Happy Halloween! We’d hoped to see some trick-or-treating in action now that we’re here in suburban Allentown, Pennsylvania. Alas, the kids in this neighbourhood trick-or-treated during the weekend instead. Terribly practical!

by Paul la Vella

A boost in the number of people flying into a new airport close to an established tourist destination will normally mean a jump in tourism - but when the established airport is nearly three hours away and the new one fifteen minutes it’s almost bound to see a higher than normal increase in tourism.

And that’s exactly what is happening to Andorra, the tiny tax haven set in the European Pyrenees, and home to some of the best ski runs in Europe.

Up to now a drawback that Andorra has had is the distance from a major airport, two and a half hours drive to Barcelona in Spain or Toulouse in France, with some ski holidays starting with a night in one of the Barcelona hotels before setting off for Andorra.

But that is set to change with agreement for an aiport to be built just fifteen minutes drive from the Spanish / Andorra border.

As well as the extra ski tourists the new airport will impact Andorra as a tax haven. Andorra and the more famous Monaco are Europe’s leading tax havens, with residents enjoying the benefit of no income tax. Property prices in Andorra are less than a third of the price of Monaco’s.

Commenting on the new airport, one Andorra estate agent who specialises in Andorra property for sale thinks that the prices of Andorra properties will rise.

‘At the moment Monaco has the advantage of being ten minutes away from an international airport by helicopter, while Andorra is over two hours. With that advantage gone we anticipate more people considering a tax haven will consider Andorra, with a resulting appreciation in real estate prices.’

Property in Andorra has risen an average of ten per cent a year in recent years, with three streams of buyers - the local market, buyers for ski holiday homes who are often on a Crystal Ski holiday and like Andorra enough to buy a holiday home, plus those looking for a tax haven.

The airport is to be located in Seu d’Urgell, and the first flights are anticipated to be in 2010 or 2011, with a runway of 4,500 feet - not long enough for some medium range aircraft, and it is likely that most commercial airlines using the airport will be 60 to 80 seaters, plus private jets much favoured by the wealthy who might now consider Andorra as a viable tax haven.

As well as being welcomed by the property business in Andorra, a new airport has been greeted enthusiastically by the skiing industry.

Ski Andorra companies have upgraded facilities in recent years, and Andorra often competes as a top ski destination in Europe, with well known ski companies like Crystal Ski operating holidays for the British market.

In the last decade the number of tourists for the Andorra ski holiday season has topped ten million visitors a year, and the ski industry is an important part of the country’s economy, with the government investing in new infrastructure to help tempt visitors back for skiing for repeat visits.

However last year was the worst season for decades as the snow, which normally falls from end October, didn’t arrive until mid March, and the first drop in the number of ski holidays in Andorra being sold by British and other European travel agents dropped from the previous ski season for some years.

The new airport cutting travelling time from the UK, one of the Andorra ski holiday’s main markets, could boost the occupancy levels of hotels in Andorra significantly.

‘When people are considering a ski holiday in Andorra’, comment one travel guide, ‘At the moment to reach Soldeu, one of Andorra top ski villages, it’s two and a half hours from Barcelona to the capital la Vella, and then another twenty minutes on top of that - nearly a three hour trip after a flight. Cutting down resort arrival time from three to one hour will be enough to influence some people’s decision on where to visit.’

Recent investment by the government has reached several million Euros designed to keep the country in line with other European winter destinations, and intended to make Andorra a natural choice for the ski and snowboard fraternity, the addition of an airport close to her border could help ensure that.

2011 can’t come soon enough for Andorra and the ski resort of Soldeu and Pas de la Casa.

About the Author
For holiday information about Andorra, including the hotels and ski holidays visit YourAndorra.com

As Iff already posted, we were on trains for a LONG TIME before we arrived in the Canadian Niagara Falls. I’m so glad we went to the Canadian side first. Before we even left the train, we were impressed by how nice the customs/immigration officials were. The guy who had to deny a couple entry because they lacked a visa was actually apologetic about it. He kept insisting that they could come right back as soon as they got the visa. But the amazing thing was that the couple were given a free lift back to the US! That’s Canada for you.

