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Toot Toot. The sound of the train rounding the rails. The horn of a pedi-cab in Quitos or Penang. An author announcing a book coming out! On pre-order now and in stores soon, MY ADVENTURES: A Traveler's Journey is part muse, part journal. The co-author is the traveler who wants to chronicle his or her adventures.
What chapters do you want to write in the New Year?
Winter in the northern hemisphere is Summer at the South Pole, so your January at "the bottom of the world" may be warmer than in the Northeast of the US —- and you may see a chick being fed (by mother or father,) then go take a jacuzzi onboard Hurtigruten's FRAM.
Check out the latest bargains and savings on the Hurtigruten cruise line. Norwegians have a rich heritage of great polar exploration, and can share the wonders with those who sign up.
"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." John Muir
If you are craving portals to beauty, the Magnificent Mountain Loop (MML) of three California National Parks offers travelers uncountable "doors." In one trip you can enjoy the tree giants of Sequoia National Park, the adjoining wonders of Kings Canyon National Park and the iconic delights of Yosemite.
This year, Yosemite shares the riches of nature and history with a 150th anniversary. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Land Grant 150 years ago, creating "the first protected wild land for all time" and the "first state park in the world" according to the National Parks website.
Below are some quotes by past famous Yosemite visitors Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir, Ansel Adams, and President Teddy Roosevelt to inspire your own visit. There are also some tips to add luxury to your travel.
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike." John Muir
According to the National Parks Services website: "In 1871, John Muir, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet, and Transcendentalist visited the Mariposa Grove of trees in Yosemite and Muir said to Emerson in the grove: 'You are yourself a sequoia. Stop and get acquainted with your big brethren.' "
Emerson called Muir a "new kind of Thoreau" who gazed at sequoias of the Sierra instead of scrub oaks of Concord."
"In Yosemite, Grandeur of these mountains perhaps unmatched on the Globe; for here they strip themselves like Athletes for exhibition, & stand perpendicular granite walls, showing their entire height, & wearing a liberty cap of snow on their head." From Ralph Waldo Emerson's Journal.
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt requested to meet with Muir in Yosemite, and Muir encouraged him to sleep under the stars- a night that led the protected area to be expanded and transformed into a National Park.
"It was like lying in a great solemn cathedral, far vaster and more beautiful than any built by the hand of man."- Roosevelt
Sleeping under the stars like Muir and Roosevelt may be the richest way to enjoy the nature of the park 24/7, but if you are looking for more pampering nurture in your visit, the Tenaya Lodge offers lovely luxury rooms, concierge services, the Embers restaurant and the Ascent Spa with signature organic treatments. The Ahwahnee Lodge's legacy dining room is worth at least one memorable meal. Yosemite Lodge inside the Park affords window views of the Yosemite Falls, and great access to the park's sites, trails and shuttle system.
Tenaya Lodge, Fish Camp, near Yosemite
Wuksachi Lodge, Sequoia National Park
John Muir Lodge, Kings Canyon National Park
For those that want to celebrate the resiliency of nature with some personal rushes, OARS is now offering river rafting in the Tuolome River. (I haven't yet tried their river trips but hear good things.)
It's the images of Ansel Adams that have put Yosemite in people's imaginations for decades, but his words are also an inspiration for how to enjoy Yosemite: "Life is your art. An open, aware heart is your camera. A oneness with your world is your film. Your bright eyes and easy smile is your museum."
One definition of romantic is "an idealized version of reality." The same could be said of top luxury travel. The chocolates are left on your plush pillow or baked fresh to your liking by a genius chef. Your flowers are abundant fields seen from your privately chauffeured touring car or canvases of Monet seen up close, or fresh arrangements delivered to your elegant suite. Your bubble baths are in marble tubs with views and aromatherapy you choose. People want you to be happy.
Romantic travel gifts can be shared experiences of inestimable value per your own values and idealized vision– from observing penguins hatch, or a family of elephants while on safari, to private showings at a jewelry store; from going to remote places to witness ceremonies rarely seen, to securing luxury booth seats behind home plate or in the royal box at a ballet.
Your idea of "idealized reality" may be visiting thriving, healthy environments with vibrant flora and fauna, and indigenous cultures preserving their ways and well-being without global franchises and homogenization.
Arguably, for today's first-world cultures, sleeping in a five-star hotel and sleeping under a canopy of luminous, infinite stars– are each romantic and are each luxuries.
Sometimes access has little to do with comfort or expense; it is good fortune. I've traveled all seven continents and continue to explore in order to share the beauties of the planet– the romantic of the human and natural. But of course, moments of "wow" and "thanks!" don't require passports or first class seats; they can be in our own backyard. At a public beach about 20 minutes from my home, I saw a dolphin body surfing a wave. At a lake five minutes from my home, herons,cranes and egrets perform balletic moves whether anybody is watching or not.
Romantic travel can be sharing the Ahhs of Awe. Seeing the synchronous fireflies in Malaysia was a brighter experience for being with my husband. Walking on the Great wall of China was warmer with him despite the winter's subfreezing wind chill. Seeing the mosques of Istanbul with a childhood friend magnified the memories. Even an evening stroll at home, may reveal a cloudscape worth watching.
Romantic travel can also be helping others- trying to make "the idealized version of reality" replace meaner versions. Is that taking your love to the Luxembourg Gardens in Spring surrounded by flowers, or helping build a school in a far-flung outpost for you love of humanity?
It is a luxury to travel at all– to have the health, the time, the means, and the freedom from other constraints and responsibilities. Sometimes that travel propels us great distances out into the world. And sometimes that travel comes from inside, sitting still where we are, taking time to awaken our senses- to smell, see, taste, hear, and feel.
To be present can be a luxurious gift.
What is luxury travel for you? What is romantic travel?
-Lisa TE Sonne, Luxury Travel Mavens
Dream. Go. Discover. Explore. Set your sails.
Take a leap. Sit still somewhere new. Meet yourself.
Add kindness in different time zones. Share beauty. Create laughter.
Spark an idea. Illuminate.
Whether you want to explore all seven continents or experience your own neighborhood better, here are some inspiring travel quotes, and some images from my travels.
"Make voyages! Attempt them-there's nothing else."
– Tennessee Williams
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. "
– often attributed to Mark Twain
"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind." – Seneca
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. "
St. Augustine
"Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled." –Mohammed
"Adventure is worthwhile."
