Look for her first story on Chef María José San Román from the Michelin starred restaurant, Monastrell located in Alicante, Spain this Weds, April 25.

Make sure to follow Stef’s updates:

@Adventuregirl on Twitter

Adventure Girl on Facebook

Adventure Girl on Youtube

Adventure Girl on Pinterest

More about Exclusive Resorts:

Exclusive Resorts is the world’s leading private club for luxury travel experiences, orchestrating once in a lifetime moments for it members on luxury vacations all around the world. It is the one and only Club that combines a collection of hundreds of stunning luxury homes, members-only experiential travel, immersive cultural journeys, VIP events, and world-class privileges and benefits into a single, seamless membership.

Founded in 2002, the company has delivered more than 150,000 vacations for its thousands of members. For more information, visit www.exclusiveresorts.com, call (800) 447-8988, and follow Exclusive Resorts on Facebook and Twitter.

COSTA RICA WINS BID TO HOST 2013 ADVENTURE RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

San Jose, COSTA RICA (April 19, 2012) – For the third consecutive year, Costa Rica will host a qualifying competition for the Adventure Racing World Series from April 21-28 in the coastal cities of Puntarenas and Guanacaste. This is the only qualifying competition in Latin America, which will culminate in a world championship in France this September. The competition will consist of several different adventure activities including mountain biking, hiking, sea kayaking, rafting, canopying and canyoning, among others. Furthermore, in order to offset CO2 emissions related to the competition, teams will plant trees and partake in other environmentally-friendly activities throughout the race.

“Adventure tourism is one of the main activities for visitors to Costa Rica,” commented Ireth Rodriguez, deputy director of marketing for the Costa Rica Tourism Board. “Seventy-two percent of tourists that travel to Costa Rica participate in adventure-related activities such as kayaking, surfing, rafting and bungee jumping, positioning us as a leader in this segment,” she continued.

The 2012 Costa Rica Adventure Race is comprised of 18 competing teams from countries such as France, Spain, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark,  Italy, and, of course, Costa Rica. The teams will participate in a 326 mile trek through rural, populated and inaccessible areas throughout Puntarenas and Guanacaste, with the winning team being granted a $6,000 prize and an invitation to the finals in France. The team that comes in second place will win $3,000 in prize money, while the third place team will be awarded a prize of $1,000.

The Adventure Race World Series is comprised of 11 qualifying competitions around the world, where competitors race non-stop for up to eight days at a time. Costa Rica’s Northern Zone and Caribbean Coast were home to qualifying competitions in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In 2013, Costa Rica will host the Adventure Race World Championship between October and November, where 90 teams from over 30 countries from around the world will participate. Costa Rica was chosen for being a quality tourist destination with exuberant nature, an optimum tourism infrastructure and its sustainability practices. It didn’t hurt that the country is a long-time supporter of the race and host to three qualifying competitions from 2010-2012.

“It’s such an honor for Costa Rica to be selected as the host of the 2013 Adventure Race World Championship,” commented Ireth Rodriguez, deputy director of marketing for the Costa Rica Tourism Board. “Being chosen as the host city for such a prestigious international event showcases the country as a premiere adventure destination,” she continued.

For more information about the 2012 Costa Rica Adventure Race, please visit http://www.arworldseries.com/races/costarica.html.

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About Costa Rica

Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica is located in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. The country represents only .05 percent of the planet’s surface but shelters almost 5 percent of the world’s biodiversity and 3.5 percent of the world’s marine life. Costa Rica is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, four types of forest, 12 microclimates and more than 500 species of flora and fauna, with more than 26 percent of its territory comprising national parks and other protected areas, making the country one of the most popular sustainable tourism destinations in the world.

PORTO SANTO STEFANO, Italy (AP) — Divers have been searching the submerged part of a luxury cruise liner that went aground off the Italian coast in case any of 70 people unaccounted for might be trapped inside, a coast guard official said Saturday, as passengers described a delayed and terrifying evacuation.

Three bodies were recovered from the sea after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the tiny island of Giglio near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot (50-meter) gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water. The ANSA new agency identified them as two French passengers and a Peruvian crew member but did not cite a source.

Passengers described a scene reminiscent of “Titanic”, saying they escaped the ship by crawling along upended hallways, desperately trying to reach safety as the lights went out and plates and glasses crashed.

