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The Queen Victoria Market is the Southern Hemispheres biggest open-air Market and it’s located in Melbourne, Australia. This Market is situated on the corner of Victoria and Elizabeth Streets, which is in the Central Business District (CBD). It offers locals and visitors alike a wide variety of the freshest farm produce and even a wider array of arts, crafts and entertainment, which when put all together, gives the air of a modern version of an Arabian bazaar. The friendly competition between vendors adds to the Old World charm of the Market and makes for a very entertaining time and one hard to resist.

The Market is an historic landmark dating back over 130 years and is open Tuesdays, 6am to 2pm; Thursdays, 6am to 2pm; Fridays, 6am to 5pm; Saturdays, 6am to 3pm and Sundays, 9am to 4pm. This Market draws millions of visitors per year and booking a Melbourne hotel nearby makes for convenient trips to the market every day of the week they are open. There are over 1000 stalls, most of which are set-up outdoors under a tin roof with iron gables. So, it is necessary to make more than just one visit. With its unique charm and friendly vendors, many discover how it has stood the test of time for over a century.

The Queen Victoria Market is divided into sections such as the fruit and vegetable stalls, then the general merchandise stalls and then the freshly prepared foods stalls. This Market is not just an historical building; it is a center for trade and commerce and well as a popular destination point for locals and visitors alike.

For all the attention that Hawaii gets, it really deserves more. It is one of the greatest vacation spots in the world, and is also reputed to be a fascinating place to live. It’s captured the hearts and minds of locals and travelers for generations, and has an appeal that’s sometimes fairly obvious. The luxurious beaches and the five star Hawaii resorts are natural draws that don’t disappoint. There is also a very strong cultural force here, brought by the mix of people that have made up the islands’ populations for years. It’s also one of the most referenced places in popular song, and also gets the attention of poets.

There are a number of references to Hawaii in literature and film, but one of the most memorable of these, certainly, is in Tom Robbins’ Still Life with Woodpecker .” Here one finds the memorable scenes where the heroine of the story, Leigh-Cheri, meets up with Woodpecker, and begins a romance that turns her life inside out. The story becomes a clash of ideas about how to live, and includes memorable meditations on inanimate objects. Although a large portion of the book takes place in Seattle, where Robbins lives, the tone is one that captures part of the hidden chambers of Hawaii’s heart, and makes into a new and beautiful song.

Hong Kong has the longest covered escalator in the world. Known as The Central-Mid-Levels Escalator , this unique mode of transportation offers visitors a taste of what it’s like to live in Hong Kong’s very exclusive areas. It starts from Queen’s Road Central, runs to the Hang Seng Bank Building on Des Voeux Road Central, then passes through the Central Market and continues to climb past Hollywood Road and on to the prime Mid-levels residential district.

It’s all free and will take you about 20 minutes and is quicker than walking up, which you can do also, but that can take a terribly long time. The escalator in 800 meters long and moves approximately 36,000 people a day.

The escalator winds its way through some very expensive and exclusive real estate, and allows jump-off points at every street it crosses, which has led to the development of an ‘escalator culture’ consisting of cafes, trendy bars, restaurants, Chinese medicine stalls, an some of the best hotels in Hong Kong .

The only downfall of the Central Mid Levels Escalator is that it only goes in one direction at a time, down towards Central in the morning hours and back up in the afternoon hours. Don’t worry, there are steps alongside, but as mentioned before, those steps make for a hard journey.

Visiting Miami for the first time? Hankering for a great tasting hot-dog? Then look no further than Arbetter’s Hot dogs, located at 8747 SW 40th Street. When you have a crazy hotdog craving, this is the place to go. The hotdogs are good, traditionally boiled, not put on a dog cooker and the French fries are totally awesome, especially the chill-cheese fries. The best hotdog to order is the chili dog with onions. There’s really no other place in all of Miami that serves a better dog.

Arbetter’s has been open since the late 70s and has been a Miami’s family tradition, one generation after the next keep coming by introducing newer family members to Arbette’s. It is family run, and the owner, now passed, used to be the entertainment part of ordering the dog, he use to flip the dog up in the air and catch it with the bun. A single hotdog will only cost you about $2 and fries are also about $2. If you have little ones, they’ll love the corndogs, made fresh on site, none of those frozen pigs on a stick served here!

The place is very small, 20 seats, but you can’t miss the yellow shack and the parking lot is always full. If you’re a tourist and staying at a Miami Spa Resort , sneak out for an afternoon of debauchery and delight and stuff your mouth full of these amazing dogs. Don’t let the cops scare you off, they’re there too, stuffing their faces of what all of Miami knows to be the best dogs ever.