– Aristotle
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
-Helen Keller
" Not I, not anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself." –
-Walt Whitman
"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."
— Martin Buber
"Three things restore a person's good spirits: beautiful sounds, sights, and smells."
-Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot
"All life is travel through time and space. Think outside the cube."
-Lisa TE Sonne
"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends."
– Maya Angelou
"Hitler didn't travel. Stalin didn't travel. Saddam Hussein never traveled. They didn't want to have their orthodoxy challenged."
— Dr. Howard Gardner
"Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves"
– Euripides
"When travelling, kindness can be the greatest gift, and dearest souvenir." -Lisa TE Sonne
"The life you have led doesn't need to be the only life you have." -Anna Quindlen
"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted."
– Bill Bryson
Parenting chinstrap penguin,sitting on an egg and a chick below:
"I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals."
– David Attenborough
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." – Marcel Proust
"To move, to breath, to fly, to float…to travel is to live." -Hans Christian Andersen.
-Lisa TE Sonne, excerpts for Luxury Travel Mavens
(c) Lisa TE Sonne, Selects from a book she is working on
All above photos by Lisa TE Sonne. Please contact her for permission to use. firstname.lastname@example.com
Please add your own inspiration and any travel/ exploration quotes you want to share in the comments section below or email them. Thanks!
Pinch me. I must be double dreaming. I am basking on the M/Y Grace, the yacht given by Onassis to Grace Kelly when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco, the yacht the royal couple honeymooned on. In every direction I see islands of the Galapagos, one of the world's great destinations, and a spectacular part of Ecuador, the small enticing country that also shares the Andes and Amazon with travelers that love culture and nature.
Yes, I was dreaming — but dreaming of reality — of the trip I finished yesterday. I am swimming in joyful recollections. The teak and mahogany yacht for the voyage previously entertained Winston Churchill, served valiantly in WWII, and was a moving playground for the wealthy before Quasar Expeditions turned it into a romantic nine-suite vehicle for travelers seeking the extraordinary, far from the Mediterranean and Monaco.
Onboard our week-long cruise of the southern Galapagos, there was a family of five, a couple in their 30s on their honeymoon, and another couple in their 30s who got engaged while on the paradisical Gardner beach of Santa Cruz Island. Just a few days later with accumulated Grace and Galapagos memories, the two medical professionals actually had the Captain marry them our last night, for a very spontaneous elopement not on the itinerary.
Was it the almost-full moon? The fresh lobster dinner? All the laughter of the guests, now friends, remembering favorite moments of the trip? A desire to weave the trip's joys more permanently into life's quilt? A love that deepened in a remarkable place? The couple added yet another chapter to the romance and legacy of the yacht.
Wild Memories
Many additional cherished memories filled my well-named memory chip of photos from our daily hiking and snorkeling expeditions on different islands with up close views of flamingos, penguins, iguanas, blue footed boobies, mating comarents, newborn sea lions, newly hatched albatrosses, and the finches that helped Darwin form his revolutionary theories about the evolution of life.
It was a privilege to be able to move through the raw and wild movements of nature in parts of the islands without human habitation, but two of my favorite moments came when I stayed in one place and the animals came to me. On our last snorkel, led by the Captain beneath the striking monolith of Pinnacle Rock, I floated gently and just felt awe at the schools of fish shimmering around me, and the shapes of the immersed rocks with bright colored algae and aneomones.
Suddenly two penguins darted toward me, performed twirling twists right in front of me and zoomed off. Then back again. I laughed with glee and was glad my prescription mask didn't leak when I smiled grandly. The penguins continued to dart around our little band of bipeds for ten minutes and even brushed against one snorkeler who said the bird felt soft.
A different afternoon on the post card -looking Gardner Beach, I sat in the powder-soft organic sand, while Galapagos penguins were swimming in the waters that mingled turquoises and azures. A baby sea lion waddled toward me sniffing like a puppy dog. Somewhere else on the beach, a delightful couple (after several years together) were getting engaged to be married, while the rest of us were engaged with different wildlife.
Six hundred miles of Pacific Ocean from the mainland of Ecuador, surrounded by the life force, I think we were all glad to be able to say "I do" to the Galapagos with Grace.
Photos and Story by Lisa TE Sonne, Luxury Travel Mavens.com
October in the United States is now providing a different kind of "medical travel" — pink travel. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness, or BCA, and pink is touted to promote awareness. Various travel venues are "tickled pink" to donate some of their revenue in October to related nonprofits.
Two destination stand-outs are Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and San Diego, California (the W, Hard Rock and Hyatt Hotels) according to J Public Relations, which offers the content below, including a cocktail recipe.
If you know of other travel-for-a-cause opportunities, please share them in the comments section below. Please also let us know what you think of these.
From J Public Relations:
"San Diego- Hard Rock "Pinktober"
"Pinktober 2013 at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego | San Diego, CA
"Stay – Hard Rock Hotel San Diego will outfit select guestrooms with special Pink Sheets, and a percentage of the room proceeds during October will benefit the campaign. The Sleep Like a Rock® bedding features the signature embroidered guitar pillowcases and plush bedding. Guests of "Pink Sheets rooms" will also receive Hard Rock's 2013 PINKTOBER guitar pin featuring pink rhinestones. In addition, hotel guests can opt to add a donation of any level to their guestroom bill during their stay.
"Sip – The property's retro-chic diner, Maryjane's, will serve a limited-time cocktail. The restaurant team will wear pink shirts and pink gear every Sunday to promote awareness. They will hand out pink frosted guitar cookies to our hotel guests to promote awareness. They will also offer the cookies to outside guests for a donation.
"Hard Rock Hotel's 207 and Float bars will be offering specialty cocktails Flamingo Margaritas, Pink Floyds and Pink Dolphins with 25 percent of proceeds benefitting Hard Rock's PINKTOBER™ 2013 campaign.
"Savor – Rock Spa will offer an invigorating 50-minute Pink Sugar Whip body scrub to benefit PINKTOBER™. To book a spa treatment, guests may call Rock Spa at (619) 764-6930.
"Shop – Located lobby-level at the hotel, the boutique will feature a variety of PINKTOBER™ merchandise to benefit the cause including PINKTOBER pins, t-shirts, Pink Sheets and more.
