Travel-4Less

Some of the best deals in Rome can be found in the beautiful outdoor markets. Located in timeless settings on ancient streets and in stunning piazzas, the markets offer every kind of merchandise imaginable, from immaculate floral arangments and high-quality produce to inexpensive clothes, shoes, and antiques. I first visited the markets as a tourist and then later while writing a guide book. Below is a guide to the most important markets in Rome.

Campo di Fiori Market

By far, the most visually stunning market is the market held in Campo di Fiori, which is a vitual playground for amateur photographers. Campo di Fiori, which means field of flowers, is filled with flower venders whose delicate selections of flowers transported me, well, into a photograph of Rome. Smiling venders watered their flowers while men and women dressed in business attire purchased the bouquettes that would later adorn their offices and homes. If you’re traveling, you might not need an entire bouquette, so single flowers are also sold. Further on in the market you can find Italian specialty foods of all types as well as the tools and utensils used to prepare them. I found great deals on marble mortar and pestles (great for making authentic Genevese pesto) and espresso makers.
The selection of fresh produce is extensive but a little on the expensive side. For example, a single artichoke can cost as much as a 1.50 euro, but they are some of the best in the world. Pay attention to what is in season too, because although all of the produce looks nice, some of it is imported from other countries, particularly the fruit. Seafood, olive oil, wine, cheeses, and baked goods are also sold, and don’t pass up visiting a few of the shops that surround the piazza. The Campo di Fiori market takes place Monday through Saturday in the morning and until 1pm.

Via Sannio Market

If you’re looking for inexpensive clothing and enjoy the hunt as much as the spoils, the Via Sannio market is a fun and expansive market worth a visit. Most easily reached by taking the Metro’s A Line toward Anagnina and getting off at the San Giovanni stop, this market is a good place to test out your bartering skills. A good friend once gave me a few tips. Her father is a professional gambler who loves to win with a good bluff. The first rule to bartering, he told her, is to be prepared to walk away. If you can’t leave it, then you can’t barter. With the knowledge that you can walk away, you can always get a lower price because you hold all the cards.

The clothing sold at this market is sometimes simply thrown in piles on large tables with 1.00 euro signs hung above. Dive in. If you want to try anything on, simply do so. If you find a pair of shoes and want to try them on, say Posso provare?, which means, Can I try it? The stand owner will likely provide you with a mirror and chair. The Via Sannio market begins early in the day and goes until early afternoon, Monday through Saturday.

Porta Portese Market

One of the best markets in Rome, the Porta Portese market only takes place on Sunday mornings. It ends early afternoon. Located around Piazza Ippolito Nievo and running up to Ponte Sublicio, it offers more items than I could imagine, including the food, clothing, and antique furniture. If you happen to be in the city on a Sunday it’s worth a visit. Because the streets are jam-packed with people, it’s an adventurous experience. Be sure to pay attention to your wallet or purse.

Written by Mattie Bamman for EuropeUpClose.com

One of the most captivating cities in the world, Venice is unique in its  beauty. The ancient buildings and quiet canals take you back to a time of romance and mystery.  Here’s our up-close guide to Venice.

Photo by Bill Fogarty for EuropeUpClose.com

I must confess. One of the reasons I wanted to take a day trip to Carcassonne had very little to do with the place itself, or my knowledge of this medieval walled city with a formidable history and a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
No. It had to do with the fact that I love to play the board game called Carcassonne. If the game was that good, there had to be a reason why they named it Carcassonne, right? Surely, Carcassonne was cool.
Lucky for me, it was.
I’ve been to a few walled cities in Spain (namely Toledo and Segovia), and I love their charm and historical significance. Nowhere in North America would we see places with such beautiful old dwellings – that are still lived in and used no less. Most of Europe holds hundreds of years of history in commonplace sights and buildings, but walled cities (for me) take it to a new level.
Carcassonne in particular looks like a giant castle (with 53 towers and fortified double walls) perched atop a hill, surrounded by French vineyards. Just the drive in is stunning.

