Scotland is such an incredible and popular place to visit. One of the most exciting cities anywhere to visit is Glasgow.

Glasgow has such a wide array of attractions for visitors to enjoy. Although there are numerous modern attractions to see, most visitors come to Glascow to take in the sights of the city’s spectacular architecture. View the  many works of designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the famous Art Nouveau architect.

Glasgow born (in 1868) Mackintosh worked as an apprentice to the architect John Hutchinson from the age of 16. In 1890 he took a tour of Italy, financed by the prize money he gained from winning the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship. In 1893 Glasgow returned from Italy and began work on the Glasgow Herald Building which was his first large scale project.

While visiting Glasgow, visit many of the places that showcase the work of Mackintosh including the House for an Art Lover and the stunning Glasgow School of Art.

A short distance away, in Helensburgh, is Hill House which is also well worth visiting as it is considered one of his finest works. Two additional buildings associated with Mackintosh are the Lighthouse and Queens Cross Church.

The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, and opened as part of Glasgow’s status as UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999. The renamed building, originally housed the offices of the ‘Glasgow Herald’ newspaper, and was remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1893-95. This was Mackintosh’s first design, for a major public building. One of the most stunning features of The Lighthouse is the view over Glasgow City from the Mackintosh Tower, which is accessible via a helical staircase from the third floor. There is also another modern viewing platform, which forms the buildings sixth floor, and is only accessible via a lift.

Queens Cross Church

Glasgow’s Queens Cross Church, though no longer an active church, is famous for being the only church ever designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh that was completed. Many people know it as the Mackintosh church and it first came into use in 1899 and was decommissioned in the 1970’s. It is now open to the public and home to the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.

Another must see building in Glasgow is quite possibly the most important – the Glasgow Cathedral, the only medieval cathedral to survive complete during the destruction of the Scottish Reformation. One of the more recent elements are the stained glass windows which are the finest example of 20th century stained glass in Scotland.

There is a luxury car boom going on in China and there is no end in sight. Racing down the crowed streets of  Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities are luxury cars form Aston Martin, Bugatti, Lamborghini.

As the Chinese economy continue its torrid pace, many are becoming millionaires and spoiling themselves with the riches of own a luxury car.

Many of the most luxurious sports cars manufacturers in the world, have recently opened new showrooms in thriving Beijing. The glittering showrooms can be found on famous Jinbao Street.

Beijing is the favorite destination for China’s rich to shop. The city is also home to the largest number of super rich in the country. According to China’s Hurun Report there are an amazing 8,800 billionaires and 143,000 millionaires in Beijing. Most of wealthy own between a minimum of two to five luxury cars.

The world’s economic problems have not hit China nearly as bad. With sales down in the rest of the world due to the current global recession, China is actually seeing a boom in car sales across the country. The wealthy, Chinese elite are even trading up and purchasing  more exotic cars.

China is clearly in the bulls eye of all luxury car makers, who expect China to lead them to higher sales in the coming years. It’s been reported that China is currently either the number one or two market for most car brands.

For example, iconic Lamborghini soon expects China to overtake Italy and capture the two spot, behind only the United States. In 2009, Lamborghini sold about 80 cars in China, out of the 2,000 total sold globally.

Beijing’s crowed streets may be a factor in future sales. The city has an incredible population of 17.5 million people and there are already over four million cars on its roads.

Whether the ultra-rich drive their new luxury cars in Beijing, Shanghai or out in the open country, luxury cars sales will continue to surge in China.

BlackBerry by RIM (Research In Motion) recently announced its latest Smartphone. It is called the Bold 9700, or more commonly known as Onyx.

The new Bold 9700 by BlackBerry smartphone is quite stylish and includes many impressive features.

Bold 9700 comes equipped with a hi-resolution 480×320 screen that can display over 65,000 different colors. The Onyx is smaller than its predecessor, and luckily not as bulky as the first generation Bold.

Onyx comes with an optical trackpad for improved navigation. The trackball that annoyed many users is thankfully gone.

