When people decide to leave the comforts of their home and venture to other locations there is usually a reason behind it. Whether the cause to travel was a last minute whimsy or had an actual purpose, it makes one think about all of the reasons why people travel. Reflect on the last time you left your location and ventured to another one. Did it have a purpose behind it? Let’s look and see if your motive to travel matched any of the one’s listed below. These are not listed in any particular order.

1. Romance- There are thousands of people who are involved in long distance relationships. At some point though, they need to see each other. For the sake of love, people will travel for hours to spend as much time as they can with the love of their life.

2. Relaxation- All work and no play is not a good thing. People need to get away from the stress of everyday life, and a nice sunny location with a beach might just be what the doctor ordered.

3. Family/ Friends -Many people have family/friends that are located in different parts of the world. They need to visit with them even if it’s for a short period of time.

4. Religion- There are places in the world that hold religious importance for many people. Religious travel is often related to a purpose such as seeing where the last pope was buried, or traveling to the town where Jesus was born.

5. Death- A relative, friend or acquaintance has passed away and travel is required to attend the funeral which is located out of town.

6. Honeymoon- You’re getting married and are going somewhere special to celebrate. This usually occurs right after the wedding, but there are many occasions where people celebrate a honeymoon years later.

7. Education-You’re getting your education somewhere other than where you live or you are going away on an educational school trip.

8. Celebration- Wedding, Anniversary, Birthday, Birth- There’s always something to celebrate and it doesn’t always happen where you live.

9. Medical/Health- Sometimes the treatment you need isn’t available in the city/town where you live. Often the best medical care is costly and requires travel to receive it.

10. Work- Job requirements might mean a fair bit of travel is involved. Even if the travel is within your own country it still has a purpose attached to it.

Overall, traveling can be a wonderful experience or it can be draining, expensive and just plain torture. Nonetheless if you need to go then embrace it for what it is, and try to make the best of it even if it wasn’t planned.

You’re planning a much needed getaway to the coast and have made reservations in a charming beach community just off the coast of Washington. It’s great because it’s been ages since you’ve gotten away and you’re well overdue for some serious “me” time.

You’ve thought about the possibilities of taking your dog with you on your weekend getaway but aren’t certain if it would be easier to leave him in a kennel for a few days, hire a teenager to pal around with him while you’re gone or just pack him up and take him along for the ride. After all, he is your best little buddy and would truly enjoy those lovely long runs on the beach.

Many people choose to travel with their pets. Be sure to contact the reservations desk to inquire if they are pet friendly prior to arrival. Often times, the establishment will charge a minimal pet fee to cover any additional cleaning that is necessary when a pet has stayed in the room.

The following are some things you’ll want to consider when taking your pet with you on a trip:

- Keep your pet on a leash.

- Bring a “pooper scooper”.

- Ask the front desk if there is a designated area for you to take your pet for potty breaks.

- Male dogs should not be allowed to potty on the plants as it destroys the life of the plant.

- Upon leaving the room, place your pet in a kennel to provide a safe environment for the housekeeping staff who will be entering your room to provide service.

- Placing a blanket on any surface your pet is on will greatly assist the clean up upon departure. Dog or cat hair is very difficult to get out of couches and bedding.

- Some dogs whine when they are in an unfamiliar environment. This makes it tough on your neighbors when you are gone. If you have a pet who misses you and speaks his mind, please take him with you.

You and your pooch will have a blast at the beach! Bring a frisbee or his favorite ball to play catch and enjoy hours of playtime.

Sabrina Coffin moved to the Washington Coast with her husband in 1996 to escape the busy Southern California lifestyle and raise their family in a rural community filled with history and adventure. They manage a family owned and operated resort in the small town of Ocean Park. Located on 5 beautifully landscaped acres, right on the coast, you and your family are certain to enjoy the many activities on the peninsula. To discover more about their family friendly

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Before you begin to make plans to travel, please consider your dog’s personality. There are dogs that may honestly be too difficult to travel with. Does your best friend bark all the time? It may not bother you, but it might bother someone staying in the next room. If you have a dog that gets into mischief too easily, any damage to a hotel room will probably end up on your credit card! If your buddy has a nervous bladder, will he wake you up at night to tell you it’s time to take a potty break? These are all considerations before planning your trip. Take a step back and give an honest evaluation to traveling with your pet dog. There are pets that would be better to stay at home, but you are the best judge of that.

Once you have made the decision that pet would enjoy a restful night in a dog friendly hotel, then it’s time to plan ahead. Before you find hotels that allow dogs, you need to consider what to pack. The amount of dog items that you bring may be determined by not only how long you will be gone, but also where you are going and how you are getting there. Just like people, if you are flying, you will want to keep your pet’s needs to a minimum. If you are driving, you can get away with bringing a few extra toys or treats.