Authorities say there are 70 people of the 4,234 on board who are still unaccounted for amid the confusion. Capt. Cosimo Nicastro cautioned there is no firm indication anyone is inside the ship, but he said since sea searches yielded neither bodies nor survivors, there is a possibility those unaccounted for are in “the belly of the ship” some 18 hours after the it apparently hit a reef near Giglio island — then lurched over on its side.

Passsengers complained the crew failed to give instructions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for many of them to be released.

Authorities have been checking names against the passenger list, but have had a hard time accounting for everyone. Helicopters whisked some to safety, some survivors were rescued by private boats in the area, and witnesses said some people jumped from the ship into the dark, cold sea.

By morning Saturday, the ship was lying virtually flat off Gigio’s coast, its starboard side submerged in the water and the huge gash showing clearly on its upturned hull.

Authorities still hadn’t counted all the survivors by the time they reached mainland 12 hours later.

The evacuation drill was only scheduled for Saturday afternoon, even though some passengers had already been on board for several days.

“It was so unorganized, our evacuation drill was scheduled for 5 p.m.,” said Melissa Goduti, 28, of Wallingford, Connecticut, who had set out on the cruise of the Mediterranean hours earlier. “We had joked ‘What if something had happened today?’”

“Have you seen ‘Titanic?’ That’s exactly what it was,” said Valerie Ananias, 31, a schoolteacher from Los Angeles who was traveling with her sister and parents on the first of two cruises around the Mediterranean. They all bore dark red bruises on their knees from the desperate crawl they endured along nearly vertical hallways and stairwells, trying to reach rescue boats.

“We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing,” her mother, Georgia Ananias, 61 said. “We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls.”

She choked up as she recounted the moment when an Argentine couple handed her their 3-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall. “He said ‘take my baby,’” Mrs. Ananias said, covering her mouth with her hand as she teared up. “I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn’t want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn’t hold her.

“I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby,” she said.

“I wonder where they are,” daughter Valerie whispered.

The family said they were some of the last off the ship, forced to shimmy along a rope down the exposed side of the ship to a waiting rescue vessel below.

Survivor Christine Hammer, from Bonn, Germany, shivered near the harbor of Porto Santo Stefano, on the mainland, after stepping off a ferry from Giglio. She was wearing elegant dinner clothes — a gray cashmere sweater, a silk scarf — along with a large pair of hiking boots, which a kind islander gave her after she lost her shoes in the scramble to escape. Left behind in her cabin were her passport, credit cards and phone.

Hammer, 65, told The Associated Press she was eating her first course, an appetizer of cuttlefish, sauteed mushrooms and salad, on her first night aboard her first-ever cruise, which was a gift to her and her husband, Gert, from her local church where she volunteers.

Suddenly, “we heard a crash. Glasses and plates fell down and we went out of the dining room and we were told it wasn’t anything dangerous,” she said.

Several passengers concurred, saying crew members for a good 45 minutes told passengers there was a simple “technical problem” that had caused the lights to go off. Seasoned cruisers, however, knew better and went to get their life jackets from their cabins and report to their “muster stations,” the emergency stations each passenger is assigned to, they said.

Once there, though, crew members delayed lowering the lifeboats even thought the ship was listing badly, they said.

“We had to scream at the controllers to release the boats from the side,” said Mike van Dijk, a 54-year-old from Pretoria, South Africa. “We were standing in the corridors and they weren’t allowing us to get onto the boats. It was a scramble, an absolute scramble.”

Passengers Alan and Laurie Willits from Wingham, Ontario, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, said they were watching the magic show in the ship’s main theater when they felt an inital lurch, as if from a severe steering maneuver, followed a few seconds later by a “shudder” that tipped trash cans over. The subsequent listing of the ship made the theater curtains seem like they were standing on their side.

“And then the magician disappeared,” Laurie Willits said, saying the magician left the stage and panicked audience members fled for their cabins as well.

Once at their life boat station, crew members directed passengers to go upstairs from the fourth floor deck; Alan Willits said he refused.

“I said ‘no this isn’t right.’ And I came out and I argued ‘When you get this boat stabilized, I’ll go up to the fifth floor then,” he said. Eventually, his lifeboat was lowered down.

But things didn’t improve for passengers once aboard the lifeboats or on land.

“No one counted us, neither in the life boats nor on land,” said Ophelie Gondelle, 28, a French military officer from Marseille. She said there had been no evacuation drill since she boarded in Marseille, France on Jan. 8.

