Travel-4Less

Sydney Airport Guide is another superb post from: Europe & Beyond a holiday travel blog

Sydney – Guide to Sydney Airport (SYD)

Sydney (Kingsford Smith) airport is Australia’s busiest airport and main international gateway, situated on the northern shoreline of Botany Bay.

The airport offers a decent range of shops, restaurants, cafés and bars, plus leisure facilities such as children’s play areas and a pampering salon. A major expansion and upgrade project is currently underway, however, which will see Sydney airport’s facilities improve even further.

Flights from the UK to Sydney

Flights from the UK  to Sydney take about 23 hours. Flights from the UK to Sydney are operated by many international airlines including British Airways, Qantas and Etihad. Many of the flights to Australia depart from London Heathrow, but there are also flights  from regional UK airports such as Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Wherever you fly from in the UK Sydney is only a day away.

Location and layout

Sydney Airport is located 6 miles south of Sydney in the suburb of Mascot and has three passenger terminals: Terminal 1, 2 and 3. Terminal 1 is known as the ‘International Terminal’, and an underground ‘Airport Link’ connects the International and Domestic terminals.

Getting from the airport to central Sydney

Trains, buses and taxis are available to get you from the airport into the city centre. Trains from the airport reach Sydney Town Hall in about 13 minutes. By road, the journey takes about 30 minutes.

The State Transit Website at www.131500.com.au has useful information about the various public transport options, including a trip planner providing you with detailed information on how to get to the city centre.

Facilities

When it comes to shopping, Sydney Airport offers more than 150 retail and service outlets, including duty-free, beauty salons, hairdressers, a wine shop, a popular MAC cosmetics shop, an Australian produce shop, international and Australian fashion stores, and a range of speciality boutique shops. This means you can browse and buy the latest electronic gadgets, music, games, books, clothing and accessories, and Australian souvenirs and gifts. For more information on shopping at the airport, visit www.sydneyairportshopping.com.au

Once you’re done shopping, if you still have some spare time on your hands you could pamper yourself at Body Inc. with a massage, a facial or a manicure – and they also offer hairdressing, waxing and body treatments.

On a more practical level, you’ll find Bureaux de change and ATMs in all terminals, plus postal services at Australia Post Shop (Departures level 2) and a post office (in the International Terminal). Internet terminals are available throughout the airport, as well as a public Wi-Fi network throughout both the International Terminal (Terminal 1) and the Domestic Terminal (Terminal 2).

Other useful airport facilities include a medical centre (T1 International Terminal), a pharmacy (Departures area), free showers (both Departures and Arrivals areas of the T1 International Terminal), a prayer room (T1 International Terminal), and children’s activity centres (T1 International Terminal).

Eating and drinking

The airport offers a decent range of restaurants, bars and cafés serving food and drinks, including Australian and international cuisine.

For a quick snack, there are take-away places such as Subway for sandwiches, and McDonald’s for burgers. There are healthier options such as Sumo Salad, bar snacks at places like Bondi Bar, and more substantial dishes at Australian and international restaurants including Nepalese cuisine at Jyona Beli and Italian at Prego trattoria.

Sydney airport hotels

If you need hotel accommodation nearby, there are several within a short distance that offer free or low-cost shuttle services to and from the airport. These include Ibis Hotel Sydney Airport, Airport Sydney International Inn, Holiday Inn Sydney Airport, and Stamford Sydney Airport Hotel, amongst others.

For more information about Sydney Airport (airport code: SYD), visit www.sydneyairport.com.au

London Hotels For All Needs is another superb post from: Europe & Beyond a holiday travel blog

London Hotels

Whatever your budget, there are hotels in London which will suit your needs, from budget chains and bed and breakfast hotels, all the way up to the luxury 5 star grand hotels and the famous names like Sanderson, Dorchester,  Langham and the Ritz.

Guest article from Sinxia

Now that the recession is over, London hotels are uniquely placed to experience strong growth. When the economy slows, hotels can be the first to feel the effects as companies cut back on travel and consumers cut back on spending. In a recession, Hotels may be seen as an avoidable expense. There have been recent setbacks to the travel and hotel industry in the city, with airport workers striking, and flights to London totally grounded to a halt due to natural events.

