In the basement of trendy concept store, Colette, be inundated by a choice of 90 brands of still ans sparkling water from around the world. The cafe also serves coffee, tea and variety of food sourced from the finest addresses in Paris ans boasts a wide selection of international magazines as well as Wi-Fi. >>>

With dramatic bespoke interiors designed by Irish interior architect David Collins, this hotel specialises in rum coctails and stocks a staggering 50 different lables of Carribean liquour. Mojito’s anyone?!?

Since I’m headed to Colorado to spend the holidays with my family, thought I’d take a moment to share some of my favorite spots.

• The Garden of the Gods - not only is the scenery breath-taking, but my family lives just minutes away and it’s a great spot for everything from weddings to company picnics.
• The Broadmoor - this time of year, the hotel is all decked out for the holidays and nothing gets me in the holiday mood more than a bundled up stroll around Broadmoor Lake.  In the warmer months, the golf course is world class and its conference center is top notch. 
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo -  we have some family history here and I’ve been going multiple times per year since before I can walk.  It’s the worlds only mountain zoo, they hold amazing private events and have some cutting edge exhibits as well.
• During the holidays, one of my top stops is Seven Falls.  Having grown up in the area, I still think it’s a bit of a tourist trap but the lights and frozen falls this time of year (plus access with just a donation) does wonders for getting me in a holiday mood.

Those few stops while spending time with my family always bring back wonderful memories from my childhood and I look forward to stopping by every time I get to town.

What are your favorite spots in your hometown?

The ceramic hub of Morbi-Than was on the verge of closure since the last quarter of 2008. But as of November 2009, as many as 45 new units have come up or are about to start production. Besides the strong domestic market, the withdrawal of various incentives by the Chinese government to its domestic industries has been a boost for the over 500-odd ceramic units here, which account for 60 per cent of India’s ceramic production.

Karshan Adroja, the president of Morbi Tiles Manufacturing Association, said, “Fuelled by domestic and international demands, the ceramic industry has been improving after a bad year.”

The subsidies by Beijing had put the Indian manufacturers in direct competition with their Chinese counterparts on the price factor in the international market. But now, the export figures since the beginning of the second quarter has touched a new high – it is more than double compared to last year.

20 Reasons why I have come to love NYC:

1. I sit next to bankers, homeless men, fresh immigrants, tourists, hipsters, rabbis, and yet discovered artists on any subway ride from Manhattan to Brooklyn. We sit skin touching skin, we check each other out, we make eye contacts and pretend we didn’t make them, very occasionally, we converse.
2. I spend summer days on Coney Island’s Brighton Beach, chilling next to Russian men wearing nothing but a speedo. Then, I buy some bread from their women and finish off my day with dinner at the best Uyghur restaurant in America.
3. There are 10 different cuisines within a 2 block radius of my apartment, in addition to a gym, a grocery store, a park, a dentist, a farmer’s market, and the most cozy free-wifi coffee shop directly below my apartment with plenty of seats and free wi-fi.
4. Almost everyone here has some sort of a serious relationship problem, those who don’t are quickly on their way out of the city.
5. When I don’t have money for therapy, I ask my friend what her therapist says and apply that advice to my own life.
6. I get drunk, a lot, and it’s considered okay, in fact, I know many with a much worse case of alcohol problem.
7. I no longer miss China the way I missed China when I lived in Texas.
8. Midtown and the Financial District, during lunch and rush hour – sexy stilettos and handsome suits, strutting and zigzagging their way to lunch (probably from hell). “hey guys, we’re all fucked.”
9. I have seen a dog being pushed in a dog stroller, too many whores and materialistic assholes to count, a park filled with only white children and black nannies that made me question if I’m back to the slave era, the most disappointing revelation, the most surprising kindness – these days it takes more than a shock to raise my eyebrows.
10. I go to supposedly the hottest club in town, I join the supposedly most exclusive membership, and realize, it’s never as good as it’s cracked up to be. And life, thus, becomes much more simple.
11. Subway > Car
12. Going to gym/yoga/running is like going to the bathroom, it’s second nature.
12. The guys in NYC drive me crazy, the masochistic side of me approves this.
13. The best food (and there are thousands) from around the world are all under $10.
14. There is a kind of energy this city is built upon, part hunger, part desperation, part hope, and part dream. I feed off of that energy, and I dream my dreams.
15. Operas, ballets, musicals and plays. Some free, some discounted, and some, well-worth breaking the wallet.
16. New York Craiglist’s postings are always funnier than other city’s postings.
17. www.overheardinnewyork.com helps with my self-esteem
18. It’s easy to get a hook up, if I ever decide to get one.
19. Volunteering in the city, you either help someone in desperate need (there are too many of them) or at the least, you meet someone compassionate, which is not to take for granted.
20. When I get depressed, which is, quite often, there are plenty of things I can attempt to do to distract me from depression.

