Monday, March 29, 2010

healthy eats

1. Apple

2. Grapes

3. corn - healthy carbs

4. salmon

5. egg white

6. plain yogurt - get rid of bb

7. tea - contains zinc to help hair

8. cheese

9. peanut butter with apple

Monday, March 15, 2010

50 Worst of the Worst (and Most Common) Job Interview Mistakes

1. Arriving late.

2. Arriving too early.

3. Lighting up a cigarette, or smelling like a cigarette.

4. Bad-mouthing your last boss.

5. Lying about your skills/experience/knowledge.

6. Wearing the wrong (for this workplace!) clothes.

7. Forgetting the name of the person you're interviewing with.

8. Wearing a ton of perfume or aftershave.

9. Wearing sunglasses.

10. Wearing a Bluetooth earpiece.

11. Failing to research the employer in advance.

12. Failing to demonstrate enthusiasm.

13. Inquiring about benefits too soon.

14. Talking about salary requirements too soon.

15. Being unable to explain how your strengths and abilities apply to the job in question.

16. Failing to make a strong case for why you are the best person for this job.

17. Forgetting to bring a copy of your resume and/or portfolio.

18. Failing to remember what you wrote on your own resume.

19. Asking too many questions.

20. Asking no questions at all.

21. Being unprepared to answer the standard questions.

22. Failing to listen carefully to what the interviewer is saying.

23. Talking more than half the time.

24. Interrupting your interviewer.

25. Neglecting to match the communication style of your interviewer.

26. Yawning.

27. Slouching.

28. Bringing along a friend, or your mother.

29. Chewing gum, tobacco, your pen, your hair.

30. Laughing, giggling, whistling, humming, lip-smacking.

31. Saying "you know," "like," "I guess," and "um."

32. Name-dropping or bragging or sounding like a know-it-all.

33. Asking to use the bathroom.

34. Being falsely or exaggeratedly modest.

35. Shaking hands too weakly, or too firmly.

36. Failing to make eye contact (or making continuous eye contact).

37. Taking a seat before your interviewer does.

38. Becoming angry or defensive.

39. Complaining that you were kept waiting.

40. Complaining about anything!

41. Speaking rudely to the receptionist.

42. Letting your nervousness show.

43. Overexplaining why you lost your last job.

44. Being too familiar and jokey.

45. Sounding desperate.

46. Checking the time.

47. Oversharing.

48. Sounding rehearsed.

49. Leaving your cell phone on.

50. Failing to ask for the job.

Rejuvenation. In a relax and momentum situation

Meet the parents. Now, what do I have to do? Why does it give me chills? How will I react? Why is it given to me? I wonder what I have to do. I made a choice. I will not look back. Taking a stand. It is free to dream. I pass now. Yesterday, was boring? Dull. I don’t even know. What she’s up to. I have destiny taking another ride. The first time I saw ms. J R in UM, I was in chills. The perfect package, from Zobel, south and Business Management what more can you ask for. The Friend is by the bay. I have the opportunity not to pass up. Smile muna? Ayaw ko. What the hell was that? A simple grad picture but then it takes two to tango. What hinders, prevents and holding back? Cause you’re all I want. You’re all I need. You’re everything. Life goes on. 23 and 21 can be a perfect combination. She moved me. You tell me how couldn’t be any better. The date was fun and high school. I shared something and she wanted an answer. But she answers street style. She thinks I am the nice guy. I am no saint. Haha^ Staying away from the question leaves me wondering. She has bigote. For truth, love and justice. May I find peace in what I am doing now? I want to kiss those lips. When will be the day the lord has made? I need to workout. Put myself in a perfect ply metrics and conditioning. Commissary and Canister are the new words. The time traveler’s wife keeps me wondering. She laughs and smiles. She was wearing blue. How come I did not see it coming? She has beautiful things but why does she strive for that. I know. It is the answer; Bonding with Daddy makes me think. It’s a good move. Resist at the first and hope for the second. There is a saying grab the opportunity but then again a lot of factors matter. Don’t be an opportunist. The path I