GlobeTrot

19/09/2011

Hello Globetrotters! Hope you all are fine and trotting all over the world...We GlobeTrot have started a new division in our company dedicated only to cruises! Luv2cruise is a launch pad set by us so as to give all the Globetrotters a unique and all inclusive holiday experience!

03/08/2011

Hey Trotters! Enjoying the monsoons? It is incomplete without a trip to the hills in India, without getting wet in the rains, without eating charcoaled corn, we at GLOBETROT have comeout with special monsoon trots! Do check them out to enjoy this season to the fullest! http://globetrot.biz/monsoon-trots

Places: - Goa, Shillong, Cherrapunjee, Leh & Ladakh, Kumarkom, Jog falls, Munnar, Periyar national park, chikamaglur, coorg, the valley of flowers-Uttarakhand... are few places shortlisted by Globetrot....the list is endless..we have made special 2nights weekend packages especially for Globetrotter...

28/07/2011

Dear Trotters! How are you doing? We are coming up with a special package for monsoons in India! Please do visit us at : http://globetrot.biz/entries/trot-of-the-day/the-valley-of-flowers-uttarakhand

British mountaineer Frank Smythe stumbled upon the Valley of Flowers in 1931. 'In all my mountain wondering,' he wrote, 'I have not seen a more beautiful valley where the human spirit may find repose.' The meadows of tall wild flowrs are a glorious sight on a sunny day, rippling in the breeze, and f

15/07/2011

15/05/2011

Dear Globetrotters! Enjoying your summer break? We at Globetrot will be uploading soon our trot to Norway fjords, We hope you will like them! Have a Great Day!! :)

24/04/2011

IRELAND:
>Few countries have a tourist image so plagued by cliché as Ireland. From shamrocks and shillelaghs to leprechauns, lovable rogues and 40 shades of green, there’s a plethora of platitudes to wade through before you scramble ashore on the real Ireland.
>But it’s well worth looking beyond the tourist tat, for the Emerald Isle (oops, there we go again) is one of Europe’s gems, a scenic extravaganza of lake, mountain, sea and sky that’s still gorgeous enough to make your jaw drop despite the best efforts of developers to scar some of the most beautiful bits with serried ranks of holiday homes. From the lonely, wind-lashed wilderness of Donegal to the picture-postcard harbour villages of County Cork, there are countless opportunities to get outdoors and explore, whether it’s surfing the beach breaks of Bundoran, cycling the coast of County Antrim, or hiking the hills of Kerry and Connemara.
FAST FACTS:
AREA: 84,421 SQ KM
CAPITALS: DUBLIN(IRELAND), BELFAST(NORTHERN IRELAND)
FAMOUS FOR: U2, St Patrick, Guinness
Languages: English, Irish Gaelic
Population: 3.9 million(Ireland), 1.7million (Northern Ireland)
TRAVEL HINTS: Keep an umbrella with you at all times, dress in layers and always stop to chat.

www.globetrot.biz

13/04/2011

Norway is a country at a crossroads, although given Norway’s natural wonders and significant wealth, it’s a situation in which most countries in the world would love to find themselves.

Norway is, by any standards, one of the most beautiful countries on earth, but that beauty brings with it a responsibility that weighs heavily upon Norwegians. For here is a people with an enduring love for the natural world that is profoundly etched into the national character. In the past, this was expressed in the Norwegian tradition of isolated farmsteads that colonised the most secluded corners of the country’s wilderness.