Similar to the BlackBerry Curve, the 9700 has a stylish shape with beveled edges. The keyboard is powder coated and there’s a leather back cover.

What will be a nice benefit for frequent travelers, the Bold 9700 allow calls to be received and placed over Wi-Fi connection and 3G network connectivity.

The camera feature has also been upgraded with a 3.2 megapixel, image stabilization and auto focus.

Always a concern, the Onyx battery life of the Onyx now can last up to 6hrs for talk time, and about 21 days in standby mode.

For more information on the new Blackerry Bold 9700 Onyx, go to – www.blackberry.com

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday celebrated all around the world by the Irish and people from all races and ethnic backgrounds.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, on the day of St. Patrick’s death. It’s fun day filled with parades, shamrocks, the Blarney Stone, and green colored beer.

In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated for thousands of years. On this festive day, Ireland families go to church in the morning and enjoy a large feast, then dance and party all day and night.

But who was St. Patrick and what’s the history of St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick was born in Great Britain in 387 A.D. to wealthy parents. His real name is actually Maewyn Succat. He received the name St. Patrick later in life by Pope Celestine.

St. Patrick was a Christian saint and a priest in Ireland who converted the Irish to Christianity.

St. Patrick was just 16 years old when he was suddenly captured by Irish raiders and taken captive. St. Patrick was taken by the Irish raiders to Ireland. There he turned into a slave and forced to work in the fields for 6 years.

While St. Patrick was held captive for those 6 years, he turned to religion for help and became closer to god through his prayers.

According to his writings, St. Patrick had a dream telling him to leave Ireland. Escaping captivity, St. Patrick escaped reportedly walked about 200 miles to the Irish coast, then back to Great Britain.

When St. Patrick returned to Great Britain, he was greeted by his many friends. Rather than enjoying his freedom and relaxing, St. Patrick went to an monastery to become a priest.

St. Patrick then experienced another dream, directing him to return to Ireland as a missionary. After spending 15 more years of religious training, St. Patrick went back to Ireland. There he focused on converting the Irish to Christianity as well as helping the Christians already in Ireland to become closer to god.

After St. Patrick realized that the Irish wouldn’t convert to Christianity right away, he integrated ancient Irish cultures into his Christianity teachings.

St. Patrick lived the rest of his life in Ireland and worked as a missionary. St. Patrick died on March 17, 460 A.D at the age of 76. Hence, it’s why the world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th of March. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

The first St. Patrick’s day parade in the United States took place in 1762. Irish soldiers who served in the U.S. army, proudly marched down the streets of New York City.

Later on, the parades added traditional Irish music, including the world famous bagpipes and drums. The potato famine hit Ireland in 1845. Many poor Irish immigrants began immigrating to the U.S. in the early 1900s, and the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations grew in size and popularity.

Today, the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade is held annually in New York City.

McLaren believes the rules in the sports car world are about to be re-written. During a historic event, McLaren will launch a new luxury car brand to the world!

McLaren has seen twenty, successful years of sports car design, engineering and production.

Now combined with the inspirational success in Formula 1, McLaren Automotive Chairman Ron Dennis will soon announce his plans to launch the ultimate line-up of technology-led and customer-focused performance cars for the 21st century.

On March 18, 2010 – McLaren will launch a completely new car brand, titled ‘McLaren Automotive‘. The press conference will be hosted by Chairman Ron Dennis and Managing Director Anthony Sheriff.

View the live press conference here (Time: 10:30 GMT – London, UK):

The press conference will provide an exciting overview and tell the story of the new McLaren Automotive and the MP4-12C. Topics covered will include: investment, manufacturing, production, development, design, heritage and the Formula 1 process and technology transfer.

There is no doubt that McLaren’s new MP4-12C will re-write the rules of sports car design through Formula 1-inspired engineering, revolutionary chassis architecture, and McLaren’s absolute focus on efficiency.

Courtesy of: McLaren Automotive

There is no denying McLaren’s long history of luxury cars. Their automotive division has already built the world’s most critically acclaimed supercar, the McLaren F1 (1993-1998), as well as the world’s best-selling luxury supercar, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (2003-2009).

