US-tour search operators, after Egypt to resume tours (AP)

CAIRO-U.S. tour operator and Egyptian officials hope to convince hesitant international travellers of that Egypt now safe and stable enough to large-scale tourism again to include.

A delegation from the US tourism industry representatives visited the country over Easter weekend, meeting with officials from the Egyptian Ministry of tourism and the US Embassy.

Malaka Hilton, CEO of Admiral Travel International Inc. based in Sarasota, Florida, said that 90 percent of the company have canceled trips to Egypt since the revolution, in February ousted the President Hosni Mubarak.

"There is still that level of uncertainty with which happened with the Government," she said. "The traveller is to say, until it is on the part of the Government, when we return."

Tourism accounts for about 14 percent of jobs in the Egypt and the drop in visitors has worsened the economic difficulties, the revolution helped the fuel.

There are no rows in the King Tut exhibition at the Museum in Cairo next to Tahrir square, and the streets of Giza, home of the pyramid, are nearly empty except for the residents, depending on tourism for their livelihood.

Ahmed Al Zawawy offers horse and camel rides to visitors the pyramids, but since the Jan he has sold three camels and six horses 25 revolution to feed his family and his only remaining horse. "This is my end, I do not know that what I will do," said Al Zawawy. "I live from day to day."

At the end of April in the US Embassy in Cairo allowed families of embassy employees back, and the State Department downgraded its travel warning on one alert advises US citizens of the "possibility of sporadic unrest," Noting that "the security situation in Luxor-Aswan, and the Red Sea of resorts are... still calm."

The prospects are for testing a trip to Egypt or other parts of the Middle East complications concerns about the impact of the RAID on Osama bin Laden's connection. The State Department gave a warning General travel after the RAID urge US citizens to "their travel limit outside of their houses, and hotels and corporate events and demonstrations, to avoid" due to the "potential for violence extended anti-American."

There were also increased reports of crime in Cairo, with a small police presence in the capital as before the revolution. Unrest in other countries of the Middle East, of the civil war in Libya violent crackdown in Syria and the Yemen, also make the region difficult to sell one for travellers.

"A State of limbo which the Government now, is just there", said Tony Gonchar, CEO of the American Society of travel agents, with Hilton, part of the group visit Egypt was. He added that the US Government "Ability to claim that Egypt is a safe tourist location" is part of what is required "for the Americans to feel the comfort level were."

Nevertheless, find those who now visit Egypt a relative calm, with possibilities for travel upgrades in short lines and small crowds.

"Overall, the situations are really minimal, and certainly no risk to our travellers," said Catherine Greteman, CEO of the National Tour Association, also part of the visiting delegation.

About only 20 percent of the 1.1 million, visited at the same time in 2010, according to the Egyptian authorities came 211,000 visitors from abroad to Cairo in February. Number of visitors improved in March and April to around half of the count of the last year, according to the Egyptian travel authority.

"We were surprised us, because 19 February had started we the first group to come back." First to the Red Sea, and then to Luxor, and then to Cairo and then the rest of the country, "Amr El-Ezabi said of the Egyptian Tourist Authority."

Egypt out tourism, usually at the end of may when the summer heat increases, then takes again in the autumn and winter. This fall that followed normal start of the peak season for tourism with the country's first post-revolutionary elections, by presidential match.

While the Egyptian Government hopes that it will return the number of foreign visitors to a normal level, it can be to visit a challenge for tourists during the unprecedented term, see especially if it be protests in Egypt and elsewhere in the Mideast.

Mubarak, his sons and many of its former members of the Government are in jail waiting for your trial, and there is uncertainty about how the military leadership, which now runs the country will transition in a democratically elected Government.

But some carefully try Egyptian leaders and groups to promote the elections as a unique selling point for travellers.

"I think, you can always be easily your normal visit and have still an added value in Egypt during its first democratic elections ever in the last 50 or 60 years taking place be," said El-Ezabi.

Steve Adamson, a marketing consultant based in Yorkshire, England, took a cruise around the Red Sea in March. He said the ship was only 50% capacity, and the journey was half-off the usual fare. Walk around various Egyptian positions, he said he "not noticed nothing unusual at all – we would have anywhere." Completely quiet and very much business as usual. "

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See for hotel taxes, and not only for Internet (AP)

If you're summer budgeting for travel, you are looking for fees on your hotel bill for everything from newspapers, luggage storage.

Some of the fees can be avoided: be careful with the minibar, because even crush elements a fee can take if they are electronically tracked and of fees for, what you questions, such as an early check-in if granted to the room.

Other charges that may occur include fees for compulsory service, porters, fitness center, late check-out, housekeeping service, Internet connection, package or fax transmission, mini-bar restocking fee, room safes and even room's own coffee.

"In places as Las Vegas, I constantly run into mandatory parking", said Timothy genter, 44, Olathe, Kansas, which several times a year, both traveling for leisure his job as a finance manager at a Fortune 50 companies. "Which are a scam, but do you know about those and one could argue that they are actually a service for the fees." On the other hand, he said, "There is no justification for resort fees."

Mandatory resort fees, from a few dollars per night to $20 or $30 range can often covering were the low cost of the accommodation, point to elements such as a newspaper KönnteInternet connection or access to an invoice for the amenities they adopted the fitness centre and pool. The fees are typically imposed, whether you covered the amenities or not, but if you are booking online, they appear not in the price quote, so it very much more difficult for consumers to comparison shop.

"What drives the Internet," said Ed Perkins, editorial reviews for SmarterTravel.com. "It has increased the importance of the price comparisons, many hotels that feel it very important for them to show, to as low as possible in the base of records." The temptation is very high, to take something, should part of the price of the room and carve out separately and later on Add. "

During online travel agencies often a disclaimer post say that prices "does not control, service charges or other hotel charges, and u." It is impossible on some websites, such as Priceline.com, get to know, what these charges will call directly without the hotel.

For example a Priceline search a reservation at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas includes a room free of charge and the price for "Taxes and fees" and offers a "best price guarantee on the hotel" to "The total charge." The fine print says there is a $12 per day fee for Internet service, a fee of $30 per night for each person on double occupancy and breakfast is not included. Also, it states that it may be mandatory fees such as resort fees collected at the box office. It does not give what is the Folio.

How I learn only by calling Mandalay Bay directly, the mandatory Folio is $20.16 per night. It includes high speed Internet access in the rooms, a daily newspaper, unlimited local calls and boarding pass phrase.

Asked, said the use of phrases such as "The total charge" and "Best price guarantee," Priceline spokesman Brian EK, referencing "Total." which, for this reservation, charge Priceline

"We would very much like to see all compulsory fees included in the price provided to us to provide, and we have informed, to the hotels," he said.

A hotel chain, Caesars Entertainment Corp., finished before recently resort fees on most of its properties. Since the occupancy rate of 90 percent to 95 percent, has gone better, said spokesman Gary Thompson.

Whether others will follow, that lead "remains to be seen," said Perkins. In the meantime, travelers can summer hotel costs better by reading the disclaimers before booking and by he budget many questions in advance.

Wally Jones, an agent with travel guide in Phoenix, said that some hotels, such as Starwood Hawaii, fee for a group be given at least five room reservation. Others, he said offer a dining credit or coupon book that helps compensate for the fees.

In addition, some hotels offer discounts for guests waiver of daily maid service.

"We know mandatory fees for the budget of some hotels." "A bit more common, but are hotels, which offer an option for rooms without housekeeping, so that they can offer a lower low-cost option for customers," said Devon Nagle, a spokesman for Expedia, the fee in its provides online comparison.

With so many variables, it is above all to remain vigilant.

"I all this new creative fees very carefully is straight," said Ghent.

 

By KAREN SCHWARTZ press for the associated Karen Schwartz

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Salina: Simple beauty in Italy the Aeolian Islands (AP)

SALINA ISLAND, Italy – As I watch the sun set from my terrace on the west coast of Salina, one of Italy's Aeolian Islands, I marvel again that the stone headrest I am lying against is so inexplicably comfortable.

Its effect is like so much else on this harsh volcanic island, located in the clearest Mediterranean waters: Salina's very starkness soothingly lulls you into contemplating its simple beauty.

Vacationers — including celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Campbell, and even the designer duo Dolce and Gabbana — flock to the islands in this archipelago off the northeastern shore of Sicily, named after the Greek god of wind and inhabited for millennia. Salina also has its share of famous visitors, especially since scenes from the Oscar-winning "Il Postino" were filmed on one of its beaches, and you could spend an afternoon here cafe-hopping in one of its ports, or splurge on a stay at a smattering of luxury hotels. But there are plenty of places to escape the crowds and take in its idyllic side, as a low-key haven of reddish volcanic rock speckled with palms, olive and lemon trees, and fuchsia clumps of bougainvillea.

I spent five days last summer at a caper farm in Pollara, a hamlet of less than 100 people in the half-sunken crater of a tall volcano that turns pink at dusk and pitch-black at night, unmarred by street lights.

It made perfect sense here to pass an evening listening to a gecko's jaws methodically clamping on its moth snacks, in such utter stillness that the sudden sound of two teenagers laughing down the street lit up the windows of several sleepy households.

Farm owner Giuseppe Famularo took me around the caper fields he inherited when he was 12 from his father, one of the few islanders who didn't emigrate to the Americas or Australia after a bug destroyed the island's crops.

As he told me how his family and half a dozen others started over with the local Nocellara variety of caper, I was struck by how much the resilient, labor-intensive plant is a stand-in for life on this island.

The sweet, compact caper is the early blossom of a bush that rises a foot off the ground before spreading its branches out like fountain splashes under the relentless sun — typically it doesn't rain a drop here from May through August.

Throughout that time, each minuscule caper must be picked by hand every eight days, avoiding the painful thorn that grows right underneath it, for a total of nearly 9,000 pounds each season. The capers then ferment under sea salt for at least two months before becoming the staple of the island's cuisine and a slow-food certified delicacy, used in Famularo's unique "pesto di capperi di Salina."

"This is work of the soil, and you need to love it," said Anna Alizzo, who started picking capers on Salina as a child and whose personal record is 77 pounds in one back-breaking morning on Famularo's farm.

"Nobody wants to work in this field, but it's still enough for local young people to stay," said Famularo, in his 30s and with a young daughter.

The only other major crop on the island is Malvasia grapes, which produce the eponymous dessert wine whose powerful, honeyed taste reflects its origin: Hand-picked from volcanic slopes, the grapes are sun-dried over reed gratings for nearly a month, said Gaetano Marchetta.

"It is our choice to produce it with very traditional methods," even though that means only getting some 660 gallons a year, Marchetta said. He inherited the winery, Azienda Agricola Marchetta, in the village of Malfa four miles from Pollara, from his uncle, who tended it for 50 years.