However, London hotels benefit from their unique position in the capital city. A worldwide centre for business, industry, trade and commerce. A port and airport and international travel hub. A venue for major sporting events. A tourist destination, and sightseeing city to rival any in the world. A centre for media, fashion, arts and culture. Venue for the 2012 Olympics.

Special offers as London hotels tempt business back

All of these things drive business to hotels in London, along with the local business of weddings, banqueting, parties and special events. Meetings and conferences. Reveue from bar and restaurant operations and food and beverage. The future looks optimistic for the hotels in London that have positioned themselves to take advantage of all the opportunities the return to growth will offer. While there’s a short term effect of things like strikes, tube fires, and natural disaters, life goes on and the business starts to return.

A visit to Turkey’s largest city can easily be centered on all the great foodstuffs Istanbul has to offer. Come with an appetite. Turkish cuisine combines influences from the Balkans, Middle East, and most recently the Ottoman Empire. It is incredibly fresh, simultaneously meat-centric and vegetarian friendly.

Istanbul offers many of the standards of the Turkish repertoire as well as some excellent high-end restaurants serving regional and international menus.

For many locals, breakfast is the most important and thus largest meal of the day. A typical weekday, early morning meal can consist of lighter fare such as bread, olives and tomatoes, served of course with tea, the beverage of choice throughout Turkey. A more substantial breakfast is normally offered on the weekend and includes a wider array of epicurean delights, to include: various cheeses, like grilled hellim and salty beyaz peynir; fresh vegetables, usually sliced cucumber, tomatoes and, olives; several types of bread; cured meats and sausages; flaky pastries, both sweet and savory; and kaymak, a rich clotted cream slathered with honey. Kahvalti, the Turkish word for breakfast, literally translates to “before coffee,” thus tea is consumed throughout the early meal and coffee is reserved for later in the day.

Meze is a selection of small dishes served either as appetizers or the main focus of a meal. Partaking in meze allows one to sample a large range of Turkish dishes. In Istanbul, meze might include the following items: cold eggplant salad; cacik, yogurt with garlic, mint, cucumber and dill; dolma, rice or meat stuffed vegetables; hummus; piyaz, white bean salad; shepherd’s salad, a classic combination of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green peppers and parsley dressed with lemon and olive oil; kisir, a dish of bulgur and tomato paste; and Çi köfte, raw meat mixed with bulgur wheat and spices; as well as the ubiquitous Turkish offering of olives and cheese.

Many visitors new to Turkish cuisine identify kebabs as the standard bearer of the country’s food scene. While better known skewered meat shish kebabs are certainly served in many restaurants, kebab in general refers to meat dishes, prepared in any number of ways – roasted, grilled, stewed, ground or fried. Lamb is the most common meat used in Turkish dishes. In addition to kebab, lamb can be served in a casserole, slowed cooked in a Tandir oven, or ground into meatballs or köfte. Many restaurants in Istanbul will offer typical meat dishes with beef or chicken.

Fish is quite prevalent in the Istanbul diet and throughout Turkey. It is offered grilled, fried, or steamed and most often served whole. A variety of sardine only found in Turkey is also a popular dish for meze, as are mussels stuffed with pilaf and fried calamari.

Though meat and fish comprise a large portion of the Istanbul diet, vegetable dishes are also found throughout the city. Eggplant, peppers, spinach, artichokes, tomatoes and onions are just some of the vegetables found in Turkish dishes. Fried eggplant, served warm or cold, with a yogurt sauce is a dish commonly found during the summertime.

Pastries are prominent throughout Istanbul and are often filled with either savory or sweet ingredients. Börek, the most common savory pastry, is made with thin layers of phyllo dough and stuffed with cheese, ground meat or vegetables. Baklava, a sweet pastry, comes in various forms but generally consists of layers of honey soaked phyllo dough studded with walnuts or pistachios. Kadayf is another common dessert, again made with phyllo, but this time shredded and filled with sweet cheese. The dessert scene in Istanbul moves beyond pastries and includes rice puddings, Turkish delight (a confection made from chopped dates and a variety of nuts), and marzipan, an almond-based confection. And, of course, these delicious delicacies are found throughout the tourist clogged Grand Bazzar. Desserts in Turkey are often enriched by the addition of such ingredients as rose water, pomegranate molasses, and spices, such as cinnamon and cardamom.

