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A World of OpportunityEnsemble Vacations® brings you a world of opportunity, presenting within its pages experiences to spark your imagination and whet your appetite. Allow our expert agencies to bring your travel dreams to life, and create a new definition of your perfect getaway. At Ensemble Travel® Group, we have access to Ensemble® Exclusive programs, including the worldwide resources and expertise of in-destination specialists, an extensive collection of distinguished properties around the globe, VIP access, and upgrades and amenities that provide you with impeccably customized service. Malta: Rock of Ages – Michael Freitas As I stepped through the low archway of Hagar Qim––one of Malta's prehistoric megalithic temples––it was like stepping through a time portal. I entered a courtyard circled with immense upright stones, the largest almost 7 metres high and weighing about 20 tonnes. Around the courtyard were four chambers or apses, arranged like a giant cloverleaf. Each apse contained sacrificial altars and stone benches. Many archeologists believe the 5,000-year-old temple to be the oldest freestanding monument in the world––predating both the pyramids and Stonehenge by almost 1000 years. It's certainly the oldest site or its kind in Europe and in 1980, UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site (one of three in Malta). To read more, please request your complimentary copy of our Ensemble Vacations Magazine by contacting our office. La Vie en Rouge – Anita Draycott I'd like to believe that there's some truth to the ‘French paradox' theory. That's why I'm soaking in a barrel bath of mineral water and red wine extracts at the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa on the Château Smith-Haut Lafitte wine estate in Bordeaux, France. The term French Paradox was coined in 1992 by Dr. Serge Renaud, a scientist from Bordeaux University after years of research. The paradox? The French consume one of the world's richest diets, including gobs of butter and cream, unpasteurized cheeses and let's not forget French pastries, yet they tend to be less obese, live longer and have lower rates of coronary heart disease than folks in other industrialized countries. The key to this phenomenon, postulated by Dr. Renaud, is their daily consumption of a glass or two of wine, preferably red, which contains powerful antioxidants that control blood pressure and reduce clots. To read more, please request your complimentary copy of our Ensemble Vacations Magazine by contacting our office. 38 Hours in… Slovenia – Debra Conkey What country in late 2009 was named the No. 5 destination in the world by National Geographic Traveler for balancing “tourism with cultural and historical preservation”? Which city has the charm of Prague—without the tourist hordes—blending Slavic, Italian and Austrian cultures in an Old European, yet modern, setting? Tiny Slovenia, with its dome- and steeple-studded capital city of Ljubljana (pronounced lu-bleeah-nah)—once part of the former Yugoslavia—is the perfect stop for a short visit. Surrounded by the Adriatic Sea, northern Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, Slovenia is a friendly country where many speak English and the prices are even friendlier. The mix of Austrian Baroque, Viennese Art Nouveau, modern and medieval architecture in Ljubljana's old town center is part of its appeal. From Venice, you can reach the city in four hours by train, and within a day or less from Munich, Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest. To read more, please request your complimentary copy of our Ensemble Vacations Magazine by contacting our office. |
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