A top Costa executive, Gianni Onorato, said Saturday the Concordia’s captain had the liner on its regular, weekly route when it struck a reef.

“The ship was doing what it does 52 times a year, going along the route between Civitavecchia and Savona,” a shaken-looking Onorato, who is Costa’s director general, told reporters on Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles (25 kilometers) off Italy’s central west coast. The captain is an 11-year Costa veteran, he said.

He said Costa was cooperating with Italian investigators to find out what went wrong.

Costa Cruises said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.

Some 30 people were reported injured, most of them suffering only bruises, but at least two people were reported in grave condition. Several passengers came off the ferries on stretchers, but it appeared more out of exhaustion and shock than serious injury.

Some passengers, apparently in panic, had jumped off the boat into the sea, witnesses said.

The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny island of Giglio. Those evacuated the port of Porto Santo Stefano on the nearby mainland.

Passengers sat dazed in a middle school opened for them, wrapped in wool or aluminum blankets, with some wearing their life preservers and their shoeless feet covered with aluminum foil. Civil protection crews served them warm tea and bread, but confusion reigned supreme as passengers tried desperately to find the right bus to begin their journey home.

Tanja Berto, from Ebenfurth, Austria, was shuttled from one line to another with her mother and 2-year-old son Bruno, trying to figure out how to get back to Savona, where they began their cruise a week ago.

“It’s his birthday today,” she said of her son, rolling her eyes as she held Bruno and tended to her mother, who had grown faint and was lying on the ground. “Happy birthday, Bruno.”

Survivors far outnumbered Giglio’s 1,500 residents, and island Mayor Sergio Ortelli issued an appeal for islanders — “anyone with a roof” — to open their homes to shelter the evacuees.

Paolillo said the exact circumstances of the accident were still unclear, but that the first alarm went off about 10:30 p.m., about three hours after the Concordia had begun its voyage from the port of Civitavecchia, en route to its first port of call, Savona, in northwestern Italy.

The coast guard official, speaking from the port captain’s office in the Tuscan port of Livorno, said the vessel “hit an obstacle” — it wasn’t clear if it might have hit a rocky reef in the waters off Giglio — “ripping a gash 50 meters (160 feet) across” in the side of the ship, and started taking on water.

The cruise liner’s captain, Paolillo said, then tried to steer his ship toward shallow waters, near Giglio’s small port, to make evacuation by lifeboat easier. But after the ship started listing badly, lifeboat evacuation was no longer feasible, Paolillo said.

Five helicopters, from the coast guard, navy and air force, were taking turns airlifting survivors still aboard and ferrying them to safely. A coast guard member was airlifted aboard the vessel to help people get aboard a small basket so they could be hoisted up to the helicopter, said Capt. Cosimo Nicastro, another Coast Guard official.

Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.

The Concordia had a previous accident in Italian waters, ANSA reported. In 2008, when strong winds buffeted Palermo, the cruise ship banged against the Sicilian port’s dock, and suffered damage but no one was injured, ANSA said.

Source: AP

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Reaching the end of the Earth has become almost routine these days: One hundred years after Norway’s Roald Amundsen beat Britain’s R.F. Scott to the South Pole, more than 30 teams are trying for it this year.

Some will kite-sail over the vast Antarctic ice and snow. Others will drive in from the coast. A wealthy handful will be dropped off one degree north of the South Pole, for relatively leisurely guided treks of about 70 miles to the pole.

But Felicity Aston has been there, done that. Weather and her own considerable stamina permitting, the 33-year-old British adventurer will only pause at the pole long enough to pick up more food and fuel. Her plan is to keep on skiing, by herself, all the way to the other side of the frozen continent — and become the first person using only muscle power to cross Antarctica alone.

If she manages to complete this journey of more than 1,000 miles (1,700 kilometers) in late January, she would also set a record for the longest solo polar expedition by a woman, at about 70 days.

“This is my first solo expedition, the first time I will have spent this length of time without company,” she said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. “It’s part of the challenge of the expedition, to see how I’ll cope with it.”

Aston spoke from Punta Arenas, Chile, where she was boarding a charter flight Friday after losing a precious week waiting for weather to break. From a base in Antarctica, she’ll then take a second plane to her starting point at the foot of the Leverett Glacier, where the Ross Ice Shelf meets the rocky coast.

