“For art to exist,” wrote Nietzsche, “for any sort of aesthetic activity or perception to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable: intoxication.”

But not necessarily intoxication of the alcoholic kind, which may or may not have stirred the muse of such great writers as Dylan Thomas, Ring Lardner and Malcolm Lowry.

The English novelist, D.H. Lawrence, became intoxicated with New Mexico early in this century and he may have explained why, for over 100 years, artists have flocked to Taos in northern New Mexico at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountain chain. Lawrence wrote: “[New Mexico] had a splendid silent terror, and a vast far-and-wide magnificence which made it way beyond mere aesthetic appreciation. Never is the light more pure and overweening than there, arching with a royalty almost cruel … “

When Taos artists are asked what brought them to this remote little town in the northern New Mexican mountains, they invariably reply: “The light!”

Taos lives and breathes art. Every other retail outlet it seems is a gallery. The walls of every restaurant and shop are adorned with the works of local artists, who all appear to make a surprisingly good living.

Says Taos artist, Ray Vinella, whose painting “Taos Light” became the official poster for the 1991 Taos Arts Festival, “Taos is definitely an art center. I love Taos. I think this place is paradise. It’s perfect for an artist – the multiple terrain is uncanny. Forest, desert, mountains, all kinds of terrain to excite an artist.”

With a resident population of only 4,300 Taos is dependent on tourism. The town and county have much to offer the visitor anytime of the year. Taos Ski Valley has become renowned for its light powder, bright winter sunshine and challenging slopes. The world-famous and much-photographed Taos Pueblo is the largest existing multi-storied Pueblo structure in the United States. It has been continuously inhabited by the Taos Indians for nearly 1,000 years.

Taos Plaza, still the center of the town, is the site of the original Spanish settlement dating from 1790, although earlier Spanish settlers were in the area in the late 16th-century. Historic walking tours of the Plaza and district with knowledgeable guides may be arranged.

More recent historical associations may be found in the Kit Carson Home and Museum, showing the lifestyle of the famous mountain man and western scout.

Literary and artistic ghosts are everywhere. Willa Cather lived in Taos. So did Georgia O’Keefe. Just north of Taos in San Cristobal is the D.H. Lawrence Ranch and Shrine. The writer and sometime painter lived here for three years.

But it is art that makes Taos tick. The museums in Taos all focus on art and the art history of the community. The Harwood Museum, on Ledoux Street, two blocks from the Plaza, collects, exhibits and researches the art, artists and art history of Taos County. Its collection includes representative works by many of the most significant artists who have worked in the Taos area. The Harwood is open daily except Sunday and there is no admission fee.

The Ernest Blumenschein Home and Museum, also on Ledoux Street, is the large adobe home of the co-founder of the Taos Society of Artists, organized in 1915. The home contains antique furnishings and art of the Blumenschein family and other Taos artists. The house itself dates from the late 18th-century.

The Millicent Rogers Museum, located six kilometers (four miles) north of Taos, was home to Millicent Rogers (1902-1953), a wealthy socialite who moved here in 1947. A passionate designer and stunning beauty she was frequently featured in the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She collected the Native American jewelry, textiles, basketry, pottery and paintings that are now the core of the museum. Also on display are permanent and temporary exhibits of Hispanic and local art.

The San Francisco de Asis Church, eight kilometers (five miles) south of Taos on Highway 285, was built in 1815 by Franciscans. As a spectacular example of adobe mission architecture it is the most frequently painted and photographed church in the United States. Regular services are held on Sundays and holidays and the santuario is open to visitors Monday to Saturday, 9.00am to 4.00pm. A 15-minute video presentation explaining a mystery painting and the church’s history and restoration is shown throughout the day in the nearby parish hall.

Martinez Hacienda, on Ranchitos Road three kilometers (two miles) from the Plaza, is one of the few fully restored Spanish Colonial adobe haciendas in New Mexico open to the public. The fort-like building has 21 rooms and two courtyards with exhibits on Spanish culture and history with photo exhibitions and scheduled “living museum” demonstrations. Padre Jose Antonio Martinez (1793-1867) was a local priest, politician and folk hero who brought education and a sense of self-determination to Taos’s agrarian people.

The Fechin Institute, 227 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, two blocks from the Plaza, was the home of the famous Russian artist, Nicolai Fechin. It is a traditional southwestern adobe home, but with a Russian-style interior full of Fechin’s extraordinary handcarved woodwork. The Institute holds annual exhibits and special art workshops.

It was in fact the work of Nicolai Fechin that first brought artist Ray Vinella to Taos in 1969. At the time he was a successful illustrator for Walt Disney. One day, while walking down Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, he saw a group of Fechin’s paintings in a gallery. “Those paintings knocked me out!” he says. “I didn’t understand what he was doing, but I knew that I was trying to speak his language.”

