Are you thinking of going on a cruise this year? If you have never been on a cruise before you certainly should try one and if you have been on a cruise before you could have a go at cruising the Mediterranean this time
Cruising at sea, calling into a different port each day or two soon becomes a way of life, so short cruises can be a little exasperating. A fortnight is all right but a month is much better.
Imagine it, a different language and a different culture every day for weeks! The Mediterranean Sea is not thought of as a large sea, but it has to be the most diverse area in the world, because there are countries like Portugal, Spain and France to the northwest; the Middle East is represented by Turkey and The Lebanon in the northeast; Arabic countries like Egypt and Lybia line the northeastern coast of the African Mediterranean and Arabic/Berber countries like Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco bring us back to within miles of Spain on the northwestern African Mediterranean shoreline.
In fact, the Mediterranean Sea covers about 2.5 million square kilometres and has over 120 large seaports around it. The variety of food, culture and language is pretty extraordinary. If you are searching for variety, you will absolutely find it when cruising the Mediterranean Sea.
If you get a kick out of history, then you will not be disappointed by the ruins from the immense Greek, Roman and Egyptian empires that spread around the region prolifically. I should not think that there is a single area without something to remind the population about the power of the Roman army 2,000 years ago.
There are dozens of different Mediterranean cruises available lots of them specializing in one particular aspect or area of the Mediterranean. Some go for romantic destinations others specialize in Greek, Roman or Egyptian history.
The last Mediterranean cruise I went on was actually two cruises back-to-back. I flew into Barcelona from my home town. I did not have to take care of my baggage from my hometown until I saw it on my bunk on the cruise liner. That was a great touch. On the first leg of the cruise we steamed east to Sicily and then north along the Italian coast to the French Riviera and back to Spain.
The second leg went east to Sardinia and then south to Africa and returned along the coast calling into Tunisia and Malta on the way back to Spain. They were two completely different cruises on the same ship and separated just by a week from one another.
The luxury and the dining experience was wonderful and I discovered the saying to be true that you can expect to gain about a pound in weight every two days unless you take plenty of exercise, so make sure you pack your swimming costume, even if you do choose to leave your exercise kit at home.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several topics, but is now concerned with the Bikini Cup D. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Swimwear for Big Busts.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
If you are at all interested in either Pennsylvania or American history, you will surely have heard of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the historic activities that took place there for the period of the American Civil War. The three day long battle that took place there in July 1863 was cruel and bloody, but was claimed as a victory for the Unionist North.
Even so, one quick look in the Union Army burial ground in the Gettysburg National Cemetery on Cemetery Hill will persuade you that the victory came at a very high cost. The cost in human life and human suffering was gigantic on both sides. Later on in the same year, Abraham Lincoln gave a discourse which was to become famous throughout the world as the Gettysburg Address.
These days, the Gettysburg National Military Park is a peaceful place, but it acts as a moving reminder of the battle that was fought, the strategies employed, the heroism of the combatants and the willingness of military leaders to sacrifice the common soldier for political ends.
If you go to the Gettysburg National Military Park, you would do well to begin your trip in the visitors’ centre. There you will be able to pick up books, pamphlets and leaflets to help you orientate yourself when you are on the battlefield, even if you are familiar with how and where the genuine battle was fought.
If you think that it would be too much for you to work things out for yourself or if you do not have much time, you could join one of the regular guided tours. If you are somewhere in between these two positions, you could first watch a film in the Cycloarma Center, where there are also historical items recovered from the battleground on the numerous excavations that have taken place over the nearly 150 years since the battle at Gettysburg took place. If you do not look around the museum before you go on to the battleground, you ought to look later.
If you are visiting Gettysburg to enlighten your children about that most significant era of American history, you ought to first check out the special interest programmes accessible to 7-12 year olds in the warmer summer months. One programme allows children to enlist in the army of 1863 for an hour in order to get a sense for what it was like for soldiers of the day and what it was like for the children that helped them fight.
Another programme consists of a story-teller recounting stories of what it was like to be a youngster in the days of the Civil War and the role that children played both in the war and in civilian life in those days.
Gettysburg is a spellbinding place to go to whether your family was embroiled in the battle there or not. Many of the combatants’ names and place names like Devil’s Den and Cemetery Hill will already be familiar to you and a visit to the Gettysburg National Military Park will bring them back to life for you.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many subjects, but is at present concerned with thinking about the Poconos International Raceway in Pennsylvania. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Poconos Vacations.