Here's a trip that James Bond wouldn't have the time for. But if you do, your Bond girl will never forget it. "She'll be catching her breath for six months."
Start in Orlando for a few days at DisneyWorld and get a hotel near "Downtown Disney" or at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Then take AmTrak from there overnight to Philadelphia.
From the Philadelphia train station rent a car (with a navigational system) and drive to Atlantic City to sea the boardwalk, the Atlantic and gamble a little. There's not too much else to do besides gamble and eat, so after 3 hours head off to Lancaster county to see the Amish locations via a tour that leaves the visitor's center.
Next drive southwest passing through the Gettysburg civil war battle field and monuments. Drive through Tennessee ending up in Memphis. Stay at "Heartbreak Hotel" (small, but convenient) and tour Elvis' Graceland. Go down to Dallas and visit the book depository museum were JFK was shot and "JFK" was filmed. Stay at the North Dallas Hilton next to the Galaria Mall.
Next, head to Albuquerque and stay at the Sheraton Old Town Hotel. Shop and eat at old town. Don't miss the "Rattlesnake Museum". Small, but creepy.
Then it's up to Monument Valley where the only place to stay is Gouldings Lodge. Drive to the visitor's center where you can hire a Native American to take you by jeep to see the sights. But I prefer to use my own car and enjoy the sights on my own.
Next drive down to the Grand Canyon and stay at one of the rim hotels as mentioned before. Then down to Flagstaff and back track 30 miles to see the Meteor Crater. Yes, it's just a big whole, but it also has an interesting museum and there's a Subway sandwich shop there for a quick bite.
On to Las Vegas by driving over the Hoover Dam, where you can take a 20 minute interior dam tour and ride the paddle boat on the very blue Lake Mead for some "Planet of the Apes" type scenery. It looks similar to the Lake Powell location where Heston crash landed his spaceship.
From Vegas, stop over a few minutes at the California stateline and see the "Bonnie and Clyde Car" at the Primm Casino Mall. Be forewarned, it's not the movie car. It's the real thing, as is Clyde's death shirt. There's a Fashion Outlet mall there, for your girl to shop and you can ride "The Desperado", which premiered in 1994 as the worlds tallest, steepest and longest steel coaster.
Next, hit the Los Angeles attractions. Stay at the Disney Pier Hotel. See Disney's two parks, Knott's Berry Farm, and the Movieland Wax Museum. Then stay a night at the Universal Hilton and visit the studio attractions.
After surviving the Jurasic Park dinosaurs, drive North toward San Francisco, stopping at the small Scandinavian town of Solvang for some quick eating, shopping, and gambling (at the Chumash Indian Casino).
Next stop is Monterey where you can sleep at the Doubletree Hotel next to Fisherman's Warph and go whale watching the next morning. Just 15 minutes from there is Carmel. Park and walk down Ocean Ave to see the shops and end up at the beach. Then back up to your car and on to Santa Cruz to ride the Giant Dipper at the Beach Boardwalk. Find the Bazookas that shoot baseballs at targets and blast a few.
From there it's 90 minutes to San Francisco. Stay at the Fisherman's Warph Hilton for a few days. Don't miss the 45 minute bay cruise, the cliff house, and Chinatown. The "motorized cable car" tours near the pier have great 90 minute and 3 hour tours. After that turn in your rental car at the airport and fly home, knowing you surpassed any trip James Bond has been on.
You can do this trip in sections or in one long glorious adventure. If you need more detailed suggestions, email me via my web site.
| ©2005 Paul Kyriazi. All rights reserved. |
Costa Rica is a small country - just 75 mi/120 km separates the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean Sea at the narrowest spot - Costa Rica still has some of the most diverse scenery in the world. Its coasts have both sandy beaches and marshy swamps, while its interior is dotted with volcanoes, dense with rain forests and abundant with unusual flora.
When you are planning your Costa Rica vacation, make sure to visit destinations like Monteverde Cloud Forest, Corcovado National Park, Tortuguero National Park or Manuel Antonio National Park. In addition, you will enjoy in your Costa Rica vacation, a
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High spirits and vitality govern in abundance when in Barcelona. This infectious capital of Catalonia, and second largest city in Spain, exudes soul and energy, living life to the full. Barcelona's verve is matched by its magnificent architecture, characterised by one man's signature, Antonio Gaudi.
Running from seafront through to Placa de Catalunya, Las Ramblas is a fusion of market stalls and street entertainment. Watch out for the mime artists, though keep a hand on your wallet.
In progress since 1882, La Sagrada Familia is perhaps Antonio Gaudi's most magnificent achievement. As yet
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One of the most used departure ports for cruise ships in the Caribbean is San Juan in Puerto Rico. We decided to arrive a day early to San Juan in order to see some sights before our cruise ship departure.
San Juan, known as 'La Ciudad Amurallada' (the
walled city), was founded in 1521 and is the oldest city under
the US flag. During the 16th century, the Spanish used it as a
point of departure for expeditions to the New World.
Fortifications in the Old San Juan section of the city repulsed
numerous attacks from the English and the Dutch during those
years. Today, Old San Juan is a
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One can get a taste of old Europe right in North America when
visiting Québec City in Canada. Québec City is the capital of the
province of Québec. It can be easily reached by a short flight
from points in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.
It is a three hour drive from Montreal. The high season is the
summer when visitors from all over the world visit. Recently, the
number of tourists from the United States and Europe has
increased dramatically. This may be partly due to the fact that
even some cruise ships originating from eastern US ports are now
including Québec City as a port
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Ooops. Oh those engineers. When they reconstructed the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas in 1980, they inadvertently created a unique ECO-TOURISM DESTINATION, and an experience not available many places in the world. The bridge was evidently the perfect roosting place for bats and now houses the largest urban bat colony in North America. Yes, not only does Texas have the Alamo, it's very batty! The largest bat colony in the world is also near San Antonio (about 60 miles from Austin).
Who knew?
A huge colony roosts under this bridge in downtown Austin, and when they egress of a summer night
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