Central Park

Outside among the trees, watch the wildlife--both the human and animal varieties. Call (212) 360-3465 or (212)360-2726 for daily events and tours. Central Park stretches from 59th to ll0th $ts, and from 5th Ave. to Central Park West.

Empire State Building

This is among the most striking buildings in the city. The nation, even the world. The observation deck (ffi~[~) on the 86th floor is open to the general public, offering a wonderful view of the city. On the second floor you'll find the New York Skyride, a simulated(模拟的) helicopter ride over Manhattan. 5th Ave. at 34th St., Midlown (212) 736-3100.Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum

Five blocks west of Time Square, this museum has hundreds of air, deep-sea and space exhibits. Walk the flight deck of the 900-foot-long aircraft carrier Intrepid, see dozens of old and modem aircraft and ride the Intrepid Navy Flight Simulator. Pier 86, W.   46th St. and 12th Ave./ (212) 245-0072.

Madison Square Garden

If it's big, it probably happens at the Garden. Check out sporting events, concerts and much more. Tours are available. 7th Ave. , btam. 31st and 33rd Sts. Midtown/(212) 465-6 741.

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    This summer, I was part of something that I have carried with me every day since. That was an experience that changed my life. The Kentucky YMCA has a program called Y-Corps, which are service trips of around 20 students. This summer, two trips were made across Kentucky, one down south and another trip up north.

    I was on the Y-Corps service to the North in the Indianapolis, Indiana, and our trip began at the end of July. I had butterflies flying around me as my parents drove me to Louisville, where the Service to the North team would set off on a nine-day journey in a school bus. I knew some of the team members from previous Y-Conferences, but there were many that I had never met, and I had never participated in a service trip like this before. Thought I was nervous, I was also ready to try something completely out of my comfort zone. Once we loaded the bus with our lightly packed suitcases and sleeping bags, we said our goodbyes to our parents and departed for an adventure that changed all of our lives.

    With the Kentucky Y's motto: "Participate, don't anticipate (预知)", we had no idea where we headed. Road signs were our only clue of where we would be stopping. We did service work at a Middle Way House in Indiana, a Detroit Market Garden, a Pennsylvania YMCA for an invasive species clean-up, the Upper Main Line Y in Pennsylvania to spend time with children at a summer camp, a Hurricane Sandy clean-up in Jersey Shore and the National Mall in Washington D.C. We slept on floors of local YMCAs that would take us in for a night, and some nights we didn't have the opportunity to shower. We had late nights on the road driving from city to city, and early mornings to start the day journaling and reflecting on the day before.

    Though we were physically exhausted from the hard work, we still enjoyed the time to experience the culture of the areas we were in.

Traveling to Europe to see its famous monuments is not exactly the ideal vacation for kids. You can enjoy some fun in the sun at some of the famous beaches of the continent.

    Mykonos, Greece

    The closer you get to the equator, the longer the beach season, and Greece is wonderful for that. You can enjoy beautiful green water, public chairs and lovely umbrellas at the beaches in Mykonos.

    Dubrovnik, Croatia

    There’s nothing more attractive than the beautiful beaches bordering Dubrovnik — Croatia’s most beautiful city. It’s surrounded by stone walls, like a castle. It almost makes you feel like you’re suntanning（晒黑皮肤）at Hogwarts, where the hero Harry Potter of the story is trained!

    Sicily, Italy

    Rabbit beach on the island of Sicily offers shallow, crystal clear waters, making it the perfect beach for families with young children. And if you want to add interest to your experience, try snorkeling （潜游）.

    Nice, France

    Lined with palm trees and first—class hotels, the city of Nice, located on the French Riviera, offers a whole coastline of Mediterranean beaches. Because they’re in the heart of the city, these beaches attract a large crowd. So if you’re looking for something more private, you’ll have to travel a few miles outside of the city center.

    Ribadeo, Spain

    At low tide, Playa de las Catedrales in Ribadeo, Spain is the perfect beach to take in the natural wonders without urban amusements like restaurants, bars or huge crowds. It is proud of its beautiful wildflowers and unique rock formations, making it truly picture worthy.