"W San Diego: In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the W San Diego is offering a 'Drink Pink (for a cause)' cocktail where 50 percent of the proceeds from October will be donated to the Keep A Breast foundation. The Drink Pink cocktail is made with Svedka colada vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice.
"In conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the W will also be turning it's 'W' logo outside PINK to honor the month and help further spread awareness. Inspiring, iconic,and influential, the W San Diego offers a unique mix of cutting-edge design and passions around fashion, music and entertainment.
"Jackson Hole, Wyoming
"Spur Restaurant & Bar at Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa Hotel | Jackson Hole, WY
"Throughout the month of October, a portion of Spur Restaurant & Bar's 'Beet Cancer' cocktail will be donated to the Women's Healthcare Fund at St. John's Hospital in Jackson Hole. The 'Beet Cancer' cocktail includes:
- Beet ginger infused gin
- St. Germaine elderflower liqueur
- Lemon juice
- House made ginger syrup
- 1 egg white
- Shaken and served up
"CHILL SPA at Hotel Terra Jackson Hole | Jackson Hole, WY
"Chill for a Cause
"Join forces with Chill Spa this October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Book a Chill for a Cause treatment and 10% of the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer division of Saint John's Women's Healthcare Fund
"PINK Awareness Pink Grapefruit Facial | 50 Minutes $129; 80 Minutes $179: Bring life and vitality to your complexion with a vitamin-rich burst of pink grapefruit and other Eminence Organics Skincare products focusing on hydration.
"Fight Like a Girl Facial | 50 Minutes $129; 80 Minutes $179, Fight bacteria with a deeply purifying facial at Chill Spa.
"Live. Love. And get a Massage | 50 Minutes $129; 80 Minutes $179: Pink out your massage by choosing our specialty treatment this October. The Live, Love massage is available in Deep Tissue or Swedish massage techniques."
(End of quoted information from J Public Relations about pink destinations to help Breast Cancer Awareness in October. )
If you know of other luxury venues and destinations that are donating proceeds to Breast Cancer nonprofits, please share the information in comments below. Do you think these kinds of efforts are a good way to reduce Breast Cancer?
Please also share other opportunities luxury travelers can enjoy while helping causes.
Thirteen is a lucky number if you are in the Hilton Athens in Greece. It's the rooftop floor with the Galaxy restaurant and bar, offering drinks, food and a wonderful view of the Acropolis and Mount Lycabettus.
The Galaxy's outdoor and indoor tables are popular with hotel guests and nightlife Athenians, according to the hotel magazine, which interviews successful local artists and entrepreneurs that use it as a meeting spot, watering hole, and a place to swap ideas.
My childhood friend and I sat alfresco with wafting warm breezes at the Galaxy bar balcony to revive ourselves after a day of active input for the eyes and cameras, and before flying home after the Ancient Mysteries, 11-day Mediterranean cruise with the Holland America Line. It was a good perch to pause between travel modes.
When we checked in Oestrisu made us feel warmly welcomed and answered all our questions- –Yes, free WiFi in the spacious marble lobby areas with lots of comfortable, airy, sitting spaces; yes, there is a swimming pool in the building and one outside; yes, the suite would have a marble bathtub and a balcony with a view; yes an abundant buffet breakfast is included, and yes; we were close to museums, shopping and easy transport to the airport.
Though the hotel's large lobby area welcomed outsiders, a room key was needed to take the elevator to the top rooms. Each lobby floor had original art work to distinguish it. Rooms with Acropolis views were all taken but we were positioned well to appreciate city views and a splendiferous sunrise over hills to start our trip home.
On shore trips we had seen hundreds of ancient columns -upright and reclined ghosts from the Greek and Roman civilizations from 2,000 BC on. Looking up from dinner at the lit row of columns from "The" Acropolis was an iconic capper to our antiquities cruise.
Acropolis translates roughly as "city on the extremity," often a citadel on top of a steep hill. One guide told us that "there are over 5,000 acropolises in Greece, but the one in Athens is world famous." We also
had visited many great archeological sites in Crete, Rhodes, Corinth, and Napfion but often our guides would tell us about the artistic and artifact finds which were not there but in museums— in Athens. Now was our chance!
This Hilton has a desirable location in central Athens, across from a verdant park and near a Metro station. Four Euros buys an all-day Metro Pass, so it is easy to get to the Plaka, Constitution Square, the innovative Acropolis Museum (built with see through floors over an excavation site) and the renowned National Archeological Museum.
Not only is the Metro faster than cabs in the often traffic congested streets, the stations themselves can be worth the descent to some of Athen's modern underworld. The Acropolis station had displays of artifacts unearthed during excavation for the subway and a private guide was including it in a tour, pointing to a display with a little terracotta horse with wheels and string- a toy in a grave many centuries BCE.
The marathon was invented in Greece long ago and my friend and I seemed to be creating a new kind of modern tourist marathon, trying to see as many exhibits as possible in our one day in Athens and absorb the lively street life and people vignettes in between museums.
That night after our view gazing from the Galaxy, a bubble bath in the suite's large and deep tub was a luxurious way to soak my limbs. Immersed, I let some of the trip's memories soak in while out in the room at the modern wooden desk, my photo chip was downloading visual memories into my computer.
The Hilton Athens is a "Go To " place for locals hanging at the Galaxy. For us, it was a wonderful "Go Between" place to cap off our fun cruise of Ancient Mysteries with visits to Athen's world class museums, and to relax and rest up for the long flights home.
When I woke in the morning, the view from our Hilton Athen's balcony was an exclamation mark of color at the end of a great trip, and a welcoming start to the voyage back to our other lives.
-Lisa TE Sonne, Luxury Travel Mavens
Photos by Lisa TE Sonne, (Except for the Pool Photo and Acropolis View image, via Hilton)
Turkey is full of fantastical lamps, but you don't need to rub them to have at least three wishes come true. The luxuries of good eating, shopping, and spa-ing are not new to Istanbul, which has culled for centuries from Europe, Asia, and Africa. Before we boarded our "Ancient Mysteries" cruise on Holland America's Noordam, my girlfriend Jamey and I indulged in pleasures worthy of the Sultanas of the 1400s and 1500s.
