as we may perceive Sahara. Except for occasional sand dunes, Kalahari is mostly covered with vegetation characterized by bushes, grasslands, trees and scrubs. However, water is meager thus the dessert label. Visitors of Botswana safaris are almost always amazed at how creative and genius the creation and maintenance of its wildlife sanctuaries. The finest games in the whole region are found in the Chobe National Park which is located somewhere in the north east side of the country. It harbors the most varied games in the country and is refuted to nurse the largest group of elephants in a single place. Elephants here are estimated to have reached up to 80,000 individuals. Savuti Marshes, on the other hand (which is located in the Chobe National Park) is refuted to have the largest density of predators found in all Africa. Hundreds of wildlife species are found here, both preys and predators. Its resources for water encourages buffalo, antelopes, zebras and the likes that are followed by predators such as the leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, lions, and jackals. Some predators here have the tendency to become lazy and living in Savuti Marshes sounds more like a gift than anything else. Botswana safari is simply a unique place for wildlife conservation. But this act is took time to accomplish. Botswana is a country that is bordered by neighboring countries. While great efforts and done to protect all its wildlife, it still needs other countries' collaboration to make everything working. After all, animals do not comprehend international borders.

Discount airfare to chicago where to find the lowest prices

With the continuously increasing prices of practically everything in the market, including airline tickets, many people are looking for ways to cut back on their travel expenses. You can actually do this without sacrificing any of your trips by availing of discount airfare to Chicago. Since the boom of the Internet, searching for discount airfare to Chicago has become much easier. You can just go online and type in some keywords on the search engine, and you will instantly see thousands of websites that sell discount airfare to Chicago. With the large number of choices, surely you will be able to find a discount airfare to Chicago that fits your budget. But going through all the websites will take a significant amount of time. That is why we have listed for you a few of the online companies that offer the best discount airfare to Chicago. It is a good idea to begin your search with these sites. 1. Expedia Many people are familiar with Expedia because of their TV commercials with those yellow pieces of luggage. This company offers great deals on discount airfare to Chicago, but in order to find out the exact price they are offering, you need to know some information about your flight. For instance, when you go to the Expedia website, you will be asked to enter the date you expect to fly and the airports you will be using. If you are not yet certain as to the dates and locations, there is no need to fret. It can even be a blessing in disguise because you will have more opportunities to get better discount airfare to Chicago that way. You just need to have a general idea of your planned trip. If you purchase your discount airfare to Chicago via Expedia, you need to pay an additional $5 to the company. If you want to save even more, you can use Expedia to look for a discount flight, then head to the airline company to purchase tickets for that flight. 2. Orbitz The price presentation on Orbitz is very user friendly, which is the reason why many people like getting their discount airfare to Chicago from this website. Once you have entered your flight details, the website will show you a matrix of prices of all available flights that fit into your specifications. 3. Travelocity This is a very popular site for people who wish to get discount airfare to Chicago and for any other location as well. Travelocity usually offers discount airfare to Chicago that is packaged together with hotel accommodations. Naturally, packages that include the more splendid lodgings will cost a lot higher. There are several other websites that offer discount airfare to Chicago. Just take the time to check them out. Although it does take a little effort, you will definitely enjoy your vacation more knowing that you saved a hefty amount on your journey. There are many ways to find discount airfares. The key is to know where to look as well as taking the time to research a few things. Time is precious so when we can find a site that we are happy with it is important to remember that for the next trip.

West end theatres london s art capital

: If you happen to be an art lover then this is one place to go for. The whole scenario is fabulous and the buildings which are of Victorian era gives the theatres in West end a distinct presence. "Theatreland" is a hub of theatres which is more than 40. Being a tourist attraction this place is always lively.West End has seen a huge increase in number of tourist coming here as in 2002 the number easily passed the 12 million mark. West End has a prime location and it is sometimes defined by Regent Street to the west, Kingsway to the east, Oxford Street to the north and the Strand to the south. Many theatres like The Palace theatre have strong presence which gives you an idea about the past. Recently renovated, the globe is another masterpiece which is famous since Shakespeare’s time. There are many shows running hand in hand which gives you an option throughout the day.Many shows have cult status as they are running for more than 20 years or so. The Queens theatre was the home to the Longest running musical show "Les Miserables" which ran for 8,949 shows and 21 years. However "The Mousetrap" and Agatha Christie play is the longest running play ever and it has been showing since 1952.Some of the major West End Theatres in London are:

• Apollo Theatre: The Apollo Theatre situated in Shaftesbury Avenue was opened in February, 1901, and has been consistently dedicated to musical pieces. The Apollo is one of the very few freehold theatres in London.
• The Arts Theatre: The Arts Theatre is renowned for producing new, and often quite controversial, plays, and has had many successes over the years.
• The Crieterion Theatre: The theatre was opened in 1874. The notable thing about the Criterion Theatre is that almost the entire building is underground and even the upper Circle can't be reached without going down stairs.
  
