Visiting Offbeat Attractions in Orlando

With so many attractions competing for every honeymoon vacationer’s limited money and time, some of Orlando’s attractions have endeavored to become ones that you will visit by offering an experience that is truly out of the ordinary.

Gatorland may be one of the oldest and most unique attractions in Orlando. The park began as an alligator farm in 1949 and has grown ever since. The Godwin family has owned the park and they have continued to expand the park to what it is today. Gatorland is a conservation center and education tool, while at the same time it entertains and amazes visitors with views of alligators and reptiles in their natural everglade habitat.

The park recently added a water park to its 110 acres and recently raised admission to $23 for adults and $15 for children. This price also includes all day entrance into the water park. This still keeps it as one of the least expensive amusement parks/attractions in Orlando. At the end of 2006, Gatorland suffered a major setback when a fire broke out from a faulty heating devise. The gift shop was completely lost, as was the famous front entrance to the park, the enormous alligator’s open mouth that visitors walk into to enter the park. Within 3 weeks, the park reopened and they are currently open while at the same time repairing and rebuilding. The new buildings are set for a completion date of June 2008.

Another different sight to see is next door to Orlando, in Kissimmee. It is called the Monument to the States. This is a 50-foot tower that plays tribute to every state in the union. Each stone that the tower has been built from was cut and brought from each state and represents characteristics and fossils from that area. Viewing the monument is free, as it is publicly displayed in Historic Downtown Kissimmee. The monument is made up of over 1500 stones and was put together in 1943. Since then 22 countries from around the world have also contributed stones.

Orlando is the home to one of the largest museum for oddities; Ripley’s Believe It or Not! This museum is full of items from Robert Ripley’s trips around the globe searching for the world’s wonders and oddities. The building itself is odd. The massive museum looks as though one end of it is slowly sinking into the earth. The museum is set up as a self-guided tour that allows you to study the unusual items at your leisure.

Two other more unusual attractions in Orlando have religious themes. The Jesus Film Project is a 2-hour movie of the life of Christ that has been seen by over 5 billion viewers since it debuted in 1979. The other attraction is the Holy Land Experience. This attraction allows the visitor to walk through an ancient Jerusalem as authentically costumed actors portray people from the Bible re-enacting various Bible stories.

Consider another attraction that is a re-creation of another event.
Titanic: The Experience allows you to become one of the guests on that fateful trip as crew members act as guides showing you many of the areas of the ship and explaining what happened.
WonderWorks is another odd sight to see. The building itself looks as though it fell from the sky and landed upside down. An exhibit includes a mock up of the space shuttle and allows you to try your hand at attempting to land the space/aircraft. In the same way, you can enter flight simulators of other aircraft to see how you would fare “up in the wild blue yonder”. In one exhibit you can get inside an actual astronaut’s space suit and in another, you can step in front of blue screens and see yourself as famous sports figures scoring the winning basket, touchdown or goal. They also have an earthquake simulator and a room that allows you to create bubbles of all sizes. It even has a simulator that lets you create and then ride on your own roller coaster.
As you can see, a trip to Orlando does not have to revolve around the major three parks of Disney, Universal and Sea World. If you are looking to experience something a bit more out of the ordinary, consider any of these choices.

San Diego, California’s Famous Wineries

Fine wine is a staple in California and the California Wine Country is a beautiful place to spend your honeymoon destination. San Diego’s North Country area is full of vineyards. Some of them have large wineries that allow tours and there are also mom and pop places.

The majority of these places are located up to an hour away from San Diego’s downtown area from the north. If you’re into outdoor scenery, you might be able to see some of the vineyards that overlook some of San Diego’s hills. There are others that are located among winding dirt roads.

Here is a sampling of some of the more well-known wineries:

If you’re looking for an Italian dish to compliment your wine, look no further than Bernardo Winery. You can get olive oil, homemade pasta and other items that they have available. Their red and white wines are the most popular. Their shops are open Tuesday through Saturday and their tasting room is open daily. The winery also offers tours to the public and picnic facilities are available for use.

Nestled in Temecula Valley, top notch wines are made at Falkner Winery. This winery has grape vineyards that are produced on their property. Some of the well-known wines they produce are Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and other exquisite wines. The winery also offers daily wine tasting and tours of the estate.

Orfila Vineyards is set in an agricultural area in the San Pasqual Valley. It’s also not too far from the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The winery offers daily wine tasting and tours. A gift shop and a picnic facility are available for use.