Chairman Ron Dennis is quoted, “It is a long-held dream of mine to launch high performance sports cars that set new standards in the industry.”

McLaren Automotive now looks to carry on that luxury tradition and deliver well into the future with a new range of revolutionary sports cars.

The first car from the new company – McLaren Automotive, is the McLaren MP4-12C. It’s a high performance two-seat mid-engine model in the ‘core’ sports car market segment for cars costing between £125,000 and £175,000.

Courtesy of: McLaren Automotive

For additional information, please go to McLaren Automotive

It wasn’t that long ago that going to the local movie theater would cost you $4 or $5 and you’d enjoy cold, stale popcorn and creaky seat with sticky floors.

Not any more.  Today’s movie theaters are going luxury and making your move watching experience a memorable one.

The movie industry is booming. In 2009, the industry celebrated a banner year, bringing in an all-time record $10.6 billion in box office ticket sales.

The shift is on. Movie theaters are investing big bucks to turn that old and drab single screen theaters into a luxurious multiplex entertainment experience.

The National Association of Theatre Owners counts 39,380 screens in 5,853 theaters in North America. Patrick Corcoran is their Director of Media and Research and states, “Movie theaters are doing very well.”

Some theaters have installed attractive lounges or adults-only clubs. Movie patrons can enjoy a cocktail and order appetizers prior to the movie.

Many smaller theaters have removed old-style seating and replaced them with high-backed leather executive or rocking chairs with armrests and footrests, providing maximum comfort.

The luxury trend experience continues as theaters roll-out amenities such as online reserved seating, the very latest in digital projection, cutting edge digital sound and mega-wide screens, in addition to valet parking.

Read the full article at: USA Today

The Washington Post recently reported that a twelve year-old boy from Dubai bought nine waterfront mansions on Dubai’s luxury real estate development – Palm Jumeirah.

Over a two week period late last year, the then-11-year-old purchased the Palm Jumeirah properties for around $44 million.

The name of the boy has been determined to be Heydar Aliyev, according to records obtained from the Dubai Land Department. The boy is likely the son of Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev.

The property records also show that the younger Aliyev, shares the same birthdate with is father, President Ilham Aliyev.

It’s unclear how such a large real estate transaction could take place. The Washington Post stated that the annual salary of President Ilham Aliyev is only $228,000.

That must be some piggy bank that Heydar Aliyev has. Hmmmm ……

Everybody has a “bucket list”, so to speak of iconic destinations and attractions around the world that draw us to them. Such as the Great Wall of China, for example. And the Pyramids of Egypt. Certainly, the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto and its Golden Pavilion would be included.

Coming up with the list is the easy part. Arranging a trip that makes these stops is another thing altogether. That’s where AHI Travel, the Chicago-based travel experts, come in. They have developed and are now offering the “Grand Journey Around the World.

This is an all-inclusive, 26-day adventure to eight countries, three continents and nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites that is priced at about half the cost of comparable luxury around-the-world programs. On this “Grand Journey Around the World” you will see:

* The ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto with its renowned Golden Pavilion;
* Beijing’s Forbidden City and the Great Wall;
* Bangkok’s Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha;
* A desert safari and alfresco dinner in the dunes in Dubai;
* Egypt’s Pyramids, Valley of the Kings and the Sphinx:
* Petra, Jordan, with its magnificent architecture carved into red sandstone walls;
* Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives, the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock;
* A Rhine cruise to the vineyards and medieval towns of Germany.

On this journey, creature comforts are emphasized: You’ll be part of a small group limited to a maximum of 20 and will travel in business class on Star Alliance carriers. The trip features world-class accommodations: In Asia, enjoy the impeccable service at legendary Peninsula hotels. In Amman, stay at a hilltop Four Seasons with views of the city. In Cairo, the Four Seasons offers views of the Nile River and the Great Pyramids. In the Rhine Valley, you’ll stay at an exquisite schloss built on the site of a 12th-century castle.

Comprehensive pricing, including business-class airfare, is $29,995 per person (based on double occupancy).

