A Quick Travel Guide to New York City

New York City is a popular travel destination for British holidaymakers all year round and offers countless possibilities for things to experience. The city that never sleeps offers everything from theatre productions to sporting events, shopping and museums to keep visitors busy. To make the most of your trip to the Big Apple, here are some tips for what to see and do:

New York is renowned for its shows and musicals. These usually fall into one of three categories - Broadway, Off-Broadway, or Off-Off-Broadway. Broadway refers major musicals and dramatic work that plays to theatres of 500 seats or more near Times Square, which are most popular with tourists. Off-Broadway refers to more artistic performances that play in smaller venues around Times Square and throughout Manhattan. Off-Off-Broadway productions are in venues with less than 100 seats and can sometimes be too avant-garde for conservative playgoers.

The most popular Broadway shows currently include established productions such as Wicked and Chicago as well as more recent adaptations such as the Addams Family and Million Dollar Quartet. Off-Broadway is home to the Award-winning Avenue Q and the Blue Man Group. Off-Off-Broadway productions tend to have a shorter run and tourists would be better off checking offoffonline.com closer to travel for up-to-date listings.

New York is considered by many to be the fashion capital of the United States, and the city boasts an unparalleled range of department stores, specialty shops and boutiques. Midtown is the centre of shopping in the city, home to Fifth Avenue with flagship stores for Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany's, Versace, Armani Exchange to name but a few, and is constantly busy with shoppers and tourists. These are followed by the massive Bloomingdale's department store, while over in the Theater District, the famous Macy's covers an entire city block.

Sports have a long and distinguished history in New York and it has teams in all four major North American professional sports leagues. These include the Yankees and Mets for baseball, the Jets and Giants for American football, the Rangers for hockey and the Knicks for basketball. Tickets for games are available from the individual team websites or discount sites such as TickCo, but be aware that these are generally best booked long in advance.

It would be impossible to list all the museums in the city, but New York's most popular include the Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Guggenheim, the International Center, the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to the major museums, there are hundreds of small galleries spread throughout the city, notably in neighbourhoods like Williamsburg and Chelsea. Many galleries and museums in New York are closed on Mondays, so be sure to check museum opening hours before visiting.

New York has a wide range of eateries, and you can find almost every type of food available and every cuisine of the world represented. There are literally tens of thousands of restaurants, ranging from cheap pizza parlours to exclusive sushi at the renowned and famously expensive Masa restaurant at Time Warner Center. There are also thousands of delis, bodegas, and grocery stores across the city, making a quick meal easy to find.

Vegetarians and vegans are well catered for in New York, with many dedicated restaurants serving everything from macrobiotic to Asian Buddhist dishes, but nearly every restaurant, regardless of price, includes vegetarian options that are more than just an afterthought. For a comprehensive list of reviews for restaurants in New York, consult the Zagat or NYC.com.

If you are planning on making a trip to the Big Apple, remember that many airports in Britain offer long and short term hotel parking offers, many with overnight accommodation, which can be a relief for early transatlantic flights.

Following this advice will ensure that your trip to New York is a pleasant and memorable one, whether you are looking to take in a show, go shopping or visit museums and ensure that you will want to return time and time again.

Book Review - A Travel Guide To Heaven

"If heaven is anything at all, it's fun." With that opening line Anthony Destefano sets a tone for his book that turns out to be as much fun to read as the place it is describing. Reading these words in the preface, I was buoyed up with the hope that A TRAVEL GUIDE TO HEAVEN would combine sound theological teachings on the afterlife with a bit of humor and grace - but without the stuffy jargon of philosophers. Destefano does not disappoint his readers. He gives us concrete images of heaven that we can grasp (a perfect rose, a beautiful sunset, breathtaking views) combined with new ideas of what it means to go on the vacation of our dreams (frolicking simultaneously with tame "wild" animals and even dinosaurs).

A little background on this book will help to explain its wonderlust theme. This international bestseller actually represents Destefano's second attempt at writing a book on heaven. After attending 15 funerals of friends and relatives over a seven-month period, Destefano wrote his first manuscript, which he called HEAVEN, designed to make the afterlife more physically real than what the priests and ministers had done in the 15 funerals he attended. But this attempt at writing turned out to be so boring that Destefano never finished it.

A few months later on his fifth wedding anniversary, he wanted to treat his wife to a surprise overnight stay at a posh Beverly Hills hotel but found the hotel had lost his reservation. The Presidential Suite at the hotel was not in use that night, and when the hotel generously allowed him to stay in the suite instead, Destefano walked into a room so immaculately furnished that one might say it was a little piece of heaven on earth.

"You enter and there's a beautiful Steinway grand piano, and it's a Steinway, not some (cheap imitation), and there are fireplaces in every room and his and her bathrooms and saunas and Jacuzzis, and a dining room for 12 and this giant kitchen and butler service, OK? There's a bottle of champagne in every room and a terrace that extends the whole length of the hotel overlooking Sunset Boulevard, and at first my wife says, 'You did this for us?' And I say, 'You're worth it, baby'. I got away with that for about five minutes."

