Smiley Earth blog

The English have always loved elaborate mazes and one of their most famous can be found within the grounds of the majestic Hampton Court Palace, not far from London.



The maze was planted in the late 1600s for King William of Orange and covers an area of 60 acres. Only a small section is shown here. The palace itself dates back to the time of King Henry VIII in the early 1500s and remains in excellent condition.

Have you been dreaming customizing your homes in the US by a renowned homebuilder? A homebuilder that provide award-winning floor plans, exceptional price value and even outstanding quality result on your custom built home.

I get more info that is valuable at Schumacher Homes Press, where custom home building is their forte, which makes their home business stay long enough to keep your homes on a steady ground.

Schumacher Home builders continue to attract local and international homeowners build their reputation in home building all across the USA. 

If you want your dream home to become a reality then see your family’s joy in owning a Schumacher Home.

If you plan on documenting your next trip online to share with family, friends, and strangers alike, heres a good advice for keeping a compelling travelogue:

   1. Make it physically readable, for starters. I can’t read pink text on a yellow background, for example. And sometimes, wow, there is so much going on that I can barely find the text. Which leads me to…

   2. Minimize the design toys, please. Everyone wants a custom blog, but if you don’t really know what you’re doing, you just end up with noise. There are lots of perfectly acceptable templates to use, it’s not a crime to use them, especially if you’re a good writer. I want to read you, not hire you as a designer.

   3. Reading itineraries is really boring, unless they’re mine. I skip right over blogs that list where the writer went without telling me anything about happened there. These things get hidden in entries - first we went to the Museum, then the park, then we took the subway back to the old part of the city…. Meh. Doesn’t tell me anything. What did you do, see, eat there?

   4. Turns out I do want to see a picture of you, who knew? I love the surprise of seeing that some big dude in a Hawaiian shirt and a silly hat is wriitng culturally sensitve stories about visiting holy sites. Or some hard core outdoors climber is a woman of a “certain age.”

   5. Speaking of pictures, bring ‘em. It’s nice when there are thumbnails in the posts, or a single photo up top, and then, after reading, I can go click through to an album. I don’t care for it when people use a linear blog format for photoblogs, however, there are better ways to present photos only. If you’re keeping a photoblog, use a tool that’s designed for it, not one that’s designed for text.

   6. In general - though not always - I tend to breeze past Live Journal and My Space blogs. Sorry, but mostly, I’m not seeing compelling reading in those implementations, or they’re too noisy to read.

   7. Negativity can be okay as long as it’s not cultural imperialism. “Oh my god, I ate the most disgusting thing ever!” is all right as long as it’s followed by a description of what the thing was and how it’s a local specialty and you had the nerve to try it. Props to you for being adventurous. Just don’t diss the locals, man.

   8. Too much introspection? “I was thinking about my friends back home and how they were so not having this experience that was totally changing me and everything is different now…” Click. Next please. I get that travel can equal huge transformation, but I’d so much rather read about how that transformation is being experienced. Is that too woo woo to make sense? Maybe. Maybe you get what I mean. Ditto for irony and ubercoolness. What’s the point in traveling if you’re going to be all inside your own head or distant from what’s happening in front of you?

   9. Gimme the details! I absolutely want to read about how the waiter looked like he was wearing his Grandmother’s wig, that hair could so not have been real, or how the train station smelled of cigarettes and pee and oddly, roses. Good travel writing doesn’t miss the little things sitting in the corners in the background.

  10. Take me with you. This is difficult to define and quantify, but good travel writng makes the reader feel like they’re on the trip too. Put me in the car, on the bus, next to you on the plane. I really want to be there, so take me with you. No, seriously, take me with you. I can be ready to go in, like, 20 minutes.

No city comes close to bubbling lost epic empires than Rome itself. With its glorious monument and heirlooms architect - the incredible urban scenery make the city fuses on its aesthetic pride and honor. The city is full of images; Valentino, Bulgari; traffic jams beneath Roman aqueducts and even priests with cigars. This place almost encourages you to take things easy.

However, if you are planning to stay for any amount of time, you will surely need a place to stay. First, you can reserve a room online, as well as find out about other options, such as finding a hotel. How about hotels or hostels reservations around the city, I recommend the possibility to make online hotel and Bed breakfast paris available in Rome, which will suit most high-end travelers seeking accommodation either in Hotel Naples or Hotel Florence. This reservation is not only for travelers but for groups and families around the world who want both quality and the best hotel deals available.

After selecting a place, don’t forget the tour of the Amalfi Coast and then on to Pompeii. It will be quite a long day but well worth it! In addition, just toss a coin into Trevi fountain before you leave and legend has it that you'll be guaranteed another visit in the future.

Enjoy Rome!

Early in my childhood, I lived very near downtown St. Paul. After moving to a small Iowa town, I realized how much I missed going to the museums, seeing a play or live stage show, and just being a part of a diverse and eclectic culture. Small towns have their advantages, to be sure. But spending the day downtown in any city can be a cultural boost to the ego, even for kids. Here are some of my favorite things to do with kids downtown Minneapolis.

If you can, plan your timing around a live stage show like Sesame Street Live, or Playhouse Disney Live, etc. We saw the Backyardigans Live on Stage at the ornate State Theatre and my 3 year old even commented on the ‘fancy building’.

There are plenty ways to take in a ball game. Vikings Football, Twins Baseball, Timberwolves Basketball, all have stadiums downtown. What kid doesn’t like a ball game, or at least the hot dogs?

If you’re coming in from out of town, stay at the Depot, a Marriott Residence Inn, and admission to the attached water park is included. In the winter, the adjacent building houses an indoor skating rink. The Depot is on the light rail line for an additional day at the Mall of America or Minnehaha Falls.

The new Minneapolis Central Library has a wonderful children’s area on the ground floor and a very cool area just for teens upstairs.

Minneapolis is a river town, so visit the Mill City Museum for a bit of fun and history. On Thursday nights in the summer they have outdoor live music for all ages. Take a walk on the Stone Arch Bridge to cross the mighty Mississippi river. A few blocks north is an area called St. Anthony Main, which happens to be Minneapolis’ oldest street. Here, you’ll find the oldest restaurant in the city called Pracna on Main. They serve kid-friendly food with a breathtaking view of the downtown skyline.

Walk through the skyways or down the pedestrian-only Nicollet Mall to Macy’s candy counter for a fancy treat. Kids always seem to remember the candy counter at Macy’s.

This list is far from comprehensive! What are your favorite things about downtown Minneapolis?