Vinella did some research on Fechin and discovered that he had done those incredible oils in a place called Taos.

One year later Vinella threw up his lucrative career with Disney to pursue fine art in Taos. “I was ready to dig ditches if necessary to do my art,” he recalls. Initially he almost had to resort to manual labor to survive. But today Ray Vinella and his wife, Leslie Crespin, are both successful artists doing what they love to do while living in a beautiful home high in the mountains overlooking the “paradise” that is Taos.

Poet Robert Browning said, “Art remains the one way possible of speaking truths.” The motor vehicle license plates in New Mexico bear the slogan “Land of Enchantment.” A land of enchantment where fairy stories come true and truth may be perceived through the beauty of art. Do you need another reason to visit?

Websites: taosguide.com/index_flash.php

wnightingale.com/Vinella.html

Bruce Burnett, has won four Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold awards for travel journalism.
Read more of Bruce Burnett’s travel writing on his websites: globalramble.com/ globalramble.com/ and bruceburnett.ca/travel.html bruceburnett.ca/travel.html

You can read all about Barcelona in history books, since this city has been around since Roam times. No, we are not going to give you a history of Barcelona, but rather tell you about the best ways into and around the city, as well as all of the wonderful sites to see in this vibrant city. Guell Park, the Water Parks and more will tempt you but there is so much more to see in Barcelona that you will need to come back time and again.

For a truly emotional experience, visit the Picasso Museum. This museum is situated in five medieval palaces, each of them crammed with the works of this prolific artist, in his various stages. By viewing the exhibits in the Picasso museum, you will follow his career from his birthplace of Malaga, to his years in Paris, to his Moscow period, in which he portrayed the Russian Ballet in all of its beauty, and back to Barcelona, where he settled once again in Spain. The Picasso Museum has everything to recommend it, from reasonable entrance fees, to convenient visiting hours, to easy access by public transportation, and finally a central location in the Ciutat Vella (Beautiful City).

The Ciutat Vella is the original Barcelona and remained little changed until the 14th Century. The original neighborhoods of the Ciutat Vella are the Gothic area, La Ribera, Las Ramblas (a promenade filled with flowers) and the Raval. Finding your way around Ciutat Vella is very easy since there are four famous landmarks that lead you into this area. Using Catalunya Square as a starting point, head straight down Las Ramblas to the Christopher Columbus Monument. This towering edifice is at the end of the city, at the port. If you head north, toward Olympic Port, you will enter Ciutat Park. Look to your left and you will see the majestic Arc of Triumph, a few blocks away. You are now enclosed in a small section of antique cobblestone streets and charming shops, like a medieval time warp.

Whether you are an avid football (soccer) fan or not, you will want to take in one of the exciting games played by the Barcelona home team, Barca. JUst stop at the Nou Camp football stadium and you can get your tickets, if you are visiting Barcelona during the football season, between September and May. In a winning season like this year’s in which Fran Rikard brought his team to a Spanish football league championship, there will be non-stop celebrating and souvenirs to commemorate.

The beaches of the Costa Brava and the Costa Dorada in this area are beautifully maintained and cater to the tourists they draw. Whether closer to the city, or on the outskirts, you can find wonderful accomodations for every taste and pocketbook. Hotel choices range from youth hostels through to five star hotels. In between, you have a choice of bed and breakfasts, and more modest hotels such as two, three and four star hotels. In addition, you could also choose to stay in a vacation chalet, or a rented apartment or home.

Whether you choose a quick weekend to relax, a romantic honeymoon destination, an extended family holiday or a business trip, you will find many ways to enjoy yourself in Barcelona.

Peter J. Wilson repeatedly edits long articles on information on spanish culture. His abstracts on barcelona-information.com spanish culture and Barcelona can be discovered on his web publications .

The pristine wilderness of Canada’s Yukon Territory in the North-Western region of Canada is a delight to behold and what better way to experience it than at first hand on the ground traveling by dog sled.

Imagine driving your own team of well trained Husky down ancient trails over deep soft blankets of snow, through silent forests and across frozen lakes to glide alongside winding creeks as you cross the paths of wild Caribou, Moose and Wolf Packs.

It sounds idyllic doesn’t it?

There is nothing so exhilarating as the nip of the Yukon air on the cheek as your sled speeds along with the bright winter sun in your eyes and the majestic Anvil Mountains at your back.

The Yukon Territory is sparsely populated, with only about 30,000 inhabitants in an area almost as large as Spain or Sweden. You can literally go for weeks without seeing or hearing another human being.