You're going to spend a lot of money and you'll like it. Norway's laid-back cities provide stylish cafes, impressive coastal scenery, & museums displaying Viking ships, slick Scandinavian designs & horrifying wax zombies doing things to seals that cause most to wince.From Stavanger to Tromso, wilderness is always present and always staggering. Enjoy fjords, glaciers and mountains, all linked by a huge network of skiing & hiking trails, and dotted with scenic huts that provide some of Norway's cheapest lodging.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 324,220 SQ KM
CAPITAL : OSLO
COUNTRY CODE: 47
FAMOUS FOR : cod, Vikings
LANGUAGES: Norwegian, English and Sami
Population : 4.6 million
No of Polar bears: around 3000
PHRASES: hei (hello), takk (thanks), ya (yes), nei (no), stengt (closed)
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08/04/2011

INTRODUCTION: Belgium's a bizarre little place. Called 'Europe's most eccentric country' in one breath & 'boring' in the next, if you want something offbeat, this is it.
Ruled for centuries by ever-changing European powers, Belgie to the Flemish & La Belgique to the nation's French speakers only came into being in 1830. These days it's a bit like a teenager - world - weary, unruly & avant-garde all rolled into one. Don't make the mistake of judging it on day one or, worse still, in the first hour. It's the sort of place that takes time to know.
Belgium boasts one of Europe's Art Nouveau jewels & strokes of surrealism, all are displayed.
To top it off, Belgians have a keen sense of the good things in life; they know how to eat well, they make some of the world's best beers and there's no need to introduce their chocolates.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 30000 SG KM
CAPITAL : BRUSSELS
FAMOUS FOR chocolate, beer, Bruges & tennis stars Kim Clijsters & Justine Henin -Hardenne.
LANGUAGES: Flemish, French, German.
Population : 10.2 million.
PHRASES : Dag/bonjour (dagschotel in Flemish/French), dag/au revoir (goodbye), dank U/merci (thanks), hoe veel kost het? c'est combien? (how much is it?)
TRAVEL HINTS : The 'dish of the day' (dagschotel in Flemish, plat du jour in French) is good value. Train fares cost 50% less on weekends. If the budget's tight, buy pralines from supermarkets rather than chocolateries.
ROAMING BELGIUM: Belgium's big three - Brussels, Bruges & Antwerp - are essential stops. Day trip it to Ypres & Ghent, then burrow down in the Ardennes.

www.globetrot.biz

29/03/2011

The sprawling Asia's biggest tulip garden in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar holds thousands of flowers impart a mesmerising ambience to this 90-acre tourist attraction in the Valley.
Nearly 1.3 million tulip bulbs comprising 70 varieties of various colours have been grown in the garden,the vast tulip garden overlooking the Dal Lake in the city. Located close to the famous Mughal gardens of Chashma Shahi, Nishat and Shalimar, the Kashmir tulip garden is seen as a milestone in making holidays memorable for thousands of domestic and foreign tourists who come to the Valley each year.

28/03/2011

ICELAND: Iceland is a country in the making, a vast volcanic laboratory where mighty forces shape the land & shrink you to an awestruck speck. See it in the gushing geysers, glooping mud pools & slow, grinding glaciers. Experience it first hand, bathing in turquoise-coloured hot springs, kayaking through a fjord or crunching accross a dazzling-white icecap. The landscape is infectious : hidden energy and a desire to shape the world as Icelandic traits. Compact capital Reykjavik may just contain the world's highest concentration of dreamers, authors, poets and musicians. They all love a party - join them on the runtur, a weekend-long pub crawl like no other, to see the unexpected side of local life.

FAST FACTS:
Best time to visit: May to Sept to avoid the dark & cold, or Dec to Feb to see Iceland at its iciest.
Area: 103,000 SQ KM
Capital : Reykjavik
Famous for : Björk; the Blue Lagoon; economic meltdown; geysers; Icelandic horses; puffins; sagas; volcanoes; whale-watching;whaling
Language: Icelandic
Phrases: Skål! (cheers), Hallo (hello), takk fyrir (thanks).
Population: 300,000

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28/03/2011

Best Summer ideas according to Globetrot!
>Cruise to Northern Europe
>Visit to any National Park in India
>A R&R summer break to Kerala
>An Island hopping trot..
Please feel free to write your suggestions where you would like to go for your upcoming summer trot!

24/03/2011

FINLAND: Squeezed between Sweden & Russia, Finland has often been seen as the mysterious, misunderstood corner of Scandinavia. But more and more travellers are discovering the serenely beautiful land of lakes & forests that lies beyond the Baltic harbour capital of Helsinki.

