1. Mall of America, Minneapolis

Almost everyone has heard of the Mall of America, but many people have yet to experience it. This 520+ store behemoth is the grand-daddy of all shopping malls. Literally everything you could possibly think of is available for sale at the Mall of America. Obviously due to the massive tourism industry surrounding the Mall, prices are fairly high. However, for most people, the experience is well worth the price. If you can’t afford to drop much money, visiting the Mall of America can still be very fun, even if you only go for a day. There are so many activities and things to see that you will find it hard to get bored.

2. Madison Avenue, NYC

Though there are many hot places to shop in the NYC, some of the most legendary and prestigious stores are headquartered on Madison Avenue. Many of the worlds best designers, such as Dior, Armani, Prada, Ralph Lauren, and others have stores on this well-known street. If you do go to New York, be sure to check out Fifth Ave as well, where you will find Tifanny’s, Saks, and other must-see stores.

3. Las Vegas, Nevada

Though Las Vegas is known primarily for it’s gambling, there are a lot of shopping destinations near the Strip. This is mainly because when people win money they want to spend it, so high-end stores locate themselves as close to casinos as possible. Visit Las Vegas to see legendary stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstroms, and much, much more. Whether you’re a gambler or not, shopping in Vegas can be very enjoyable.

Antigua also has a fascinating history and was once an important colonial base for the British Empire, with
the Royal Navy operating strategic Head Quarters out of English Harbour, and the remains of this impressive
naval past can be seen in the historic Nelson’s Dockyard and the old quarters and forts of Georgian Harbour.
You can also see the remains of the great sugar empire that was once run out of the Caribbean on Antigua,
and old plantations and mills are dotted around the islands.

Antigua beaches are many and are wonderful

In modern times Antigua is an independent country, and English Harbour is famous for its sailing facilities,
with the Antigua Yacht Show and Antigua Sailing Week being two of the highlights of the international
yachting and sailing community’s annual calendar, and over 30,000 visitors come here every year just for the
wonderful sailing alone in the winter months. The main bulk of Antigua’s wealth now comes from tourism and
with duty free shopping, year round sunshine and beautiful tropical surroundings this really is a lovely
destination with lots to offer visitors.

Language
Mainly because of its colonial past and huge influx of Western tourists the main language on the island is
English, but you will also find Spanish spoken in many of the smaller villages and towns.

Sailing in Antigua is a must do if you are there

Currency
The currency of Antigua is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (E.C.), but as with many Caribbean islands the US
dollar is also welcome in most shops and restaurants. There are plenty of ATMs in the main towns and ABIB
and Scotia both have banks near the Heritage Quay in St Johns.

Top Souvenir Ideas
If you are looking for some great souvenirs to take home for both yourself and your friends and family then
check out Antigua’s many shops and stores which sell a huge range of local crafts, hand made clothing,
contemporary Caribbean art, pottery and much more. The local market in St Johns on Saturday is also a
great place for a bargain and it takes place at the junction of Market Street, Valley Road and All Saints Road.

Antigua Harbor by the capital St John

Getting Around
One of the easiest ways for day trippers to get around the island is by taxis, and there are plenty available
just outside the Heritage Quay, and it is best to negotiate a fare to your destination before you set off. You
can also rent cars from leading international companies such as Avis, Hertz and Dollar in St Johns. If you
have not already arranged a tour around the island with your cruise operator then Island Safari offer half day
excursions around the lush tropical forest and hills of the island for very reasonable prices.

Things to Do
There are lots of things to see and do in Antigua and some top activities include:
* Jabberwock Beach – this beach has a number of water sports but is a particular favorite for kite
surfing and you ca take lessons and hire equipment here, or just sit back and watch the energetic
acrobatics of others in the water.
* Betty’s Hope – this 17th Century Sugar Plantation has been restored, and here you can see the
unique heritage of the sugar trade at work, as the plantation is a ‘living museum’ with fully working
mill machinery on display, and fascinating exhibits including maps, pictures and plans.

How to Enter:
Entry is easy if you have a facebook account already.
You just have to join their facebook fan club. More details.