It was dark by the time we got off the train. I was disappointed by that at first; we’d expected to arrive well before dark so we could see the falls. But it turned out that they light up the falls at night! I know it’s a waste of electricity, but it’s so pretty!!! Plus we realised that only from the Canadian side can one view both the American and Canadian falls (without getting on one of the boats). It was wicked to see the falls lit up that night and then to view them in the daylight the next day. Those are some pretty powerful falls!

In addition to the lovely falls themselves, there were a couple shopping opportunities which I loved. There’s a whole Hershey’s store which was very near our hotel. It’s AMAZING. I managed to buy only a bag of peanut butter filled Hershey’s kisses (much to Iff’s delight). Ah, the self discipline! And we found a used book store (Page One Books on Main Street) absolutely overflowing with books. I was beside myself. The owner is really cool, and if you’re ever in the area please go there and help him stay in business. You could spend a whole day just looking through the endless stacks of books there. We practically did!

Everyone we encountered on the Canadian side was just so nice. We stayed in a cheap but lovely hotel. (It was sheer luxury to have our own room and a proper bed to sleep in after three nights of cheap seats on the trains!) We walked throughout the town for hours, checking out the falls and whirlpool but also strolling through the residential area (behind the touristy area), where we saw dozens of fluffy black squirrels darting amongst the trees. We had the most gorgeous garlic nan we’ve ever tasted at a little Indian restaurant. There were a lot of cheap tat stores and a seemingly infinite number of cheap tacky motels, but overall it was a lovely place. We had a great time in the 24 hours we were there!

Then it was time to head to the US Niagara Falls. We had to pay to cross the bridge over there (on foot!), grrrrrrrrr. The border control guy was nice, but that’s where the charm ended. As is typical of so many American places, there wasn’t the same welcome to walk around, just lots of big roads where we were by the falls. Plus there was nothing to see on the American side of the falls that we hadn’t already seen from the Canadian side (and from a much better vantage point there). So we just hurried to our hotel, which was disappointing. It was more expensive than our one on the Canadian side, but we were kept up all night by loud people next to us. The next morning (at 5:30am!) we couldn’t even walk to the train station because the area was so rough. By the time we got on the train at 6am, we were happy to leave and ready to sleep all the way to New York Penn station.

On our way to NYC we were delayed by an incident. First the conductor just told us we’d stopped while local police were doing something in the area. Then we were told the FBI were involved. Finally the conductor told us someone had placed obstructions on the railway which would have had disastrous consequences had the police not foiled the whole thing. We’d started moving again at that point, and every single person on the train was looking out the windows trying to see what had happened. We just saw two men talking to each other beside the railway…who knows what happened!

So we were late getting into NYC, but we had enough time to walk around a bit and grab some New York style pizza. Yum! Then we boarded another train bound for Boston. We got there uneventfully and were met by Iff’s sister Lib’s old friend Jen, who is very kindly letting us stay with her while we’re here. Tonight the three of us had dinner at a Tibetan restaurant which was really tasty. We’re enjoying Boston so far and will post about it next…

United states travel: New York: il Central Park

Central Park è un vasto parco (3,4 km², un rettangolo di 4 km × 800 m) nel quartiere di Manhattan, a New York.

Central Park è un’oasi per gli abitanti di Manhattan che abitano nei grattacieli circostanti, ed è uno dei parchi cittadini più conosciuti del mondo, grazie anche alle sue comparse in numerosi film e telefilm.

Il parco, aperto nel 1856 fu progettato da Frederick Law Olmsted e Calvert Vaux. Anche se il parco sembra naturale, è in gran parte opera dell’uomo. Al suo interno si trovano diversi laghi artificiali, estesi sentieri, due piste da pattinaggio, parchi giochi per bambini, prati utilizzati per numerosi sport. Il parco è un’oasi per gli uccelli migratori ed è quindi popolare fra i birdwatcher. La strada lunga 9,7 km che circonda il parco è frequentata da ciclisti, persone che fanno jogging e pattinatori a rotelle, specialmente nei fine settimana quando è vietato il transito alle auto.

Ogni estate si tengono rappresentazioni teatrali all’aperto nel Delacorte Theatre, all’interno del parco. Fra gli altri eventi ospitati dal parco ci sono il traguardo della Maratona di New York e la festa di Mezzaestate.

Bonjour!

We’re back in Canada! OK - so we’re only just across the border, but that’s further than a couple from South America got! They didn’t get a visa so they couldn’t even come into Canada at all!

