Eaton Centre in Toronto

Until the company’s bankruptcy in 1999 Eaton’s was a beloved Canadian institution in retail stores and catalog stores. But today the name remains as Toronto’s premier shopping mall. the amazing centre features over 300 stores with just about everything imaginable on sale and also houses some pretty good restaurants cafes and hours of enjoyment for all. The focal point of the centre is a magnificent fountain which shoots water over 30 metres into the air, and the 265 metre long glass galleria gives the centre a airy and spacious feeling all year round. The Bay or Hudson Bay is the centre’s largest department store and has floors and floors of merchandise- they even have a gallery where you can see 400 of the finest examples of Canadian Art a must for any art lover. Be sure to visit the Labyrinth- here the paths of the Chartes Cathedral in France have been reproduced- they are quiet stunning. The centre is so huge there are colour coded signs so you know what direction you are heading- red sends you south, orange to the west, Blue to the north and yellow heads you easterly- a great idea for those direction challenged. Read the rest of this entry »

US Intrepid

The Intrepid was a United States Navy aircraft carrier which was built for World War II, and later served in Vietnam and was even used to recover spacecraft of the Mercury and Gemini programs. Today the mighty vessel is the centre attraction Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. In the last weeks the museum has been given a $120 million refit and reopened after 2 years of work at Pier 86 on New York’s west side. The deck of the Intrepid is home to many significant aircraft which have served the Air Force and Navy over the last century including quiet a few fighter jets and even a supersonic bomber. The Intrepid was also home to one of dozen Concordes in the world. The Concorde is currently off site and in need of some repairs after damage and it is hoped that it will be on display at the museum soon.

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The Hoover Dam

About 30 miles from Las Vegas on the border of Nevada and Arizona you will find the massive Hoover Dam Hydroelectric Powerstation holding back Lake Mead. Completed in 1935 it was the largest electric power station and largest concrete structure in the world. with enough concrete to pave a two lane highway from New York to San Francisco. Tours of the power station are available daily where visitors can see and hear first hand the amazing engineering and construction feats accomplished to build this mighty structure. The power generated serves not only the glittery lights of Las Vegas but much of Arizona, Nevada and most of Southern California. Interestingly the power station dosn’t store power it just generates what is needed at the time.

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Mercedes Benz Museum

Stuttgart’s Mercedes Benz Museum is probably the best automotive museum in the world with over 160 vehicles all magnificently displayed in a building designed by UNStudio who also designed the New Zealand Te Papa Museum, which can only be described as art. There are over 16500 square metres of exhibition space with some of the world’s finest examples of Mercedes Benz automobiles. The exhibition starts at the top floor and works it’s way down spiral ramps to the bottom with giant showcases of vehicles on all levels. Amongst it’s huge collection are cars, buses, trucks from all eras of the Mercedes Benz timeline all shining like jewelery in the beautiful displays. One highlight is the Gallery of Celebrities where visitors can get up close to the Popemobile, movie and music stars cars and even a Mercedes owned by Princess Diana.

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Cooktown- Far North Queensland

In June 1770 His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour in the charge of Captain Cook limped into a safe harbor on Australia’s vast Cape York Peninsula after reef damage, this harbor was to become Cooktown. Cooktown today is the northernmost town of the east coast of Australia being around 300 km north of Cairns and home to about 1600 people. The town grew to over 7000 during the gold rush in the 1870’s and during the 1940’s was an important base for the Second World War with some 20,000 Australian and American troops based around the township playing important roles in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Today the town is a popular tourist destination with the Lakefield National Park and Great Barrier Reef in easy reach and with the road now sealed from Cairns to Cooktown many more people are enjoying the laid back charm of this lovely tropical town. Cooktown is also an important a service centre for the residents in the remote regions of the far north.

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Tasty Samosas

We think it must be a slow news day at Reuters after reading this story about a Dutch couple who paid around $200 US for a plate of 4 samosas in India. Apparently the food seller tried to pull a fast one on them by telling the couple they were “special samosas”, now we are pretty sure these guys were not the first to be overcharged in India but it is a pretty funny story considering samosas normally cost around a buck each. Alls well that ends well, as the tourists got their money back after complaining to the police. Have you got your own horror of being ripped off while travelling? Or do you know of any good scams to avoid? Hit up our comment form below as we will be featuring a “popular tourist scams to avoid” series soon. Also if you now got the taste for some Indian Samosas check out our recipe on our sister site wokme.com, we promise they are cheap to make and wont give you Delhi belly.

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Smetana Museum

The Smetana Museum or Muzeum Bedricha Smetany is a Prague Museum dedicated to the great Czech composer Bedrich Smetana who died in 1884. It has prime position on the beautiful Vltava river in Old Town right next to the Charles Bridge. Before 1936 the lovely Renaissance building was home to the Prague Water Company and now houses many of Smetan’s possessions including music stands, letters and even his ear bone. He is best known for his symphonic poem Vltava (also known as The Moldau from the German), his tomb can also be visited at the VyÅ¡ehrad cemetery in the grounds of VyÅ¡ehrad Castle.

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Air Force One

Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States who had 8 years in office between 1981 and 1989. Regan was in office during some huge changes in the world including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. His legacy is remembered in a magnificent library and museum in the ruggered Simi Valley about an hour of of Los Angeles in California. Here visitors can recal the life of a Hollywood movie star who became the most powerful man on Earth. As well as learning about this man you can see many of the gifts and artifacts which were part of his life, you can visit a recration of the White House’s Oval Office which has actual furniture and artifacts from his time as president. Probably the most amazing item in the museum is Airforce One, the actual 707 which was used by Regan and many other President’s as their “Flying White House”. For those after a refreshment there is also the Ronald Regan Pub which is a pub that Regan drank at on a visit to Ireland which has been shifted to California. Regan died a few years back and he is also burried at the library overlooking the valley. Read the rest of this entry »

Port Discovery DisneySea Tokyo

Like Tommorowland at Disneyland Port Discovery is Tokyo’s Disneysea’s look into the future. With a very flash Jules Verne inspired retro futuristic theme this place is a lot of fun with it’s two major attractions. The Stormrider is a simulator style ride which puts the rider in the eye of a huge storm experiencing wind and turbulence while the Aquatopia ride is a randomly steered hovercraft like vehicle which zooms around a shallow lake with lots of squirts and fun, you can choose to get soaked or stay fairly dry. Read the rest of this entry »

Navy Pier Chicago

Stretching 1010 metres onto Lake Michigan in Chicago is Navy Pier one of the city’s entertainment precincts. Packed with cafes, restaurants, theatres amusments and the Children’s museum Navy Pier is a popular destination especially on sunny weekends. The pier dates back to 1914 when it was built for freighters but today it is a tourist precinct being home to many of the city’s tourist craft and a huge meeting place. The pier was transformed in the early 1990’s and has undergone some major changes including the addition of a 46 m Ferris wheel and Imax, there are even plans afoot to give the pier a multi million dollar makeover with roller coaster, floating hotel, monorail and an even bigger Ferris wheel built around a huge water park. Read the rest of this entry »