The Great Barrier Reef

Last week's post discussed the third largest coral reef in the world -- this week's post discusses the largest coral reef in the world -- the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and the only living thing on Earth visible from space. The Reef contains the world's largest collection of coral -- more than 400 different types. There are also over 1500 species of fish. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has existed for approximately 20 million years.

Since the Great Barrier Reef is so large, you can see it in any number of ways and in any number of places. You can either stay on one of the many coast towns or actually stay on one of the islands in the Reef. I chose to snorkel and I chose Cairns to be my home base.

Cairns is a very cute city -- a typical port town with boating and similar activities dominating the city. There is an airport in Cairns, so you can go directly there from Sydney or any of the other large cities in Australia.
I would highly recommend the hotel we stayed in -- the Cairns Colonial Club Resort. It is a beautiful resort with tropical gardens and lagoon-style swimming pools. It is a great home base to see the region and very reasonably priced. 

I would also highly recommend taking a tour through the rainforest that abuts Cairns. We used the Wait-a-While Rainforest Tour group. We took a night tour and saw a ton of animals. Apparently, the rainforest animals are mainly nocturnal. It was a great and pretty spooky adventure.

There are a diverse range of tourism operations in the Great Barrier Reef including day tours, overnight and extended tours, snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing charters, long range roving tours, aircraft or helicopter tours, bare boats (self-sail), glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and educational trips, cruise ships, beach hire and water sports, passenger ferries, whale watching and swimming with dolphins. Tourism on the Reef reaches as far back as the 1890s!

The trip my friends and I took was a day tour consisting of a boat ride to and from a small deserted island. We used the company Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive. This company is the only company that takes folks to the Frankland Islands. We liked the tour because it was fairly small -- up to 100 people maximum. Once on the island, we could actually swim right into the Reef -- the Reef was very shallow and your swimming abilities did not need to be that great to have a great experience. They even served us a beach lunch!

When you snorkel the Great Barrier Reef obviously you have very high expectations. I have to say that the snorkeling lived up to all of my expectations! The water was shallow so there was high visibility. Both the coral and the fish were plentiful.  And the colors were otherworldly! I could not believe all of the colors and species that were living so close to the surface. It really is another world down there.

I think it goes without saying that snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef is a must-do experience. If you find yourself in Australia or New Zealand, I would definitely recommend tacking on an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef!

Cairns Colonial Club Resort
18-26 Cannon Street
Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia

Telephone: +61 7 4053 8800

Fax: +61 7 4032 1031

reservations@cairnscolonialclub.com.au

Wait-a-While Rainforest Tours
PO Box 1471, Cairns 4870
Phone: 0429 083 338
Phone International: +61 7 4093 8414
Fax: 07 4093 8414
Email: bookings@waitawhile.com.au

Frankland Islands Cruise and Dive
PO Box 1938
Cairns Qld 4870
Australia
Telephone: 07 4031 6300
Fax: 07 4031 4777
sales@franklandislands.come

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Last weekend, I had friends in town and while we were mostly beach bums, I did take them to the best place to snorkel in the continental U.S. -- the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida.

Established in 1963, Pennekamp is the first underseas park created in the US. The park, combined with the Florida National Marine Sanctuary, encompasses 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps. These areas were established to preserve and protect the only living coral reef in the continental United States (and the 3rd largest in the world). In case you were curious, Pennkamp was a Miami newspaper editor who was also instrumental in preserving the Florida Everglades. 

Pennekamp is about an hour from Miami and about 3 hours from Key West. Per the name, it is a Florida state park and is set up similarly to other state and national parks. There are spots available for camping, picnicking, fishing and swimming. It also provides numerous options of excursions to see the Coral Reef. Namely, diving, snorkeling, glass bottom boat tours and kayak rentals. The park provides the necessary accouterments to each such excursion. We chose to snorkel.

This park is run extremely well. The price is very reasonable (approximately $30 for a 2 and 1/2 hour tour and approximately $10 for park entrance fees) and you get to keep your snorkel, so you know they are clean. All of the people that work there are extremely nice and helpful. You take a 1/2 hour boat ride, snorkel for approximately 1 and 1/2 hours and then take a 1/2 hour boat ride back. Departures are currently at 9 AM, Noon and 3 PM. You can make a reservation which is recommended or you can just take a chance and show up. Very easy!