If you’re not up for driving during your wine tasting experience, Destination Temecula will help visitors to plan wine tasting excursions to North County. These trips include rides to and from the wineries from certain points in Southern California. During this trip, the guides will talk about the winery history and scenic areas. You will also be able to see ranches, massive estates, fruit orchards and lots of vineyards. Of course, you would see the most important part of the trip, the top notch wineries and you’d get to do some more wine tasting.

Downtown San Diego also has a wine tasting facility. The San Diego Wine & Culinary Center has great wine tasting sessions accompanied by food. They also offer private label wines sold in cases. You can also purchase them as gifts and they can be custom wrapped to your specifications.

One of their food and wine excursions, the Behind The Scenes Winery Tour, is held at Fallbrook Winery. You will learn the way wine is made from start to finish. You will actually see how the grapes are grown to how they are processed and turned into wine. Also included in this excursion is a picnic lunch outdoors and a private wine barrel tasting.

At the Culinary Center, there are group excursions for 10 or more people. The excursion can be public or private. Participating in something like this can be fun and educational at the same time.

San Diego’s wineries are some of the best undisclosed hideouts. Before you know it, you too can be a wine connoisseur.

Barcelona Tours

Traveling to Barcelona is an exciting trip. Barcelona is very rich in history and you can enjoy staying here for your honeymoon destination. After word was confirmed of Barcelona hosting the Olympics they started to work on making Barcelona a safe place to be. Improving the sidewalks and streets to make the accessible by car and by walking was one of the many ways that they improved Barcelona. It is still being cared for today in order to maintain the hard work that they put in to Barcelona in order to make it beautiful.

The first place to travel to is called Sagrada Familia. In 1882 Gaudi started to work on the temple. Today it still stands uncompleted. The original purpose of this structure was to be a Neo Gothic Church. Today it is the most popular tourist attraction in Barcelona.

Rambles is another place to see. This pertains to several streets that are attached and adjoined to each other. Because the streets are close to the river it was used to channel the water down from the hill above in the 13^th century.

Go visit The Cathedral while you are out in Barcelona. The Cathedral is one of the older temples that still stand today. The Cathedral was started in 1298 and finally finished in 1913. Be sure to notice the details that you can find in the work when you visit the Cathedral. You can enjoy a tour of the beautiful historic landmark while you are visiting Barcelona.

Travel to Barcelona to find out where Picasso worked on his art while in Barcelona. He wasn’t born her but his best work was created while he lived in Barcelona. The museum displays Harlequin, Las Meninas series. But there are also other art that you can see. Find out how he did research on landscapes in Barcelona. Visit the museum to see work created and inspired by the Avant-Garde movement.

You will also want to see Casa Mila. This structure was built somewhere between the years 1906-1910. The Mila family had the home built to be beautiful and for everyone to notice. They were met with the opposite reaction from the residents of Barcelona and were insulted. In 1984 it was determined that the Mila house would be called a World Heritage Site. It is also known as the world’s largest abstract sculpture.

Castell de Montjuic is a beautiful castle that you can visit located on top of Montjuic Hill. This castle was originally built in 1640 in order to resists the Felipe IV troops. In 1751 additions were added and again in 1779. Today you can see the result as one big castle. It was once a prison for the Military and today it is a museum of the Military.

Barcelona has a lot to offer visitors that are both landmarks and historic places of interest. Visiting museums in the area will give you a sense of what that particular place is all about. When visiting Barcelona make sure that you call ahead to make sure that you can get reservations if they are required.

New York Museums

When you visit New York you will want to take the time to visit all the museums in New York. Visiting a Museum can help you understand the history behind the state, the cultures, and the people that have resided in the past and still do today. A museum is also a great place to take children while you are vacationing or visiting New York. Teaching children about the history of a place is a great way to increase their knowledge and spark an interest in that state.

With over six different museums in New York you will be able to find one that is close to where you are staying and visit it more than once. Sometimes you see more the second trip then you did the first trip. The museums in New York offer a wide variety of displays that will showcase their interest and culture during a certain time period. Here are a list of New York Museums and what you can expect to see in all of them.

American Museum of Natural History

This museum focuses on the scientific aspect of past and modern art. This museum displays all you need to know about plant life, animals, and different rocks that you might find in New York. It offers permanent displays as well as the new displays of arts that you can view when you visit. Be sure to call ahead first to make sure that you can go during hours and find out how much it cost per person.

