Archive for July, 2010

People who love visiting places and are averse to traveling will know the ground realities of the services. More often than not they become well accustomed to the rules and regulations pertaining to rental service. But there are people who are novice and are in complete darkness regarding the same. It is they who are more vulnerable to mistakes and wrong choices. Whether you need a car hire for a longer period or just few days for a family holiday, there are certain norms that can make the experience cheap and hassle-free. Let’s take a look at them.

1. Always try to preorder the car rental. Preordering is important to attaining the cheapest price, and it also helps to make sure that you get exactly what you demand as the agency will book the same for you. Use the help from internet and order through the agency’s website, and then pick the right car that you need.

2. Always take assistance, if needed from reputed car hire or travel-related booking site. These agencies can help you find the best deals available in the market. The more time you spent with them clarifying doubts the better deal they will be able to find for you.

3. Its important to spend the time researching. Research can help you can save a great deal of money as it is important to collect apt info.

4. For all those family people and especially with children take note, never show up at a car hire agency expecting that seats will be readily available in the car. You must remember agencies only carry a limited number of cars, so it is always advisable to inform the company of your desires and exact needs.

5. Detailed scrutiny is a must. Before driving off remember to check the car parts carefully. Taking photos of the car from all possible angles might help and do it keeping the salesperson alongside you as sign of evidence.

6. Don’t leave the car rental firm without noting down an emergency contact number. It may be required for further info.

After a long and tiring journey in flight the last thing you need is to unnecessarily wait for your conveyance. So, when you get down at airport in the city (Barcelona), you wouldn’t love to wait for a taxi/cab. Long journey itself is tiring and then queuing up for a cabby to turn up can make you feel more irritated. This is exactly the reason why many people are now going for airport car service because when they disembark from the airport gate, their car rental from the airport is readily available to them for service. There are certain misconceptions among people regarding the car rental at airport. Many people are of the idea that car rental from airport is expensive but in reality it is not so. In-fact barring few exceptions they are almost the same like the one’s you find inside the city.

At times the charges can be on the higher side but going in for the airport service can give a peace of mind and can help you steer clear of any undue stress or pressure and helps you save important time. This is not all; another advantage for opting car service at airport is that when you avail this service, you almost certainly don’t have to worry about sharing your conveyance with any stranger or unknown person. The firms dealing in airport car rentals also make efforts to see that the vehicle they use is well maintained and hence is properly looked after. When you are going in for airport car hire remember few tips so as to enjoy a comfortable and problem free ride. Always opt for a reputed firm; a firm which has a good name in the market will always look to maintain its brand name so will make all possible efforts to take care of you. Reputed company can charge you little higher but they will provide good service in return. Online booking facility is also provided by many of these firms which make it convenient for people to book their cars in advance. So go for it.

At the 6th annual 2010 ACI EUROPE awards, has won the award as the best European airport in Europe for catering over 25 million passengers. The awards were held in Milan on 18th of June.
“The airport’s ambitious €100 million environment investment plan has impressed the jury with its valuable collaboration with the disability groups” stated ACI EUROPE.
The airport has received a positive appraisal from the jury regarding the opening of the T1 as it is well designed using the latest technology ensuring flexibility in the procedures, easy access to the terminals along with providing environmental awareness and protection initiatives, which has won for it an ISO 14.001 certificate in 1999. It is the first airport in Europe to receive this certificate.
The roof of the Terminal 1 is covered with 696 panels and there is new selective waste collection system that is based as a part of the environmental sustainability development.
The jury has also considered the quality of facilities and services at the airport comprising of a wide range of restaurants and shops, quality services for business users, VIP rooms and wellness areas.
The airport’s performance in catering over 25 million passengers and its excellence in the areas related to quality services, commercial offers, safety and environmental awareness have won for it the recognition as the Europe’s best airport.
Among a few handfuls in Europe, two other airports have also been announced for handling more number of passengers in April 2010.
Car hires available at the airport are Avis, Europcar, Atesa, Hertz and Solmar.

Barcelona is the second largest city of Spain and the capital of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.
Barcelona is an important cultural centre, a major tourist destination and has a rich cultural heritage.
To see:
Barcelona is city full of parks, 12 historic, 5 thematic, 45 urban and 6 forest parks. The Ciutadella Park in the old military citadel houses the Parliament building, the zoo and several museums.
There are close to 50 museums in Barcelona each representing a different aspect of the rich history, culture and art of the region.
Montjuic Plaça Espanya is home to Fundació Joan Miró a modern art museum, the botanical gardens, the museum of ethnology, The Catalan museum of archaeology and The Olympic museum.
With seven beaches Barcelona has 4.5kms of coastline with Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches being the largest, oldest and the most frequented.
The city’s historical centre is the area around the Plaça Catalunya especially known for its fountains and statues.
Shopping:
The main commercial area of the city is the upper half of Avinguda Diagonal which cuts the city in two. This avenue is 50 m wide and about 11 km long and has many historic buildings apart from being the main shopping area of Barcelona with largest shopping center Centro Commercial Diagonal Mar.
Theatre and Music:
Theatre and Live music have many venues in Barcelona including Gran Teatre Del Liceu opera theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, the Teatre Lliure and the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall. The Sónar Festival and the Primavera Sound Festival are two annual pop music festivals held in the city.
Sport:
One of the largest in Europe, three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League FC Barcelona is a sports club known best for its football team. Barcelona has two UEFA elite stadiums. The Barcelona Marathon every March sees over 10000 participants apart from other major road running competitions held in Barcelona each year. Barcelona also is on the ATP World Tour 500 Series tennis tournament. The Circuit de Catalunya racetrack hosts the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix and the MotoGP Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix.
Barcelona Airport is located 10 km southwest from Barcelona in the town of El Prat de Llobregat.
Four main companies offering Barcelona Airport Car Hire are actually in the main terminal building. Car hire companies like Avis, Atesa, Europcar, Hertz, and Solmar can be found inside both Terminal B and Terminal C at Barcelona Airport.

Bull running is when a crowd of people run ahead of dozens of full grown bulls through the streets of Spain which leads to the areas bullring where bullfights are organized. Most famous for its running of the bulls is the festival of San Fermín in the city of Pamplona.
The weeklong festival held annually from the 6th of July to the 14th of July is steeped in tradition and folklore and attracts over a million people who attend to watch the festival.
But this event is not without risk to both people and the animal. 2nd July 2010 Fuentesauco in the province of Zamora, Sothern Spain, huge half ton bulls were released at 3 am and a 19-year-old teenager died after being gored in the chest by a bull. Several more bull runs part of a local festival were all cancelled due to the tragedy.
Every year between 200 and 300 people are injured during the run although most injuries are contusions due to falls and are not serious, though the number of deaths since 1910 is over 15.
Animal rights activists say the gory spectacles are one of the planet’s most blatant forms of animal cruelty seeking a ban. Also the number of bullfights across the country in decline, blamed on difficult economic times.
Bullfights are being questioned in Spain’s Catalonia region with local politicians set to vote on a proposed ban this month. That would see Catalonia’s last bullring in Barcelona shut down but bull runs would still be allowed.