Cabins in the Smoky Mountains

Inexpensive for weekends for those seeking a bargain

What is a young man to do? You have fallen madly in love; life for the foreseeable future appears to be nothing but a bed of roses except for one thing, your bank balance

It has to be a young man’s nightmare scenario.

“I don’t care where we go as long as we’re together” she whispers breathily down the phone “anywhere will do as long as it’s with you.”

Sounds fantastic and you just called wait except how are you going to fund it.

She thinks she’s going away for the weekend, your bank manager and Credit Card Company think otherwise. Help!

The trouble is to be brutally honest your line of thinking at this particular point in time is not entirely logical and probably more powered by hormonal desires than pure commercial logic

On the one hand, there is the prospect of you and the object of your desire, locked way in some hotel enjoying a weekend of unbridled passion and a very annoyed bank manager. On the other there is an extremely pleased bank manager and the prospect of a weekend at home, alone watching the footy!

However if you can disconnect at least 50% of your body for a short while and try and think logically and examine your options carefully you will see that all is not lost.

I am talking of course of finding somewhere for a weekend on a budget.

For the more creative amongst us there are a number of locations throughout the United Kingdom where you could enjoy a weekend and not break the bank.

Have you ever thought of a low-cost weekend in somewhere like Bristol for example? From about £36 per person per night you could have your choice of ready furnished one and two bedroom city centre apartments by the Temple Gardens and on the waterfront overlooking the Floating Harbour. These apartments come with fully fitted out kitchens, lounge areas and a selection of all sorts of digital recreational facilities (DVD Players, Broadband Internet Access etc) and are well worth an investigation. If you fancy this sort of weekend then contact Saco Apartments at 0845 122 0405 (sacoappartments.co.uk).

If Bristol doesn’t take your fancy how about a couple of nights in Brighton?
For prices as low as £40 you could get a bed for the night at the George IV guesthouse in Regency Square, with sea views and in one of Brighton’s finest squares.

If neither Bristol nor Brighton takes your fancy how about the weekend in Belfast based at Arnie’s Backpackers just round the back of Queens University where cosiness is guaranteed?

It’s cute it’s cosy, guests are offered a free cup of tea on arrival, you get to chill out around real coal fires (probably burning peat rather than coal) and if you’re a nice they’ll let you stroke the two resident dogs. Prices start at £9 per person per night.

Once you have sampled this type of Weekend break you may well find your self coming back for more. Once you have got over the initial perceived wisdom that it is not possible to have a good time on a low budget then you will find this type of weekend not only addictive but good fun as well

The above suggestions are just for starters and it is easy to see how things can actually work if you are creative enough.

Plan carefully and she’s happy and the bank managers is happy too!

Scott James writes regularly on travel issues and more on the above can be found at Travel Andalusia , Cheap Flight Travel and Car Insurance America

Paris has a long history in being the host to many great jazz club’s

Arguably one of the best is L’Arbucci. It is situated in the heart of St-Germain.

Locals would normally make up the customers achieve to get curious visitors and tourists joining in You can eat in the pleasant brasserie upstairs.

Then head down to the basement to listen to the jazz. |Afterwards you can then head on downstairs for the music |After you have eaten why not head downstairs for the music? |Food finished then it’s time to head downstairs and listen to the music} If you like old style Dixie Jazz then this is the place for you.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Jazz clubs in Paris are not all on the left bank.

On the right bank of the River Seine in the centre of the Les Halles district, you can find the jazz club Au Duc Des Lombards.

Exquisite wood panelled walls and plenty of velvet seats make this club extremely distinctive. The list of Jazz greats that have played the club over the years can be found in poster form on the walls of the club.

The club’s policy is to bring in the best jazz players from overseas. The club has developed a policy of bringing in the best in overseas talent to play there. They then get them to play alongside a home-grown talent.

In the same area you can find the club Baiser Sale. The main styles of music played here are Jazz, Blues, Latin and African.

This is a tiny cellar club which is low on space but high on volume. This club was breaking new boundaries in music long before the terms of the music were invented.

The laid-back almost flat approach of the club has meant that the atmosphere is extremely friendly. One thing that has worked in its favour I suppose is that the club is slightly cheaper than most.

Les Bilboquet can also be found in the same area.This is a club the oozes history and reverence.

The club was opened in 1947. The club has played host to some of the legends of Jazz music for which Miles Davis and Billie holiday are but a few to mention

Recently the club has developed more and more local talent and quite frankly this has to be good. Not only music can be experienced here along with most other clubs it serves food as well as drink.

Also on the left bank is La Cave du Franc Pinot. 1 Quai du Bourbon is where this celebrated club can be found.

Being neither left nor right bank is the way the club likes to describe itself.

This fairly new club has added some buzz to the Iles St Louis.

Though it is Jazz all the way in this club and mostly swing at that, there is also some modern jazz played also.

Based in cellar, this club has plenty of atmosphere. The club also serves food with a lunchtime performance every Sunday.

Our next stop on the list of Jazz clubs in Paris is the club Lionel Hampton. The general opinion in Paris is that this is a club almost without equal

The name of the club would suggest a rather limited range of music but nothing could be further than the truth. Check what is on as you might get blues, rock or even gospel music.