Istanbul boasts a rich street-food scene and some of the city’s best fare can be found by wandering around at night. Döner kebab is one of the most popular options. Countless vendors lure hungry patrons to their stalls with their vertical spits of roasting lamb meat. The marinated and crispy meat is sliced to order and dressed with sauce and sometimes cheese, then wrapped in thin Lavash bread, toasted again and served. Some stalls in Istanbul now serve chicken döner topped with shredded vegetables. The döner can be further customized with the addition of hot sauce. The kebab is a delicious, portable and inexpensive snack enjoyed throughout Istanbul. Another popular choice is islak hamburger, somewhere in between a burger and sloppy joe, it is ground meat doused in tomato sauce served between bread. This is the meal of choice for those pouring out of the discos in the wee hours of the morning. Other vendors roast chestnuts and entire ears of corn on small charcoal grills, both are delicious snack options especially during the colder months.

Tea is imbibed throughout the day in cafes as well as on the street. Street venders typically carry large, steel containers holding tea and other beverages. Black tea is the most popular variety among locals, while many tourists prefer herbal teas, especially elma çay, or apple tea. Many retail businesses will offer shoppers small glasses of tea as a sign of hospitality, while others serve stronger brews of Raki, an anise flavored liquor, to encourage consumerism. Other popular beverages in the city include: ayran, a salty yogurt drink served in most restaurants; kefir, made with grain and milk and often flavored with fruit juices; and the famous Turkish coffee, a thicker, stronger brew than other coffee cultures.  In addition to Raki, other alcoholic beverages include local lagers like Efes Pilsen and wines from various regions across Turkey.

While touring Istanbul and its many sites, take advantage of the many foods available, as this city offers some of the best cuisine in Europe and Central Asia.

Written by Morgen Young for EuropeUpClose.com

I’m reading a brilliant book at the moment about the cracking of the German Enigma code in World War II, so it made sense to visit Bletchley Park, which is the Buckinghamshire mansion cum secret military base where it was cracked.
I say secret military base but they say Government Code and Cypher School. At the peak of ‘the effort’ around 9,000 people worked at Bletchley – around 80% of them women. Many of the recruits were top students from Oxford and Cambridge, and any other ‘bright young things’ the army could dig up. At the end of all the excitement a lot of the equipment and the blue prints to produce it were destroyed, and the thousands of people who worked there all stayed silent about their contribution to the war – that was until the 1970s. Luckily a few key pieces were kept, including several Enigma machines.
At the beginning of the 90s the house was in the line of fire for redevelopment so a trust was set up who run it and the onsite museum. Once the museum was set up work was started on rebuilding some of the decoding devices including a bombe and a Colossus computer, both used to help crack enigma, and now on display for people like myself to marvel at – the bombe is a lot bigger than I imagined it would be. The grounds also house a Winston Churchill Exhibition and an exhibition on cinema which shows WW2 films on the original projectors.
The main building is a mix of Gothic, Tudor and Dutch Baroque, and provided much entertainment for the codebreakers. Interestingly Bletchley wasn’t actually owned by the government – Sir Hugh Sinclair, the head of MI6 and Director of Naval Intelligence during WW2 actually purchased the site when he founded the school because the government was unwilling to pay for it!
These days you can hire the building, so make sure you go on a day when it’s not being used so you can have a look around the main house. On Sundays there are tours.
 

Buenos Aires and Touring Argentina is another superb post from: Europe & Beyond a holiday travel blog

Keeping busy in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is usually the first stopover for tourists visiting Argentina as it is the capital and most important city in the country.

The main hub in Buenos Aires is Ministro Pistarini International Airport and it is the key gateway to the country. If you would like to travel to Argentina, book cheap flights to Buenos Aires to sightsee in the capital, then book low cost flights with Iberia to visit the natural beauties in the rest of Argentina.