Competition Closing Date:
25th December 2009

Win:
Up for grabs in the latest free to enter comp from Comet is a 2 night break to Disneyland Resort Paris for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids aged 3 to 11). You will be travelling standard class on return Eurostar direct to Disneyland Resort Paris from London St Pancras International or Ashford International. The prize includes accommodation for two nights in a standard room at a Disneyland Resort Hotel including continental breakfast and park hopper adult and child tickets to both Disney Parks for the duration of your stay

How to Enter:
Just sign up for the Comet newsletter :
http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/advice/849/Disney-Newsletter

Competition Closing Date:
17th December 2009

1. Leave yourself plenty of time

Especially when flying during a busy time of the year, it’s vital that you leave yourself with enough time to get wherever you need to be. If you’re unsure of how much time you will need, give yourself way more than seems necessary. It’s always better to have extra time than to be late.

2. Carry local currency

If you’re going to a foreign country, be sure to stock up on the local currency and carry a decent amount when you’re out and about. Even though most places will accept US money, you never know when you’re going to need local currency. Also, try to exchange the funds before you leave, as you will usually get a better exchange rate.

3. Plan out your days

While having an overall plan for your vacation is pretty much a necessity, planning individual days is also a great idea. Figure out what you want to do while you’re vacactioning, and do some research before hand and find out just how you’re going to do that. If you want to be proficient you can even look up directions from your hotel to wherever you will be going and print it out ahead of time. If you’re the kind of person that likes spontaneity, then skip this step and just “go with the flow” so to speak.

Tourists and locals enjoy their day at The Green House, a cannabis cafe in downtown Amsterdam

Virtually everywhere you go in Amsterdam you will see what locals and tourists call “Cannabis Cafe’s”. These coffee shops serve all the usuals – mocha’s, latte’s, americano’s, and one unique product – marijuana. You can buy it in many forms, including joints, baked goods, or just in its natural state. Whether you’ve smoked marijuana before or not, Amsterdam can be a very exciting place to visit.

Contrary to popular opinion, legal marijuana is not the only reason to visit Amsterdam. The city is the capital of the Netherlands, and one of the largest cities in Europe. Tourism is booming in the Amsterdamn area (there were over 3.6 million foreign visitors in 2009 alone), so there is a lot of funding going towards the improvement of the town and surrounding areas. This means that you, the tourist, get to enjoy all the sights, smells, and tastes of this wonderful city, whether you choose to indulge in cannabis or not.

Regardless of your stance on marijuana consumption, there is no arguing that Amsterdam is a beautiful, fun city. There are so many sights too see and places to visit that you could literally spend a week just wandering around, and still be far from seeing everything interesting. In fact, Amsterdam is widely considered to be one of the most scenic places in Europe by many people.

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone apps at the iTunes store, and a fraction of those are travel applications designed to appeal to travelers of all ages and types. No matter where you are in the world – an iPhone travel app can help you have more fun and discover more about the city or country you are visiting. Which apps are the most useful though, and which are really worth your time?

AroundMe is an app that gathers GPS information from your exact location, then tells you where nearby locations are. This is extremely useful if you are lost in a huge city, or on a desolate road to nowhere in Australia. AroundMe can pinpoint locations and directions for banks, gas stations, restaurants, stores, and more.

Gate Maps is an app that doesn’t sound terribly impressive, but it works well if you are in a massive airpoirt in a foreign country. This app minimizes frustration and confusion by helping you catch your flight on time without soaking your clothes with sweat.

HearPlanet is an ingenious money saver when museum hopping. It costs $5.99 from the iPhone app store, but it reads Wikipedia descriptions to you! If you walk by a historical street – and it has a Wikipedia article – it will read everything there is to know about it directly to you. So how does it save money? You never need to pay for a tour guide again. There are plenty of other self guided tour apps for the iPhone, but this one is the by far one of the best!

Say Where is another great app, that is absolutely free. You simply tell the phone where you need to be and it helps you get there. This is extremely useful for big city traveling especially if you are on foot or bike. You can switch to an input mode if the area is too loud for the iPhone to understand your babble.

