Guest post: Must-do European gap-year activities
You needn’t jet off half way around the world to experience new cultures and landscapes. Although Australia and Thailand have their appeal, a sense of adventure and real exploration can be found much closer to home, on a much tighter budget to boot. For the price you’d pay getting Down Under you could enjoy an action-packed month of travelling through Europe.
So where do you start? Europe is a big place packed full of sights, experiences and adventures. From Italy’s history through to Croatia’s breathtaking coastline, this is a continent with great diversity and captivation. If the sheer magnitude of exploring Europe is leaving you a little clueless, here are three must-do activities that every European backpacker needs to tick off their list.
Guest post: Self-Catering Holiday in France
Self-catering is an increasingly popular form of holiday. It involves two winning elements which can help explains its popularity. Starting with the price, it offers affordable accommodations in particular when large parties of five plus individuals are concerned and the level of accommodation is often luxuries and will certainly exceed most three and four star hotels.
Self-catering as the name suggests is a type of holiday in which you are expected to fend for yourself so for the duration of your stay, the property becomes your holiday home. Increasingly popular destination is France and in particular, south of the country. Here are some of the reasons why.
Shearing of the Beasts – “Rapa das Bestas”
The Shearing of the Beasts or “La Rapa das Bestas” as the Spanish call it,  is held every year  in the first week of July in the village of Sabucedo in Spain. It is a 400-year-old traditional festival and the focus of the noble conflict is between man and horse. During the festival, young men from Sabucedo and its surrounding area (Pontevedra in Galicia) meet in the early morning to go in to the mountains. Once there they find wild horses, which they round up and guide into an arena of sorts called the Corral of Sabucedo, where they are sheared and branded.
"Aloitadores" holding the "beast"
Guest post: Rhodes a Classical Destination
As one of the most influential centres of the ancient world, Rhodes has admirably held onto its status as one of the globe’s top destinations for culture and history. Mentioned numerous times throughout the works of Homer, its three most powerful cities – Lindos, Ialysos and Kameiros – offer its visitors layer upon layer of historical development. After the departure of the Greeks, Rhodes became one of the most important early sites of Christianity towards the end of the Roman rule and later became part of the Byzantine Empire.
After the Dark Ages, it fell under Genoese control and was transformed into an enormous maritime power, and was eventually conquered by the Ottomans in the fourteenth century. Relics and ruins of this rich cultural heritage can be found scattered all over the island, so be sure to take your walking shoes for a wonderful few days of historical exploration.
Embarrassing Blunders to avoid in Paris
Every country has their own qualities and habits. As tourists or visitors we should try to adjust to their culture and appreciate the fact they are different to the ones we are used to in our own country. We shouldn’t be so ignorant and uncouth and expect the locals to adjust to us  - the tourist – but rather we should try to fit in with the locals. Otherwise you might as well holiday in your own country.
As we are going to Paris in just a few weeks, I decided to look into the Parisian culture to avoid any embarrassing blunders! More…