Already, she was “channeling down,” getting her mind set on what would be a grueling routine.

“Your life reduces to eating, sleeping and skiing. It’s a form of meditation. You get into a rhythm, and all you can hear is your own breathing, your own heartbeat, the sound of your clothes and your skis. It’s kind of an altered state,” she said. “A trip like this is all about keeping going — the stamina, endurance, keeping going day after day after day.”

Aston, whose trek is sponsored by the Russian software company Kaspersky Lab and makers of the equipment she is using, has plenty of experience in long-endurance expeditions. She spent nearly three years as a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey, and in 2009 led an all-woman group from the coast to the South Pole. Her long list of travel adventures includes skiing across the Canadian Arctic, crossing the Greenland ice sheet and trekking over Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal. She’s also run across Morocco’s Sahara Desert and tracked jaguars in Paraguay.

“I’ve been preparing for 10 years and only now do I feel capable of this. Every trip teaches you something: how tough you are, what your personal limits are, how to wrap up a blister better, how not to get sick,” she said. “Particularly on the psychological side, each journey I’ve had has taught me something about how to feel better about a situation, how to react, how to behave.”

The 5-foot-11 (1.80-meter) Aston weighs around 170 pounds (77 kilos) and she’ll be hauling up to 187 pounds (85 kilos) of gear on a sledge. It includes freeze-dried food, fuel and a camp stove for melting snow. She’s also bringing along a solar recharger and two MP3 players — one has music donated by her friends, everything from peaceful ska tunes to heavy metal and “fluffy pop songs;” the other has mostly audio books from her father on “the whole of British history … 300 hours of it!”

Antarctic Treaty rules require private support teams to be able to pull people out in a pinch, and Aston is carrying two Iridium satellite phones and a GPS beacon to keep in touch with hers.

“She has to have the beacon, because it’s so easy for a solo person to get in trouble,” said David Rootes, a veteran polar guide who runs Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions. The company is supporting most of this year’s trips, making about 20 flights into Antarctica and moving about 500 people around the continent in all. Most are traveling in groups, hoping to make it in time for a polar party on Dec. 13, (South Pole time), the centennial of Amundsen’s achievement.

“What Felicity is doing is not routine at all,” Rootes said. “Until she hits the pole, she’s really out of contact with anybody at all.”

Rootes met Aston years ago at a Royal Geographic Society function in London, and has followed her exploits in the clubby world of adventurers ever since.

“She’s a very substantial woman. You have to have a hell of a lot of drive and single-mindedness to do this, because everything in the world will get in the way to stop you,” he said.

Once Aston sets off, climbing thousands of feet (meters) in altitude through the Transantarctic Mountains and onto the continent’s vast central plateau, she’ll be utterly alone, with no other living thing in sight. Then, she’ll have to push through fierce headwinds for more than 300 miles (500 kilometers) as she follows a route along 132 West Longitude to the pole.

Her way out — skiing along the 80 West Longitude line to the company’s base camp on Hercules Inlet on the Ronne Ice Shelf — would presumably be easier.

“The West Winds, quite notorious. That’s the bit I’m most worried about in terms of weather, but once I’m past the pole, I’ve got the wind at my back,” she said. “So in the scheme of things, it works out pretty good this way!”

RICHMOND, Va., Nov 16, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Travel spending will be up as more Americans plan trips over the river and through the woods this holiday season, according to the third annual Access America Vacation Confidence Index released today by Mondial Assistance USA. Nearly six in ten Americans (57 percent) are confident they will take a holiday trip this year, up from 50 percent in 2010. The increase in spending spurred by more travelers will translate to a nearly $6 billion bump for the travel industry as holiday travel spending is expected to reach $65.2 billion, a 10 percent increase from last year.

“This year’s survey illustrates some good news for the travel industry,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications for Mondial Assistance. “More Americans are traveling this year compared to 2010, and that translates into billions of dollars in extra revenue for travel suppliers. And the good news for Americans is that more people expect to be able to travel this holiday season, reducing the Vacation Deficit by more than 10%.”

Overall Travel Spending is Up this Holiday

Travelers intend to spend $980 on average, down slightly from $1,040 budgeted on average last year. But with significantly more adults expecting to take a trip, overall spend will increase to $65.2 billion.

