Best Engagement Ideas for Popping the Question

Asking a woman to marry you is a huge commitment, which can often be very intimidating for a man. The decision becomes exponentially more difficult when your significant other is expecting you to propose, or has been pressuring you to do so. No matter how great your relationship is, every man has the slightest ounce of worry within them that their girlfriend may not say “yes.” But you can be sure you get an affirmative response when you plan the perfect moment to propose. Women want a proposal that will combine romanticism with passion-here are the best ways to pop the question that will be sure to evoke the answer you’re looking for!

An idea of marriage proposal

A woman propose by a man, courtesy of theheartbandits.com

Make your Holidays Happier
The holidays are a common time for engagements, which makes sense because families are typically together. It’s the perfect time to tell everyone the good news and revel in the compliments you get on the beautiful engagement ring you chose. And Christmas isn’t the only holiday during which it is popular to propose. The classic holiday for love, Valentine’s day, is always a great choice, or you could seal your New Year’s kiss with a “will you marry me?” Alternately, there’s no day more fitting for a proposal than your anniversary-what better way to commemorate the night you first met, kissed, or otherwise became an official couple than with a ring? No matter what holiday you choose, it’s important to choose an engagement ring that sparkles as much as your loved one’s smile.

Find great lahaina vacation rentals by owner at mauioceanfrontvacationrental.com.
For more maui kihei condo rentals specifics, check out this link.
For reasonably priced oahu north shore vacation rentals, check out this web site.

Continue reading →

Dog Friendly Attractions in the North West

The North West is full of great attractions for you and the family to enjoy, from the stunning tranquillity of its National Parks to thrill-seeking activities, but if you have the family dog to include into the mix it can be little tricky to find something for you all. Here is our definitive list of top ten dog friendly activities in the North West.

Ingleborough Caves

Photo of Ingleborough Caves

Ingleborough Caves entrance

The Ingleborough Caves are located on the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and is just a short walk from Clapham Village. Delve into the beautiful flood-lit paths, formations and passages formed over millions of years that are suitable for you and your doggy pal to explore, whatever the weather.

Williamson Park

Overlooking the historic city of Lancaster, Williamson Park’s extensive parkland, wooded walks, shops, cafes and large grassy areas make this a dog walker’s haven. Additional features include the Ashton Memorial and butterfly house where you can get up close with exotic species in tropical surroundings.

Leighton Hall

Leighton Hall, stretching over 1,550 acres, is a fantastic attraction for all the family including your dog! Take a stroll through the woodland walks set in beautiful parkland, enjoy the views and entertain the kids in the caterpillar maze and the new children’s dens. All dogs on leads are welcome in parkland.

Morecambe Bay Walks

Explore the natural beauty of the North West coastline as you cross the sands of Morecambe Bay on a guided walk, from Arnside promenade to Kents Bank railway station. Both you and your dog can participate in these fantastic charity walks, taking in breath-taking views of across the bay and the local wildlife.

Grizedale Forest

Grizedale Forest Photo

An evening in Grizedale Forest

Grizedale Forest lies in the heart of the Lake District National Park, just south of Hawkshead. With spectacular views of the fells, an array of local wildlife including herds of indigenous red deer, sheltered woodlands and marked paths to suit all abilities, Grizedale Forest is the perfect location for you and your canine friend. Continue reading →

My Flight and Hotel Nightmare

For years the kids had been telling my wife and me all about how wonderful the internet is. They talked about buying anything you need from anywhere in the world and having it shipped to your door. They talked about Christmas shopping without ever having the need to leave the house and they told us how installing the internet and getting a laptop could change our lives for the better and also save us some money. They told us that booking a flight and hotel separately, instead of using a tour company, would mean that we could travel further for less.And we have to admit that they were right, but they didn’t tell us about the pitfalls of flight and hotel holidays and we managed to fall down just about every single one of them.

Activities on Venice, Italy

Venice in a glance

We wanted to sample the delights of Venice and many of our friends had told us that we could have the perfect break at the famously watery city in Italy. Now, in the past when we had organized a short break it had always been as part of a tour or group travel as we like to call it. However, this time we thought that it would be more fun and probably cheaper to use our new internet connection and laptop to book a flight and hotel separately and organize our own little holiday.

So all seemed pretty good, we booked a room in a hotel in the town and then organized the flights to the nearby airport that corresponded with the correct weekend. Unfortunately though, just before we were due to leave the hotel emailed us to tell us that they had double booked our room and that there was no room available for us on this weekend. They could change the dates at no extra cost if this would help us out.

We tried looking elsewhere, but there wasn’t anything within our price range for the weekend that the flights were booked so we rang the budget airline and tried to change the flights. This was no problem they told us, when they eventually answered the telephone, although there would be an administration charge and the new flights were more expensive. It was all starting to unravel around us.

Not to be beaten we took the new flights and paid the extra money and we informed the hotel that we would take them up on their offer of accommodation for a later date. With flight and hotel booked again, we once again started to look forward to our trip.

Only when we arrived at the Italian airport did we realize that we were a short train ride from Venice and not quite as close as we had imagined. That said the hotel that we thought was on the island turned out to be a bus ride away so the train ride wasn’t as far as it could have been. Continue reading →

Best Value City Sightseeing Europe

One of the big challenges when travelling independently is finding your way around each new city. Whether it’s Rome, Paris or London, it can be time-consuming – and tiring – to work out what you should see and how to get there. When we were on our European honeymoon, the last thing we wanted was to get tired and stressed – but luckily, I found the solution! Of course, if you ask your hotel, they can probably offer you brochures for various half-day or one-day “city bus tours”, but I’ve always disliked them. Those coach tours always seem to stop for far too long at places I don’t like, and rush past places I want to see more of. They can be pricey, too. However, I’ve found the alternative – a fleet of double-decker buses that constantly circuit the city, allowing you to hop off at various monuments and landmarks for as long as you like, knowing that you can hop on the next bus in the fleet when you’re ready.

The idea has been around for a long time, but in recent years the concept has really taken off. In major centres like Rome, you’ll find you have a choice of several companies, all offering a similar service (which can only be good for you, as it keeps the price down).

How it Works
When you board the bus, you’re given a set of earphones which you plug into the station at your seat. As you bowl along, the commentary describes the important sights that you pass, explaining the history of the city and interesting facts about each landmark. You can get off any time you like, and hop back on the next bus when you’re ready. It’s true that with a good map and travel guide, you could get to all these places yourself. However, we found that sitting on the bus (in air-conditioned comfort) as it meandered around the city gave us time to orientate ourselves, and after the tour we felt far more confident about finding our way around. We also spied some interesting places that we’d like to come back to, which we would probably have missed on more direct public-transport or cab routes. Continue reading →