Is it better to be remembered for the things you did, or the things you didn’t do? If you’re traveling to the nation’s capital, once you’ve checked into one of the four star hotels Washington DC offers its guests, head over to the National Mall, and take a look at the Constitution Gardens . The gardens were dedicated in 1976 on the bicentennial anniversary of the United States. This memorial island in the midst of an artificial lake contains stones which bear the signatures and names of the 56 men who changed the world by the things they did, chiefly signing the Declaration of Independence, which may be found over at the National Archives .

The Constitutional Gardens is a 50 acre park, whose boundaries include the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Constitution Avenue, and the Reflecting Pool. Established by President Richard Nixon, the park is meant as a legacy and tribute to the signers for literally risking death and bringing into the world a new nation. Each year, the annual naturalization ceremony for new citizens is held here and hosted by the National Park Service. However, not everyone who helped form the Constitution signed it. In some cases, the document wasn’t signed because the founder was no longer serving the country in the same office. However, there was one man who could have signed it, but made the choice not to sign. He, too, is remembered, over near the Jefferson Memorial.

The George Mason Memorial remembers the Virginia delegate who led the fight to create a new federal Constitution, then refused to sign the final document. He took a stand against the document and led a fight in Virginia not to ratify the Constitution, and ended up breaking a long friendship with George Washington because of it. Why would he do this? And why would he be remembered for it? This “forgotten Founder” didn’t sign the Constitution because it didn’t abolish the slave trade, nor did it contain enough protections for the individual from the Federal Government. He had written the Virginia Bill of Rights, on which the United States’ Bill of Rights was modeled, and was instrumental in making sure the Bill of Rights were amended to the Constitution later. His memorial features a 72 foot long stone wall and a third larger-than-life sized statue of himself sitting, his legs crossed, next to a circular pool. The memorial was dedicated on April 9th, 2002, eight years ago.

There are a number of things to do in San Francisco. More than most people know what to do with. There are however a few traditional places that you have to visit if you are a first time tourist to the city. After you have set down your bags and made yourself comfortable in one of the San Francisco Bay hotels get in your rental or grab a cable car , one of the cities moving landmarks, and catch a few of these sites.

Alcatraz
While there was once a time that no body wanted to end up in this prison, it is now a popular area for people to travel to daily.

China Town
It is one of the biggest in the Unites States as well as one of the oldest. When people think of China Town this is usually the one they are thinking of, even if they have one in their city.

Golden Gate Park
This is one park with quite a few other parks inside, including the Botanical Gardens, the Japanese Tea Park, and the California Academy of Sciences as well as others.

Golden Gate Bridge
Not too far from the Golden Gate Park you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. You can even walk across it if you would like.

When you have seen all of these, or if you find that none of these interest you, take a look at some of the less obvious must see attractions that San Francisco holds.

The Palace of the Legion of Honor
This holds a number of pieces by Rodin including The Thinker . It is an impressive collection.

North Beach
Italian-veneer laid over a half Chinese neighborhood might seem strange, but this might be one of the best beaches to sit, hang out, and people watch.

Victorian Houses
Nicknamed “painted ladies” for their color schemes, these houses are an icon of San Francisco. The town would not be the same without these houses or the steep hills the roads go across.

Road trips are actually a lot more complicated to plan than one would gather from the movies. If you have never gone on a road trip before, or if you weren’t around when the road trip was being planned you may not realize just how hard it is. Here are a few tips on how to best plan a road trip.

Research the city or cities you plan on visiting. The trip can be as inexpensive as you want it to be. Most places, whether it is summer or winter will have some sort of camping area that you can stay in. If you have thermal sleeping bags know what temperature it will be there and how low your sleeping bag can take. If you do it at the right time and the right place you may be able to stay there for free.

Know where you are going and how long you are going to be there. If you don’t know where you are going and can’t decide, have someone choose a destination while blindfolded and confused. Choose other stops based on the trek from home to that destination and make sure it comes full circle back to home. Once you know these things know how long you want to stay at each one and see if the people who are going with you know of any places that they want to visit in each of these locations.

Have maps. You will need a road atlas and city maps for each of the areas you plan to visit. When you get into the area you will have an easier time driving around and you will be less likely to get lost. Although it may seem silly to buy a map for a one or two day adventure in a city, it may save you from being lost the whole day and not seeing any of the sites you wanted to see.

