At 10am, you’re already grumpy, tired, with sore feet and there’s still a long line of people in front of you.  No, it’s not Christmas shopping, but visiting a gallery or museum. 
Why do we go?  Because it’s something to do, to impress people, or—shock horror—to learn something and perhaps be changed by the experience.  While the Mona Lisa is unlikely to inspire a bestseller (or maybe so!), making the effort to travel halfway across the world can be more rewarding than Frequent Flyer points.
For some tourists, visiting museums and galleries reads like an itinerary for a Vogue photoshoot, leading to as many tantrums and diva antics due to exhaustion.  The common frustrations of visiting museums and galleries are a result of long lines, too many people, tiredness, and the feeling of ‘anticlimax’.

For example….
‘Great, the freakin’ Mona Lisa.  I can’t even bloody see it!  Too many tourists.  Is that it?  It’s tiny! Dammit I need a cuppa right now and I gotta pee.’
There are some tips though to ensure you remember the exquisite detail of Roman sculptures rather than how many blisters you had.

Do’s

• Check the opening times.  Europe has a habit of closing things on Monday or Tuesdays. 
• Check the dress code.  The Vatican doesn’t let short-skirted skimpy types into the buildings. Temples in Asia also have rules/courtesies.
• Dress in layers. It may be hot outside, but air-conditioning can leave you goosebumped and miserable.
• Wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Seems obvious, but I saw a woman wearing stilettos in the Louvre.  If she slipped on the marble floor at least her bouffant hairspray bleached hair would have cushioned the fall.
• Drink water.  Crowded rooms make you feel woozy if you are dehydrated.
• Go to the loo before you look; the lines to go are long.
• Take earphones for audio guides.  Some have two outlets so you can share and save money.
• Agree on meeting point and time for others in the group so you don’t waste time looking for cousin Carl rather than Caravaggio.
• Go early and/ or pre-book tickets: If you thought Disneyland space mountain lines in summer were long, it’s nothing compared to the Uffizi in Florence in August.  Booking can be done online or phone, or via tour companies.

Don’ts

• Take in the pocket knife you use to open wine bottles.  Security will find it when you walk through the beepy things, and you’ll forget to pick it up at the end.
• Try to see everything in one day. The Louvre allegedly has only 10 percent of what it has on display. If you were to look at the 35,000 objects on display for less than a second each, you’d be there for 10 hours, as Marcus from www.hereorthere.com noted. Just see what intrigues you and when you’ve had enough, go outside and walk the lanes, see a performance, relax on a beach.
• Take pictures for the sake of it.  Remember, Michelangelo’s David exists in books, souvenir statues and keyrings.  It’s not like you’ll forget it.  Take the time to see with your own eyes; to search into every nook and willy and contemplate the perfection of each inch.  Go in as close as the sensors will allow on a Van Gogh painting to see the thick paint.  Close your eyes in a cathedral and hear the echo of the choir.  Touch the cobbled shores of the Nice beach and smell herbs at the markets.  Don’t waste gigabytes and blocked vision with a camera.  Save it for people photos.
• Go if you don’t want to. You’ll only make the other person/people feel bad and ruin their time like trying to keep a vegetarian happy at a bullfight.

• Going to the effort of seeing something special requires more planning than popping down to the shops.  But doing so ensures you enjoy the experience more and live to walk another day, in another place.