Nature reigns supreme here, whether you're cruising on lake ferries, hiking & camping in remote, pristine birch forests, cycling along endless bike paths or skating on frozen lakes. For most Finns, happiness is still a ramshackle summer cottage by a lake & a properly stoked sauna. In Lapland, one of Europe's last great wilderness areas, reindeer herds wander across fells, and above the Arctic Circle the sun never truly sets in midsummer. Here you'll find the kitsch but cool Santa Claus Village & official post office, and in the bluish haze of winter darkness you can witness nature's greatest lightshow, the aurora borealis.

Finland really comes into its own in the surprisingly summer months when some of northern Europe's best music festivals & offbeat events spring to life - for an insight into the quirky nature of the Finns, check out the World Wife Carrying Championships or the World Air Guitar Championships!

Like the land itself, Finns have a reputation for being tough, quiet and mysterious, but take the explore their country, steam up in their saunas and scratch under the surface - you'll find some of the warmest people you'll ever meet.

FAST FACTS:
Number of days of constant sun in Nuorgam: 72
Unemployment rate : 8.8%
Population : 5,236,611
Number of reindeer: 230,000
GDP per capita : €28,646
Percentage of water: 10%
Number of days of no sun in Nuorgam : 51
Number of mobile phones : 4.9 million
Size : 338,145 sq km
Language : Finnish, Swedish
Capital: Helsinki
Famous for: sauna, reindeer, Formula One drivers, Lordi, Nokia
Phrases: Kiitos (thank you), hei (hello), anteeksi (excuse me), kippis (cheers).

www.globetrot.biz

18/03/2011

ESTONIA: Although the smallest of the Baltic countries, Estonia (Eesti) makes its presence felt in the region with its lovely seaside towns, quaint country villages and verdant forests and marshlands, all of which set the scene for discovering many cultural and natural gems. Yet Estonia is also known for magnificent castles, pristine islands and a cosmopolitan capital amid medieval splendour. It's no wonder Estonia is no longer Europe's best-kept secret.

Tallinn, Estonia's crown jewel, boasts cobbled streets and rejuvenated 14th-century dwellings. Dozens of cafés and restaurants make for an atmospheric retreat after exploring historic churches and scenic ruins, galleries and boutiques. By night, stylish lounges and youthful nightclubs offer a glimpse of the city's sexier side. Some visitors have a hard time escaping Tallinn's undeniable allure, but outside the capital, the bucolic landscape hides numerous attractions. Lahemaa National Park in Northeastern Estonia has lush forests and beautiful coastal trails. South of Estonia's cosmopolitan spiritual centre, Tartu, is the hilltop town of Otepää with its laidback atmosphere and lovely ski trails. Handsome beach towns, spa resorts and medieval ruins lie scattered about the western shores of the country. Further west lies Estonia's biggest island, Saaremaa and on it the towns of Angla, Karja, Triigi & Tuhkana, where iconic windmills, 19th-century lighthouses, unspoilt beaches and yet more medieval ruins transport visitors to another time.

Covering vast swaths of Estonia, forests, wooded meadows and under-appreciated bog form the backdrop to numerous activities. Hiking over wooded trails, horse riding along coastline and canoeing over flooded forests can link you to the ancient wilderness. There's also great bird-watching, cross-country skiing in winter and swimming in crystal-clear lakes and rivers in summer. This all makes a nice prelude to a sauna, one of the national pastimes.

FAST FACTS:
Famous for : Birthplace of Carmen Kass, supermodel; Kalevipoeg, mythological hero
Currency: Estonian Kroon; €1 = 15.64Kr; US$1 = 13.07Kr; UK£1 = 15.64Kr
Area : 45,227 sq km
Population : 1.3 million
Famous for : song festivals, lush woodlands and resplendent coastlines, Skype and kaza
Country code : 372
Capital : Tallinn
Language: Estonian (a Finno-Ugric language).
Phrases: Tere! (hi!), mis su nimi on? (what's your name?).

www.globetrot.biz

15/03/2011

DENMARK : Welcome to the happiest nation on the earth. No really, it's official. According to a global survey by the World Database of Happiness, the Danes are the most contented folk on earth.

