Venice Islands

Venice is famous for its canals and gondolas and for being the city of love. All those that can pride themselves on saying that they've been there, must know St Mark's Square and its beautiful carnival. Tourists and locals fall in love with its magic and charm, but some people do not know that this magic reaches all the little islands too. They are as exciting and romantic as the city itself.

The islands around Venice were the refuge for thousands of people who were fleeing from the war. Nowadays, many of them are totally empty, but others like Murano and Burano have prospered and have become famous for its lace and crystals. Some have become university islands such as San Servolo and even cemetery islands or hospital islands.

The island of Lido is one of most known of the archipelago and characteristic for being the only one that does not have channels. This is a 12km sandbank that represents a natural barrier between Venice and the sea. It is so small and accessible, that the most common form of transport is the humble bicycle. There are hundreds of them, without ever tiring, clogging the streets of the island.

Some of the most popular attractions in Lido are the fortress of Sant'Andrea, in the San Nicolo neighbourhood and its monastery and church; in addition to its famous beaches, which constitute the main interest point of the island.

Burano is the most charming island of the Venetian lagoon. It has become very famous for its beautiful embroidered lace. Burano has a colourful and peculiar landscape: its houses are painted in garish colours following a specific system originated in the Golden Age. If any neighbour in the area wanted to paint their house, the government would give them a series of colours which to choose from! This curious rainbow reflected in the canals, gives the island a magical aspect. The famous Galuppi lace Museum and the Santa Caterina church are two mandatory stops if you happen to visit.

Who has not heard about the glass of Murano? This island has become famous worldwide through its glass manufacture. In 1921 the Government forced all the glass manufacturers to move to the island to avoid possible fires in Venice; hence, its glass tradition. The Santa Maria church, with its Byzantine mosaics, and the San Pietro Martire church are two interesting attractions.

Sant 'Erasmo Island, Pellestrina Island and Treporti Island are other treasures of the archipelago. Discover the hidden mysteries of the islands... Book Venice Apartments and enjoy your holidays!

The Venice Biennale 2009

Very often most art exhibitions are based on only one kind of art and offer you, for example, either paintings or contemporary works. Unfortunately we can barley enjoy a mix of different artistic styles. It seems to be that Venice, one of the most important romantic cities in Italy, keeps all your cultural and artistic preferences in mind and offers you one of the biggest and most extensive art festivals of the world: The Venice Biennale 2009.

The Venice Biennale 2009 shows you a completely new world full of creativity, emotions and unknown feelings. Let yourself be guided by your instinct and rent comfortable apartments in Venice. Your holidays will be an unforgettable experience.

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Cruising in Madrid - gay cruising madrid | Apartments in Spain

Have you ever heard the Pope talk about cruising? No? Well, it makes sense. This English word covers a wide concept that is nowadays part of the gay community. Nevertheless, this word of “cruising” still has a negative connotation and sounds like something wrong and forbidden. But really, it is a very common practice and quite understandable within the gay community and it deserves to be more respected by heterosexual people. If you have no clue what I am talking about, come to Madrid, the star city of cruising!

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A Midsummer Night's Dream in Rome | rome blog

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Summer Festivals in Rome

July 22, 2009 By: romeblogger Category: Rome

Summer has finally arrived and with it the desire to have fun. Can you think of any better way to spend the summer than by going on holiday to Rome? Here you will find all the entertainment and culture that you want. In summer, Rome offers music, dancing, nightclubs along with many places to eat and drink etc.

Everything starts on June 21st with the Traditional Music Festival, the event that marks the beginning of summer. It is a popular exhibition in which artists, musicians, music schools, associations, record labels, national and international cultural institutions. Do not miss these events in the name of fun and music! It lasts from June to September. The most important celebrations of the summer are: the Jazz Festival in Villa Celimontana, the Fiesta Capannelle, the Estate Forum in Rome and the Villa Ada festival.

Curiously, the Opera Theatre offers this summer events until September 30th in the Caracalla’s Thermal baths: The fairies and elves of the ballet “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” - “Sogno di una notte di Mezza Estate” will dance to the music of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1st - 8th July) and after, the music of Giacomo Puccini and Georges Bizet will be enjoyed in the form of the two heroines “Tosca” and “Carmen.”

