Trip To Paradise On An Eastern Caribbean Cruise Provides Big Benefits To Voyagers

By Amber Higgins

There is nowhere else on earth like the warm seas, the coral islands and the great welcome offered with a trip to paradise on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise. Imagine swaying palms and coral white sands, then imagine cruising between these inviting tropical islands, stopping in at undiscovered coves and visiting vibrant creole towns. An outing in five-star luxury is a paradise vacation.

This allows you to awake each day to a new vista, as you float over calm waters to every new island surrounded in total comfort. Walk ashore on the superb white sands or dip into the water to swim, snorkel or scuba. Come home every to your superb floating hotel, offering wonderful accommodation, great entertainment and sumptuous dining. The ship, armed with an expert crew takes you overnight to your next stop, while you get a great night's sleep.

Forming a gentle curve of cays and islands, the eastern stretches from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago in the south. The myriad paradise islands bridge the gap from north to central America, protecting the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. If you've been put off cruising by the thought of sea sickness, rest assured that the islands themselves will protect you from the ravages of big Atlantic waves.

The most desirable places in the whole Caribbean can be found in the eastern isles. Most cruises leave from Port Canaveral or Fort Lauderdale in Florida. From there, you'll take in the Bahamas, St. Thomas which is duty free, the private Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Puerto Rico. Enjoy Latin vibes and European influences, historical towns and a wonderful variety of cuisines.

People who haven't cruised before should be assured there's plenty of privacy, many choices in how days can be spent and a big range of entertainment. You could simply chill out at a ship pool while soft breezes kiss your skin. You could take a kayak out to find deserted bays. You're able to be as active or laid back, sociable or peaceful in your solitude as you like.

When it comes to food and drink, modern ships are very hard to beat. World-class chefs prepare sumptuous dinners, lunches and breakfasts. An all-inclusive option will often deliver best value for money. There's also the option of 24-hour room service and bars, with live entertainment, available any time of the day or night.

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So to enjoy your own trip to paradise on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise, just take that first step now. There is almost guaranteed wall-to-wall sunshine, wonderful desert island beaches, superb swimming and the best in hotel hospitality. Any time of the year, a cruise in this part of the world is guaranteed to deliver a sun-kissed smile.

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The Developmental History Of Venetian Masquerade Masks

By Chloe Gib

Venetian masquerade masks have a long history, and that history can make for a very interesting read even if one isn't particularly interested in a mask per se. The Italian city of Venice, or "Venezia" in Italian, originated the idea of the mask centuries ago, and it was used in a number of events taking place during the annual Carnivale season, such as "masques." In generally most such face-hiding implements are used to obscure a wearer's features, most times for benign purposes but also sometimes for naughty reasons.

Little is known about the initial motivations that lay behind the usage of masquerade ball-type face coverings at the typical "masque." It would seem that covering the face using such obscuring devices was a unique response by citizens in that southern Italian city in order to overcome rigid class distinctions that existed centuries ago. Wearing face-obscuring clothing or other devices allowed the hoi polloi to freely mix with the lower classes and vice-versa, in other words.

In Venice, the first use of a face-obscuring or identity hiding cloth or other material of a Carnivale-type event took place in the 1200s. It's known that such mask usage came into vogue in the 13th century because a number of laws in that southern Italian city took care to note just when and where persons wearing a mask could wear it, such as that no masked person could enter a convent or nunnery. Over the centuries, conventions for the use of a mask in Venice were gradually formally annotated so that wearers could don and use them correctly.

In the Venice of the late-1700s, to use an example of how mask wearing was codified, the wearing of masquerade-type face coverings became restricted to the three months when Carnivale took place throughout the city (from December 26th). It was also in the 17th century that many of the most popular mask designs began to attract other decorative acoutrements, including colored matching beads. It would seem that Venice has been almost solely responsible for just about every evolution in the mask, in fact.

In terms of various costume-type face-hiding wear these days, there are a number of different variations on the Venice-originated mask. A "Bauta" is a kind of face-obscuring device that completely hides the entire face and has a square jaw, and it was seen in the movie "V." Italian males at Venice Carnivale celebrations often mate the Bauta with the Tabarro, or black cape.

An almost instantly recognized Venice mask, which is also somewhat bizarre, is seen at many masques and is called the Medico Della Peste or "The Plague Doctor." Featuring a long prominent beak, The Plague Doctor mask became very popular in the 1600s when an Italian physician treating victims of the plague first used it while caring for those victims. Often nowadays, The Plague Doctor is tricked out and seriously decorated when used at masquerade balls and celebrations.

A common sight all over the world, especially at masques and other balls, Venetian masquerade masks show no signs of losing their popularity. Much of the best mask-type wear can be had for very low prices though some can cost quite a lot money. The history of the mask of Venezia goes back hundreds of years and its history is likely to be added to over the hundreds of years ahead. Indeed, it would seem that masques centuries from now will feature these unique face-obscuring devices.

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Important Functions Of These Turfs As A Grass For Shade

By Irene Hony

There are several varieties of grass turf that are bred for their function. There are for instance grasses that are often heat tolerant or those can withstand the cold temperature. You can also get some that are great for shade situations and so referred to as "grass for shade". This seems an odd term but this only means that this type of grass or blend of grass varieties are shade tolerant.

Shade tolerant implies a grass' tolerance for shade ranges whether it is for partial shade (with some sun during the day) to a complete shade range (shady during the day). This can also refer to dappled shade meaning there is light breaking through from tree branches and so could supply light to heavy shade and this can vary under many tree canopies. Definitely, some grasses work well in varying levels of shade instead of tolerating only one shade range.

Examples of Best Varieties of Grass for Shade Situations: One example of a beneficial grass for shade is the Sapphire soft buffalo grass. It is usually a little maintenance grass that is mow-and-grow. It's referred to as Sapphire because of its Sapphire colored tinges that makes it really vibrant with its soft beautiful feel and fine texture besides its high performance in shade conditions. This also develops well under fig trees in clay and sandy soil areas and grows fastest in intense hot conditions.

Another are the shade grasses from the fescue family that are best throughout the cool season. Under the fescue variety, the creeping red fescue is considered the best performer but is also laid along with chewings fescue and hard fescue to modify different variations of shade and soil types. Additionally, tall fescues excel as grass for shade especially because it's always noticed in other seed blends specialized for this condition. Still, each fescue variety consists of different cultivars causing them to be diverse with each disease resistance, soil adaptability, drought tolerance and shade tolerance. Apart from that, many of them could stand against the shady areas.

Aside from the moist conditions, there's also a grass variety that's beneficial over the warm season and that is where St. Augustine grass reigns. Centipede grass and Zoysia grass competes in this level as well though the more northern the lawn is laid, the lower shade tolerance they can get. So the closer these grasses are in the transition zone the better. What may help is to aim to lessen the shade by thinning out any shady trees near to these grasses or use a pachysandra suitable for the location. This should make it easier to use a plant for the grass' location to help level the amount of shade in the region.

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