Blogger BlogNet97797

With the dismal reports on the rising Euro and British pound, many Americans are re-thinking their European vacation plans this year. While "Europe on $5 a Day" is indeed an ancient memory, these past few years have proved challenging for Americans looking to explore not only Europe's rich treasure trove of art and history, but its contemporary and vibrant city life.

Friends returning from Europe will be quick to share tales of frightening expenses, from $40 ice creams for two in Venice to the $10 bottles of water in Greece. Every day Europeans are flocking to the U.S., almost gleefully taking advantage of the buying power of the Euro, snapping up designer bags and New York City condos alike. Does this mean that your dream European vacation is not an option this year?

Absolutely not. With careful research and planning, you can start packing for that trip to London, Estonia, Budapest, Sicily or Algarve. One way to make a European trip affordable is to consider a group tour or vacation packages. A group tour is usually an escorted tour with a host or leader with many inclusive features, from air and hotel, to meals and local tours. You can find some good deals and a key benefit is that all travel logistics are handled for you.

If you are averse to traveling en-masse -stuffy motor coach rides through European cities, anonymous florescent-lit rest stops and 6:00AM wake up calls -you can find other options that provide the savings that group travel offers, combined with flexibility to create your own itinerary. A number of hotel and airlines have joined forces to create vacation packages that may even include some meals and entertainment. Both tour and vacation package options take advantage of the supplier or operator's buying power by pre-purchasing large blocks of hotel rooms, airline seats and other travel related amenities in advance.

Member-based travel clubs can be an especially good value as they also purchase large blocks of hotels and airline seats, but their overhead and marketing costs are relatively smaller than mass-market tour operations, thereby passing a larger savings to their members. A good club offers a variety of destinations ranging from fully escorted tours to independent travel options. These clubs usually require an annual membership fee, but if you can find a vacation package that meets your interests and offers great savings, it may be well worth the fee of about $50 or so per year. If you belong to a discount warehouse store, check out their member travel discounts.

How do you know if you found a good deal? While a price comparison is helpful, it is important to research thoroughly so that you make a fair comparison on what's included and what's not included. Make sure to also factor in value. Only you know what is most important on your vacation. You can go online and find out more information about many hotel location, ratings and amenities. Bear in mind that opinions on hotels, like restaurants, are very subjective, so it is worth reading examples of best and worst opinions so see where your tastes fit in.

Features to compare:

1. Airfare: Is airfare included? Is it from a convenient gateway or do you need to spend additional travel dollars to get there from your home? If air isn't included, can you cash in your mileage points and avoid any blackout restrictions? This may be the year to cash in your airline miles to help offset at least a portion of your travel expenses. Many airlines offer good travel bargains through mid-spring, and sometimes even beyond. Competition for those seats will be fierce this year, so plan early.

2. Hotel: What level of accommodations would you be most comfortable in? If three stars are fine, you'll find a good number of affordable packages. Bear in mind that hotel room sizes in most European hotels are considerably smaller. Location is also important. Is the hotel close to any of the things you want to visit or do in your destination? Weigh the time and cost of traveling from your hotel into the city center each day. Try to find out exactly how far or how easy it is to reach the city center if your hotel is located outside of the city limits.

3. Meals: While it is usually more cost-effective to have meals included, you may not like to be limited your hotel dining room.

4. Tours: If you are planning your own itinerary, you likely won't be interested in any included tours, though some folks like to have an Introduction tour on the first day to acclimate to the city.

5. Hidden Fees - Pay attention to hidden fees like airport taxes, fuel surcharges and service fees. These can add up too.

The good news is that between special offers and well-priced vacation packages, you should be able to find a European vacation package deal that meets your needs and budget. But you'll still have to spend once you get to Europe. Just be smart and go local. Stay away from international food chains like McDonalds and Starbucks. You can get the same at home for a lot less. Before you go, research the web for well-priced local eateries near your hotel. Save money by eating your main meal at lunch and a light supper in the evening. Go as local as language and location permits. Stop in a busy supermarket and pick up some interesting foods for a picnic lunch. Avoid costly soft drinks and stick with water or local wine and beer. Just don't make yourself crazy. It's no fun pinching pennies, or pence, on your vacation. Cut back on your souvenir shopping. Do you really need another colorful handicraft that will likely be relegated to the attic?

Nearly every European city has an official website with a slew of resources that can aid in your planning. You can get information and even pre-purchase public transportation passes, tickets to museums, attractions and performances. Take advantage of inexpensive or free activities posted on these tourist board websites. A number of governments have made away with museum entrance fees; mainly to encourage local visitors, but tourists can certainly take advantage. Most public museums in England are free and France is experimenting with free admission to 20 museums, including the Louvre and the Musee du Cluny, through June 30, 2008

Whether your hotel is in the city center or in the outskirts, you can find affordable public transportation in most cities, usually a type of transit card purchased in daily or weekly increments. For example, in London; you can purchase an Oyster card that enables you to ride the Tube, buses, trams and participating National Rail services. The pre-paid card automatically adds up the cost of 'each pay as you go' journey made that day. When the total cost reaches a pre-determined limit, a cap is applied and further journeys made in the same zones are free for the rest of the day. The ParisViste can be purchased in 1, 2, 3 or 5 day increments and can be used on Metros, buses, trams and suburban trains based on zone fares. You can even pre-purchase the card online and take advantage of the trains from the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Zone 5 as soon as you arrive in Paris.