This trip to Kyrgyzstan was one of the best ever!!

This park, in the Tian Shan mountains is only a short drive from Bishkek, but it feels a lot further considering how high the mountains are, how frivolously the forest grows and how rugged the terrain is, including glaciers and gorges as well as cliffs and steep river valleys. This is the perfect backdrop for campers, trekkers, horse trekkers, climbers and skiers.
The park’s peaks rise to altitudes of 4,895 meters from the entrance at 1,500 metres.

80 km southeast of Bishkek, located there on the map for the purposes of this review, Issyk-Ata Gorge is both scenic and lined with thermal heated water. Which is why a resort has sprang up beside it. There’s also a beautiful waterfall cascading down from a point not far from the resort. Not many foreigners stay at the resort, most of the ones who do are there at the beginning of a trek.

This holiday idea Thailand – a destination for adventure is a great tip from the guest travel writers at Europe & Beyond full of terrific travel tips.

Introducing Thailand

Thailand is an increasingly popular tourist destination. It is a country unlike any other, with historical, natural and cultural attractions. Many westerners love to visit Thailand during the Christmas and New Year period, avoiding  the worst of the winter weather.  Travellers usually fly to  Bangkok International Airport, also known as Suvarnabhumi Airport, to see the capital city of Bangkok, before setting  off  to discover other cities and resorts in the country.

If you are interested in flying to Bangkok, Thai Airways International is the largest airline in Thailand offering international flights to Bangkok.

Start your tour of Thailand in Bangkok and discover a city of temples,   canals and culture.

Discover its beautiful Buddha temples, such as Wat Pho and Wat Arun, exotic restaurants where you can sample the best of local Thai cuisine  and the floating market for a sensory experience. Bangkok is full of  intense colours,  delicious aromas of street food and fabulous historical  -   a delight for the senses.

Sun and Sand

Having visited Bangkok, head south  for  exotic beaches and paradise islands where you can soak up the sun and relax.

Beach resorts are on Phuket and Phi Phi Island

Some of the most popular beach resorts are on Phuket Island and Phi Phi Island. Anyone who wants to explore or set off on an individual adventure should head to the north of Thailand, which is perfect for trekking, hiking and getting in touch with nature. The countryside will entrance botanists and wildlife lovers.

If you are tempted by the colourful photographs you see of Thailand, imagine what it is like to experience it first hand. Book flights to Thailand and find out!

Great kiting and lots of fun things to do afterwards. That’s what you will find in Sao Vicente. Island of carnivals, festivals and moving night life, Sao Vicente is a permanent show where music, that express so many meanings and feelings in Cape Verde, is a part of the local way of life. Sao Vicente benefits of consistent trade winds during the October – July period a big empty sandy beaches, warm water and near-perfect wind. It’s a small island with the furthest points 25km from each-other. This means that it takes 15 to 30min to get to very adventurous places (Sandy Beach & Topim) through dirt tracks. The kitesurf beaches: – Salamansa the main beach. Cross-shore wind, water ranging from flat to 1.5m. No current. Huge area of sand. Very large bay meaning that if someone get into trouble he will end up downwind on the sandy beach. AT THE MOMENT: if you see 1 kiter – that is considered busy, If you see 2 kiters – that’s exceptionally busy. -Baia das Gates- totally flat and knee-waist deep. No current. Sandy beach. Space limited because of rocks -Sandy Beach – cross to cross-offshore. For the experts who want to play with the waves. Fantastic right point break with clean, hollow waves. Has channel without waves. Sandy + rock beach. -Topim – cross-offshore. For the experts who want to play with the waves. Fantastic right and left points break with clean, hollow waves. Has channel without waves. Rocky beach. -Baya Norte- cross-onshore. For the experts who want to play with the waves. Fantastic left points break with clean, waves. Current is strong here. Sandy beach. – Sao Pedro- Risky. Sandy beach. Only doable with a backup rescue boat. The wind is onshore and because of a funnel effect, extra strong (add extra 5-10 knots , so if it’s blowing 16 knots in Salamansa, it’s going to be about 23 knots at Sao Pedro). There is a beach break which can be quite high. No current at shore but a very strong current out in the sea.