chose makes me think again. She is so experienced. She’s a little girl with deceiving traits and actions. I know what she wants. I asked her before what she likes. Opposite attracts. The pressure is on me. What keeps it distant? The parents want to see who I am going with. Jut down notes. Let’s strengthen our core body. I have to limit eating rice. Heidi Klum wants black. Eating 7 egg whites is good. It’s not what you lift its what you eat. Inside is important than the outside most of the time? Mental over Physical? It boosts your insides. Basic, when you are sick you can’t lift. You have to give your body something to regain your strength. I want to explore the world. I want to smile. Fine, I will cherish every moment. 29 is the deadline then afterwards 2 months are just about to be smooth. I don’t want to pay the 6k. It’s so big. I can have 6 dates with 6 different hmmm. Haha. I want to find a business. I never became a varsity player. Honestly, I am every part of mediocrity. How come I know not to settle for second best? But what do I have now? Is there a difference between doing something and not doing at all? Kidding aside. When can you say enough is enough. As I walk to nonsense valley. May I quit? Am I the real slim cutie? Please stand up. Sa patpat na bahay, what are the expectations. I can’t explain. The hoodrats Is in town. Basketball in the streets. Gangwar. Mas malala pa kay Rj yun. There is a sense of insecurities. I believe that I can do this on my own. I have to work hard and believe harder. I want to enjoy life. As simple as that. I want to experience everything hard and easy. Rising to the occasion. Big time players gets big time plays. Down to execution. Last 2 mins. Tied ball game, game 7 championship finals. Everything is at stake. What can I do? I will take the last shot. No more room for errors and excuses. How will you know if maru likes you? Out of the blue can we do this? If you want to express your feelings then go ahead. Straight to the point and do things in perspective. Well, pleasing is not my favorite past time. But from the things I learned. I must not choose one. This is final after 6. I have 3 months left. That’s all. It’s about upgraded not about doing things all over again. It’s all or nothing for me.

Can I hear the final buzzer?

March 4’10. 4^th day with a silly small talk last night. If the person does not come up with additional questions then she has nothing interest with you. 25 days is coming near. I have decided. Conversation is the crossroad of an individual’s personality, intelligence and spirituality, how they say it and what they say becomes important, as the relationship grows mature. If she likes you then she is inclined to say more of what the two of you are talking about not just a simple “yes” or “no”. I am not pushing myself for a graceful exit. Fine, I will not think more about it, as the days would pass by. All I can say is when enough is enough then we have to move on. At 1:49pm, I am not even designing. I can’t even use my brain right now. Though I feel sleepy. I barely function. I finally thought of this the moment my first 3 months came. Strengthen and encourage me pushing through and presenting myself for the remaining months I can bid farewell. I have drawn interest to Y & R. I am crossing my fingers as soon as I hit the free agent market in the coming May or June. I desire for the things that gives fulfillment and an alternative price for all my disappointment throughout my whole career. I never pushed myself to the limit. Mind over matter confuses me to do things my own way. Why do I keep on weighing things? Do I find it to be safe most of the time or am I really scared to reach my own potential. I have to let go of the past and move on for the present. Stop worrying about what will happen just let things happen for what is bound to happen. Don’t conclude. Decisions do come but you have to lay down all the cards before reaching that point. Are you quitting as soon as now? My mind is relieved from all the emotions that I am saying. I just want to shout for joy and sing my praises. “The future depends on what we do in the present, Mahatma Gandhi said, “Work spares us from three evils; boredom, vice and need. Even the week says

W T F.. What the fuck! Haha.