Be realistic, once you get to Europe, the local prices will be high. But if you've done your homework and selected a comprehensive vacation package with the inclusive features you desire for a successful vacation, limit your souvenir shopping and go "local" as much as possible, you'll be just fine. Bon voyage!

Marie Patrick loves to travel and share her journeys. She purchases vacation packages and escorted tours for the best travel deals.

If you are looking for a proven hydrogen fuel kit to reduce the gasoline consumption of your car, why not build one yourself. Many car owners are in a dilemma right now because of the high gasoline prices at the local pump station. Sadly, they have to keep paying the high cost because the car has become a very essential part of their lives. One solution to reduce gasoline cost is by implementing a hydrogen fuel kit. How does the concept work? This article will provide some information on the subject.

The working of a hydrogen fuel kit is to use hydrogen gas (H2) as a complementary fuel source for a vehicle. The main component of the system is an electrolysis device. The function of the device is to extract H2 from water. This can be done because water is consists of 2 units of hydrogen and one unit of oxygen hence its name H2O. By using the power from the car battery, H2 bubbles are created when the electrolysis device is turned on.

The next phase of the hydrogen fuel kit is to vent the H2 into the engine air intake system. The concept is very similar to injecting nitrous oxide into a car engine to get a quick boost of power. The hydrogen gas released into the engine will flow to the combustion chambers and mix with normal gasoline. The gas combination has a potential to produce a bigger explosion due to the high potency of H2. When an engine uses hydrogen gas as fuel, it will produce a bigger power output. When a car is burning the same amount of fuel and is running with a higher engine power, it has a potential to travel further thus increasing its mileage and saving fuel.

You will be surprised that a hydrogen fuel kit can be home made. Most of the parts and components required can be purchased from a hardware store. Anyone with same vehicle maintenance skill can do the conversion. It is recommended for you to get a step by step instructional guide to assist you.

Are you spending more and more money on fuel for your car? Increase your vehicle mileage by using Proven Hydrogen Fuel Kit system. Read the reviews on top online resources to convert your car to run on water at http://www.water-car-review.info

The most important part of any extensive landscaping project is the landscaping of the front yard of a home. This is so critical because it is the part of the house that will get seen the most. You want to make sure you give the needed attention to your front yard landscaping, as it is the most important part.

When you drive past a house or pull up to a house, you have got to notice the front yard landscaping. This causes this element to be one of the most important in any landscaping project. It must be used accordingly as it will be the focal point for the entire project. Any project that does not center around the front yard landscaping should be considered as incomplete.

You should use your front yard as a way to express the feeling you are trying to achieve from your entire landscaping project. The front yard will always be the most visible part, and it will serve crucially to letting people know the feeling you were going for. Extra care should be taken in the front yard to make certain that it follows the general scheme of the entire project. You don't see a Ford going down the road with a Cadillac hood ornament do you? Therefore it is critical that your front yard landscape should match the overall landscape of your home.

Many people fail to see the importance of front yard landscaping in their overall project and focus more on the areas of the home they may tend to use more. This should be avoided at all costs. One of the main purposes of landscaping, especially in the front yard, is to create a focal point for your home. It allows your home to have attention drawn to it and maybe become the envy of your neighbors. If you ignore your front yard when doing your landscaping project, the overall appearance of your home will suffer, and people will notice.

These things should all be considered strong reasons to focus on your front yard landscaping. You should set aside nearly half of the project's budget for your front yard. This will make the front yard landscaping the focal point it needs to be.

For more information about Front Yard Landscaping, feel free to visit us at: http://www.about-landscaping.com/article-8-Front-Yard-Landscaping.html

If you think that having a hot tub in your backyard is the ultimate in outdoor luxury, think again. You can actually make owning a hot tub even better than you ever thought was possible. Why not get yourself a gazebo hot tub as an addition to your outdoor landscape. A hot tub gazebo will allow you to enjoy your hot tub year round, no matter what the weather throws at you. You can enjoy your hot tub in the middle of a snowstorm, a rainstorm, or even if it sleets and hails, when you have a gazebo hot tub.

You can have a simple roof over your hot tub for minimum protection, or you can have a fully enclosed gazebo hot tub. There are styles and designs in between, so you are certain to find exactly what will work best for you when you decide to add a gazebo hot tub to your backyard living space. You can find a gazebo hot tub to fit every taste and budget as long as you do a little comparison-shopping.