Begin by looking at the length of your trip. Let’s say you are leaving on a Friday afternoon and returning Sunday night, and you are traveling by car. If possible, try to bring enough dog food and treats for at least 2 to 3 days more than your dog will likely eat. This may sound like a lot, but if your dog eats 2 cups of food per day, take 4 cups more than you need. This is a safety net in case something spills, gets wet, drops, etc. A couple of extra treats to reward good travel manners is a nice touch too. Make sure that you bring along a portable water bowl and water while you travel, for plenty of drinks along the way and when water is not readily available. Providing bottled water during the trip may reduce the chance of an upset tummy!

Traveling can be stressful, so remember to bring your friend’s favorite toys. If your dog likes to chew, remember the rawhide or chew toys to avoid the furniture or car interior! Bring a pet brush and a travel pack of pet bath wipes, in case a messy situation turns up. If possible, bring along the dog bed, and if you can’t, then consider where your pet will sleep. If your pet takes daily vitamins or medications, bring twice as many as you expect to use, so you have a safety net. If it is time to apply the topical flea treatment or take the monthly heart worm pill, then be sure to bring them along as well.

Once you find the hotel that you will stay at, do a search on the internet to find any retailers in that area that carry pet products, including the brand of food your pet eats. If you were flying to your destination, you could also bring a small amount of food and buy a bag at your destination for your trip. Bring along the phone number of your vet, and try to find the phone numbers of a vet or two and any emergency pet hospitals, again in the area of where you will be staying. Lastly, make sure that your dog’s vaccinations are up to date and take along any paperwork and things like rabies tags or dog licenses to avoid any hassle or controversy.

Thankfully, we now have search engines to find specific information and websites to offer special prices on hotel stays and vacations. Please visit our website for a Free Search Engine to search dog friendly hotels across the country. It is located on the lower left of the site at the pet hotels link.

• The more specific your needs, the sooner you need to start looking. There are lots of two bedroom cottages to let in the Peak District; there are far fewer two bedroom cottages with two bathrooms, central heating that accept dogs
• Make a list of what’s important to you – and then prioritize. This might include what you specifically want (for example, a ground floor bedroom) or, equally important, what you might want to avoid, such as other people’s children or cottages that accept dogs. You’ll make better decisions when you know what you’re looking for
• You also want to consider important local events that occur throughout the year. For example, during the Buxton Opera Festival (July), The Bakewell Show (early August) or The Tissington Well Dressings (May), quality accommodation in these specific areas can be almost impossible to find. Local Tourist Information Centres should be able to help you out with what’s on when.
• Do you want to stay in one of the many lovely Peak District villages such as Hartington or Eyam or do you prefer the busier market town of Bakewell? The seclusion of the dramatic Staffordshire Moorlands might be just what you’re looking for. Consider your preferred location and incorporate the locality into your search criteria: so, for example, type in ‘holiday cottage near Matlock’ rather than just ‘cottages in the Peak District’
• There are a number of general Peak District listings website, and they often appear first on the search engine results. If you find a cottage on one of these sites which appeals to you, take the time to find the property’s own website! It’s usually the most accurate reflection of the property itself – and the owner. If there’s a link to the owner’s own website, use it. If not, type the property name directly in to your search engine
• Beware night storage heaters! Many cottage properties in the Peak District are old farm buildings that have been converted and look idyllic. But even with meter thick stone walls, you can end up feeling like there’s nothing between you and the North Pole. Bear in mind that temperatures here can be several degrees colder that at home – especially from November to April. It’s really useful to check out there’s good quality heating and insulation if creature comforts are important to you – another reason to make more direct contact with the cottage owner.

If you live in a city like New York where everything seems to be fast-paced, it’s definitely refreshing to be away from it all once in a while. But not everyone can afford to buy lush homes by the beach so what’s the next best thing? How about buying an old cottage in a quiet suburb, or having one built for your family?

Why It Pays to Purchase Small Cottages

First, let’s take a quick look at the numerous benefits of either buying an old cottage or building a new one for your family. One the things that you will enjoy most about having small cottages is the fact that they can be built almost anywhere. If you are the outdoorsy type and you often get away to the suburbs or the country to commune with nature, a small cottage is the perfect place for you to own. Again, you have the option of either buying an existing cottage which adds to its appeal, or you can have a new one built. It can be somewhere near the beach, a lake or a forest – somewhere that you can get away from it all.