The Museum of Modern Art

Also known as MoMA, this museum was founded back in 1929 in hopes of preserving the collection of art work that they already possessed. The purpose that the Museum of Modern Art hopes to accomplish is to instill a sense of folk art tradition that you can only find there in New York. The exhibits display over 250 different pieces that include the ceremony, recreation, culture and more.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

This museum is known as the largest museum. There are several permanent exhibits as well as those exhibits that are temporarily there for viewing. Some of the most fascinating exhibits to see are Arms and Armor which allows you to step back in time to the popular era when Armor could be worn. Travel on to see Ancient near Eastern Art, Arts of Africa Oceania and the Americas. You may also be interested in the Asian Art collection as well as the Cloisters. You can see how the proper attire has changed over the last seven centuries when you view the display of costume and dress for men, women, and children.

Guggenheim Museum

Here you will find your step back in time to be the most memorable. You can visit the Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, there has been several changes made to the Guggenheim museum in order to present the masterpieces in the way that they need to be displayed.

Museum of Television and Radio

This is one museum that everyone shares a common interest in. Everyone has television and radio now, but what about the past when there were not very many who had access to them? Learn about all the different changes that were made to the television and radio to give us what we have today.

Whitney Museum of Modern Art

This museum offers a collection of the 20^th century art display. You will enjoy viewing over 12,000 pieces of art work that includes sculpting, drawing, photos, prints, paintings and more.

The California Wine Country for Your Honeymoon

How about a visit to California’s wine country for your honeymoon destination?

When you visit California you can’t help but make a stop at the wine country. California has 58 counties and out of those 58, there are 46 counties that are producing wine. California’s climate allows for optimal soil and growing conditions. With so many counties involved in growing wine the state of California offers several different events and activities geared toward the wine. Wine tasting can be quite enjoyable and educational as well. Sampling the wine is very important in order to appreciate the difference in the wines. California wineries are a old business that have been around for generations. Winery’s take a long time to perfect and to raise the grapes just right for picking.

If you want to arrange for a tour of the winery you need to do some checking around to find out the schedule, be sure to tell them you are on your honeymoon for that extra special service (and trust me, they will do just that!). Each one offers a schedule of tours and wine tasting and some require an appointment before touring. The wineries take their tours seriously and they offer the tourists several different options. When wine tasting is in season you will be able to access an endless amount of wineries. Each winery is different and they have their own set of rules. These rules include the number of guests per party and hours available to tour some require an appointment ahead of time.

Wine tours are scheduled around harvest time when everything is ready and being processed. Other events you may get to see while at the winery include crush events, concerts and auctions of vintage wines, balloon rides over the vineyards, gardens for the perfect atmosphere, museums of the winery and the vineyards, local restaurants come to the festival to display their variety of dishes, and other recreational activities that will make your visit to the winery the most enjoyable.

Because after several wine tasting events you may find that driving is difficult, you and your newly wed spouse may decide to rent a limo which will offer you a safe ride to and from the winery.  If you drive yourself, a lot of the roads leading to the wineries include long, narrow winding roads. It is important to drive slowly and carefully if you decide to drive yourself. They are well off the beaten path and you may not realize how long it takes you to travel to each vineyard. There are also hotels, motels and fantastic resorts to stay at near the vineyards that make beautiful honeymoon stops. Stay at just one or travel up and down the area and enjoy a few.  Many of the hotels and resorts offer spa packages as well as wine tasting tours, so check with them before booking your tour to save a few bucks.

Because California is so big you may not know where to go in order to find a winery. Here is the way that it is divided out:

Northern California offers the Napa Valley and Mendocino Wine sections

Central California offers Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Monterey Wine and Santa Barbara wine sections.

Southern California offers Temecula and San Diego wine sections.

The Central Valley offers Livermore, Clarksburg, Amador, Calaveras, Lodi, and Sierra wine sections.

There are so many places to enjoy during your stay. Viewing each vineyard is a picture perfect memory that will last you forever.

A Disney Honeymoon in Orlando

Anyone who is visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for the first time can benefit from tips from people who are very familiar with the parks and how they are run. There are so many things to do and out of the way places to experience at each of the four Disney parks that it is impossible to do them all in an average one week vacation. Knowing some of these tips beforehand can help you to narrow down the best of the best and eliminate some of the hassle.

Let’s start with some general tips when visiting one or all of the Disney parks. Summer vacation and winter or spring breaks are the busiest times to visit for all of the parks and resorts. But, if you are able to be flexible, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the least crowded and yet the most festive at all of the parks. The last three weeks in January and most of October are also times when the attendance is a bit lower.

