The beautiful agios konstantinos

Agios Konstantinos is a destination situated within central Greece, within the region of Attica, to the north of Cape Sounion, and at about 50 kilometers from the southern side of Athens. This spot, also known as Konstandinos or Ayios Konstandino, was formerly called Kamariza and then Maronia in ancient times. Those tourists who visit this region of Greece should try to stop at this place and enjoy its beautiful environment since it would allow them to relax and renew their energies.

Agios Konstantinos has a very small amount of inhabitants spread throughout its territory. This destination is very appealing and interesting due to its general characteristics, the landscapes it offers, the life style of its inhabitants, the natural elements it has, the amazing landscapes surrounded by mountains, and several other reasons which cause it to be a unique spot.

The municipality of Agios Konstantinos counts with an important amount of mountains in such a way that it is surrounded by mountainous landscapes at each one of its borders. Besides these mountains and rocks, this spot also counts with important extensions of grasslands and beautiful green areas in which tourists can breathe amazing fresh air and observe beautiful landscapes.

The economy of Agios Konstantinos is mainly based on agriculture, mineral rock derivates and farm products. This spot shows many agricultural plantations and farms spread throughout its entire territory and which provide it with a very special and charming appearance. Traditions and country side life style predominate in this area in such a way that visitors could meet many of the same cultural aspects it had centuries ago.

The municipality of Agios Konstantinos is also famous by the mineral rocks that can be found in it. This area is rich in mineral rocks such as chalcoalumite, austinite, adamite, and azurite among others. These minerals can be found at some points in Agios Konstantinos as well as towards Lavrio, an interesting neighboring town. Those tourists whovisit Lavrio should always try to meet Agios Konstantinos as well and relax surrounded by a very attractive natural environment which combines mountains, green areas, and traditions in a very peculiar way.

Didn t mean to beat a dead horse - a startling look at the crust of the earth

“E., ick, who would drink a Dead Horse beer anyway?” our guest turned her nose up and eyed me with suspicion. Her skepticism caught me, and I had to laugh. I really hadn’t thought much about it as the Dead Horse Ale from the Moab Brewery provided the right taste for the moment and I had enjoyed that taste for a couple of years now.

I didn’t want to belabor the discussion, beating a dead horse about brews, as major world political issues had to be resolved within a matter of hours, over plates of steaming spaghetti back up a mountain canyon on a cold Montana winter evening. Still, our little extended family gathered around the table had to know that the host didn’t just have a twisted outlook and a penchant for brew from dead horses. I hate to leave that impression.

Finding this label and ale flavor on the shelves in Missoula, Montana had evoked memories from the murky distant past of a Christmas jaunt in the Moab, Utah area years ago. We had no idea where we were headed as we left Moab that Utah winter morning after Christmas. My wife, brother, my parents and I followed my older brother and his family as they sped away in their car, heading north of Moab up the canyon, and headed off on a bumpy back road to the west.

We drove, and we drove, out there into the middle of this dry, dusty desert country. To our delight, there were marvels as we rounded turns driving up the draws on our race across the desert. passing a small canyon above the road we could see the upper canyon wall, a sheer arched out red rock face carved and sculpted by wind and water over the centuries. At another point we stopped to take a walk/climb across a massive, carved, rounded, rock face stretching up and back to almost form a small mountain of red rock on the desert landscape.

Then the desert flattened out and we raced along, heading west on a run that seemed to go on for hundreds of miles to somewhere on the distant horizon. Then a turn to the south and the run continued this day after Christmas. We speculated that older brother had it with family over the holiday and was leading us out to lose us in the middle of nowhere.

Surprise and astonishment - the two-car caravan came to an abrupt halt at a rail, people piled out of cars, and the incredible vista suddenly opened out before and below us. Surprise and astonishment barely encompassed our reactions as we stood out on Dead Horse Point. A straight down drop-off lie at our feet, with the Colorado River winding through the Canyonlands National Park 2000 feet below us. The view out here “in the middle of nowhere” was unbelievable, stretching out in a 270 degree panorama before us.

Thousands of years of winds, the mighty Colorado River and countless other streams and rivers had carved a landscape beyond parallel. Red cliff peninsulas and islands, and deep canyons led off in all directions. The surface of planet Earth in a place like this is truly a wonder. It takes a moment like this, a panoramic view out across the landscape with hundreds of square miles of extreme and varied terrain to really bring it all home.

We stood on a level plain that ran behind us to the horizon. In front of us the level plain had been carved 2000 feet down into canyons, crevices, streambeds and river beds. To the east, the other side of Moab, rising from the canyons and crevices, the La Sal Mountains rose above the plain we stood on. This particular day they stood tall and shined, blanketed with a fresh winter snowfall on the forested ridges and peaks “up there”. The contrasting layers of the earth’s crust were on graphic display.

The smallness of our existence in the Cosmic Order or on a planetary scale immediately comes to mind as we drink in the Dead Horse Point of view. The little band of extended family huddled against the chill winter winds of that high desert region - three generations from Mom and Pop to we three brothers and wives, to the children of our older brother. The 70 year span of our existences was a speck in the massive timescale that was laid out before us, carving down through the crust of the planet.

