WINE BARREL HOTEL: The De Vrouwe van Stavoren

I love how different homes and hotels can be made by recycling unused or unwanted items like grain bins and even Lego!

This interesting hotel in the Netherlands known as The De Vrouwe van Stavoren has been created using four large disused wine barrels, making enough room to house two people in there comfortably.
The bedroom is set inside the cask area and an attachment has been added on to form a sitting room and a bathroom.

I wonder if the people realise when they are lying in their beds that the room they are in once held 4,500 liters of French Chateau Beaujolais wine? If they don't the smell of wine that still lingers inside the barrels would enhance their senses.
The prices tend to range from 74 to 119 euros per night on average and if you go in off season you could stay in the accommodation from just 18 euros a night which is an absolute bargain!

Could you be tempted to stay inside a wine barrel?

RELIVE YOUR VENICE MEMORIES: Authentic Venetian Masks

Venice has always been a popular tourist spot for lovers of culture and the arts. Each year it will attract hundreds of people just for hosting Carnevale which is the world's most famous and largest masked ball.

You know the kind where they wear those beautiful Venetian Carnival Masks? Maybe you have been there or even joined in yourself perhaps?

You can actually buy authentic venetian masks from online store 1001 Venetian Masks, which I think is a lovely way to relive that memory of Venice.

These kind of masks have been used in celebrations since the Middle Ages and have even been known to be used in quite a few fancy dress parties or balls that are held in other countries too.

1001 Venetian Masks have a vast amount of different Full Face Masks. You can find ones with feathers, velvet, columbina sticks, ornamental styles and animal inspired designs.

If you didn't get the chance to buy one from the shops that sell Venetian goods over there, then buying from here would be just the same as all the products on the site are genuine and are made by Master Artisans.

Also when you order your mask it will arrive to you in a timely manner, unlike some of these European imports that can make you wait several weeks sometimes months for you to receive your item.

SMALLEST TOWN IN THE WORLD: Hum, Croatia

For every town we live in imagine what it would be like to live in one that only has around 23 occupants.

This picturesque little town northwest of Croatia called Hum is The Smallest Town In The World.

All the buildings there have been maintained beautifully of their medieval features and the town's museum displays several Glagolitic writings.
We first learnt about Hum when documents were found dating back to the year 1102 when it was classed as a castrum which means fort. The bell and watch tower that were built in 1552 to assist the town with their defence still stands today. As well as the Parish Church of St Jerome from 1802.

The bell tower and church

Aside from the historical documents that suggest that the town was used as a fort, it was widely believed in stories told that the little town was only created because the surrounding towns had some stones left, so it was decided a miniature city could be built to make use of them.

Just seeing the narrow stone roads and pathways alone makes that story seem believable in itself and shows us a perfect example of what medieval architecture was really like.

What tends to be the most popular time to come here for tourists is the July elections. Each year all the local men from the parish in the city lodge will carve the name of the person they want to be candidate for the town's prefect on a wooden staff.

This staff is very special. It was re-built in 1977 and dates back to ancient times. When the person has been decided a ceremony announces the new prefect who then takes the keys to the town. This is then followed by a National Folk Festival which is renowned for it's Istrian food and home made brandy.

RECOMMENDED EDINBURGH ACCOMODATION

Edinburgh has it's attractions for all kinds of visitors. Whether your looking learn to about it's history that dates back to the 8th century BC, go to the festivals, visit the theatre or attend one of the Cadies & Witchery tours.

With all this to do and more it's worth staying in one of the Edinburgh Bed and Breakfast guest houses that are set in gorgeous Victorian buildings.

You can get an Edinburgh B&B in the heart of the town or further afield if your not keen on being in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of things.

The Scottish Accommodation Index website feature some nice Edinburgh Bed & Breakfast accommodation up to 4 stars, along with visitor reviews and tourist information for the city.

THE COLDEST PLACE ON EARTH: Vostok, Antarctica

When you think of the earth you probably would expect that humans can live in all the countries across the world, but there are an exceptional few that would be impossible for people to inhabit such as the Hottest Place On Earth and the Coldest place which is Vostok in Antarctica.

Typical ground surface

Vostok is a freezing -89.2 degrees Celsius and it has been said unofficially that the temperature once reached -91 degrees Celsius. It has always been cold here as far as records show and it looks like there will be no change to these conditions seeing as Antarctica's warmest temperature ever is held at -19 degrees Celsius. Brrrrrrr! Makes me feel cold just thinking about it!