Anyway, we left Seattle 4 days ago. We meant to leave sooner, but Amtrak were booked up. Luckily, Bart and Lauren managed to put up with us for a couple more days (again) and so we weren’t forced to sleep on the cold, hard, Seattle streets. Bart and Lauren did their usual wonders in the kitchen and kept us well fed. Now that we’ve left we can admit that Amtrak WEREN’T full at all - we just wanted more of their food. Ha. That was a joke by the way.

So we reached Chicago after 2 days. Normally I’d be first in line for a shave after 2 days on the road, but these days I’m slightly less frequent a shaver. I’m so hairy, the Sasquatch would be taking pictures of me. I’m sure the photos don’t do me justice. It’s also been a few months since I last had a haircut too! Anyway, we spent just long enough in Chicago to have a wander about and sample some of the local pizza. Any place that has its own style of pizza is worth a visit in my eyes. We`ll be stopping back there on our way down to Texas too! The Chicago style pizza is about an inch thick and looks more like an open topped pie. It`s about an inch thick of cheese, sauce, toppings (or perhaps fillings would be more appropriate?) and crust. Lovely.

Anyhow, we’re now in Niagara Falls. We spent about 5 hours sitting about in Buffalo waiting for a train out here when we realised we could get a bus here in about an hour. Ah well, we have a train pass and the train was therefore free. Cheap is good, free is best!

Anyway, from here we head eastwards to Boston, Washington DC, Allentown and finally back to Ohio (a mini circuit) before heading off down south to St Louis and TX. One of these days I’ll get around to posting more pictures - although I’ve said that before…

Dus, ik ben jullie nog een paar maandjes aan verhalen schuldig, misschien moet ik maar wat bewaren voor als ik thuis ben. Hoe dan ook, we staan op het punt van vertrekken, uit Christchurch. Zodoende moet ik mijn blog-ritme weer (her)vinden en proberen weer een soort van ‘regelmatige’ berichten gaan plaatsen zodat jullie, de geinterreseerden, een beetje een idee hebben van wat er allemaal aan dee hand is hier :).

Daarom eerst maar eens een zeer ingekorte samenvatting van wat jullie nog niet weten… Sinds mijn laatste bericht (Sushi-party) heb ik op de kermis gewerkt voor drie weken, heeft Sandra een zwaar ongeluk gehad, zijn we na wat moeite en papierwerk een aantal weken na het verlopen van ons visum naar Nieuw Zeeland gevlogen, hebben we een rugby wedstrijd van de ‘All Blacks’ tegen Zuid-Afrika gezien en zijn we naar het Guns n Roses world tour concert geweest. Daarnaast heeft Sandra inmiddels drie baantjes achter de rug en heb ik meegeholpen aan het bouwen van een nieuw web-product voor de duitse markt (http://www.adscale.de/)

Daat waren de hoogtepunten van de maanden waarin ik stilletjes de kou heb zitten overleven hier in Christchurch, Nieuw Zeeland. Nu dat de bloemetjes weer bloeien, het gras groen ziet, je adem niet meer zichtbaar is en de lammetjes dartelen over de weides, zijn Sandra en ik op het punt gekomen waar we toch echt weer op pad willen. Zaterdag de 27ste is de dag dat ons huis niet meer ons huis is en we Nieuw Zeeland onveilig gaan maken, waarschijnlijk doen we dat eerst heerlijk ontspannen in de warme bronnen van Maruia Springs, je kan nou eenmaal niet alles hebben

Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel located in the Surawong district within close proximity of prominent business and banking headquarters, embassies, major entertainment and shopping centres, the Le Meridien Hotel Bangkok will be located 30-minutes from Bangkok International Airport and five minutes walk from the Sky Train.

The Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel will feature state-of-the-art technology and restaurants and bars, a ballroom, a choice of meeting rooms, fully equipped business centre, health club and a separate spa.

Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel located in the Surawong district within close proximity of prominent business and banking headquarters, embassies, major entertainment and shopping centres, the Le Meridien Hotel Bangkok will be located 30-minutes from Bangkok International Airport and five minutes walk from the Sky Train.

The Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel will feature state-of-the-art technology and restaurants and bars, a ballroom, a choice of meeting rooms, fully equipped business centre, health club and a separate spa.