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The "Porrat de San Antón" in Alicante

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ALICANTE - Guapa, Guapa y Guapa - is the new catch phrase chosen by Alicante Tourist Authorities for their new 2011 campaign, along with the subheading "Quiereme como yo te quiero a ti" (Love me as much as I love you). In deed, Alicante has come a long ways over the past decade or two in revamping its image from an ugly portside duckling to a shining Mediterranean jewel. Much remains to be done, but overall, the city is certainly on the right track. Despite hords of Northern European vacationers taking the city by storm in the summer, Alicante remains quintessentially Spanish with its own infrastructure, traditions and celebrations. No better way to pay tribute to the spirit and beauty of Alicante than to introduce one of its major local festivals, the "Porrat de San Anton". Spain is known for its many festivities year-round from the bull run of San Fermines in Pamplona to the Fallas fireworks in Valencia. Yet many holidays and festivals are of a more loca...
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Savoring History and Nightlife in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

No doubt Berlin has come of age and become en vogue...promoted by the local tourist authority as party capital of Europe, thousands of visitors young and old descend onto the city in search of recent history in the making and long wild nights out partying until dawn. Berlin caters to both, but most visitors will stick to the "highlights" around the Brandenburg Gate, Under den Linden or Checkpoint Charlie along with what is left of the Berlin Wall (1961-1989). Few if any will venture beyond those main attractions, and rarely do visitors embark on explorations of "local Berlin", which is unfortunate, as the German capital has existed as a "big city" - a large incorporated Berlin Metropolitan Area - only since 1920 - and the numerous communities and villages that are part of Berlin today, all have their own history, color, dialect and trajectory. One of the most avantgarde, talked about and interesting districts of Berlin is the neighborhood of PRENZLAUER B...
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The Big Easy II: Community Spirit in the Lower Ninth Ward

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New Orleans is back - there can be no doubt about it. Everywhere construction is taking place, restoring the city to its former glory following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As we explored in our first article, most visitors will focus on the traditional tourist areas around the French Quarter and Canal Street in Downtown New Orleans. Even in those key neighborhoods, we argued, alternative visitor experiences are possible and highly rewarding. Yet given the impact of destruction by Katrina almost 6 years ago and the enormous community response since then, hardly any neighborhood visit in New Orleans could be more sobering yet uplifting and enriching than to the Lower Ninth Ward. For that reason we would like to take a closer look at a day out in the ward not involving "sighseeing" or tourist activities but rather charity work, community spirit and being part of grassroots movements in the neighborhood. See the full gallery on posterous The Lower Nin...
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