Travel and Tourism - Top 5 Beaches in Tenerife

Travel and Tourism - Top 5 Beaches in Tenerife

Tenerife, possibly the most popular of the Canary Islands, sits serenely off the coast of exotic Morocco and boasts year round sunshine with warm temperatures. Known for their picturesque beauty, Tenerife’s beaches come in all sorts of variations from pebbles and black sand to the fine golden stuff. The island serves as a haven for holidaymakers to revel in both relaxation and recreation, so those looking for fun in the sun should have towels and beach brollies at the ready as Nadine Hallak outlines the Top 5 Beaches in Tenerife.

For vacationers who dream of privacy and tranquillity, the pale golden sands of El Puertito, set along the bay of a sleepy fishing village, are perfect. This bucolic stretch of beach, located on the western side of the island, surprisingly lies just a stone’s throw away from popular resorts like Playa de Las Américas and Costa Adeje. Nevertheless, if you’re worried these tourist meccas may interrupt your serenity at El Puertito, rest assured that they won’t. This beach remains a sanctuary where you can enjoy nature at its purest, and relaxing days spent sunbathing transition into cool, languid evenings.

Regarded as one of the most beautiful beaches in Tenerife, Playa de las Teresitas lives up to the hype. Originally created as a means of recreation for the people of Santa Cruz, the beach is a year-long destination for swimming and water activities. Its 1.5 kilometres of golden sands come straight from the Sahara desert, but the source of its sand is not the beach’s only alluring aspect. Its magnificent landscape includes the impressive Anaga Mountains as well as the whitewashed houses in San Andrés, one of the oldest villages in the Canary Islands.

With easy access to and from Tenerife airport, Los Cristianos is a fantastic family beach and provides countless fun-in-the-sun activities for both children and adults. You can revel in sunbathing, fishing, water sports, and sailing in glass bottom boats. There are more family-friendly attractions nearby including the Octopus Aquapark featuring water slides, water rides, swimming pools and aquatic performance shows starring some very talented dolphins. Monkey Park, a nearby zoo, is also popular with children and features lemurs, iguanas, different varieties of birds and chimpanzees, among other animals.

This beach in northern Tenerife is a secluded haven beside a fishing hamlet, set inside a protected bay. It’s usually calm location is well suited for families, who can stay in one of the many apartments and rental condominiums nearby. Lined with black, volcanic sand, Playa San Marcos offers beachgoers a great location for swimming and enjoying water activities as well as other amenities including showers and changing rooms. This beach’s laidback charm and wonderful conditions make for a great day out – something of a hidden gem despite cheap flights to Tenerife available from around the UK.

Aside from azure waters and stunning volcanic black sand beaches, Playa Jardin features many gardens for which it is so aptly named. Trees such as palm, fig and laurel as well as hibiscus and frangipani flowers make up this lush oasis, admired for its overwhelming natural beauty. Apart from offering great sunbathing, this northern Tenerife beach is an excellent starting point for enjoying recreational activities at Puerto de la Cruz resort and Loro Park, a wildlife sanctuary and zoo. This post was written by Nadine Hallak, Travel Expert at leading airline ticket deals website Cheapflights.co.uk.

10 Most Beautiful and Amazing Doll Houses

10 Most Beautiful and Amazing Doll Houses

Frida Khalo Doll House

Cuban-American artist Elsa Mora created this lovely miniature doll house featuring artist Frida Kahlo.


 $82,000 English Doll House

A dollhouse selling for a big sum of $82,000 is bound to create waves in the news world. We hear that the exquisiteness of this stunning toy is such that it will capture the heart of anyone who lays their eyes on it. Complete with the tiniest of detail been taken care of, the scale down version of a well-furnished home took 15 years of labour to be completed.

The doll house resembles a traditional English house complete with all the regular fixtures of a bath, bedroom, dining room, hallway and a living room. Little extravagances like the chandeliers also find their way in here. The maker of this small splendor has made more money than those selling several real homes in the UK.  