It's not hard to see why. Denmark (Danmark) is a vastly wealthy country, it's well ordered and the majority of Danes enjoy a high quality of living. This feeling of wellbeing doesn't take much time to rub off on the visitor.

Denmark packs within its modest borders a compelling mix of lively modern cities, historic towns, enchanting villages, rolling farmland, graceful beech woods & sleepy islands. The outwardly sensible Danes like a party and Copenhagen, a compact city with a rich history & a burgeoning bar, cafe and restaurant scene, is where they do it best.

Beyond the cities lies much of the country's natural & historic wealth: Kms of white-sand beaches and numerous islands, castles, haunting Neolithic burial chambers, medieval churches & the preserved hulks of Viking longships, reminders of Denmark's mighty Viking past.

FAST FACTS:
AREA : 43,075 SQKM
CAPITAL: Copenhagen
FAMOUS FOR: Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid, marauding Vikings, offensive cartoons.
Head of State: Queen Margrethe ||
Language: Danish
Phrases: Jah/nie (yes/no), tak (thanks), farvel (goodbye), Skøl (cheers).
Population: 5.4 million

TRAVEL HINTS: Takeaway beer & wine are cheap by Scandinavian stds, but hit the happy hours for the best bar deals. Pastries and Smørrebrød (open sandwiches) are the ways to eat well cheaply.

ROAMING DENMARK: Three days is enough for a taste of Copenhagen, then head west to Odense for a day & up to Arhus before heading north to Aalborg and Skagen.

www.globetrot.biz

12/03/2011

Weekly quiz :
Where is Museu Picasso?
a). Vienna
b). Turkey
c). Miami
d). Hongkong
e). Barcelona

10/03/2011

GERMANY: Beer or wine? That sums up the German conundrum. One is at the heart of a pilsner-swilling culture that draws kegloads of visitors annually, is the very reason for one of the world’s great parties (Oktoberfest) and is consumed with pleasure across the land. The other is exported worldwide, is responsible for gorgeous vine-covered valleys and is enjoyed everywhere, often from cute little green-stemmed glasses.

And the questions about Germany continue. Berlin or Munich? Castle or club? Ski or hike? East or west? BMW or Mercedes? In fact, the answers are simple: both. Why decide? The beauty of Germany is that rather than choosing, you can revel in the contrasts (except maybe with the car question…). Exploring this country and all its facets can keep visitors happy for weeks.

Berlin, edgy and vibrant, is a grand capital in a constant state of reinvention. At the other end, Munich perches atop Bavaria, the centre of national traditions. Half-timbered villages can’t help but bring smiles as you wander their cobblestoned and castle-shadowed lanes. Cities of all sizes boast some of Europe’s best clubs, as you’d expect from the home of techno. Enjoying the outdoors, from skiing Alpine peaks to hiking carefully preserved forests, is essential. And compare the ancient traditions of the east, as beautiful Dresden adjusts to the 21st century, with Cologne, where decades of prosperity burnish its grand heritage.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 356,866 SQKM
CAPITAL: BERLIN
FAMOUS FOR : Cuckoo clocks, dark memories of WWII;no speed limits; Oktoberfest; the Berlin Wall; timely fast trains; BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi & Porsche.
Official Language: German
In a Word: We gehts? (how is it going?)
Population: 83 million
RANDOM FACT: More than 5000 varieties of beer are sold in Germany, most made by small, local brewers and most being quite similar lagers known for their natural ingredients and crisp taste.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: June to August (summer) for beer gardens at their best; March to May (spring) and September to November (autumn) for fewer crowds and mostly mild weather.