This concept is always a challenge for both the skilled traveler and the resident who has been living in the city just a little too long, but is is possible to leave your house or one of the luxury hotels new york city is known for early in the morning and see the whole city in one day. You may want to make it a one day two night kind of trip however because by the time you are done you will be tired and ready to sleep well in a comfortable bed before you get up and leave in the morning. This option is also viable for the traveler who is stuck in New York on a one or two day layover so that they don’t have to be stuck in the hotel that whole time.

Catch a Today Show cameo by starting off your day at Rockafeller Center. Take a look around this area and you may find that you know it quite well without having to be there. If you are there at eight am or sooner you will want to go check out the Top of the Rock observation deck. They won’t open until eight, but getting there are little early ensures that you will be able to see the sights as soon as they open.

The next place you probably want to see is Central Park which has also been featured in pop culture often. There are over 800 acres in Central Park and you aren’t expected to manage to walk through all of them. It can be a great place to sit down and have a picnic, or to buy a legendary New York hot dog and watch the wild life. If you are lucky you might find a free concert in the park. They happen fairly often with both up and coming local bands and big name bands.

There are two ways you can spend your afternoon, you can either walk down Museum Mile , look through a museum, and have some fun looking through all the great culture that New York has to offer, or you can spend your afternoon walking through Greenwich village and China town. Whichever you choose to do there is some great food in those two areas at very least for when dinner time hits. This may be some of the best Chinese food outside of China, and if you don’t like Chinese, stick to Greenwich village and eat at Katz’s. You will recognize the place as well as many of the pictures of famous patrons hanging on their wall from pop culture.

You’ve now spend one day touring through New York. Spend the Evening either looking at the gorgious view from the Empire State Building, or wander the city eventually finding your way back to the sweet allure of the bed.

Atlanta, Georgia is one of the great American cities and it is extremely rich in cultural offerings, diverse entertainment options and great landmarks and traditions. Tourists enjoy the widely diverse aspects of the city that make it so special. In addition to the great cultural establishments, the city is well known for its support of its major sports teams, which actually is also an aspect of its cultural heritage. Meanwhile some of the high arts, such as ballet and symphonies and opera are also a significant aspect of the culture and represent the extreme diversity of social orientation the city is known for.

The Atlanta Opera is a well respected institution that offers the best of this genre of entertainment and presents both contemporary hits and some of the top historical operas that continue to delight and amaze audiences worldwide. The opera is a non profit organization that was originally established in 1979 and continues with its tradition and mission to bring the best operas and educational programs to the city every year. The 2010 season will open in October with a production of la boheme, which will be followed by the ever popular Porgy and Bess.

The Atlanta Ballet continues to be a favorite for residents as well as tourist who are visiting the city and staying in one of the hotels Atlanta USA . This is one of the more historic companies in the city and originally began in 1929 when Dorothy Alexander established a group of dancers that would eventually become this amazing organization that it is today. As with all of the major performance art organizations in the city, the Atlanta Ballet maintains a high standard of excellence and is respected across the nation. Moulin Rouge will be kicking of the 2010 season and will open this October.

In Frankfurt, Germany, day trips are an excellent way to get to know the city, which leaves your evening free to explore the buzzing nightlife. There are plenty of interesting places to visit, like the birthplace of Frankfurt’s’ own Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Goethe House , located at Grosser Hirschgraben 23 – 25, is where he was born and provides a fascinating insight into upper-middle class life in the mid 18th century. The house was faithfully restored to the original after it was destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombs during World War II. Next to Goethe’s house is the Goethe Museum, both attract fans from many countries, including tourists from Japan.

Many hotels in central Frankfurt are nearby the St. Paul’s Church, located at the Paul Plaza, just north of the Romerberg. Of all Frankfurt’s buildings, St. Paul’s Church has played the greatest historical role in Germany. This is where Germany’s first freely elected parliament gathered in 1848. The church is still the nations symbol for democracy and freedom. The Church also went through major reconstruction after WWII; it was completely destroyed and was the first building to be reconstructed because of its historical importance. The building no longer serves as a church, but as a place for Germans and tourists to witness various ceremonies centering around cultural events and political affairs.

While at Romerberg, better known as ‘Romer’, visit the Romer town hall at the old city center. These magnificent half-timbered buildings were re-built in 1986 base on the original historic plans. In the 17th century, Frankfurt’s first bank was established in a building located on the corner of Romerberg square, known as ‘Great Angel’. Then there are 3 former patrician town-houses dating back to the 14th century with striking Gothic triple-gabled facade and the Romer historic, famous town hall, which is where the Mayor of Frankfurt lives.