Second, cottages which are built in idyllic locations usually have a spectacular view of nature. Be it the soothing sound of a brook that you’re after or a great view of the mountains, the existing small cottages that you can buy will usually give you a lush scenery when you look out the window.

Third, small cottages make for the perfect escape venue because they are at home right in the wilderness. So if you’re looking forward to spending some quality time with yourself or with a loved one, the intimacy of a small cottage lends the perfect atmosphere for relaxation. Depending on where the cottage is located, you can either go swimming, fishing, hunting or simply watch the sunrise or sunset.

Cottages are Practical, Functional and Beautiful

The primary reasons why cottages make for the perfect vacation homes is that they are practical, functional and beautiful. This type of vacation home is practical to build or buy because of its sheer size. Depending on the available space and budget that you have, you can either have a one- or two-bedroom cottage which only has the most basic living amenities and features.

Cottages are functional in the sense that they can either serve as a full home if you are living alone. Or, if you are looking for somewhere that you can get away for an intimate weekend getaway trip, a cottage in the woods is the perfect place to be.

Finally, cottages are practical in the sense that they are inexpensive to maintain. So even if you are just visiting the cottage during weekends or on a bi-monthly or monthly basis, it would not cost you anything extra. In fact, you can even earn some extra funds by renting out your cottage to vacationers when you do not feel like using it.

For those who are looking for small cottages to buy, go online and checkout the listed vacation homes in the area that you are planning to spend most of your vacations in. When you go to a weekend trip somewhere, you can simply ask the locals if they know of a cottage which is being held for sale by the owner. Or, you can simply choose a location and build your own or have one built for you!

Whether you live in a condominium unit, loft, apartment or house – you need to make sure that it has all the modern living amenities that you need. Does the same thing hold true for vacation cottages? Partly, because when you have a vacation cottage, you want to make sure that it is equipped with the basics as well.

However, the space limitations of cottages allow for only the most basic living amenities to be installed – although it does not mean that the atmosphere should be less homey. Here, we will take a look at how you can turn a cottage into a comfy haven by dishing out decorating tips for you.

Why It Pays to Maintain Vacation Cottages in the First Place

First, let us take a look at the benefits of maintaining a vacation cottage. When you’re living a fast-paced life in the city, it pays to get away from it all once in a while. Sure, you can fly off to an exotic destination somewhere – but it’s much cheaper and more convenient to maintain a vacation cottage in the woods, near a beach, by a brook or in a suburban area where you can enjoy some quiet time by yourself or by your family.

Aside from the fact that maintaining a vacation cottage is much cheaper than planning vacations overseas, you can even make the cottage pay for itself by renting it out to tourists when you’re not using it.

Things to Keep in Mind when Decorating Your Cottage

Now, what are the things that you need to keep in mind when decorating your cottage? You naturally would like it to have that homey look – but without all the knickknacks that you can store at home. Take a look at the following decorating ideas for your vacation cottage:

1. Decorate your vacation cottage based on where it is located.
As mentioned earlier, there are several possibilities of where your cottage home can be located. If it is near the beach, make sure that the colors used in decorating are bright and lends an airiness to the room.

2. Keep the clutter to a minimum.
The main difference between a typical home and a vacation home is the size. By keeping the clutter to a minimum, you can make the living area look more spacious.

3. Choose your furniture in such a way that the cottage would look bigger and airier.
It is also important to choose your furniture to make the interior of the cottage look bigger and airier. Cottage homes usually have low ceilings and smaller rooms – so cramming it with huge furniture pieces would make the place look cramped and uncomfortable.

4. Let your imagination run wild!
Finally, the one thing that you need to remember is there is no one set rule that you should follow when decorating your vacation home – unless you are planning to regularly rent it out to other vacationers. Allow your personality to stand out when choosing the color scheme, decors and theme of the interior of your vacation home.

All in all, you should decorate your cottage in such a way that it can be turned into a homey, cosy, warm and peaceful haven where you can escape to so that you can recharge and feel refreshed before facing another week in your hectic city life.

The Costa Blanca north is a great place to book a beachfront villa rental Spain or Spanish apartments for rent for a fantastic summer holiday. The Costa Blanca north is a slightly less developed area of Spain due to the fact that large scale tourism tends to be centred around the Costa Blanca south and the Costa del Sol. This area offers a diverse mix of long, sandy beaches, stunning mountains and lush valleys, picturesque ‘white villages’, modern resorts, great golf and water sports facilities, fiestas, ancient churches, not to mention wonderful food and wine. All of this just a couple of hours travel from the UK. Let’s look at some of the places to book villa or apartment holiday rentals Spain on the Costa Blanca north from the owners direct Spain.