Car Travel Still Most Popular, But More Plan to Fly

– Air Travel Wins Big: While car travel is still the top mode of transportation (56 percent), more travelers intend to fly to their destinations this year than they have in the past. A third of travelers (34 percent) plan to fly this year, up from 26 percent last year, and 27 percent in 2009.

– Keeping it in the Family: Holiday and family go hand-in hand, so it is not surprising that two thirds of parents with children under 18 reported that a holiday vacation is important.

– Booking Sooner Rather than Later: Nearly half (49 percent) of Americans plan on booking their travel at least two months in advance (compared to 42 percent in 2010) and nearly a quarter intend to book their trip between one and two months out. — Mars vs. Venus Exception: Women may not find this surprising, but men are more likely to wait until the last minute to book holiday travel, with a third (32 percent) saying that they plan to book within a month of their departure (compared to 21 percent of women).

Vacation Deficit Index

This year the vacation deficit index, defined as those who believe it is important to take an annual holiday trip but are not confident they will take one, is down to one in five Americans (21 percent) from nearly one in three (32 percent) last year.

“What we’re seeing is that travel continues to be an important investment for Americans, even in unsettled economic times,” said Durazo. “The combination of increased travel, recovering travel costs and the uncertainty in the economy make travel insurance this year’s ‘must have’ stocking stuffer for holiday travelers.”

For more information or to book Access America travel insurance for holiday travel, visit http://accessamerica.com .

The Access America Vacation Confidence Index is based on a telephone survey conducted by Ipsos November 2-7, 2011 of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample’s regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

About Mondial Assistance

Mondial Assistance, part of the Allianz group of companies, is a global leader in specialty insurance and emergency assistance services. In the United States, Mondial Assistance is a brand name of World Access Service Corp., which is best known for its Access America(R) brand of travel insurance and assistance services. The U.S. operation, one of 29 business units, serves major travel suppliers, health insurers, credit card, and entertainment companies with insurance products, international travel assistance, and concierge services. For more information, please visit www.mondialUSA.com and follow Mondial Assistance on Twitter at twitter.com/Mondial_Assist.

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals that helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world. Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends to develop and test emergent or existing products or services, and build brands. They also test advertising and study audience responses to various media, and measure public opinion around the globe.

They help clients create long-term relationships with their customers, stakeholders or other constituencies. Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting and offers a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2010, Ipsos generated global revenues of EUR1,140.8 million ($1.6 billion U.S.). Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.

SOURCE: Mondial Assistance USA

American Airlines Honors Veterans by Raising Funds for the USO Via AAdvantage Promotion and Yellow-Ribbon Airport Celebration

In an expression of thanks to all who serve, American Airlines is raising funds for the USO (United Service Organizations) this week through a special American Airlines AAdvantage® promotion and nationwide “Yellow-Ribbon Day” celebrations at many U.S. airports. The official airline of the USO, American is also partnering with that organization and MGM Resorts International to send a group of wounded service members from around the country to the third annual “A Salute to the Troops” weekend in Las Vegas.

Through Veterans Day, Nov. 11, AAdvantage members will earn 15 AAdvantage bonus miles, instead of 10, for each dollar donated through American’s Miles in Support of All Who Serve program. A minimum $25 donation is required. This cash donation incentive program helps the USO fulfill its mission to lift the spirits of troops and their families through a variety of morale-boosting services and programs, including Operation USO Care Package, Mobile USO and Families of the Fallen Support. For more information and to donate, visit www.AA.com/JoinUs.

American Airlines employees are also participating in a nationwide “Yellow-Ribbon Day” on Nov. 11. Customers on U.S. flights this week are encouraged to join American Airlines in saluting veterans by wearing yellow ribbons and contributing to the USO via yellow collection containers that will be displayed in domestic airports.

“Our troops and veterans deserve our utmost thanks for protecting the freedoms we enjoy,” said Tom Del Valle, American’s Senior Vice President – Airport Services and a member of the USO Board of Governors. “John F. Kennedy once said, ‘As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.’ It is in this spirit that we partner with the USO to support those who wear the cloth of our nation.”

Employee-led celebrations will be held at selected airports, which will be visited on Nov. 11 by American and American Eagle aircraft that proudly sport iconic yellow-ribbon decals and the slogan, “In support of all who serve,” on their fuselages.

