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Archive: May, 2010

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Sightseeing on your Italy Vacation

You cannot go on an Italy vacation without doing some sightseeing. In fact this is one of the most cited reasons for visiting Italy. The country has a rich culture and a rich history. All over Italy are historic buildings, monuments, museums and all kinds of places to visit that will make your Italy vacation truly eventful. Italy is also a center for high fashion and along with the great food, friendly people, wine and the Catholic Church this may be one of the best sightseeing vacations you have ever been on. It is important to make sure you see the most important sights before you leave. So where do most people go to when they are on an Italian Vacation?

When you go to Italy you must visit Rome. There are several popular places here for sightseers. The Colosseum is a very famous landmark in Rome. It is a huge open air theatre that was built by Emperor Titus in AD80 for games and gladiatorial battles. When many people see the Colosseum the movie “Gladiator” comes to mind. Another magnificent sight is the Pantheon in Rome. It is a huge temple built in AD120 and up until 1960 it had the largest dome in the world. Rome is also the home of the Pope in Vatican City, another popular destination for sightseeing on an Italian Vacation. Other cities in Italy that are popular for sightseers include Milan, Venice, Naples and Sicily.

Pisa is a smaller city but it is world famous due to the Leaning Tower. It is a bell tower in the Pisa Cathedral that is made up of a group of 4 beautiful white marble buildings. Construction on this started in 1173 and went on for 200 years because of a lot of interruptions. Since the construction took so long, the bell tower started to lean hence the name.

If you are a savvy sightseer or traveler and know some Italian you may be able to arrange to see all these sights for yourself. But you may want to consider having everything arranged by someone else because you don’t want to miss any of the important places and you will benefit greatly from a guided tour. There are several sightseeing companies that offer tours for visitors. Guided tours will usually follow a pre-set route through a city or town during your Italy vacation. Not only are the guides fluent in English but they also have a wealth of information on the historical sights and there are opportunities to ask questions. Some tours on your Italian vacation will allow you to get off the tour vehicle to explore and then catch another tour vehicle from the same company later on.

Or if you prefer not to walk, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride without leaving the bus. Sightseeing tours on your Italian vacation range in price. There are luxury tour coaches, full day tours, night tours and also several tours for vacationers on a budget.

categories Vacation

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Travel Nursing-Working in Different States

When you were going to school to become a nurse you were probably told several times that each individual state requires its very own license in order for an individual to practice medicine. You are probably already licensed to nurse in the state where you became accredited, that is probably the same state that you plan on working as a nurse. However if you are a travel nurse you don’t know what state you should be licensed in.

Each state has its own set of policies and laws when it comes to travel nurses. Some states have a grace period, a period of time that a nurse can work in the state without a medical license, provided they are certified nurses in some state. In some states this grace period is a mere thirty day, in other states it can be ninety days. It varies from state to state. Some states will even award a temporary nursing license for the duration of the job.

Before accepting a job, do your homework, a quick Internet search is a quick and efficient way learn what the state you are considering working in requires in the way of licensing. After reading decide if you are qualified to work in the state. If you aren’t qualified decide how big a hassle will it be to become qualified and then decide if the job is worth the hassle.

The nice thing about being a travel nurse is that you work through a travel nursing agency. The agency typically helps match jobs to your personality, provides you with a travel and housing allowance, makes sure you paychecks arrive in an orderly fashion, and makes sure you are qualified for each and every position you take.

The people who are in charge of your travel nursing agency know each individual states requirements for practicing medicine within their state lines. They know if you can work in the state for a certain amount of time without a license and they know if you have to get a license before you start working. Best of all they know the names and phone numbers of the people to contact if you aren’t yet qualified to work as a nurse in a particular state. The people who run your travel nursing agency know how to get a license for a state in and efficient and expedient fashion. They can make the whole process painless. The people who are in charge of the nursing agency should know, maybe even faster then you will, what you need to accept a job.

If the agency tells you that you have to get a license in order to practice medicine in a certain state, find out how much getting the license will cost and know who pays the fee, you or your agency.

After being granted permission to work in a state find out how long you can legally practice medicine in the state. This information is especially important if you are working on a grace period. You don’t want to get arrested for practicing medicine without a license because you spent a few extra days working.

