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Alternative Destinations for Holy Week
Europe offers endless possibilities. At Easter, any of the destinations we talk about below can be thoroughly enjoyed. Experience the cultural heritage of Sweden, the majestic buildings of Denmark, the Blue Danube of Budapest. Stockholm: If you are looking to get away for a few days, I recommend visiting Stockholm and its medieval core. Of the 14 islands that make up this northern town, Gamla Stan is the most authentic and oldest, and probably the most beautiful. They are all part of what makes up the city of Stockholm. The best views of the city are undoubtedly found by taking the elevator of the famous Gondolen, which stands 35 meters high. From there, you can see Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, which practically laps the impressive Royal Palace and City Hall. And if you are fans of Nordic crime fiction, Stockholm is where you need to be to see the places of the Millenium trilogy in person. It’s where Stieg Larsson lived and left his mark. More and more people want to experience what Lisbeth (the protagonist of the saga) felt for this magical city of northern Europe. PRIYA Book it now! Copenhagen: The Danish capital is another alternative destination for you to consider going around Easter. I recommend walking along the city’s streets full of colorful houses and along the blue canals. Don’t miss checking out the Nihavn Canal, where you’ll find restaurants and pubs with terraces. And don’t forget to visit the neighborhood of Christiana, the city without law, where the lines between legality and illegality are blurred and where tolerance is now a lifestyle. It´s...
The importance of story-telling
Advertising has changed a lot in recent years. Not only with the changes in the channels of distribution, but also the content that has been offered to the final consumer. It is no longer about persuading counting the characteristics of the product. Now brands need to get to the heart of the consumer. How is this done? It should tell a story. A story that gets you hooked. A story that you fall in love with. If we take a look, the videos that have gone viral are of the brands that explain something with emotion, that connect to the emotional side of the consumer. How does this affect you? Maybe you don’t know it, but you are also a brand. Your apartment page, is your personal webpage. When a user lands on your page, he will look at the photos, look at the price, the equipment, and the location. These are the rational characteristics of your apartment, and if everything is convincing, they will then read the description you have written. And this description can be something that is read in passing (as it does not bring any added value), or can ultimately become the final trigger for booking, the moment in which they fall madly in love with your apartment. Thus, apart from highlighting the characteristics of your apartment, try to provoke some type of emotion within the traveler, something that makes them wish to be there… and nowhere else. When you are in the process of making the decision… Every detail...
Spring Festivals in Spain
The spring of 2014 is full of festiv: the FestiMad in Madrid from April 23 to May 10, the Viña Rock in Villarobledo (Albacete) from May 1 to 3, and Sonar in Barcelona from June 12 to 14. Who said festivals are only for summer? Are you ready? FestiMad 2M (Madrid) , April 23 – May 10 This year the festival has changed its concept. The FestiMad has always been held outdoors in a huge enclosure, but now there are different concert halls that are in charge of this large-scale event. Where does it take place? In the capital’s iconic clubs such as the Sala Caracol, Galileo Galilei, El Sol, La Riviera, the Sala Arena, the Sala Berlanga, the Círculo de Bellas Artes, the Hard Rock Café or the Contraclub. There are also other lesser known venues such as Honky Tonk, Lasai Bar Club, Intruso Bar or El perro de la parte de atrás del coche (a curiously long name meaning dog from the back of the car). The line-up includes: Femi Kuti, Marinah y los Argonauts, Dorian, Elephants, The Chameleonns Vox, Izal, Mala Juntera (Zatu, Acción Sánchez, Capaz, Hazhe), Jace Everett, De/Vision, Fanfare Ciocarlia and Angel Stanich, among others. In this 21st edition there will be 60 concerts: 14 of them are groups from Madrid, 35 from another 12 communities, and a total of 19 from 10 other countries and several continents. Viña Rock in Villarobledo (Albacete) May 1 – 3 The line-up for the 2014 edition of Viña Rock comes loaded with groups that rock Villarobledo and the world this May. The town of Albacete will once...
Showering While Traveling
There are a thousand ways to travel. When you’re young, chances are that you start out with an InterRail around Europe and spending nights in youth hostels barely worth the 10 € per night charge. Since we’ve all been through this, we can attest to the fact that at these times our personal hygiene is somewhat lacking. Showers are usually short and cold, while you sweat more than is desirable while visiting the sights on sunny days and wear the same shoes every day… that ´s why one of the first things you want to do upon arriving home is to take a good shower. In any case, bathing is done a bit differently in each country. Here are some extraordinary examples. If you travel to Budapest, one of the things that you absolutely must visit one of the city’s spas. While many tourists come here for this experience, many locals come here to wash and purify their bodies. Showering before entering the hot pools is mandatory, but many people skip this and get right in. We are not saying that the pools are dirty but rather that this is a place where people come to wash, either in the pool or saunas, following a tradition that has been around for thousands of years. On the other hand, if you’re traveling to Central America you may find yourself in a shower stall in which the water heater is not behind the wall but in the shower stall itself. This means that an electric appliance and the water actually touch. Is it dangerous? Very. In fact, a good number of...