Ottoman Eats- The Matbah
This unique restaurant highly recommended by friends offers culinary time travel. Many dishes were researched from previous centuries, and the 32 Ottoman Empire menu selections are all from the "Kitchen of the Sultan,"—truly palatial for the palette
Enticingly, the menu includes the date of the earliest known recipe of the dish, if it's known. For the cold plate, I chose the Karidye Pilakisi (Shrimp Stew), which had the notation, "In 1473, during the month of Sha'ban, the palace bought shrimps for an amount of three silver coins almost everyday." Still delicious today, even when paid for with plastic.
For the entrée, it was a tough choice with so many temptations. I narrowed it down to Yufkada kuzu incik, begendili: "baked lamb shank on a bed of pureed eggplant, served in a pastry bowl" with 1463 as the first known recipe (before Columbus sailed!) or Zire-ba (mutencene): "Diced lamb with dried apricots, raisins, honey and almonds baked slowly in an earthenware casserole." The latter was dated 1300-1463, so I went for the oldest and my taste glands were richly rewarded.
The menu credits Ottoman Cuisine as coming from Middle Asia, the Balkans, the Middle East, Mediterranean, and European cooking traditions. It seems that fusion feasts are not new.
The outdoor, upper floor patio setting provided breezes, and as hundreds of birds flew overhead in the sky of pastels, the call to prayers of the muzzeins also filled the air, reminding us of other traditions that have survived the centuries.
Our first day in Istanbul felt complete, and we looked forward to how we would conclude our next day set to explore the standing history of mosques and palaces from half a millennia ago.
Spa- Hamam Style
To enjoy the kind of spa treatment that the top harem women and wives and mothers of Sultans enjoyed, we headed to the Ayasofia Hurrem Sultan Hamam, founded in 1556 by Sulieman the Magnificent, and elegantly renovated in recent times. Humams are traditional Turkish bathing houses segregated by gender. Istanbul has several high-end ones – some very old and some part of new high-end hotels.
This humam is located in the center of the historic district and an unforgettable capper to a day of sight-seeing. Just a few-minutes walk away are the magnificent Hagia Sophia, with both Christian and Islamic beauty; the striking Blue Mosque; the remnants of the Hippodrome; and the underground waters of the Byzantine "Basilica Cisterns," which were started in the mid 6th century. There are scintilating treasures for the eyes, mind, and soul, but for the sensual pleasures of the body, enter the Hamam's marbled and domed sanctuary, also a part of history.
Each visitor is matched with a personal female attendant who leads the way to an undressing room, then to a soothing bathing area. Mine pours warm waters over me from a gold bowl, scrubs me, and massages off layers of the unwanted. She whooshes soft silky soap bubbles over me, and massages me as I am stretched out on a side of an octagonal marble fountain that seems ageless. My mind releases any worries about current times, and I wonder how closely this resembles how Sultan's wives were treated centuries ago.
In the midst of all this pampering, she massages my scalp and washes my hair tenderly, like my mother did when I was little. It is a happy memory, but a small lump forms in my throat.
After more cascades of warm and cold water for rinsing, I am led upstairs two flights to a private room framed by an intricate wooden carving. A masterful massage of perfumed oils ensues, with any remaining knots kneaded out – front and back; top and bottom. I am again offered water or fruit drinks. My attendent beams at me "You are a Sultana!"
Delighted and detoxed, clean and smooth, I lounge near my childhood friend as we each purr contentment under a tall tranquil white dome, a nearby fountain flowing its liquid mantra to relax. When we are ready to head back out the door into the large park framed by iconic architectural wonders, we are handed little bags to take home. Mine has a kese (scrubbing mitten) and kariklar (plastic sandals) with the year 1556 imprinted.
Bazaar Shopping
Straddling two continents, Istanbul, once aka Constantinople, is a crossroads of consumerism, from the Silk Road times to the Grand Bazaar and smaller Spice Bazaar, which are still magnets for thousands of shoppers. At the Grand Bazaar, twenty entrance gates are portals I read to a maze of more than 60 paths and 4,000 shops and cafes today—the evolution of a shopping center centuries old. Were these the original mega-malls?
The Grand Bazaar invited conspicuous consumption and beautiful production centuries ago with designated sections for the making and selling of leather goods, gold, jewels and the artistry of Turkish rugs. Today, shoppers weave through the maze under tiled, vaulted ceilings. Narrow passageways of vendors may lead to a courtyard or a wider path of stores with the labrinth including a great range these days from exquisite jewelry to junky trinkets—all waiting to be bargained for. Amidst modern cell phones, men still scurry with silver trays of tea to serve the merchants.
Near one end of the Galeta Bridge (well worth walking), the "smaller" but still a-mazing Spice Bazaar was purportedly created in the 17th century to provide revenue for the "New Mosque" (now in its 4th century, which is still relatively new in a city with the Hagia Sophia). Spices, herbs, honeycombs, and all kinds of delectables seduce the senses and invite quick deal-making for some delicious presents.
Cruise Time
By the time we boarded our Holland America Cruise ship, the Noordam, we had tended to body, soul, and mind and had gifts for our husbands and friends in packages to carry to our Verandah suite on the Promenade Deck.
When we opened the door to our suite, more treats awaited — a bottle of champagne on ice and a dozen cut fruits waited on one plate, several kinds of finger sandwiches rested on another, and white and dark chocolates of sea horses and towers greeted us inside our well-designed cabin. Outside on our verandah, the azure of the Bosphorus, the coastlines of Asia and Europe, and a skyline of spires and skyscrapers and domes – past and present – wrapped around us.
With nearby menus for room service, onboard spa treatments and shore excursions, we were leaving port to head through the Dardanelles toward Greece as part of the Ancient Mysteries cruise, happily warmed up by Istanbul's enduring luxuries of food, baths, and shops.
Photos and articles by © Lisa TE Sonne
Click here for more of her Luxury Travel Mavens pieces
For additional Sonne articles, photos and radio pieces visit www.WorldTouristBureau.com
Please add your experiences and thoughts about Istanbul:


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4 Min Read
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, said on Monday the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Turkish separatist guerrilla group, must lay down its arms or quit Iraq.
Talabani's remarks were some of the toughest made recently by any Iraqi leader against the PKK, whose guerrillas have used northern Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks in Turkey, straining ties between Baghdad and Ankara.
"Either it lays down its arms or it leaves our territory," Talabani told a news conference alongside Turkey's visiting president, Abdullah Gul. He was speaking through an interpreter.