 Kaleidoscope Doll House

The Bozart Kaleidoscope Dollhouse designed by PMW Architects in 2001 was perhaps the coolest doll house ever. A 1:12 scale multi-level modernist dream, it featured colorful sliding transparent walls that changed cover when overlapped. In addition, modern furniture collections and action figures from well-known designers could be purchased. Now available only on auction sites, they sell quickly for upwards of a $1000.

 Dust Doll House

Dust bunnies yes, but dust houses? I don't know about you but this sure is too cool for me!

“Save those dust!” — Maria Adelaida Lopez, a Master's degree in art school, cleaned houses to support herself through the art school, intricately created this unique series of ‘Dust Houses' that are doll houses & are covered over in vacuum cleaner lint. At present she is an artist & educator in Miami, no longer cleans houses for others. Well, the dust sure helped!

Henry Colbert's Doll House

Henry Colbert is the designer of this 1930's Art Deco master piece. He makes a few houses a year and there's a way to get on a waiting list. I've heard that they cost about $6,000 but I'm not sure if that's true. All sold houses have been unique since the customers always wanted to make changes on his design. He's also making bathroom furniture in 1930's style in various colors.  

Bosdyk Doll House

Let me introduce you to one of the latest objects to join the Powerhouse Museum collection, the Bosdyk Dolls House, a unique example of the art of the miniature. The house was built and decorated by Frans and Christina Bosdyk over a period from 1997 to 2006. They estimated that they spent 15,000 hours and many thousands of dollars of materials on the work. Frans is a skilled electrical instrument maker who can turn his hand to any material with great precision, in fact he made most of the furniture inside the doll's house. Christina was closely involved with all construction decisions, sourced miniature items, decided where everything went and chose interior decor, wallpaper and dolls.

The Bosdyk dolls house competes with the very best in the tradition of Dutch dolls' houses, renowned in the seventeenth century for their style and extraordinary attention to detail. That this should have been made in Australia is unusual and the Bosdyk's eight years' dedication to the project is an extraordinary achievement. The story is one of Dutch migrants bringing the very best of their traditional culture and skills to Australia.

Eco-friendly Doll House

Design company Brinca Dada has an amazing new dollhouse up their sleeve. Set to debut in Spring 2011, the Bennett House is so impressive you'll want to box up your belongings and move in — but, of course in order to do that you'd have to be a mini-you. This breathtaking townhouse-style miniature is influenced by the De Stijl movement of the early 20th century and features lines, squares and rectangles in asymmetrical patterns along with a minimal color scheme.  

Eco-friendly Doll House

Maddie Chambers went and built herself a super impressive looking Bag End hobbit hole dollhouse. It's amazing. It has so many details you won't believe it.  

18th Century French Chateau Doll House

This 18th Century French Chateau is only 1:12 scale (your 6 foot tall liveried footman would be represented as 6 inches tall here). The chateau was the central display in the 2009 South Australian Miniatures Enthusiasts (SAME) Dollhouse and Miniatures Festival. Each room was made separately by club members and put together for the weekend. It represents a year's work. The chateau features servant's quarters, two chapels, bedrooms, music rooms, sitting rooms, dining rooms, a library, and more! A lot of effort went into this group project.  

Hostel Doll House

The name of all this "Hostel" is U Ulitki. "Size 37 x 15 x 21 cm. It is a painstaking and accurate work! At the same time - the charm and magic of every detail.

Amazing Photography of Morning Mists

Amazing Photography of Morning Mists

Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the humidity conditions are right.

Jennifer Hawkins Stylish Photoshoot at Beach

Jennifer Hawkins Stylish Photoshoot at Beach

Eva Mendes New Latest Photographs

Eva Mendes New Latest Photographs

Speedriven Mercedes SL 600 CNG Powered-Detail and Photos

Speedriven Mercedes SL 600 CNG Powered-Detail and Photos

An environment friendly engineer in Texas has decided to make his Mercedes SL 600 green and clean for some odd reason. Honestly, he should just buy an electric car, but his name is Bernie Towns, and he has turned his 2007 SL600 Mercedes into a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled sports car. He hopes that it will be able to break the record for the fastest natural gas car around. Bernie has partnered with the Chicago tuning company Speedriven, who have pushed 800 bhp and more than 1,000 ft-lbs of torque out of the Mercedes SL. Breaking the record will difficult, since the title is currently held by the Hohenester Audi A4 that was able to reach 364.6 km/h in 2009 with 700 bhp.

