photo Don't you just hate it when you call airline trunk lines?! Apart from forwarding you a gazillion extension numbers, at the end, you normally end up with either a busy tone or an answering machine. According to the Travel Mole, travel websites are among the worst for online customer service. Customer service “took an average of 58 hours to respond” . Research shows that “Despite the enormous growth in the online channel, across all sectors, our research shows that consumers are still suffering from substandard online service.” Transversal, the team that conducted the research, monitored 10 leading UK travel companies through phone, web and email. thanks to the Travel Mole
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photo Every year, the scene of the Nativity is re-enacted in all Christian churches, mall displays, Christmas shows and just about everything that is synonymous to Christmas. We all know it by heart by now, eventhough most of us have no idea how the modern day Bethlehem or Bayt Lhem looks like. Bethlehem, apart from Jesus' birthplace, is the Capital of the Bethlehem Governate, which is under full control of the Palestinian National Authority. Although it has been inhabited by Christian communities, Christian communities are slowly emigrating because of the conflict between the two neighboring nations. Ofcourse, before traveling to Bethlehem, watch out for travel advisories. Nevertheless, a trip to Bethlehem should be in everyone's list, be they Christian, Muslim or Jew, since it is an important site to all three religions. When in Bethlehem, a visit to one the following sites should be a MUST. 1. The Church of the Nativity built by Constantine the Great. 2. The Mar Saba Monastery 3. Rachel's Tomb 4. Beit Sahour 5. Beit Jala
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 I’ve sent the manuscript with the text for the cookbook off to Mercier! Very exciting. I did include a credit to the bloggers who participated with the Ice Cream Party. Now I just have to finish compiling the photos… (more…)

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I have to say this has been so amazing for me – to ask for help from the blogosphere and to get it! I am full of warm, fuzzy feelings!

I’m a bit bleary from all the book editing, so if I’ve left anyone out, please let me know and I will add you!

Thanks, thanks, thanks!

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photo It is indeed a bleak day for Emma Clarke, London’s “tube”-announcer. London Underground terminated her services after a series of spoof announcements that she posted on her website. The reason behind her firing is that “she criticised the Underground system” and made fun of American tourists,
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photo Quebec, the former Britsh and French colony, is counting down the days until they jump start their 400th Year Anniversary. Festivities are scheduled to start in exactly 38 days. The kick off will be on New Year’s Eve at the Place D’Youville, Quebec City. Afterwhich, a year-long celebration will follow starting on: Jan 5-6 “400-Year Journey”. An interactive tour showcasing it’s 400 year history. June 3 – Oct 19 Espace 400^e, an exhibition that will use the mechanisms of an airport-like point of transit. June 20 – 29 A multimedia show from Robert Lepage’s The Image Mill. July 3 The exact date of Quebec’s founding, which is the high point of the anniversary celebrations. July 5 The Urban Opera. Opera with the city’s landscape as a backdrop. July 6 The Great Gathering on the Plains of Abraham Aug 15 The Walking Road Oct 19 Colisee Pepsi, an event showcasing the Cirque de Soleil and artists from Quebec and other French-speaking countries.
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photo Hollywood in Vegas. The showbiz capital did not move it’s location in the desert. But rather, the well known Planet Hollywood franchise opened a resort and casino at the center of the famous Las Vegas strip. The new Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino replaced the Aladdin Resort & Casino and officially openned on the 17th of November. It offers 3 acres of gaming, 75,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 7,000 seat Theater which showcases The Beauty of Magic with Hans Klok and Pamela Anderson. One of the highlights is the Spice Market Buffet which was recently voted as the Number 1 Buffet in Las Vegas. For guest’s entertainment, The Showroom offers a performance from the Stomp Out Loud, which ” a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.”
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photo If you’re planning to go to Austria and Switzerland for the finals of the Euro 2008, sad to say, England didn’t make it this time. Thanks to Croatia, who shattered England’s hopes and ended up as Group E’s winners. Despite rallying on the 2nd half of their qualifying round, Croatia was just too strong for England. England’s agony was due to Mladen Petric’s goal in the 77th minute. The English team fought their way back from 2-0, after the 56th minute penalty shot from Frank Lampard and a goal by Peter Crouch. However, all efforts were in vain. Only Croatia and Russia from Group E will progress to the next round. from UEFA
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It’s a little after 3am on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007, and the Frontier Hotel (also known as the New Frontier) is no more. After a two-hour buildup and a few test fireworks, the sky above the Strip lit up with a full-on fireworks show at 2:30am.

Lights then counted down from ten on the southern side of the hotel, which had already been prepped for the implosion by the removal of windows and sections of the outer shell. As the timer reached zero, the number hovered for a few seconds before the big booms signaled the charges had been detonated.

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You can often find low rates and extra value by purchasing your cruise through an online travel agent or discounter. I asked a few online retailers for their best deals and then did a little comparison shopping of my own. The result is some of the best cruise pricing on the Web.

The deals

Here are some of the top deals from several online cruise agents. All sailings take place in 2007 and 2008.

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