Gul, making the first visit to Iraq by a Turkish head of state in more than three decades, said the time had come "to end all these problems which hinder relations between Turkey and Iraq."
"A thorough operation must be carried out (against the PKK) and this is the responsibility of all of us," he said.
Turkey has accused Iraq in the past of not doing enough to crack down on the PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Washington and the European Union.
Turkey regularly shells PKK targets in Iraq. This month it killed at least four PKK guerrillas, who have been fighting for an independent Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey since 1984.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited Baghdad last year, a milestone in Iraq's efforts to end the regional isolation it had suffered since U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
In a rare sign of growing Turkish acceptance of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region, Gul referred to the "Kurdistan regional administration" -- a phrase normally unusable among Turkish politicians mindful of reigniting Kurdish hopes of statehood on Turkish soil.
Turkey has long feared that a Kurdish state in Iraq would bolster calls for Kurdish independence in southeast Turkey.
Asked to clarify his remark, he told reporters traveling with him: "That's the term they use and it's in the Iraqi constitution."
A spokesman for the Kurdish Regional Government told Reuters Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani would meet Gul on Tuesday, and that security issues would be high on the agenda.
A PKK leader said Gul's visit changed nothing.
"For us in the PKK we don't have any fears from this visit, and we believe it will have no affect on us," said Haval Roze, a PKK leader.
The Kurdish issue has gained momentum in Turkey as the AK Party government tries to win Kurdish votes in southeast Turkey ahead of March 29 municipal elections.
The government has also launched a series of initiatives aimed at improving the rights of Kurds, who have long complained of discrimination by the state.
Gul was conciliatory toward Iraq's Kurdish leaders, who he said were organizing a security conference in April.
"They (northern Iraq administration) see that winning over Turkey is an advantage and it is the first time I see them doing something ... We are in a new era now," he said.
In January Turkey, Iraq and the United States agreed to set up a joint command center in northern Iraq to gather intelligence to fight the PKK. Ankara blames the PKK for 40,000 deaths since 1984, when the group took up arms.
Turkey and Iraq are major trading partners, and some 400,000 barrels of Iraqi oil a day -- more than a fifth of its exports -- are piped through the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Additional reporting by Shamal Aqrawi in Arbil, Writing by Mohammed Abbas, editing by Tim Pearce

subset: commoncrawl


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West Jefferson Medical Center was one of the 64 hospitals that participated in the Geaux Lite Louisiana Statewide Hospital Weight Loss Challenge held Oct. 1 to April 1. The challenge was sponsored by the Louisiana Hospital Association Research and Education Foundation. Together, team members from the hospitals lost 84.4 tons, or 168,800 pounds.
Kellen Ryno was the member of the hospital team from West Jefferson Medical Center who lost the most weight, based on percentage of body weight lost, and won $500.
The individual state winners were Michael Courtney, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, 116.6 pounds; Michaela Stevens, Opelousas General health System, 72.3 pounds; Gerald Lebouef, Terrebonne General Medical Center, 34.62 percent of body weight; and Samantha Bynum, West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital, 29.11 percent of body weight.


text: To get from Comiso to Rossano Stazione by train you can catch one of the 3 trains that everyday travel between these two cities. The first train to Rossano Stazione leaves from Comiso at 07:10 and the last train departs at 07:10. If you choose a local train the trip lasts on average 11:55 hours. For your trip from Comiso to Rossano Stazione by train you can choose to leave from one of Comiso main stations: Comiso On Wanderio you can compare all schedules, fares and railway companies to Rossano Stazione and book the best itinerary starting from Comiso.


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The decisions on direct import of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and allowing foreign airlines to invest would go to the Union Cabinet for a final nod
New Delhi: In major initiatives to strengthen the cash-strapped aviation sector, a Group of Ministers (GoM) on Tuesday decided to allow airlines to directly import jet fuel to enable them save on high incidence of tax and permit Air India to raise Rs7,400 crore by issuing bonds or other means, reports PTI.
The GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was also apprised of the decision to allow foreign airlines pick up 49% stake in Indian carriers.
While the decisions on direct import of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and allowing foreign airlines to invest would go to the Union Cabinet for a final nod, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) would take up Air India's financial restructuring plan for approval soon, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told reporters after the 90-minute meeting here.
"First thing is that on Air India's financial restructuring, the GoM has taken a view. Bonds will be issued, but this will have to go to the Cabinet. Bonds, and there are other ways, GoM has more or less taken a view on this," he said, adding that about Rs7,400 crore would be raised through these means.
On ATF imports, Mr Singh said," Airline companies will be allowed to import fuel directly for their use. This also has to go to the Cabinet. GoM has approved this. We will try to see whether some kind of credit arrangement can be made."
The meeting was also attended by Home Minister P Chidambaram, Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, apart from top officials.
Joginder Singh will join Ratnakar Bank in early February and will be based in the Mumbai office
Mumbai based Ratnakar Bank has announced the appointment of Joginder Singh Rana as chief operations officer (COO). After a 22 year successful stint at Citibank, Joginder will join Ratnakar Bank in early February and will be based in the Mumbai office. He will be responsible for the Bank's operations & administration functions and will also spearhead the Bank's operational risk and compliance framework. Joginder is a seasoned banker and has held senior leadership roles both in Citibank India and overseas.
Ratnakar Bank has also seen additional appointments in the last couple of months including R Gurumurthy as head of corporate & institutional banking, previously heading the FI Strategic Coverage Group for Standard Chartered Bank out of Mumbai and Tajinder Kumar who has joined as the Head of Human Resources; his last corporate role was as the Human Resources Director of Asia Pacific Regional Group Technology & Operations organization of Deutsche Bank AG in Singapore.
Vishwavir Ahuja, Managing Director & CEO of Ratnakar Bank commented "I am truly delighted that these individuals have agreed to take on their respective roles. We know that they are not only a highly talented group and motivated team players but truly understand how to build a strong banking platform and lead people.
These appointments are a significant step forward in delivering our vision and underline, our commitment to the bank's transformation. They will join a highly experienced team across India that is committed to deliver best in banking services – a culture that has been proven to benefit our clients in all regions."
Arbaaz Khan will direct Dabangg2 after Abhinav opted out from it, with Salman and Sonakshi as the lead pair
Mumbai: UTV Motion Pictures has brushed aside rumours of purchasing the rights of the sequel to Salman Khan-Sonakshi Sinha starrer, 'Dabangg 2' for Rs140 crore, reports PTI.