Hearst Castle is palatial( 宫殿式) park on the central California coast and a National Historic Landmark. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst from 1919 until 1947. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the fortune to the state of California. Since that time it has been maintained as a state historic park where the estate and its considerable collection of art and antiques are open for public tours. In spite of its location far from any urban center, the site attracts roughly one million visitors every year.

Guided Tours

There are several tours which highlight various parts of the castle and gardens.

●Tour One is recommended for first time visitor. It now includes the movie, Hearst Castle Building the Dream.

●Tour Two gives visitors a closer look at the main house’s upper floors, Mr. Hearst’s private suite, the libraries, and the kitchen.

●Tour Three looks at the Castle’s North Wing, guest rooms and guest house Casa Del Monte.

●Tour Four features the impressive gardens and grounds, the largest guesthouse, the wine basement, and the Hidden Terrace.

●The evening tour is a special tour that allows visitors to experience the Castle at night as one of the Hearst’s own visitors might have.

Ticket Prices

Hearst Castle accepts VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Free day use parking is available for automobiles, motorcycles, tour buses and recreational vehicles.

* Children under 6 are free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Reservation Information

While tickets may be purchased at the Visitor Center upon arrival, tour reservations are strongly recommended and may be reserved online now or by calling 1-800-444-44445, see below for times.

Visit www.hearstcastle.org for more information.

How to have fun in Chicago without spending a lot of money?

    Sightseeing

    ★The Art Institute of Chicago has a fine collection of photos and paintings. The ticket is $10. But on Tuesdays you'll get in free.

    ★The Sears Tower is the world's third tallest building. By going to the 103rd floor, you can get a great view of the whole city! All for only $8.50.

    Free show

    ★There are free concerts in Grant Park in summer. They are held from Wednesday to Saturday at 7:00 pm.

    ★Attend the taping of a TV show for free. The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Jenny Jones show both offer tourists free tickets. For the Oprah Winfrey Show you'll have to book tickets at least a month before.

    Places to stay

    ★You can get a hotel for $100 to $300 a day. However, you can get a room in the dormitory at Roosevelt University for $215 for a whole week! But you have to stay for 30 days to get this great rate (价格).

Technology may create challenges for travelers but it can also solve them. It’s more than making sure of a hotel cost. The latest Booking.com can help users select hotels by location, make a secure booking and view the confirmed(已确认的) cost so they never need to re-discuss their hotel price.

       Another pain point for travelers is traffic that eats away precious vacation time. There’s a new app called Commute which is aimed at users who have to make the same trip every day. Just input basic information about your destination and expected leaving time, and the app will start sending you traffic information 15 minutes before you leave. Testing Commute proved to be a challenge for me, because my home address is about 900 miles from my place of work. But if you have only a short distance to travel through a heavily populated area, you can use Commute to avoid traffic jams.

       Another source of travel-related problems is money. That’s particularly true when you’re dealing with a foreign currency. The latest Travel Money Tracker helps travelers prevent currency mix-ups. It immediately changes a country’s native currency to yours, so you know exactly how much that Espresso(浓咖啡) in Milan costs in dollars. It can also warn you when you’re overspending, which can sometimes be a problem when you’re on vacation. The only catch, of course, is that you have to remember to record all your purchases.

       Taken together, these apps solve some of the most common travel problems. But not all of them. Some things, no smartphone can fix, which means I get to keep my job – for now.

    How was Stonehenge built？

    The first stones，the blue stones were gained from the only place in the UK where such stone exists in Wales，nearly 200 miles away．

    The common theory is that these stones were transported largely by water to within a couple of miles of Stonehenge．However，nobody has even today successfully achieved this．Nor has any evidence been found along the way to support this．Other theories include the stones being moved to Stonehenge by glaciers(冰川)．

    The larger stones came from only about 20 miles away，but again with no modern machinery and before the wheel how did they transport these stones through the uneven countryside？The common theory is that they were rolled along on top of tree trunks．

    When you stand next to one of the big Stones，you will understand what a task this would be even today．What is clear is that large amounts of manpower must have been required and organized and leaders over many generations must have been able to inspire the people into the concepts and beliefs that drove them to build such a monument．

