The Basque Country: A Destination for Business and Fun

February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Basque Country is a region in southwestern Europe with a bustling industrial and technology base as well as a vibrant culinary culture and great natural beauty. It is an area that officially lies within the borders of the Spanish and French states, but it has a separate cultural and linguistic identity from either of those countries as well as a measure of governmental autonomy.

The original inhabitants spoke an isolate language that was not related to any of the surrounding Latin-based languages. It is called Euskara and is the daily language of, depending on what source you consult, anywhere from 800,000-1.5 million people. Since the region is quite prosperous it has attracted immigrants from the surrounding Spanish and French areas, and beyond. Almost all Euskara speakers are at least bilingual and may also speak some English.

There are many wonderful places in the Basque Country to visit, but here are just a couple:

  • The city of Donostia-San Sebastian: Many Basque cities go by a hyphenated name, the first being in Euskara and the second in either Spanish or French. This seaside town was the summer home of royalty, and it has an exciting cultural life that includes an annual horror film festival, traditional celebrations of saints’ days, and restaurants with very accomplished chefs, more of whom have received Michelin stars than is the average for most places.
  • The city of Bilbo (not Baggins!), which is known in Spanish as Bilbao: this largest city in the Basque Country is sometimes referred to as the “Pittsburgh of Europe” for its history of steel production. At present it is a major center for finance and also for art. It boasts one of architect Frank Gehry’s very few Guggenheim art museums, which has a facade of thin titanium plates that look like fish scales, and it looks like a very majestic, idealized ship. If you make it inside the museum after admiring Jeff Koons’ living “Puppy” sculpture, you will be able to take in a large collection of modern art, including works by Richard Serra.

You are sure to enjoy the Basque Country!

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Medical Tourism And Travel

January 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Medical tourism is one of the most common reasons for tourism these days. There are many people who get sick in various countries. There are various kinds of tourisms and travels. Some of the people who travel are those who travel for the sake of traveling and seeing new places. There are other people who travel for the sake of business. These days, there is a new breed of tourists called as medical tourists and the industry is called as the medical tourism industry.

This is the industry where the people who are sick are traveling to another country where the person has prompt and correct medical care available. One of the countries that are mainly involved in the medical tourism industry is India. The country has been seeing many people who are traveling from both developed as well as under developed countries for the sake of medical treatment.

People from the developed nations travel to the country for the treatment because of the fact that medical care in the developed countries for certain elective procedures will take a long time. This can cause further deterioration in the health of the person. To make sure that this is not the case and prompt treatment is available, the people who need elective surgeries and other similar treatments travel to the country for the treatment.

The quality of care in certain countries has been developing and this has prompted the people from some countries to travel to other countries to seek medical treatment. People from under developed countries also travel to countries like India for their medical needs because the country has better medical facilities than such countries. Usually medical tourism or medical travel is undertaken by people who have some kind of serious problem. These problems prevent the person from leading a normal life and this is overcome through the treatment that is given in the countries that promote medical travel.

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Finding the Right Restaurant Supplies for Your Holiday Party Business

December 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

If you are planning on hosting holiday parties or other large events for businesses, churches or just large groups of friends; you are going to need a little more than the supplies you have in your home.  A few small bowls, a couple of pots and pans, some glassware and a drawer full of utensils are just not going to cut it.  You need to think more like a caterer and think big.  You will need bigger cooking supplies, bigger serving supplies, bigger amounts of ingredients for bigger amounts of food; well, you get the picture.  The reason I know this is that I decided to start a small part-time business one holiday season.  I decided to cater Christmas parties and family get-togethers.  It was actually a good business to start as I had quite a few clients right out of the gate.  I was even lucky enough to find a kitchen that had a lot of restaurant supplies that I was able to use on a rental basis.

Even with a good supply of equipment like commercial ovens and commercial dishwashers, I knew that I needed to purchase some of my own gear for my holiday party business.  I was going to need quite a few larger bowls and some larger storage and serving equipment.  I needed a lot of new glassware and a large amount of utensils.  Some people might think that using plastic or paper items is fine, but I was trying to be as eco-friendly as possible.  Knowing all of this, I went online and looked for a supplier to help me find all the right supplies for my business.  Luckily, I found a great online site that offered great supplies for restaurants at wholesale prices and provide free shipping.  They even offered consultation services to help new businesses buy exactly what they would need.  It is now going on year number three and my holiday catering business is growing and thriving.

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