The most ancient tradition of Salina is fishing, especially tuna and swordfish, so I trusted a fisherman born and raised in Malfa, Antonello "il pescatore" Randazzo, to take me on day-trips to three other islands with a dozen other vacationers.

One day we traveled west about an hour to Filicudi and tiny Alicudi, the wildest and least developed Aeolian islands, their bare cliffs showing all the violence of volcanic eruptions.

Cubic white houses, flat-roofed to gather rainwater and connected via steep stairways, plus a few stone walls dating from 1,800 B.C., dot the islands. If you stay in Alicudi, your valet is going to be Otto or one of his colleagues — sturdy donkeys that enjoy midday siestas in the little shade among the prickly pears and purple rocks.

Another day we headed east to Stromboli, an active volcano reliably spewing incandescent rocks every 10 minutes or so that looks perfectly conical, as if a child had drawn it.

On the boat, Antonello served his signature pasta with fresh-caught tuna, tomatoes and, of course, capers. In typical island understatement, when a tourist asked him the name of the dish, which would not have been out of place on a Michelin-starred tablecloth, Antonello looked puzzled and said, "pasta al sugo," generic pasta with sauce.

As the moon rose and the breeze carried the scent of sun-baked wild fennel out to sea, we spent a rapturous hour floating in front of Sciara del Fuoco, the slope where lava and black rocks can be seen bursting out of Stromboli and falling back to the sea.

Sailing back, we passed just north of Panarea, the Aeolians' celebrity-packed party island, a reminder of how close all-night foam parties are to the haven at Pollara.

On both days, I lost count of how many times I jumped off the boat into water so clear that swimming felt like flying, the sun streaking the sea floor green, cobalt and turquoise.

Another day, a couple of friends and I rented a small dinghy, named "feluca fishing," and took it around Salina. Anchored just east of the diminutive port of Rinella, the sea was so transparent that it looked colorless above the rocky floor. Away from the coast, the water turned lapis lazuli-blue, so deep that it was impossible to see the bottom.

Lying in the sun as the boat sailed back toward Malfa, I marveled at how precisely the sprays its prow splashed onto the sea resembled fireworks. It was the typical kind of thought that Salina provokes, its stark stillness calling for precise observation of just how beautiful it all is.

One late afternoon, I hung out on Antonello's boat anchored in sight of Strombolicchio, a 150-foot basalt spire emerging from the sea that would make a perfect home for the most evil James Bond villain.

Antonello and I chatted about the fishermen's life. It's a hard life, disdained by the younger generation, but once it's in your blood, he said, you can never consider leaving the island. I asked why. The gruff fisherman paused.

"It's paradise," he finally said, shrugging. "You wake up, you see the sun rise, you see it set. You feel the wind, the sea. Paradise."

___

If You Go...

AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY: The best season to go is May to October; most establishments close in winter. You can fly into Naples or Palermo and take ferries from their ports, or drive to the closest port at Milazzo, where many daily crossings to Salina originate, taking less than two hours. Companies include Siremar, http://www.tirrenia.it/it/siremar and Ustica Lines, http://www.usticalines.it. Overnight ferry service from Naples is available, or take the more expensive daytime hydrofoil, about five hours.

ACCOMMODATIONS AND DINING: Azienda Agrituristica "Al Cappero" has simple, stunningly located mini-apartments in Pollara and a superb restaurant featuring caper dishes and fresh fish, http://www.alcappero.it. The town of Malfa has a small supermarket and the Azienda Agricola Marchetta, http://www.vinidisalina.it.

BOATING: Antonello Randazzo leads small-group boat tours from Malfa to all islands, including a dinner excursion to Stromboli — http://www.stelladisalina.it. He also rents mini-apartments on Salina. Massimo Taranto, at Nautica Non Solo Mare in Malfa's port, rents easy-to-use dinghies and speedboats, 011-39-090-984-4009.

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Tours show the pampered life of valuable horses (AP)

MIDWAY, Kentucky - how Claudius visitors approached a lush green paddock three chimneys farm, was the stately Thoroughbred big brown on the cue. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner ambled up to the plank fence and calmly made as a movie star on the red carpet.

Jennifer Riggle stretched her arm, camera in hand, and the horse's celebrity photos clicked. Riggle, a high school senior from Huntington, Indiana, spent spring break in Kentucky Horse country with her mother and a teenager friend.

She toured several horse farms, strolled to the Kentucky Horse Park and attended a day of the race on venerable Keeneland racetrack in nearby Lexington. Riggle, 18, said it was better than hanging out on the beach.

"Always a tan would be nice," she said. "But this is so much better." It's like going to Hollywood and celebrities to see. "I saw a horse that is how many million dollars?"

Sleek Thoroughbreds are the stars in Kentucky's Bluegrass region, and there is no better time than spring, in the weeks before and after the may visit 7 Kentucky Derby.

Foals are on pasture, their mothers hover close to teem. Flowers in bloom are and trees are budding, panoramic scenes of green meadows and bulletin board splashes of pink, snakes fences along the hills add yellow and white. Fans flock to Keeneland Racecourse and later in the spring at Churchill Downs, to pursue the iconic Louisville, which has the Kentucky Derby.

"It is to drive the best time of the year through Kentucky and see all farms and only experience really is which horse country," said Jen Roytz, marketing director at three chimneys farm, a popular tourist destination.

Three chimneys comprises approximately 2,300 hectares, but public tours are limited to the Stallion and breeding operation, where some famous names run their trade binary bloodlines, which could produce the next Triple Crown Champion.

The one-hour walking tours are based on demand, with a few exceptions available Tuesdays to Saturdays throughout the year.

The farm boundaries in the bustling Derby week visited but offer an open door to the public on 5 may - Thursday before the Derby. EDT is the open door, from 10: 00 am to 1 am, visitors a firsthand look at the farm Stallion operations type.

Is the peak time for public tours in the spring and again in fall when there are live race at Keeneland, a 10 or 15-minute drive away. The farm of fees is $10 per person for tours, and the proceeds to charities.

During the tour, the traces of the stately stallions with insights into their pampered life follow visitors.

There is a stop in their barns - striking structures with stone walls and high ceilings in the Interior. The spacious stalls are masked with thick layers of straw. Name plates decorate the booths the size of a CEO's to identify each occupant.

Tour guides Sue Clark talked about her daily routine. Each Stallion is bathed and maintained daily. You get the best food. You have to keep fit. You lounge in the open air in the quiet pastures.

"I wish that I this well has been lifted," said Tina Riggle, Jennifer's MOM, later.

The visitors get considered the massive stallions at close range.

Big Brown was released from his stall in a barn. Ears lived, he was left as cameras clicked away.

Mike Hays, a horse racing fan of little rock, Ark., was one of the admirers of the horse, which the Triple Crown 2008 won the first two legs. Later he said jokingly, "I lost some money on him in the Belmont (stakes) but I forgive him."

Big brown left and then came point given, winner of the Preakness and Belmont in 2001.

Both were finally in the Sun, enjoy their hooves clicking on the tile floor as they leave outside led.

"It is in our ears," Clark said.

In an another barn, stable for Dynaformer, one of the world's best sires, was empty. The father of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was already outside. Stallion was groom Veronica Reed, plastic pipes in the hand, his stable employs cleaning. Each horse has his own personality and Dynaformer is known for his stance.

"He knows exactly what he is, he knows, who he is, and how is it," Reed said with a touch of pride.

Where Dynaformer drinking water from a bucket was clicked cameras like visitors strolled to the pasture.

An another photo opportunity came too late on a statue, great Seattle slew. The statue surrounded by stately trees, is a short walk from the barn, where the Triple Crown winner in his post-racing life as a leading father.

The tour stopped at the barn where mares are checked in prior to breeding. Vans had already arrived, from each would-be mother for her fall in the afternoon Rendezvous in the breeding barn. Visitors on the role of the horse "Teaser", a male State, which checks the Mare learned to ensure that it is ready for mating with an expensive Stallion.

Breeding, visitors had the opportunity to participate in a session. Soon they were shed as one which was quickly completed data in the afternoon looked in the breeding. Maybe it was the beginning of a future champion, Clark said.

Other prominent Kentucky horse farms also open their doors for the visitors.

Claiborne farm outside visitors see the farm stallions, breeding is North of Lexington shed and cemetery, where the immortal Secretariat buried of Paris. Ashford Stud can close to Versailles the guests during a tour to get a glimpse of his stallions.

People can call or e-Mail the farms dates set to visit them.

There is now an organized touring system in the works for horse country. Kentucky Thoroughbred owners and breeders work with several area tour company, people to book tours with participating horse farms. Any tour company would transport available. People are booking tours through a website - http://www.horsecapitaltours.com - lists the participating companies and times for tours.

David Switzer, executive Director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred owners and breeders Trade Organization, said that the goal is it to start the touring program this spring. There is a fee, but the level still not been set, he said. Tours are probably run from April to October or November, and he hopes that packages offer also stops at other regional attractions such as Bourbon distilleries.

Although tens of thousands already every year visit farms Kentucky Horse, he thinks, is a huge head to tourism.

"We have something, is so unique," Switzer said. "And everyone has heard of the Kentucky Derby."

___

If you go...

KENTUCKY HORSE FARM TOURS: call or e-Mail, at various farms to set up. Three chimneys farm, http://www.threechimneys.com or 859-873-7053. fee: $10 per person, with proceeds going to charities. Tuesday to Saturday at 1 pm, with a few exceptions throughout the year. Summer tours can switch to 10: 00 am, to verify start time.

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Tourist bargains in Europe this summer (AP)

LONDON – Airfares have repeatedly risen this year, the dollar has struggled against the euro, and Europe's economic crisis is still rattling financial markets. Americans planning their summer vacations could well ask what's the point of going to Europe this year?

But savvy tourists considering the continent might also be wondering if there are bargains to be had, especially in the four European countries worst hit by the economic crisis — Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Known in some circles by the derogatory acronym PIGS, these struggling nations rely heavily on tourism revenue, and they are working hard to boost this sector of their economies.

On the plus side, travel agents are seeing potential bargains in these countries in everything from airfares, hotels and restaurants, to in-country transportation and visits to key tourist sites.

The agents also regard these four nations as potentially cheaper to visit this summer than three other top tourist European destinations: Britain, France and Italy.

But even as the struggling countries reach out for tourist dollars, visitors will have to plan carefully to find bargains.

They also will have to decide whether to regard Portugal — which is engulfed by an acute financial crisis and courting bankruptcy — and Greece — where strikes against tough austerity measures can turn violent — as potential adventures or too chaotic for a vacation.