Berlin with Pets
One of the most common handicaps when traveling is a pet, since they are usually not allowed in hotels, nor in cafes, shops, theaters, museums, or even aboard some planes. Sightseeing with a dog or a cat is easy if you have accommodations, if not it’s better to leave them with a family member or board them. Pixabay, by Alexis Are you thinking, “Not without my pet!”? No problem! In Berlin there are alternatives, from airlines that allow pets to stores that don’t make you make you tie your dog up outside in the freezing cold. The dog is in fact a customer in most shops in the German city of Berlin. Air Berlin provides one of the clearest examples of animal tolerance. Some airlines simply don’t accept dogs and cats, in others they may travel in the hold, and some like this one allow dogs under 6 kilos to travel with their owners in the cabin. And bigger dogs don’t travel in the hold but in compartments especially for them. Of course, there are exceptions. Animals are not allowed flights departing to and from the UK. And you will need to have all their documents with their shot records, since you may need to show them at your destination. Interestingly, there’s an airline called Pet Airways that takes this idea much further. This U.S. airline, which was designed exclusively for the transportation of pets, was the first to move forward. The big difference is that with them the animals travel alone, without their owners. It is mostly used for relocating puppies to their new homes. During the flight...
Hailo is offering you 5€ off your next taxi ride
Only because you are an owner on Only-apartments, Hailo is offering you a 5€ discount on your next taxi ride. It’s that easy. We are collaborating with this fantastic company, which provides a revolutionary service in the taxi industry. A free and amazing app: you only need to register, add your credit card details and fill in the welcome discount code: ONLY (for the moment this is only valid for the city of Barcelona). From here, whenever you need a taxi you can count on Hailo, without getting a penny out of your pocket. You only need your Smartphone with internet. This is not all; you will also obtain the name, number as well as photograph of your taxi driver and will be able to track its position! Furthermore, you will be assigned a taxi that is usually no more than 4 minutes away from your location. When you get to your destination, if you want to pay by credit card you do not need to do anything: you will get a text message and an email with the bill and it will automatically be deducted from your account. We hope that this service will be introduced in other cities so everyone can benefit from this...
Rome from A to Z: Part I
Aperitivo: The Italians know how to live well, and one of the best things about Italian cuisine is the aperitivo, or aperitif. It’s an alcoholic drink (like a Negroni, for example) to whet your appetite that is accompanied by something light to nibble on such as olives or sausage. And if you can enjoy it on a sunny terrace in the Eternal City, all the better. Bernini : This Italian artist is the creator of many of the sculptures that featured in the Roman piazzas. Gian Lorenzo Bernini is responsible for the stunning Trevi Fountain and Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona. The works of this Baroque artist are highly realistic and impressive if they are lighted at night. Colosseum: Perhaps the best known Roman monument, the Colosseum was the Roman amphitheater where gladiator fights and other barbaric activities were held to entertain the people. It is one of the most important architectural works of the Roman period and was able to seat up to 80,000 people. Impressive. Dolce Vita: Nobodyy represents Italian society better than Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, and his 1960 masterpiece La Dolce Vita depicts postwar Italian society in the form of both comedy and drama. A must-see for any lover of film and of Rome. Espresso: This coffee gets its name because of the way it is drunk. There are still cafés in Rome where you can go in, pay for the coffee, take one of the many prepared at the bar and then leave, all in a few seconds. Fontana di Trevi: For many this is the most impressive in all...
App of the Month: FriendCash
Traveling in a group can be complicated, not only because of the difficulty getting everyone moving but also when it’s time to pay the bills. Someone always has to take on the chore of collecting the money, paying for the meals, tours and museum tickets. But now thanks to FriendCash, everything is simple and, above all, less cumbersome. Figuring these things out usually takes a bit of time, but this application makes traveling in groups different. Everyone will know in real time how much money is owed, whom it owed to, and (most importantly) who owes you. by iphone.appstorm.net Once you start using this app, you’ll soon see how simple it is. You can track several different things at the same time. And even though we’re focusing on travel, FriendCash can do much more. It is widely used among members of the same family, coworkers, and even in stores. To use it, you first need to enter the number of participants in the “pot” and their names. These can be added directly from your address book. The rest is very intuitive. When it’s time to pay and you’re without cash, pay by card and the app will add things up. It also includes a section to specify how the money was spent and by whom. Then each group member automatically is proportioned “an amount owed” for their share of the food. And in debt section, the person who paid with a credit card will see the sum of the others’ minus his or her own. All this is done by the app. You won’t have to think or get...
Rome through the Eyes of Oscar-Winner
Rome is back on the list of the “top ten” major film cities. This time it was the director Paolo Sorrentino who has managed to depict the authenticity of the Romans. The movie “The Great Beauty” recently won the 2014 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It’s his fourteenth award. So with the excuse to learn more about this film, the director and the Eternal City, we are taking you on a tour of Rome. Sorrentino´s latest film is set in an idyllic setting on Janiculum Hill when a Japanese tourist faints and drops dead while observing the beauty of Rome from the top. You definitely shouldn’t miss seeing one of the best views of the city of Rome. Janiculum Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, is located in the famous Trastevere district, which is known for its bohemian and alternative character. The protagonist of the film, Jep Gambardella is a Don Juan, a writer and seducer of women with a busy life divided between parties with friends, fancy dinners, feasts, etc. But, of course, as the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold. Jep has been trying to ignore that he, like everyone else, is getting older. He realizes he is no longer the person he was and decides to turn his life around. And all this takes place in a setting to envy. The central terrace of his apartment, which overlooks the Roman Colosseum, is pretty hard to beat. Imagine going to a party on this huge terrace looking out onto this illuminated work of art and enjoying a drink by the light of...