Arial view of the land

98% of the land is covered in 1.6km of thick ice which is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. No humans are able to reside here permanently, however there are 1-5,000 temporary residents throughout the year who live in research stations.

The only living things that can survive are ones that are already adapted to the cold like penguins, seals, roundworms, plants like algae and tundra and several other unusual fungus species.

Fungus that grows there called Lichen

Can you imagine going there in your warmest coat and it would still be cold!? I know the researchers would have specially made clothing that keeps the cold out. Tourists that are able to go there will usually just pass by on cruise tours and would rarely stop if at all because of the temperature.

You may also find interesting this article of mine:

The Windiest Place On Earth: Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica

UNBIASED CAR ADVICE, REPAIR ESTIMATES & REVIEWS

My Car Page Example

We use our car all the time to travel for business and pleasure, and sometimes take with us abroad too. But how much do you really know about your car? And would you know what to do and where to go if there was a problem?

Online educational resource RepairPal not only tells you where your nearest Dallas auto repair shop is amongst others, but you can also learn all about car problems in general and get an estimate for the repair.

This as well as search for new and used cars like a Chevrolet Silverado and read real customer reviews on what their experience of a particular car is.

If your like me and any repair work has been carried out on my car I Usually forget whats been done or misplace the records so the 'My Car' page would be really useful. It helps you to keep a record of everything safely in one place and can remind you of any future services, M.O.T's, brake job repairs etc you have coming up.

POMPEII: The Ancient City Buried In Ash

Pompeii In Italy was once home to over 20,000 people before the volcano from Mount Vesuvius claimed thousands of lives when it erupted on 24th August 79AD.

The disaster completely buried the city and many people with it. It was forgotten about for 1700 yeas until it was discovered again in 1599 by accident when digging to try and divert a river. Archaeologists started the excavation of the city that was stuck under three meters of ash and pumice and have continued to do so gradually over the years.

A Pompeii street

When excavated the buildings were preserved nicely seeing as they had no been touched by the effects of weather i.e lack of air, moisture, light exposure, water damage etc for all that time.

As well as the buildings other things were discovered too like wine jars, paintings, animal bones, plants, pottery and the casts of bodies that have allowed us to learn more about Pompeii times. It was also seen that other volcano attacks had struck the city before the 'big one' previously.

Many of the body casts found were emotional ones like this

Cast of a dog thought to have been chained at the time

In Pompeii's best times it was a vital crossroad and a safe port for Phoenician and Greek sailors, as well as a popular holidaying destination for Romans. Nowadays its a thriving tourist destination to 2,500,000 visitors a year.

The Temple Of Jupiter

Interestingly on the day the city ended it was the anniversary of Augustus being named Father of the Nation and a feast was being held in honour of the guardian spirits of the city.

The theatre

The Bakery

When all had calmed down and with no one ruling the city to get guidance from the people who were left struggled to find food and they were forced into theft to survive. Some people came back to the city and tried to re-build it whilst others just abandoned it completely.

An artists impression of that fateful day

No more excavations are being done at the moment leaving only about two thirds of the city uncovered for visitors to browse. Over the time the Pompeii has been exposed it has been damaged by poor excavations, animal and plant introduction, thieves, vandals and the hustle and bustle of all the tourists passing through. To repair and preserve this beautiful city to it's possible best millions of pounds and dollars would be needed to complete it.

BARCARDI VISITOR CENTER TO SHOW TOURISTS NEW GREEN METHODS

Thousands of tourists have been going to the Casa Bacardi Family visitor center each year to learn about the history and production of the world famous spirits.

Not only can you learn how everything is made, but the Barcardi Family are huge fans of being green and are all for the environment. So much so most of their production process is led by green friendly methods such as pumping natural gas from wind turbines into the boiler to power the factory, treating and re-using water, chopping up discontinued barrels for garden & landscape mulch and recycling promotional materials by sewing them into bags for employees.

The Barcardi Family is one of the largest spirit companies worldwide. Their latest project announces a large wind turbine system that has been installed in Puerto Rico that creates the natural gases as mentioned above.

Tourists will be able to see how the wind turbines power the factory instead of the usual fossil fuelled way of doing things. By doing this method alone they will offset over 900 tons of CO2 for the coming year.

I think it would be fascinating to see and learn about how everything is done.
Hopefully the project will work out well and other spirit company leaders will follow example.