One reason bargains can be tough to find is that predicting airfares is like playing roulette these days, given the way the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, and Japan's nuclear crisis, have driven up oil prices — a key factor in airline ticket costs.

Another is that the unrest in countries such as Tunisia, Libya and Egypt — as well as the crisis in Japan — have made the beach resorts of Spain, Portugal and Greece even more popular than usual among vacationers.

A third is that these nations remain proud that they have long been prized as tourist destinations — and they don't see themselves as a downtrodden alternative.

"We have a resource that is better than oil: our weather, our landscapes, our culture and our gastronomy, which are unlike any other in the world," Spain's Industry, Trade and Tourism Minister Miguel Sebastian said in the Canary Islands, a top lure for European sun-seekers. "Petroleum, he said, "will run out, but tourism has no reason to do so."

One potential advantage in these tourist destinations could be the price of a flight there.

"When I look at our summer booking data, at least based on airfare, Spain, Portugal and Ireland are relative bargains," said Genevieve Shaw Brown, a senior official at Travelocity.com. Americans looking for bargains also should consider package bookings that include flights and hotels, she said.

For instance, two people traveling together in the last week of June could fly round-trip from New York to Dublin, Ireland, and stay five nights at a four-star hotel for about $1,300 per person, less than the average airfare this summer for Italy, France and Britain, she said.

Brian Ek, a senior travel analyst for Priceline.com, said airfares from the U.S. to Ireland — on carriers such as Aer Lingus — are likely to be one of the best bargains in Europe this summer, with many hotels in the country also lowering their prices.

"A lot of people don't realize this, but if demand isn't there, an airline reduces flights and raises prices. A hotel and a restaurant can't do that. They must lower prices," Ek said.

George Hobica, president of AirfareWatchdog.com, said consumers looking for deals on airfare or package booking should go online twice a day for a month. He said they should not only use sites such as Expedia, Hotwire, and airline alert services, but also scan the online sites of airlines such as Aer Lingus, Iberia and BA.

Travel agents said flights from the U.S. to Greece are likely to remain more expensive than those to the other three nations. But Greece's airports have reached out to tourists by waiving landing, takeoff and stopover fees, and Parliament recently reduced the value-added tax charged to tourists by hotels to 6.5 percent from 11 percent.

Some struggling hotels and bed-and-breakfasts in countries such as Greece and Portugal also are offering bargain rates that can be found online at sites such as EuroCheapo.com.

Strikes by unions have long been more common in Europe than in the U.S., and some can be big enough to close capitals and shut down airports and public transportation, especially in Greece, where workers are fed up with high unemployment and austerity measures.

Even tourists who arrive on cruise ships in Piraeus, the main port serving Athens, can run into delays. Last summer strikes by workers there delayed the arrival of several ships. But it wasn't all bad. When passengers on one such cruise ship later arrived at the island of Rhodes, they were welcomed by local residents carrying flowers.

Dublin is reaching out to tourists by launching a program in June that provides a free round of drinks and a free tour of the city by a local resident. Travelers 66 years or older can get a Golden Trekker Pass: four days of unlimited free train travel on Irish Rail.

Portugal, Greece and Spain have long been known for their great food and restaurants — and Ireland for its fantastic beers and steaks — but some of these countries also serve dinner far later at night than Americans are accustomed to.

There are ways around this for tourists in the know.

For example, visitors to countries such as Ireland can find early bird specials in restaurants, according to Pauline Frommer, the creator of the Pauline Frommer Guide Books.

She also said that one unanticipated advantage of the economic crises in these four nations is that American bargain-hunters are less likely to be looked down upon as they once were.

"It's now easier to be a budget traveler in these four countries because nobody gives you the evil eye if you go into a restaurant and order one entree to share," she said. "It's a sea change. Frugality is no longer looked down upon. It's expected."

Like the United States, Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain have regions that remain prosperous, despite the tough economic times, and ones that are hurting. For that reason, it's important for tourists who can't afford to stay in the well-off areas to visit them on day-trips and to spend the night at nearby hotels with cheaper rates.

For instance, Madrid remains pricey, but tourists can visit top museums such the Prado and Reina Sofia (free the last two hours every day), or Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (free on Wednesdays), then use good public transportation to get elsewhere for affordable accommodations.

All four nations have extensive train, subway and bus services that also allow bargain hunters to avoid renting a car and paying steep fuel prices.

Or tourists might just skip expensive areas such as Madrid and Barcelona and fly on a local budget airline from Madrid to Granada or Costa del Sol, two areas in the south that were harder hit by the crisis and have cheaper hotels and restaurants.

Another option could be to give Spain a pass this year and head instead to neighboring Portugal, one of the poorest countries in western Europe.

Despite all Portugal's problems, Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla are currently making official visits there, and to Spain and Morocco.

In May, President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II are both heading to Ireland. Like many Americans, Obama has traced the genealogy of his family back to Europe — in his case an ancestor who fled Ireland's potato famine in 1850.

So, Frommer said, keep this in mind while deciding whether to travel to Portugal, Ireland, Greece or Spain this summer: "In America, much of our culture comes from Europe. If you and your children want to understand your own system, background, law, give it a try."

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Good deals in Spain's capital to have (AP)

MADRID - unemployment stands at a staggering 20 percent in Spain, and no one is predicting the economic boom enjoyed just two years ago that Madrid will return anytime soon. Still, tourists visiting one of Europe's most breathtaking cities this summer will have to do some homework to find bargains.

Booking ahead for hotels is crucial because unrest in North African countries such as Egypt and Tunisia has prompted many European tourists to change plans and head for the sun and safety of Spain instead. That means the country isn't in any danger of losing its reputation as the world's fourth biggest tourist destination.

On top of that, many Spaniards are expected to stay at home this year rather than pay to fly overseas on vacation.

That said, there are plenty of bargains to be had in Madrid, and the best thing is that they revolve around Spain's famed food and culture. You just have to do it the way the Spaniards do that means eating later than usual, going just a few steps off the beaten tourist path for tapas, and timing visits to key points of interest.

Any Spaniard will tell you eating out is one of the great pleasures of life, a sublime ritual that traditionally marries regionally sourced food with great wine.

The same goes for France and Italy, but you can generally do it cheaper in Spain, if you go local and have lunch around 2 p.m., or take advantage of the freebie appetizers over drinks offered in many bars.

Restaurants across Madrid and throughout Spain have placards outside their doors offering the "menu del dia," or meal of the day which applies only to lunch. It includes two main courses, dessert and a drink - usually wine, beer or water, or the summer favorite "tinto de verano," which is red wine with slightly sweetened seltzer water.

The total price is usually between 10 and 15 euros ($ 14-$ 21), but many restaurants don't start serving meals until 2 p.m. or so. Forget about getting the meal of the day at noon.

Besides price, the advantage is that the meals offer a great way to sample a wide variety of traditional Spanish food and paella is frequently served as the first or second course.

Spain's bars galore are famed for their tapas, but many also offer free mini-tapas with a drink in a combination called "aperitivos" (appetizers). The standing rule is that if you order a glass of wine or beer, or a soda, the bartender gives you a little snack to accompany the drink. You just don't get to pick.

The more drinks you order, the more you get, and bartenders will usually vary from one aperitivo to the next to give you a variety. Best to hit the bars where the crowd looks mostly if not all Spanish. The bonus this year is that Spain's bars and restaurants have gone smoke-free, except for outside terraces.

Bars don't say whether they give them or not, and bartenders might forget, but the best way to find out is just to say "hay aperitivos con tapa?" ("Do you serve appetizers with tapa?"). If they say no, you're relegated to ordering tapas. But if they do - and you're not too hungry - you might be able to fill up just on the cost of the drinks.

For breakfast, do not order the coffee and the pastry you see in glass cases. Ask for the "desayuno" (breakfast) instead, and you'll get a freshly squeezed orange juice, strong coffee and toast with butter and jam. Usually about 3 euros ($4.25).

Most tourists head to Plaza Mayor in the heart of Madrid, a 15th-century monumental cobblestoned square that has witnessed everything from bullfights to hair-raising Inquisition trials. All along its edges are restaurants offering tempting fare, but it's best to just soak in the atmosphere of the plaza and head to the nearby side streets to eat.

At the southwestern corner of the square is an arch with stone steps leading down to Los Cuchilleros and then Cava Baja streets. All southward along this route you will find some of the most well attended restaurants in Spain, serving everything from traditional recipes - try Casa Lucio, one of the oldest restaurants in Europe - to modern tapas. And all at much better prices than in the tourist-trap plaza.

One of Madrid's priciest hotels has a great deal for those who can't afford rooms starting at 265 euros ($327) a night.

Deep inside, beyond the luxurious lobby, is the main of the Palace bar, set under a magnificent art nouveau stained-glass dome. Commissioned by King Alfonso XIII in 1912, this is a regally elegant place to meet, and ordering a glass of Cava sparkling wine - served by waiters in tailcoats and white gloves - can be a perfect way to start on the evening for the relatively modest sum of 12.20 euros ($17.20). Live piano music and celebrity-watching are included, but do not of wear sneakers, shorts and a T-shirt.

Tourists looking for inexpensive hostels (known as "hostals" or "pensiones") that charge as little as double 30 euros ($42) a night for a room, can find them in Madrid or outside the city in locations such as the town of Guadarrama.

Madrid also boasts four of Europe's most important museums: the Prado, Reina Sofia, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Caixa Forum. But timing is key, so make sure you do not take too long of a siesta after your long lunch.

The Prado - boasting masterpieces by Fra Angelico, Diego de Velázquez, El Greco, Francisco de Goya - charges no admission Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. This year it will feature "Treasures from the Hermitage," a rare opportunity to see masterpieces outside of their famous Russian home.

The Reina Sofia - home to Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" - lets anyone in free Monday to Friday from 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Saturdays from 2: 30 p.m.-9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2: 30 p.m.

Located within the central Retiro park are three smaller, more intimate museums. Palacio de Cristal and Palacio de Velazquez are linked to the Reina Sofia and often have free exhibitions, while Casa de Vacas at the northern end so holds free exhibitions.

Those wishing to follow in the footsteps of author Ernest Hemingway do not have to go to a bullfight in Madrid's famed Las be quite ticket ventas bullring - shelling out for a in the shade can pricey. The building itself is a stunning example of Moorish influence on Spanish architecture, and people can enjoy a 40 minute guided tour in English - including a beginner's lesson in how to hold cape and sword - Tuesday to Sunday at 10 a.m.., or 1: 30 p.m. for 6 euros ($8.50).