LingoLook Flashcards is different from other iPhone apps. This innovative application doesn’t require an internet connection! It is used to help you communicate in a foreign country so you know what you are eating, or what disasters you may be getting yourself into. It can say the phrase out loud to the person you are talking to so you don’t embarrass yourself. However, most people seem to think it’s amusing to have a cell phone talk to the waiter or store owner instead.

Sit or Squat is the kind of app you might laugh at initially, but it’s actually really useful when traveling abroad or in your own home state or country. Basically, it tells you where you can find free bathrooms. In addition there are user reviews of those bathrooms so you know if they are clean or filthy. This app is a great way to beat catching a weird disease from a toilet seat! Oh, and it’s free too.
These 6 apps don’t cover all of the great travel apps out there, but they are a marvelous way to navigate in a place you have never been and are either cheap or free!

San Francisco is a city of culture, lively neighborhoods, shopping malls, and beautiful year round weather. There is an estimated population of nearly 1 million people, making San Francisco the 12th most populated city in the country. The San Francisco Bay area actually has over 7 million residents. That’s more than the state of New Mexico has in the entire state! This city is more than people though, because there are tons of delicious eateries – one being Ike’s Place, a creative sandwich shop.

Ike’s Place was opened in 2007, so it is still a fairly new establishment. The owner wanted to create a fabulous sandwich shop made with fine ingredients and a friendly atmosphere. The shop opened on Halloween that year, and has been packed every day since opening. Word of mouth quickly spread, and the shop now has several awards and well over 1,000 reviews on the online review center, YELP!

What else makes Ike’s Place so unique? The bread you order your sandwich on is made fresh to order. Most shops and franchises bake the bread late at night or before the store opens in the AM. Even worse, some stores don’t even bake their bread, they receive it in shipments so its already a few days old when you receive it.

Ike’s Place is unlike other sandwich shops in the United States. Subway and Quizno’s have limited options, while Ike’s has endless choices for every taste bud and picky eater out there. Meat lovers, vegetarians, and even vegans can find something delectable at this San Fran eatery. It’s so popular (only 2 years in the making!) that it was featured on Man vs. Food!

So what can you get on your sandwiches here? Well to begin with, you can choose from nearly every meat. Turkey, chicken, ham, beef, and steak slices, fish, and shrimp! These meats come prepared in a variety of ways whether it’s grilled, roasted, baked, broiled, or steamed. You can get thick slices or thin slices, or in between slices. The cheese options are a gourmet cheese lovers heaven – and there are plenty of those. Cheddar, gouda, American, pepper jack, swiss, and plenty more where those came from. In fact, there are over 100 pre-designed combinations of sandwiches such as the Ex-Boyfriend, and plenty of other combos you can make yourself!

For vegheads, Ike’s Place is a smorgasbord of delicious vegan meats made from tofu and vegetables. There are vegan beef patties, chicken patties, and more. You can even choose from soy cheese and every vegetable under the sun. The best part is that the vegan dishes are no more expensive than the regular meat loaded ones! It’s a win win for every one!

Ike’s Place is definitely worth visiting if you are in San Francisco for a vacation, or even if you want to take a vacation just to eat there! With all of the options available, it is definitely a culinary delight.

Comfort Inn, Dunn
The Comfort Inn at Dunn is on Bud Hawkins Road and about 30 miles away from Fort Bragg, and is just few miles from the General William C Lee Airborne Museum and several golf courses. There hotel has many amenities including an outdoor swimming pool, room service, wheelchair access and family rooms and breakfast is included. A room with King Bed costs from just $89 USD per night and comes with air conditioning and cable TV.

