When Visitng New York City, Shop for Art off the Beaten Path

Art is one of many cultural draws in New York   City. There are art galleries in abundance in this great city and almost certainly an artist to fit almost any taste. Art has always been to some degree in the eyes of the beholder and beauty in the city of New York is in abundant supply. 

Whether you consider yourself an enthusiastic supporter of art and the arts, it’s hard to deny the fact that New York has a great deal of art to offer those who are willing to seek it. From the graffiti that is so artfully rendered along bridges, buildings, busses, and signs throughout the city to murals and store windows that are so wonderfully made art comes in this city in many forms. You will find artists, sketchers, painters, and those seeking muses wandering around various parts of the city that may be particularly lovely, inspiring, or even forlorn. 

The art doesn’t end with sketches, drawings, or paintings. It goes well beyond that. In this great city you will see sculptors with magnificent works that might be inspiring to you and might be utterly and completely unintelligible and you might find art that touches your heart and simply won’t let go. For whatever reason, art for most of us is purely emotional. This isn’t only true for the painter but also for those who witness the beauty of the art that has been created. 

There is also pottery, blown glass, metal works, wood works, and literally dozens of other works of art within this city. You can stroll through the many galleries of the city or walk along the streets and through the parks seeking art and the artists that create these wonderful works. You might find the grandest work of art in the hands of the slightest of creatures or in the most unlikely of places. New York is full of surprises that go far beyond the beaten paths. 

If you are truly seeking art to bring home from your trip to New York, the best place to look is in second-hand or consignment shops. You can generally find nice pieces of art at unbelievably low prices. This is one of the best ways to begin building your collection and there are some second-hand shops that specialize in artwork or ‘junk art’. Of course there are galleries that deal with rare second-hand art and it is highly unlikely that you’ll find a discount there. Stick to the consignment shops, flea markets and used furniture stores if you are truly seeking some nice pieces that are seriously undervalued. 

Keep in mind that the art you choose only needs to speak to you (and hopefully match your décor to some degree, unless of course you are searching for an excuse to redecorate) and doesn’t have to really mean anything at all. When you do find a piece of art that you feel you must own, price is often not a consideration. This makes the fact that you’re looking in a second-hand store a much better way to shop.

 At least in this instance you won’t have to deal with sticker shock from the massively over inflated price tags you will find in most galleries. Of course that is because they are recovering their commissions off the top so you’re automatically knocking off that much of a discount by shopping second-hand and off the beaten path.

Fun For The Holiday’s, Vacation Time Or Anytime, Skiing In Scotland

Scotland may be the home of golf, but its also a great place for skiing enthusiasts.  With numerous world-class resorts, and such a depth of history and culture, Scotland is a great place to visit on your vacation, regardless of your interests and hobbies.  When you think of Scotland, you might think of kilts, and rural mountaintops and sheep, but if you actually get to know the place, you’ll find it is both beautiful, with its bustling, classy cities, ensuring you’re going to have an enjoyable vacation wherever you go in the country. 

One of the most famous Scottish ski resorts is Aviemore.  A classy, traditional ski resort, Aviemore is located within the Scottish Highlands, and is the ski resort of choice for many across the world.  Loved for its friendly atmosphere and great skiing, Aviemore is more than well equipped to give you a great time.  It’s bars and restaurants are simply first class, offering wholesome food and drink to keep you well refreshed.  Additionally, it’s holiday village feeling enhances its friendly, relaxed ambience, and makes you feel a million miles from home whilst still comfortable. 

Alternatively, there are some more ski resorts in the Scottish Highlands which are particularly good value for money.  It is important to watch out, though, given that some resorts cater for the top end of the market, and you could end up paying a lot more than you bargained for.  As long as you do your homework before you leave, you should fin the resort that is perfect to cater for your needs, and your wallet. 

One thing to watch out for before you arrive in Scotland is to change your currency into Sterling Pounds.  Your best option is to go to your local travel agents, or your local currency conversion centre before setting off.  That way, you will be sure of exactly what you are getting for your money.  It is a good idea to be wary of the commission, and the exchange rate you are being offered, and it can sometimes be quite tricky to get your head around the numbers.  Make sure you work everything out before hand, and shop around so that you don’t get ripped off. 

For excellent deals on Scotland, why not go online?  Additionally, there you will find a great deal of information on what to do in Scotland, and information on the depth and variety of Ski Resorts.  If you choose not to go to a ski resort, but rather a city, and you want to cram in some top quality, affordable skiing during your trip, you are also in luck.  There are loads of dry ski slopes in and around the cities, like at Polmont for example, which is located midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, which is ideal for some quick and cheap skiing.  Additionally, there are several indoor artificial snow ski slopes which you can visit.  These innovative inventions are used to help train national level skiers, and are also open to the public at certain times, so why not pop along during your visit? 

Why not consider Scotland?  With so many excellent deals on skiing package tours at the moment, you’ll definitely be glad you did, and you are guaranteed to have an enjoyable, fun holiday in this picturesque, ski-enthusiast’s heaven.

Enjoying Golf Overseas, Rosapenna Golf Links, A Century of Design and Perfection

Blessed with being able to be designed by four of the top names in the annals of Golf History, the Rosapenna Golf Links has achieved what many golf courses has dreamt of, beauty, great playability and near perfection. Many would say that if the heavens were to design a golf course, this would be it.

Being a century old, this “mature” golf course has been the discovery and the design of one of Ireland’s most famous golf architect, Old Tom Collins. Laid out in 1891, old Tom quickly shared his discovery to his fellow golfers and soon was flocked by great numbers of them to enjoy its serene beauty and its natural landscape that was perfect for a challenging links course.

Two of those that tested the land were two golfing greats which shared between them 11 British Open titles. They went to the Rosapenna Golf Links in the early 1900’s and added some depth to the bunkering and some length to the course but were wise to avoid with messing with the greens the great old Tom designed.

For the century that has passed, the old links still remains intact, a great honor to the three masters that have superbly provided the designs.  Many golfers come to this links expecting to share the glory and the magic that lies between each hole.

Sharing the glory with the old links is the new Sandy Hills links of the Rosapenna Golf Links. Another feather to its cap, this course was designed by another master, the famous Pat Ruddy.

Opened midway in 2003, this piece of land was sculptured by nature to be a golf course and not anything else. The original course avoided the sand dunes of the landscape preferring to just line out the bunker, the new links course by pat Ruddy went straight through them and is a course that will definitely challenge even the most seasoned golfer.

Measuring a wide 7,255 yards, this course was designed with championship tournaments considered greatly. Most of the holes in this course feature elevated greens and tees, with drives that go into the natural bowls on the dune floor. The fairways maybe narrow, but the landing areas are pretty wide.

The new course runs side by side with the old Morris links and offers a pleasant view of the scenery. This course has been awarded by Links magazine USA as one of the top ten courses that must be played in Ireland.

Relaxing areas after a game is courtesy of the newly opened golf pavilion. It offers a very modern changing room and a wide and roomy restaurant serving the best of what Ireland cuisine has to offer. There is also a lounge area, a billiards room, a conference room and a pro shop where a golfer can get everything he needs for his game.

State of the art practice facilities are also being offered by the Rosapenna Golf Links which include a wide turf teeing area, 2 putting greens, practice sand bunker and green, 6 covered bays and a lot more. The club pro also offers lessons on a variety of aspects of the game.

So when you do finally decide to hop on the plane and head off to Ireland, the Rosapenna Golf Links will be waiting for you to show you what Irish golfing is all about.