A Stay At Old San Juan In Puerto Rico

Written by Clint Leung


One ofrepparttar most used departure ports for cruise ships inrepparttar 135026 Caribbean is San Juan in Puerto Rico. We decided to arrive a day early to San Juan in order to see some sights before our cruise ship departure. San Juan, known as 'La Ciudad Amurallada' (the walled city), was founded in 1521 and isrepparttar 135027 oldest city underrepparttar 135028 US flag. Duringrepparttar 135029 16th century,repparttar 135030 Spanish used it as a point of departure for expeditions torepparttar 135031 New World. Fortifications inrepparttar 135032 Old San Juan section ofrepparttar 135033 city repulsed numerous attacks fromrepparttar 135034 English andrepparttar 135035 Dutch during those years. Today, Old San Juan is a charming seven square block commercial and residential area with cobblestone streets.

The cruise ship terminal is actually located nearrepparttar 135036 south side of Old San Juan so instead of booking a hotel inrepparttar 135037 beach resort area of San Juan, we decided to book one right inrepparttar 135038 old section for close proximity torepparttar 135039 terminal as well asrepparttar 135040 local sights. The $17 US taxi ride from San Juan's airport to Old San Juan was about half an hour. Duringrepparttar 135041 ride, I was impressed by how developedrepparttar 135042 city was compared to many other cities I've visited inrepparttar 135043 Caribbean. The beach high-rise hotels alongrepparttar 135044 north side of San Juan were visible fromrepparttar 135045 highway. Our stay forrepparttar 135046 night was atrepparttar 135047 Hotel Milano which is right on Calle Fortaleza, which is one ofrepparttar 135048 major commercial streets in Old San Juan. The hotel was clean and comfortable but not luxurious which was okay with us asrepparttar 135049 price was very affordable. Its quality was probably comparable to a Travelodge or Days Inn. A very pleasant surprise wasrepparttar 135050 free continental breakfast atrepparttar 135051 hotel's rooftop restaurant. It gave a nice view ofrepparttar 135052 neighborhood fromrepparttar 135053 top.

We spentrepparttar 135054 day and evening walkingrepparttar 135055 many cobblestone streets and alleys inrepparttar 135056 area. There are over 400 restored colonial buildings fromrepparttar 135057 16th and 17th century here. There were also several plaza squares and parks. One ofrepparttar 135058 nicest services offered in Old San Juan is a free shuttle bus which covers two different routes throughrepparttar 135059 district. There was a bus stop about 1/2 block away from our hotel which was very convenient. Riding onrepparttar 135060 shuttle buses through both routes gave us a

Vacation Values

Written by Cheryl Johnson


The family vacation is a tradition intended to bring families closer together and one that many of us would just not think of giving up. Quality time forrepparttar family reinforcesrepparttar 135025 importance of family values. It's sort of a "time out" fromrepparttar 135026 day to day routine of living and growing. A chance to focus on getting to know better those that are most important to us, our family. Of course, how much importance you place on this event depends on your past experiences.

In today's fast paced society a vacation just isn't a vacation unless its costing you a small fortune to get to, and stay at, some exotic venue that usually offers no excitement without dishing out more money. I suggest we put onrepparttar 135027 brakes and get back to basics. You surely won't have a better opportunity to do so than onrepparttar 135028 family vacation.

Let's not forget thatrepparttar 135029 "family" extends beyond our home life. Most of us have family that we rarely get to spend time with either because of distance or time issues. But, one should always make time for family. Right? I knew you would agree! Not trying to make you feel guilty here but, we do have a way of letting life rush us throughrepparttar 135030 years. I call it "non-intentional neglect" and most of us are guilty of it at some point in our lives. So, let's re-inventrepparttar 135031 family vacation to include some real quality time that reinforcesrepparttar 135032 value of our families.

Would you consider a visit to grandparents, distant uncles, or a friend's home a vacation? When I was growing up,repparttar 135033 family vacation usually meant visiting family members who lived some distance away. Coming from a family of limited finances, this tradition was budget friendly yet, was sufficient to satisfy our need to escaperepparttar 135034 norms of home life.

Of course, asrepparttar 135035 teen age years approached, it became harder and harder for my mom to convince us that "we would have a good time" visitingrepparttar 135036 relatives. Some of which we had already spent several vacations visiting and had, I guess, lost their uniqueness to us as teenagers. That said, if any of you can figure out what makes a teenager happy, except socializing with their own peers, then congrats! Let me know your secret. All kidding aside, I believe that they still enjoyrepparttar 135037 family outings but have a strong resistance to acknowledging that they are actually having fun. In other words, they are having fun and just refuse to admit it!

I was a single parent for many years and just didn't haverepparttar 135038 money for family vacations requiring hotel stays and admission fees. I guess I followed in my mother's footsteps in hoping that a visit out of town would suffice. And it did. For many years,repparttar 135039 family vacation consisted of a visit to a dear friend or family member's home who was willing to put up with four kids for a week. These are truly "beloved friends and family!"

I am fortunate to have a good friend for life who has two children withinrepparttar 135040 same age group as my kids. Since we didn't get to visit often throughoutrepparttar 135041 year, these visits were exciting for both my kids and hers who had become good friends.

So, by all means plan to visit a family member's, or friend's, home for a week. Young children especially enjoy these trips. They make new friends andrepparttar 135042 family ties are strengthened. This is an excellent way to reinforce family values andrepparttar 135043 importance of keeping in touch with family members that may live some distance from your home.

Do a little research before you go. Find out if there are any museums, historical sites, low cost attractions, or state parks within driving distance from where you'll be staying and plan to visit. Remember to askrepparttar 135044 family member or friend you are visiting if they have any suggestions. Since they live inrepparttar 135045 area, they will most likely be aware of popular spots. Ask about bowling, roller skating, or special movie nights inrepparttar 135046 area and plan accordingly. You can even plan some game or craft activities to keep everyone busy and having fun.

For those of you who have worn out your welcome or simply don't have family within a reasonable distance, finding vacation spots that will provide a memorable experience for everyone inrepparttar 135047 family can be a challenge. Especially on a tight budget. Don't be discouraged, it is not impossible. Plan for your vacation and include it in your budget. This isrepparttar 135048 easiest way to prepare for a vacation expense and takerepparttar 135049 stress out of planning.

Sincerepparttar 135050 goal here is to getrepparttar 135051 most fun for your money, let's talk about some low cost vacation ideas that could be right for your family.

  • Camping is a great low cost option for families that enjoyrepparttar 135052 outdoors. Don't worry, you don't have to sleep in a tent. There are lots of state parks that rent cabins for a very reasonable fee.

    I can highly recommendrepparttar 135053 Finger Lakes area of New York if it's a convenient distance for you. About a five hour drive for us, it turned out to be one of our most memorable vacations.

    I'll warn you, these cabins are booked full up to a year in advance. So, plan early. Tent spaces aren't as difficult to book. The park sports an amazing gorge trail with thundering waterfalls, scheduled nature learning activities, and a large play ground. The activity I thinkrepparttar 135054 kids enjoyedrepparttar 135055 most wasrepparttar 135056 natural swimming area, with diving boards, atrepparttar 135057 bottom of a beautiful waterfall.

  • Cont'd on page 2 ==>
     
    ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
    Terms of Use