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Many of London’s tourist attractions are free. Below are the most visited ones. Whether you prefer history or modern art, you’ll find it at one of these must-visit spots.

British Museum

The British Museum, established in the year 1753, is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its colletions, which number more than seven million objects, are among the largest in the world and originates (来自，起源于) from all continents. The most interestng and exciting parts include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and the mummies in the Ancient Egypt collection. But some exhibitions in the atrium（中庭的）area require tickets.

National Gallery（美术馆，画廊）

London’s National Gallery was established in 1824. It is a vast space filled with Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. Here you can find works by masters such as Van Gogh, da Vinci, Constable and Stubbs. You needn’t buy tickets most of the time except when there is a special and temporary exhibition.

Tate Modern

Admission to Tate Modern is free, except for special exhibitions. It was once a power station and in 1981, two architects, Jacqes Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, converted（改建）the power station into a gallery in 1981. The gallery’s restaurants offer wonderful views across the city.

Borough Market

As London’s oldest food market, it has been serving the people of Southwark for about 1,000 years. Here you can taste various delicious food from England and all of the world. Many of the market’s stallholders (摊主) themselves are producers: the farmer who raises the animal, the fisherman who catches the fish, the baker who bakes the bread.

A wonderful Cornish self catering holiday cottage

Cider Cottage is the perfect place to escape and unwind.

Cider Cottage sleeps five in a lovely countryside setting, with all home

comforts. Recently fully renovated to a high standard, the Cottage was

awarded a 4 Star rating by Visit England. 

It is a detached property full of character, with exposed feature stone walls and ceiling

beams.

In the past the building was used to store and crush apples to produce local Cornish cider. 

One step inside the door and you will know you have found somewhere special to spend

 your holiday.

Cider Cottage has three comfortable bedrooms, of which the Master

bedroom has a king size bed and an en-suite bathroom.

A spacious fully equipped Kitchen and Dining room fitted with a

ceramic hob and oven, microwave, washing machine, dishwasher and

tumble dryer. We also supply all those kitchen essentials that you won’t

want to pack.

Down a flight of steps is the large cosy Lounge, with exposed  feature stone walling and beams that date back hundreds of years.

Set between the south Cornwall coast and enigmatic Bodmin Moor, in

lovely countryside, Cider Cottage is just 1 mile from the historic town of

Liskeard and a short drive from the lovely fishing village of Looe with its

wonderful sandy beach.

The cottage is ideal for families and couples alike, whether you just want to relax or

enjoy the wide variety of activities and attractions or nearby outdoor pursuits such as cycling

and horseriding.

The ancient market town of Liskeard has a choice of cafes, restaurants, takeaways, pubs & supermarkets. A main line Railway Station also serves the town, giving the opportunity for car free days out.

There are many places to go on safari（观赏野生动物）in Africa, but riding a horse through the flooded waters of Botswana's Okavango Delta must rank as one of the world's most exciting wildlife journeys.

 Several safari camps operate as the base for this adventure, providing unique rides twice a day to explore deep into the delta. The camps have excellent horses, professional guides and lots of support workers. They have a reputation for providing a great riding experience.

 The morning ride, when the guides take you to beautiful, shallow lakes full of water lilies, tends to be more active. It is unlike any other riding experience. With rainbows forming in the splashing water around you and the sound of huge drops of water bouncing off your body and face. It is truly exciting. You are very likely to come across large wild animals, too. On horseback it is possible to get quite close to elephants, giraffes and many other animals. The sense of excitement and tension levels rise suddenly though, as does your heart rate, as you move closer to them.

 In the evening, rides are usually at a more relaxed and unhurried pace. With golden light streaming across the grassy delta and the animals coming out to eat and drink. Sedate though they are, rides at this time of day are still very impressive. As the sun's rays pass through the dust kicked up by the horses, the romance of Africa comes to life.

