Новости за 13.03.2015

Tikal puts visitors in awe of this ancient civilization. With the guide we were able to drive right up to the central plaza, while everyone else had to walk more than a mile from the entrance to get there. Be prepared with hat, long sleeves, sunscreen and bug repellent. Sturdy hiking shoes or athletic shoes make walking and climbing a great experience. Guatemalan worry dolls and local handwoven fabric. The airplane ride from the port of Puerto Barrios to the Mundo Maya International Airport near Tikal.

The Napa Valley Wine Library, which is housed at St. Helena’s public library, maintains one of the country’s most comprehensive collections of writing about wine. Since being organized in 1962, it has acquired 3,500 books, as well as periodicals, newsletters and oral histories from three decades starting in the 1960s — the golden era of Napa’s development. The library and its related nonprofit association (which funds many book purchases and holds a series of events) were conceived in the early 1960s by a group of friends... Читать дальше...

When the mythical Shangri-La appeared in Frank Capra’s 1937 film “Lost Horizon,” it was not a blue-screen backdrop that appeared on the silver screen but a valley known as Ojai, wedged inland between California’s coastal cities of Ventura and Santa Barbara. Sure, the surrounding mountains were transformed by movie magic into jagged, snowcapped peaks, but the setting that bewitched moviegoers is still there, a magnet for travelers looking for a slowed-down slice of yesteryear. With a handful of surprising restaurants... Читать дальше...

Plenty of laptop packs appear to have ample space when they’re in the store. While trying to design a backpack that provides more laptop protection, the folks at STM also managed to solve the inner space problem, mostly by mounting the front pockets to extend outside the body of the bag, instead of having them take up space inside. The Drifter has “suspended pockets” that prevent a laptop and a tablet from taking the full force of a dropped bag (or a jolt from the sides). The gate-mouth opening to the main compartment is handy... Читать дальше...

Gear review: EC Lync System Wheeled Luggage The Eagle Creek EC Lync System Wheeled Luggage gives you four good reasons (20-, 22-, 26- and 29-inch bags) to snag a new bag. The three smaller sizes also convert to a backpack (the largest size converts to a duffel), for versatile carrying styles. The oversize treaded wheels, self-repairing zippers, abrasion-resistant fabric and No Matter What damage guarantee means you can bring the bag anywhere for many adventures to come. Despite the 22-inch bag... Читать дальше...

In advance of the actual event, charitable organizations are adept at banging their philanthropic drum by hosting “pre-gala” kick-off parties for patrons and sponsors. Some savvy orgs even follow their fundraising fetes with  “post-gala” Thank-you confabs. But Wednesday at AT&T Ballpark as San Francisco Zoo  super-supporters arrived at the Giants’ swank, semi-secret Gotham Club, where Zoo

Refund request for canceled Antarctica cruise gets icy reception Antarctica is no easy feat, so I’ve been saving and doing research for several years. A few months ago, I booked a cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula with G Adventures. G Adventures offered to refund the cost of the cruise and 15 percent off a future sailing, but since prices go up so much per year, that didn’t do much. G Adventures refuses to pay, since the company feels it should be covered by travel insurance. If you insured your Antarctic adventure... Читать дальше...

Editor’s note: Say what you will about the slow demise of real guidebooks with the rise of smart phone apps and maps, up-to-the-second review sites and online tools for making painless bookings and reservations. What guidebooks sometimes lack in timely updates, they often make up for in depth, context and credibility. (Crowdsourced information from your peers is fine if you don’t mind that an astonishing amount of it is fabricated — and most of your friends and neighbors aren’t... Читать дальше...

It was a heckuva hooley last week at City Hall as Mayor Ed “O’Lee” (joined by Protocol Chief Charlotte Shultz, Irish Consul General Philip Grant, Supervisor Mark Farrell, and United Irish Societies President Liam Frost) unfurled the flag of the Irish Republic to declare these next few, Celtic-themed days, “Irish-American Heritage Week in San Francisco.” And

Assembly Republicans are backing a proposal to cut in half the number of bills lawmakers are allowed to introduce during their two-year terms. Assembly members are currently allowed to introduce 40 bills during the two-year session, but a resolution by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore (Riverside County), would reduce that to 20. The 80-member Assembly introduced 1,504 bills this year. “I think every Californian would agree that we don’t need that many new laws,” Olsen said Thursday during a speech at the Sacramento Press Club. Читать дальше...