If you are planning a vacation and would like to save money, an online travel agency is an excellent resource. Several advantages of using these travel agencies are: great deals, expert help, package deals, and the ability to relax while your vacation is being booked.

The internet is full of great travel deals, and choosing an online travel agency can be a difficult task. The first step is knowing your budget and deciding where you want to go. One travel agency that I found is Liberty Travel and they had many great deals on trips to Europe.

Booking your trip online is also beneficial because you can quickly browse the trip selections and compare prices. This allows you to find the best option to fit your budget.

Package deals are a popular option and they often include just about everything needed for your trip such as the hotel, flight, and a rental car. These travel packages make it much easier to plan a trip and it also saves you time.

Travel agencies also have expert help that can assist you in every aspect of planning a trip. They can provide advice on where to stay and the most popular attractions to see. This is very beneficial because it allows you to relax without the need to do extensive research on the location you are planning to visit.

Although using a travel agency may not be for everyone, it is recommended because of the amount of money that can be saved. If you decide to search for great deals on your own, you can still find great prices with some research.

It’s well known that there are many outstandingly beautiful areas in France. But if you are looking for some quiet and romantic time in a French villa, in the middle of olive trees and purple lavender fields, there is no better place to go than the Provence. The Provence is located in south-eastern France, adjacent to Italy. It got its name from the Romans who already discovered the beauty of this unique region when they conquered it in the second century B.C.. They called it “Provincia Nostra”, which in English means “our province”.

Many artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Claude Monnet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were inspired by the landscape of the Provence, the Mediterranean pines, white stones and the turquoise sea. Speaking of the sea; have you ever tried “bouillabaisse”? This traditional Provencal fish stew is a perfect dinner when spending an evening in one of the fine little Provencale restaurants,
overlooking the water and enjoying a delicious bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Not just the “bouillabaisse” is worth a try: It is a well-known fact that France has the finest gastronomy in the world and your palates will not be disappointed in the Provence. You will be pleased to taste the great French wines of the Rhone Valley, the Sisteron lamb, sunny ripe fruits like figs or the Cavaillon melons, the famous tapenade (delicious olive paste) not to mention exquisite cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes from the region.

The Provence is a perfect place to spend your villa holidays. Especially in summer, the climate is very warm and dry and perfect for passing your time in a typical French villa with swimming pool, surrounded by magnificent nature and romantic nights accompanied by cricket lullaby. The Provence is waiting for you!

Boston, the Hub, Bean Town; no matter what you call it is recognized around the world as the Cradle of Liberty. Despite its growth into a modern world class city with tall buildings straddling major highways, it still safeguards pockets of our nation’s colonial history. The revolutionary period is alive in Boston, and you can flavor most of it in a single weekend. Coming from North Carolina, you would think I had enough opportunity to experience early American history with all of the famous battles fought in the Carolinas between the Swamp Fox, Frances Marion, the Colonial Militia, and Britain’s Lord Cornwallis; but only Boston has incorporated the American Revolution and its major characters into its everyday experience.

It’s been several years now since my wife and I, along with two young sons, made the trip to Boston. Staying in one of the many fine in-town hotels can be a tad pricey, especially for a family, but that shouldn’t be a problem if you have or rent an automobile. The great highway systems leading into Boston from the suburbs offer plenty of inexpensive places to stay that lie about thirty minutes out of the city.

Lexington and Concord are adjacent to one of those highways, and offer not only excellent lodging, but a great taste of revolutionary history as well from the bridge over the Concord River where, in the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “…the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.” Only a few miles away, you can visit Lexington Green where the first pitched battle between the British regulars and the minutemen took place.

Boston is a city to be appreciated by walking and by tour bus. The city’s great shuttle tour bus network will get you to all the places that you must see, and leave you there with pickups every hour until late at night. In one day you can visit the family home of Paul Revere and climb the seemingly endless stairway to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. You can visit and tour the USS Constitution “Old Ironsides,” the oldest ship in the United States Navy that is actively commissioned, has a full crew complement, and is ready to go into harm’s way when needed.

No visit to Boston is complete without visiting and enjoying the Italian flavor of Boston’s North End with its fine restaurants. While you’re there, you can visit the Old North Church where Paul Revere climbed to the church bell tower to signal that the British were indeed on their way. Toward evening you can walk through the Boston Public Gardens and the Common to Tremont Street where the gravesites are spotted with names from our history books: Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, William Dawes, John Hancock, the parents of Benjamin Franklin, and the victims of the Boston Massacre.