 Back at the camp you can kick off your boots and enjoy excellent food and wine. Looking back on your day, you will find it hard to deny that a horseback Safari is as close as you will ever come to answering the call of the wild.

The Tropical ParadiseHoliday

Welcome to St Anna, our tropical paradise just off the coast of Latin America. You can spend two weeks in our luxury four-star hotel. The cost of your flight is included in the holiday, and you can be picked up from your home by our special airport bus. On your arriving, our coach will be waiting to take you to the hotel. All flights leave from Heathrow on a Monday morning.

The Cowrie Hotel is built right on the beachfront, and many rooms have wonderful ocean views. If swimming and surfing are not enough for you, the hotel also offers horse rides on the island, and a discount membership of the golf club.

The Rain Forest AdventureHoliday

Every year Broughton holidays offer twelve days of unforgettable adventure in a tropical rain forest. You may have a choice ofBorneo,Malaysia, Indonesia, or even to the greatest rain forest of them all, the mighty Amazonian forest.

You will fly to our special base camps at the edge of the forest, where you will be given five days of survival training, and talks on the local wildlife.

Then you take a bus into the forest. You will have to walk the final five miles to the camp sites to avoid disturbing the local ecology. All of the camp sites have been carefully built to cause the minimal amount of disturbance to the local wildlife.

Remember that these adventure holidays take you deep into the wilderness, and they are not suitable for families with young children. Also remember that no more than two dozen guests can stay at any camp at one time, so if you want to go on one of these very special holidays, you will need to book early!

There are some special traditions in Hawaii. People are very friendly and always welcome visitors. They give visitors a lei, a long necklace（项链）of beautiful fresh flowers. Men wear bright flowered shirts, and women often wear long flowered dresses. There are traditional Chinese, Japanese and Philippines holidays and all the holidays from the United States. They call Hawaii the Aloha State. Aloha means both hello and goodbye. It also means I love you.

Usually when people from different countries, races and traditions live together, there are serious problems. There are a few problems in Hawaii, but, in general, people have learned to live together in peace.

Hawaiians get most of their money from visitors, and most of the visitors come from the mainland and from Japan. There are so many people living in Hawaii now that there are residential (居住的) areas where there used to be farms. Some of the big sugar and apple companies have moved to the Philippines, where they do not have to pay workers as much money. The families of the first people who came from the U.S. mainland own the important banks and companies. Japanese are also buying or starting business.

 Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge(吊桥) in London, over the Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It’s sometimes incorrectly referred to as London Bridge, which is the next bridge upstream.

  In the second half of the nineteenth century increased business development in the East End of London caused a requirement for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off the approach to the port facilities(设施) situated at that time in the Pool of London, between London Bridge and the Tower of London. A tunnel beneath the Thames, the Tower Subway, was opened in 1870, but it was only available to people who preferred to walk across the Thames.

  A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1876 to find a way to settle the river crossing problem. It opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs lasted several years, and it wasn’t until 1884 that a design sent by Horace Hones was agreed.

 Building of the bridge started in 1886 and took 8 years’ hard work of 432 building worker. Over 70,000 tons of concrete were sunk into the river bed to support the bridge. Over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework(框架) for the towers and walkways. This was then coated i Cornish granite and Portland stone,  both to protect the steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance. Jones died in 1887,and another engineer took over his work. The bridge was opened in 1893.

  The bridge sits almost directly above the Tower Subway, the world’s first underground tube railway (1870), which, until the bridge was opened ,was the shortest way to cross the Thames. A computer system was equipped in 2000 to control the raising and lowering of the bascule. However, this has proved(证明) less reliable than expected, resulting in the bridge being stuck in the open or closed positions for a number of times(most recently 2 June 2005).

Art exhibition: The 16th Asian International Art exhibition from Dec.18, 2005 to Jan.10, 2006 at the Guangdong Museum of Art.

The exhibition will highlight over 300 works from Japan, Korea, China Mainland, China Hong Kong, China Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippine, Indonesia and Australia.