On summer nights the beaches and the city are completely transformed, giving a more active nightlife. There are many places that offer all types of music: Ostia is one of the best places close to Rome to have fun and spend all night. If you prefer the more elegant bars and clubs, Fregene is the best option. But if you do not want to move from the city centre, a good alternative are the summer concerts that are held in different locations, such as the Circus Maximus. To spend a quieter evening there are several open air cinemas.

The drink “grattachecca” is a veritable institution in the city. Born in the 30s, the “grattachecca” refreshes the palate with thick crushed ice. It is prepared with different lemon juices and syrup. Before starting the party, many of the Romans meet together on summer nights to enjoy this famous beverage. Something to be tried!

In the Eternal City you can live life to the full. Rent Apartments in Rome and enjoy your vacation. You will love it!

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I-DAY Milano Urban Festival - Oasis, The Kooks and Kasabian

I-DAY Milano Urban Festival - Oasis, The Kooks and Kasabian

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FIB Heineken 2009: Internacional Benicàssim Music Festival

As every year in these dates, we count the days in order to celebrate one of the best music festivals on the world: the Internacional Benicàssim Music Festival FIB Heiniken 2009. It comes with the best alternative music.

From 15th July to 19th July the Festival will held its 15th edition in Benicàssim. With nearly 200,000 people, this year's crowd will beat the all time attendance record easily surpassing last year's 52,000 attendees. In fact, tickets and passes were sold out two months before the festival its celebration.

Located at Km 986 of the N-340, the FIB enclosure measured 120,000 square meters. It will host various cultural and musical areas as the necessary facilities for offering a comfortable and safe stay for the audience. There will be four stages in which up to 100 concerts will be held: the outdoor Escenario Verde, which is the largest one; and the Fiberbib.com, the FIBClub and the Pista Pop, all located inside different marquees. In addition, extra musical parallel activities will be held. Also, large areas with spacious lawns and trees for sheltering against the hours of strong sunlight will be setup. They will also feature a varied gastronomic offer and Official Stores to buy the official merchandise of the different bands.

This year a high quality program has been specially designed to overcome the crisis. Oasis will open the festival with the presentation of their latest offering, 'Dig out your soul'. Other great bands are: Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Russian Red, Magazine, Cooper, Maximo Park Spanish bands as Christina Rosenvinge, La Bien Querida, Cooper, The Unfinished Simpathy, Oblique, Nacho Vega o Fangoria. This year the festival seeks to recover its national audience, relegated in recent years owing to the avalanche of Anglo-Saxon'fibers'.

Come to the most amazing music festival of Spain! Rent Valencia Apartments and don’t miss the FIB Heiniken 2009!

The Henri Matisse Exhibition at the Thyssen Museum in Madrid

Henri Matisse along with Pablo Picasso is without doubt one of the central figures of modern art today. The Thyssen Museum in Madrid is holding an exhibition of his work, namely the central period when Matisse was in Nice between 1917 and 1941.

The exhibition will be held at the Thyssen - Bornemisza Museum in Madrid from June 9th to September 20th gathering around 80 of his works including drawings, paintings and sculptures. These works are gathered from around 50 museums worldwide including private collections.

This wonderful exhibition seeks to breakdown the works of Matisse in the period that is marked by the end of World War 1 and the beginning of World War 2. By the year 1917 Matisse found himself losing clients and therefore had to redirect his painting towards a more recipient public replacing huge works such as The Dance by smaller works using easels. Thus the painter moved to Nice.

With the returning to easel painting Matisse could now centre on the weight, density, depth and pictorial language of his figures. Therefore the exhibition aims to cover the period in which Matisse delved into the relationship between colour and size thus avoiding anything to do with Cubism and its traditional flat shapes and perspective.

After 1930 a new vigor and a bolder simplification started to appear in his work and American art collector Albert C. Barnes convinced him to produce a large mural for the Barnes Foundation, The Dance II, which was completed in 1932.

The exhibition has been designed so that each stage of the artist's life is reflected under the following headings: "Painting and Time", "Landscapes, Balconies and Gardens", "Intimacy and Ornament", "Figure and Background", "Form" and "Une sonore vaine et monotone ligne"

Why not take this pleasant opportunity and visit the Thyssen Museum in Madrid and discover one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century. Rent Apartments in Madrid and immerse yourself in the wonderful art of Henri Matisse.

Rent the best Madrid Apartments to enjoy the most comfortable accommodation!