International stars at glittering Atlantis hotel opening in Dubai 

By RAMA GAIND

MY stopover in Dubai was only brief a decade ago, but left me craving for a longer stay – and the world’s only seven-star Hotel Burj Al Arab had not even been completed!
Now there’s another luxury hotel which opened in spectacular style last month as Dubai disregarded the worldwide economic crisis with the grand opening of the $1.5 billion hotel The Atlantis, The Palm.
It is South African billionaire, hotel and gambling tycoon Sol Kerzner’s Atlantis resort and performing at the $20 million party was Australia’s Kylie Minogue.
More than 2000 world celebrities were invited to the event where a spectacular fireworks display was unveiled by Indian actress and former Miss World Priyanka Chopra.
The 26-year-old dazzled in a figure-hugging gold-yellow floor-length satin gown with a single jewelled shoulder, vertically pleated bodice and bandage torso.
Accessories included a chunky watch, teardrop earrings, golden heels and a glittery box clutch bag.
The fireworks display, designed and executed by the Grucci’s, lit up the 43km of the palm- shaped shoreline and illuminated the entire island with more than 100,000 specially-designed pyrotechnic devices.
Labelled "party of the decade", the event was attended by Bollywood highflyers including Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Mallika Sherawat, Bipasha Basu, John Abraham and Arjun Rampal.
Hollywood stars included Robert de Niro, Charlize Theron, Mischa Barton and Wesley Snipes, singers Lilly Allen and Janet Jackson, Shirley Bassey, and catwalk model Yasmin Le Bon.
A leading international developer and operator of destination resorts, The Atlantis was created by Kerzner International Holdings Limited. The stunning new 1,539-room resort, which first welcomed guests in September 2008, is made up of two pale rose towers, which are linked by a bridge which houses a $35,000-a-night suite that has said to have a long waiting list.
The Dubai hotel is inspired by the original Atlantis that Kerzner built in the Bahamas, but is not an average 5-star hotel. The new lavish hotel is something quite extraordinary and the world has now come to know of its glittering entry on the world stage.
Atlantis, The Palm, in the enviable location atop the crescent of The Palm Jumeirah, is redefining tourism in Dubai as it is the area’s first integrated entertainment resort.
Guests are bound to be transported into a dazzling, imaginative world. The resort encompasses a 46 hectare site with 17 hectares of water themed amusement at Aquaventure, extensive fresh and saltwater pools and lagoon exhibits, an open-air marine habitat with 65,000 types of sea life, along with an enormous whale shark, that swim in 11 million litres of water. There’s also a seemingly endless stretch of beach, luxury boutiques, numerous dining choices including four celebrity chef restaurants, an exciting nightclub, a spa and fitness club and 5,600sqm of meeting and function space.
Being one of Asia’s major tourist destinations, Dubai is a sight to behold with astonishing artificial islands and palm-fringed beaches, sand dunes, theme parks and historic ruins.
Referred to as the ‘Venice of the Gulf’, it offers tourists a remarkable choice of sightseeing and recreational opportunities.
A must on your sightseeing tour is the Dubai Museum with its fine collection of life-size figures and galleries depicting Arab houses, marine life, desert and date gardens are a must.
Other highlights include Al Fahidi Fort, Grand Mosque, Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum House, Heritage Village and Jumeirah archaeological site.
Can’t wait to stay at the Hotel Burj Al Arab which was designed to resemble a billowing sail of 321 metres and dominates the Dubai coastline. Needless to say, equal time must also be spent at The Atlantis – an ultimate fantasy hotel in Dubai!

What makes a rubble of rocks become a wonder of the world, or some chunks of metal become the most romantic place to propose marriage? After making the effort to go somewhere for sightseeing, how do you get the most out of the experience, to suit your budget, time and personality?  From guidebooks to bus tours, there is a range of options to ensure that places come to life. These tips are based on experiences in Europe.
For example, there you are in Paris, at the Louvre, underneath IM Pei’s glass pyramid. Looking around the lobby, the escalators lead up towards multiple entrances to the wings of the old palace, so crammed with riches beyond compare.  Where to begin?

Tour types

***No tour:

You stand in front of the Mona Lisa and say ‘eh’ before moving on to the next Da Vinci ‘eh’ then a Michelangelo ‘looks like the other dude’.  I did this the first time I went to the Louvre and followed the ‘quantity not quality’ method.  While I did have the time to find the little figurines in the Egyptian area, did I truly appreciate them? 
Advantages:  takes less time, go where you want, when you want.
Disadvantages:  how would you find out how Da Vinci got the lines so fine on such a small painting (Mona Lisa) or that some guy hacked at David’s left toe with a hammer in 1991 (Accademia, Florence)? The story behind the artwork and artist is often the entertainment more than the mere physical presence.
Suited to:  people on a budget, people who don’t like other people, lack of time, lone travellers

Price:  nothing

***Guidebook: 

Walking around with the gallery’s guide or your own book that explains who-what-when-why-how about an exhibit/place.
Advantages:  pick out the bits that interest you before you see them.  Find out a bit more.  Comes from a sole source, approved by relevant people.
Disadvantages:  May not discover other things.  For instance, if you had never tried smoked herring for breakfast, you wouldn’t know whether you liked it or not.  Or you might walk right past some Goya, when he’s the kind of artist that would really appeal to horror movie fans.
Suited to: people who like to study, those who have a specific interest, lone travellers

Price:  varies depending on country, usually around AUD10.

***Audio guide: 

hire a device to listen to tracks for selected pieces of a gallery or museum.  Follow the map/guide and play the track when you get to the piece. For example to look at the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre and clog up the stairwell with other agog tourists.
Advantages: can skip bits that don’t interest you.  Provides the highlights. Saves time.
Disadvantages: might miss out on pieces not included in the audio guide because you walk right past it. May be bored by the voice.  Last guide I had sounding like he was sucking on a prune without about as much verbal outcome…
Suited to: Studious types who’d rather spend more time looking than reading, independent type or couple (shared earphones).
Price:  varies depending on country and level of content, usually around AUD10.

