Why Visit Great Barrier Reef?

The Great Barrier Reef has been naturally built up during past 6000-8000 years and is the home to more than 300 species of seaweed, amazing 1500 species of fish and 360 types of hard coral imparting a breathtaking and mesmerizing beauty to this wonderful place. Some of the animals included in the marine life are whales, endangered turtles and dolphins. Furthermore, hills and rocky areas, fascinating rain forests and pristine and beautiful beaches are the home the unique flora and fauna including lizards, birds, turtles, bandicoots and echidnas.

Apart from the natural beauty, the Great Barrier Reef offers hundreds of scintillating diving sites that draw thousands of snorkelers and divers’ attention on a daily basis. Furthermore, the entire area is a paradise of spellbinding floral formations containing a school of fish.

When to Visit The Great Barrier Reef?

The Great Barrier Reef area has the monsoon climate since most of the reef is situated in the north of the Tropic of Capricorn. The hot wet season lasts from December to April, so tourists can expect heavy tropical showers that can mar the underwater visibility as well as limit the outdoor activities. The dry season usually lasts from June to August and brings warm days and crystal clear nights during which you can clearly see Cairns and the surrounding areas. However, the days can be too cool and nights too chilly, and that can prevent you from visiting the Whitsunday area or swimming in the ocean in this area.

The islands remain warm throughout the year with an average temperature of 350C. However, the temperature raises as you go towards north. On the other hand, there is only a slight variation in the water temperature during the summer and winter season, but in general, the water remains mild cold to warm throughout the year. During the famous Jellyfish season (from November to May), you could only swim in the netted areas and you should always wear a stinger suit to avoid any mishap.

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Shoppers' Go to Places in NYC

Macy’s Herald Square

Macy’s is a veritable institution when it comes to shopping.  It is the world’s largest department store – with an area of 2.2 million square feet and 11 floors, Macy’s flagship at Herald Square in Manhattan has been in operation since it first opened in 1924.  It has been standing on its current site for some 115 years now, and has been added to the National Register of Historic Placed and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1879. It all started with R.H. Macy Dry Goods owned by Rowland Hussey Macy from Massachussetts.  He expanded as the business grew, eventually moving to the elite “Ladies’Mile” shopping district. Long after Macy and his partners had died, the store was acquired by brothers Isidor and Nathan Straus, who decided to make the move uptown to Herald Square. 

Here, there was progressive growth of the store, and the Palladian façade of the original building has been built upon and updated with the purchase of nearby properties to add to the store.  To this day, some of its original wooden escalators are still in operation. Macy’s has since become an iconic part of New York City, and it houses numerous stores, restaurants, and eateries. 

This large department store caters to everyone, and it offers customers so much variety in product that the difficulty is more in choosing than in finding.  Also quite convenient to have restaurants in the same building when you feel your stomach growling after a hard day of shopping – assuming you can think of its vast area as “one building” – which yes, it is.

Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue is the place to go for some luxurious shopping.  Located in Manhattan, and stretching from Madison Square (from which its name derives) all the way to 142nd street. Madison Avenue has its roots in the advertising industry – and since the 1920s, has been the major location of most major advertising firms in New York City.  The identification had become so strong that Madison Avenue was almost synonymous to advertising for most Americans. 

Today, however, only a few advertising agencies remain on Madison Avenue – most have moved to different locations, though the connection to Madison Avenue is still pretty strong in the industry. Today, Madison Avenue has become associated with luxurious shopping, and many retail brands are located here including Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli, Davidoff, Tom Ford, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, Barney’s New York, Prada, Vera Wang and a lot more. Fine shopping should definitely be followed by stylish dining, and Madison Avenue offers a good choice of high-end restaurants such as the Carlyle Restaurant.  There is also Peacock Alley and Gilt NY, with more budget-conscious alternatives such as S Dynasty and the Met Grill.

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Shop and Dine in NYC - Rockefeller Center

A premier shopping and dining location, Rockefeller Center is a national historic landmark located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.  It is a large complex of 19 high-rise commercial buildings located between 48th and 51st streets, commissioned by the Rockefeller family.

