Europe

Sardinia, very nice

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sardinia

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the geologically oldest in Europe. It’s a close neighbour of Corsica to the north, Italy, and Sicily. Its capital city is Cagliari.

The island is mountainous with high rocky coasts and several bays, inlets, and rias. The island has a Mediterranean climate on its coasts, plains, and lowlands while a continental climate exists in the centre.

The island has come under influence from Romans, Byzantines, Italians, Austrians and theSpanish and some of their traditions are still practised in Sardinia today. Sardinian and Italian are the main languages spoken on the island. It is also site of several megalithic structures and aUnesco World Heritage Site.

The Sardinian diet relies heavily on meat, dairy products, grains, and vegetables. Sardinians also drink more beer per capita than anywhere else in Italy.

Sardinia has three international airports connecting it to the mainland of Italy and other parts of Europe. There are ferry companies which operate between Sardinia and cities in France and there is a rail network which connects towns across the island.

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Istanbul, East meets West

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istanbul
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the second largest in Europe. It was the capital of four separate empires throughout its history from its founding in the 6th century as Constantinople.

It was once the seat of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. The city lies on the Strait of Bosphorus between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea with one part of the city in Europe and another in Asia.

The city’s historic and economic centres sit on the European side. It is further divided by a natural harbour known as the Golden Horn.

The city was the centre of Christianity for centuries until the rise of the Ottoman Empire when Islam took over. Today the city is still home to what was once one of the largest cathedrals in the world, later a mosque and now a museum– the Hagia Sophia.

The symbol of Istanbul may be the Topkapi Palace which was built after the fall of Constantinople. The city’s Grand Bazaar is also the largest covered market in the world.

The city has a borderline Mediterranean and humid sub-tropical climate but also has microclimates due to its vast size. Kebab is the most-well known of the city’s cuisine but it is also famous for its seafood.

The city was once famous for being the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris. The city is still served by two international airports – the Istanbul Ataturk and the Sabiha Gokcen.

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Madrid, flavour of Spain

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madrid
The capital of Spain, Madrid is the country’s largest city and is known as the greatest party location in Europe with fiestas and other events staged year- round.

Madrid is located on the Manzanares River and is the home of the monarch King Juan Carlos II.

Landmarks include the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Prado Museum, the famous Picasso painting Guernica sits in the Reina Sofia gallery, and the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is Spain’s largest bull-fighting arena.

There are also a number of catholic churches while most of the city’s tourist attractions city in the old city and Ensanche.

The city’s nightlife is also a big drawing card with many tapas bars, cocktail bars, clubs, jazz lounges, and music venues and the all-important flamenco centres. Flamenco is the national dance of Spain.

The city enjoys a Mediterranean climate with cool to cold winters and warm to hot summers. Green areas are a highlight of the city which has the highest number of tree and green areas per inhabitant than any other city in Europe.

The city is served by the Madrid Barajas International Airport and there is also an international rail network and one of the largest metro networks in the world. 

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Google tackles the UK Internet music

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google_play_music

Internet Company Google has decided to tackle the United Kingdom music streaming market.

The company has launched Google Play Music All Access in the UK, entering an already crowded market in an attempt to challenge Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, Xbox Music, Sony’s Music Unlimited, and Rara.

The new service will cost £9.99 per month but new customers will get it for £7.99 until September. The other services have free options while All Access does not.

All Access has already been launched in the USA, New Zealand, and Australia and there are plans to launch the service in other parts of Europe such as Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.

The service will offer a range of features including unlimited “on-demand” access to millions of tracks; Smartphone apps; recommendations for new music, and a personalised radio feature.

The UK is the fastest growing market for streaming music in the world. Over 20 million people paid for subscription music services last year.

People in the UK streamed more than 3 billion tracks in 2012 earning more than £49 million in income for British record labels.

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Crete, cradle of European civilisation

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crete

The island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest of the Greek isles and the most populous.

The second largest island in the Mediterranean after Cyprus- Crete is teeming with history. It was once the centre of Minoan civilisation which is recorded as the earliest known European civilisation.