The Grec Festival 09 in Barcelona

The Grec Festival has become one of the referent cultural festivals in Barcelona. Specialized in music, dance and theatre, the Grec Festival has celebrated 33 successful editions. The year it focuses on the renovation and extension of the program, with up to 66 shows.

From June 20th to August 2nd the Grec Festival will bring the best national and international artists. It owes its name from the early editions, when the shows were held in the Grec Theatre (Greek Theatre), in Montjuic. Nowadays there are many other stages to celebrate the Grec Festival: the Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona (CCCB), the Teatre Lliure, the Teatre Ovidi Monitor, the Mercat de les Flors or the Plaza del Rey. Italy will be the guest country. It will present a trilogy of the Divine Comedy by Romeo Castellucci. This year, theatre and dance will become important than music.

The spectacle El jardín de las estrellas will open the festival. This year the festival will focus on the co-productions, of which Edipo, una trilogía (Oedipus, a trilogy) or Don Carlos (Mr. Carlos) stand out. Another outstanding spectacle will be La guerra de los hijos de la luz contra los hijos de las tinieblas (The War of the sons of light against the sons of darkness), a co production with the d'Avignon Festival and the Athens Festival, by Amos Gitai.

The dance program will bring such spectacles such as Entity, H3, or o Eonnagata, by important dance companies. In the music program the most remarkable proposals are: the singer Vinicio Capossela, the Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca, the Algerian singer Khaled with its rai music, the Argentinean composer and singer Sofía Rei Koutsovitis or the hip-hop singer la Mala Rodríguez & Refree, among others.

Come on! Discover the most amazing cultural festival of Catalonia. Rent Barcelona Apartments and enjoy your holidays!

Madrid Gay Pride 2009

Now begins the countdown to host one of the biggest celebrations of the Spanish capital, the Madrid Gay Pride. The Gay Pride is one of the festivals with the largest number of followers in the whole Spain. On June 28th every year, thousands of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and straight people join together to celebrate and fight for the gay cause in a festive way.

Madrid has the privilege of being one of the major European capitals that has one of the most important and multitudinous Gay Pride Day. Last year only the parade congregated 1,100,000 people, while along the rest of the week hundreds of thousands of people went to the festival and to the special gay pride events. In fact, this celebration only can be compared in terms of attendance with other Spanish events such as San Fermin or the Fallas in Valencia.

This way, from from June 27th to July 5th Madrid will host an amazing Gay Pride that expects to beat, as every year, a record of attendance. On July 4 it will be held in the famous gay Parade. It will begin at 17:00 in the Independence Square and it will move around the Calle Alcala, the Plaza Cibeles and La Gran Via and it will finish in Plaza Espana, where some concerts will be held.

This year people will fight for visibility and non-discrimination in schools with the slogan "School without Closets", since 2009 is the "Year of Diversity in the Sexual Health Education", and after last year people fought for Lesbian visibility. One more time, the festive atmosphere will ensure a great success and fight for an equal cause in Madrid. Rent Madrid Apartments for the best accommodation.

Madrid Will Hold the 24th Edition of the Veranos De La Villa 2009 Festival

Madrid is ready to host the most awaited cultural event of the year, the Summer Festival of the Town, the festival of the Veranos de la villa 2009. This event will bring the best cultural offers to the Spanish capital - from theatre, to music, circus or dance, on the Casa de Campo trade fair grounds (in the Avenida Puerta del Angel) from June 25th to August 23rd.

Veranos de la Villa festival will offer a multidisciplinary and quality program with 150 spectacles, divided into 1,166 representations and also 120 film screenings. To this end, the Madrid City Council has spent 2.8 million euros in the organization of the event.

This year, the festival could not have better artists. Regarding the national scene, important stars such as Chano Dominguez, Juan Perro, Tequila, Diego "El Cigala" or Tomatito can be seen. But if national figures are noteworthy, the international ones are great too: Nina Simone, Lou Reed, The Yellow Pony and Anastacia...

The musical is a mandatory fashionable show this year: West Side Store has been chosen for this occasion. For the Flamenco lovers, the second half of August will take place the "Madrid Flamenco", with great flamenco artists as Baras, Lolita, Juanito Valderrama, Carmen Linares and Farruco among others. The music director Daniel Barenboim will repeat with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to interpret "Les Preludes" by Liszt, and the "Symphonie Fantastique" by Berilo. And of course, the theatre will be one of the main attractions of the festival. It will be divided in several municipal areas and in some private rooms.