Just outside the ring is a statue of a matador taking his is off to a bust of Alexander Fleming, a tribute to the discoverer of penicillin. Before its discovery, bullfighters were often doomed to death by infection after gorings.

While Madrid's taxis are certainly cheaper than cabs in cities such as London, the best way to get around is on the city's extensive public transport system. A tourist travel pass allowing unlimited bus and subway rides costs 5.20 euros ($7.30) a day or 23.60 euros ($33.25) a week.

The adventurous can shell out a little more for public transport and head to the Guadarrama mountains looming near the city. The peaks are topped with snow during the winter months, but offer relief from Madrid's scorching heat during the summer, amide the smells of wild lavender and rosemary growing on the slopes.

Some like to stay past sunset, then rush to take the last commuter train back to Madrid.

"From here at night," said Singaporean tourist Melvyn Tan, "Madrid looks like a chest of jewels shining in the darkness."

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Travel plans for runners: where is the next race? (AP)

By KAREN SCHWARTZ

NEW ORLEANS - it is 8:00 A.m. on a Sunday morning, and I'm in pain in New Orleans. Not morning-after-a-night-in-the-French Quarter kind of pain and knee pain.

I am along with 15,000 other runners for the streets winding, rock ' n ' roll Mardi Gras Marathon and half marathon were closed. And as 70 percent of the others, I have here out of the city, to do so.

Runners have been always race. The Boston Marathon has attracted more than a century of international participants. In recent years, but the concept of the target do not only develop, it exploded, said Robert Pozo, President of the continental event and the sports management group.

The rock ' n ' Roll Marathon and half marathon is the oldest of the series of races. Started in 1998 in San Diego, it events in 19 cities of the United States this year has, and will expand next year to Madrid. True to the series names are running this as much a party as a competition. Bands play each pair of blocks, although I, they largely ignore instead listen to that voice in my head tell me the result in pain.

A new series, only for women of Diva's half marathon, started in October last year on New York long Iceland. The first race attracted participants from all 50 States, said Pozo, the Organizer. Race in Honolulu, Vail, Colorado, and Puerto Rico have been added this year.

Disney hosts a variety of events in the Disney World and Disneyland and Royal Caribbean hosted a race 5 K for cruise passengers ship on the island of St. Maarten in December last year.

There's even a seven continents Club, with more than 300 members, the marathon run in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Antarctica, according to Marathon tours & travel from Boston.

So do why runners as much travel?

Some go to the quick courses qualify for the Boston Marathon or a personal best result hope. I travel for the diversity and came to New Orleans to run the half marathon and four-day visit with my family. Boring-going hundreds of kilometers in the same area.

Then is the demographic of the runner. At the Diva were run, almost 40 percent of the participants age 30 to 39 - years as people are more likely have disposable income.

"Running was affected by the recession,", Pozo, said is a pair of shoes pointing out that a runner needs all. While people feel, that is a spa or a fancy resort these days extravagant, is somewhere to run this same connotation not.

"It is that vacation and not called it a holiday," said Pozo. "And ya, I'm going to lay by the pool and I will be there for four or five days."

The good feelings add, double many of the events as a charity fundraiser. The Mardi Gras run raised, for example, money for the American Cancer Society.

The Organizer lure us in different cities offer special medals to the several events to. Elizabeth Williams, 28, visit from Scranton, PA, their second half marathon, version plans three more this year in California, Kentucky and Missouri.

She said the fact the the rock ' n ' roll series from fantasy medals "for more than one who run their race only amps of the experience for me."

"I do not always a race will win." I do not expect, well in my age group place - but it's nice to feel, as you won something after all the hard work, sacrifice and grit that it took to get here. "

Round 15,000 people at least two rock n ' Roll marathon or half marathon last year ran to the "rock Encore" Medal, get while more than 250 "rock legend" received medals for competing in seven or more race in the year 2010, Dan Cruz said, a spokesman for the Organizer competitor group.

Mixed by New Orleans like me, all I wanted was that a race end. I was moved by the cheering crowd, and felt I let them - and me - if I didn't. A group King serving cake, but I was to stop focused.

My last race was different. At the Royal Victoria half marathon in Victoria, British Columbia was my run. I tried the beer and biscotti and enjoyed the scenery.

But not in New Orleans. The only one that I wanted to see was the finish line. Finally, it was there. My 10-year-old daughter, alarmed by my limpen, dashed out from among the spectators to help me over the finish line. My miles have been completed.

Knowing I'd tired after the run, we spent a van tour of the Garden District, a cemetery and the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in the afternoon.

After breakfast Monday at Café you it was easy, Monde, walking through the French quarter, the many runners on the ground. We were tentative, muscles schmerzende nursing, or bubbles.

Sitting in the free drinking coffee and eating a doughnut, I noticed that the folks at the neighbouring table carried Marathon shirts. With this common bond, we started to chat, and I learned that Cliff Phillips, 44, of Marietta, GA., five full marathon from San Diego to New York City has been executed.

He said "at the end of the day my marathons have a training for my children and for my family - all while I me keep an adventure in the form,".

Phillips is a travel agency helps her travel book runner specialized. Organizer offer "official hotel" with discounted prices, but Phillips offers alternatives.

Reduced to a dull pain with pain in my knee I figured that I note to him if I would have to run my next race.

But with so many destinations to choose from, where should I do?

___

If you go...

ROCK n ' ROLL MARATHON: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/. Races and events in 19 cities in 2011.

DIVAS HALF MARATHON series: http://www.runlikeadiva.com. Races and events in four cities in 2011.

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Fine dining in the rugged Big Bend National Park (AP)

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas – On the banks of the Rio Grande where the river has carved steep canyons through the mountains of the Chihuahuan Desert dozens of miles from any civilization, Chef Francois Maeder is whipping up white chocolate mousse.

"A lot of people think when you go camping you should have hot dogs and beans," Maeder says.

Not here.

Luscious food and white-linen dining takes a backseat only to the spectacular desert terrain and star-filled night skies at one of the most remote and least visited national parks in the continental United States.

For 24 years now, Swiss-born Maeder has taken his San Antonio restaurant's gourmet kitchen on the road — and on the river.

Maeder, 64, prepares and serves exquisite meals on raft trips along the Rio Grande through Big Bend National Park, an 801,163-acre wilderness some 700 miles west of Houston.

The park gets its name from the sharp 118-mile-long northeastern arc taken by the river that forms an 889-mile border separating Texas from Mexico. At more than 1,200 square miles, Big Bend, a national park since 1944, is the 15th largest in the national park system. Its river, desert and mountain environment make it home to more types of birds, bats and cacti than any other U.S. national park. Its location, more than two hours south of the nearest interstate highway, keeps the crowds down and makes Big Bend a destination rather than a casual stop on the way to somewhere else.

About a half-dozen times a year, during the cooler spring and fall, Maeder and guides from Far Flung Outdoor Center, an outfitter from nearby Terlingua, pack a portable kitchen and coolers filled with fixings for breakfasts, salads, dinners and desserts for gourmet river trips aboard 16-foot inflatable rafts through the canyons.

Valynda Henington, co-owner of Far Flung, which has been leading trips through the isolated area for decades, describes them as "scenic float trips."

The outfitter offers more rugged, intense and longer adventures along the Rio Grande, which includes portions federally designated as Wild and Scenic River, meaning it's nearly inaccessible, primitive and free of development.

The gourmet trips, however, "bring us a clientele that wouldn't come in normally," Henington said.

"A lifetime experience for me," Tim Tritch, 56, who works for a paint manufacturing firm in Dallas, said of his recent voyage.

"It's like being on a three-day cruise with a very small group of people ... pursuing what they like to enjoy," Tritch's wife, Amy, 43, said.

"Float and bloat!" Patrick Harris, 45, the guide team leader, hollers as a March trip through Heath and Temple Canyons gets under way opposite the ghostly and apparently abandoned village of La Linda, Mexico.

Up to four passengers ride in rafts piloted by a Far Flung guide for trips that typically cover about a dozen miles. Most of the time on the river comes before the intense afternoon heat, where temperatures even in early spring can reach 100 degrees. The trip leader selects a riverbank campsite for two-person tents. The latter half of the day is for cooling off in the clear river, taking a siesta or exploring the desert.

"We're trying to make it an experience where you don't have to do anything unless you want to," guide Jenny Schooler, 29, a North Carolina native who's been with Far Flung for 16 months, said.

As the sun begins to drop behind the mountains and the scorching heat abates, dinner is a several hours-long experience. Under an open-sided portable white tent softly lit with a string of tiny battery-powered lights, appetizers like pate, truffles and cognac and smoked salmon with cream cheese begin the evening's feast, followed by fresh spinach pasta, salad and New Zealand rack of lamb. Dessert is white chocolate mousse with Irish cream, freshly whipped in the desert.

A typical second-day dinner includes Texas Gulf shrimp, ricotta tortellini with cream and garlic sauce, charbroiled steelhead trout and Muscovy duck breast in wine and mushroom sauce. For dessert, raspberry mousse.

Breakfasts are omelets made to order or eggs benedict. Lunch is a deli-style buffet.

"We try stuff people like," says Maeder. "A lot of cooks make it too complicated. I've seen recipes with 25 or 30 ingredients. It's not necessary. I believe in keeping it simple."

He brings the food from San Antonio, where he owns a restaurant called Crumpets, and works off a shopping list.

"Sometimes you forget something," he acknowledges. "You improvise."

Maeder arrived in Texas in 1977, from Montreal, after working in Asia and Europe. He took his first Rio Grande trip in 1987 with his teenage stepson, fell in love with the place and convinced the folks who ran Far Flung to try offering a trip that featured fine dining. That was 160 trips ago for Maeder, who rows his own raft.

Despite the generally tame nature of the gourmet trips, which generally attract from eight to more than two dozen guests, the desert can be daunting. It's not unprecedented for a scorpion to crawl into a tent. Wild burros howl in the night. Maeder has stories of trips marked by tennis ball-size hail, flash floods, dramatic temperature swings and unexpected visitors to tent sites.

"You look up at a horse," he said, recounting one nighttime episode.

Despite drug violence in Mexico border towns and controversy over undocumented immigrants crossing the border, Maeder said none of his trips has encountered trouble. "We're five hours away by car," he said, pointing toward the canyon wall on the Mexican side of the river. "Once in a while you'll see a rancher on a horse, looking for cattle or goats."

The specific canyon for a trip depends on the depth of the Rio Grande, water-depleted in many spots by drought. No rain fell in the Big Bend from September 2010 through March of this year, making trips unsuitable for rafts through Santa Elena Canyon and its 1,500-foot-high limestone cliffs.