For the artist that knows about everything cool:
Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career of an Imaginary Soul Superstar
By Dori Hadar

For the nutritionist with a sweet tooth:
BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes
from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery
By Erin McKenna

For the adventure-seeking/vintage-cocktail-loving guy in your life:
Jigger, Beaker and Glass: Drinking Around the World
By Charles H. Baker
While you’re at it, be sure to visit the bar Fort Defiance in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
It’s theme is based around the travels of Charles H. Baker.

For the traveler that packs lightly with exquisite taste in architecture:
Wallpaper* City Guide to Barcelona (or you name where)
Phaidon

As I walk through the rickety wood door, I spot a seat at the bar. The leather is ripped on the chair, but it doesn’t matter, so I hurry over and sit down. It’s always hard to find a seat at Grumpy’s this time of year, so I’m happy with whatever I get. As I start to take off my down jacket, I hear voices from the guys working behind the bar… “Hey, how’s your Dad?” “Is your brother in town?” “Did you bring any oysters this time?” This is why Grumpy’s is the best bar I’ve ever been too!

Grumpy’s is located in Sun Valley, Idaho and it is a true local’s joint. Just like the sarcastic saying on the sign out front, “Sorry, we’re open,” you get the same treatment inside. The bartenders are loud, humorous and witty. There’s no “the customers always right” in this bar. “We take cash only,” “What are you having?” “Order a real beer, get a schooner” are typical things that you might hear coming out of the mouths of the scruffy, hat wearing, t-shirt loving, bartenders.  (NOTE: a schooner is a 32 oz. glass used for serving German wheat beers.)

Grumpy’s is truly one of a kind. While some might call it a ‘dive,’ I call it authentic. Grumpy’s is filled with stories. From the writing on the bathroom walls to a flying monkey from the Wizard of Oz, your eyes never get tired of darting around from one thing to the next in this place. What it lacks in interior design, it makes up for in character. It’s loud, the beer flows and there is always a local who might now make it to work in the morning because he’s had one too many schooner’s.  

Grumpy’s truly epitomizes local flavor. From the time the wonderfully recognizable street front sign changes to “Sorry we’re open,” locals stream into this place for an early afternoon burger and schooner. Just like Cheers, where “verybody knows your name,” the same rings true for Grumpy’s. At any given time you can walk into Grumpy’s and recognize at least one face behind the counter and one face sitting at the bar. Grab a seat, order a schooner and enjoy the uniquely fantastic ambiance of the best bar I’ve ever been to.

This post is by guest blogger Katie, special to the Event Services team.

http://morbilive.com/ceramic-glazed-wall-tiles.html

Ceramic Glazed Wall Tiles

Visitors to Angel Island, one of the land masses poking out of the San Francisco Bay tend to split between hiking geeks and history geeks. The good news for travelers with disabilities is that hiking is not required to enjoy the history and the beauty of Angel Island State Park.

Getting There: Ferries to and from Angel Island leave daily from Pier 41 on Fisherman’s Wharf and the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. The Blue & Gold Fleet ferries are sort of, mostly wheelchair accessible, but it’s best to call ahead to make arrangements for assistance. The Angel Island ferries do have both indoor and outdoor deck seating and restrooms. Only service animals are permitted on board and on Angel Island. (This regulation helps protect indigenous species on the island.)

Read the full Accessible Angel Island story at Oyster Locals…

Though the post was written for Oyster, it covers most of what I’d have to say in a TWP post. I was honestly and pleasantly surprised by the number of options I had when I checked out Angel Island. The Segway tour is ridiculously expensive, but the tram is totally rideable. Just be sure to wear a jacket!