March 9, 2010

The date goes by 6 months like a regular employee. From there, if I will be a regularized, I will be very happy. The pressure and tensions doubles up. Honestly, not even a glimpse of what I see can really make a motivation out of it. After all, I am not going to say permanent but it is not a thing it’s a human being after all. An emotion that reacts how it feels. Thank God he gave me another blessing and I will not take it for granted. Look at the resume’, the stats’ and the attitude’ I will be every guy’s envy. From an interior point view its not about taste its about big time decision making. I will live the day 1 step but with every priority I know that will make me stronger and better. I hope I will not hurt anyone along the way. The process can be a mixture of pains and joys but the learning is irreplaceable. You are always young in life there is no such thing as old because life is short you can never do things forever. Why do people treat each other according to age? I believe one’s maturity cannot be determined by age but through the capacity that one can contribute and accomplish for the task given at hand. End this negativity now and turn it into everything positively. In waiting, there is a learning of patience. You thought of thinks beyond your imagination and there is the hunger for achieving it. I am riddled right now, where my situation is. Is it just a matter of give and take and end it that way. I know there are a lot of reasons for me to experience things my way. I need to stop worrying what will transpire for tom. I am cutting my list down to two. Hopefully, it will be a toss up between kapuso and Mega publishing. I deserve to be in the crowd. It is in my blood. It is looking for it. I need to search for that elusive price. Pacquiao is about to fight in three days. It is overwhelming every time I read the articles. He came from humble beginnings and worked his way up there. Is it true that if you really worked hard for something then you can achieve what is impossible? Relating to the politics here in the Philippines all the presidentiable candidates spend tireless times of delivering speeches, entertaining guests and patronizing the masses. I believe if they are working hard to be able to make a stand for our country and serve as the leader for our prosperity then they can accomplish what the Filipino nation wants from them. Who doesn’t want a good life for their family or for themselves? Life is very beautiful in every facet. It’s very hard to pass up. Real friends come up’ when your life is so FUCKED up’. Two months from now, elections is about weather Philippines. In this time of the year everyone is glued to all types of media to update us for every occurring important moments of this day.

Hangout is what can I say for now rather than dating? I really miss her day by day. Please stop nightmares make it more of a dream. I really need the goddamn picture. If it is the last thing I can get in this world =) =]

Monday, March 8, 2010

Run and gun

2010 mid week of February and I enjoyed both months. 22 years old and counting. I’ll have the best time of my life hopefully in 3 months. A decision now should be made. Where are the countless offers? Show me the money. I am not late because of the compromise. Not again, I am not doing anything at all so early in the morning. What will my choices be? How far can I reach the stars? Can I even have the opportunity to see it from a birds’ eye view. The reason why I am serving this fine young lady is because I just want her to know how special she could be. I believe in God’s fate. Sometimes there is magic. Random is the perfect word right now. Love has its own boundaries but as you share everything with that person its as if there are no limitations in this world. I hate a girl who comes back because her guy broke up with her. I have to design and search some ideas. It’s been 98 days and I can’t even think of what’s next. Right now, I am nervous but I am not scared to do things with perspective. Sometimes when you interact with people you realize the world has so much to offer. They have different sets of paradigm. I never had the support of my family because I never proved a thing o r two. All I want to hear are praises because confidence comes in and gives me the joy within. Keep the fire burning. There is not enough space to argue or to dwell on the past. It’s so small that you will realize that not everyone fits each one’s capacity. We are made by God’s image and likeness. Don’t judge so that you won’t be judge. It’s complicated. I want to read the newspaper now. I am learning more than doing more. God taught me to be compassionate and be eager for each and every single day that he has given me. Why do I know things that are about greatness but how ironic all I experience now is mediocrity? Do I have to work harder and not to think of it that much? Why do I resort to things as long as there is the benefit of the doubt that gives me a sense of “ok lang? I imagine the change in the world will happen in a snap. Don’t think too much of someone that compares you to others. You are on your own. Survival of the fittest is a law. It’s me first before them thinking. I must understand that people of different races tries to fit in. They are not even beautiful at all. Spell beautiful. It’s good that people judge accordingly. It’s so hard to earn money these days. I earn a measly allowance for one’s craving of food. I just want to make Dona Loreta Razon proud of everything I do. The clock did not even bother to move. Where is the opportunity that I am longing for since I am in highschool. Why do I hear nonsense ideas right now? Michael Jordan aspires mo to be great. I want to be like Mike. Dad spoils me but I am not a brat. A sport is Hercules valor. I prefer talking to low-key profile persons because they think that we are not approachable. But for me they are the symbol of Philippines someone who laughs in a day without anything to eat on the table. Do we have to make a stand even though no one is ready to support. Money comes first before labor. I saw A C again and imagine some douche bag is accompanying her. Where do we question ourselves? Is it a different market? I never imagined having the perfect girl that will satisfy my everyday fancy. Moral fiber is somewhat I have to build up. Will I do things with perspective? I am driven to achieve my goals. I am still dreaming big. I want to make a difference. I want to end poverty. “ Panata ko tapusin ang kahirap. Kung ayaw ko makatulong babalik nalang ako sa pagiging negosyante” If it’s a parliament system then Gibo Teodoro will win. If it’s a democratic system then the target market will be class C people, apathetic ones. I wonder what is in store for me. Age should not be a determining factor for one’s professional capability. I dream to have a mini cooper and to have part time businesses with prominent Chinese clan. I want to make my lola smile before she will reach a million years in her life. She’s so basic and forward. No need to explain things. She just needs to look at it. It is easier said than done. She inspires me to be the best yet simple in whatever I do. Again, I want to have a sandwich layered with lettuces, tomatoes, salmons, everything healthy and eating it on top of the Cairo Egypt pyramid. I want to have business meetings in Puerto Rico, Beverly Hills Calif. Paris, Miami South Beach and definitely backpacking in Europe. I will never end saying this unless there are a lot of pictures already. Owl city concert what to do now. I need free passes. Vanilla twilight. You mean to say Manny Pacquiao is wooing her every single day in 3 months.