In addition, customers and employees are invited to convey their personal messages of thanks to veterans and troops via photo booths in designated airports. Team members will be on hand with whiteboards and markers to assist, while photos of individuals and their messages can be viewed on American’s Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/AA. Customers can also share photos and messages of support using the Twitter hashtag #thankourtroops.

“We appreciate American Airlines and AAdvantage members for supporting our troops by donating to American’s Miles program – it’s a great way to show support for these heroes,” said USO President and CEO Sloan Gibson. “American Airlines is helping the USO do what we do best: lift the spirits of troops and their families. If you are traveling by air this weekend, please take a moment to stop by American Airlines and send your thanks to America’s veterans.”

For the “Salute to the Troops” Las Vegas trip on Veterans Day, a group of more than 60 wounded warriors will be traveling from Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. They and their companions will be treated to a weekend packed with entertainment, activities and sightseeing.

American Airlines will provide transportation onboard its yellow-ribbon 737 aircraft, “Flagship Liberty,” for the group from Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. Wounded warriors will also depart San Antonio International Airport via flights provided by the nonprofit organization Air Compassion for Veterans. These flights are funded in part through its partnership with Fuel Smart, American’s employee-led fuel conservation program. Send-off celebrations will be held at both airports to honor these individuals and to salute all veterans and active military.

Immediately following their arrival in Las Vegas, the group will head to The Mirage Hotel & Casino via Greyhound Lines Inc., which will be providing ground transportation throughout the weekend. Honorees will be welcomed with a “walk of gratitude” prior to a ceremony and dinner hosted by Felix Rappaport, President and COO of The Mirage.

“MGM Resorts International is honored to be a part of this important recognition of our nation’s service families. While their commitment knows no days off, we are glad to provide this respite, which for all of us should also be a time of reflection for the sacrifices made by our past and current service members in support of our liberties,” Rappaport said.

The weekend schedule includes participation in the Ride 2 Recovery Las Vegas Cyclefest, to be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. That afternoon, Academy Award®-nominated actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band will perform for the service members at Mandalay Bay Beach, with public ticket sales benefiting The Gary Sinise Foundation. The Foundation creates and supports unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen and build communities while honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families and those in need.

The service members and their companions will also attend a performance of Terry Fator: Ventriloquism in Concert and join the famed “America’s Got Talent” winner for a private meet-and-greet. Another opportunity will be tickets to enjoy “CSI: The Experience” over the weekend, plus evening entertainment at The Beatles LOVE by Cirque de Soleil. Sundance Helicopters will donate sightseeing helicopter rides of the Las Vegas Strip for the nearly 180 guests, and former members of the U.S. Army’s elite Golden Knights parachute team, Mike Elliott and Dana Bowman, will perform a special aerial tribute.

Other headline entertainers during the weekend include country artist Tim Foust, who will perform a concert featuring “Land of the Free,” which he co-wrote for men and women in uniform; magicians Murray SawChuck and Douglas Leferovich; ventriloquist Ronn Lucas; and juggler Nino Frediani.

American Airlines and MGM Resorts International are the title sponsors of “A Salute to the Troops” weekend, with support from USO Metro, Sundance Helicopters, the Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA), the Fort Worth Airpower Foundation, The Gary Sinise Foundation, Sentinels of Freedom and the Siller Foundation.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection® carrier serve 260 airports in more than 50 countries and territories with, on average, more than 3,400 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American’s award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members and members-elect serve more than 900 destinations with more than 10,000 daily flights to 149 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR).

Current AMR Corp. news releases can be accessed at http://www.aa.com

SOURCE American Airlines

Rio de Janeiro and Brazil are gearing up to present themselves to the world on the occasion of the Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ on 30 July 2011. The Preliminary Draw will be the first FIFA World Cup event of global magnitude on Brazilian soil related to the 2014 edition.

The Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro will provide the perfect setting for a show that will attract millions of viewers from all across the globe. A record audience is expected for this important milestone event marking the start of the trip to Brazil for the remaining 175 of the 203 teams participating in the qualifiers.

The draw will be a celebration of the World Cup returning to Brazil after 64 years. The 95-minute live TV broadcast (15.00 local time/20.00 CET) will be a curtain-raiser for what fans may expect in 2014 with Brazilian beats and flavours to whet the appetite. The show will be directed by Brazilian director Aloysio Legey (GEO), while the programme broadcast will be directed by Luiz Gleiser (TV Globo). A selection of famous Brazilian artists to entertain the audience will be announced by the producers shortly.