Last weekend the SF Chronicle printed an article by John Flinn about camping on Angel Island. For a perfectly healthy, bluff dude like Mr. Flinn, camping Angel Island in the freezing damp of a San Francisco December might be a fabulous thing to do. For me, not so much.

My system can’t regulate my core temperature properly, which means I can’t stay warm after the sun goes down. Cold triggers my pain. I can’t sleep on the ground or on a 1-inch foam pad, period. I will be too cold and in too much pain. And yes, Mr. Flinn, I’ve got a wool hat, nylon balclava, wool socks, thermal underwear, arctic mummy bag, wool blankets, hot water bottles–all of that, and I’d still be curled in a miserable fetal ball, freezing and awake. Been there, done that, no more thank you very much. I can’t pee into a plastic water bottle without leaving the warmth of my sleeping bag, either.

For those of us with chronic pain and illness who need a warm bed and indoor plumbing, I recommend checking out the hotels in the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Also accessible to Angel Island are the chi-chi boutique hotels of Tiburon. You can pretty much fall out of your room in the Waters Edge Hotel and onto an Angel Island ferry.

Sun Valley, Idaho has always been one of my favorite places, ever since my family started going there more than 25 years ago. After college, I knew exactly where I wanted to live when I entered the “real world” – Sun Valley. For me, Sun Valley is a magical world full of snowflakes, schooners, down jackets, no make-up and endless trails to get lost on.  Here is a guide to one of my ‘small town heart,’ favorite places in the world:

As you step off the plane and onto the tarmac, the cold air makes you gasp.  Surrounded by snow capped mountains and the smallest airport you’ve ever seen, you know exactly where you are – Sun Valley, Idaho. You walk the quick jaunt into the airport, shuffling along in your Ugg boats and faux fur collared down jacket. You grab your bag, hop in the Sun Valley Lodge Shuttle and off you go!

Since 1936, Sun Valley has held the distinction of being the original ski resort. After its construction in the winter of 1936, celebrities and European nobility flocked to the majestic resort, nestled in the Idaho wilderness. One of my favorite things to do at Sun Valley Lodge is walk through the halls and look at the enchanting images of timeless celebrities such as Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Claudette Colbert, Bing Crosby and Gary Cooper, as their black and white faces stare back, witnessing new generations enjoying the serenity of Sun Valley (Sun Valley Resort).

The real majesty of Sun Valley is the mountain, Bald Mountain – affectionately known as ‘Baldy.’ Baldy has a total of 13 lifts and 65 varied runs throughout the mountain. The terrain is expansive, with seemingly endless runs stretching 2,054 acres and 3,400 vertical feet.  Skiers and snowboarders alike can explore Baldy’s impressive terrain, while ending their day at one of the area’s five lodges. After a long day of skiing there is no better way to reward oneself than to grab a pitcher of beer, warm up in the sun and listen to one of Sun Valley’s fabulous cover bands at the Warm Springs Lodge.

After a pitcher or two, you and your newly acquired goggle tan can head back to Sun Valley Lodge, slip into a pair of black double knit pants, throw on vintage Frye boots and grab a great cashmere sweater. Head  back into town to enjoy the fresh snow lined streets and bustling nightlife.

As the sun goes down, the lights turn up on Sun Valley’s main street. Stretched out between Baldy and the Sun Valley Lodge, Main Street offers a plethora of restaurants, drink specials and fur-clad out of towners. I always love to indulge myself in one of the many fabulous restaurants that Sun Valley has to offer. For the ‘tourist,’ try the rustic, steak induce coma, Pioneer Saloon. For ‘wannabe locals,’ Vintage is the only place to go. Located in a small house, nestled in an alley, you will never forget the taste of heaven. One of my favorite places and for individuals wanting a little more action and a warm fire to cuddle up to, Sawtooth Club is a must. You don’t need your down jacket when you’re in the Sawtooth Club – this place heats up with drink specials, celebrities and great food. My go-to order is always the crab and artichoke dip, a cool 44 North and soda. Try a fabulous whiskey ginger (after all you are in a ski town), take a seat by the fire and watch the fabulous people that walk through the door. Who knows, you might find your future husband at the Sawtooth Club – I did!