Hampton Inn Hotel, Dunn
This hotel is just off the I-95 and close to more than seven stunning North Carolina golf courses and so is ideal for visitors who want to practise their game. This is also a great area for other outdoor sports such as hiking, fishing and biking and the North Carolina Hills are a haven for native plants, birds and other wildlife. Also nearby is the General William C Lee Airborne Museum and there are a wide variety of shops and restaurants within a short drive. The Hampton Inn offers some excellent amenities including 120 guest rooms, onsite fitness centre, pool, laundry service and high speed Internet access. This hotel also has a number of facilities for business travellers including meeting rooms, printing services, audio visual equipment rental, fax and express mail. You can get a King Bed room in the Hampton Inn Hotel costs from around $119 per night and this comes with cable television, radio alarm clock and private bathrooms.

Holiday Inn Express, Dunn
The Holiday Inn Express is located conveniently just off of I-95 and Hwy 421 and is close to Raleigh, Fayetteville, Selma and Lillington. There are a number of facilities for business travellers including wireless Internet access, fax, computer, printer and a medium size meeting room that can seat up to 25 attendees. Rooms come equipped with hospitality benefits such as refrigerators and microwaves, and so is ideal for guests that intend a longer stay, and there is also an onsite health and fitness centre and laundry services. A room with King Bed is available from just $80.99 per night and this includes cable TV and a complimentary breakfast.

The Cheese Trail is roughly 280 miles or about 450 kilometers. Aside from cheese, you will definitely enjoy the colors of the foliage. Here’s how you should go about it:

Plymouth Notch
Calvin Coolidge was born in Plymouth Notch in 1872, and this will be your starting point. The whole village is declared a historic site by the state. You can also see the house of John Coolidge where he administered the oath of office to his son who took the presidency after the death of President Harding. You can grab some candy and toys from the general store in the 1920’s home of the Collidge.

Plymouth
Look for the Frog City Cheese at the cheese factory of the Coolidge. The Plymouth cheese is known to use the old recipe from the old books of the Coolidge making them very creamy and very moist. You can call it the old-fashioned cheese with the cheesemakers using 50-year old equipment to turn cow’s milk to cheese that will age for 4 to about 24 months.

East Warren
After Plymouth, drive north following the Route 100 to the East Warren. You will find the Three Shepherds of the Mad River Valley along the Roxbury Mountain Road. The local cheese maker uses sheep’s and cow’s milk to give their clients the best feta. They also have varieties like the hard Montagne and the soft cheese Cosmos. They also offer cheese-making courses in certain months of the year. Enjoy the view while you picnic with cheese, fruits, and fresh breads.

Middlebury
Drive carefully on the hairpins of Lincoln Gap as you go down the Champlain Valley. Go north on Route 7 and you will head straight to Middlebury. Check out the Storm Café near Otter Creek. There is also the craft center where you can shop for some souvenirs.

Shelburne Farms
The Shelburne Farms makes one of the best cheddars in Vermont. The old home turned into a education and agricultural center can show guests the art of cheddaring— slabs of cheese put on top of another to press out the whey. You can also take a guided tour of the farm or stay overnight at the Inn.

While at the farm, make sure to visit the Shelburne Museum which houses a vast collection of artifacts of Native Americans and folk art. You will be impressed with the old carriages, toys, and paintings from the early 19th century.

Milton
From the Shelburne Farms you will pass by Burlington where you can see a big aquarium representing the animal life in Lake Champlain. You can then head to Milton about 15 miles from Burlington. Here, cheese producers use cow and sheep milk to make 9 varieties of cheese. Go for the creamy Blue Moon and other varieties ranging from aged, rind style, and soft cheeses.

Highgate
Visit the Green Mountain Blue Cheese and see how they make cheeses the low-tech way. Handmade equipment help them produce the Boucher Blue, tangy gorgonzola, and Swiss-style cheese. You can ask the store owner for the details of their products, but if she is not around, you can pick your cheese and just leave the fee on top of their fridge.

Websterville
You will go through I-89 and drive by Barre where you can take the Rock Ages tour, a display of skill as workers separate 25 tons of granite using torches and explosives. You can end the Cheese Trail at Websterville at the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company. Here, they make use of milk supplied by local farms and make the best chevre. They also produce mascarpone and butter using the milk from their herds.

Here is a helpful map for your road trip http://www.vtcheese.com/cheesetrail.htm