Feb 26

Last day of February in the office, the feeling of what the hell did I do? Haha. Damn, is it because there are lot of stupid questions running on my mind right now. Shit. What did I enter again? How can I prejudge if again, I am being paranoid right now writing in front of my computer. Do I feel anything every time I pick her up then how do I feel every time I bring her home? Dating 101. haha. My life is changing again in a snap. The hell I am not doing anything at all. I am not arguing. Why does it take to be an adult to find fucking glory these days. Fine! Patience again! I learned, I know. It happened in college.

Step by step. Haha. Where will I ponder myself? Reasons for adversity will not bring me down. Maudlin – over sentimental

Friday, March 5, 2010

Article tips on writing!

1. Have an attention grabbing title! The title is the first thing the reader will see. Keep them reading by providing exactly what the article will be about!

2. Open the article telling the reader precisely what they are going to read about. This will reinforce that the article does pertain to the title.

3. Provide adequate information pertaining to the subject. Give facts, myths, ideas, stories, background, history, and details that describe the article. Try to keep the article as simple as can be. And always keep the audience in mind. If you are writing to a group of high school students in regards to choosing a college, aim your paper towards them.

4. Conclude your article. You don't have to go into much detail here. A simple conclusion is just fine.

Stay on track with your article. Draw the reader in. Provide enough information to keep them from having to search for more. Use bullets, numbers, and outlines when possible. Change paragraphs when discussing a new subject.

notes 2

1. Always kick-start your articles with killer titles. Before you start writing, you need to make sure first that you'll be able to entice your audience to read your copies. This will happen if you make your titles enticing. Tell these people what's in it for them and the elements that set your articles apart from the rest using no more than 15 words.

2. Start strong. Here's the truth; your readers will decide if they're going to read your articles until the end base on the quality and amount of information that you're giving out on your first paragraph. If these people did not see anything valuable or anything that is worth their time, they'll close your articles in a heart beat and they'll move to the next one. So, put your best foot forward when writing your first paragraph. Make it enticing and insert information that will help you get your readers on the edge of their seats.

3. Keep your readers interested. It's important that you get these people to read your articles until the end especially if you want them to click through your resource box. You can make this happen by making your articles not only informative but entertaining as well. Use conversational, friendly tone when getting your message across. Ask questions and inject humor whenever possible.