At the end of each day of touring, you can visit the shops and restaurants at Haymarket Square and stop at the famous New England Oyster House for a bowl of hot delicious “Clam Chowda.” Just one word of advice, however, when you plan your trip to Boston, keep in mind that it is in New England, a place with formidable winters. Visit in the late spring, summer, or early fall to ensure that you enjoy the city at its weather best.

If your vision of Niagara Falls is one of a geographical area filled with honeymooners who spend all day inside with the shades drawn and come out in the evening for food and drink, you’re only partly right. Niagara Falls is a great place for memorable family fun. My wife and I took our two kids there when they were seven and ten years old, and had a great time. Keep in mind that Niagara Falls straddles the Canadian border, and it’s very cold in the winter. Unless you enjoy the cold and high winds, plan your trip during the summer months.

Niagara Falls really involves two cities that are separated by the Niagara River: Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. While my coming admission is bordering on the verge of traitorous behavior, I must say that the Niagara Falls experience is much better from the Canadian side. The falls themselves are mesmerizing. It’s one thing to appreciate the beauty and majesty of the falls in a photograph, but a totally different experience to feel the power of the water as it thunders endlessly into the lower river.

One of the most exciting family adventures at Niagara Falls is the Journey Behind the Falls, which is a series of tunnels that allow you to take a scenic tour of the waterfall from behind the falling cascade of water. Two tunnels penetrate to a distance of about 50 yards behind the falls where you can stand in awe while watching the cascading water, hearing the thunderous roar, and feeling the water’s enormous power.

When you’re not standing in awe before the falls, there are a number of other fine attractions to keep the family busy for days. The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens is a must see with over 50 acres of beautifully maintained flower gardens. Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks provides a great learning experience for the kids, and if the kids are old enough, the Nightmare Fear Factory is a memorable thriller that can be talked about fun for the entire family.

And, of course, we can’t forget food. Niagara falls has some excellent restaurants, featuring fine foods from both the French and English Canadian cultures. The most visible restaurant is the space needle that sets so prominently in the skyline. It is a smaller version of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. The food is great and the view is spectacular, especially at night when the falls are illuminated. Niagara Falls is a visit that your family will enjoy immensely and will never forget. A lifelong memory.

Take it from me, you should never consider going to New Orleans for a rest. Our trip to New Orleans wasn’t a vacation; it was a fun-filled action-packed adventure from start to finish. From Louis Armstrong Park to the Mississippi River, the French Quarter is simply packed with fine food, music, and entertainment. Much of the entertainment is not from professional entertainers; it’s found by simply watching the people, especially in the evening when the night life defines the area.

We happened to visit at a time when the Big Easy was in the midst of one of its several jazz festivals. Each day, different jazz ensembles would play in Jackson Square in front of the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral. Jackson square is really the social center of the city during the day. Mimes and living statues provide mesmerizing entertainment. Caricaturists, portrait painters, and sketch artists abound around the perimeter of the square to formalize a memory of your visit for a reasonable, often negotiable, cost. Horse drawn carriage tours start from the river side of the park, and they are well worth the cost. With about one hour invested in a carriage tour, we became imbued with a feeling for New Orleans architecture and lifestyle.

We were fortunate enough to have great weather throughout our entire visit. One entire day was spent on a Mississippi Riverboat; a magnificent rear paddle wheel boat on which we took a tour down river to the site of the great Battle of New Orleans. Walking over the still pristine battlefield where Andy Jackson fended off the British was quite an experience for a history buff like me. The paddle wheeler itself was a marvel, with its excellent restaurant. Neither my wife nor I left the boat hungry.

But, then there is never any reason to be hungry for a moment in New Orleans. Restaurants lie next to other restaurants all around and emanating out from Jackson Square. Emeril, of Food Network fame, has several fine restaurants in the area. The Café du Monde, famous for its café au lait and beignets is just a few quick minutes walk from the center of Jackson Square. Jimmy Buffet’s original Margaritaville Restaurant is nearby.

We stayed for a full week at a fine hotel on the edge of the French Quarter. The city never sleeps. Each morning my wife and I would leave the hotel at sunrise and walk toward Jackson Square, having breakfast along the way. Each day, the square would be the center from which we would launch our day’s adventure, and each day was full.

Some true vacations are a time for relaxation and recharging your batteries for a return to the routine of life. Not so with our trip to New Orleans. We slept most of the way home on the return flight. Although we returned home nearly exhausted, we will always remember our New Orleans visit as an exciting experience.