What makes Pennekamp so special is the quality of the snorkeling that takes place there. There are approximately 7 different places where you go on your tour depending on the visibility and weather. I have not been to all of such snorkeling places, but the ones I have been to are all fantastic.

Many of the spots are very shallow and so you do not need to swim below the surface in order to see great fish and coral. Some of the coral is actually so close to the surface that you have to be pretty careful not to touch it.

TIP: It is illegal to touch or break the coral and it may physically harm you as well. Please please be careful not to touch the coral.

The coral is absolutely beautiful and very colorful. It is also very plentiful as well. There are over 80 varieties of coral to be found in these waters. The fish themselves are also plentiful. There are over 260 different varieties of fish you can see and many of them are very colorful. You see so many different schools of fish that you are sometimes looking at 50 to 100 at a time. The last time, we even saw barracudas and nurse sharks!!! But, don't worry, if I was not scared, you should not be scared. 

There is also a famous Christ of the Deep statue which you can sometimes see on your tour, but don't get your hopes up because I have never been to the part of the park with the statue.

If you find yourself in the Florida Keys or Miami, I would highly recommend taking a drive to Pennekamp and getting your snorkel on!

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Mile Marker 102.5
Overseas Highway
Key Largo, FL
305-451-6300
www.pennekamppark.com

EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival

Last weekend my husband and I and another couple went to the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival. This was our second time attending this event and we cannot wait to go back. This is a fantastic event, which I encourage everyone to attend.

I do not need to go into detail regarding what Disney World is, or, in fact, what EPCOT is.  I am a huge Disney fan and have enjoyed one of the great perks of living in Florida -- Florida resident discounts at Disney World! Awwww yeah....

But, even if you can't get the discount, Disney World is obviously a well treasured national and international landmark. So, the big question is, why make a trip there during the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival? Oh sooo many reasons!

First, the festival runs during October and November, which is a really nice time to visit central Florida. It is still very warm, but not oppressively hot. I wore short sleeves and shorts/skirts and was mostly comfortable. 

Second, it is a wine and food festival. I know that is an obvious statement, but how can you beat a day walking around in the sun noshing on appetizers and alcohol? The festival booths are scattered throughout the World Showcase portion of EPCOT. Each booth is focused on a different country (with a few random booths, like "Desserts and Champagne" thrown in for good measure). There are 2-3 food options and 3-5 drink options (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) at each booth. Like everything at Disney, the quality is incredible. This year I had sauteed barramundi with greens at the Australia booth -- it is amazing how a small outside booth can make perfectly cooked fish. I was blown away! The festival does not focus on a specific region, but instead, makes a wide sweep of the globe. We ate food from France, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore to name just a few. It is a great way to try many different types of food from many different regions. I tried pierogies for the first time (and of course loved them)!

In addition to the booths scattered around the World Showcase, there are numerous other events occurring during the Festival. There are concerts with family friendly acts. There are cooking demonstrations and wine tastings, which usually costs extra. At night, there is the Party for the Senses -- a huge cocktail party-type event, which also costs extra. There are also book signings and various other random activities, such as a chocolate tasting. Depending on how much money you want to spend, you can really partake in a wide range of activities. For those who are heat adverse, you can sign up for enough activities to even skip the outdoors. There is even a half marathon for those who want to try to burn off all the food and alcohol they consumed.

TIP: You can purchase a gift card at the beginning of the day which is attached to a wrist band that you can use at the various booths. It makes both purchasing and watching your funds so much easier. Because while I do not find the food outrageously priced, it can really add up.

The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival is a fabulous event and I highly recommend planning a Disney World vacation around it! It is definitely a way to squeeze some adult time into a very kid-focused vacation. 

Disney World
Orlando, Florida
(407) 939-6244
www.disneyworld.disney.go.com

Musee D'Orsay

In looking back through the blog posts I have written thus far, I realized that I have not yet recommended any museums. What a travesty! When I travel, I always try to hit as many museums as possible to see both the new and old treasures that a specific city and country has to offer. My favorite museum in the world (so far!) is the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.

I must caveat this recommendation by disclosing that I am a huge Impressionist fan. It is my favorite style and period of art. So for me, the Musee D'Orsay is like mecca.