Buenos Aires is located in the east of Argentina in the Pampa Region. It is a vibrant city with great restaurants, nightlife and lots of icons to please the tourist. Some of the most important tourist attractions in Buenos Aires are the cafes which line Avenida de Mayo, the cobblestoned streets of San Telmo, the Presidential Palace known as La Casa Rosada, Avenida 9 de Julio which is renowned for being one of the widest boulevards in the world and Cabildo.

Sightsee during the day and then head out for a meal at a Parrilla Argentina to sample some of the best meat you will ever taste. Having enjoyed a good meal, go and see a tango performance at Teatro Astral on Corrientes 1639. This is the best way to complete your stay in Buenos Aires.

We know that if we choose to eat in St Mark’s Square in Venice, close to Leicester Square in London or Times Square in New York, or along the Champs Elysees in Paris, we will be paying over the odds for the pleasure. For some the experience of sharing a meal in these famous locations is worthy of the premium.

If you do choose to indulge in this way there are some simple things to remember to protect yourself from paying too much. Here are a few tips to keep aware when eating in a tourist hotspot, and I’m sure there are plenty of tricks that others can add.

Tourist menu rip-offs

Beware the tourist menu, posted on the board outside and usually with an attractive headline price. Often the dishes look the same as on the a la carte menu, and the tourist menu price can seem a big saving on the individual dishes. When you order the meal from the tourist menu, the portions are typically smaller; the cuts of meat are often cheaper; and you get less accompanying fries or vegetables.

As a rule, if it’s cheaper there’s usually a good reason.

If a restaurant has a buffet and you fancy a la carte instead, check with the staff that you’re not automatically paying for the buffet. We had an unpleasant end to a meal in Key West where we declined the $45 buffet having eaten earlier and opted for a lighter meal.

When we pointed out the extra $90 on our bill the waiter refused to remove it, saying that the buffet was compulsory for all diners. Only the intervention of the manager solved the problem in our favour, and the waiter lost his tip for providing us with such a memorable ending to our meal.

Purchasing drinks advice

If you want tap water and it’s safe to drink, ask for it. In almost every country there is an obligation to provide it, however much the waiter might push you towards a bottle of the same stuff. If there is a sealed bottle of water placed on the table, expect to be charged for it, sometimes even if you don’t touch it.

This has happened to us and was only removed from the bill on protest. If ordering soft drinks, ask them to go easy on the ice. A common trick is to fill the glass with ice cubes leaving room for a tiny amount of soft drink, for which you’ll pay a hefty price. Less ice = more drink for your money.

Check the bill for extras

It’s often only when you ask for the bill that you see the extras that are added on. I was given a bill for €10 for two €1 soft drinks recently, because the waiter put a plate of nuts and a bottle of water on the table that we didn’t touch and added service and cover charges. If something gets put on your table that you don’t want (bread, olives, and nuts), tell the waiter and ask him to remove it; otherwise expect to pay for it.

Always check the bill carefully; don’t be shy about questioning any items that you’re not sure about. The mysterious cover charge, water, bread, various taxes, service charges (sometimes separately added for waiters and chefs), and even a space to add more at your discretion: I’ve seen all of these included on a bill in various combinations.

That $30 meal is suddenly closer to $50. If you’re vigilant and ask the questions, ‘mistakes’ are often quickly corrected. In a Bucharest restaurant I reduced a bill by 50% by sending it back three times to remove mysterious items that shouldn’t have been there.

Be on your guard in restaurants

By the very nature of a tourist restaurant the expectation is that you will only visit once. So it’s perhaps understandable that the management will focus on getting every extra cent from their customers, rather than trying to attract repeat business through quality service and food. If you choose to eat in such a place, it pays to be on your guard.

Andy Jarosz owns and edits the popular travel blog 501 Places, featuring stories from travels around the world and comments on travel related issues. He also writes regularly for BP in several of their corporate publications and is a freelance copywriter. You can follow Andy on Twitter and read his blog.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants Consumer Blog.

How to avoid rip-offs in tourist restaurants

Great Escapes – Spring travel to Europe from $236*

Explore many wonderful European cities, especially with their enchanting castles surrounded by flowers and trees with Lufthansa Airlines. Take advantage of these great offers and book your flight today. Don’t wait to plan your spring escape. Purchase by May 3, 2010.