Originally, John D. Rockefeller intended the area for an opera house, but after the stock market crash of 1929 and continuous delays, Rockefeller was forced to abandon the original plans and move ahead as sole financier of one of the largest private building project in modern times. The original opera house project was not included, and instead there arose 14 buildings in the Art Deco Style.  Rockefeller Center opened in 1939.  For a time, it also served as the base of U.S. operations of British Intelligence and British Security Coordination during the war, with Room 3603 the principal operations center for Allied Intelligence.

At present, Rockefeller Center is composed of two building complexes: the original 1930s 14 Art Deco office buildings, with an additional building across 51st Street that was later built in 1947.  The second is a set of four towers along the west side of the Avenue of the Americas.  At the heart of Rockefeller Center is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which lies under the shadow of 30 Rockefeller Center, also called Comcast Building, and sometimes 30 Rock. 

The Lower Plaza is where the annual famed Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is lit, and also the popular ice skating rink. At the top of 30 Rock is the Center’s observation deck, which gives visitors an amazing 360-degree panoramic view of New York City. Rockefeller Center is also home to Radio City Music Hall, or Radio City, with an interior that boasts the world’s greatest example of Art Deco design, and seats 6,000 people.  The Center itself is sometimes referred to simply as “Radio City.” For those looking to shop and dine, there is an underground pedestrian passage that runs from 47th to 51st street, from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue. 

Access can be had through any of six landmark buildings, elevators and restaurants surrounding the skating rink.  This passage is filled with shops and restaurants for the enterprising tourist.  Over all, Rockefeller Center has over 100 unique fashion, gifts and souvenir shops, and just as many and as varied restaurants where you can grab a quick lunch, have a cocktail, or have an amazing fine dining experience.

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Tips When Travelling to NYC Part 1

How your visit to New York City ultimately turns out depends to a large extent on what side of it you want to see.  As you can probably tell from the selections we have provided you in this book – the choices are plenty, and amazingly diverse.  Whether you choose to immerse yourself in historical sights, artistic displays and museums, the many artistic and musical performances in the City, or simply to go shopping and food tripping, New York City has you covered. 

This is a place to experience life in a way that you won’t be able to anywhere else – the cultural and ethnic mix of the New York City population, including the unique history of the city, and its preeminent role in the nation’s cultural, artistic, and architectural progress as a whole has yielded a City that is beautiful for its diversity and for its sheer grandeur just as much as its seedy and dark side.

The lists of things to see and do in this book are by no means exhaustive.  Allow yourself to explore when you can, be open to surprises, though plan your trip carefully.  And as always, stay safe.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you make your preparations for a New York City trip:

For international travelers, make copies and backups of your passport and credit card information and store them in a safe place - should your cards get stolen or lost, it's always a good idea to have copies of them for cancellations or new applications.

Plan your itinerary beforehand - not only does this allow you to choose the most convenient hotel, and figure out how to get from one point to another, but it will also allow you to make the most of your trip.  That said, don't discount or ignore the occasional pleasant surprise that often does happens during travels.

Pack the essentials: a small medical kit, especially if you're prone to an illness or two, snack bags, universal chargers and plug adapters, folding bags for packing souvenirs and other stuff you might pick up at the local markets, and digital gear to help you store your memories.  Try not to pack too much gear, however - nor ones that are too bulky.

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Things to Do in NYC

Film Forum

What better way to truly appreciate New York’s reputation for being a cinematic epicenter than by attending one of its iconic nonprofit theater gems. Located at 209 West Houston Street in Hudson Square, Manhattan, Film Forum began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for indie films.  Today, it has grown to a 3-screen cinema with nearly 500 seats.  It is open 365 days a year, and offers the public a variety of indie films, foreign art films, American classics, and other somewhat high-brow theatrical releases.  The films are always well-selected, and the community are generally in sync in their appreciation of fine movies.