First, the Musee D'Orsay is housed in one of the most beautiful and interesting buildings for a museum. It is an old train station built in 1900 for the World's Fair and when you stop and look around you can see the bones of a train station. At the far end of the museum there is the original clock for the station and it is basically a work of art in itself.

Now moving on to the art. It really is Impressionist and Post-Impressionist heaven. It covers the period from 1848 to 1914. You can see Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat...all of the super-stars from that period. There is also a great sculpture section on the first floor. Most of the Impressionist masters were French, so it makes perfect sense to have this museum in Paris. It just fits.

Finally, since you will be worn out and totally overstimulated by all the masterpieces, you have to check out the restaurant. I usually am not a big fan of eating in a museum. It is usually crowded with people and junky food. But, the Musee D'Orsay is different. First, the restaurant itself is gorgeous. You feel like you are sitting in the salon of a French king. The food is fantastic and the prices cannot be beat. It is actually extremely reasonably priced considering the ambiance and the quality of food. I would highly recommend making a stop there. As you can see from the picture below, my husband was very happy at our lunch there!

TIP: Buy the Paris Museum Pass -- http://en.parismuseumpass.com/. It provides discounts and you can pop to the head of the line. Which for impatient people like me is a godsend!

One other aspect that I love about the Musee D'Orsay is that it is not so big as to be overwhelming and it is not too small that you think "that's it!" It is really the perfect size -- just enough to quench your thirst for art without causing your head to spin.

If you are in Paris, I would highly recommend spending a few hours in the Musee D'Orsay. It truly is a transporting experience!

Musée d'Orsay
62, rue de Lille
75343 Paris Cedex 07
+33 (0)1 40 49 48 14
www.musee-orsay.fr/en

Pat O'Brien's

Last weekend, I went to New Orleans for a bachelorette party. Every time I go out in New Orleans, I inevitably end up at Pat O'Brien's and I always have a great time when I do. Pat O'Brien's (or Pat O's as the locals call it) has been around since 1933. The building has been around since 1791! It is a true New Orleans original, though now there are locations in Orlando, San Antonio and Cancun. But, if you come to New Orleans and you want to experience the night life, you have to go to Pat O's.

Pat O's consists of four areas: the Piano Lounge, the Main bar, the Patio and an area with private rooms. If it is a nice night, I would head straight to the Patio. You will definitely not be able to miss it -- there is a huge flaming fountain in the middle. That's right -- a fountain with both water and fire. Again, you can't miss it. As soon as you get to the courtyard, you have to stalk a table. This is not a civilized place where a waitress seats you. Uh uh...this is New Orleans...you gotta fight for your table!! Once you are seated, order a Hurricane. I know there are other drinks on the menu, but order the Hurricane, I promise you will not regret it. Well, I take that back, you might regret it in the morning! A Hurricane is a rum-based drink created when rum was the easiest and most plentiful liquor to come by. The signature glass is shaped to resemble a hurricane lamp. Once you get your hurricane, just chill, drink, and check out the sights. I promise you will see lots of interesting sights!

If you want to try something different, instead, head to the Piano Lounge. You will notice it because of the long line snaking out. The piano bar is very popular, so you may have to wait. But, you can drink while you wait, so it is not a big deal. Once you are seated, you will get to listen to dueling piano players go through song after song with the audience singing along. It gets very rowdy and is super fun. Again, stick to the Hurricane, that is the best way to get a real New Orleans experience.

TIP: You will notice they have a roaming photographer taking pics of all the guests. Though this may seem cheesy, get one --  most young New Orleanians have a Pat O's picture somewhere in their house. I know I do! It really is a great souvenir.

ANOTHER TIP: The souvenir glasses the Hurricanes come in can be kept as souvenirs or they can be brought back to the bar for cash. A true local will grab all the glasses left behind by tourists, to try to drink for free all night. So, do not leave an empty glass behind. Either take it home as a souvenir or take it to the bar for cash (so you can drink more of course).

Pat O's is, in my opinion, the best bar in New Orleans. I even went there after my wedding! I would highly recommend stopping in the next time you are in the Big Easy.

Pat O'Brien's Bar
718 St. Peter Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
Phone: (504) 525-4823
Toll Free: (800) 597-4823
Fax: (504) 588-2752
www.patobriens.com