Sample Fares:

New York to:
Amsterdam   from$297*
Copenhagen   from$263*
Dusseldorf   from$319*
Frankfurt/Main   from$319*
London   from$265*
Munich   from$319*
Paris   from$305*
Rome  from$296*

Chicago to:
Dusseldorf   from$375*
Munich   from$375*
Paris   from$297*

San Francisco to:
Frankfurt/Main   from$398*
London   from$324

Los Angeles to:
Barcelona   from$372*
Frankfurt/Main   from$390*
Geneva   from$411*
London  from$280*
Madrid   from$337*
Munich   from$353*
Rome   from$377*
Venice   from$376*
Vienna   from$545

Conditions for this offer

Purchase by: 05/03/2010
Departure period: 05/05/2010-05/13/2010
Return period: 05/05/2010-06/13/2010
Advance Purchase Period: 7 days
Fares are shown in U.S. dollars for Economy Class travel on Lufthansa, United or Continental.
Saturday night stay required and maximum stay is 1 month.
*Fares are one-way based on mid-week travel and round-trip purchase.
Weekend surcharges apply.
Date changes before and after departure: permitted at $250 per change.

For more information or to book

Contact your travel Agent or Lufthansa Airlines

*Fares are subject to change without notice and are based on the most direct routing to each destination. Additional transfers will increase the fare. Fares do not include applicable fees, taxes and airport charges up to $245, including the September 11th Security Fee of a maximum of $10 per round-trip. Additional baggage fees may apply. Seats are limited and may not be available on all days/flights. Tickets are non-refundable, non-endorsable, non-transferable and other restrictions may apply.

Very distinct in atmosphere and shoreline from its neighbors on the southern California coast near San Diego, the town of La Jolla has long attracted both the reclusive and introverted and the outgoing and exuberant.  Nothing provides a better metaphor for that polar human mix than La Jolla’s own local landscape and especially the La Jolla cove and its adjacent sea caves.  So, whether your journey is one seeking inner peace and meditation, or your life revolves around multi-sport adventuring, chances are you will find the kayaking at La Jolla a perfect reflection of some part of your inner or outer self.   Given the wave and current conditions on this stretch of the Pacific, the best way to explore by kayak is probably with a local outfitter that is very familiar with the entire region and has the knowledge about marine life to share along the way.  Hike Bike Kayak San Diego one such outfitter, providing all the equipment, expert guides and kayaks to get you around from their launching point at La Jolla Shores southward into La Jolla Cove and possibly the caves.  
Summertime is probably the optimum season for getting the chance to include a visit into the caves, which in any case is only recommended if you are fairly experienced as a paddler.  In any event, the real highlight of the entire trip is the opportunity to paddle through the La Jolla Ecological Reserve — a protected marine reserve since the Seventies where you frequently encounter various marine and bird inhabitants ranging from sea lions, harbor seals and dolphin species to brown pelicans, Brandt’s cormorants and Garibaldi.  Also likely to be pointed out by your guide in the waters hereabouts are leopard sharks, ray fish and various types of kelp and marine plants.  One other plus during the winter months is the likelihood of spotting some of the migrating grey whales on their seasonal route between Baja California and Alaska, but whatever time of year you paddle here, the impressive mass of the cliffs along La Jolla is always on display, and the fun return through the surf zone back to your starting point is an appropriate finishing touch to any southern California day of kayaking. 

The primary reasons for checking out Cavour 313 are a warm welcome, an overall sincerity and lack of pretension, a massive, 1000-bottle-plus wine list, and an awesome décor. The food is also good, but should be viewed as an afterthought to the wine. If you’re like me, this doesn’t pose a problem. It seems strange that the wine bar is famous for being the oldest enoteca (wine bar) operating in Rome; this fact isn’t particularly relevant. Unlike the truly ancient Coliseum, which is just down the street from the wine bar, Cavour 313 only opened in 1979. The atmosphere and personality are what make this place worth visiting.

When we entered we were greeted by a big man with a long, black beard. He stood behind the bar and, after welcoming us, flagged a waiter who brought us to our table. We didn’t have reservations, and this was almost to our detriment: the restaurant was nearly full. I suggest making reservations before you visit by calling the number on their web site.