There is a heavy emphasis on visiting Afro-American musicians (Oscar Peterson has played there. Sophistication and style are almost guaranteed at this club

Next up on our list of clubs in Paris is the New Morning The Rue des Petites-Ecuries is where the club can be found.

Having only opened in 1981 this is one of the newer clubs in Paris. All kinds of music are embraced at this club ranging from Blues, Soul, Latin, Jazz and even some that could be best described as unclassifiable.

An extremely novel aspect of the club is its policy of inviting performers to join in from the floor. This novel approach has led to an extremely relaxed atmosphere.

Le Petit Journal Montparnasse is another club that can be found on the left bank of the Seine. The club’s address is 13 Rue du Commandant Mouchotte.

This is described as a club that never sleeps. This fact is slightly incorrect in that the club does close for four hours between 2 a.m. in the morning and 6 a.m.

As with most clubs it is possible to have just a drink and listen to music or order food as well. The music on offer is primarily big band jazz but some nights have been known to feature Salsa, Blues or Rock.

Le Petit Journal St Michel is next up on our list of clubs. The comparisons between this club and the original Montparnasse club are not surprising as this is effectively a newer version.

The address of the club is 71 Blvd St Michel. The club opened in 1971 and concentrates more on New Orleans style swinging jazz.

The club has a very special sort of atmosphere that goes with the description of a Latin Quarter Cellar Club. The club also has a pleasant dining room in which to have a meal, just off the main stage area.

Last on our list of clubs in Paris is Caveau de la Huchette. The address of the club is 5 Rue de la Huchette

The club may keep the initial impression as being a tourism attraction but don’t be fooled. A visit to this club is extremely good value for money.

The building that houses the club is extremely historic and was once owned by the Knights Templar. Jazz has been played under the medieval vaults since 1947.

The thing to remember with Jazz is that it is a very cutting edge type of music and quite often the cool clubs are the ones that very few people know about. You never know when you might discover something that has been previously undiscovered so keep your eyes open.

Stay cool.

Unlocking the Hidden Spa Secrets of India

If you think about Spas, especially with respect to the treatment methodologies and practices available then undoubtedly the place to go to for some of the world’s finest treatments would be India.

India as has once been described is one of the Spa world’s greatest trust funds. When you consider it; that is not that an unusual description especially for a country that gave us such a wealth and breadth of wonderful treatments.

It is amazing quite how often treatments have originated from India and gone on to be in such demand worldwide. The leading ones including the following: Abhyanga, Shirodhara, Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, Doshas and Chakras.

Yet the surprising thing about this is that despite the wide variety of treatments that have originated from India, the whole concept of spas and western-style health resorts almost definitely is a recent phenomenon with regards to India.

It was said in the old days that if you wanted to “steam”, all you had to do was step out into the baking heat of the Indian summer and the fat and cellulite would pour off you in a few minutes. That having said that there were always the centuries old tradition of the various therapies practiced at Hindu ashrams (monastic retreats) throughout the country.

These offered a wide variety of holistic and life enhancing treatments such as Ayurveda and Yoga amongst others. However, modern day India has joined the western worlds demand for more and more exclusive and exquisite treatments with a vengeance.

Today, there is nothing you cannot get in Indian Spas and to be quite frank they do it by and large a lot better than most elsewhere. From packaged contortion, aromatic rubs, aura imaging and herbal body pummelling – all are available aplenty within the fast growing market for Spas in India.

However it has to be said that it is the traditional Ayurvedic Spa treatments that flourish like a cottage industry in the southern state of Kerala that really encompass and represent India.

Like the vast range geographic and climatic differences that make up India the treatments are accordingly wide and varied. In Ananda, high up in the Himalayas where a wellness sanctuary situated in a restored royal palace in the Himalayan foothills claims to have the world’s oldest billiards table you can get the benefit of therapeutic treatments based on traditional Ayurvedic and yoga meditation.

From here you can drop down to the historic valley of India’s sacred Ganges River at Rishikesh where each and every day at Sunset you can witness the Ganga Maha Aarti, a 90 minute ceremony of music and chanting that takes place at an ashram on the bank of the river – so there is plenty of relaxation for mind as well as soul!

For the more selective jetsetter travelling within India are a chain of Hotels dotted throughout the north and west of the country managed by Oberoi Hotels. With Wellness Spas provided by Banyan Tree they are much favoured by corporate travellers especially.

In a lot of cases the Hotel industry has benefited in a rather weird and roundabout manner from India’s emergence into a twenty first century democracy. When British rule was abolished in the late 1940’s and India gained independence, the large number of Maharajas that had benefited rather well from British rule had their vast incomes from land taken away from them and by and large left with only their real estate or palaces.

The far seeing and forward thinking amongst them realised that there was income and profit to be had from converting these incredibly impressive palaces into modern day hotels and the luxury hotel and spa market in India took off with a vengeance.

It has not looked back since.

Scott James writes regularly on travel issues and more on the above can be found at India Holidays , India Travel and Indian Recipes