Dog Sledding in the Yukon is sure to provide you with an authentic and most memorable winter adventure.

But there’s more to this experience than the view and the peace and quiet.

Dog Mushing Is A Sporty Activity

You have to participate, you can’t expect to just sit back and enjoy the scenery. But then taking part is much of the fun. There can be challenging hills to climb, and you should expect to help you’re dog team by pedaling, walking fast or even running beside it.

Mushing a team on some wilderness trails can require balancing your sled in curves and using the break. Dog sleds have been utilized for hunting and traveling for hundreds of years, as far back as the tenth century. So it stands to reason a sturdy and efficient sled design will have developed over that time.

So you can take charge of your sled with confidence.

Camping In The Yukon Wilderness

To get the best from a dog sledding trip in the Yukon you must be sure to camp in the wild. It’s no good to go out for a day and return to a cabin in the evening. Camping in the wild with the husky pack is a huge part of any dog sledding trip to the Yukon.

If you don’t camp in the wilderness you won’t get to experience the thrill of adventure and the true joy of what it is to take a real dog mushing trip in the Yukon wilderness.

The Wonder Of The Aurora Borealis

Camping will also allow you to fully appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the Aurora Borealis. One of natures most awe inspiring natural wonders. The Aurora is usually seen in the night sky from October to April. The Northern Territories of Canada, Faro in particular where we are based, are one of the best places on earth to experience this spectacular phenomenon.

Experiencing the fantastical color shifting light show of the Aurora in the evenings in the silent still of the Canadian wilds is one huge bonus to your dog sledding trip. A trip that truly is one of a kind.

kingmik-dogtours.com Kingmik Dog Tours based in Faro in the Yukon Territory are passionate about kingmik-dogtours.com dogsledding. Doug your personal guide has been leading dog mushing tours for over 20 years making Kingmik Dogtours perfect for a most memorable and authentic winter adventure.

This article comes with reprint rights. Feel free to reprint and distribute as you like. All that we ask is that you do not make any changes, that this resource text is include, and that the link above is intact.

Choosing a hotel to stay at Disney World can be frustrating because of all the conflicting reviews you get on the internet. I read a lot of review on the internet before I book a hotel in the past but have toned it down recently because of the conflicting reviews. If you think about it, anybody can drop a review which makes me think “maybe this is from their competitors?” as such this makes me angry so I would like to write an unbiased review of Grosvenor Resort to set the record straight once and for all. Let’s get on it!

Grosvenor Resort is an official hotel of the Walt Disney Resort so you can expect a quality service and amenities from them. You can stop reading the review right here and make a booking on Grosvenor Resort knowing that you will receive a great value out of the price you paid for it. But if you want to read more, please continue.

Staying at Grosvenor Resort isn’t spectacular or amazing as you will find in other resorts like the Polynesian or Animal Lodge but for the price you pay you’re getting a lot value. (Maybe even more relatively speaking) The average price for Grosvenor Resort is $130 but you can get as low as $80 on non peak seasons. The price is unbeatable and best of all it is located inside Disney World Park itself so it’s very convenient to travel around. (to give you an idea, you can walk down to Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island)

However the transportation is not efficient to other theme parks. Yes they do have transportation but you need to plan your time carefully according to their transportation schedule, miss one and you’ll have to walk to another resort for transportation. Call in advance and ask for their schedule and plan before you reach Disney World to have a pleasant and smooth sailing vacation.

As for the room it has everything that me and family ever needs, they have ironing board, iron, the refrigerator, a TV, video games for the children, hair dryer, data ports, a safe and a coffee maker. (Oh did I mention high speed internet connection?) The room is clean and well organized. (Nothing too fancy but just nice for me) There are three types of room you can choose which is the traditional, pool view (I had pool view) and tower. The next time I go to Disney World I would try the Tower room simply because they have better landscape view.

The staff has been very helpful and courteous all the time, if there’s anything amazing about the Grosvenor Resort it would be the staff! Everything that I need is taken care of pronto, very efficient. Sure not every staff is great, some are just ok while there’s one or two who looks like they have a bad hair day but overall the staff is amazing.

As for the restaurants they have an OK food but the best thing about the restaurant is you can dine with Disney Characters. This made my day because my kids are so happy and excited! There’s also a pub for those who wants to have drink or two, or maybe even play darts of watch sports.

The only bad thing about Grosvenor Resort is their ongoing construction of the hotel but if you’re reading this on 2008 chances are the construction is already finished. The bottom line is stay at this hotel and you won’t regret it.

FU SENG owns and operates ripoffdisney.com ripoffdisney.com
ripoffdisney.com Disney World