4. Get straight to the point. Online users do not have a single minute to waste. So, just give them exactly what they're looking for without using fillers or lengthy introductions. Also, carefully choose the information that you're going to include in your articles and ensure that they're all important and valuable to the eyes of your readers.

note 3

There is a lot of demand for good content writers in market today. With a boom in Internet browsing, companies want a lot of writers to write for their products or informative articles. Article writing, blog writing, content writing etc are few services which are like hot services now - a - days. In today's world, people have taken up writing as either full time job or part time.

In such a scenario it is obvious that with so many people ready to provide writing services, there is perfect competition in the market. Apart from the costing, major role is played by the quality of writing. If the articles written by you are really good only then they will be chosen to be published.

There is no magic spell to become a good writer. A person definitely needs to have passion for writing. There are ways to improve one's writing skills. Divided in 10 steps; let's see the ways to become a good writer:

Step 1: In order to write a good article, it is imperative that the writer should be clear about the topic. There should be a clarity on the topic to be explained.

Step 2: Post deciding on the topic for the article, next important thing in article writing is the audience. Writer should know who the target audience of the article will be. Accordingly, the language, words and phrases needs to be chosen.

Step 3: There is no work without homework. Hence, before getting started with actual writing, the writer should jot down the key points to be covered in the article in form of bullet points.

Step 4: All the bullet points' needs to be put in correct sequence to avoid any confusion.

Step 5: The next important thing is content. One should always first write down the summary of the topic to be written to writer good content.

Step 6: In order to fill the gaps and to finish the article, good research is essential. The topic should be thoroughly researched. This can be done through search on internet. The secret to good searching of material is "Search Engine Optimization".

Step 7: Post finalising on the search content, the writer should start formatting the final draft.

Step 8: It should be kept in mind that good examples can lead to more readers. Hence, such examples should be added in the article wherever required and applicable.

Step 9: It is important to keep the dictionary check and spell check installed so that last minute editing is not required.

Step 10: Finally, after writing the article, one should go through it thoroughly. This will help the writer to understand if he has written an interesting article or not. In case at some point, the article seems to be dragged, the editing can be done there.

By keeping these points in mind, one can start writing and surely they will get success in becoming a good writer.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The place to be.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-31953819

Trending: Sander Levin

Popular Trip Plans

7 DAY TRIP

Montreal Holiday

by A Yahoo! Contributor

Bora Bora Honeymoon

by Shaun

CREATE A TRIP PLAN See what other users did

Provided by:

10 Extraordinary Islands

By Frommers.com

Usedom (Germany)

Photo by German National Merten,
Hans PeterTourism Board

Usedom: The Singing Island

Germany

Though anchored to the German coast with bridges at both north and south ends (and a railway over the northern bridge), Usedom lies so far east that the eastern tip is actually part of Poland — you can walk down the beach from Ahlberg to the large commercial port of Swinoujscie. But it's the German side that's the tourist magnet, a beloved getaway since the early 19th century; Usedom has been nicknamed the "Bathtub of Berlin." Usedom's other nickname, "the singing island," came about because the white sand of its 25-mile strand is so fine that it squeaks when you walk on it. A handful of nearby "wellness hotels" and thermal baths preserve old-world spa traditions. Landscaped garden promenades, open-air concert pavilions, and tree-lined side streets hark back to genteel seaside holiday traditions; each resort town also has a long pleasure pier extending into the Baltic, where you can still envision a parade of ladies with parasols and bustled dresses and gents in well-cut linen suits.

Bora Bora (French Polynesia)

Photo by Tahiti Tourisme

Bora Bora: Romantic Heaven on Earth

French Polynesia

Nothing says "ultimate honeymoon" quite like Bora Bora. The word is out — and has been for some time — about this French Polynesian island's extraordinary natural beauty, and Bora Bora's remoteness and high prices have kept the island's luxurious mystique intact. Enchanting Bora Bora belongs to the exclusive, "so-preposterously-gorgeous-it-doesn't-seem-natural" club of travel destinations. Even the most jaded globe-trotter duly drops his jaw when confronted with the spectacle of the lagoon and the iconic silhouette of Mount Otemanu in the background. Many visitors, in fact, never get farther than that perfect tableau of paradise, but excursions to the main island and its lofty interior are how you'll get to the real heart of Bora Bora.

