Mount Rushmore

The Mount Rushmore or the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.

Mount Rushmore is largely composed of granite. The memorial is carved on the northwest margin of the Harney Peak granite batholith in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so the geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore. The batholith magma intruded into the pre-existing mica schist rocks during the Precambrian period about 1.6 billion years ago. However, the uneven cooling of the molten rock caused the formation of both fine and coarse-grained minerals, including quartz, feldspar, muscovite, and biotite. Fractures in the granite were sealed by pegmatite dikes. The light-colored streaks in the presidents' foreheads are due to these dikes.

The Black Hills granites were exposed to erosion during the late Precambrian, but were buried by sandstones and other sediments during the Cambrian Period. The area remained buried throughout the Paleozoic Era, but was exposed again to erosion during the tectonic uplift about 70 million years ago. The Black Hills area was uplifted as an elongated geologic dome which towered some 20,000 feet (6,100 m) above sea level, but erosion wore the area down to only 4,000 feet (1,200 m). The subsequent natural erosion of this mountain range allowed the carvings by stripping the granite of the overlying sediments and the softer adjacent schists. The contact between the granite and darker schist is viewable just below the sculpture of Washington.

Borglum selected Mount Rushmore as the site for several reasons. The rock of the mountain is composed of smooth, fine-grained granite. The durable granite erodes only 1 inch (25 mm) every 10,000 years, indicating that it was sturdy enough to support sculpting. In addition, it was the tallest mountain in the region, looming to a height of 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. Because the mountain faces the southeast, the workers also had the advantage of sunlight for most of the day.

Duino

Duino is a town in the coastal part of the municipality of Duino-Aurisina, part of the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the province of Trieste, north-eastern Italy. The total population is recorded as 8,753, the population density (per square kilometre) as 193.8, and number of housing units as 3,983.

Duino is noted for being the place where the physicist Ludwig Boltzmann died and for inspiring the poet Rainer Maria Rilke to write his Duino Elegies. The two castles are the main attraction. The older castle, dating back to the eleventh century, is in ruins, while the newer castle is inhabited to this day and can be visited by tourists. Below the ruins of the ancient castle there lies a white rock projecting into the sea, the Dama Bianca, which resembles a veiled woman and gave origin to many gothic legends.

The new castle of Duino is approximately dated to about the year 1400, when the family Wallsee commanded the construction of a strong fortress. Over time, the Wallsee family disappeared and the castle, after having been used as a prison, became the residence of the Luogar and Hofer. At the end of the 19th century it became the property of Prince Alexander Johann Vincenz Rudolf Hugo Karl Lamoral Eligius von Thurn und Taxis from the Czech Branch of the House of Thurn und Taxis. It remains with the family to this day with his great-grandson Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino the current owner. The castle has been opened to the public as a museum and park.

Since 1982 the town has been home to the United World College of the Adriatic, a no-fee international school attended by students from 80 different countries.

South Beach

South Beach is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, thanks to the development efforts of Carl G. Fisher, the Lummus Brothers, John S. Collins, and others. The area has gone through numerous man-made and natural changes over the years, including a booming regional economy, increased tourism, and the 1926 hurricane, which consequently destroyed much of the area.

South Beach is traversed by numerical streets which run east-west, starting with First Street and the largely pedestrianized Lincoln Road (between 16th and 17th). It also has 13 principal Roads and Avenues running north-south, which, from the Biscayne Bay side, are Bay Road, West Avenue, Alton Road, Lenox Avenue, Michigan Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, Meridian Avenue, Euclid Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Drexel Avenue, Washington Avenue, Collins Avenue (Florida State Road A1A), and Ocean Drive. There are three smaller avenues (that do not run the entire length of the beach) in the Collins Park area, named Park, Liberty, and James. Most locals agree that South Beach's northern boundary runs along Dade Boulevard from Lincoln Road on the bay side of the island, and heads east-north-east until it connects with 23rd Street, which forms the northern boundary on the ocean side.

Phuket Island

Phuket is Thailand's largest island and nestles against the Indian Ocean Coast some 870 kilometers south of Bangkok. Phuket derives its wealth from tin and rubber, is blessed with teeming marine life, and has enjoyed a rich and colorful history.