'Dabangg' became the highest grosser of 2010 and went on to bag several honours at different award ceremonies including the National award for wholesome entertainment.
There were reports that Salman Khan's 'Dabangg 2' has been picked up by UTV Motion Pictures for Rs140 crore including the print and advertising costs but the production house has rubbished all the talk.
"There have been irresponsible reports in certain sections of the media that UTV has bought the rights for 'Dabangg 2' for Rs140 crore, despite us clearly denying this," an official statement from UTV Motion Pictures said.
"We would like to clarify that UTV has not purchased the rights of the movie in question. We have been very open about announcing our new projects and communicated them to the media and will continue to do so. We hope this puts all speculations to rest," the statement said.
The 2010 action film was directed by Abhinav Kashyap and produced by Arbaaz Khan under the Arbaaz Khan Productions.
For the sequel, Arbaaz will don the director's hat after Abhinav opted out of the second installment.
The original cast of Salman and Sonakshi will not change. However, the story will be shifted to a larger city. And Sonu Sood who played the baddie in the first part, has been replaced by Prakash Raj to play the villain.
The sequel will go on floors in March and the film will be a 2012 Christmas release.


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My approach to psychotherapy is to be warm and nonjudgmental. I strive to provide an environment in which my clients can feel completely safe to disclose distressing thoughts, emotions, and experiences which have been distressing them. I truly feel that my clients are capable of anything and I want to support them in achieving their goals and meeting their potential.


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One of David Cameron's most senior ministers has called on her party to deal with declining social mobility and appoint more top politicians who have done low-paid jobs like working in Morrisons.
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, suggested the UK was becoming a country where people found it increasingly difficult to improve their lives. The Conservative party needs to do more to address the problem if it is to win the next election, she said.
The daughter of a steel worker said she knew what it felt like to "be slightly locked out of the system", and called for the promotion of more people "who know what it's like to start at the bottom".
Greening's intervention comes at a difficult time for the Tories as the prime minister deals with deep tensions between the right and left of his party. Since coming to power, Cameron has been dogged by persistent criticism that Downing Street is dominated by too many Old Etonians and not enough people who do not come from a privileged background.
Her remarks to the Spectator magazine follow similar comments from senior party members. Last year, Sir John Major criticised the "truly shocking" dominance of the private-school-educated elite in the upper echelons of British public life, while Michael Gove, the chief whip, attacked the "preposterous" number of Etonians in the prime minister's inner circle. Former foreign office minister Lady Warsi caused a controversy after she held up a spoof newspaper headline on television suggesting Downing Street needed to contain less "Eton mess".
Greening, who was not promoted during the summer reshuffle, suggested the Conservatives needed to push the issue of social mobility. "Unless we are winning this battle to open up opportunities for young people, the doors have a tendency to gradually close back," she said. "This is an agenda that the Conservative party should absolutely own … We should be the people that are pushing forward on it.
"To my mind, the Conservative party has always been most successful when we've won the battle for hearts as well as minds, and I think that means being a party that can take care of [people's] dreams as well as their money and help them achieve their goals.
"The reason I'm Conservative is because I think that is fundamental to what this party has always been about. Margaret Thatcher's message to me was it doesn't matter where you come from, this is a country where the effort you put in will mean you can get the reward out of it. She was creating a country that was smoothing my path. I could decide how far I got.
"Even though I didn't have a whole load of people around me who had already gone to university, it gave me that encouragement to get on. So what has happened? Over the years that message has been diluted. My biggest concern is that we are ending up with a country where you have not one ladder to climb up but people are on different ladders. You might start at the bottom of a short ladder that will only get you so high. What we need to recreate is one ladder that everyone can climb up."
Greening's background is in contrast to that of Cameron, who went to Eton, and George Osborne, the son of a baronet who went to St Paul's. Greening grew up in Rotherham, Yorkshire. Her father filled vending machines for a living when he lost his job in the steel industry.
"I know what it is like to grow up knowing you are not starting in the best place, or that other people are having a better start than you are ," she said. "The experience I had growing up, going to my local comprehensive, my family going through difficult times … it's about understanding what it's like to start from scratch more."
Asked whether she would like to see more senior politicians who have experience of low-paid jobs, such as working in Morrisons supermarket, as she did, Greening said: "Yes, I would. I think it's really important. One of the reasons it's important to talk about this is there are actually lots of people in the Conservative party who know what it's like to start at the bottom." She suggested the party leadership needs to be appealing more to people's aspirations if the Conservatives want to win next year's election.
"Even David Cameron's own cabinet see that the Tories are failing ... Rather than addressing the cost-of-living crisis, the Tories are increasingly fighting among themselves. They're completely out of touch," shadow cabinet office minister, Jonathan Ashworth, said.


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Martin Lee (disambiguation)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martin Lee is a Hong Kong politician.
Martin Lee may also refer to:
- Martin Lee (New York), 19th-century New York politician
- Martin Lee (singer) (born 1949), British singer and composer for Brotherhood of Man
- Martin Lee (tennis) (born 1978), British tennis player
- Martin A. Lee, American author and leftist
- Martin Lee Ka-shing (born 1971), vice-chairman of Henderson Land Development and the son of Hong Kong billionaire Lee Shau Kee
- Martin Lee, Australian drummer with Regurgitator
- Martin Lee, member of the Irish Republican Army
See also[edit]
|This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.


