Travel to Miami

Welcome to Miami -- the sunny southern city in the sunny state of Florida. To most people who have never taken a Miami trip, just think of Sonny Crocket and Ricardo Tubbs in a speedboat chasing some drug dealers. Be your own judge and take a Miami vacation to find out what this city really is like: a melting pot of cultures, a warm and friendly city on one of the most beautiful spots in the world, a city of great architecture and the perfect starting point for exploring the rich variety of sights and sounds in Florida.

But most people think Miami is only a city of fun and games based just on tourism. Miami is a lot of fun, but it is also a huge financial center of the world. Downtown Miami has the largest concentration of International Banks in the United States. Miami was named a Gamma world city based on its economic importance especially towards Latin America. U.S. Southern Command Headquarters are in Miami, also the National Hurricane Center calls Miami home. Miami also how the highest percentage of foreign- born residents in the world! 59% of Miami residents were born outside the US. This makes Miami one of the most diverse cities in the world.

Miami is also known as the capital of Latin America and the Caribbean for economic, transportation, and cultural reasons.

When you are in Miami, one thing is sure, you will not be bored! There are too many Miami activities to enjoy such as going to museums, hanging out at one of many Miami restaurants, cafes, or bars, and dancing until dawn at a hot nightclub.

Now, if you haven't taken a Miami trip for Memorial Weekend, you are missing out. Imagine BCR weekend in Daytona with class and about 100,000 more people. There are three main streets where all the action can be found: Ocean, Collins, and Washington. All three streets are within walking distance from one another. A great place to find excellent Miami hotels is along the ocean -- and it's well worth the money. You're always within walking distance to the beach, of course and a Starbucks is always nearby. Hey, did you know you could stay in Versace's house for about $1,200.00 per night?

The beach is beautiful, the water is very warm and the view to the bottom of the ocean is crystal clear. You can rent an umbrella and 2 lounges for about $24 for the entire day. It's not as hot as you think it would be on the beach, however. It's actually hotter on the strip than on the beach. Collins offers plenty of shopping and lots of expensive boutiques. The Miami restaurants in the area are pretty amazing as well and reasonably priced. Ocean drive restaurants may be a bit more expensive, but the excellent cuisine and service is well worth the price tag.

The Art Deco architecture in the old section of Miami Beach alongside the beach is impressive and worth a leisurely stroll to view its beauty.

Top Five Miami Attractions

Biltmore Hotel – Located in the Coral Gables area of Miami, the Biltmore Hotel is sits on 150 acres of pristine land. The hotel features a magnificent 18-hole Donald Ross-designed golf course, 10 tennis courts, a pool, a wide variety of restaurants, and a world-class fitness center. The Biltmore is much more than just a hotel, it is one of Miami’s star attractions. If you plan stay at Miami’s Biltmore Hotel the hotel features 275 guest rooms and suites including the famous Poolside Cabana Suites. 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables FL, 33134, Ph: 800-915-1929, www.biltmorehotel.com.

The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens - Agricultural industrialist James Deering built the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in 1916. The site features 10 acres of formal gardens, a main house, and an historic village. This National Historic Landmark is open to the public 364 days a year. 3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami FL, 33129, Ph: 305-250-9133, www.vizcayamuseum.org.

Coral Castle – Some people call it The Eighth Wonder of the World and others call it a mystery. But one thing is true about Coral Castle – it is the most amazing sight you will see during your Miami vacation. One man -- Edward Leedskalnin, a five-foot tall 100-pound man, built Coral Castle from 1920-1951. The amazing part is the stones that were used to build the castle weighed several tons each. The question still remains, how did Edward Leedskalnin build the castle alone? 28655 S. Dixie Highway, Homestead FL, Ph: 305-248-6345. Open daily from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.

Bass Museum of Art – The Bass Museum of Art is located in the center of Miami’s historic district and it has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. The museum features works by Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, and Julio Gonzalez as well as works by pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Richard Linder. The exhibition schedule changes every several months or so, so please check the website before your visit. 2121 Park Avenue, Ph: 305-673-7530, www.bassmuseum.org. Admission $8.

Elian Gonzalez’s House – Who could forget that heartbreaking scene that took place in the home of Elian Gonzalez’s relatives on April 22, 2000. Federal police, were forced to remove Elian by force in order to return the child to his father in Cuba. The home, now a shrine, can be photographed on Sundays from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. 2319 N.W. 2nd Street at N.W. 23rd Avenue, Little Havana. Cost: Free.

Source and more info: http://www.world66.com; http://www.wikitravel.org

Travel To Rome

The name inverts neatly to form amor[e]. No wonder that a natural occurrence is to fall in love with Rome -- her magnificence will leave you breathless. Rome is the fabled Eternal City and Rome activities and sights create fascination in the mind of the traveler. Rome -- romantic, resplendent Rome, can reward as no other city can. Do not expect her playful, exuberant fountains to cease from casting their liquid diamonds into the sky, even during the quiet hours of the night, for there is no stopping the flow of her hundreds of miles of aqueducts, which will also be serving your grand Rome hotel room. Yet, as no other city has been the focal point of the world for such a long period of time, as any text book or Rome travel guide will explain, few have such a long and turbulent history as has Roma. Lavished with architectural jewelry from republican to imperial to early-Christian to medieval to renaissance to modern times by history's greatest artists, the queen of cities has also experienced sieges and raids that left their scars.

But each time the Eternal City recovered from her injuries in glorious form.

Roma’s history is tightly connected to the history of Europe as a whole. Not just the Roman emperors but also medieval emperors and kings, such as Charlemagne and Otto I, regarded Rome as the true seat of power; only here could their authority, through benediction by the popes, be sanctified.

"Non basta una vita," it is said: One does not have to be one of the countless academics residing in her many foreign institutes to declare that one life is not enough to get to know Roma. You could easily spend nine, like the stray cats that populate the city, and still find more to discover. At each corner of each street there is a multitude of stories to tell, with layer upon layer of history beneath the feet. A modern school occupies a renaissance palace built on the foundations of an imperial bath complex whose mosaics and aqueduct conduits can still be seen, and a baroque church incorporating the structure of a medieval basilica stands on the foundations of a republican temple. These are only two of the myriad stories in Roma, which together hardly even begin to reveal the history of this 3000-year-old city.

Be certain not to miss The Eternal City's Trevi Fountain (remember Anita Ekberg in the classic scene in La Dolce Vita), the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo, as well as some of the Roman heritage sights, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum. Be sure to visit a few of her world-famous churches, such as Il Gesu, S. Giovanni in Laterano and Sta. Maria Maggiore; and the Vatican, which features the incredibly huge St. Peter's Basilica and the unrivaled Vatican Museums. In addition, sunrise on the Gianicolo and sunset on the Pincio, with vistas of a sea of golden domes and bell-towers, are sure to record unforgettable images on the mind.

Not far from Roma you can find the wonderful Ancient Ostia, the ancient port of Rome, where you can enjoy a great day walking among bath complexes, squares, temples, and lots of well-preserved stores, like the Tabernae, an ancient take-away Rome restaurant/pub.

Source and more info: http://www.world66.com; http://www.wikitravel.org