    Stonehenge itself is put together like woodwork．Joints(接头) and sockets(插口) were carved into the stones so well that they fitted into each other perfectly．Without metal，it would have been a struggle to shape these vast stones using stone on stone．

    Building the stones also would have been another big problem without modern aids．The most common theory is that large earthen ramps(坡道) would have been built and the stones toppled over the top into their prepared holes and somehow were made to go straight up．

    What was Stonehenge used for？

    There is no shortage of theories，but nobody knows for sure what Stonehenge was used for．For sure it has something to do with death，just look around the Stonehenge landscape and see the burial hill．The evidence is that this is an area connected with a god，for people lived away from the site．

    The current archaeologists'(考古学家)viewpoint is that Stonehenge was used for something similar to a current day memorial service．Today，Stonehenge is used by pagans(异教徒)．They often use Stonehenge for formal ceremonies，normally long before the tourists arrive．

Choose Your One-Day Tours!

Tour A—Bath & Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge—£37until 26 March and £39 thereafter.

Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.

Tour B—Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary's Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's house—£32 until 12 March and £36 thereafter.

Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England's oldest university city and colleges. Look over the "city of dreaming spires(尖顶)" form St Mary's Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

Tour C—Windsor Castle & Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace—£34 until March and £37 thereafter.

Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry Mill's favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle (entrance fees not included). With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫)where it is easy to get lost!

Tour D—Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great—£33 until 18 March and £37 thereafter.

Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.

There are many children's museums in America. Here are some for parents to choose from.

    Please Touch Children's Museum

    Babies can play alongside their siblings (兄弟姐妹) at this museum specially designed to keep them entertained together. In the popular Wonderland exhibit, 1-year-olds can pick out giant flowers in the Fairy-tale Garden while their 5-year-old siblings can have a tea party with Alice at a giant table nearby. Older kids can try out musical instruments from around the world.

Everyone can take part in a theatre show.

    Kohl Children's Museum

    This museum features pretend play. Kids can nurse sick animals back to health at the Pet Vet exhibit, work as a construction worker, or drive through a car wash. A two-acre outdoor space offers mazes (迷宫) and a painting wall.

    Madison Children's Museum

    Environmental awareness is the big focus of this green museum. Housed in an environmentally-friendly building, it features a rooftop garden where kids can get their hands dirty planting, collect chicken eggs, and learn about homing pigeons. Those under 5 can then explore the tree house or little huts. The entire museum is cleaned with natural products, and the cafe offers healthy foods.

    The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

    The museum has been transformed into an Egyptian village, where children can try on Egyptian clothing, learn about the local money, and shop for local foods. But this is just one of 13 thrilling permanent exhibits. Animal lovers can help cartoon characters Dora and Diego search for baby animals in the rainforest. And transportation enthusiasts can take virtual (模拟的) train rides.

    For further information, please go to www. childrenmuseum, com.

Disney World, Not To Be Missed!

  Are you still looking for an amusement park to enjoy yourself? Then, Disney World is your best choice! Disney World has four theme parks. A single—day admission ticket to any of these four theme parks is $67 for adults and $56 for young children above three years. The very best time to come here includes middle of April to late May, and Labor Day to middle of November or early December. Youˈll surely have a fantastic and memorable experience!

  Magic Kingdom

  This is the original Disney park from which the entire Disney World has expanded. Once you get here, you can pose for pictures with the Disney characters at the entrance. But if you want to save time, go straight to the Main Street. The children would almost certainly desire to see the Dumbo and Winnie. Just remember the parking lot is usually packed. You will need to walk to the entrance gate.

      Epcot

     Epcot is divided into two sections: World Showcase and Future World. Future World is all about

futuristic rides and high—tech attractions like Test Track and Turtle Talk with Crush. World Showcase,

which lies along a lake, shows international styles from different parts of the globe, including Germany,Canada, Mexico, China and a lot more.

     Disneyˈs Hollywood Studios

      You will discover plenty of huge attractions inside this movie park. Indiana Jones, Playhouse Disney Live, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, and also the Lights, Motors, Actions Extreme Stunt show are just few of what you need to watch out for. It is also the very best spot for taking pictures with Disney characters.