The feeling of joy from being surrounded by luxurious accommodations immediately suggested to Destefano the ingredient he needed to make a book on heaven seem more tangible to his readers: comparison to a vacation in the Presidential Suite of a five-star resort. Of course, in heaven the luxurious accommodations don't stop with the hotel furnishings, they include a fabulous makeover of a new body (Chap. 2), interesting fellow travelers on the vacation (Chap. 4), and angels for tour guides (Chap. 7). Forget about resting in peace, heaven is going to be filled with so many fun and interesting activities that we will naturally go from one activity to the next learning more, experiencing life at its fullest, and growing in our own spirituality.

Destefano contends that the physical location of heaven is Earth. Citing portions of the New Testament that refer to "a new heaven and a new earth," Destefano argues that eventually earth itself will experience death, resurrection, and transformation so that the "new earth" will in fact be heaven. Many of us have assumed heaven exists in another dimension beyond the three-dimensional limitations of earth, but Destefano argues continually that heaven is not a spiritual concept but a physical place that we will inhabit with our new and improved physical bodies. Given that humans have existed on the earth for about a million years, the physical size of this newly transformed earth must obviously be much larger than earth today, otherwise there would be congestion and shortage of space for all those people.

Because of this nexus between heaven and "the new earth," Destefano is able to depict concrete images of life in heaven based on the best scenery that has existed throughout all of history on earth. God spent millennia creating beautiful waterfalls, golden meadows, as well as various exotic plants and majestic animals. "God is not going to waste anything he spent so much time and effort creating."

Throughout his book, Destefano provides citation to the bible to back up his claims about what life will be like in heaven. Judging from the praise his book has received from people in different Christian denominations, his scriptural citations seem to please a wide Christian audience. For example, Destefano claims that prior to Christ's resurrection, none of the souls of the faithfully departed were allowed into heaven; the gates of heaven had been closed. Destefano cites 1 Cor 15:20-23; Phil 2:8; Rom 5:18-20. His first citation contains the phrase "For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life." His second citation contains "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth." The third citation states "In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all." None of those citations indicate the gates of heaven were closed.

Destefano would have had stronger support for his claim by citing John 3:13, "And no one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man." Yet biblical scholars have noted that line is contradicted, e.g., by 2 Kings 2:11, which says Elijah went up to heaven (hundreds of years before Christ was born). Reading John 3:13 in context, Christ is pointing out to Nicodemus that by questioning whether Christ is correct, Nicodemus does not yet understand he is speaking to the Son of God. In our modern language, Christ might have said, "No human being can speak from personal knowledge of heaven, as I do, who came from heaven. No human has traveled up to heaven and come back to earth to talk about it based on direct observation."

A TRAVEL GUIDE TO HEAVEN is well-researched and draws from scripture for inspiration. I conclude with a quotation from the book that will inspire the reader to contemplate a paradise in which "eye has not seen, ear has not heard" the marvels that await us. "And don't forget the children. God knew very well when he created the first tyrannosaurus and brontosaurus that little boys and girls would be thrilled by the very thought of them billions of years later. In fact, God might have made the dinosaurs and allowed them to roam the earth for millions of years for that reason alone." In order to enter the kingdom of God, we must accept it with the eager anticipation of a child. We should not underestimate God's desire to make us happy in heaven and give us child-like joy at the wonders of his creation.

City Reviews on Mumbai

Here is a city of contrasts in the Indian sub continent; it is also India's largest and biggest port city. Well, we are delving about Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of India. No wonder this city also happens to be home to one of the world's largest harbors. You can well imagine the big ships plying to and from this destination. Another uniqueness associated about Mumbai is it being the fifth most expensive city in the world. The more you read about Mumbai, the more you will know about this city. As per city reviews on Mumbai, this city has 40% of reclaimed land from the sea.

Mumbai is congested, yet spacious, and bustling with life, yet serene. City reviews on Mumbai published by the travelers themselves point out about the beauty associated with the city. Right from the beaches, calm sea, fishermen engaged in fish-catching with their boats to the standing skyscrapers, townships, monuments, and various attractions, the city acts as respite for all. And Bollywood is the biggest attraction not to mention the principal stock exchanges, viz. the NSE and BSE that steer the stock market. Around 7 hundred thousand plus vehicles drive on the roads, leading to 60% air pollution.

What is the most interesting fact about Mumbai? Formerly Bombay, the city was under the clutch of the Portuguese. It was given as dowry to King Charles II of England in 1661 when he married Princess Catherine de Braganza of Portugal. The city was handed over to the East India Company in 1668 followed by taking of the administration over by the Queen of England in 1858.

Dining in the restaurants in Mumbai is a pleasure. There is no cuisine specific to any region across the world that is not served here. A research online before you go dining will well serve your purpose of finding the right restaurant. Few of the restaurants in Mumbai worth mentioning are Vie Deck and Lounge, Masala Kraft Restaurant, Jamavar Restaurant, Mahesh Lunch Home, and the list goes on. City reviews on Mumbai also find mention about the various restaurants in Mumbai.

Steily William is freelance Railways and travel guide writer and is writing review articles on About Mumbai, India Tourist Guide, City Reviews - Mumbai, India Tourist Guide, Train Tickets.