Always buy your ticket packages either before you leave home or at least a day before you plan on going to the first park. There are many packages and the line to enter the park will be long, but if you also have to stand in line first to buy tickets your wait will be twice as long. Any Disney stores in any mall around the country sells ticket packages to the parks, as does any AAA office. Multi day tickets do not last forever as they used to. Once a ticket is used at the first park it will expire in 14 days. It is cheaper to package many days together now in order to save some of them for your next trip to Orlando. That can still be done. Your ticket can be made to have no expiration date for a small additional fee.

Once you are in the park, utilize Disney’s FastPass option. There are very popular rides at every park and standing in line for them can waste an hour each that you could spend seeing other sights. Immediately go to the FastPass Kiosk near the line for the ride you wish and enter your ticket. It will spit out a receipt that will give you an hour-long reservation window for sometime later in the day to return to that ride and go right to the beginning of the line with hardly a wait. This conserves your time and allows you to experience more at each park than the majority of the other visitors.

If you have to rent a stroller or wheelchair for the day, return them before the final fireworks show at the end of the night, if possible. This can save you a lot of time in line, allowing you to get back to your hotel almost an hour earlier. Shop in the gift shops earlier in the afternoon as well. The shops are very crowded right before the park closes and the lines to pay for your merchandise become very long. If there are two afternoon parades being offered, always go to the second one. It will be much less crowded.

Look into attending one of the Character Breakfasts, Lunches, or Dinners. They are a wonderful experience for everyone in your party and allow you perks that you may not have considered. For instance, buying tickets to the Character Breakfast at Animal Kingdom allows you to enter the park an hour and a half before the park opens. You will have a wonderful behind the scenes breakfast adventure and when the park does open, you are already at the head of the line.

There are so many tips that they could fill an encyclopedia. Hopefully, these few will give you some insight into Disney’s parks and increase your enjoyment a bit.

7 Safety Tips when Riding in a Foreign Taxi

If you are going overseas on your honeymoon, or to any foreign country, taxis will be part of your trip. Chances are you will not be renting a car. The hotel shuttles we are all accustomed to here in the US are a rarity in foreign countries. Riding a taxi can generally be safe. It’s at least safer than journeying through the subway with your luggage and other travel paraphernalia.

But lets be honest, there are things, bad things, that can happen when riding in a foreign taxi. You’ve probably heard the reports of kidnappings by taxi drivers in the news. If you’ve spent the last year of your life planning your wedding, had your big wedding day, then hopped a plane and flown several hours to your honeymoon destination, you are going to be very tired and very probably jet lagged. In this state, your normal street defenses are very likely to be impaired and small details that you normally would notice as red flags may escape you. Before boarding any kind of vehicle, consider your safety first and then be alert about your surroundings when traveling. The good thing, in this case, is there are two of you– if you both use your common sense, you will be safe.

Tip # 1 – Locate a taxi stand.

If you just came out of the airport, you can easily find taxi stands in and around the area. It will be a bit similar to what you have in your country. You just look for the line of taxis under a sign that you probably won’t be able to read and that will probably be it. If unsure, ask a policeman or security guard. In general terms, only cabs that are authorized by the government to board passengers are the ones that can park under these stands. This also means that the taxi driver is licensed. Never let drivers that are aggressive bully you into riding with them. They might have a more sinister intention than bringing you to your honeymoon destination.

Tip # 2 – Know something about the place where you’re heading.

You should have some general idea regarding how to reach your hotel or lodging destination. You can find foreign city maps on line, or you can contact the property where you are staying and ask for general directions. A few minutes invested in planning at home can prevent you from being taken advantage of there. Try to avoid shortcuts because this can confuse your memory and lead to other streets that you are unfamiliar with. Notice what direction you are traveling in. If you know from asking that your hotel is south and the taxi is going north be determined to ask about it. Otherwise, be prepared to make the cab stop if something seems wrong. As a last resort, jump out of your seat and ask for help.

Tip # 3 – Pay attention to cab similarities.

Look at the color of the taxi. Is it the same as the others? Do they have certain similarities that can reassure you that the cab is really safe? You can never trust a taxi that seems different from the others because in some places, thieves use fake cabs to get your money or sometimes more.

Tip # 4 – Keep your belongings close.