The wine establishment’s interior is long and narrow and we walked past some incredible, original wood work. My father was once a wooden boat builder and fine wood work has always caught my eye. The deep, grainy color of the finely polished wood was contrasted with hundreds of carefully placed wine bottles. In the center of the rear room, where we were seated, a wooden structure composed of thin-lathe cubes climbs up through the ceiling. It is here that you can catch just a glimpse of the extensive wine storage that must consume the second floor of the building.

Cavour 313 wasn’t offering an extensive list of wines by the glass–maybe six or seven in total–but those that they did offer were well-chosen: Valpolicella, Brunello di Montelcino, Nero D’Avola, and Refosco were all included. All the wines were priced at four euro a glass, except the Brunello di Montelcino, which cost eight euro. The Brunello’s price seemed fair since it was 2004; a good vintage. We ordered two glasses.

Over the Brunello we scoped out the heavy menu. Strangely, few dishes were offered. Cavour 313 is definitely not a good destination for diners looking for a complete dinner. If you’re looking to snack, however, and you want an impressive collection of antipasti designed specifically for wine pairing, Cavour 313 offers it. Four big pages of the menu were dedicated to an extensive variety of cured meats. Even deer and moose were offered. The list of cheeses was, likewise, extensive. I was disappointed that there were few vegetable-driven dishes offered, but we eventually found a plate of marinated veggies.

When the food arrived the serving-sizes were as tiny as the menu selection. My girlfriend and I shared the cheese plate and the slices of cheese were so small that I felt I didn’t really taste them. Next time I go to there  I’ll know to order more.

Final notes: The service was great, casual and comfortable (the waitress even sat at our table while taking our order, which somehow was cool). Much of the staff speaks English. The price of the food puts the restaurant on the expensive side. Expect to pay around 40 euro for two.

If you’re looking for something a bit different to do for a holiday, aren’t averse to a bit of work, and want to experience hands on life as part of an historic property, garden or estate, then why not try a working holiday?

There are a variety of working holiday opportunities to take part in with various  organizations. One such organization that runs popular working holidays in the UK is the National Trust. Each year they have in the region of 400 different working holidays on offer in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, giving people the chance to learn new skills, make friends and enjoy all the usual elements of a vacation while doing some valuable work.

Working holidays are suitable for many individuals, groups and ages – students wanting a reasonably priced holiday, families wanting to try something different (up to three children aged between eight and 16 are welcome to attend with their families), singles, or couples. Go for a weekend, a few days or a whole week and choose from a variety of different types of holidays and experiences.

Like any holiday, you do pay for the experience, but it does include all your accommodations and food. And with prices starting at only £90 per week, it can work out as a reasonable way to have a holiday if you’re on a budget. Everyone stays at the same ‘base camp’, and there may be some self-catering involved, but you will have a group leader on hand who should be well versed in the ways of catering for groups, so don’t panic if you’re not a great cook!

The working holidays aren’t all just about work though – there’s a big social element to them as well – groups are usually made up of about 12 people – and you do get time off to explore the area on your own or with new found friends.

Although working holidays will inevitably involve a degree of hard work, you also get to experience some fantastic locations. For example, you could find yourself working in wonderfully landscaped National Trust gardens, helping manage collections at a historic property (at Lindisfarne Castle you can also act as a room steward), helping with archaeological surveys, doing construction work, such as rebuilding and repairing footpaths or storm drains, or learning important rural skills, like dry stone walling or hedge laying.

For families, the holidays are tailored towards their needs, with the rest of the group made up of other parents and children. Working activities for families are designed with children in mind. Some of the working experiences that families get involved with include tasks such as cleaning and clearing beaches, clearing vegetation and creating deadwood habitat piles for small animals.

The National Trust working holidays are ideal for anyone who enjoys being outside (as most of the holidays are), of helping to provide valuable conservation help for historic homes or gardens and meeting and sharing the experience with other people. There’s so much variety on offer, that you’re sure to find an area of interest to you.

Although lying on a beach and spending your entire holiday relaxing may seem appealing, if you go on one of the these holidays, you can not only save money, but also return home with the knowledge that you’ve made good use of your time and made a difference too.