When you start to feel the dancing itch, walk next door to the newly constructed Whiskey Jacques’, take off your jacket, grab a $1 vodka soda and dance the night away. Whiskey’s is the best spot for cheap drinks, great music and ‘getting in’ with the locals. Whiskey’s has always been my favorite local hot spot – it’s a place where I can throw on a hoodie and drink a beer, or dress up my favorite pair of skinny jeans with a great Elizabeth and James top. Cotton or cashmere, Whiskey’s is always a good time.

As your night wraps up, wipe the sweat off your face, throw your hair back in a pony tail and head outside to catch the bus back to the lodge. Before you take that Frye footed step onto the bus, don’t forget to look around at the magnificent mountain town that is Sun Valley, and say to yourself “tomorrow, I’m going to do it all again!” Because for me, I DID!

This post was written by guest blogger Katie, special to the Event Services team.

Powell & Market Cable Car Turnabout (c) Liz Hamill Scott

As I stare up Powell Street from Fisherman’s Wharf…and up…and up…it becomes clear that the 19^th century San Franciscans were desperate. If I had to climb that cliff they call a hill every day I would have keeled over. Or possibly invented some sort of human-powered heavy-duty rope-tow trolley system.

Nowadays, the cable cars aren’t the comfiest public transit option in San Francisco. Plus they’re part of the MUNI system, and all you locals know what that means. But they still beat the crap out of walking up Nob Hill or Powell Street or freakin’ Lombard. (Lombard’s the crooked street–build that way so that cars don’t shoot straight down it and wind up in a big steel pile at the bottom.) Here are 5 Places to Catch a Cable Car, plus basic fare information and a few links.

The seats on the cable cars are the original butt-bruising wooden wonders. BYO stadium cushion for comfortable seating. The “outside” seats come complete with the chills of fog and wind, but they’re the ones with the amazing views. “Inside” seats are protected from the wind. Sort of, mostly. I keep my coat on. On weekends, the cars get crowded and people often have to remain standing and clutch the poles to keep upright.

Famously, a couple of riders can cling to handrails on the sides of the car, essentially riding completely outside of the cable car “on the boards.” I’ll pass on that, thanks. It looks like it might be fun for healthy teenage boys, but I prefer to sit.

It’s really, really loud on the cable cars. Sound-sensitive riders might do better with earplugs.

Cable cars aren’t officially accessible–the 19th century cars don’t have lifts. But rumor has it that operators will help disabled passengers board. Ask for assistance with the steps up and down from the cars, and you’ll probably receive it. Choose one of the route terminus points for the best chance of help.

California might be a car-loving state, but San Francisco is a walker’s city. Urban hikes abound in the city, winding through skyscraper forests and into eucalyptus groves, up steep stair-studded hills and on down to flat sandy beaches. These trails get positively packed on sunny Saturdays with iPod-wearing locals and camera-juggling visitors.

Read the full Oyster Locals post…

The TWP perspective on these 4 hikes:

Lobos Creek Trail: Perfect for travelers with pain and travelers who’ve got limited walking legs or lungs. The trail is short, flat, level, and boardwalked. Also pretty.

Golden Gate Bridge: Workable if you can walk 2 level miles comfortably. For a much more complete description of the Bridge walk, click here.

California Coastal Trail: Take it in little pieces. Get a map and find the sight(s) you want to see, then work back to find the best place to park or get off public transit near the trail. Only hike about half as far out as you feel comfortable–quarter-mile, half-mile, a few hundred meters. Then hike back.

Telegraph Hill/Coit Tower Steps: Don’t bother. If you want to see the Tower, take the bus up to the top of Telegraph Hill.

A city on the rise, Atlanta is becoming more and more of a tourist destination! If you’re coming down here for business or to see friends and family, you now have a lot more upscale options.  With a little help from your friends at journeyPod, experience some of the finer things that Atlanta has to offer and make this road trip or weekend getaway truly memorable! Read on…

We got a surprise in our daily google alerts today. XLR8R.com has a new iPhone app in conjunction with City Guide that gives the skinny on selected cities. As part of the campaign they feature a artist, have them do a video short on their hometown haunts (no pun intended), then do a podcast of local music.

The inaugural affiliated podcast features local SF future blapper Ghost on Tape and surprisingly has our old “Psycho Killer” edit on it. This edit (I won’t use the word mash up) is kinda the one that continues to haunt us. It was one of the first things ever done under the White Girl Lust moniker in 2004 and never was shared until 2007 but still seems to pop up often.