***Small group (1-5 people): 

Your guide knows you by name, tailors the tour to suit your timings and interests, information is more two-way rather than purely transmit.  For example, I went to Auckland in July 2006 and booked in for a day of mountain biking. Yep, it was cold, windy, rainy. I was the only person, but the tour went ahead anyway.  I had Bee-Bee all to myself and while we waited for the rain to ease, she did a palm reading and predicted my future as a great writer.  Lucky she was also a good guide, as the palm-reading bit is yet to reveal itself!
Advantages: Get a more personal service; guide may suggest something relevant to you specially, eg for tea lovers going through caffeine withdrawal in Paris  ‘you simply must go to the Mariage Frères teashop then!’ or they may suggest a restaurant near your hotel and places to avoid.
Disadvantages:  usually the most pricy kind of tour and a tip is also expected.  If there’s a personality clash then the day could be a drag.  Also, they may be in cahoots with other businesses to try and rope you into going to restaurants, for which they receive a commission.
Advice:
—-Basically, take anything they suggest with a skeptical mind, but still be polite.  The nicer you are, then the nicer they are.
—-Make sure you go with an agency, rather than some guy off the street who offers to take you around.  They may be genuine, but even so, there is no administrative control/insurance etc.
Suited to: Those who are after the genuine experience, ie the custom-made Spanish omelette rather than a McDonalds siesta burger; those who have a bit more money
Price:  Depends on the country.  In Western Europe = around $AUD90 per person (then a tip)

***Big group:

Usually about 10-20 people wearing earphones to pick up on the guide’s voice as they lead you around, stopping you at exhibits/interests to give their spiel eg ‘ This 18th century china bowl has the utmost significance, for it was used to….’
Advantages:  Makes what would be boring in a book, come to life— assuming you get a good guide.  In Florence, we had Christina, an art student who truly enjoyed what she did and made sense of the iron rings hanging off centuries-old walls so forever after, I know what they mean.
If you enjoy people, sometimes the tour groups have lunch together so you can meet fellow travelers and exchange stories about dodgy restaurants.
Disadvantages: 
—-inconsistent information.  For example in Florence, Mum and I had three tours with the same company and three different sets of information as to a what happened to the head of Primavera, a statue on the Ponte Santa Trinita. While it’s not so important to know the facts (you can get that from books) it does detract from the experience, no matter how entertaining the description of how Giuliano Medici was dramatically assassinated during High Mass in the Duomo Cathedral in the middle of a service.  And the gore that followed as his brother Lorenzo tracked down the assassins and conspirators.
—-The Chic or Geek factor. For the style conscious and teenagers, you may cringe at looking like a dick walking around with stickers and earplugs.  Unless you’re one of the retired Americans with Hawaiian shirts who don’t seem to care.
—-Hearing Voices. Having to hear more than one language rattled off by bi-lingual tour: by the end of a day trip to Versailles, I felt I knew Spanish.  Well, I knew enough that it would be hard to understand.  So fast!!!
Suited to: Safe-seekers (ie non-adventurous), medium to high budget, couples and families
Price:  Depends on the country.  In Western Europe = around $AUD90 per person for a half-day tour.  More money if lunch and transport are required.

Basically,
if you’re on a budget…use your own guide book or share an audio guide
if you like people….go the small group or big group option
if you’re time poor: no guidebook.  Just wander around.  At least though try to read up beforehand to see which bits you need to visit.
 

‘Excuse me, where is the war?’
This common faux pas of the French ‘Where is the station (guerre/gare)’ translation may end up with a laugh, a sneer or a slap, depending on which person you ask.
There’s only so much a Lonely Planet guide, language tapes and a map can help you while traveling.  At some point you may need to ask for help.  But who, and how?
The helpfulness of a nation’s citizens may prove as much as a drawcard as any of the seven wonders.  Would you rather go to a smiley happy place, or a sneery snobby place?  Olympic cities train workers and citizens to be polite and help map-tangling tourists scratching their heads at street corners.  But what about the other three years and other cities of the world?
My mother was recently in Switzerland on a cycling tour, riding alone for the afternoon when she became lost and the map led her onto a dangerous autostrada.  Managing to escape the fast trucks, she finally found a train station only to be thwarted by the esoteric ticketing computer.  Bursting into tears, the nearby café owner came by and smiled, told her ‘no worry lady’ and showed her how to use the machine.  Then a woman came by and said she was on the same train and she would show Mum how to load her bike and when to get off.  By the end of the journey, Mum and Maria had a chat about things and Mum was no longer cursing the too-clever Swiss machines and Michelin Maps.