More than a century ago, long before dams far upstream harnessed the Rio Grande and slowed the flow of water, running the river was a death-defying experience. When government boundary surveyors in 1852 launched an empty wooden boat into Santa Elena Canyon, it exited as broken planks and splinters. The first successful trip wasn't documented until 1882.

The Rio Grande through Heath and Temple Canyons, off the northeast edge of the park, is fed in part by springs, accounting for an increased water flow. And while the canyons lack the tunnel-like sensation of Santa Elena, they are no less impressive.

"It's an experience we'll never forget," said Rosie Wilson, 58, of San Antonio, who made a recent trip with her husband, Grant. "The night sky. My goodness! It's so beautiful and it's here every night and we get to see it."

___

If You Go

FAR FLUNG OUTDOOR CENTER: http://ffoc.net/index.php. Gourmet trips are $775 per person plus Texas sales tax of 7.75 percent. A 10 percent gratuity for the raft guide is suggested.

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK: http://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm.

GETTING THERE: Fly to Midland, then drive 242 miles; from El Paso, 329 miles; from San Antonio, 406 miles.

ACCOMMODATIONS: For lodging before tour departures: No chain motels operate within at least two hours of the park. Far Flung has several 400-square-foot casitas that can accommodate up to four people, $125 per night although rates vary by season. A few other motels are nearby in Terlingua. The Chisos Mountain Lodge, operated by Forever Resorts, Inc., is in Big Bend National Park's Chisos Basin at 5,400 feet elevation and nearly an hour drive from Terlingua.. The lodge offers a variety of rooms and cottages, plus a gift shop and dining room.

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Trip to London for Royal Wedding? Some tips (AP)

NEW YORK - Diane Morton soon fly from Florida, where she lives in London, be in the city, when the Royal Wedding.

She did not the procession route research, and they may or may not try to stake out a place to take a look at the carriage with Prince William and his new bride Kate Middleton. But she would only in London, if it happens.

"Although we see not all, OK, only to find it and be part of the hoopla," said Morton, 67, who parkland, FLA., will be with her partner, Donald Ammons travel. "We enjoy London." It is a place to be, and we have a few good friends are. "If we're lucky, maybe we get a glimpse of Kate in case then."

Morton counts 600,000 more people expected to be in London, when the Royal Wedding of April 29, according to estimates by London + partners, the city official tourism body.

Those certainly wake up early and stand for hours along the route to see their wish may procession in the hope of the Royals in person, but tourism experts say there are many other ways, see the event from festivals, watching you on huge screens to toasting the happy couple in a pub.

"The atmosphere in the city will be a lot of fun," Dinah hatch, author of one said from eBook, only "Frommer's Royal Wedding," the travel guidebook company. "It is a lot of Pubbing and drink, and even if you didn't catch sight of Kate and is, it will be fun." "Let's just hope that it does not rain."

"We love a good party" Karen Clarkson agreed to visit Britain's Vice President for North America, "and informal Street parties are happens everywhere in London and around Britain"

Officials have confirmed that giant screens live will show TV coverage of the event Park and Trafalgar Square in Hyde. Clarkson said VisitBritain expected that screens at other locations and will be put up "see it with a crowd, you can enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy the procession."

The route of the procession between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, where that is pair Wed, crosses's Park St. James along the Mall. Horse guards Avenue past the horse guards parade. and along Whitehall, Parliament Square. You, stake out a place should be prepared for hours of waiting.

"The key is, in fact it get early;"Hatch said all these spots perfectly white. "It is a very specific route, over at many of the major tourist attractions." ... "There are places where you can get very close to their car or carriage."

But exactly when you should be someone is the conjecture. Three may be too early, but 6.00 could be too late. Bad weather add masses to reduce could and wait time, while the misery.

Measured are the streets and sidewalks beyond Marc Palace in expectation will fill in the appearance of the happy couple after the ceremony. As fans of "The King's speech" know film tradition calls the Royals from Buckingham Palace to greet the balconies to major events to the public.

"Everyone at this moment will wait", said hatch. "It's a historic moment." "You want to be a part of the story."

Clarkson said despite the expected crowds, London of the ample capacity of the hotel as the beginning of April, with some new hotel just opened, including the W, St. Pancras Renaissance and had the Corinthia. Those, for whom the W $440 (269 pounds) at night prices to steep will have many alternatives, with prices going farther from Center City, you will find. Early April data from 450,000 found average rates for hotel rooms in London of this time of year are 21 percent over the same period of last year, at $185 each night.

Locales such as Windsor, Brighton or Cambridge offer cheaper accommodation, but you can reach by train an hour or longer London must commute. At the other end of the spectrum if you can afford as a King, life offers Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel a $30,146 5-night package for two, which includes views of the procession and private tours of "Partner of the Royal family."

In the meantime, flights, appear not stratosphere to go. On 7 April offered online listings round trips from New York to London for under $800 on several different carriers.

If you can with a wider on the British monarchy visit castles, museums and tours and exhibits, including the Tower of London, where Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII; beheaded offers other attractions Buckingham Palace, where you see can the guard change daily; St. Paul's Cathedral, where William's mother Princess Diana was married; and the National Gallery, houses the paintings of Kings and Queens.

A two-hour, $25 (15 pounds) walk from celebrity planet the story of Kate and wills courtship, with intermediate stops at Jigsaw, the clothing chain show you where she worked in the year 2007 as will their relationship broke off; Mahiki, where the Prince broke up a bar, nightclub Bill of 11,000 pounds in a week after the break-up; and St. James of Palace, the official residence of William and his brother Harry.

Elsewhere, end of April, which is characterized by William Shakespeare birthday April 26 in his hometown of Stratford is in the United Kingdom; Cheltenham Jazz Festival begins April 27; and Scotland's Speyside whisky Festival runs may 28-2. "You can roast the Royal couple with a DRAM or two," Clarkson said.

Cynics might say that way, that Diana and Charles out before all romantic illusions about the Royals has cancelled, says but Clarkson many American visitors to England remain fascinated by the monarchy, and sincerely hope many Royal observers, William's marriage a happy ending as his mother has. Eventually, Clarkson, says "everyone loves a good fairy, tale."

___

If you go...

ROYAL WEDDING: official website: http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

Tourist information: Visit Britain - http://www.visitbritain.us - provides extensive information online including a map of the route procession with sights and points of interest - http://bit.ly/dOnp7f.

EBOOK-GUIDE: "Frommer's Royal Wedding," by Dinah hatch, $6.99, with links for online purchase at http://www.frommers.com/go/royalebook/.

WILL & KATE WALK ROYAL WEDDING: two-hour walk through sites in London chronicle of the couple relationship, $25 (15 pounds), early reservation available Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunch, required, http://bit.ly/gNwfue.

By BETH j. HARPAZ,

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Chernobyl tours offered to 25 years after blast (AP)

CHERNOBYL nuclear power plant, Ukraine - for the visitors, Chernobyl places high demands on the imagination - is just to see what much important.

From the outside the building in which sees a reactor until 26 April 1986, in the world's worst nuclear disaster usually blew industrial buildings such as an ordinary, dull. Only an odd addition of buttresses support - the sarcophagus for the reactor - notes that nothing unusual here happened.

The fantasy fights, too, to fill with the 50,000 people in nearby Pripyat, there lived. Once a special for the plant workers busy city, is a silent shell it now abandoned apartment towers and double-headed arrow brush slowly overtake main square.

And it is inevitable, the visitor tries, radioactive contamination image, which is 19-mile, to the plant anywhere in the field (30 km). The dosimeter a visitor's clothes and occasional metres around the site are the only Visual cues, flashing numbers that are meaningless for the uninitiated.

Someone saturated by the lively images widescreen disaster, the films on Chernobyl unavailability may be disappointed. But his is also, makes. Dealing with the invisible is a taste of the fear, the Ukrainians and much of the world spewed radioactive fallout in the sky by winds swept along like in the hemisphere of the shattered operation plagued.

The way these fears face on a day trip is increasingly attractive.

"A few months ago, it was a few dozen people per week", that sign up for the trips to Dmitry Bobro, Deputy Director of the Government agency that manages the zone around Chernobyl. "But now it is one hundred people week."

Even before the crisis on a Japanese nuclear power plant broke out in March, interest in visiting Chernobyl grew so much that the Ukrainian Government to bring the initiative in STW more visitors through the rationalization of the procedures for the registration for the tours.

"" "We want to say" come and see for yourselves you "," said emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova the associated press. Then a comment that the importance of Chernobyl is elusive for those, the closely related life she added: "We want to dispel that Chernobyl is still dangerous for the Ukraine and the world the myth."

But Chernobyl is in fact still a dangerous place, as the rules for visitors to make it clear. Touch all the structures or vegetation, not sitting do not on the floor, or even put take it your camera tripod, you eat any element from the zone, not in the open air. Guides ensure that the visitors understand that different spots in the zone more than others are contaminated and walking no one consist of the designated paths.

Visitors can also the beginnings of a project highlight the dangers which remain see - the efforts to build of a huge protection, the reactor building will cover. Like a behemoth Quonset hut shaped, blocked the protection fallout of the escape, when workers begin dismantling of the reactor.

Tourists get, see the reactor building only a few hundred metres away. But the visitors center from where they can look at the plant includes a large and detailed model of the area shattered reactor. There is pause, and visitors their eyes restlessly from the model of the hulking plant building; most seem relieved to move along.

Pripyat, optical highlight but an emotional low point is about 1 mile (2 km). Although the buildings are slowly fall apart, their clean lines and modern design, in contrast to some of shabby settlements, which the visitors on the bus ride through to from Kiev. Pripyat was a prime example of the perfect Soviet city, and the workers look at what the inhabitants lost, if it gives the visitors a twinge after the explosion were evacuated.

Pripyat's most affecting point possibly his rusting amusement park, where a Ferris wheel as unintended monument looms. The wheel; rode not dizzy couples ever It was opened the week after the explosion have.

Although the Chernobyl zone with silence and loss is affirmierte, there is life there, a kind of. Some of the workers, who keep an eye on the now in the idle plant life in the city of Chernobyl, about 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the plant for two weeks at a time. And some tours allow visitors, some of a few hundred people "Self settlers," hit, which had moved from the zone but came back against all advice, risking their health life where they were born, their days in the hamlets.

After the bus loads for the trip to Kiev, there are disturbing yet a moment ahead. On the border of the zone must all out and pass through a machine that registered a person of radiation. The visitor puts his hands, keeps them against two metal plates and is waiting in prayer-like position for a few seconds, he hopes, a green light flashes and tells him that he was safe but on the day.

___

If you go...