The mix is a bit different from usual SBR fare but great selections including our homie Low Limit from Lazer Sword.

Check it out.

So I was a few days living the American life in New York City.

My six girlfriends and I left JFK Airport in a black stretch limo with a cosmic roof, duty freed warm champagne and crappy radio music, ready to head to the city that never sleeps. Our rented flat was located in East Village, lacked heating and a second bathroom. It was a very good deal though, with a 27 € fee per night and per lady, and a “naughty nanny” wifi which almost never let us down.
Our first night aka “the doors night” had us walked from place to place without being able to find hospitality. Charlotte managed to get a buck from a dude though. We finally went to Backroom, where we didn’t actually visit the so-called backrooms. Then, our male friends, Julien the French banker and Jerry the American former lawyer, had us walk to Meatpacking to eat burgers & french fries before a good night sleep. At Pop, we had the best fries I had ever eaten and some quality mini burgers in an awful place with bright white neon light and a windy door that would never give us a rest.

On Saturday, I was invited to have a walk in Soho – I barely knew Manhattan – but understood quickly that it meant some day-long shopping. Topshop had just opened its first American store, and I was really disappointed by the vulgarity of the place. A huge mess, with bad and loud music, with low selection. Looked like Newlook. Urban Outfitters was rather cool, and I’m a huge fan of their interior design collections. They have a current collaboration with the movie “Where the wild things are”, which reminded me that we can’t miss this. Remember, our Neverending Story.
For lunch, we skipped La Esquina which was crowded, for Spring Street Natural where we saw Model Doutzen Kroes. I have no idea who the hell she is, but she’s worth it, according to L’Oreal.
Saturday night, I like the way you move. After some sushis, we tried again the Gold Bar (we were denied the day before), and with some strategic moves, we finally got in. I can’t say I liked this place. Though there is a special host at the restrooms to take care of you, I was not fond of the skulls everywhere and the music, neither of the population, thirtysomething bankers, and local turkeys dancing around the table. We moved to Motorcycle Club in Lower East Side, which was quite sleepy, but the flipper had us be teens again. With adult money. More to play, more to lose. Then, we somehow ended in a third bar, but my eyes were already closed and I just remember having drunk a vodka shot.

See you tomorrow for the rest of the story.

Bologna (Italian pronunciation: [boˈloɲːa], from the Latin Bononia, Bulåggna IPA: [buˈlʌɲːa] in Bolognese dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley (Pianura Padana in Italian) of northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River.

Home to the oldest university in the Western world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is one of the most developed cities in Italy. Bologna often ranks as one of the top cities, in terms of quality of life in Italy: it was ranked 5th in 2006, and 12th in 2007, out of 103 Italian cities. This is due to its strong industrial tradition, its wide range of highly-developed social services, and its physical location at the crossing-point of the most important highways and railways in the country.

Etruscan and Roman times

Bologna was founded by the Etruscans with the name Velzna—Latinised as Felsina—(c.534 BC) in an area previously inhabited by the Villanovians, a people of farmers and shepherds. The Etruscan city grew around a sanctuary built on a hill, and was surrounded by a necropolis.
In the 4th century BC, the city was conquered by the Boii, a Gallic tribe, from which came the ancient name Bononia of the Roman colony founded in c.189 BC. The settlers included three thousand Latin families led by the consuls Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Marcus Atilius Seranus, and Lucius Valerius Tappo. The building of the Via Aemilia in 187 BC made Bologna a road hub, connected to Arezzo through the Via Flaminia minor and to Aquileia through the Via Aemilia Altinate.

In 88 BC, the city became a municipium: it had a rectilinear street plan with six cardi and eight decumani (intersecting streets) which are still discernible today. During the Roman era, its population varied between c. 12,000 to c. 30,000. At its peak, it was the second city of Italy, and one of the most important of all the Empire, with various temples and baths, a theatre, and an arena. Pomponius Mela included Bononia among the five opulentissimae (“richest”) cities of Italy. Although fire damaged the city during the reign of Claudius, the Roman Emperor Nero rebuilt it in the first century AD.

16th-18th century

The city’s prosperity continued, although a plague at the end of the sixteenth century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, and another in 1630 to 47,000. The population later recovered to a stable 60,000-65,000. In 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the seat of the University. The period of Papal rule saw the construction of many churches and other religious establishments, and the renovation of older ones. Bologna had ninety-six convents, more than any other Italian city. Artists working in this age in Bologna established the Bolognese School that includes Annibale Carracci, Domenichino, Guercino and others of European fame.