If you had to become licensed before you were allowed to practice medicine, find out how long the license is good for. This could be useful information when you decide its time to hang up your traveling shoes and become a permanent nurse.

categories General

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Costa Rica Tourist Traps

Costa Rica has a great tourist industry. They are welcoming and friendly and in most cases they are honest and genuine. But human nature being what it is, sometimes we end up getting less than we bargained for. The following are just a few tips on what to look out for before you pay out of pocket.

In most cities these days, when the local cops aren’t busy they park in a discreet spot and scrutinize drivers to see if they can catch them in an infraction. One person I read about got stopped for speeding and the cops told him that it was an expensive ticket. The cop told them that for $100 he would look the other way. Later he was told that he could have settled the ticket at any Bank of Costa Rica.

This is a great example of why you should take the bus and taxi whenever possible. You may think you are free with your own vehicle but you won’t be very free if you are stuck in a hole on a dirt road in a foreign country. Just figure into your budget, taxi and bus fare. Always hide extra cab fare on you somewhere just in case of emergency.

Another trap is that using travel agent doesn’t always pay off. You could end up paying as much as $50 a night more on your lodging because of the travel agent’s cut. Go ahead and book your own rooms and make payment arrangements. Also try to find out the distance from your hotel to your destination. Why pay a cab to drive half a mile when you can walk it, unless it’s raining of course.

This next thing isn’t necessarily a tourist trap but you should know about this ahead of time. In the Monteverde Cloud Forest there are the attractions of the Sky Bridge and Canopy tours. A sky bridge is a bridge made over the tops of the trees. Canopy Tours are like ski lifts, the canopied car moving on a cable from tree to tree. The idea being, that you are able to see a great variety of wildlife from this vantage point. I hope you don’t have vertigo.

You are walking off into a bridge into the trees and the clouds, or your are taking the Canopy ride through the clouds but your purpose in doing this is to be able to see the wonderful wildlife. You will see nothing unless the clouds clear. It does cost you money to get across the bridge and to ride the Canopies but why pay the money if you can’t see anything. Better to wait until you have a clear day.

The next one is really important. Look before you sit when using the restroom in remote locations. One lady said that someone had stolen the toilet seat and she had no place to sit. To make matters worse there was no toilet paper. So my advice to you is to always go to the restroom in a store or restaurant if you have the chance before going into on tours and always, always take some toilet paper.

categories General

0

Sightseeing on your Italy Vacation

You cannot go on an Italy vacation without doing some sightseeing. In fact this is one of the most cited reasons for visiting Italy. The country has a rich culture and a rich history. All over Italy are historic buildings, monuments, museums and all kinds of places to visit that will make your Italy vacation truly eventful. Italy is also a center for high fashion and along with the great food, friendly people, wine and the Catholic Church this may be one of the best sightseeing vacations you have ever been on. It is important to make sure you see the most important sights before you leave. So where do most people go to when they are on an Italian Vacation?

When you go to Italy you must visit Rome. There are several popular places here for sightseers. The Colosseum is a very famous landmark in Rome. It is a huge open air theatre that was built by Emperor Titus in AD80 for games and gladiatorial battles. When many people see the Colosseum the movie “Gladiator” comes to mind. Another magnificent sight is the Pantheon in Rome. It is a huge temple built in AD120 and up until 1960 it had the largest dome in the world. Rome is also the home of the Pope in Vatican City, another popular destination for sightseeing on an Italian Vacation. Other cities in Italy that are popular for sightseers include Milan, Venice, Naples and Sicily.

Pisa is a smaller city but it is world famous due to the Leaning Tower. It is a bell tower in the Pisa Cathedral that is made up of a group of 4 beautiful white marble buildings. Construction on this started in 1173 and went on for 200 years because of a lot of interruptions. Since the construction took so long, the bell tower started to lean hence the name.

If you are a savvy sightseer or traveler and know some Italian you may be able to arrange to see all these sights for yourself. But you may want to consider having everything arranged by someone else because you don’t want to miss any of the important places and you will benefit greatly from a guided tour. There are several sightseeing companies that offer tours for visitors. Guided tours will usually follow a pre-set route through a city or town during your Italy vacation. Not only are the guides fluent in English but they also have a wealth of information on the historical sights and there are opportunities to ask questions. Some tours on your Italian vacation will allow you to get off the tour vehicle to explore and then catch another tour vehicle from the same company later on.

Or if you prefer not to walk, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride without leaving the bus. Sightseeing tours on your Italian vacation range in price. There are luxury tour coaches, full day tours, night tours and also several tours for vacationers on a budget.

categories Vacation