This may not be the right place to bring along kids, but the small and intimate theatres are a great place for film buffs to settle down and enjoy some amazing, rare, or just simply new and refreshing footage

Coney Island

Looking for something a bit more afield than the Manhattan culture of New York? Why not travel a bit more afield to the peninsula of Coney Island with its amusement parks and seaside resorts?

Lying on a peninsula in the southwestern borough of Brooklyn, some of the first amusement and entertainment structures were built on Coney Island in the 1840s.  In 1829, after the construction of Coney Island Hotel, this peninsula started to grow into a popular resort area.  It was near enough, and yet some distance from, both Brooklyn and Manhattan that it wasn’t difficult to conceive of a stay at Coney Island as a vacation.  More hotels and resorts were built, businesses were established in the area, and the tourists began to arrive.

There are at least two amusement parks remaining on Coney Island – Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park – with several other attractions and events.  Three of these rides have, in fact, been listed in the National Register of Historic Places: the Wonder Wheel which dates back to 1918-1920, the Cyclone dating back to 1927 and one of the world’s oldest wooden rollercoasters, and the Parachute Jump from the 1939 New York World’s Fair.  Of course, there are other rides and attractions such as the Thunderbolt, the B&B Carousel, Bumper Cars, and Haunted Houses.

On the other hand, the beaches of Coney Island are open to all without restrictions, and are served more than adequately by the Riegelmann Boardwalk.   There are plenty of places to eat on Coney Island – served by the various ethnicities that make up its population.  The richness and diversity of the place only serve to add to neighborhood’s appeal and charm.

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Make a good start on your forays into the rest of New York City by starting with the terminus and origin of all New York City subway trains – the Grand Central Terminal.  Even if you aren’t planning on taking the subway to some other place that’s interesting, you can probably spend a fascinating afternoon just exploring and discovering the nooks and crannies of this 100-year old depot.

Sometimes also referred to as Grand Central Station, or simply Grand Central, this rapid transit railroad terminal is located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.  The site’s history as a transport terminal is long – and the current construction was essentially preceded by three different buildings intended to serve the same functions: The Grand Central Depot in 1871 which served railroad trains, the Grand Central Station in 1899-1900 serving steam trains, and the redesigned Grand Central Terminal which opened in 1913, servicing underground electric trains. 

To this day, it is the biggest terminal in the world, not only in the size of the building, but also in the number of tracks.  In the years that followed, this monument was almost destroyed by the proposed construction of a tower intended to halt the financial decline of its then-owner, Penn Central Railroad.  Prior to construction, however,Grand Central was declared a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.  For the first time, the Supreme Court ruled on a case of historic preservation, upholding government land-use regulatory powers.  Penn Central eventually went bankrupt.

The station continued its decline in the years that followed, with considerable destruction wrought by a bomb that exploded in 1876.  It was only during the period of 1994-2000 that Grand Central underwent a massive overhaul, restoration and renovation under the auspices of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who had signed a 280-year lease.  The work was completed by 2007, and the terminal’s centennial was celebrated on February 1, 2013. 

The Grand Central Terminal today serves some 200,000 commuters, and in 2013, received some 21.6 million visitors.  The building features magnificent Beaux-Arts architecture, with a cavernous Main Concourse with an elaborately decorated ceiling, a Dining Concourse below with seating and lounge areas and a fine selection of restaurants – including the oldest of them all, the Oyster Bar.  Other points of interest in the station include Vanderbilt Hall, the elegant cocktail lounge at Campbell Apartment, the Whispering Gallery, the gourmet culinary market, and the “secret” elevated passageways for a magnificent view of the concourse.  Whether you prefer to just walk around, or to take a tour, there is much to see in this famous New York City landmark.

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Sites to See in NYC - Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace and Green-Wood Cemetery and Battle Hill

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., 26th President of the United States, the driving force behind the Progressive Era and the Square Deal in the early 20th century, statesman, author, explorer, soldier, reformer, naturalist, and widely considered to be one of the greatest U.S. presidents – was born and raised for the first part of his life in Manhattan’s 28 East 20th Street, New York City.  Theodore Roosevelt was born there on October 27, 1858, and he and his family lived there until 1872, when they moved uptown to West 57th Street.