Maybe the Cosmic Forces didn’t create mankind as a vehicle for recognizing and reveling in the wonders that abound on this planet. But we do it so well. We are wired to be awestruck, to stand in amazement at the phenomena that stretches out before us. And, we take with us those panoramic perspectives, those moments with family, and memories of multi-layers of the earth’s crust. They may help us shape the future directions that we go in forming the world we have some control over. Well, some of us anyway.

Then, years later when the option of having a Dead Horse Ale is questioned, the whole scope of that experience comes flooding back. It prompts another recounting of that fascinating experience out on the backroads of Utah. The broad sweeping wonders like that abound throughout the backroad country of Utah, southwestern Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. There are also some great places to stay, dynamite motels and hotels that put you right in the middle of those wonders along those routes, making exploration of the desert southwest a truly spectacular experience. More about that and an introductory guide to the adventures of the southwest can be found in the Utah-Montana Wilderness Tours component at the address: montanaadventure. com/out/state/us-ut. html. Savor the adventure of the desert southwest!

Why is dubai swarmed by celebrities

If you looked on the various news headlines emerging from the Middle East, you will notice a substantial shift taking place in the manner they have been reporting about this region as a whole. From various military coups to the stories of political vendetta; from gun totting hostage takers to the unnerving interpretation of Islam; and from the so-called lack of democratization to the non existent human rights, the Middle East has always had to bear the brunt of hostile news reporting. But, the emerging trade and commerce and tourism activities in Dubai are fundamentally changing this long held stereotyped interpretation of the Muslim world now.

Don't be surprised therefore, if the British footballer David Beckham and the Spice Girl Victoria are seen walking out of one of its famous five star hotels, or if the reigning formula one champion Michael Schumacher is spotted unwinding somewhere on its breathtaking shorelines. You will also come to notice some very famous names from the corporate world making regular rounds of this famous city. From top cine stars to sports celebrities and from the multi-billion empire holders to the average holiday making freaks, all are increasingly being seen on Dubai's soil these days. This in itself, speaks a lot of how dramatically the world's vision of the Middle East has transformed.

The next round of Dubai Tennis Championships to be held in February and March 2007 will be another treat for the tennis lovers and the media managers both. Names like the William sisters - Serena and Venus and Andre Agassi have played on this venue and enthralled the audiences in the recent past. Equally reported have had been the events like a friendly match organized between Andre Agassi and Roger Federer on the helipad of Burj Al Arab hotel. Tennis balls kept falling down inside the Arabian sea as the two players proceeded with some of their favourite strokes. Not too behind was Tiger Woods who made use of the same helipad for his golf practice. Woods was in Dubai to take part in the Dubai Desert Classic and couldn't resist the temptation of practicing on such a breathtaking height.

If the celebrity spotting has become one of the new trends in Dubai's social life, then so is the emerging competition among the hotel owners for making the best out of this pulsating market. They are making all efforts, like building of more niche hotels, to cap this upscale clientele. This means exclusively targeting the business travellers and the multimillionaires from across the globe. Apart from Dubai, Lebanon and Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt have also been trying to raise their stakes. However, the former is well ahead in the race involving these three.

Dubai's desire of opening its borers to the outside world has been well received and reciprocated by the latter. As a result we are witnessing the very fundamental image of the Middle East taking a new turn in the global environment. By allowing so many expatriates on its soil, Dubai has made its friendly intentions clear. Expatriates will continue on playing a crucial role in the local economy, hence making the exchange of the Arabian peninsula with the outside world stronger. It speaks of a pleasing scenario, which will continue to get on more shades with each passing day.

Total emersion in lisbon portugal

If you go sightseeing and do the typical tourism around the city, you will learn a lot about Lisbon history, hear the fascinating story of the earthquake in 1755 and see the effects of this disaterous events even though many beautiful and interesting monumentsstill remain. But for someone who has done similar sightseeing of this city and others around it like Porto, Fatima, Faro and Albufeira, there is another important part of Lisbon Portugal where you can also learn its history, past and present. Let us dive into the juicy world of wine and its history.

Lisbon Portugal and its wines

On the ourskirts of Lisbon there are four grape growing regions. To the west, just a little north of Estoril is the region called Carcavelos. This wine, like many other wines in Lisbon, got its good reputation thanks to the alliance with the English. It is a wine with a full-bodied flavour with an after taste of nuts, from moderately to semi-sweet. Colares, going towards the northeast, makes some of the most unusal wines around. The city is found between the hills of Sintra to the east and the Atlantic beaches to the west. The variety of the grape used, a small dark blue one, is grown in the sands of the Atlantic Ocean. As you can imagine, the process is a very arduous one because the roots must be planted in the Mesozoic layer of clay. Thanks to this thick and protective type of land, the grapevines that are used today survived the great plague which hit Europe in 1870. Therefore, the plants and wines are just as they were a hundred years ago. See how much history you can learn ! These wines are half-bodied and leave your mouth with a concentrated flavour. For a more finer and fragranced bouquet, a cleaner and drier flavour although with a slight marked acidity, go for a Bucelas wine. These vineyards are about 25 kilometers northeast of Lisbon, being grown on the clay hillside and in the ground near the valley of the River Trancao. The majority of these wines are young ones and do not spend much time in barrels but are very popular among other countires of the European Community. So, it is up to the traveller to find a goos aged Bucelas. One that has spent quite a few years in Brazilian oak barrels before it has been bottled, making it have a fruitful and more exotic flavour. The aged ones are considered to be among the best white wines in Portugal.