19th century

With the rise of Napoleon, Bologna became the capital of the Cispadane Republic and, later, the second most important centre after Milan of the Repubblica Cisalpina and the Italian Kingdom. After the fall of Napoleon, Bologna suffered the Papal restoration, rebelling in 1831 and again 1849, when it temporarily expelled the Austrian garrisons which commanded the city until 1860. After a visit by Pope Pius IX in 1857, the city voted for annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia on June 12, 1859, becoming part of the united Italy.

Culture

Over the centuries, Bologna has acquired many nicknames: “the learned one” (la dotta) is a reference to its famous university; “the fat one” (la grassa) refers to its cuisine.

“The red one” (la rossa) originally refers to the colour of the roofs in the historic centre, but this nickname is also connected to the political situation in the city, started after World War II: until the election of a centre-right mayor in 1999, the city was renowned as a bastion of socialism and communism. The centre-left regained power again in the 2004 mayoral elections, with the election of Sergio Cofferati. It was one of the first European towns to experiment with the concept of free public transport.

The city of Bologna was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 29 May 2006. According to UNESCO, “As the first Italian city to be appointed to the Network, Bologna has demonstrated a rich musical tradition that is continuing to evolve as a vibrant factor of contemporary life and creation. It has also shown a strong commitment to promoting music as an important vehicle for inclusion in the fight against racism and in an effort to encourage economic and social development. Fostering a wide range of genres from classical to electronic, jazz, folk and opera, Bologna offers its citizens a musical vitality that deeply infiltrates the city’s professional, academic, social and cultural facets.”

University

The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is the oldest existing university in Europe, and was an important centre of European intellectual life during the Middle Ages, attracting scholars from throughout Christendom. A unique heritage of medieval art, exemplified by the illuminated manuscripts and jurists’ tombs produced in the city from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, provides a cultural backdrop to the renown of the medieval institution. The Studium, as it was originally known, began as a loosely organized teaching system with each master collecting fees from students on an individual basis. The location of the early University was thus spread throughout the city, with various colleges being founded to support students of a specific nationality.

In the Napoleonic era, the headquarters of the university were moved to their present location on Via Zamboni (formerly Via San Donato), in the north-eastern sector of the city centre. Today, the University’s 23 faculties, 68 departments, and 93 libraries are spread across the city and include four subsidiary campuses in nearby Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, and Rimini. Noteworthy students present at the university in centuries past included Dante, Petrarch, Thomas Becket, Pope Nicholas V, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and Copernicus. Laura Bassi, appointed in 1732, became the first woman to officially teach at a college in Europe. In more recent history, Luigi Galvani, the discoverer of biological electricity, and Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of radio technology, also worked at the University. The University of Bologna remains one of the most respected and dynamic post-secondary educational institutions in Italy. To this day, Bologna is still very much a university town, and the city’s population swells from 400,000 to over 500,000 whenever classes are in session. This community includes a great number of Erasmus, Socrates, and overseas students.

The University of Bologna is also the birthplace of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.[citation needed] It was founded by Manuel Chrysoloras in 1400. The fraternity was formed for mutual protection against Baldassare Cossa, who extorted and robbed the students of the university, and later usurped the papacy under the name John XXIII.

Cuisine

Bologna is renowned for its culinary tradition. It has given its name to the well-known Bolognese sauce, a meat based pasta sauce called in Italy ragù alla bolognese but in the city itself just ragù as in Tagliatelle al ragù. Situated in the fertile Po River Valley, the rich local cuisine depends heavily on meats and cheeses. As in all of Emilia-Romagna, the production of cured pork meats such as prosciutto, mortadella and salame is an important part of the local food industry. Well-regarded nearby vineyards include Pignoletto dei Colli Bolognesi, Lambrusco di Modena and Sangiovese di Romagna. Tagliatelle al ragù, lasagne, tortellini served in broth and mortadella, the original Bologna sausage, are among the local specialties.