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Harare: The 15 sacked white players missed meeting Sri Lanka but can still play the touring Australia side, Zimbabwe Cricket Union chief executive Vincent Hogg has said. "All they have to do is to notify us of their willingness to practice and be available for selection," Hogg said. He said the players could do this individually or as a group. They would also be allowed to play on contract or be paid for matches they choose to play in against Australia, which arrives tomorrow for a tour of two Tests and three one-day internationals. The Aussies will also play a three-day match against a depleted Zimbabwe A on Monday. He said the "door is still open" for the players if they showed commitment to Zimbabwe cricket. "Naturally they will have to show commitment, form and fitness to get back into the national side." "I really hope they return because what has happened these last two weeks is very saddening," Hogg added. "But it can be repaired." The row began a month ago when Heath Streak was removed as team captain after he demanded changes to the national selection panel. Hogg said contrary to reports, Streak told him he would retire from all forms of cricket if his demands were not met. When they were rejected, union chairman Peter Chingoka announced a decision to remove Streak "by accepting his resignation." Streak insists he has not resigned. The players have boycotted the national team since then, and Zimbabwe has lost all five one-day matches and the first test to the touring Sri Lankans. The 15 dissident players continued making threats to quit, and the union sacked them on Monday, notifying the players while they were meeting to prepare a letter accepting mediation. Hogg denied the move was pre-emptive and vindictive. "They were all well aware that an ultimatum for them to return or face action had expired ... so they could hardly have been taken by surprise," Hogg said. He said the players had changed their stance since an April 22 meeting where Streak signed a joint press statement saying he had entered into mediation with the union. "Then it all seemed to change. Now the players are suddenly concerned about their sponsored cars and other perks." He said the players' contracts clearly stated that the union reserved the right to choose the captain and selectors. Hogg said the union had decided to pay the first year's costs to run a Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers' Association and 50 per cent per year thereafter. Players will be allowed to elect a representative to "assist with any future conflict resolution" and should be appointed by the end of June, Hogg said. None of the 15 were chosen in the starting 11 against Sri Lanka for the tour-ending second test which begins on Friday at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. (AP)
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Hello All,
I have been racking my brain on this for 2 days now. (hopefully the answer is simple). I have a VB script which gets the serial number appends TEST in front of it and passes it to OSDComputerName variable (as part of a zero touch approach). My question is in 2 parts.
Part 1:
I have this vb script packaged and am running this as a run command line in the task sequence (before applying windows settings). I keep getting an error (note: I am not using MDT and would prefer not to use it if I can). Can anyone please advise where I am going wrong? (or offer a better approach)
Part 2:
Is there a way to hide the OSDComputerName option after the tasksequence collection?
This discussion has been inactive for over a year.
You may get a better answer to your question by starting a new discussion.


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ATLANTA (AP) Tom Glavine (FSY) made his retirement official on Thursday when he returned to the Atlanta Braves in a loosely defined new role.
Glavine was hired as special assistant to Braves president John Schuerholz, and the two stood together before reporters for the first time since Glavine's unexpected release last summer.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner was bitter when the Braves let him go, but he said Thursday that any anger at Schuerholz and general manager Frank Wren has dissipated.
"I'm happy and comfortable with where we are as far as that is all concerned," Glavine said. "I talked with Frank, so that is all behind us. If I didn't feel I could work with Frank or work with John, I wouldn't be here."
Schuerholz said giving Glavine a management role was not about making amends.
"The motivation was here's a Hall of Famer, a guy who has contributed so much to this organization to help us gain the stature that we now enjoy," Schuerholz said. "Once he made known that he was interested in doing something in baseball after playing, it seemed so obvious to us and to me that he ought to do it with the Braves, so we began talking."
Glavine was 305-203 with a 3.54 ERA from 1987-08, winning 20 games or more five times in 17 seasons with the Braves and spending five years with the New York Mets. He was a 10-time All-Star, won the NL Cy Young Award with Atlanta in 1991 and 1998 and helped the Braves win the 1995 World Series.
The 43-year-old former pitcher will work with Schuerholz on baseball and business projects, and he will occasionally assist Wren and manager Bobby Cox. Glavine also plans to work about once a week on the team's radio and TV crews.
Glavine said his emphasis was protect time with his family, including his five children, while also allowing him the flexibility to sample different jobs with the Braves. He expects to be in uniform during spring training in the major league and minor league camps.
"I know I want to at least get my foot in the door with the game of baseball on the business side of it as opposed to being a player," Glavine said. "Quite honestly, I'm not sure what I want to do.
"There are a lot of things which interest me, broadcasting being one of them, so this opportunity that we've come up with gives me a tremendous amount of flexibility to experience a number of things within the organization — broadcasting, maybe some on-field stuff minor league wise, a little bit of player development type things and certainly major league front office stuff."
Glavine said his goal is "that hopefully sometime relatively soon I can figure out if there's one aspect of it I really enjoy and can focus on that in the future."
Because he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2008, Glavine will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in the same year that former teammate Greg Maddux becomes eligible.
"If you're fortunate enough to go in the Hall of Fame, it's a special day," Glavine said. "If you're lucky enough to go into the Hall of Fame with a friend and teammate at the same time, that's even more fun. Certainly Greg and John (Smoltz) and I will forever be linked together, and if I'm fortunate to go in on the first go with Greg, that just adds to it."
Glavine was released last June after making three minor league rehab appearances. The Braves were not convinced Glavine's arm was healthy, and Glavine said Thursday he continues to have soreness that will require rotator cuff surgery.
"In my mind, when my playing days ended last summer, that was the end of it for me," Glavine said. "I never seriously flirted with the idea of pitching any more. I'm OK with that. Physically I wouldn't be able to go out there and do the things I want to do anymore, so that makes it a lot easier to walk away and focus on what you want to do next."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Good morning, NatsTown. I'm coming to you live from Cloud Nine.
My voice is gone and I'm running on minimal sleep. And it couldn't feel any better. (By the way, if you watched Fox's report about the Steelers and Packers bars on Capitol Hill being next to each other, and you saw somebody in a throwback Packers jersey walking through the back of the shot at the Hawk and Dove, that was yours truly.)
Anyway, with the Super Bowl done, there's nothing in the way of the words you've all been waiting to hear: Pitchers and catchers report a week from tomorrow.
A few of you have been asking about the Nationals' spring training schedule, and I'll give you a quick primer on it this morning (because God knows I'm not going to be capable of journalism much more coherent than that today).
As I just mentioned, Nationals pitchers and catchers report to Viera, Fla., on Feb. 15, and the first workout for those players will be on Feb. 17. The rest of the Nationals' players report on Feb. 20, and the first full-squad workout is Feb. 22. And finally, the team plays its first game on Feb. 28 at 1:10 p.m., traveling to Port St. Lucie to face the Mets before facing New York again the next day in Viera.
I'll be arriving in Viera a week from today, and will have my first dispatch on the early arrivers next Monday afternoon. We'll have plenty of different kinds of coverage throughout the spring - my plan is to have more audio and video content than we did last year - and we've got a couple other new things we're already rolling out.