The Preliminary Draw illustrates perfectly how a FIFA World Cup can bring the world together like no other event. Delegates from approximately 100 FIFA member associations, almost 800 media representatives from all over the world, and an audience of some 2,000 people, including celebrities from the world of politics, sport and show business, are expected to attend the ceremony.

FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke will conduct the draws for all qualification zones other than South America, which will play its qualifiers in a league format. The draws will include guest appearances by some of the biggest names in Brazilian football – past, present and future – to be announced in due course.

In total, 166 participating member associations from five qualification zones – Africa, Asia, Europe, North, Central America and the Caribbean, and Oceania – will find out who will face whom in the bid for one of the 31 available slots at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil in June and July 2014.

Source: FIFA

Oh Canada, Oh Canada… here come the Royals…  For those who care, and there are MANY of you out there who do, a new story has surfaced, sharing details of their glorious jaunt across the pond starting in Canada.

A little bit of kitsch and a whole lot of obligation, what sounded like a second honeymoon, is shaping up to be a UK public relations dream trip.

Whatever it may be, we’re excited to see what adventures unfold for the newlyweds…

Story below…

It sounds a bit like a second honeymoon: campfires, a canoe trip in the wilderness, a full day free of any responsibilities, and a chance to see Canada in its full summer glory.

But it will be a working trip for Prince William and the former Kate Middleton — filled with charity events, speeches, the laying of wreaths and military displays — as they make their first overseas state visit as man and wife.

They will see much of Canada on an eight-day voyage to celebrate Commonwealth ties, then zip to Los Angeles, where many of the world’s leading gossip columnists, fashion critics and Hollywood know-it-alls will pretend they are not star-struck by the young royals.

“This will be perhaps the largest, most-watched royal visit in Canada’s history,” Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore said. “We do expect a record number of Canadians to come out to the public events.”

Royal officials Tuesday released details about the trip, which begins when the couple arrive in Ottawa June 30, one day before they will join in the national celebration of Canada Day.

“The Canadians have put together an extremely welcoming and well-balanced program of meaningful engagements, mixed with fun and lots of opportunities to get to know Canada and Canadians better,” said Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the couple’s private secretary.

Middleton is not planning to speak at any public events. Royal handlers want her to learn to cope with the overwhelming press interest in her every move.

William plans to demonstrate his skills as a helicopter rescue pilot by taking part in a demonstration of how to land a helicopter on water — a specialty of Canadian forces — and the couple also plans to put on aprons and take part in a cooking workshop in Quebec City.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the couple is formally known, will begin Canada Day — a celebration of Canada’s nationhood — at a citizenship ceremony at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, giving Canadian flags to the newly minted citizens. They will then travel to Parliament Hill for the official festivities.

William and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper plan to make speeches at the national celebration. There will be a video link to Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Next comes the raucous part: Fireworks and rock music for the masses, including the duke and duchess.

They will meet with veterans, war brides and their families the next day before flying to Montreal and then traveling by frigate to Quebec City.

They plan to say morning prayers with the ship’s crew the next day.

The next stop will be the Atlantic province of Prince Edward Island, famed as the home of the fictional character Anne of Green Gables.

The duke and duchess will compete in a dragon boat race across a lake, and be treated with local delicacies, including lobster and chocolate-covered potato chips, Lowther-Pinkerton said.

The couple will then travel to Yellowknife in the vast Northwest Territories.

They will be greeted with a First Nations people prayer drum song, dances, and a demonstration of arctic sports before traveling by float plane to remote Blachford Lake.

They will meet with students and elders to learn about native traditions and plan sit around the campfire with young people talking about their lives in the wilderness.

The evening will include a private canoe trip to a nearby island for a barbecue with students, officials said, followed by a 24-hour hiatus from official duties.

Don’t ask what the duke and duchess are doing with their private time; the palace will not say.

Their final major event in Canada focuses on the Calgary Stampede, a popular annual rodeo and festival. The royals will be given 10-gallon cowboy hats and are expected to dress in jeans and casual western clothes for the extravaganza, officials said.

The ambiance will change markedly on the duke and duchess’ three-day jaunt to southern California, which will feature a star-studded black-tie dinner at LA’s renovated Belasco Theater to introduce young British film talent to Hollywood executives and a charity polo event in Santa Barbara.

The trip will mark the duchess’ first-ever trip to North America.