Sport

Another nickname for Bologna is Basket City, referring to Bologna’s obsession with basketball, which is somewhat unusual in football-dominated Italy. The local derby between the city’s two principal basketball clubs, Fortitudo and Virtus (often called after the clubs’ principal sponsors), is intense, as you can see here and here. However, the rivalry will temporarily lie dormant in the upcoming 2009–10 season, because Fortitudo are no longer in the country’s professional ranks. After the 2008–09 season, Fortitudo were relegated from the top-level Lega A to LegADue, and then were relegated further to the nominally amateur Serie A Dilettanti for financial reasons. The impact of basketball in the city is not limited to Fortitudo and Virtus; the Italian Basketball League, which operates both Lega A and LegADue, has its headquarters in Bologna.
Football is still a highly popular sport in Bologna; the main local club is Bologna F.C. 1909, which is currently in Serie A.

Towers

Between the 12th and the 13th century, the number of towers in the city was very high, possibly up to 180 (see also below). The reasons for the construction of so many towers are not clear. One hypothesis is that the richest families used them for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy.

Besides the towers, one can still see some fortified gateways (torresotti) that correspond to the gates of the 12th-century city wall (Mura dei torresotti or Cerchia dei Mille), which itself has been almost completely destroyed.

During the 13th century, many towers were taken down or demolished, others simply collapsed. Many towers have subsequently been utilized in one way or the other: as prison, city tower, shop or residential building. The last demolitions took place during the 20th century, according to an ambitious, but retrospectively unfortunate, restructuring plan for the city. The Artenisi Tower and the Riccadonna Tower at the Mercato di mezzo were demolished in 1917.

Of the numerous towers originally present, fewer than twenty can still be seen today. Among the remaining ones are the Azzoguidi Tower, also called Altabella (with a height of 61 m), the Prendiparte Tower, called Coronata (60 m), the Scappi Tower (39 m), Uguzzoni Tower (32 m), Guidozagni Tower, Galluzzi Tower, and the famous Two Towers: the Asinelli Tower (97 m) and the Garisenda Tower (48 m).
Recently, the city’s architectural tradition of tower building has been given a new lease with the “towers” of the Trade show district by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.

The construction of towers

The construction of the towers was quite onerous, the usage of serfs notwithstanding. To build a typical tower with a height of 60 meters would have required between three and 10 years of work.

Each tower had a square cross-section with foundations between five and ten meters deep, reinforced by poles hammered into the ground and covered with pebble and lime. The tower’s base was made of big blocks of selenite stone. The remaining walls became successively thinner and lighter the higher the structure was raised, and were realised in so-called “a sacco” masonry: with a thick inner wall and a thinner outer wall, where the gap was filled with stones and mortar.

Usually, some holes were left in the outer wall as well as bigger hollows in the selenite to support scaffoldings and to allow for later coverings and constructions, generally on the basis of wood.

The number of towers

The towers actually must have crowded Bologna in the Middle Ages and there has been considerable debate about their peak number, before the first ones were demolished to avoid that they collapse by themselves or taken down because of other reasons.

The first historian to study the towers of Bologna in a systematic way was Count Giovanni Gozzadini, a senator of the Italian kingdom in the 19th century, who studied the city’s history intensively, not least to raise the prestige of his home town in the context of the now united Italy. He based his analysis mostly on the civic archives of real estate deeds, attempting to arrive at a reliable number of towers on the basis of documented ownership changes. His approach resulted in the extraordinary number of 180 towers, an enormous amount considering the size and resources of medieval Bologna.

More recent studies pointed out that Gozzadini’s methodology might have led to multiple counts of buildings, that could have been referred to in legal documents by different names, depending on the name of the family who actually owned it at a given moment. More recent estimates reduced therefore the number to a total between 80 and 100, where not all towers existed at the same time.

The Two Towers

The Two Towers, both of them leaning, are the symbol of the city. They are located at the intersection of the roads that lead to the five gates of the old ring wall (mura dei torresotti). The taller one is called the Asinelli while the smaller but more leaning tower is called the Garisenda. Their names derive from the families which are traditionally credited for their construction between 1109 and 1119. However, the scarcity of documents from this early period makes this in reality rather uncertain. The name of the Asinelli family, for example, is documented for the first time actually only in 1185, almost 70 years after the presumed construction of the tower which is attributed to them.