This year the festival has moved to a new location (tha Casa de Campo), with the purpose of place it at the same level as other big cities that celebrate important events in their unique natural surroundings such as the Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London. The new stage is surrounded by nature and it enjoys magnificent Madrid views. The new stage has a capacity for 2,500 people and parking for up to 225 vehicles. Fivebus lines and some Metro stations will communicate the fair ground with the city centre. The EMT will enable a special buses line for the occasion. Rent Madrid Apartments for the best accommodation.

Paris is Jazz

The summertime and the high temperatures are almost here. With the good weather people go out in the search of lively terraces, sun and new leisure and culture offerings. Among the most popular proposals there are many summer festivals. For example, the Paris Jazz Festival, held in a unique and incomparable backdrop: the Parc Floral.

Parisian people are great lovers of jazz music. After the celebration of the Spring Jazz Festival, we see the arrival of the 17th edition of the Paris Jazz Festival, an outstanding event with years of experience. This way, every weekends of June and July we can enjoy the best jazz concerts in Paris. This year's program includes renowned artists of the world of jazz, funk and blues.

The Parc Floral is a charming botanical garden perfect for hosting this festival. The public sits down on the grass and enjoys the music merging with nature.

This edition seeks to explore jazz through the pitch and territoriality, which is divided into nations and the nature of the music. It is counting on the best in national and international composers.

Parallel to the festival there will be held some cultural activities in natural open air spaces. People will enjoy storytelling, sonorous landscapes or simply improvised meetings between music and nature.

You'll love this amazing festival! The open-air concerts in the middle of a nature setting will captivate you! Come to Paris and rent the best Paris Apartments. Whether you are a jazz fan or not, this is a mandatory stop!

Nightlife in Rome

Rome is one of the Italian cities with major Mediterranean flavour. Thanks to its pleasant climate and its charming people, it enjoys a large influx of tourists. It has a quiet nightlife, but the lacks of the night are compensated with its cultural and archaeological attractions. Though, the party lovers will not be disappointed if they go to the indicated locals. Even the most demanding people would be happy having a relaxing stroll under the moonlight in some of its squares or a walk along the Tiber River.

The typical Roman night out, begins with a long dinner with a vast group of friends that that stretches until after midnight (deep-rooted custom in Spain too). But some people, even before having dinner, get together for an aperitif.

After a copious dinner, people usually go to the bars of the center to have the first drink. Most of them have nice terraces where you can sit in the fresh air of the Rome evenings. Two of the most popular areas for having a drink are the historic center (Campo de 'Fiori and Piazza Navona) and Trastevere.

Both Italians and tourists frequent these locals, ranging from the most modern to the more traditional. If what you want is to get drunk and have a great time with other foreigners, the Irish pubs are specially made for you.

To take a break from drinking the night away, why not continue the night with some dancing? Testaccio, the area around the Pyramid subway station and the Via Hostiense are the areas with the highest influx of nightclubs, but in summer most clubs close, and the nightlife moves towards the coast.

The GOA disco is the most famous nightclub in Rome. It is the most fashionable club in the city and probably you'll find famous people there. Other noteworthy places are and La Maison and Artcafe.

Rent the best Rome Apartments and enjoy beautiful evenings in the eternal city!

Berlin For Kids

Berlin is a great European capital ideal for a family holiday. The German capital offers a great offer to fulfil the needs and the desires of the children: special kids-programs in theatres, cinemas and museums, unforgettable walks on foot or by boat... Is there any other better way to keep them entertained?

If you want to share a cultural and funny experience with your children you will have to take them to any of the 170 museums specifically designed for them: for example, the German Museum for Technology, which has a beautiful real airplane and 14 different exhibition halls, including engines, locomotives, ships, airplanes and so on; another option is to bring them to the Nature Museum, which includes huge dinosaurs, always a hit for with the youngsters.

After so much learning, why not venture into the world of the living? The AquaDom is the largest aquarium in the world. There your children may try the incredible underwater World. Then it would be great a visit to the Berlin Zoo: it is the largest in Germany and the one which has the largest number of species

For the rainy days there are a wide range of funny options: children surely love the Imax 3-D Potsdamer Plazt Cinema. Then you can go to the indoor theme park Legoland. It is a park built with 1.5 million Lego bricks. It includes the chance for kids to test their creations on a car racing track or earthquake table, as well as a miniature city of Berlin built entirely from Lego. Both the 3-D Cinema, and the Legoland Park are located at the Potsdamer Plazt.