It will cost the Canadian government about $1.5 million, Moore estimated.

Source: AP

****Extended 53-Hour Closure of I-405 Freeway Between U.S. 101 and I-10 Planned July 15-17 for Mulholland Bridge Demolition Work

JULY 15-17, 2011

Check here for real-time traffic conditions: http://www.405la.com

Los Angeles, Calif. – Plan Ahead, Avoid The Area, Or Stay Home. That’s the message public safety officials are sending to the public in anticipation of a planned 10-mile, 53-hour closure of the I-405 freeway between the U.S. 101 and I-10 on the weekend of July 16-17, 2011 for planned demolition work on the Mulholland Bridge, part of a major I-405 improvement project.

The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Metro and Caltrans are informing the public in advance that if they do not have a critical need to be in or near the vicinity of the closure, they are being asked to avoid the area.

The specific freeway closure boundaries are as follows:

• Northbound I-405: 10-mile closure between I-10 and U.S. 101
• Southbound I-405: 4-mile closure between U.S. 101 and Getty Center Drive Ramps

Motorists who must travel through the Los Angeles metropolitan area are advised to use alternate freeways within the region, including the 5, 15, 23, 55, 57, 101, 118, 126, 210, 605 and 710 freeways to bypass the impacted area. In addition, public transportation options are available such as the Metro Rail service within L.A. County and Metrolink servicing the five county Southern California region. Additional alternate route information will be made available on the project web site at www.metro.net/405.

On Friday, July 15, ramps along the 10 mile closure will begin to be shut down as early as 7 p.m., and closure of freeway lanes will begin at 10 p.m. to ensure full freeway closure by midnight. The closure will continue until 5 a.m. Monday morning, July 18. Ramps and connectors will be reopened by 6 a.m. During this closure, the Mulholland Bridge, I-405 freeway and access ramps will be closed.

Sepulveda Boulevard is intended as an alternate route for local resident access only. Sepulveda Boulevard will not have the capacity to accommodate both local and diverted freeway traffic. Those using Sepulveda Boulevard should expect extreme congestion and lengthy delays. Motorists should instead use alternate regional freeway routes to completely bypass the Sepulveda Pass.

Traffic conditions on local streets and freeways within the region of Los Angeles County and beyond are expected to be severe, with significant, multi-hour delays. Motorists who must travel during this weekend are advised to plan ahead, monitor real-time traffic conditions prior to beginning their trips, and follow alternate routes that are provided. Motorists will be informed of the closure in advance by Caltrans-operated freeway message signs with coverage extending into neighboring counties and other metropolitan regions in the state.

Construction crews for the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project plan to demolish half the Mulholland Bridge in the Sepulveda Pass of Los Angeles in order to build a new, widened bridge, and a major carpool lane. The construction activity is part of a $1 billion capacity improvement project for the I-405 freeway.

To reduce the work’s effects on local traffic flow, the Mulholland Bridge demolition and reconstruction will be conducted in two phases. The southern side of the bridge will be demolished first, followed by approximately 11 months of south-side bridge reconstruction. Upon completion of the south side, the northern side of the bridge will be demolished and rebuilt in the same manner. Another extended freeway closure period will be required for the second phase of work approximately one year later.

The Mulholland Bridge, like the Sunset and Skirball Center bridges, must be removed and rebuilt to accommodate the widening of the I-405 freeway as part of the 10-mile northbound carpool lane construction project. The project will officially complete the northbound carpool lane network between Orange County and the San Fernando Valley. Additional project benefits include improved freeway safety through standardized lane and shoulder widths, greater ramp capacities at key locations, new sound and retaining walls, widened overpasses, widened and seismically updated bridges and new landscaping within the project corridor.

The $1 billion project is a joint effort between Metro and Caltrans, and is being constructed by Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. It is scheduled for completion in 2013. For latest updates visit the project web site at www.metro.net/405 or follow the project on twitter: twitter.com/I_405 and Facebook at facebook.com/405project.

Source: Metro/LAPD

Sure… Europeans get 4 to 6-weeks of holiday. We all ready know that, but did you know the UAE and Brasil get a minimum of 30 days as well? Since the United States government doesn’t require companies to give employees a total number days off, which are paid and not including “sick days”, it’s no wonder by the time we do get that much needed holiday, we’re almost too exhausted to head anywhere!

This graphic below says it all!

Graphic Source:/AMEX