It is believed that the Asinelli Tower initially had a height of ca. 70 m and was raised only later to the current 97.2 m (with an overhanging rock of 2.2 m). In the 14th century the city became its owner and used it as prison and small stronghold. During this period a wooden construction was added around the tower at a height of 30 m above ground, which was connected with an aerial footbridge (later destroyed during a fire in 1398) to the Garisenda Tower. Its addition is attributed to Giovanni Visconti, Duke of Milan, who allegedly wanted to use it to control the turbulent Mercato di Mezzo (today via Rizzoli) and suppress possible revolts. The Visconti had become the rulers of Bologna after the decline of the Signoria of the Pepoli family, but were rather unpopular in the city.

Severe damage was caused by lightning that often resulted in small fires and collapses, and only in 1824 was a lightning rod installed. The tower survived, however, at least two documented large fires: the first in 1185 was due to arson and the second one in 1398 has already been mentioned above.

The Asinelli Tower was used by the scientists Giovanni Battista Riccioli (in 1640) and Giovanni Battista Guglielmini (in the following century) for experiments to study the motion of heavy bodies and the earth rotation. In World War II, between 1943 and 1945, it was used as a sight post: During bombing attacks, four volunteers took post at the top to direct rescue operations to places hit by allied bombs. Later, a RAI television relay was installed on top.

B y Wikipedia

This is a great tip that will save you time and money in Tokyo and is not that well known about as most people use the JR line to get from Narita into the city.

The Skyliner & Metro Pass, available at the entrance to the Skyliner train in T2, is in my opinion the most convenient and valuable pass available for visiting Tokyo for a couple of days. It allows you to ride the Skyliner connecting Narita Airport and central Tokyo upon arrival and then to use all of the Tokyo Metro lines as many times as you like for one or two consecutive days at a reduced cost.

If you haven’t been to Tokyo before, the Metro underground train system gives you the most flexibility due to your ability to get to many more places than when just using the JR pass or lines. All of the major tourist attractions including Tsukiji fish market, the Imperial Palace in Hibiya, Harajuku and Omotesando (shopping), Shinjuku and Shibuya (neon), Ueno and Asakusa (temples and history), Roppongi and Roppongi Hills are directly on Metro lines so it makes seeing these much easier.

The Skyliner train plus a 1-Day Tokyo Metro Pass costs 2,100 yen which is a saving of 530 yen or if staying a little longer then the Skyliner plus a Tokyo Metro 2-Day Pass costs 2,480 yen which is a saving of 860 yen. When you consider the JR Narita Express takes the same time and is about 3,000 yen, this is a great deal.

Shortly, courtesy ofone of our guests from last season who is returning again, I will upload her recommended tour of Tokyo for 1 to 3 days. Even as someone who lived there previously, this is a very good read.

Cheers

NFT (not for tourists)

NFT is an annually city guide for the US. There are different city guides for each city. It is obvious that it is not for the tourists, but for the citizens. However, I have to admit that it is attractive for the tourist too. It has also an iphone app.

I like NFT’s motto, because it is attractive for eveyone. The book and iphone app’s interface design seems simple and cool.

whatson.seeglasgow.com

seeglasgow.com is a touristic city guide website for Glasgow. You can search the events according to date and types. You can also make a reservation for  the flight to Glasgow, or hotels and restaurants in Glasgow.

I like the layout of the website, it is cool and userfriendly; and I like the dark colors that seperates it from the other city guide websites.

berininfo.com

This is a city guide website for Bern, Switzerland. Its design is simple and userfriendly. When you write date interval and the certain type of the event that you want, it gives you a list of the events that match your criteria. It has also an city guide ipod application that you can buy. This is a touristic city guide.

reutlingen.de

Reutlinger.de is similar to berninfo.com, but it is belong to government. Event search method is the same. It also gives information about the city and places to go. You can download the brochures of the events, too.

Its design is simple and I think it is boring.

City event guides generally works on web. So they are formed as a internet page. In this manner interface design and lay out’s of this pages are very important. When i looked this web sites i recognized some important elements which make this web-sites are more efficient than the others. Like; customizability, arranging the objects properly ,learnability, flexibilty. These websites should be very simple and easy to understand. But most important thing, that these web sites must reflect the city which they claim as it’s guide.

Here are my samples of the city guides…

for me this is not a good example for the design of a search engine but what i like is they divided into groups; kültür sanat, müzik eğlence, sinema.. etc so you can click on one of them and search for what you want to know.