The Most Beautiful Christkindl Markets in Europe

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Travelling to Europe in late November or December?  Where it might be cold, dark and no beaches close by?  A good idea? Yes, and yes!  If you like everything Christmas, traditions, medieval cities, Mulled Wine and classic music.  At these Christkindl Markets you will meet folks from all over the world: Japanese, Americans and Canadians, Australians, Chinese, Italians or British tours are heading to the popular markets in Nuremberg, Rothenburg, Munich or Brussels. 
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Culinary Delights 
Christmas in Europe is a time for romantic holidays, delicious pastries and Christmas cookies straight out of a medieval cookbook, and for lyrical midnight masses in Gothic churches. Not to forget the delightful "Gluehwein"or "Glow-Wine", a mulled wine - red wine, best is Merlot, mixed with Orange Juice and warmed up with lots of spices - great to warm your hands in the cold December air. Another delight to warm you up are the roasted "Maroni" - sweet Chestnuts, that are offered straight out from the open fire pits at the market places.
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Handcrafted by Local Artisans
Candles made from Beeswax, wooden toys, traditional Christmas ornaments, and other treasures can be found in wooden stalls.  You won't find "Made in China", but rather real artists and their crafts. Many local visitors come straight from the office over to the market, have a glass of mulled wine - or several, maybe a grilled sausage or traditional Christmas cookies, and mingle with friends and colleagues or neighbors, transitioning into the evening, often till eight or nine o'clock until the market closes.
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TravelandLeisure Writes: 
"For a few precious frost-nipped weeks, these museum-piece cities of "Olde World Europe" flicker back to the Middle Ages"and show the largest Christkindl Markets in Europe.  Did I mention that in many cities are several Christkindl Markets, not only one, especially in Munich, Germany, almost in every part of the city.  The smaller ones are often the better ones and are without the tourists.  Enjoy these traditional, enchanting Christmas Markets that are originated in the 16th century.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApBmeC_X_cY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striezelmarkt  

http://www.germany.travel/en/specials/christmas/christmas.html

http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/en/

http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/planatrip/inspire-me/lists/top-8-german-christmas-markets



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXKaODGdlYQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnvDCVNtDY4

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How to Solve Your Christmas Gift Problems

Does the thought of mingling with thousands of shoppers in the mall diminish your fun of

getting Christmas gifts?  Or do you have someone picky on your Christmas list that you

never seem to be able to please? Want to get them something they can’t complain about –

or return?   


The solution can be so easy:

I nice gift card that enables the recipient to pick their own present, and you can

receive it in seconds from Amazon, just print them out and voila! you have your last-

minute gift.  These gift cards never expire and have no fees.

My Kind of Town: Charleston, SC

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I love this mixture of Southern France, Italy and Deep South that is Charleston, SC:
Cobblestones, Palmtrees and lush flowers, a fantastic Market and a wonderful restaurant and excellent coffee shop scene.  No skyscrapers, the churches are the highest buildings...

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Charleston is the oldest and second-largest city in the State of South Carolina, once named 
the nation’s friendliest city, not only due to its historic charm, and centuries old architecture. 
To add even more to the mix, it is surrounded by gorgeous beaches, and offers world-class golf, something few destinations its size can rival.  The Kiawah Island Golf Resort, just outside Charleston, is home to the world famous Ocean Course, as well as four other top courses and the Forbes 5-star Sanctuary hotel and its 5-Star spa.
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Charleston's waterfront is lined with charming and well-preserved historic homes and beautiful Azaleas. Hard to imagine that not far from here the Civil War began: on an island in the harbor, reached by regularly scheduled ferries, combining the best of a scenic cruise with the exploration of Fort Sumter, easily accessed from the heart of downtown. 

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Many Plantations around Charleston are attractive destinations for visitors, especially the famous Magnolia Plantation and their lovely gardens, or the enchanting Middletonplace Plantation, not to forget the famous Tea Plantation.

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No wonder that fresh seafood and Catfish are staples among other delicious choices in fine dining places around town, when you watch the many fishing boats in all sizes bustling in the harbors of South Carolina. More hot coastal Low-Country cuisine with flair can be explored at Zagat.com.

It’s about time for me to visit Charleston again. Cannot even remember the names of the restaurants. Maybe in Spring when the Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Magnolias are blooming?