The three-story brownstone building as it now stands is not the original construction, however.  That was demolished in 1916, until it was purchased by the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association, now the Theodore Roosevelt Association, in 1919.  The building was restored and recreated to a replica of what it originally was in 1865, and the row house next door was incorporated as a museum.  Many of its furnishings were provided by the President’s widow, Edith Carow, and his two sisters, Anna and Corinne, all of whom also supplied information for the recreation of the building.

The National Parks Service now offers tours of the site, and a visit can be most illuminating as to Theodore Roosevelt’s childhood, his sickly condition, his desire to improve his physical constitution through exercise, and his great interest early on in being a naturalist.  All of it becomes all the more illuminating when you consider his public persona as a Cowboy and Rough Rider Chief Executive whose face now stands alongside other luminaries as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore.

Green-Wood CemeterTop of Formy and Battle Hill

The first major battle of the American Revolutionary War took place on August 27, 1776, and is commonly known as The Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Brooklyn, or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights.  It is still considered the largest battle during the entire war, and Battle Hill the site of especially brutal fighting.  Battle Hill is the highest point of what was then King’s County, and is now located within Greenwood Cemetery.

The British Army were victorious during this battle, and they gained control of the strategically important city of New York and its harbor.  Washington retreated to Manhattan, and after several more defeats, he and his army were driven out of New York entirely. 

It must be added, however, that Green-Wood Cemetery is not just a commemoration of the Battle of Long Island – it is also a commemoration of the lives that have been buried within its grounds in the years since then.  Within cemetery grounds are wonderful, graphic monuments, tombstones and mausoleums of specific individuals, some famous, and some infamous – and tombs even of pets - whose lives are especially commemorated in a poignant way through the unique structures erected within these park-like grounds.  The gently rolling hills of the terrain, and winding paths that twists and turns – where a person can literally get lost without a map – promises “a surprise around every bend.”

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Must See Sites in Great Britain

Discover Ancient Britain at Stonehenge

Stonehenge might just be the most iconic historic landmark in a country with no shortage of historic landmarks. This prehistoric monument can be found in Wiltshire, a ring of standing stones that archaeologists believe was constructed somewhere between 3000BC and 2000BC. Nobody can be exactly sure what this monument was used for, but there is suggestion that it could have been a burial ground as fragments of bone have also been found there.

Enjoy a Drink With a View in Glasgow

Glasgow is a very charming city, but it’s impossible to appreciate the full beauty of the city when you are simply walking around the streets, so why not explore one of the city’s rooftop bars? Well, actually there is only one, and it is at The Carlton George hotel. The bar is located on the 7th floor so you have a lovely view over the city, and their food and drink is pretty great too. Their afternoon tea is a little over a tenner and offers incredible value that cannot be beaten.

Learn How to Surf in Newquay

When you think of places in the world with a great surfing culture, your mind might wander to faraway places like Hawaii or the Pacific coast of Mexico, but believe it or not there is also an exceptional surfing culture to be found in Great Britain, and specifically in the southern counties of Somerset and Cornwall. Newquay in Cornwall is a town bursting full of surfing schools where you can rent equipment and have lessons so you can ride the impressive waves of this part of England.

Cruise the Waters of Lake Windermere

Lake Windermere is the largest natural lake in all of England, a wonderfully peaceful place to relax and enjoy the water and the green landscapes. As such, this is a very popular summer holiday spot for local people as well as foreigners, but because the expanse of the lake is so great, the only way to really explore all of it is to take a lake cruise. Cruises can last up to three hours, and show you through wooded islands, mountains scenery, secluded bays, and lots more beauty besides.    

Take in the Scenery of the Seven Sisters Cliffs

England is a country with some of the dramatic coastline in the world, and you can experience all the majesty of this for yourself by taking a trip to the Seven Sisters Cliffs in East Sussex. The features of these dramatic chalk cliffs were created all the way back in prehistoric times when land was submerged and the waves pushed the chalk to the surface. And now all these years since then, the cliffs make for wonderful coastal walks and photograph opportunities.   

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