Romantic Resort Getaways: Manhattan

Known as the jewel of the five boroughs of New York, Manhattan is not only one of the key financial centers of the world; it has also become one of its major tourist attractions for romantic resort getaways and shopping. This is understandable when you consider that Manhattan represents so much of the history of the East Coast of America, as well as its diverse culture.

Manhattan has so many famous landmarks that they are almost impossible to list. From Broadway to Times Square, from Wall Street to Central Park, the names just roll off the tongue. And with its famous subway system, you can be in any one of Manhattan's neighborhoods within minutes and taste the flavour, the sights and the sounds of each one. From Little Italy to Chinatown, from Greenwich Village to Spanish Harlem; every name conjures up a picture.

Manhattan is loosely divided into downtown, midtown, and uptown, with Fifth Avenue dividing Manhattan's east and west sides. Manhattan Island is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and the East River to the east. To the north, the Harlem River divides Manhattan from the Bronx and the mainland United States Manhattan Island is 13.4 miles long and 2.3 miles wide, at its widest point.
The population of Manhattan is around 1.6 million, who live in a land mass of 22.96 square miles, which makes it one of the densest populated areas in the world, as well as one of the wealthiest. The inhabitants are an exceptionally diverse group, hailing from just about every country of the globe.

Manhattan has something to offer everyone, from the finest of restaurants and bars, to entertainment to suit every taste; from Broadway musicals to stand-up comedy clubs. If you are a lover of culture you will find some fabulous museums to visit, such as the American Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, among the many others.

If the weather is fine you can take a walk down Fifth Avenue and visit the Empire State Building, climb the elevator to the 102nd floor and take in the breathtaking sites of New York. Another must is a visit to the Statue of Liberty, and you can get very close by taking a ferry from Battery Park. For those with a special interest in the modern history of the East Coast of the USA, a visit to Ellis Island is recommended, where you can visit the place where millions of immigrants first set foot in America.

Sadly, another recent pilgrimage for visitors to Manhattan has been created. That is the site of the former World Trade Center (the Twin Towers) that was destroyed in a terrorist attack in 2001. Now all that is left of these magnificent buildings is a large and still empty plot, which serves as a memorial to the thousands of people who lost their lives there.

Visiting Manhattan offers so many alternatives and touches so many senses. There is a feeling of vitality, a mixture of the old and the new that makes this vibrant town a special place to visit.

Image courtesy of Aku :) (Away)

Sierra Ski Resort Getaways Opening for the New Ski Season

Calling all ski bums, snow bunnies, and anyone else that loves to ski and snowboard. Mark November 28th on your calendars. It’s when the ski season officially opens during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe and other resorts will open up slope access from beginners up to intermediate levels.

Other ski resort getaways opening up or have already opened include Heavenly Mountain Resort, Squaw Valley, Northstar at Tahoe, and Boreal Mountain Resort. These resorts has been busy operating their snow producing machinery at peak levels to head off the demand for the incoming winter sport lovers every where.

In case you need the contacts for these resorts ASAP, here they are for your convenience:

Heavenly Lake Tahoe

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe

Northstar

Squaw Valley USA

Resort Getaways: Enjoying the Farm Life at Shelburne Farms

Shelburne Farms, located in Shelburne, Vermont, was a privately owned estate of the gilded age. The farm which has been categorized as one of the resort getaways in the book "1000 Places to Go Before You Die." It has recently opened it's doors since the 1960s to prevent the property's decline. Even President Roosevelt paid a visit to the property back in August of 1902, arriving aboard a steamboat, where he stayed overnight before his demonstration at Thompson's Point the following day.

The entire locale is devoid of modern electronics and hi-tech creature comforts such as radios and televisions. The entire mansion, which now has been divided into a 24-room inn instead, entertains it's visitors with fireplaces and settings for intriguing conversations. The property itself, since it began opening it's doors to the public during the 1960s, became fixated on becoming self-sustaining location, with the inn's restaurant that utilizes the vegetables and herbs that are organically grown on the property and the lamb and beef that are raised nearby.

Among other examples of Shelburne Farm's self-sustainability, is the local Brown Swiss dairy cows have their milk collected on a daily basis for producing the farm's award-winning cheddar cheese. There are regularly scheduled property tours, with plenty of activities for both children and adults alike, including a children's center where they can learn about and volunteer for farm responsibilities, such as collecting eggs and milking cows.

There is an expansive art collection inside the property as well, featuring 225 horse-drawn vehicles, and including reconstructed old-fashioned buildings such as jails, schools, barns, lighthouses, and general stores.

During the winter season between mid-October to mid-May, the entire inn is closed, due to the fact that there is no heat. The Webb family who owned the property had donated the heating system to the war effort during the Second World War.

Shelburne Farms is among the new wave of blossoming cheese makers in the Vermont area, considered by many today as the new "Napa Valley" of cheese, with Shelburne being one of the state's oldest "farmstead cheesemakers" that milk their own animals and produce their own cheese on site.

Originally a trend adopted by the local farms in order to prevent bankruptcy in the light of rising fuel and transportation costs, lousy weather, and slumping value of milk on the market, it immediately sparked a new reinvention of cheesemaking including gourmet cheeses along the east coast. Once owned by wealthy aristocrats of the Webb family, the locale is now owned by a nonprofit organization, which recycle's the revenue earned into funding the project's environmental education programs.