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FREE Checklist to Create Your New Website

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Checklist for Your New Website:

Before you (or your web designer) start creating your website, make a plan that should cover at least these points:

• Domain Name
• Web hosting
• Programming language **
• Font type*
• Page layout
• Website Title and Meta title
• Meta description and Keywords
• Text preparation and editing
• Image preparation for web
• Customer tracking system
• Email opt-in buttons
• Follow Social Media buttons
• Sharing buttons / plug-ins
• Event calendar

• About us
• Privacy page
• Payment systems
• Site map and search function
• Usability tests
• Website marketing
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

* Arial or Verdana are available on all computers
** HTML or XHTML & CSS, if you sell your book(s) from your website: shopping cart PHP embedded.
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There are also very inexpensive shopping systems available that you can use right away from your website. See our former blog post:
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/why-sell-your-books-from-your-own-website/
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Planning is the most important step
Programmer, designer and SEO people can only work with the material you provide them. Planning a website is just as important as creating one. The website should work in concert with your overall marketing plan. It might need a series of one-on-one meetings between you and an experienced designer in order to create a successful website.

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Multi-Media Elements

Create a quality website, interesting content, be genuine and give your customers value. The following multimedia elements, will greatly enhance the appeal and usefulness of the website:

• Images, illustrations - in high-quality
• Documents (usually PDFs)
• Audio
• Video (i.e., embedded from YouTube or Vimeo, or self-hosted)
• Content feeds (from other websites, or blogs)
• Twitter stream
• RSS feeds
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How to Write Internet Content
Eye-tracking studies have shown that readers SCAN text (in an F-shaped pattern), rather than READ it. And: website visitors read more slowly on the screen than in print.  Reading on a screen is fatiguing.  A screen, whether a massive 26-inch monitor or a tiny smartphone, projects very small points of light at your eyes.  Reading long stretches of text can be very tiring.  Users will scan for key points in the text, which is the reason to write short blocks of text and bulleted or numbered lists to make it easy to scan your text.

Online content is not just about words.  When you write for the Internet, think “presentation”. Print content is formally written and a passively read. Online content is informally written, interactive and dynamic:
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Use Bullet Lists, such as this one

• Create lots of short paragraphs, and give them all a headline
• Keep sentences short, they should never be longer than one line
• Use spell check and a beta reader / software
• Readers like to interact on the Web, so give them lots of links
• Illustrate your text, use lots of images
• Don’t let your readers scroll on the screen, keep it to one page
• Except prepositions and the words “and” and “the”, all major words in a headline should be capitalized

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Read these Helpful Books Before you Start Your Website:

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition, by Steve Krug http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SEGQNS

Another great resource for planning a website is a comprehensive article: Web Planning Guide by Ben Seigle.

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MacGregor’s Wolf: Lessons of Time

MacGregor’s Wolf: Lessons of Time, by Bil Howard, takes the reader on a journey of self examination using deeply profound elements of the Sioux religion in a subtle way that allows the reader to discover their own meaning and purpose. 

MacGregor’s Wolf: Lessons of Time plunges into history in order to make sense of one man’s purpose. Traveling through time, Ray Barrett is transported into the bodies of various individuals that are involved in the events of history. He is a Sioux warrior, the groom of King Richard in the Crusades, an important speaker in the senate in Athens, a fighter pilot in the Six Days War and more. At one point, Ray is even transported into the body of a wolf in the Highlands of Scotland. If you're not necessarily into time travel, you need to understand that time travel is not the central theme of what is taking place within the book, but a tool used to allow the plot to flow.

The novel is one of self examination that is brought to light within the events that take place and Ray’s role as a player in those events. Bil Howard blends elements of the religious beliefs of the Sioux with elements of Celtic mythology using the wolf and sidhe, Angus MacGregor, as spiritual guides throughout the journey.

The intensity of the action is lightened by occasional, light banter between Ray and his spirit guide and allows the reader to participate in their favorite periods of history as well. The reader’s imagination is allowed to wander along with Ray, exploring their own thoughts, feelings and purposes.

The book would remain incomplete if it did not also include a taste of romance. The dark eyes and soft lips of Alexia, MacGregor’s assistant, are an ever-present haunt for the hero as he navigates through each new experience. Ray desires the impossible where it comes to love and the presence of this particular element in the story provides the balance and part of the solution to his struggle.
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MacGregor’s Wolf: Lessons of Time  by Bil Howard

available in print and e-book,  236 pages

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Treasure of Saint Lazare by John Pearce

 

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Sharon Fawley for Readers' Favorite: "Treasure of Saint-Lazare", by John Pearce, is a mystery about events far distant in time and space that profoundly affect the peaceful life of a wealthy American businessman living in Paris." 

"... Pearce weaves richly textured descriptions of life in Paris through an intricate plot with believable, well-drawn characters." "Overall, this is a satisfying mystery, a surprising love story, and an up close look into the dark days of Europe as WWII drew to a close." Reviewer: "One thing I loved about this book is that the author beautifully describes Paris in a very romantic way, and its description appears seamless within the story." 

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About the Novel: 
An older lover brings a cryptic letter to Paris, pulling Eddie Grant reluctantly into a treacherous web of intrigue and death -- but giving him a slim chance to find the terrorists who murdered his family seven years before. . It launches him on a dangerous quest through Paris and the Loire Valley for the most valuable piece of Nazi loot that remains missing, a famous Raphael self-portrait from the early 16th century, along with the crates of Nazi bullion that accompanied it -- all intended to finance the Fourth Reich. 