Visit CHERNOBYL: Multiple agencies offer day trips to Chernobyl from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, with prices starting at about $140 per person depending on group size. Agency websites include http://bit.ly/fSxGjD and http://www.tourkiev.com/chernobyltour/.

Visit UKRAINE: Ukraine requires no visas for visits by citizens of many Western countries including the United States. Detailed visa information request are to http://www.mfa.gov.ua/mfa/en/509.htm.

___

Associated Press Writer Maria danilova in Kiev contributed to this story.

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Called place hope opens doors for Clinton Museum (AP)

Hope, Ark - Bill Clinton's boyhood home in hope is open for more than a decade as a Museum, but this is the first year that the House as part of the National Park Service visitors see.

The House became a national historic site at the beginning of the year and Clinton said at his formal dedication of mid-April, he wants the House as a reminder of the values he learned as a child.

The home of the new designation as a National Park site is expected to more tourists hope, a Southwest Arkansas City about 12,000 economy struggling with one draw.

The two-story, white, wood-frame house was restored, according to the style of the late 1940s and early 1950s, when the former President lived there. Toys from the time of the Court are strewn about a page and inside is the very couch owned by Clinton's grandparents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy.

Clinton's father, William Blythe, was killed in a car accident, while his mother, Virginia, was pregnant with Clinton, so that she and her new baby in moved with her parents in the comfortable apartment on 117 S. Hervey St. She lived there for four years, but also to Virginia married and moved to another house in hope, remained the Hervey Street home center of Bill Clinton's family life. He spent weekends and summers with his grandparents and it members with extended family gathered.

The historic site includes a second building was converted into a visitor centre. Shows in the Interior, which say, as Eldridge Cassidy served customers in his small grocery store in black and white - an unusual practice during segregation - and how he families in need with free food and forgive debt would help.

Of the Clinton Foundation birthplace opened in 1997, has the Museum had more than 80,000 visitors, including people from 159 countries. Clinton is in a foreign country, admired a central part of the Museum's mission to catering for foreign tourists.

Local officials say that they expect more visitors hope that on their routes in Clinton presidential library and Museum in little rock, take 110 miles North-East. A different Museum and former Clinton home is located in the northwest Arkansas, where Clinton lived with Hillary Rodham Clinton while working as a law professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Clintons were married in the living room.

Clinton said during the dedication in hope that the way how, that he grew up, guided him in his lifelong political efforts to opportunity for "ordinary people."

"We here of a certain age were issued, to everyone." My grandfather taught me to see people without regard to the color of their skin, ", Clinton, visitors, said he hoped that" some of the good I got somehow communicated from here is "Add."

Clinton spoke about 15 metres of a pink granite monument, which is dedicated to the rose garden on the grounds of his mother, who as a young widow to nursing school in New Orleans during her son put remained in hope.

Are museum-goers in the House or the visitor center, an idea of what it, such as on the property before 60 years sound at the ubiquitous freight trains of ranting and raving. The property is on two sides of railway limited and interrupted the rackets of them Clinton and others during the dedication.

"Can, that your ears hurt, but it is pretty to me," Clinton said as a long train passed.

The House is three blocks from the city of hope, a long neglected area, the beginning of a recovery with a few new restaurants open signs soon for is. There is a train station, which serves as a City Museum, and not far down an other mediaeval is the track structure that houses an Arts Centre and a small Museum Pioneer Paul Klipsch, who started his business in hope dedicated to late audio.

But despite the close proximity to the Clinton home, visitors can never see the city centre, which has a few young shops and small restaurants. Most of the motels and restaurants in the city are located on the outskirts of the city close to Interstate 30, and from the motorway exit 30 travelers takes on the Hervey Street, where the Clinton home is bypassing downtown.

The Foundation, which transferred has Clinton's first home to the Park Service an another home in hope, the House, where the future President lived with his mother and stepfather, Roger Clinton, the father of Bill Clinton's brother. The House on the 321 E. 13th St. is not open for tours, but displays are visible through the window.

The home 13th Street is Clinton's time in hope of a darker chapter. His stepfather was vulnerable for being drunk and once, while his son watched a pistol shot through a wall during an argument with Virginia raised. Later, the family moved to hot springs, Clinton graduated from high school.

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If you go...

CLINTON birthplace of HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE: 117 S. Hervey St., hope, Ark; http://www.NPS.gov/wicl/ or 870-777-4455. guided tours starts every 30 minutes at 9 am with the last tour leaving at 4:30 pm

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Pearl Harbor visitors get now Japan and us map (AP)

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - political murders in Tokyo. Censorship and the stifling of dissent. A nation hungry for oil and other natural resources. Women in department stores and boarding Street kimono clad cars. A smiling Babe Ruth posing for photos with Japanese teen baseball player while on tour with American all-stars.

Visitors to Pearl Harbor see these snapshots of the 1930's Japan as walk it through the National Park Service new Museum of the 7 December 1941 attack dedicated, which pulled the United States in the second world war. This is a significant departure from the old collection of one of the worst foreign attacks ever on American soil dedicated to - what life like in Japan at that time not much figure into it.

The Centre, which officially opened last December 7 and moves around 4,000 visitors per day, was partly built, because the old, the one to fall was land reclaimed. The Park Service had outgrown even the old annex.

The new Centre is on the same site, but expanded to cover the original area several times. In the middle of a large grassy field with a view to the port to the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits on the battleship, which directly on the Ford Iceland at the height of the battle sank. Benches are located along field outside the exhibition halls and open-air walkways between buildings - a design element to consider an opportunity to the people or to absorb, what they have read, heard and seen in decompress.

Planning for the exhibits started five years ago, when the Park Service brought top historian to brainstorm what should contain the displays. The themes, to fit in two halls, "to War Road" and "Attack." A farm is dedicated to Hawaiian history.

The end result is a broader, more in-depth view of the attack Sunday morning nearly 70 years ago. In the course of the time helped to reach the new vision. So has bitterness rooted to the efforts of the Japanese pilots and American survivors, to each other and to overcome deep.

Daniel Martinez, the Park Service chief Pearl Harbor historian, said it was not possible, include the Japanese point of view in an official investigation of the attack, at the visitors center work when he started in the 1980s.

"It was easy to the last and the wounds were still open," Martinez said. "The idea of the research of the history would rank of some of the survivors of Pearl Harbor were identified, which were still dealing with the wounds of the war."

The old visitors center, which was built in 1980, had models of the USS Arizona and the Japanese aircraft carrier. The small exhibition hall display the items of sailors is stationed then at Pearl Harbor.

It was a shrine as a place, which analyzes a central moment in the history of the twentieth century.

Today, with 56 million dollar renovation, the Park Service's visitors the exhortation allow heed, - "remember Pearl Harbor" - much more thoroughly than before.

The Museum shows parts of Japanese Theatre newsreels, including festive scenes of Ruth play baseball during a tour. The exhibits show also Japan and the United States creeping closer to the war, with headlines about the Japanese invasion of China and US sanctions against Japan.

The advanced Museum allows more of the U.S. story be told, as well. There are photos of bodies crowding the Honolulu morgue, coffins in Kaneohe Beach and a burned corpse on the Hickam field are buried. A pharmacist mate protects a glass display case bloody white uniform. Visitors get to hear what was civilians, including children, the gas masks to school like Hawaii down to dreaded follow-on formulae hunkered down attacks.

The USS Arizona Memorial itself does not change. To get there, continue to visitors board boats by Navy that seafarers for a short drive over the harbour. Often see, once there, they can look down on the rusting hull of the USS Arizona, for the leak of the battleship see drops of oil, still.

Carved the names of those who died in a marble wall. The remains of nearly 1,000 sailors and Marines are buried on the ship.

MARTINEZ said some survivors have understandably wanted to the exhibits as more a shrine and Memorial, in contrast to an interpretation of history to keep. But he said, it is important to people, a complex story to capture.

"We have to understand it." Our former enemies now are our closest allies. So how to do that in line? Part of which it tries reconciliation, the story so fair as we can tell and for these different perspectives, there come so a wider understanding can take place, "said Martinez."

Robert Kinzler, 89, the soldier was stationed in 1941 in a barracks North of Pearl Harbor, said that American survivor was more open to reconciliation, after their former enemies began visiting Hawaii before the 50th anniversary of the attack.

"We started by getting Japanese pilots come and they were ready to answer all questions." And the attitude began to change, "said soon." "There are two sides to this war."

Dive Bomber Pilot Zenji led a group of Japanese veterans to Pearl Harbor, 1991 Abe.

Abe told the associated press in an interview before his death in 2007, that Japan's aircraft moved from their aircraft carrier, that tomorrow faith had delivered a declaration of war their Government. He said, it was dishonorable and went "Bushido", or the way of the Samurai, right to strike before the Declaration of war against Japanese traditions.

"Even if you are running in the early morning attack, not your opponent damage can you, when he is asleep." Must you be him and then go to him with your sword. The Bushido is, "Abe said in 2006." The attack injured "our nation ideal." I said bad, "he."

Not all survivors could make friends with Japanese veterans. Some, relying on the memory of those who died on this day refuse their old enemies that shake hand.

MARTINEZ said Park Service closely consulted survivors, as it planned the new exhibition halls.

"We do not recklessly to." We it did as carefully as we can and still be true for this mission, where we started, the show was the layers of history, good and bad, "said he."

Visitors welcome almost universally of the new concept, people say to listen to different accounts, so that they history error to repeat, not required.

"You can get a complete picture, if you all pages," Bill O'Reilly said Rourke, 69, financial consultants visit from Wycoff, n.j. "it had to reasons why things were done, just as there are reasons, why are today done."

Dharmik Desai, 27-year-old pharmacist from Marlborough, Massachusetts, agreed.

"You always want to hear not only one side of the story but on the other hand." When we went to the Hiroshima, how would we feel you, their Memorial? It's kind of giving and receiving something, Desai said. "Yes, it happened and you have to accept it." "It was a mistake, and you know, we move on."

___

If you go...

PEARL HARBOR visitors CENTER: http://www.nps.gov/valr/planyourvisit/things2do.htm. Recently advanced Visitor Center contains two new galleries themes on "to War Road" and "Attack."

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Tourists visit Fukushima despite nuclear fears (AP)

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA associated press Tomoko A. Hosaka, press - associated 2 may Mon, 10:08 pm eastern standard time

RAJASTHAN, Japan - described the excitement on a windy and chilly day at the top of a volcano known as "little Mount Fuji," the Ryan family of Florida at home, before they leave.

"People thought we were crazy," Kerry Ryan, 52, of Cape Coral, said Florida

"they said we would come back glowing," 10-year-old granddaughter Isabelle Ryan added.

But the Ryan's, who have never travelled abroad had decided to keep to their destination: Fukushima.

