Skiing in Soldeu: The Grandvalira Ski Area

The sheer quantity of groomed runs of off-piste trails that are accessible from the Andorran ski resorts is rather daunting, particularly when you consider the Grandvalira ski area which offers over 205km of pisted runs. It doesn’t matter what you wish to achieve from your ski holiday – whether you want to show off your moves in the El Tartar terrain park or you need to master the snow plough on the nursery slopes, Soldeu is one of the most popular bases.

While the Grandvalira ski area can be reached from seven surrounding resorts, including Soldeu, El Tartar and Pas de la Casa, Soldeu promotes itself as one of the best destinations in which to base your group.

Perfect for intermediates, the mountain is jam-packed with wide runs that can be accessed by gondolas and chairlifts that operate throughout the day. Lifts are available across the mountain to ensure runs can be enjoyed by all, from beginners to the more advanced. Recent improvements to the lift service, including a £3.8million investment in a 10-person gondola, takes you to and from nearby El Tartar, while also providing access to tree-lined off-piste trails that remain relatively untouched and powdery throughout the season.

This photo of Grandvalira Ski Resort is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Grandvalira is the only ski area throughout Andorra that boasts three snowparks, meaning freestyles are in their element here. Wherever you choose to head on the mountain, you can do so with the same lift pass – make the most of it.

Where you base yourself depends largely on what you want to achieve from your ski holiday. If you love the nightlife, Soldeu or Pas de la Casa would be more ideal while El Tartar offers a quieter side of life where you can chill out at the base of the mountain without having to worry about being kept awake until the early hours. Wherever you choose to stay, this ski area is awesome and definitely needs to be experienced. 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Neilson Holidays. Find them also on Facebook |Twitter | Google + | YouTube 

The Secret Life of a Mobster

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So, I didn’t just go to Vegas and gamble all my money away. In fact, we did very little gambling in the three days we were there, even though it was 120 degrees – not an exaggeration – and we spent 90% of the time inside. One of the things I really wanted to do while in Sin City was eat delicious food (check), do free stuff (check) and visit the Mob Museum. I’ve been telling people about it for a while, but I finally got the chance to go last month and it was pretty awesome. I learned a lot about the history of the mob and posed for a lineup.

I wish I took a pic from inside, too, since it’s very odd to go behind the one-way glass and just see yourself and your fellow suspects – in my case, Eric.

Getting into the museum is not super cheap, but $19.95 was not a bad price of admission for all the knowledge and history you leave with. There are three floors of amazing facts, evidence and interactive exhibits. The building itself is the old courthouse and when it was in use it was the tallest building in Vegas. You can see what a long way the city has come. 

Not only will you learn about the mobsters that are big names – like Al Capone – but also about lesser known names that were a big part of crime in Vegas and other parts of the Mafioso. 

The Mob Museum has the real wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The bricks were numbered, the wall was taken apart and then moved and reassembled. You can see the actual bullet holes and watch a video about what went down.

Do you know gangster lingo? What about cop slang? Listen in on some calls between criminals or police and see if you can figure out what they’re saying. You also learn that how you got whacked and with what weapon is a message to his family and others who think they might want to do their own thing instead of what the boss wants. 

Even though the mob isn't cool, they did rid the streets of many bad criminals - probably because they were messing up their operations - and also brought the people alcohol and gambling during prohibition, welcome distractions from the daily grind. I was surprised that some of the major crime bosses were taken off the streets not that long ago -within the last decade. You'll see interviews with undercover agents who infiltrated the mafia and pretended to be mobsters in order to take down the criminals from the inside. Those are really interesting. 

The American Dream was not easy to come by for immigrants to this county and when hard work proved to be a disappointing way to make a living,t hey made money the only other way they knew how. They stole it. Irish, Polish and other foreigners formed gangs that terrorized neighborhoods that eventually became more sophisticated and known as mobs. In fact, the after visiting the Mob Museum, I'm convinced that the mobs may have made Vegas what it is today and possibly improved the economy of the nation as a whole. 

Next time you visit, make sure to stop by the museum, which is only one street over from Fremont Street. You'll never look at the city the same way again.

How to Book Last-Minute Cruises

If you're hoping to cut the cost of cruising this year, why not look for last minute cruises? It's a great way to enjoy a fantastic holiday without breaking the bank and, with the money you save, you could use it as spending money once you arrive. Just think of all those day trips and ice creams you could enjoy!

Firstly, let's look at how to book last-minute cruises. As the name suggests, this style of holiday deal is based on booking and travelling within a short time frame. Usually, the best and cheapest last-minute cruises are those with departure dates that fall within the next five or six weeks. This means that you'll need to be prepared to book, pay and jet off within a short period of time, so do bear this in mind if you require travel injections or if you're short on cash. As much as you might save money on your booking, you'll still need spending money once you're out there, along with the cost of travel essentials such as airport parking.

If you've already got a holiday fund lined up, the quickest and often the easiest way to search and book last minute cruises is to use a comparison site or a travel agent. Take Thomas Cook for instance. Their website - Cruise Thomas Cook - offers holidays from all the major cruise operators including Royal Caribbean, NCL, Princess, Celebrity, Thomson, and even Viking River Cruises. Put your key criteria into the search panel - leaving it as open as possible in order to get the best deal - and hit search. You can then filter the results by various factors including holiday length, departure date, cost and so on.

This is a great way to find last minute cruises and who knows, a quick search online could lead to your cruise holiday of a lifetime!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Thomas Cook. Find them also on Facebook | Twitter | Google + | YouTube