Typical problems— the little yellow box that beeps

Mum thankfully experienced the kindness of strangers and lived to tell the tale. There are many reasons why travelers might need to ask for help:

Lost: even maps can be tricky, particularly ones given by hotels where things may be distorted to make Hotel Hilton look like the centre of the universe.  And finding the nearest church as a point of reference is like finding the nearest sex shop in King’s Cross.  Even without a map, relying on ‘the sense of direction’ can be thrown off kilter by skyscrapers, jetlag and confusing/lack of street signs.
Confused: Visitors to a foreign supermarket may wonder what those extra numbers are on the fruit signs.  The mystery is revealed only when getting to the register and being garbled at, then looking back along the queue to see exasperated shoppers pointing at their banana with a barcode sticker.  Oh.  Oops. 
And don’t forget the rail system in some European countries about validating a ticket in yellow boxes. Ah, of course, what else would they be for.  But even the most obvious things are a matter of learning and knowing. 
Injured: Cobble stones and slippery rainforest walks are a Band-Aid waiting to happen.  More serious accidents need help from other people, like pulling a crazed monkey away from your hair as it tries to eat that sweet-smelling fruit nectar hotel shampoo.
Looking to make friends: there are only so many nights that one can spend alone in a hotel room eating sardines and watching bizarre game shows.  Sometimes breaking the ice with the locals can mean feigning any of the above.

Who to ask

People of the same age and gender as you.  Think about it—if you were an 18-year-old with a nose ring and black eyeliner, would an Italian nonna show you where the quaint 16th century convent was?  Better off asking the lads outside a goth gelateria (well, good luck finding that one…but you get the idea).
Officials. As long as they look relaxed, eg they saunter along the Seine rather than fend off rioting Parisians, then put on your best innocent tourist look and ask.
Tourist staff.  Go into a restaurant or hotel reception; they may have a map and may even speak English.  But be careful and try to follow rule 1: try to pick a place that you look like you could afford—you could be a potential customer.

Who not to ask

It’s not all happyland and lasses in bikinis walking you up the boardwalk to your hotel.  Some people may take your vulnerability and exploit it, either by charging money or worse, by robbing you… and worse.  Stereotypical Russian mafia types and tattooed yobs may be the lovely chaps, and instead, the linen-suited Armani man with a poodle may actually be on Interpol’s most wanted.  But generally, if they look at you like filth, or are too enthusiastic; don’t even ask for help.  Don’t even make eye contact.
How to ask
•    Ask with other people around.  This will deter dangerous activity, and also may prompt them to ask others if they themselves don’t know.
•    Have a map ready or a pen and pencil so they can show/draw directions.
•    Try to use as much of their language as possible.  They will appreciate the effort.
•    Smile! 

So next time you need help to find the train station, avoid the war and make some peace with the locals: the kindness of strangers depends on who and how you ask.
 

Canberra Based aroma products Avalon Essences

I first got into making my own aromatherapy based products after venturing in and out of many Health Food Stores and not finding what I wanted so I would buy a variety of different oils and base products and mix to create my own blend.

I would also write down the ingredients I found in many so called ‘natural’ or ‘aromatherapy’ products and research them to find out what was actually in the product – this is when I realised people were not getting what they bargained for. I found many of the products contained chemicals and alcohols that dry out the skin or cause skin rashes.

This is when I decided to do something about it & create my own. It started just for me, then for family and friends but I kept getting orders for more so Avalon Essences was created.

All of my products are derived from plants, antioxidants, herbs, fragranced oils and essential oils for their therapeutic values; and do not contain harmful ingredients.

Avalon Essences is Canberra owned and operated. Our unique aromatherapy products are hand-made fresh in small batches without harmful chemicals, animal derivatives, harsh detergents or petroleum by-products.

I am always creating and adding new exciting products to the range.
 

Avalon Essences can be purchased online via www.avalonessences.com.au or why not head to the following Christmas Markets to see and test the full range of products in person

Avalon Essences will be at the following markets in December

• Gold Creek Village Christmas Market
• Sunday December 14
• 10am – 4pm

• Tuggeranong Community Christmas Market
• Sunday December 21
• 10am – 2pm
• Tuggeranong Community Centre (next to McDonald’s)