Maybe the kids are tired from walking all the day long. Then, everyone on board! A boat trip is the best option to discover Berlin without moving from your comfortable seat. Finally, you should not miss the famous Tiergarden Park - the biggest park in the city. There your children can run and play freely, while you rest or explore its more than 600 acres or have a coffee in the middle of the park. Rent Berlin Apartments for the best accommodation.

Moulin Rouge

When talking about the city of Paris and cabaret in particular, one place always springs to mind: The Moulin Rouge. It is without a shadow of a doubt the most famous in the world even comparable to the Eiffel Tower as a Parisian attraction.

It was built in 1889 by Josep Oller and Charles Zidler in the district of Pigalle, a red light area at the foot of Montmartre. Ever since, it has been at the centre of Parisian nightlife. From the outside, it resembles a huge windmill with rotating blades and has been the home to such artists like Liza Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Edith Piaf, Ginger Rogers and Yves Montand. If there is anyone who stood out and made their mark concerning the Moulin Rouge it would have to be Celeste Mogador, creator of the famous Quadrille.

At this time the Montmartre district was very fashionable, but prostitutes and the like used to meet there. The Moulin Rouge soon became a sumptuous salon frequented by the aristocracy. Today though, it is one stop that is a must for many of the thousands of tourists who travel to Paris yearly.

In its early days it was a shrine for opera and a dance hall and over the years it became one of the first places where striptease was allowed much to the astonishment of all present. Currently it offers a number of variety shows involving around 100 artists (60 of them are the famous "Doriss Girls" - the legendary Moulin Rouge dancers). It also offers an excellent menu if you choose to dine at the Moulin Rouge.

The post-impressionist painter Toulouse-Lautrec also used the famous cabaret as a great source of inspiration for many of his works. It was also the title of a book that would give origin to the movie with the same name filmed in 1952 and which starred José Ferrer and Zsa Gabor and in 2001, a new film/musical was inspired and called Moulin Rouge, this time with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor as the main stars of the film.

Taking in the Moulin Rouge on your Paris trip would set you back around 100 € to see the show, and between 140 and 170 € for both dinner and a show. Are you excited at this prospect? Would you like to go to the world famous cabaret? Why not rent some of the best Apartments in Paris and discover its magic?

Cannes International Film Festival 2009

In just 2 weeks there will be released the 62nd Edition of the Cannes Film Festival. From 13th May to 24th May the cream of the big screen will meet in this small French town. As a great novelty at the festival, it will open with a Diseny-Pixar animation film: Up. Still, this is not the first time that an animation movie participates in the official section of the event.

The jury is made up of big names of the world of cinema: the famous French actress Isabelle Huppert will preside the table and she'll be accompanied by the Korean writer and director Lee Chang-dong, the Italian Asia Argento, the U.S. actress Robin Wright Penn, the Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, the Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the British novelist Hanif Kureis and the U.S. director James Gray.

This year Asia and Europe have more presence than United States, which is the great absent from the festival. These are some of the names that compete for the Golden Palm: Michael Haneke with Le ruban blanc; Marco Bellocchio with Vincere; Ang Lee with Taking Woodstock; or Tarantino with Basterds and Antichris (he will be the only North American filmmaker in the festival). From Asia comes the Chinese director Lou Ye, the Filipino director Brillante Mendoza or Johnnie To from Hong Kong.

Spain will be very well represented in Cannes due to two important nominations: Pedro Almodovar with 'Los abrazos rotos' and Isabel Coixet with 'Mapa de los sonidos de Tokio'. Alejandro Amenábar will participate "out of competition" with Agora.

There are some directors who repeat nomination such as Tarantino, who had participated with Pulp Fiction or the Danish director Lars von Trier with Antichris. Other awarded directors are the British director Ken Loach with Looking for Eric and the New Zealander Jane Campion, the first woman who won the Golden Palm in 1992 with 'The Piano' and who this year is presenting the film 'Bright Star'.

Do you love cinema? Would you like to see on live one of the best festivals of the international cinema? Travel to France and discover The Cannes International Film Festival 2009! And while you are there, why not take advantage and visit the city of lights, too. Rent Paris Apartments and find the best accommodation.