Courtesy Of Oporto

The Portuguese wines are world famous thanks to the oporto wine from Porto, their eminent embassador which has been made since 1830 with the collaboration of the British. With a long and fascinating history, the oporto wine has won its place among other great sweet wines like sauternes, tokai and madeira. it is a reinforced wine whose grapes have been cultivated in the mountainous and rugged terrain of the High Duero. It can be either white or red, although it is the red wine which has been given fame. When a wine is said to be reinforced, it means that the natural conversion of the sugars in the grapes i alcohol have been stopped at a determined moment when the addition of Portuguese grape liqueur has been added. This addition increases the alcoholic concentration between 15 and 24 percent, making it an energetic and moderately sweet wine.

Flying from Lisbon to Madeira

Even if you are not used to drinking many different wines, you cannot help but to have heard about Madeira wine through good friends, at a meeting or on the television. From the 16th century, the island of madeira was frequented by sailors making their long journeys to the new world and used Madeira as a stop-over, to relax in its paradisical atmosphere and, why not, drink its national product. There are four types of wine: Sercial which is the driest, pale in colour with a light body and drunk with an appetizer. Verdelho is a medium dry wine also used for appetizers or with soups. Malmsey wine is the richest with its full-bodied twang, sweet and therefore best with desserts. And lastly is Bual with a smokey savour, medium-bodied and slightly sweet so it would go best with desserts or cheeses. Madeira wine is aged in barrels anywhere from three to sixteen years so that they can be classified on the labels as vintage. Vintage wines are only made from the most select grapes and therefore the weather also plays an important role in each years quality.

And after having done the wine route, flying on down to the most southern region to Faro or Albufeira to soak up some rays laying on the terraces of some of the best hotels as the weather is usually quite nice many months of the year. Or visit the nearby town of tavira, one of the oldest and most enchanting one in the Algarve region, just a stone throw away from Lisbon, Portugal.

Travel to ireland celtic lore and pub camaraderie

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The signature rolling green pastures of Ireland's landscape is enough to resuscitate the weary traveler back to life with calming beauty and refreshing hospitality. From strange stone formations to thousand-year-old churches, Ireland's countryside is a patchwork of some of the most intriguing remnants of a unique but turbulent history, not to mention the sprinkling of jubilantly jolly pubs that will have you singing folk songs with a signature Irish dark ale in your hand in no time.

Most fascinating of Irish travel is the evidence of ancient Celtic civilization and their Viking invaders in the form of stone circles, monoliths and mounds. Burial mounds, known as Court Cairns and Tumuli, can be found all over the countryside. One such ruin in the Silvermines Mountains has lost its covering over time and the many stone chambers inside are now visible. The most impressive stone circle is The Lios in Limerick, which dates back to 2000 BCE and is given a distinctly eerie feel by the area's abundant overgrowth and crooked trees. The giant circle is 150 feet in diameter and attached to a long stone-lined path that leads to two other smaller circles in the area.

Location, Location, Location
Part of the magic of Ireland is that booking a 5 star hotel can turn out to be the equivalent of residing in the King's quarters of a 300 year old castle. The Ashford Castle in County Mayo is one such place where guests may fine tune their equestrian skills in the countryside, pick up a few games of tennis or enjoy full spa services. There is no question that Ireland's countryside is best enjoyed from one of the many castles or bed & breakfasts. When you travel to Ireland, a visit should be paid to Leap Castle, but not an overnight one, as it has earned the fame of being the most haunted castle in Europe. Discover the strange and gruesome 400-year history of this tormented mansion and its "Bloody Chapel."

After leaving the haunted halls, soak in some classic Irish scenery to settle your stomach by ascending the trails of Mount Brandon. Far below, the longest stretch of sandy beach in Ireland comes in and out of view and high up in the mountains you will encounter steep cliffs that drop down to a lake-filled valley. The surrounding Dingle Peninsula is home to two picturesque seaside villages nestled against the rising peaks overlooking Brandon Bay. Another coastal adventure not to be missed is the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. These dramatically plunging sea cliffs are heavily visited and therefore best enjoyed in the evening while the sun is setting on the water and the waves of the Atlantic are crashing thunderously into the rocks below.

Not All Enya
Ireland has long been pushing the envelope of modern music and culture. An Irish vacation is not complete without experiencing Dublin's revolutionary rock scene or residing in Galway to find out what's new in jazz, literature and art during one of the many festivals held from February through August. Remember, this lovely Celtic island happens to be the home of U2, The Cranberries and Van Morrison. For more information, visit cfares. com, your source for cheap airfare on the web.