The culture is rich. Known for Mantinades poetry and music, and dances the most notable being the Pentozali. Crete is also rich with archaeological sites such as Knossos and Phaistos and there are also Minoan, Roman, and World War II ruins.

Crete is mountainous and has three different groups of mountains forming part of a range running from east to west. The island is plush with fertile plateaux, valleys, caves, and gorges. The climate is primarily temperate and there is snowfall in the mountains between November and May.

Heraklion is the largest city and capital, with more than a fifth of the island’s 600,000 people.

Crete has a road network larger than that of Britain and is well-served by ferries from the mainland city of Athens.

Crete is a veritable den of flora and fauna not seen anywhere else in Greece or other parts of Europe. There are no large or dangerous mammals or snakes on the island.

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Cyprus, Mediterranean paradise

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Cyprus
Very mild winters and warm dry summers make the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea a hotspot for tourists. The island gets almost twice the sunshine of cities in Northern Europe with as many as 12-13 hours of sun during the summertime.

Cyprus sits south of Turkey and east of Greece and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. The island of Cyprus is divided into Greek and Turkish rule and is unique in that it is the only one which has a divided capital city – Nicosia. Nicosia is divided by a “green line” with part in Turkish Cyprus and part in Greek Cyprus. The city is surrounded by a Venetian wall.

International flights arrive at Larnaca International Airport in the south of the island. The island is mountainous in the north and south with plains in the centre while there are also plains on the island’s southern coast.

There are many archaeological sites scattered across Cyprus that date from the Stone Age through the Roman Empire and the island also boasts a beautiful coastline.

Cyprus is a great place to buy leather goods including shoes and handbags, jewellery, lacework from the village of Lefkara, and Cypriot wine. It boasts interesting cuisine and meze, a dish that can be made from meat or fish, is a must try.

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Arroz con leche, a milky rice treat

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arroz_con_leche
Arroz con leche, or literally rice with milk, is a desert that is enjoyed in parts of South America, especially Peru, as well as Europe.

It is an exotic yet simple desert that can is easy to make. The arroz con leche can be sweetened and flavoured to taste and it is an easy desert that can be served when entertaining either for a small dinner party or just to offer a little taste of something different for your own family. This desert is also quite filling and is best eaten with a meal that does not already include rice.

All you need are two cups of uncooked white rice, three pints of cow’s milk, condensed milk, powdered cinnamon, brown sugar, a saucepan, four cinnamon sticks, and four small desert bowls or desert glasses.

Soak the uncooked rice in milk for a few hours. This can be done overnight as desired. Once soaked, in a saucepan over a low flame, boil rice in the remaining milk until nice and tender. Once rice is tender leave to cool

Stir in condensed milk and sugar to sweeten to taste. Add powdered cinnamon and place small amounts of mixture into glasses. Chill in a cool refrigerator until ready.

Cinnamon sticks can be added to the desert bowls before serving.

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Dubrovnik, pearl of the Adriatic

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Sitting along the Dalmatiancoast of Croatia is the city of Dubrovnik. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Adriatic, the old city was named a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979.The city was founded in the seventh century and is considered one of the ten best medieval walled cities of the world.

The city boasts Europe‘s third oldest pharmacy established in 1317. Many old buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1667 but several still remain. Among the cities highlights are the Sponza. Palace which now holds the National Archives; Rectors Palace, St. Saviour’s Church -all dating back to the Renaissance as well as the 18th century St. Blaise’s Church.

The wall of Dubrovnik is one of the main features of the city which is a popular tourist destination featuring many top class hotels. Each summer a festival known as the Dubrovnik Summer Festival is held in the city. The festival is 45 days long and involves concerts, games, and live plays.With a Mediterranean climate Dubrovnik has hot dry summers and wet winters. It has its own international airport is also accessible to the rest of Croatia by highway.It is used as the location of King’s Landing in HBO‘s series Game of Thrones. 

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