Great kiting and lots of fun things to do afterwards. Sao Vicente is one of the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and Brazil. It is a small island with much beautiful scenery and is home to the cultural capital of the islands: Mindelo.
Island of carnivals, festivals and moving night life, Sao Vicente is a permanent show where music – that express so many meanings and feelings in Cape Verde – is a part of the local way of life. The sceneries of Sao Vicente are breathtaking with steep, volcanic and table-top type mountains, wide valleys and spectacular beaches, all within short driving time of Mindelo. The land is dry most of the year with a short rainy season during August and September. A short hop on the boat will take you to the neighbouring island of Santo Antao which, in stark contrast to Sao Vicente, has an evident presence of water. The island is green and has steep, high mountains, narrow gorges, waterfalls and valleys with lush vegetation.
The great conditions for kiting will draw you back to Sao Vicente.

Sao Vicente benefits of consistent trade winds during the October – July period. The safest beach for learning is Salamansa, a kiting location with a big empty sandy beach bay, warm water and near-perfect* wind. Alternatively if you are up for more radical conditions try the waves of Sandy Beach with a world class right, hollow point break.

For most of us flying to Sao Vicente is by indirect flight. International flights arrive from Lisbon (TAP and TACV) and national flights arrive from Praia and Sal. The national airline TACV offers reasonable airfares from Boston, Fortaleza and various cities in Europe to Praia and Sal and does not charge for the onward flight to Sao Vicente.

The Scoop on Auto Europe’s Peugeot “Buy Back” Program

A friend who is planning a trip to France recently called to ask if I knew anything about Peugeot’s “Buy Back” program. I didn’t, but was intrigued, so I did a bit of research so I could help him with his travel arrangements. He called me yesterday from France to report that his Peugeot “Buy Back” experience went swimmingly, so I decided to pass the information on to the readers at EuropeUpClose.com.

Here’s the deal:
A Non- European Union citizen traveling to France for more than 17 days is eligible to purchase a brand new Peugeot, drive it during your vacation (as you would a rental car) and then sell the car back to the dealership.

If you are arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport, there is a Peugeot dealer nearby that will sell you one. Another option is to request to be picked up at the airport/train station/hotel to go to the nearest dealership.

What’s in it for the dealership? In France (as well as throughout Europe), there is a Value Added  Tax (VAT) that makes luxury purchases (like a car) very expensive…20% more expensive, to be exact. If dealerships sell cars that are “slightly-used,” it saves the new owner this 20% tax. Individuals who are not citizens of the European Union are not required to pay this tax, however. So, the Peugeot dealer sells you the car (without VAT) for at least 17 days, you sell it back, and then the dealership sells it to an E.U. citizen or to a rental company (with no VAT, thanks to the fact that it is pre-owned).

Price-wise, it is often less expensive to do this program than it is to rent a car. It is in the dealership’s best interest that the car is well taken care of while in the possession of its first owner, so they offer zero deductable insurance coverage and a 24-hour service hotline. In the best case scenario, everyone benefits from this program.

Positive aspects of the “Peugeot Buy Back” program:
•    You get to drive a brand new Peugeot
•    The car is fully insured (zero deductible) and you have 24/7 breakdown coverage in case anything goes wrong
•    You only have to be 18 to participate in the buy back program (versus most car rentals that require the primary driver to be at least 21)
•    You can pick up and drop off the car in different cities within France
•    You can return the car without filling up the gas tank

Other things to consider:
•    You need to have the car for at least 17 days
•    The car will usually come to you with very little fuel in it, so be sure to locate a gas station near the pick-up location
•    You will be charged extra for pick-up or drop-off outside of France

Sound good? Check it out at AutoEurope for more information.