The first one is a text messaging service, where you can get Nationals (and Orioles) news and updates at spring training sent to your mobile phone. Text "MASN" to 74499 if you're interested in that. Once you do, you'll get a reply message asking if you want Nationals, Orioles or Ravens content, and you can pick from there. We've also got a new Facebook page, only for Nationals content, and you can access that by "liking" MASN Nationals. And finally, we're putting the finishing touches on an arrangement for a series of round table events like we had in December. I'll hopefully have more details on that in a day or two.
If you've got any questions or suggestions for spring training, I'll refer you to our spring training suggestion box, where there's already a good complement of ideas. You're always welcome to add to it.
I'll have more throughout the week, including a preview of the top spring training stories to watch, and we'll get things started from Viera a week from today.
Oh, and be sure to check out Kristen Hudak's Twitter account - I'm particularly fond of her new avatar. You should ask her how she got it.
I'll try to bottle my Packers-related references from here on out, if you'll indulge me just one more:
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is coming home.


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Transportation between Prov/Worc :)
I can deliver goods or drive you from Worcester MA to Providence RI on Mondays and Wednesdays. I usually leave Worcester at about 9am and drive down 146. I arrive in Providence at about 10am, but am willing to work with your schedule.
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Chemin de Lavandičres, Plascassier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Property Ref:
Description of Jardin D'azurPeacefully located in truly delightful settings and enjoying beautiful panoramic views, this well equipped and tastefully furnished property occupies the whole ground floor of the discreet owners property. The manicured garden enjoys an attractive swimming pool, which the owners leave solely for the holiday makers use, a shady pergola and a summer kitchen which has a barbecue, pizza oven, dishwasher and fridge. You will enjoy a pullout bed for 2 (140x190). All facilities are within walking distance and there is an 18-hole golf course 1km away. Located only 6km from the perfume capital of Grasse, the property provides an excellent base to enjoy some of the very best Riviera excursions. The stunning coastal resorts and towns of Cannes (15km) and Nice (35km). Tourist villages such as St Paul and Vence (23km). Or the immaculate principality of Monaco (45km) to name only a few.
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Property tax liens tarnish your credit rating and hinder your ability to sell the property. Ad valorem taxes in Oklahoma are assessed and collected on a county level, but the Oklahoma Tax Commission governs the state's 77 county treasurers. Liens are imposed on properties on Jan. 1 for unpaid taxes from the previous year. The deeds to properties burdened with a tax lien are sold at an annual auction if taxes remain delinquent for three years. The bidding begins at the lesser dollar amount of the unpaid mortgage plus penalties and taxes or two-thirds of the assessed value of the property.
Pay Taxes
Contact the county treasurer for the total amount of taxes owed. The delinquent amount accumulates penalties and interest. Penalties vary depending on the length of the default but can be as high as 18 percent. Interest accrues at 1.5 percent a month.
Mail a check to the county treasurer's office. The Oklahoma Tax Commission website provides a link with contact information for each county.
Request a receipt from the treasurer's office. Keep the receipt with your tax records as proof of a clear title.
Notice Received in Error
Contact the county treasurer's office immediately if you receive a notice of tax delinquency in error.
Verify the notice was sent to the correct name and property address.
Fax or mail the county treasurer a copy of your escrow statement or canceled check(s) to prove payment.
Tips & Warnings
- Avoid a lien by splitting the amount due into two payments. Pay one half of the bill before Dec. 31, and the county assessor will extend the date of the balance due until April 1 without penalty.
- Apply for an ad valorem tax exemption if you are a 100 percent disabled veteran or surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. Download "Ad Valorem Form 998" from the Oklahoma Tax Commission website and mail it to the county treasurer's office.
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text: This article is a stub. You can help Whiplash Wiki by expanding it. Whiplash Developer Crystal Dynamics Publisher Eidos Interactive Release Date November 18, 2003 Platforms PlayStation 2 and Xbox Protagonists Spanx and Redmond Setting Genron Retrieved from "http://whiplashgame.wikia.com/wiki/Whiplash?oldid=3946" Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you've made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. Categories: Article stubs Add category Cancel Save


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bergenPAC to Present Dave Mason's Traffic Jam, 1/5
Bergen Performance Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey will present DAVE MASON'S TRAFFIC JAM on Sunday January 5, 2014 8PM. Tickets are $60, $45, $35, and available at: www.ticketmaster.com or www.bergenpac.org or Box Office (201) 227 1030.
Mason is a living rock legend. At age 18, the Worcester England native teamed up with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood to form the legendary band Traffic, who had a profound affect on the genre of rock and roll. While still a teen Mason penned the Traffic hit "Feelin' Alright". The song became a global rock anthem and has been recorded by dozens of artists (including Joe Cocker who had a huge international hit with the song), "Feeling Alright" remains a highlight of Mason's live shows today.
After extensive touring with Traffic throughout the UK and Europe, Mason headed for the USA to pursue a solo career. He struck internationAl Gold with his debut album "Alone Together", which is considered a seminal rock classic. It's known for the marbleize vinyl, vertical gatefold packaging, the hits "Only You Know And I Know", "World In Changes", "Shouldn't Have Took More Than you Gave" and more. The album has sold millions of copies.
Five highly successful albums for the CBS/Sony label followed, four of which received gold album certification in the US. His next album Let It Flow sold millions of copies and contains another major Mason classic "We Just Disagree".


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Celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with these delicious Christmas cocktails!
The holidays are here and you know what that means…it's Christmas party season! Whether you're throwing an all-out Christmas bash or just having a few friends over, you'll want to serve drinks to remember. These Christmas cocktails will certainly put your guests in the holiday spirit!Get in the holiday spirit with The 12 Days Of Christmas Cocktails Click To Tweet
White Chocolate Peppermint Martini from Will Cook For Friends
Cranberry Mojito from Nutmeg Nanny
Jingle Juice by Baked Bree
Delightfully Chocolate & Peppermint from She Knows
Santa's Little Helpers from The Londoner
Candy Cane Shooters from A Night Owl
Holiday Cocktail from Love You Mean It
Sugar Cookie Martini from We Are Not Martha
Grinch Spritzer from Mimosas In The Morning
Christmas Sangria from The NY Melrose Family
Kahlua Hot Chocolate from Damn Delicious
Berry Merry Christmas Martini from I'm Bored Let's Go
If you plan on serving any of these delicious cocktails, I wouldn't mind an invite to your party…I'm just sayin'!!!
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