Alicante

Alicante is one of the most well-known towns along the Costa Blanca and is the starting point for thousands of tourists who visit this coast every year. Many visitors arrive at Alicante Airport and then go straight to their beachfront villa rental Spain or Spanish apartments for rent at one of the beachfront holiday resorts and never see anything of the city. If you get a chance to linger there are plenty of things to see and do. There are many historical buildings around the city, cathedrals and churches to visit and of course you can enjoy a relaxing stroll around the wonderful harbour area. Alicante also has some good beaches including Mucho Vista and Playa San Juan.

Benidorm

Until the 1960’s Benidorm was a quiet fishing village, but today it is very well known in Europe and thousands of visitors flock here every year and book a beachfront villa rental Spain or apartment holiday rentals Spain. One of the reasons is that Benidorm has attractions to suit all age groups from teenagers to families with young children and Pensioners. In the summer the majority of visitors are in the 18-30 age group looking for some fun in the sun whilst the low season is appealing to older couples who want to escape the gloomy north European winter weather. The resort has three Blue Flag beaches, a good range of night-time entertainment, many bars, restaurants and discos and a theme park on the edge of town.

Denia

Denia is located about 100km from Alicante and is a cosmopolitan town with all year round sunny weather and is a lovely spot to book your beachfront villa rental Spain or Spanish apartments for rent. The town is overlooked by Mount Montgo and surrounded by the beautiful Mount Montgo Natural Park. The castle in the centre of Denia dates from the 11th Century and was originally built by the Moors during the Arab Conquest. The town has an important harbour where you can catch a ferry to the Balearic Islands such as Ibiza.

Moraira

Moraira is a small, picturesque town and due to strict planning laws is still very pretty and not over-developed. If you booked a self-catering beachfront villa rental Spain or apartment holiday rentals Spain here you will find a good selection of restaurants and bars beside the pretty yacht marina where you can sit outside and watch the world go by. The town also has its own wide, gently-shelving sandy beach with shallow waters which has been awarded the EEC Blue Flag for cleanliness and is safe for family bathing.

Booking From The Owners Direct

So if any of these fantastic resorts on the Costa Blanca north appeal to you, and you decide to book a beachfront villa rental Spain from the owners direct don’t forget to arrange some travel insurance before you go. You would be amazed at how many people just take out the bare minimum insurance or even no insurance at all. If you are not sure what you need, consult a reputable insurance broker who can advise you of the policies available and recommend the right one for your particular circumstances.

I wasn’t expecting a view of the Marquis de Sade’s chateau from my terrace. But then, his neighbours weren’t expecting someone who would violate community standards by violating the community!

No Expectations

What I was hoping for, (not expecting), was a quiet WARM refuge for the Winter. To continue these scribbles, and work on “The Film.” What was to eventually morph into “Bicycle Gourmet’s “Treasures of France.”

BG Scores

Once again, luckier than smart, I met a Dutch Woman who was ga-ga for “The Arts,” and had a vacant gite. So, as she was terminal “arts n’ crafts”, and I was a terminal artist – the die was quickly cast.

This, dear reader, was a big score. For a number of reasons. Within the Luberon National Park(ie -heart of provence, but minus the “action”) off road, wild(as in untended Cherry trees(Bings, I might add) left, right, and center -  equally wild, and plentiful salad goodies on and around my “atelier”, one of the best caves in the region, 100 metres away, and ringed by  hilltop villages.

Beauty and Disappointment

Bonnieux, to the left(and UP, bien sur), Gordes, (further left and equally up) Lacoste (Former home of the Marquis (behind.) Sadly, like so many things in life that are exquisitely beautiful at a distance, (often at night) the Marquis’ “tough love” palace(in daylight) was a dogs breakfast of authentically old, inauthentically “enchanced.” Exuding all the charm of a burnt brick.

Lacostes’ major claim to (provencal, at least) fame – is an annual Summer Classical Music festival presented by Pierre”designing is my drug” Cardin. Otherwise, it’s yer basic ancient, hilltop village with a view of the Luberon plains.  Curiously, tucked into it’s moldy chic-ness is a Frence outpost of the Savannah(as in Georgia,USA) College of Art. (And you thought French people had an accent!)

The village of Menerbes (past Lacoste, heading toward Cavaillon) has long been a classic hang-out for artists, renegades and other assorted deadbeats without a real job.Peter Mayles, the noted English scribbler was in residence there, until he pissed off the locals by making them the butt of his literary humor, and was forced to shift to Lourmarin. On the other side of the Mountain.