The name is now synonymous with the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, which lost power and spewed radiation-ravaged by a massive tsunami Japan's northeastern coast.

The unfortunate Association was a painful economic consequence of triple disaster for Prefecture Fukushima and Fukushima city, about 40 kilometres inland from the nuclear plants. Together with the direct economic hit, farmers and businesses face so called "Fuhyo Higai", or damage from the tarnished reputation of the brand of Fukushima.

The Government has a mandatory quarantine zone stretching 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the nuclear power plant established. Some cities beyond the zone were also asked to evacuate. The Government advises Americans to avoid travel within 50 miles of the plant.

Once vibrant tourist industry of the prefecture is hurting. Officials to popular sights say traffic this year during Japan's golden week is down by over a half holiday, which runs through Thursday.

"It is a very difficult time right now," said SANAE Watanabe, Manager of Jodo Daira visitors center next to mount mount Azuma. "Fukushima is known for a different meaning now." "But we want the word out, there are many places without problems."

This is exactly what - the trip made all seven of them - discovered the Ryans when she arrived. They were among the visitors holiday defies the trend and spend their Yen in Fukushima Prefecture is most needed.

Nervousness turned to awe at the beauty and hospitality of the area, surrounded by dramatic mountains, orchards, and hot springs.

"It's nice, it's amazing," said Kerry Ryan, whose son Johnathan life in nearby Aizu-Wakamatsu and married over the weekend.

When the earthquake hit March 11, the family is concerned, that they miss out on to his wedding in Japan. But news of the nuclear power plant faded from headlines in the United States, and the situation seemed calm, said the bridegroom father David Ryan, 55.

Another couple, who refused to stay away was Masako and Seiichi Miatake from Tokyo.

She had booked a golden week return journey in February, before the earthquake. You have in Fukushima holiday for decades and never as Cancel.

"We were not sure whether it would be appropriate, you can enjoy us in a time like this," said Masako Miatake, 75. "but we like Fukushima."

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami will have believed, caused an estimated $300 billion in damage, and more than 26,000 people are dead or missing.

The effects on the economy have been meaningful. Factory production and consumer spending both fell most on the files in the March. Travel agency JTB Corp. estimated that domestic travel during golden week would fall 28 percent this year.

Fukushima collected more than 56 million visitors in 2009, based on data from 308 top sightseeing locations. A report from 2008 from the Prefecture estimated that tourism brought in about 243.4 billion yen ($ 3 billion),.

The Prefecture has not the disaster still economic impact on the tourism project.

Yumiko SATO understands why many tourists stay away.

"People have no sense of distance." You just hear Fukushima and think of radiation, "SATO said, a small shop selling traditional wooden dolls in Tsuchiyu Onsen, a city hot springs in Fukushima runs."

Originally from Western Japan, she said, they are at home protecting their 2-year-old son for a while in the middle of the nuclear accident gone.

She opened the store Friday for the first time since March 11 said business around a third of normal, they.

"We thought would be business in complete ruins," said Sato. "But it's not as bad as we thought." "At least we are some customers who buy."

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Milos: Greek island from colourful array of beaches

MILOS, Greece – The Greek island of Milos is less well-known than some of the others in the Cyclades group of islands, such as the world-famous Santorini and Mykonos. But Milos, a volcanic, horseshoe-shaped island about 160 kilometers southwest of Athens, is a perfect beach destination, and with no major ruins of note, natural beauty is the main attraction.
Otherworldly rock formations decorate its coasts and the Aegean Sea provides a collar of the palest blue-green water on powdery white volcanic-ash beaches. Its most unusual feature is an array of colorful sand belts, running from cream to black, with pebbles of nearly every color.
Some are reachable after a long and bumpy adventure on dirt roads that stumble through the island's rugged western hills. Some are reachable only by boat, spread out at the base of a cliff. Yet another is reachable by land, as long as you're willing to clutch a rope as you scale a crease in the cinnamon-hued cliff above.
One guide book put the number of sand belts at more than 70.
The island is big enough to consume four days of solid exploration, but small enough at about 150 square kilometers to yield at least some of its secrets in that time. You'll find plenty of Greeks and other Europeans on vacation here but despite the thriving tourist industry, massive ocean liners don't call and the stream of tourists from the small airport and passenger ferries don't overrun the island. There is bus service on the island, along with beaches that are footsteps away from restaurants.
Greece has been hard-hit by financial crises in the last 18 months, with occasional strikes and protests in Athens over austerity measures, and some shops closed in popular shopping districts as locals cut their spending.
But life in the islands, at least for visitors, seems far-removed from all that, and tourists in beach destinations such as Milos are unlikely to experience any disruption in their holiday related to the country's larger economic struggles. Still, the island isn't a fantasy land.
The real lives of the 5,000 or so year-round residents are more clearly on display here than on bigger tourist islands. The island's long mining history (including the mining of two types of clay, bentonite and kaolin) still defines many hilltops and feeds many families.
My wife and I recently spent four days on Milos, finding ourselves exhausted in the evening by our pursuit of the beaches, but glad we also pushed ourselves to do a few other things. We clambered up the castle ruins atop the lovely whitewashed Cycladic village of Plaka at sunset and also took time out for a scenic drive to the laid-back northern town of Pollonia, where we lunched on octopus at Armenaki restaurant.
The sunlit alleyways of the village of Tripiti are gorgeous, as are the brightly painted fishermen's boat garages slung along the water at St. Constantine on the northern coast. We also visited the volcanic pumice dunes that surround a small beach at Sarakiniko. At times, it looked like the moon, or a landscape covered in hastily whipped batter.
We stayed at a clean, small hotel about a five-minute walk outside of the lively port town of Adamas called Hotel Ostria. It is newly built, friendly and comfortable, not to mention sharply decorated. Its breakfasts were notable for the locally made pastries.
We also found a terrific meal at O! Hamos — loosely translated, it means "What an uproar!" — along the marina a short distance from the center of Adamas.
It's pricey, and the servers struggled to keep up with the packed tables, but the bubbly atmosphere and big courtyard made it a nice place to sit and talk — and write on the chairs as previous diners have done, if you like. Tender lamb chops and goat in lemon sauce cooked in clay pots made it a memorable meal.
Two of our days in Milos we rented a car and set out for farther-flung beaches.
We spent one exploring the western hills to find the tiny beaches that are at the end of winding and dusty roads, and tucked in the folds of the rocky coast — practically invisible until you stumble onto them.
When you go, fill the tank, pack plenty of water and food and don't hurry: The spider-webbing roads are poorly signed and barely maintained in spots.
If you have the time, it's worth the adventure to find the small, pleasant beaches, such as St. John, where there's shade and room to swim, although no amenities.
One day, we drove along the southern coast to the black volcanic sand beach of Gerontas. It's easier than some others to find, but you'll need a sturdy pair of shoes for the walk. From a dirt lot above the coastline, we followed a mining company road before clambering down a ravine to this soft sand beach.

It's big enough to allow 30 or 40 people to feel secluded, while the rocky cliffs provide shelter and a little shade. The swimming is easy in the calm waters, and there are rocky caves, outcroppings and even an arch for entertainment.

Guided beach tours in Milos, some by kayak, some by boat, are big business. And for good reason — a lot of the beaches worth visiting are only accessible by boat.

After eating at one of the bustling tavernas that jostle for space around the marina in Adamas, we surveyed the many tour boat operators who set up their billboards side by side to market their services, all for about $72 (50 euros).

We were immediately attracted to Elias Xidous, a smiling, hardworking man who clearly took the quality of his clients' experience seriously, and it showed in the deliberate way he described his service.

Elias took us and about 15 other tourists, mostly Greek, on a beach-hopping tour of Milos' southern coast on his 15-meter sailboat, "To Oneiro," or The Dream.

We pushed off in the morning from the splendid, colored pebble beach of Paleohori on the island's southern coast (trips start at Adamas, unless it's windy, which it often is on the island's northern coast).

First, we stopped at Gerakas, reachable only by boat. The cream-colored kaolin cliffs pour into a smooth, narrow strip of beach, and the beach's shelter from the open sea makes swimming there a pleasure in gin-clear water.

We took about an hour there to frolic. If you decide to spend longer there, you have to be prepared for a lack of shade and a lack of amenities, other than peace and beauty.

We spent much of the day at Kleftiko, the southwestern point of the island where caves there were once used by pirates as hideaways, according to Elias and guidebooks.

Languid rock arches and other curious formations help create a dreamy, fantastical cove that, like Gerakas, has a narrow, pillowy strip of beach with opportunities for shade. You won't be alone: Tour boats come and go, each pulling up for an hour or two to take it all in. Elias even leads an entertaining, if unspectacular snorkeling jaunt.

Lunch was seafood in a red sauce over pasta — prepared in the boat's below-deck kitchen — and the evening snack included cheese, olives and ouzo. Not bad.

Along the way and back, there are tiny beaches, caves and strange noses of rock — not to mention mining operations that offload onto tankers that pull up next to the kaolin cliffs.

By the time Elias pulled the boat back into Paleohori, the sun was shedding a copper hue on the island, and a day in the sun and water left us drained and invigorated at the same time.

___

If You Go

MILOS: http://www.milos-island.com . About 100 miles off the coast of Athens, Greece.

GETTING THERE: Fly to Athens, Milos, or the tourist island of Santorini. Ferries or boats sail to Milos from the mainland port of Piraeus (near Athens), Santorini and many other Greek islands. Check boat and ferry schedules at http://gtp.gr or http://danae.gr . Flight schedules are at http://milostravel.com.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotel Ostria, http://ostria-hotel.gr or 011-30-22870-21920. Rates vary by season. 2011 rates for two guests: $129 (90 euros) for May 1-June. 15; $172 (120 euros) for June 16-July 15; $215 (150 euros) for July 16-Aug. 31; $143 (100 euros) for Sept. 1-30.

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Boston Science Museum offers Segway Tours

BOSTON-Boston Museum of science exhibits on natural history, dinosaurs, space and electricity, has included all four walls.

Paul Fontaine, Vice President for education, has for years wanted to expand on the brick and mortar addition. He got his wish Friday with the launch of the Museum of the science of Segway experience, an outdoor tour of the area near the Museum using the gyroscopic, two-wheel transporter, itself a miracle of science.

"We have all this science and technology of the human world packed within a few miles of the Museum," Fontaine said. "It was just a natural extension of what we already do."

The parks and coast around the building are full of native flora and fauna, and the Museum Institute directly across the street from the Massachusetts of technology in Cambridge, the birthplace of some of the greatest scientific achievements of the country, Fontaine said.

"There are surprisingly many species of birds, making their living space right in the city," said Fontaine.