RMB 70, 90, 100

Booking Tel: 88677766

Concert: Christmas Concert performed by German organist Thorsten Macder and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yu Feng.

RMB 80,120,180,230

8pm on Dec 23

Symphony performing Hall. Guangdong Xing Hai Concert Hall.

Booking Tel: 87352222

Thailandcuisine festival: In the Greenery Café at Garden Hotel from Dec.20, 2005 to Feb 20,2006.

Booking Tel: 87675443

Performance: At Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall; 8pm on December 6,7,9

RMB 100,160,200,260

Tel: 89785656

The Trip to Alishan in Taiwan

It was the fourth day of our trip to Taiwan, bright but cold. After a good breakfast we put on our jackets and gloves, pulled on our hats and got into a car. We travelled for about two hours, up, and up, and up the mountain road.

We finally arrived at the top of the mountain. It was Christmas Day. So imagine my joy to see icicles (冰柱) hanging from branches and the whiteness of the scenery. Indeed, it was my first Christmas in the northern hemisphere(半球)and, guess what? It even started snowing too. How amazingly exciting for me to have Christmas in my grandmother’s hometown, and to experience icicles and snow. Alishan is really beautiful, especially seen from this dizzy height. After Sun parked the car, we got out and looked down through the trees. It hadn’t snowed hard enough so there was no snow on the ground, just loads of pine needles. There was a most wonderful smell of pine sap (松液) drifting up to us from the ground. It was very quiet, except for the twittering of birds, and the odd car passing along the road. Quietness in Taiwan is something to treasure.

Over the road was a small stall so we went over to it. They were selling some drink steaming hot in paper cups, too hot to hold immediately. We jumped around to get warm. There was a cool wind blowing up the side of the mountain, and the clouds above us were moving along quickly. I could imagine there was quite a strong wind blowing up there, so I was glad we were down on the ground! The drink cooled down fairly rapidly. I picked up my share and, wow, what a lovely smell was coming from it. It was the smell of ginger(姜). I took a sip. How delicious, and so this was ginger tea, which I had never tried before. It warmed my body so quickly that I could feel the heat travel right down to my fingers and to my toes. This was very good stuff. And then it was time to leave as we were going down to Hualian to eat hot pot, and drink some Shaoxing rice wine.

Yellowstone National Parkis located in the northwest corner of Wyoming. In addition to its superb Rocky Mountain scenery, the park is one of the world’s principal wildlife preserves. It’s also the site ofAmerica’s greatest concentration of geysers and hot springs, which form a visible and spectacular link with the primeval forces of the Earth’s creation.

This fee provides the visitor with a 7-day entrance permit for the Yellowstone National Park. 

Interesting Yellowstone National Park Facts:

◇A designated World Heritage Site and designated Biosphere Reserve

◇World’s First National Park

◇3,472 square miles or 8,987 square km

London is the capital of Britain. It is located in the southeast plain of England. The Thames River goes through this city.

     The British have lived there for about 3,000 years. The Roman Empire intruded into (侵入)Britannia Island in 54 BC. The Romans built the first wooden bridge over the Thames River.

     London is a world-famous cultural city. There are many famous cultural sites. It is one of the world's great tourist destinations. About eight million people visit London every year.

     The largest museum is the British Museum, which was built in the 18th century. There are many ancient cultural relics of Britain and of other countries in the museum. The London Tower stands on the southeast of Tower Mountain. It was once a palace, and it is now an exhibition center. Westminster Hall is located on the west bank of the Thames River and was built in 750 AD. It is the largest Gothic building of the world and was a palace in the past, too.

      The Clock Tower, which is about 97 meters high, is located northeast of the parliament. The famous “Big Ben” weighs about 21 tons and its big pendulum（钟摆）is about 305 kilograms. Hyde Park is one of the great parks in the world and it is in the west district of London. There is a free forum(论坛) there and some people give speeches there every week. They can say almost anything, but they can't attack the Queen or support violent revolution.