Program dates for 2010 are: Aug. 28-Sept. 22, Sept. 4-29, Sept. 11-Oct. 6, Sept. 18-Oct. 13, Sept. 25-Oct. 20 and Oct. 2-27.

Included are specially selected accommodations in world-class hotels; flights to and from your gateway city; business class flights to Japan, China, Thailand, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan and Germany; flights within Egypt; first-class bullet train transfer in Japan; and deluxe motor coach transfer to Israel.

Also included: 24 breakfasts, 14 lunches, eight dinners and eight in-flight meals (with select meals at restaurants featuring local cuisine); all domestic and foreign governmental airport/departure taxes and fees; baggage handling throughout; automatic $250,000 flight insurance for all passengers ticketed by AHI Travel.

Extras include gratuities for all excursion guides and drivers and detailed travel and destination information to assist in planning.

Learn more about this amazing trip at http://www.ahitravel.com/

When you are in balance and harmony with life you can be most effective in your business. What you want to achieve suffers when you are too much engrossed in the tasks or worries of work and not taking time to maintain harmony within your body, mind, and spirit.

Most of us have been trained to work hard. If we are not working hard, we have been programmed to feel guilty about not working hard. Ever heard someone called lazy because they weren’t working hard enough?

Hard work has held the promise of reward, but there is a downside if we find ourselves not enjoying the living of it all. If balance between work and life outside of work is not maintained, your well-being can suffer, harming your peace of mind, physical health, and your relationships.

Even if you love your work, thrive on it, and can do it all day and into the night, it is important to take some time to rest and create a balance. Stop, reflect, restore, and revitalize. Your relationships need attention, your spirit needs nurturing, your body needs care, and your mind needs some time off. If these are neglected, is there any amount of success that can make up for their loss?

I think it is important to work at something you love, or at least like. Simultaneously, it is important to pay attention to your inner world. This helps you maintain a healthy balance. There are 10 simple things you can do each day to aid you in this worthy endeavor. I practice them myself and hope you will join me.

1. Inhale with awareness.
2. Walk in nature, even for just 10 minutes. Aim for 30.
3. Sit in silence and still your mind for at least 10 minutes each day.
4. Notice if you are thirsty, hungry, tired. What do you do about it?
5. While eating, slow down and give your full attention.
6. Avoid people who consume your energy.
7. Embrace people who accept and support your endeavors.
8. Regard the beauty of your surroundings.
9. Appreciate the freedom and ability to work or establish a business of your own.
10. Exhale completely.

Author: Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer and spiritual counselor who works in person and by phone. She has helped hundreds of people attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being through personal transformation. Her writing is published nationwide. She is co-author of Eight Minute Muse and is completing a book with a fresh perspective on women’s health. Her website is www.christinagrant.com

Seabourn Odyssey, the cruise industry’s first six-star luxury vessel to debut in six years. Seabourn Odyssey is the first of three new yachts for The Yachts of Seabourn.

The luxurious Seabourn Odyssey is a 32,000-ton all-suite yacht that can accommodate 450 guests.

The Odyssey features 225 suites. Ninety percent of those suites offer full-size verandas. The size of the suites will range from 295 to 1,682 square feet. Each offers the convenience of a walk-in closet, in addition to a gorgeous granite bathroom with twin sinks.

Although the Odyssey is about three times larger than its predecessors, she accommodates only twice the number of guests.

The result is the Seabourn Odyssey offers its guests one of the highest space-to-passenger ratios in the cruise industry.

The Seabourn line of ships is well known for their exceptional service and many personal luxuries and none of that is lost with the new Odyssey cruise ship.

Several of the new ship’s features include: the largest spa of any luxury ship on the seas today, netbook computers and iPods are available for loan.

The dining experience on the ship will also be first class. The Restaurant offers gourmet menus by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer. The Restaurant also offers its patrons the convenience of open seating.

If you are looking for something a little more casual, sit down and enjoy your meal with the evening breeze and regional specialties in the stylish Patio Grill.

For more information, please visit – www.seabourn.com