Waaaaay back….when he was looking into his crystal ball,(and when was he not?) Nostradamus proclaimed: “Menerbes floats on a sea of vines.”Menerbes has only one main street, and severely limited parking. works for me. Howsabout you?

THROW  ME  A  BONE  HERE  PEOPLE!

What are ya thinking?

Christopher Strong is the Creator/Director/Host of the Lifestyle/Adventure TV Series – “Bicycle Gourmet’s Treasures of France”, and author of “Gliding to the Bonheur.” His behind the scenes story of the “Bicycle Gourmet experience.”

There are a lot of considerations when exchanging currency internationally. Whether or not to exchange cash or rely on credit cards? Should you withdraw money from an ATM abroad or ask for a bank withdrawal? Today, I would like to focus on exchanging cash currency abroad, and there is one incredibly important, yet easy-to-forget step in exchanging your currency: inspecting the bills!

It is incredibly easy to overlook a slightly damaged banknote, namely because, unless they are mutilated beyond recognition, damaged banknotes are generally still legal tender in their home countries.

The situation changes drastically overseas. In many countries, bureaus de change and even banks themselves will not accept banknotes or bills that have any kind of damage at all. Rips, tears, stains and sometimes even wrinkles (though less so) can be cause for rejection of the bill or refusal to change it.

Case in point: in preparation for my most recent trip abroad, I withdrew a rather large sum of cash from my bank account, as I prefer to carry cash and exchange it abroad than incur the fees associated with using my credit/debit cards internationally. In a frenzy of packing fervor, I failed to look at each bill carefully.

Now, I am stuck with one gimp $50 bill that has a small tear off one of its corners! While no one would bat an eye at this bill in the US, abroad it is a totally different story. I even tried to use the bill as payment for a service in the US Embassy and they refused it, as well!

The moral of the story: when withdrawing cash to be exchanged abroad, always, always inspect each bill carefully before you leave the country. If there are any questionable bills with stains, tears or bad wrinkles, ask your bank at home to exchange them for crisper or newer bills (which they should do, no questions asked)!

At the end of the seventies Jonathan Raban wandered across the Middle East. Arabia was the book he wrote after impressionistic visits to Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and, briefly, Lebanon. Paradoxically, the book starts and finishes in London, because it was there that questions about Arab identity and culture arose in the author’s mind.

In Earls Court the author muses on the question, “Who are the Arabs?” At the time in common prejudice they had a reputation for association with terrorism, being fundamentally religious and having uncountable wealth. So it seems that times have not changed that much…

So Jonathan Raban resolved to find out for himself. Unlike most authors of travelogues, however, Jonathan Raban saw his first task as learning the language and, as a result of this laudable approach, Arabia is perhaps more of an achievement than it otherwise might have been.

In a nutshell, he found Bahrain seedy and Qatar rich but built in a scrap-yard. Abu Dhabi was new and squeaky clean, eager to impress, while Dubai seemed to be populated by business sharks, opportunistic, pragmatic but obsessively driven and eager to excel. All Yemenis appeared to be overactive dwarves on a spending spree. Egypt was big and scruffy, and Jordan was like Switzerland with parties.

You will gather immediately that Arabia is not an in-depth study of Arab culture, society or indeed anything else. Its pages are heavily populated with stories of expatriates, the sort of people who might be eager to talk over a drink in a bar. Though he quotes Thesiger, Jonathan Raban seems to have neither the inclination nor the means to follow the explorer into the desert. This is not a criticism. He also quotes Alice, but does not venture into wonderland. But there again, perhaps he does precisely that, especially in Abu Dhabi.

Thirty years later, a casual visitor to the places Jonathan Raban frequented might have similar impressions, except the places and the associated reactions would all be much bigger. Bahrain’s planned causeway was built and at weekends there are even more Saudis doing what Saudis do at weekends. Abu Dhabi is vastly more splendid, and Dubai is still trying to be the tallest, biggest, the best in something measurable and sellable. Jordan may well be significantly poorer than the country Jonathan Raban found. It seems he may have found it difficult to escape the swish diplomatic and international resident areas, and he never made it to Wadi Rum or Petra, so didn’t even have a tourist experience to relate. I have never been to Yemen or Egypt, so I cannot comment on them.

One thing that always comes across in Jonathan Raban’s work is a willingness to engage with people, very often over a whisky! And, though Arabia might only make a very light scratch across the surface of its subject, its focus on individual vignettes makes it a highly entertaining and engaging read. The region is no doubt still host to many others like them. The book is also mildly informative. And, on a weekend where debates rage on the proposed construction of a mosque in New York, it is interesting to reflect how little attitudes towards the book’s subject seem to have changed.