  

• New London Theatre: The auditorium of New London Theatre has the capacity of accommodating 3000 people. The ground floor has the orchestra stalls and pit stalls and whole theatre is carpeted.
• The Victoria Palace Theatre: The theatre has modern WC facilities, dressing rooms, and a bar on the ground floor and has the seating capacity of 1550 people.

West End has all it takes to be a hot spot and it is but there are some lacunae as well. Mostly privately owned these theatres are far behind modern theatres in providing facilities. Toilets and bars are often small than what we see in modern theatres.

Apart from watching plays and musical shows you can always opt for many restaurants and bars nearby which adds up to your memorable visit to London. There is no better time than now West End theatres are calling you just be there and let the music play.One can also visit to some of the leading non-commercial theatres in London, such as the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic, the Globe Theatre, the Young Vic, the Almeida Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, and the Open Air Theatre, most of which are not located in "Theatreland", arguably enjoy greater artistic prestige. These theatres stage work of Shakespeare and other classic plays and premieres.

If you don't want to miss any show or play in West End theatres then stay in nearby London Hotels to get to the theatres easily and on time.

Fall travel highlights

Fall’s changing leaves, with their stunning reds, oranges, and purples, both herald the end of summer and delight the eyes. This fall, treat yourself to a display of color like no other on earth and visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Feast your eyes on the rich hues of billions of leaves on over 100 different species of trees as you breathe in the fresh, crisp autumn air. Hiking the Smoky Mountains will give you spectacular panoramic views of the great diversity of wildlife the park has to offer. There is no shortage of hiking trails. With over 800 miles of them, you will be able to find the one right for your level of expertise. And plants aren’t the only type of wildlife you’ll enjoy. You’re sure to spot many furry critters at home in the natural habitat, including deer, elk, and even the occasional black bear! For the adventurous at heart, a fun—an inexpensive—way to enjoy the Smoky Mountains is to campout in the park. What’s better, the campgrounds aren’t one-size-fits-all. Instead, you have a few options to choose from, so you can select the area of the park that’s right for you. Play Lewis and Clark and trek out to the backcountry. You can only get there by foot! For those of us less keen on “roughing it,” frontcountry offers running water and flush toilets. There are also campgrounds that accommodate groups of 8 and some made for folks who bring along their horses. Of course, there’s more to the Smokies than leaves. The park has the makings of a romantic getaway for two or a trip that’s fun for the whole family. Here are just a few of the activities this national park has to offer: • Bicycling • Auto tours • Wildlife viewing • Historical sites • Hiking • Waterfall walks • Picnicking In fact, there’s more to do in Smoky Mountain National Park than you can probably fit into one trip. For history buffs, there’s the Mountain Farm Museum. This museum is actually an extensive collection of 19th century farmhouses. Highlights include a barn, apple house, and working blacksmith shop. Be sure to arrive in time for one of the live gardening demonstrations. Lesser known than Hoover, the Fontana Dam is also an impressive site. It’s actually the tallest concrete dam east of the Rocky Mountains—480 feet to be exact. The dam, with a reservoir size of 11,700 acres, forms Fontana Lake, which provides boat access to more remote areas of the park. To learn about how the dam was built, you can check out the visit center operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Don’t forget to include Clingmans Dome in your itinerary. The dome is the highest point in the whole park and the highest point in all of Tennessee. It’s a half-mile walk to the observation tower, but well worth it. At 6.643 feet, the tower offers you an unrivaled view of the Smokies. Typically, you can see for about 20 miles, but if you’re lucky enough to be there on a clear day, you can see as far as 100 miles. If you need a break from nature, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are near by and chock full of family fun. There’s Dollywood, numerous shows and restaurants, miniature golf, go-karts, and the Ripley’s Believe it or not Aquarium, just to name a few.