If you’re traveling abroad most likely you will have a lot of big, heavy luggage. It is probably not going to be possible for both of you and your luggage to be inside the cab. But at the very least, keep your carry ons with all your valuables and important papers inside with you. Keep them very close to you. Losing your papers and money in a foreign country is a far more serious matter than losing your luggage in case anything bad happens. This is why you should be very careful when selecting your cab in the first place.

Tip # 5 – Note phone numbers.

Taxi companies love advertising. That is why legitimate taxis are always plastered with company numbers either on the trunk, doors and roofs. Never get into a taxi that doesn’t have the company’s phone number on its interior or exterior surface.

Tip # 6 – Sharing alert.

Sharing your cab with someone can minimize your expenses and might give you a false sense of safety. Generally, you should not agree if your taxi driver wants someone to share with you no matter how
peaceful the stranger looks – especially in foreign countries. You could end up being kidnapped becausethe peaceful-faced stranger is wearing a mask and is actually a monster in league with the cab driver.

Tip # 7 – Pay attention to the door handle.

Open the door to the cab and check the inside door handle before allowing your luggage to be loaded into the trunk. Do not ride in a taxi when the door handle inside is malfunctioning or is broken. It would be very difficult for you to escape a predicament with a busted cab door.

Always have an emergency line where you can call local officials. When you are setting up your honeymoon trip abroad, be sure to ask for these numbers and check with your cell phone provider that your phone will have service where you’re journeying. If you use your common sense and plan ahead, especially in foreign countries, you will honeymoon safely.

Tips for a Carefree Honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas, located on the southern coastal tip of the Baja Peninsula, is renowned for its clean unspoiled beaches and all things connected to the ocean.The locale can be a surprisingly affordable honeymoon destination. Just remember to do your research. Price does not always ensure quality.

Cabo San Lucas is one of the most popular Mexican ports of call for cruise ships. Affluent residents of Mexico are frequent visitors to the area. As you might imagine, with the large amount of tourists visiting over the years, the area has developed many nightspots. In fact, many think Cabo San Lucas is the Las Vegas of Mexico for nightlife…

The residents are extremely hospitable and accommodating. They truly seem to care that your stay is enjoyable. The locals. as well as, the hotel workers go out of their way make the time you spend with them memorable.

As friendly as the people are, it is important to remember that Mexico is a foreign country. A foreign country may have different ways of doing things than what you are accustomed to…To ensure your honeymoon stay goes off without a hitch…ask your questions up front while booking your honeymoon stay about payment policies and check in times… Knowledge is power.

Some other important matters you should investigate:

• Travel restrictions—This holds true anywhere you travel in Mexico. Check online or call for more information about local restrictions that could affect your honeymoon.
• Baggage restrictions—You know all about restrictions on baggage when traveling in America. But, you might be unaware that Mexico has its own restrictions which differ from one area to another. Again, ask your questions upfront to ensure a relaxing trip.
• Projected weather conditions—In the past few years, there have been so many hurricanes. It would be unwise to honeymoon during hurricane season. You can get often weather predictions months in advance.
• Local holidays—Local holidays often mean loud and boisterous partying. If you are looking to party also, there’s obviously no problem. But if you are aiming for a quiet private honeymoon stay, you may want to avoid holiday times. Inquire while booking about any holidays that could affect your honeymoon stay.

You can make a lifetime of memories during your honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas, as long as, you do your due diligence before you travel.

An Upscale Budget Honeymoon?

Budget honeymoons can become a necessity. Couples often find by the time they have doled out funds for all the other parts of the wedding…the wedding funds are pretty much spoken for when they get down to the actual business of planning their honeymoon. With a little imagination and some creative thinking, you will be surprised how upscale a budget honeymoon can be.

A cruising honeymoon is often surprisingly affordable. Because lodging, food, entertainment, and activities are all included, a cruise honeymoon often works out to be very reasonable. All you need is a budget airfare to the starting point of the cruise.

Most couples already have an apartment or a house. There are numerous reputable home exchange programs. You can trade the use of your home with another party in another city—or even another country or continent for the use of theirs in their locale.

Your honeymooning destination in the off-season can be another option. Fall or winter at a beach resort is definitely much less expensive than in full summer. You may even find all-inclusive packages exclusively for off-season visitors.

The Disney Company has an amusement park on each coast. Very nice packages are available for either. If you visit the one closest to your own location…your travel expenses can be kept to a minimum. Both parks are also near the coast and many other sites of interest.

With these options available, a budget honeymoon won’t be *cheap* or disappointing.