Speedriven and Bernie Towns hope that with a new aero kit fitted on the Mercedes SL 600, it will be able to top speeds of 386 km/h or 240 mph. Next month, the tuners will install a new turbo system on the car, and finish the natural gas conversion. Town plans to debut the modified Mercedes at the Texas Mile event in March, and hopes to break the speed record at that time in his CNG car. “I admit it. I’m a horsepower addict. I love speed, I love power, and I love my Mercedes-Benz,” says Towns.

Taking a Much Needed Mini-Vacation

Taking a Much Needed Mini-Vacation

People in the UK call them Mini-breaks; Americans call them weekend vacations. Whichever the names, if you’re planning a trip for you and your spouse or for the whole family, it can be a great way to blow off steam without an expensive budget. Finding the right way to spend your few days off can be tough, especially if you try to pack too many activities into one trip. You may end up having the opposite of desired effect – the need for a vacation from your vacation.

When planning your weekend getaway don’t invest more money or time then necessary. The key to the weekend getaway is relaxation. If you’re only leaving for a few days don’t travel too far. Consider your local options. The tendency, when vacationing, is to travel further from home, but you can have a vacation without spending money on expensive plane tickets. For example, if you live in the city, check out a bed and breakfast that’s in a scenic area within a maximum couple hours drive. It’s ideal if the spot is away from home, but not too far that you’ll exhaust yourself from driving.

Go on a camping trip. There’s tons of national parks just an hour or two away where you can set up camp and take in a bit of nature without exhausting yourself. Just remember not to plan too much. Make sure this is a fun experience for you and your kids. Just go and set up camp and sit back and enjoy the sunsets and stars while your kids are free to run and play.

If it’s just you and your spouse taking some time away from the family, do something special. Look for deals on Vacation Packages and plan a weekend trip to a spa where relaxation is mandatory. Leave the trip feeling pampered and refreshed after a weekend of massages and leisurely walks, while taking in the local sights. Treat yourself to some fine dining as well at one of the local restaurants or, even better, look for spa retreats that offer this feature as a part of their package. You probably don’t get many chances to have romantic evenings, especially if you have a family.

Don’t over think the vacation. Try to stay away from too much preplanning. Don’t be afraid of picking something spur of the moment. All of these options offer affordable ways to vacation if you find yourself in need of a little R&R. Consider some of these trip options and try to stick close to home. You’ll thank yourself in the end.

Beautiful Hawaii Kona Residence Architecture by Belzberg

Beautiful Hawaii Kona Residence Architecture by Belzberg

Completed in 2010, this stunning 8,000 sq ft (743 sq m) residence by Belzberg Architects is one of the finest the Sifter has seen. Located in Kona, Hawaii, the property is situated between volcanic mountain ranges to the east and ocean horizons to the west. Photographed beautifully by Benny Chan, my only wish was that there were more images of this residence!

Description from Belzberg Architects

Nestled between cooled lava flows, the Kona residence situates its axis not with the linearity of the property but rather with the axiality of predominant views available to the site. Within the dichotomy of natural elements and geometric hardscape the residence attempts to integrate both the surrounding views of volcanic mountain ranges to the east and ocean horizons westward.

The program is arranged as a series of pods distributed throughout the property, each having its own unique features and view opportunities. The pods are programmatically assigned as two sleeping pods with common areas, media, master suite and main living space. A central axis becomes the organizational and focal feature for the entire house, connecting each of the pods through an exterior gallery corridor.

Together with stacked and cut lava rock, the two materials form a historically driven medium embedded in Hawaiian tradition. 3-D modeling and digital fabrication through CNC machinery was incorporated to further enhance traditional elements in a contemporary arrangement. Local basket weaving culture was the inspiration for the entry pavilion which reenacts the traditional gift upon arrival ceremony. CNC milled ceilings and screens throughout the house continue the abstract approach to traditional Hawaiian wood carving.