The Museum a fleet of 30 Segways bought each with bright red wings and the Museum logo on the wheel covers,. It is planning as the weather improved and word out comes on four tours of six persons per day on the first, hopefully rising.

Employees have Segways for years inside the Museum as art mobile information kiosks used, but this is the first time they visitors available.

The tour, $60 for Museum members and $65 for non-members, was in the works for about a year.

"It was a natural fit," said Mary Beth Alosa of Segway of Boston, an authorized dealer. "they came to us and we said these two let us together and see how it is received."

The one-hour tour starts across the street from the Museum to the North Point Park, where guides of the flora and fauna including geese, coots and Red - tailed hawks point.

"Employees of the Museum a white bald eagle here fish saw," said tour manager Evan O'Brien.

He pointed out that the large tract of land in the area was colonial era and has been filled. In fact, said O'Brien, area as Lechmere was once a swamp of Cambridge known and is French for "Sea of leeches."

O'Brien enters another modern innovation, IOS, to illustrate his talks with pictures and historical maps at stops along the way.

MIT was not involved in the planning, but the tour has the University blessing. The leaders point out different locations on the campus, including the birthplace, of the building, the the cyclotron nuclear medicine and the 54 i.m. Pei designed building houses.

The tour of course is supposed to be fun, and is the site of many University pranks on to MIT on the famous dome,. Creative MIT students have in the past baffled the public by you somehow a replica of the lunar module, a fire truck and even the TARDIS time machine from the British TV show "Dr. Who" on the dome.

The tour highlights including American history, including the period in which British troops landed after crossing Boston Harbor before the long March to the battles of Lexington and Concord from their boats.

And of course the leaders talk a bit about the inner workings of Segways, seem remarkably intuitive machines that defy the normal rules of the balance.

In fact, before the Museum can someone on a Segway, they need a half hour training.

"The No. 1 priority is always safety," said O'Brien.

The tour is likely as Museum finds out what visitors like and staff develop aversion. But the ultimate aim is for visitors to enjoy themselves.

"Segways only really are fun," said Shad.

___

If you go...

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE SEGWAY EXPERIENCE: one hour Segway tour of Cambridge, mass., by the Museum of science, is located in 1 Science Park. Tickets from http://www.mos.org or 617-723-2500, $ 65. At 10 a.m., 11 a.m., lunch daily offered must 1 am participants at least 14 years old and weigh between 100 and 260 pounds. Persons under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

 

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Debt hit Ireland offers better deal for tourists

DUBLIN – When Kelly Tetterton went online to research her family's first big holiday escape from Chicago, her heart said Ireland. But her head worried it would involve too much hassle and money.
She got a pleasant surprise on both counts — and a weeklong vacation that earned rave reviews without breaking the bank.
Tetterton, her husband Peter and children Meredith and Alexander found their ample $5,000 budget stretched all the way to top-end seaside restaurants, a night in a five-star castle, even a walk through medieval woods with trained falcons at their beck and call. All was easily previewed on the Internet and confirmed by warm, welcoming hosts.
A few years ago, the trip could easily have cost 50 percent more, been harder to book, and been met with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude that characterized boomtime Ireland. But today's property-bust Ireland is the biggest financial disaster in Europe, a crisis that has hotel rates tumbling and the trip-planner in a position of strength not seen in Ireland since the early 1990s.
"We were offered a thousand choices of where to stay. Peter and I narrowed each location down to two or three choices, expecting to find the best places booked up. But everything was available. And wherever we arrived, everybody was expecting us," said Tetterton, an executive at a website design firm. "And staying in a castle was just freaking awesome."
Ireland's long been one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, particularly for Americans, some 40 million of whom have Irish heritage.
But as Ireland enjoyed unprecedented prosperity during its Celtic Tiger boom of 1994-2007, the tourist experience suffered. Particularly at the tail end of the Tiger, many tourists experienced sticker shock and agreed with acerbic locals that Ireland had become "the Ripoff Republic."
No longer — or at least, not necessarily.
Prices are still alarmingly high in tourist hot spots, like the castle town of Kilkenny and the pub-crawl paradise of Galway, and plenty of restaurants throughout Ireland charge way too much for second-rate fare. But visitors who do their homework can travel for a hefty discount versus the record-setting tourist year of 2007, when 9 million visitors came — double the population of Ireland itself — among them 1 million Americans.
Those willing to haggle by email will fare even better. Don't be shy. Ireland needs your business.
"We need to get the message out there that we're not as expensive as we were. Because of our difficulties, things will be a little bit cheaper and visitors will get a better welcome than in the past. And we have really good hotels at a very low price," said Ireland's brand-new tourism minister, Leo Varadkar, himself the Dublin-born son of an Indian immigrant.
The reason Ireland's hotels tend to be so new and competitively priced — the cheapest in western Europe, according to a March industry survey — is because of the nation's spectacular property boom and bust, which was more severe than any U.S. housing market.
The previous government offered excessive tax breaks to property tycoons to build hotels with millions borrowed too easily from Dublin banks. Hotels sprung up like mushrooms, often in the middle of nowhere special, and sometimes amid urban decay — dubbed "Hanoi Hiltons" by Dublin wits.
The property market has since imploded, with hotel speculators and banks in bankruptcy. More than 350 hotels now belong to the government and foreign banks, with below-market nightly room rates of about $71 to $114 (49 to 79 euros), even in the heart of Dublin.
This means opportunities for savvy travelers — and risks of disappointment for those who simply look for the cheapest price. Some of the seized hotels have creepy locations, few customers and iffy service. Others are the market-leading bargains they claim to be.
Telling the difference is easier with help from one of Ireland's established coach-tour operators, all of whom are engaged in a discount war. Tour buses are the cheapest way to cover the most ground without crashing into a hedge, sleeping sheep or another bus.
"Some of the bank-owned hotels are eerie. No service, no customers, just a rock-bottom price," said Terry Flynn, who has operated his own travel company for 46 years. "I wouldn't put my groups in any hotel or B&B I wouldn't enjoy staying in myself. If you want a cheap value, fine, but it's not my cup of tea."
Flynn, who is based in the southeast city of Waterford and has a U.S. office in Minneapolis, admits his bookings this year are "an absolute disaster."

Increased competition for less trade has obliged him to cut package prices for self-drive tours and chaperoned bus tours. His latest website deal offers a rental car and six nights' B&Bs across Ireland for two for $860 (596 euros).

Flynn thinks admission to some attractions like museums and country estates are still "over the top," but dozens of U.S. tourists interviewed by The Associated Press recently said they expected Ireland to be even more expensive — partly because of the exchange rate of the weak dollar against the euro.

"Prices aren't much different than downtown Chicago. But everything ends up 40, 50 percent more expensive right off the bat because of the exchange rate," said Linda LeMaster of Muskego, Wis., who spent a week traveling with her two daughters through Ireland by tour bus as a 30th-birthday present for one of them.

"Experience-wise it's totally worth it. But if prices were any higher, you probably would have to think hard about coming unless you're made of money," she said, standing outside the Guinness brewery, a top Dublin attraction.

In Milwaukee, for example, beer can be had for $2 a pint on tap — a third the going rate in Dublin.

But her birthday-celebrating daughter, Laura, who wanted to see Ireland because the movie "P.S. I Love You" was partly set here, was not disappointed.

"Ireland is just as beautiful in reality as it was in the film. Every time I look out the bus window, it looks like a postcard. It looks like `P.S. I Love You'!" she said as the group burst out in laughter.

Inside the brewery was another pair from Wisconsin, realtor Lisa Gramann and firefighter Joe Pluta. Gramann, who planned their trip online with a $3,000 budget, deemed the Guinness gift shop "certainly a ripoff. But I'm crazy jet-lagged and just had my first pint, so I'm easy prey."

The brewery tour costs about $22 (15 euros), capped by a lone pint on a rooftop glass-walled bar that offers Dublin's best panoramic view.

They were renting a car and had booked a cottage in the County Clare village of Corofin, midway between Galway and Limerick. The cottage was a bargain at just $289 (200 euros) for the week, but they had time to stay only three nights before heading south to County Kerry.

Up in the rooftop bar, Microsoft engineer Tom McCleery had finished the tour and his pint, and was futilely trying to order a second. Nearby, another tourist evidently with a low Guinness tolerance was walking straight into one of the glass walls.

"This must be the only bar in Ireland where they charge you 15 euros for a pint and then won't sell you another," said the Seattle man, who was in Dublin tagging along with his girlfriend on business. He'd been in Dublin in 2007, when the Celtic Tiger was still roaring and the city brimmed with confidence.

This time, he said, the taxi driver regaled them with tales of economic woe while driving in from the airport, on topics from the record-high cost of gas to unprecedented competition from immigrants and other jobless folks joining the cabbie trade.

"He really gave us an earful on the way in," McCleery, adding that "if nothing else, taking a taxi ride in Dublin is probably the cheapest theater ticket in town."

For Kelly Tetterton and Peter Byrnes, their weeklong tour from Dublin to Wexford, Kilkenny to Cork, Galway and back featured a series of moments and moods that will linger in their minds for years to come.

On the first day, they drove northwest of Dublin to Newgrange, a prehistoric underground temple designed to catch the winter solstice sun for a few fleeting minutes each year. Inside, they stood in pitch blackness as a local soprano sang a haunting Celtic ballad. The guide switched on a distant 40-watt bulb that simulated the moment when the sun crawls down the narrow corridor to the central chamber.

The $22 (15 euro) family ticket, plus gas, was money well spent.

"It was touristy, but it gave you chills all the same. We didn't think anything could top that, and it was the first day," Tetterton said.

Four days later they were on the far side of the island in misty Connemara, near the village where John Ford's "The Quiet Man" was filmed 60 years ago, taking a "hawk walk" — two hours hiking through the woods with trained falcons and a falconer — for $94 (65 euros) a head.

"It was super-crazy expensive, and worth every penny," she said. "Walking through the woods of Ashford Castle with a hawk on your arm, waving them off, calling them back ... was genuinely fun and unique."

___

If You Go...

IRELAND: Irish government's U.S. tourist discount site, http://bit.ly/5g7dYY

WALKING TOURS: Guinness podcast walking tours of Dublin, http://bit.ly/g4vN3A

IRELAND'S SCHOOL OF FALCONRY: Located at Ashford Castle, County Mayo, http://www.falconry.ie/. Videos: http://bit.ly/gYLpi1

DISCOUNT IRISH GOLF FEES: http://bit.ly/fkUk9H

TERRY FLYNN TOURS: http://www.terryflynntours.com. Suggested driving routes, http://bit.ly/epd9Sw

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