http://www.checkmycity.com/2226-London-England-Notting-Hill-North-Kensington.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/DsrvJNSBqE5E2HCPn3zJ.flv London England Notting Hill-North Kensington Notting Hill-North Kensington is a district in west London. Notting Hill is a popular destination for its lively market, gorgeous streetscapes, interesting history and diverse population. It has acheived a level of fame from the eponymously named Hugh Grant film, the world famous Portobello Road market and of course from the annual carnival. The area was rural until the 19th century when it was developed as an upper-middle class suburb with quite large homes. During the early 20th century, these large homes were divided into low cost housing which often degenerated into slums. In the 1950s, many Caribbean immigrants settled in the area. In the 1960s it attracted musicans and artists and Portobello Road became the centre of English hippy culture. Portobello Road still hosts a very eclectic weekly market and is also home to a similarly off-beat set of permanent shops. The Notting Hill carnival was first staged in 1964 as a way for the local Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their own cultures and traditions. After some rough times in the 1970s and 1980s when it became associated with social protest, violence and huge controversy over policing tactics, this is now Europe's largest carnival/festival event and a major event in the London calendar. It is staged every August over the Bank holiday weekend. During the 1980s, the Notting Hill proper area of the district was largely gentrified although areas in the north west of the district at Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park remain deprived and run down. In local mythology, these more recent residents of Notting Hill are assumed to live from trust accounts, giving rise to the practice of classifying locals as either Rastafarians or Trustafarians. Further west from Notting Hill providing a natural buffer between the north and south of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, is Holland Park. This is the least well known of London's Royal Parks and locals would like to keep it that way. A real a gem of a park which is off the tourist tail but very much worth a visit. http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/DsrvJNSBqE5E2HCPn3zJ.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2225-London-England-Hyde-Park.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/0rWCiVoN2TK4VVwFSv1Y.flv London England Hyde Park South Kensington-Chelsea is a district of central London. This district is defined as the southern part part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBK & C). It includes the area south of the Royal Parks commonly known as High Street Kensington and South Kensington west to Earl's Court and Olympia and south to Sloane Square and Chelsea. Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens combine to form the largest green space in metropolitan London and provide a real oasis in the heart of this vast city. South Kensington hosts four of London's largest and finest museums and is also home to the venerable Imperial College. High Street Kensington leads to a long line of shops and department stores, offering a less hectic version of Oxford Street as well very upmarket stores in Knightsbridge. Sloane Street connects Knightsbridge to Chelsea via Sloane Square and is lined with luxury brand boutiques. Chelsea is a extensive riverside area of London that extends broadly from Sloane Square in the east to the World's End pub in the west and down to the River Thames. The King's Road marks the main thoroughfare of Chelsea. The whole of the district contains some of the most expensive residential property in the world but is a little more downmarket towards its western edges. http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/0rWCiVoN2TK4VVwFSv1Y.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2224-London-2008---Leicester-Square.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/k0y0GiInilt40OXDAhKx.flv London 2008 - Leicester Square Finally I succeeded getting to London after my one day delay in Salzburg. After arriving late on May 9, 2008, I got a good night's sleep at the Zetter Hotel, a hip boutique hotel in the Clerkenwell area. The next day, after a delicious breakfast, my travel partner Andrea and I got going early to start our discoveries. We walked past historic medieval St. John's Gate and admired the Victorian era Smithfield Market. From here I took my first ride on the Tube (London's famous subway system) to the historic St. Pancras Railway Station which is now the terminal for the Eurostar Trains, connecting London with the Continent. We then walked over to neighbourhing King's Cross Railway Station where we checked out Platform 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame. Our next destination was the Portobello Market, an ecclectic mix of fresh vegetables, fruit, baked goods, enticing aromas from all sorts of delicious freshly made street food, funky clothes, furs and antiques. After our interview with Michael Williams, one of the organizers