Prince Edward Island (Canada)

Photo by Tourism PEI/John Sylvester

Prince Edward Island: Beyond Green Gables

Canada

Sometimes all the Anne of Green Gables hoopla around Prince Edward Island gets to be a bit much. How can a century-old series of children's books define an entire Canadian province? Drive around PEI's low rolling hills blanketed in trees and crops, and that bucolic past celebrated in Lucy Maud Montgomery's books makes sense after all. Beyond the jagged coast with its inlets and historic fishing villages, you'll discover that small farms make up the island's backbone. You can get in touch with the island's Acadian heritage at the five Rusticos: the coastal villages of North Rustico, South Rustico, Rusticoville, Rustico Harbour, and Anglo Rustico. This inevitably brings you to Cavendish, the vortex of Anne of Green Gables country. You can see the farmstead that started it all, Green Gables, a solid white mid-19th-century farmhouse with green shutters (and, naturally, green gable points) that belonged to cousins of author Montgomery.

Gorgona (Colombia)

Photo by Aviatur

Gorgona: Welcome to the Jungle

Colombia

It hasn't taken long for nature to regain complete control of Gorgona Island. From the 1950s to the 1980s, this landmass in the Pacific was a maximum security prison — Colombia's Alcatraz — but the facility was closed and declared a natural national park in 1985; the jail buildings are now overgrown with dense vegetation, complete with monkeys swinging from vine to vine. Gorgona is one of those places where the natural environment is almost comically inhospitable to humans. Visitors who come ashore at Gorgona today are strictly supervised, limited to groups of 80 at a time, and forbidden from wandering too far away from the coastline, for fear of encountering deadly critters. Gorgona shelters a wealth of endemic plant and animal species in its rainforests, including the small (and endangered) blue lizard of Gorgona. Gorgona also has some of the finest sandy beaches in Colombia, backed by palm trees and a thick curtain of green, letting you know that the creepy-crawly jungle is never far away on this island.

Malta

Photo by Malta Tourism Authority

Malta: Crossroads of the Mediterranean

Walking the streets of most any Maltese town, you get the vague sense that you're in some kind of greatest hits of European architecture — a little London here, echoes of Paris there, maybe a touch of Rome in that baroque church facade. And it's no wonder: the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the knights of St. John, the French, and the British all swept in from their respective compass points and left indelible reminders of their conquests. Malta today is a modern and well-run island nation, with its illustrious laurels of history on full view. The walled city of Mdina, on Malta proper, is superbly evocative of the island's medieval era. Descendants of the noble families — Norman, Sicilian, and Spanish — that ruled Malta centuries ago still inhabit the patrician palaces that line the shady streets here. In summer, the coastal resort towns of Sliema and St. Julian's, just outside Valletta, come alive with holidaymakers and yacht-setters, and the cafe-filled promenades fronting the teal sea are the epitome of the Mediterranean good life.

Lamu (Kenya)

Photo by Kenya Tourism Board

Lamu: Exotic Enclave

Kenya

Just 2 degrees south of the Equator, off the east coast of Kenya, Lamu is a place that seems stuck in time. For centuries, it was a bustling Indian Ocean port of call and an important link in the spice trade; that atmosphere is totally palpable here today. Lamu is like an exotic stage set that also happens to have amazing beaches. The streets of Lamu are quiet, cool, and car-free, lined with thick-walled white stone buildings, their arches and decorative cutouts evoking the centuries of Muslim influence here; Lamu was founded by Arab traders in the 1400s. The entire island has one proper town — the busy Lamu Town, which, as the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Monuments here include the turreted Lamu Fort and Riyadha Mosque (both from the 19th Century), but the most interesting sights are the much more ancient, nameless traditional houses, some of which date back to Lamu Town's 14th-century foundations.