Phuket is also one of the major Asian gateways for ocean cruises. Recently a new concept has emerged: Spa Cruises. Combining Thai traditional ways of relaxing the body and mind with all amenities of an up-market cruise


Phuket is blessed with magnificent coves and bays, powdery, palm- fringed white beaches, sparkling island-dotted seas, sincerely hospitable people, comfortable accommodation, superb seafood, lushly forested mountains, lovely waterfalls and parks, and delightful turn-of -the-century Indo / Portuguese and Chinese-influenced architecture which create an enchanting ambiance perfectly suited to total relaxation.

Indeed, Phuket is a major resort of international stature, possessing everything necessary for a truly memorable holiday. First-class hotels located within town offer complimentary transport to their own beach clubs. Economy-class hotels are also available within town. First-class resort hotels with spectacular views offer air-conditioned accommodation, as do many cabin and bungalow complexes on Phuket's most popular beaches. Yet other 'native-style' complexes, built of bamboo, rattan and Nipa palm thatch, Phuket's coastal hills and beaches to offer comfortable and relatively inexpensive accommodation.


Phuket's glory is its magnificent coastline. Beaches range from gentle crescents of white sand with calm waters to rocky headlands pounded by raging surf. Secluded coves lie hidden among densely forested headlands tumbling around white beaches. In several such places, visitors can feel years away from civilization. Phuket's Indian Ocean coastline boasts the finest beaches while the eastern coastline overlooks some 30 lesser islands occupying largely tranquil seas. Islands vary greatly size, some are large enough to sustain fishing communities, coconut plantations, deer and wild boar. Others are little larger than massive rocks. Others again resemble fortresses, are riddled with caves containing the birds' nests prized by gourmets.


Phuket's nightlife is sedate and is concentrated largely in the town center and Patong Beach in restaurants, bars (many featuring video entertainment), massage parlors, nightclubs and discotheques.

Angkor Wat - Stunning Khmer Capital

The UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site of Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples are arguably the most important and impressive temple complex in Asia. Built by the powerful Khmer civilization between 802 and 1220 AD the temples represent one of mankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements and it is no surprise when one gazes upon it to learn it was from here that the Khmer kings ruled over a vast empire that stretched from Vietnam to China and across to the Bay of Bengal. This is truly Cambodia’s greatest site.


The period today referred to as the “Angkor Period” stretched from 812AD to 1432AD. During this time the Khmer kings built a city from which they ruled a vast empire, with a capital first at Phnom Kulen, 40km northeast of Angkor, and then around and at the site of what we refer to as Angkor Wat today.

Much of what we see and admire dates from what is known as the Classical Age; Angkor Wat the largest and best preserved temple at the site it was built for King Suryavarman ll in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. Everything here is built on a huge scale leaving one to imagine what the area was like when populated by up to a million people, the largest city of its time, their wooden houses eaten away by time and the jungle.


Angkor was to remain ‘lost’, ‘undiscovered’ by Western archaeologists at least, until the late 19th century when the French archaeologist Henri Mouhot came across it in 1868 ands whose prosaic description of the walled city clad in jungle created the image we still have today.

There are countless temples at Angkor but some of the main one of course, is Angkor Wat itself, regarded as the masterpiece of Khmer architecture; the walled city of Angkor Thom; the Baphuon, an 11th century temple with a 131-foot reclining Buddha; the Bayon, famous for its superb bas-reliefs and mysterious faces and Ta Prohm, still cloaked in jungle.


A minimum of two days and preferably 4 are needed to get to grips with the full extent of Angkor Wat. A guide is essential at some point given the 7-century history of the area and to begin to appreciate the achievements of the Khmer civilisation. Entry tickets are available in 1, 3 and 7 day durations (passport photo required for multi-day passes).

Sunrise or sunset at the site is a must, but also good is to head to Ta Phrom where the tree roots of the jungle add to the atmosphere of being in that legendary ‘lost city’.


There are a number of ways to explore, but on foot and by bike are the best. Cyclos too are fun – and easier on the legs in the hot sun. For those that want a bit of a different perspective on the region there are elephant and hot-air balloon rides. Those with deep pockets can even hire a helicopter.