www.globetrot.biz

08/03/2011

AUSTRIA: It sounds cliched to say, but this country really is alive with the sound of music. Mozart'z symphonies waft through the cobbled streets of Salzburg like Julie Andrews floating around the picturesque Austrian countryside. The story of Austria is surely an opera, a concerto, a work in progress, complete with elaborate sets & a plot that's as bloody as it is beautiful. Monarchs, political instability, assassinations and the Great War narrate just one side of the story,however. Juxtaposed against them is incredible natural beauty blanketed in an edifying patchwork of depth and character like no other. Gorgeous enough to make you gasp in awe, its snow-capped peaks stare back at you with jagged smiles. Its verdant valleys, strewn with summer wildflowers, make the perfect outdoor playground. Graceful old cities exude genteel airs of times long past and even the smallest rural villages are cultural reservoirs rich in history. In Austria the past is as pertinent as the present & the country surprises with its ability to change without sacrificing its time-honoured heritage & traditions.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 83,855 SQ KM
CAPITAL: VIENNA
FAMOUS FOR: Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music : apple strudel; Strauss waltzes; edelweiss; Arnold Schwarzenegger; Freud; Mozart.
Official Language: German.
Phrases: Servus! (hello & goodbye); Ba Ba (bye bye).
Population : 8.2 million
RANDOM FACT: Vienna is the largest wine-growing city in the world.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Year-round.

www.globetrot.biz

05/03/2011

Hi! Are you ready for this week's Quiz?
The site of Machu Picchu is also known as:
a. The Stone City
b. The City of Hiram Bingham
c. The Lost City
d. The City of the Temple of the Sun
We will be back with the correct answer shortly....

04/03/2011

SWITZERLAND: Switzerland is an easy country to swallow; it melts in your mouth as smoothly as the rich chocolates and creamy cheeses it is famous for. With a kind of slap-you-in-the-face natural beauty. Hollywood filmmakers salivate over & a reputation as a summer & winter sports paradise, it's pretty hard to not get hooked.Switzerland is the land where people first skied for fun, and along with heavenly powder pistes & ultraglam resorts (think St Moritz), the country dishes up enough adrenalin-pumping fuel to keep your inner ju**ie satiated for weeks (think out of this world hiking or flying through the sky on a pair of manmade wings).

Okay,so all the cliches you've heard about Switzerland are likely true. It's pretty damn easy to envision rosy-faced goat herders yodelling to a clinking cowbell melody amid sky scraping peaks. But even though they've perfected the whole G-rated Matterhorn look, don't mistake the Swiss for a bunch of Goody Two-Shoes. This is the country, after all, that invented absinthe & L*D. It's as well known for secret bank accounts & shady business deals as for fondue & droopy-roofed chalets. Small, fiercely independent & culturally complex (there are 4 official languages : Swiss German, French, Italian & Romansch), the Swiss has expensive tastes. Cities like Geneva (the most cosmopolitan), Zurich (the most outrageous), Bern (the most charming) and Lucerne (the most beautiful) heave with heady artistic activity, legendary nightlife & some of the planet's highest living standards.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 41,285 SQKM
CAPITAL : BERN
Famous for: cheese, the Matterhorn, banking.
Official Languages: French, German, Italian, Romansch.
Phrases: gruezi(hello, good day), merci vielmal (thank you very much), adieu (goodbye), sprechen sie Englisch? (do you speak English?)
Population: 7.4 million.

www.globetrot.biz

02/03/2011

SLOVAKIA:
A 200-year-old log cabin with perfectly preserved white geometrics just waiting to be photographed. The smell of strong coffee enjoyed midday with pastries in an old town square café. Whimsical, foot-tapping folk music punctuated by a yee! ha! yip! The crunch of fresh snow under your boot at 2000m. Slovakia is not about overhelming sights or superlatives, it's more about experience of a place where nature & folkways still hold sway.

BEST TIME TO VISIT:
May to September.
AREA:49,035 SQKM
CAPITAL: BRATISLAVA
FAMOUS FOR: ice hockey, beautiful women, mountain hiking, folk traditions.
Official Language: Slovak.
Phrases: ahoj (hello);dovidenia(goodbye).
Population: 5.4 million

ITINERARIES:
>THREE DAYS: Spend 2 days wandering the streets & stopping in the sidewalk cafés of Bratislava Old Town. Climb up castle hill for a citywide view. On day 3 head for one of the castles within day-trip range: Devin & Trencin are especially stunning.