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (Argentina, Chile)

Photo by Gentileza TurismoChile

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego: El Fin del Mundo

Argentina and Chile

Several centuries ago, the only inhabitants of the southern extremity of South America were the native Yahgan Indians. To survive in the inhospitable climate of this land, the Yahgans made ample use of fire. The campfires continuously burning here were so numerous and so bright that when the first Europeans to explore the region saw them from the sea, they called the whole place Tierra del Fuego ("Land of Fire"). Today, the name Tierra del Fuego applies to the group of islands that make up the southern tips of both Argentina and Chile. Isla Grande — as its name suggests — is the largest landmass in the archipelago, with territories belonging to both those countries. Not far from Isla Grande, though it's actually a separate small island in the Tierra del Fuego group, is the real southernmost tip of South America and one of the most fabled sites in the story of seafaring: Cape Horn. Before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, rounding "the Horn" was the only way for ships to get between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, and its hostile waters were — and still are — notorious for the challenges they posed to sailors. Strong winds and currents, enormous waves, and even icebergs sent many a seaman to his watery grave.

Isle of Wight (United Kimgdom)

Photo by Isle of Wight Council

Isle of Wight: Victoriana by the Sea

Channel Islands, U.K.

In 1845, young Queen Victoria made this Channel Island all the rage when she began coming here for seaside holidays with her beloved consort Prince Albert; you can still tour their Italianate mansion, Osbourne House. Following the queen's example, 19th-century celebrities from Tennyson to Charles Dickens flocked here to enjoy Wight's mild climate, sandy beaches, and panoramic walks over dramatic chalk downs. Amid the prim Victoriana, imagine the impact of 600,000 rock fans arriving in 1970 for the third annual Isle of Wight Rock Festival, where, among other acts, Jimi Hendrix blew fans' minds. Revived in 2002, that festival books many of the U.K.'s top acts for a long weekend in June; the festival includes a huge campground where many concert-goers hang out for three days, rain or shine. Even Queen Victoria might have been amused.

Mauritius

Photo by Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority

Mauritius: Sophisticated Paradise

Isolated in the Indian Ocean, 1,243 miles east of mainland Africa, Mauritius may be tiny, but there's never a shortage of things to do. With a coastline ringed by coral reefs, and calm, clear, shallow lagoon waters, the island is ideal for all sorts of water sports; the unspoiled interior offers sights of spectacular natural beauty as well. Tourism on Mauritius is a relatively new phenomenon, however, and so far it's definitely geared toward the higher-end traveler. Mauritius today is an amalgam of Creole, Indian, Chinese, and French peoples (there was never an indigenous population), with Creole and French the dominant flavors. Its most famous resident, however, may have been the flightless dodo bird, a rare species discovered here by the first Dutch visitors and soon driven to extinction by the settlers' wild pigs and macaques.

Ile Sainte-Hélène

Photo by Environment Canada's Biosphere

Ile Sainte-Hélène & Ile Notre-Dame: Beaucoup Recreation

Montreal, Canada

Montreal's richest repositories of recreational opportunities are its two playground islands in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, Ile Sainte-Hélène and Ile Notre-Dame. Developed for Montreal's Expo 67, they remain prime destinations for the 21st century. Ile Sainte-Hélène has long been a fixture in Montreal's history. Following the War of 1812, defenses such as a fort, a powder house, and a blockhouse were built here to protect the city. The island was converted into parkland in 1874, but Ile Sainte-Hélène returned to military duty in World War II. Conversely, Ile Notre-Dame was built entirely from scratch, using 15 million tons of rocks excavated for tunnels for the Montreal Metro in 1965. The La Ronde Amusement park was built on Sainte-Hélène for the exposition; operated today by Six Flags, it offers world-class roller coasters and thrill rides. Most of the Expo 67 pavilions were dismantled in the years following the fair; the pavilions of France and Quebec became Ile Notre-Dame's Montreal Casino and the American pavilion became Ile St. Helene's Biosphere attraction, which has exhibits on environmental issues.