Imagine a quiet, cold, winters evening, with the snow gently falling down. You and your loved one can be inside your gazebo hot tub, watching it all in wonder and awe, hardly affected by the weather at all. You will be nice and cozy in your gazebo hot tub, while the snow falls gently around you. There will be no icicles in your hair, no snowflakes sizzling as they hit the hot, bubbling water, not when you have a hot tub gazebo to enjoy.

Think of yourself on a wild, March night, when the rains are falling, helping to get April ready to blossom, and you and your friends are having a great party in your gazebo hot tub. The sound of the rain hitting your gazebo hot tub roof will sound like a symphony when you are relaxing and soaking contentedly in your hot tub.

All this and more can be yours to enjoy when you decide to add a gazebo hot tub to your yard. You will be the hit of your family and friends, once they find out you have a hot tub gazebo. You may even find out you had more friends and family than you had before you added your hot tub gazebo to your backyard.

Want to learn more about Gazebo Hot Tub?, feel free to visit us at: http://www.gazebos-land.info

The number of 55 plus Americans has been steadily increasing as the baby boomers move into that age bracket. Additionally, more people are living longer lives. These trends have caused term life insurance prices to fall by approximately 33% in the last 10 years. To keep pace with the growing senior market many life insurance companies are expanding their product lines to provide protection that meets older people's needs.

Older consumers now have many new alternatives to choose from. Industry sources explain that even as recently as 10 years ago, many of these options for senior life insurance were unavailable. For instance term life insurance coverage is now being enhanced to be suitable for purchase at older ages with longer guaranteed insurance periods - twenty-five to thirty years, lower costs at all ages and higher issue ages. As matter of fact, many companies offer life insurance to people age 80 and beyond. For older people, there are a variety of reasons life insurance makes sense:

Funeral expenses - Sometimes the family needs money to pay for funeral expenses and other costs related to death.

Estate taxes - Big estates have big taxes starting at 37% for estate assets over $675,000. Our recent bout of inflation may have pushed some people into the estate-tax bracket without them even realizing it. Life insurance when it resides in an irrevocable life insurance trust is outside of the estate and can be used to provide monies to pay for any estate tax liability.

Lifestyle maintenance - These days both spouses may work and when one dies the other may be left with a reduced income. The cash from the policy could be invested to produce an income stream that would help make up for the loss of the deceased spouse's salary.

Retirement Income - If you have the permanent (whole life) life insurance the asset grows tax deferred. By the time you retire you will have a nice cash value which you can turn into an annuity or simply put it in a money market fund for emergencies. If you don't have whole life but have term instead you can cash in other conservative assets such as CD's and purchase fixed income life insurance which covers your insurance needs and strengthens your financial base.

Finally there is an interesting new twist that some seniors are employing with their life insurance policies called Life Settlement. Essentially a senior sells his/her policy to a third party for a specified amount and the investor receives the pay out value when the person dies. There is a great deal of controversy about this practice so make sure you understand how it works and check with your attorney before you choose this option.

Visit us to learn more about Life Insurance For Old People.

http://www.bestquoteus.com/life-insurance-old.html

Profelis Aurata, the African Golen Cat is believed to be closely related to the Caracal and Serval, though it is often termed as the Leopard's Brother owing to the co-existence of the two cats in certain parts of their range. Body length is usually around two and a half feet with a longish one foot tail. Adults weigh between twenty to forty pounds and reach a shoulder height of around one and a half feet. Males are larger overall.

Coloration of the African Golden Cat varies across its range from reddish brown to silver gray. Melanistic variants have also been recorded. It is even suggested that the fur may change color in a single individual over time and external influences. Head and body are often spotted whereas the underside is usually white. Tail is lined at its origin and ends in a black or brown tip. Head and ears are small and rounded. Legs are longish with somewhat oversized paws.

Strong and secretive felines, the African Golden Cats are crepascular in their activity profile. They often spend the day resting in tree branches. Hunting is primarily through the stalk and ambush method. Small animals including rodents, tree hydraxes and birds are usually taken, though reports of the cat preying on small antelopes, monkeys and hog have also emerged. In areas where human settlements are next to national parks, domestic livestock and poultry are also reported to be consumed by the cats.

Residing in parts of Central and West Africa, the cats seem to prefer tropical rainforests with dense undergrowth. Two subspecies are recognized, based upon the African Golden Cat's distribution:

Profelis Aurata Aurata - Uganda to Congo

Profelis Aurata Celidogaster - West Africa

Little is known about the exact behaviour patterns of the African Golden Cat owing to its reclusive lifestyle and limited research on it. Still it is believed to be a largely solitary feline. Males are thought to take an active part in parenting though. Gestation period is around two and a half months after which one to three kittens are born. The young grow quickly and gain maturity at one and a half years of age.

Even though not much is understood about the numbers in the wild of the African Golden Cat, the cat is classified as vulnerable.

The author is a blogger about cats and an expert on African Golden Cat