 Jen Wetzmuller, daughter of his father"s World War II colleague in Army Intelligence, arrives in Paris, bearing a letter she found after her father was run down by a car on the streets of Sarasota. Its clues take Eddie from his Paris home to Florida, where he works to solve the mystery, barely escaping with his life. Then it"s back home to burrow into the darkest reaches of the German occupation in search of the treasure. Along the way he and Jen restart the brief, fiercely passionate affair that he abandoned, to his regret, 20 years before Sarasota.  Most of all, Treasure of Saint-Lazare is a novel about Paris. 

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John Pearce: "Treasure of Saint-Lazare is based on fact, the theft in 1939 of the priceless Raphael painting "Portrait of a Young Man," which disappeared in 1945.  Even though it covers much ground -- from my current home of Sarasota, FL, to my part-time home of Paris, to Poland during the war, it is at heart a novel of Paris." 

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About the Author 
John Pearce is a part-time Parisian, but lives quite happily most of the the year in Sarasota, Florida.  He worked as a journalist in Washington and Europe, where he covered economics for the International Herald Tribune and edited a business magazine. After a business career in Sarasota, he spends his days working on his future books - a sequel he expects to publish later in 2014 and a prequel after that. For several months each year, he and his wife Jan live in Paris, walking its streets, and chase down interesting settings for future books and his blog, JohnPearceAuthor.com. They lived earlier in Frankfurt, Germany, which gave him valuable insights for several of the scenes in his sequel, whose working title is Last Stop: Paris. 
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Treasure of Saint-Lazare:  
Paperback, 296 pages, 115 customer reviews, $13.46 http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Saint-Lazare-John-Pearce/dp/0985962615 

Kindle e-Book, Countdown Deal, from $0.99  Regular $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Saint-Lazare-John-Pearce-ebook/dp/B009MD6EM4

The audio version of Treasure of Saint-Lazare has been released on Audible.com and Amazon.com, $17.95.  

You can hear a sample and order it at  http://j.mp/12mxGb2 

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5 Signs that Social Travel is on the Rise

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Everyone knows AirBnB or Roomorama, the successful global lodging agent websites.  But there is even more what travellers can do to cut out the middleman (or women) and enjoy authentic vacation experiences: explore cities with local guides, and rent a boat, a bike or a car from a private person.  As tourism professor Stephen Page explains: “The need for authentic experiences is there.  It’s a natural evolution, facilitated in part by social media.”
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 Trip4Real  offers unique activities in Spain, but expands already to Lisbon, Paris and Rome, all hosted by locals, and as one visitor describes: ‘Lovely tour around an unusual and non-touristy part of the city”.  Another traveler: “Spend a morning with the shepherd in the countryside” or “Private Sailing and visit to a traditional fishing town.” 
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Other experiences could be: 

• Mushroom hunting in the forest 
• Jetskiing along the sea front of Barcelona 
• Discover Granada on a Scooter in a 3h tour 
• Photo Safari or Night Photo Tour of the Sea around Tenerife 
• Learn how to cook Paella 

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Flightcar
US visitors to Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle are giving car-rental giants, such as Hertz and Alamo the finger and use the service of private car renting.  How they find a suitable vehicles?  Flightcar lets people parking at the airport rent their vehicles out to other approved traveling members.  Every rental is insured up to $1 million, and every renter is pre-screened. Members who offer their car get free parking, a car wash, and get paid if their car is rented out.
A great deal for both sides! “Fast seamless experience with ridiculous low prices. Keep it up and I might sell my car and just rent from FlightCar.” 
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Spinlister
Traveler who just don’t want to go through the hassle of bringing their own bicycle, snow equipment or surfboard to use them during their vacation, can rent from locals.  Spinlister has contacts in 100 countries, and allows you to save money and meet awesome people, along with useful tips for your tours.
Spinlister allows renters to browse a map and access pictures of both owner and bicycle.  The Santa Monica firm launched in 2012, and was created as a peer-to-peer bike rental platform to connect the cycling universe, help the environment, and encourage peer-to-peer sharing.  Since then, Spinlister has expanded to skis, snowboards, stand up paddle boards (SUP), and surfboards.  Spinlister provides a platform for listers and renters to meet.  Listers make money by renting their equipment to like-minded people while renters find a variety of rides all over the world for an affordable price.
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AirBnB  and similar services, such as Roomorama, Wimdu, or 9flats make it easy for you to rent a room (or an entire home), often for a fraction of the price of most hotels.  Not only can it save you money, it can also give you a more intimate introduction to your new surroundings.
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EatWith / PlateCulture / Feastly 
These three agencies provide you with unique supper and dinner party choices around the world, from US cities to Asia, Middle East and Europe.  You don’t only get a great home-cooked meal for less, but also friendly local company.