>ONE WEEK: Add ona couple of days' hiking among the alps-esque peaks of the High Tatras. Further east, Bardejov beckons with a medieval town square, wooden churches, a nearby spa town & an excellent open-air village museum.

www.globetrot.biz

01/03/2011

CZECH REPUBLIC: For a country that's only been around since 1993, the Czech Republic does a fine job of showcasing a thrilling history. Castles & chateaux abound, illuminating the stories of powerful families & individuals whose influence was felt well beyond the nation's current borders.Unravel the history of Bohemia & Moravia & you're delving into the legacy of Europe itself.

Experience beautifully ppreserved Renaissance towns, but include a 21st-century spin by sharing a chilled Pilsner lager in street-side cafes with a fortnight population confidently taking its place in a united Europe.And if the architectural splendour overhelms, explore some of Europe's most idiosyncratic landscapes & spectacular forests, which are making a comeback after the industrial sabotage & neglect of the communist era.

The impact of 1989's Velvet Revolution is most obvious in Prague, a stunning melange of high culture, architectural achievement & modern Europe, but apend time in the rest of the country as well. Take in the audacious cliff-top chateau & improbably arcing river ay Cesky Kromlov, the discreetly confident Moravian university town of Olomouc, and the energetic blue-collar Bohemian beer towns of Plzen & Ceske Budejovice.

>>You'll soon discover that the Czech Republic is as much about the future as the past.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 78,864 SQ KM
CAPITAL: PRAGUE
FAMOUS FOR: BEER, ICE HOCKEY, KAFKA & DVORAK.
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: CZECH
PHRASES: Dobry den/ahoj (hello), na shledanou (goodbye), dekuji (thank you).
POPULATION: 10.2 MILLION

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23/02/2011

POLAND: A flat,fertile nation in the centre of Europe, often surrounded by conquest-happy empires, can expect life to be turbulent at times. And that's been the experience of Poland, as it's grappled with centuries of war, invasion & foreign occupation. Nothing, however, has succeeded in suppressing the Poles' strong sense of nationhood & cultural identity, as exemplified by the ancient royal capital of Krakow, with its breathtaking castle, & bustling Warsaw, with its painstaking postwar reconstruction of its devastated Old Town.

Away from the cities, Poland is a diverse land, from its northern sandy beaches & magnificent southern mountains to the lost-in-time forests of the east. And everywhere there are seldom-visited towns to discover, with their own ruined castles, picturesque squares & historic churches.

Poland is still good value for travellers & hasa transport system that makes it easy to get around. As Poland continues to reconcile its rediscovered Europeon identity with its hard won political & cultural freedoms, it's fascinating time to visit this beautiful country.

FAST FACTS:
Area: 312,685 SQKM.
Capital: WARSAW
Famous for: Chopin, Copernicus,Marie Curie, Solidarity, vodka.
Official Language: Polish.
Population: 38 million.
Phrases: dzien dobry (good morning/afternoon), dziekuje (thank you), prosze (please).

www.globetrot.biz

22/02/2011

HUNGARY: Hungary's uniqueness extends beyond its incomprehensible tongue.Here's your chance to strip down to your swimmers in the midwinter minuses & loll around an open-air thermal spa, while snowy patches glisten around you. Following that, you could go to a smoky bar where a Romani band yelps while a crazed crowd whacks its boot-heels, as commanded by Hungarian tradition. Or go clubbing in an ancient bathhouse, where all dance in swimsuits,waist-deep in healing waters.

FAST FACTS:
AREA: 93,000 SQ KM
CAPITAL: BUDAPEST
FAMOUS FOR: PAPRIKA,BULL'S BLOOD & Csárdás Music.
LANGUAGE: HUNGARIAN
PHRASES: jo napot kivanok (good day); szia (hi/bye);Köszönöm (thank you).
POPULATON: 10 MILLION.