of the Notting Hill Carnival (a Caribbean-style carnival and Europe's biggest street party) we walked through the serene streets of Notting Hill and Kensington before we embarked on a brief tour of Little Beirut, a heavily middle-Eastern influenced area on Edgeware Road. A tube ride later we arrived at Hyde Park Corner where to my disappointment nobody was giving any speeches or ranting about anything. Only two older gentlemen were sitting on two soap boxes and taking a rest, maybe exhausted from an earlier discourse. After a brief stroll through Hyde Park, which was full on sun worshippers, we tubed it to London's Financial District where we checked out various classicist bank and stock exchange buildings, the stunning Victorian era Leadenhall Market, the Lloyds Building, a postmodernist masterpiece by Richard Rogers, which has all the piping on the outside, and the Gherkin, the famous cucumber shaped Swiss Re building. Our walk continued to another historic train station: the Liverpool Street Railway Station from where we took a train to Walthamstow Village to do an interview with the owner of Eat 17, a restaurant and deli that serves really cool waffles (among many other things), where I had a supremely delicious spinach risotto. Our final stop for the day was a walk around Leiceister Square that included London's Theatre District, Chinatown and hustling and bustling Piccadilly Square. I simply couldn't believe how packed the streets of London's entertainment area were, we could hardly walk... http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/k0y0GiInilt40OXDAhKx.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2223-London-England-travel-Piccadilly-Circus.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/wWYPGhafDQk4JZA01yVi.flv London, England travel: Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus and surrounding area of central London slideshow. Walking about: the fun things to see. Piccadilly Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas in a central location at the heart of the West End of London. Its status as a major traffic intersection has made Piccadilly Circus a busy meeting point and a tourist attraction in its own right. Walking around London. Royal Academy of Art Courtyard. Copyleft music by Aray. More than a day trip from Thornbury Castle, and certainly worth the travel! (You can view this video, and other travel videos in full-size and near-DVD quality, travel stills and more at www.jpmeyer.com). Thornbury Castle is part of the von Essen Group of hotels, "a private collection of individual country house hotels in the UK, each with a distinctive style and character of its own" according to www.vonessenhotels.co.uk, but we think of it as Real People having Real Fun! http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/wWYPGhafDQk4JZA01yVi.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2222-Delphine-Tours-Miami-Beach.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/ofekvZ42Nh1Bmu3wYEXi.flv Delphine Tours Miami Beach Miami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on March 26, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of "Miami," despite being a distinct municipality. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,933. 55.5% of the population was foreign born. A 2005 population estimate for the city was 87,925. Miami Beach has been one of America's pre-eminent beach resorts for almost a century. http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/ofekvZ42Nh1Bmu3wYEXi.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2221-Biscayne-Bay-Miami.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/2Gtsa4gGpCGhnjy3eBEh.flv Biscayne Bay, Miami Biscayne Bay (Bahía Vizcaína in Spanish) is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles (56 km) long and up to 8 miles (13 km) wide located on the Atlantic coast of south Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay and South Bay. North Bay lies between Miami Beach barrier island from Miami on the mainland. It has been severely affected over the last century by raw sewage releases, urban runoff, shoreline bulkheading, dredging, the creation of artificial islands and the loss of natural fresh water flow into the bay. However, water quality has steadily improved since regular monitoring began in 1979. North Bay accounts for only 10% of the water area of the bay. Central Bay is the largest part of the bay. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Safety Valve, a series of shallow flats separated by tidal flow channels, stretching from the south end of Key Biscayne to the Ragged Keys at the north end of the Florida Keys. It has been adversely affected primarily by bulkheading, urban runoff discharged by canals, and the loss of natural fresh water flow. South Bay is nearly as large as Central Bay, and is the least affected by human activities, although it also suffers from the loss of natural fresh water flow. South Bay is separated from the Straits of Florida by the northernmost of the Florida Keys, and includes Card sound and Barnes Sound. It is connected to Florida Bay through a few small channels. The first bridge across Biscayne Bay was the 2.5 mile wooden Collins Bridge built by John S. Collins and Carl G. Fisher. The toll bridge was "the longest wooden bridge in the world" when it was completed in 1913 at the southern terminus of the Dixie Highway. The Collins Bridge was replaced in 1925. In modern times, the Venetian Causeway follows the same route along the artificial Venetian Islands. The MacArthur, Julia Tuttle, 79th Street and Broad causeways connect Miami to Miami Beach, and the Rickenbacker Causeway connects Miami to Key Biscayne. The Card Sound Bridge connects the mainland in the Homestead, Florida area to the northern part of Key Largo. The bay makes up part of Biscayne National Park. Seven remaining houses of Biscayne Bay's Stiltsville settlement are now within the boundaries of this National Park which was established in 1980. Much of Biscayne National Park was designated as a National Monument in 1967. Card Sound and Barnes Sound lie within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The bay has been known by several names. Juan Ponce de Leon called it Chequescha in 1513. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés called it Tequesta in 1565. The British, during their occupation of Florida, called the bay Cape River, Dartmouth Sound, and Sandwich gulph. Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda related that a sailor from the Bay of Biscay called the Viscayno or Biscayno had lived on the lower east coast of Florida for a while after being shipwrecked, and a 17th century map shows a Cayo de Biscainhos, the probable origin of Key Biscayne. The bay was known as Key Biscayne Bay in the 19th century, finally shrinking to Biscayne Bay late in the 19th century. The bay is also home to Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami and the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in Virginia Key. It was seen in the music video for The Lonely Island's "I'm On A Boat". http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/2Gtsa4gGpCGhnjy3eBEh.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2220-South-Beach-Lummus-Park-Miami-Florida.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/pQbIj1g3WAp1QZ1nSHHU.flv South Beach Lummus Park Miami Florida There are two Lummus Parks located in Miami-Dade County, Florida: One is in the City of Miami on the Miami River, and was built in 1909. It was a conventional inner-city open space and recreation park, and was the favorite winter playground for many years for French Canadian tourists, who would displace the local area park users for the winter months. The other, and more well-known, is on the Atlantic Ocean in the City of Miami Beach, and when redesigned and improved in the mid-1980s, it became the seed project for the redevelopment of what is now the Ocean Drive Deco District of SoBe (South Beach) from 5th to 15th Streets along Ocean Drive. The Miami Beach park initially became the location for many scenes from the television series "Miami Vice", and its 20' wide Deco inspired three colored sidewalk, now faded to natural concrete, was the North American homage to Brazilian Landscape Architect Roberto Burle Marx's oceanfront walk along Copacabana Beach near Rio de Janeiro. The Miami Beach park, and the Deco streetscape along Ocean Drive continues to be featured in "Miami" location shots for television and movies, and can be seen in recent episodes of the USA Network's "Burn Notice". http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/pQbIj1g3WAp1QZ1nSHHU.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2219-Miami-Florida-Super-Bowl-host.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/zhibKIdpDcBtXo4OyGJZ.flv Miami Florida, Super Bowl host Blessed with year-round mild climates and unrivaled ocean access, America’s southernmost resort city is also a sought-after international recreation destination. Ranked the nation’s #1 Healthiest City by Natural Health Magazine in 2002, Miami caters to action-oriented visitors from around the globe with some of the world's top golf, tennis and sporting facilities. Add sparkling waters that are a magnet for boating enthusiasts, fishermen, divers and water sports aficionados to the equation and it is easy to see why Miami is a number one choice for active travelers of all ages and skill levels. But where to start? Miami’s streets are often busy, some of its attractions often attract crowds, and a few days can leave more to choose from than you have time to include, so knowing the active options in advance—and how to manage your time and movements—is essential Miami planning. Making the best use of what time you have by knowing where your points of interest are can help you save more of your energy for the activities this city offers. http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/zhibKIdpDcBtXo4OyGJZ.jpg http://www.checkmycity.com/2218-Beautiful-England-Pictures-Nature-Monuments-Travel.html http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/nbGlHgqfPvsJyjr5H0wu.flv Beautiful England Pictures, Nature, Monuments, Travel Showing amazing England pictures, travel pictures, slideshow, big ben, Pics of England. http://www.checkmycity.com/uploads/thumbs/nbGlHgqfPvsJyjr5H0wu.jpg