Living in Paris or being there for a while: Don’t miss the Salon “Paris Soirées”.  These dinner events - including performances and speeches - are called “Salons” in France and Patricia's have flourished for seven years.  Patricia, the hostess: “Thousands of interesting people have attended.  I make sure that each person personally introduces themselves to the group, so that we all know how original each person is.”  Read an article by the “Part-time Parisian author John Pearce.
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Pet Care: DogVacay 
Kind of AirBnB for your furry friend.  When pets need boarding, it can be costly to go to a doggie daycare and kennelling your beloved dog for days or even weeks can be very hard on it. This pet care site matches you to genuine pet lovers who will treat your baby like it's their own.

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“The sharing economy represents the most seismic change for business since the Industrial Revolution”, says Benita Matofska, founder of Compare and Share in a CNN article, which manages a global directory of 7,000 peer-to-peer companies, growing every day."  

In the same article Jamie Wong, CEO, Vayable adds: "This levels the playing field by empowering anyone to make a living monetizing their time and knowledge, and giving freelancers and individuals market share in lucrative industries like tourism, which until now have been monopolized by traditional companies."

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Your Best Turkey - Ever

No matter if you are hosting your first Thanksgiving dinner or your tenth, these practical tips should help you turn out a terrific turkey, for the pleasure of your family and friends - and your own certainly. 

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Buy the Right Turkey - in the Right Size
Why not a heritage or organic? If you want to eat a healthy and delicious Turkey,  raised according to organic standards, and don't mind paying a little extra for it . They are for sure leaner and way more flavorful.  Fresh Turkey may not necessarily be better than frozen, which are snap-frozen immediately after butchering.  Frozen Turkeys are in fact fresher than “fresh” Turkey.  6 People will require ca. 8 - 10 lbs of Turkey (1 - 1 1/2 lbs per person). But leftovers are certainly appreciated too!

To Brine or not to Brine?
A lengthy article explains almost scientifically why or why not.     Just one sentence out of it:  “I don't brine my birds because I like my birds to taste like birds, not like watered-down birds. Salting your meat is nearly as effective at preventing moisture loss, and the flavor gains are noticeable.”  The whole tests can be found at the FoodLab of SeriousEats.com
http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/11/the-food-lab-the-truth-about-brining-turkey-thanksgiving.html

Cook Your Turkey on a Rack
Use either a V-rack or create a natural roasting rack for your Turkey:  onions, carrots, parsnip and celery on the bottom of the roasting pan. Racks allow hot air circulation around the whole bird so that it will get crispy all over.  Veggis add great flavor to the gravy.

Keep the Stuffing Separate
A stuffed turkey will take longer to cook, which could dry out the white meat.  Loosely fill the Turkey with parsley, onions and lots of herbs, and cook the stuffing separately.

Truss (Tie) Your Turkey
It helps to cook the bird evenly, such as many professional cooks. While it's not a necessary step in cooking a terrific turkey, it can be fun to show off your culinary skills. Just tuck the wings of the turkey under the body and tie the legs together with kitchen string to create a tight package.

Rub the Turkey with Butter
Before putting it in the oven, make sure the skin of the turkey is as dry as possible, and then rub it all around with butter. For an even moister meat, place pats of butter under the skin.

Get a Good Meat Thermometer
Check by inserting an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey around the thigh. At 165 degrees F, the bird is done. It will continue to cook as it rests, so the temperature should rise another 10 degrees or so out of the oven.  Now cover your Turkey loosely with foil and let it rest at least 15 minutes before preparing for the table. 


More detailed tips on Turkey-Cooking can be found here:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Poultry/turkeytips.htm

Enjoy!  Happy ThanksGiving

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Computer Security: A Non-Brainer

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Just a quick reminder ...  Been a victim of computer viruses, trojans or malware already? You wouldn't be the only one: banks, governments and big business all have been there.  If you are not, chances are high you could be, if not properly protected.  Here is the ugly truth about this epidemic of computer threats: 
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Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

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Computer Security has a lot of meanings
Locking your computer room and your machine, protecting your log-in accounts with passwords, using file protection to keep your data from being destroyed or encrypting network communications lines for example. The least you can do, is to get a security software for your laptop or home computer. Emails saying you've already won money, pop-up ads that want you to click and claim a free prize. Online scams and viruses can not only put your computer at risk, but also your privacy, identity, and money.
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Don't rely on free programs. 
Sure they are better than nothing, but to be on top of the computer scams and viruses software, specialists have to work hard and when they charge just a few dollars per months, this small change is worth it.  Computer security software creators are working very hard to catch up with the ever expanding threats of malicious attacks of cyber terrorists.

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