CLIMATE: Hungary has a temperate continental climate.July & Aug are the warmest months, & when the thermometer touches 27 degree celsius it can feel much hotter. Spring is unpredicttable but usually arrives in April. Nov is already rainy & chilly; Jan & Feb are the coldest & driest months,with temperatures dropping below 0 degree celsius. Sept., with loads of sunshine,mild temperatures & grape-harvest festivals in country-side,may be the best time to visit. May,with a profusion of flowers & sunshine,is a close second.

WHEN TO GO: The busiest tourist season is July & August, but hotels quote high-season rates from April to Oct. In smaller & provincial towns, attractions,are often closed or have reduced hours, from Oct to May.

www.globetrot.biz

21/02/2011

SLOVENIA: It's a tiny place - there's no doubt about that - with a surface area of just over 20,000 sq km and only 2 million people. But 'good things come in small packages', & never was that old chestnut more appropriate than in describing Slovenia (Slovenija), an independent republic bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary & Croatia.

Slovenia has been dubbed a lot of different things by its PR machine - 'Europe in Miniature', 'The Sunny Side of the Alps', 'The Green Piece of Europe' - and they're all true. Slovenia has everything, from beaches, snowcapped mountains, hills awash in grapevines & wide plains blanketed in sunflowers, to Gothic churches, baroque palaces & Art Nouveau civic buildings. Its incredible mixture of climates brings warm Mediterranean breezes up to the foothills of the Alps, where it can snow in summer. And with more than half of its total area covered in forest, Slovenia truly is one of the 'greenset' countries in the world. And in recent years it really has become Europe's activities playground.

>Among Slovenia's greatest assets,though, are the Slovenes themselves - welcoming, generous, multilingual & broad - minded.

FAST FACTS:
>AREA : 20,273 SQ KM
>CAPITAL : LJUBLJANA
>FAMOUS FOR : MOUNTAIN SPORTS, LIPIZZANER HORSES,RUBY RED TERAN WINE.
>OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: SLOVENE; ENGLISH,ITALIAN & GERMAN WIDELY SPOKEN.
>PHRASES: dober dan (hello), prosim (please), hvala (thank you), nasvidenje(goodbye).
>POPULATION : 2 MILLION.

>>ITINERARIES: a) Three days: Enjoy a long weekend in Ljubljana,sampling the capital's nightlife & museums, with an excursion to Bled.
b) One week: Spend a couple of days in Ljubljana,then head northward to unwind in Bohinj or romantic Bled beside idyllic mountain lakes. Depending on the season take a bus or drive over the hair raising Vršič Pass into the valley of the vivid blue Soča River & take part in some extreme sports in Bovec or Tolmin before returning to Ljubljana.
c) Two weeks: As above, adding a trip to the coast - Koper &, of course, Piran - via Škocjan or perhaps a journey to both Postojna & Predjama.

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15/02/2011

Introduction: The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (English: Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family, Spanish: Basílica y Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; Catalan pronunciation: [səˈɣraðə fəˈmiɫiə]), commonly known as the Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.

*Though construction of Sagrada Familia had commenced in 1882,Antonio Gaudi became involved in 1883, taking over the project and transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style — combining Gothic and curvilinear, Art Nouveau forms with ambitious structural columns and arches.

*Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War — only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the mid-point in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026 — the centennial of Gaudí's death.

*The basílica has a long history of dividing the citizens of Barcelona — over the initial possibility it might compete with Barcelona's cathedral, over Gaudi's design itself, over the possibility that work after Gaudi's death disregarded his design, and the recent possibility that an underground tunnel of Spain's high-speed train could disturb its stability.

www.globetrot.biz

13/02/2011

Dear Trotters! Wishing all of you a nice weekend! Sorry, have not been able to put up posts for all of you as GlobeTrot has come to BCN,Spain for weekend, will put up nice snaps for all of you of the La Sagarada Familia : BCN's most famous building constructions began in 1882 & its estimated will be complete in 2020. Enjoy the weekend !!

10/02/2011

Dear Globetrotters, We have been posting European countries since few days. Hope all of you are liking the posts and we hope that the information will be useful to you in some or the other way for your upcoming summer break!!