Archives: 2009 January

If youre considering Basel as a holiday option this winter, youll be happy to hear that low fares and flight availability are in good supply. Because Basel has established itself as a growth center for budget airlines, carriers such as Easyjet are establishing major bases there in favor of the more expensive Zurich Airport. Fares start below 100 and go up to the mid 200s and flights depart from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glascow, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester.

Basel is Switzerlands second largest city and has a tradition of scholarship and art since the Renaissance. As evidence of this commitment, the city has more than 24 museums for a population of 200,000 residents. Basel lies on the Swiss border with both France and Germany and is influenced by both these cultures.

Not a traditional Swiss ski town, Basel is filled with options for vacationers. As the cultural capital of Switzerland, you can and enjoy the art and culture, and the Dolls House Museum on Barfusserplatz or the Swiss Architecture Museum in Steingberg or The Karikatur and Cartoon Museum are just a few of the many options.

For sightseeing, there are more than enough options, the Cathedral is a dominant feature of the city featuring red sandstone walls and twin towers. The first traces of the cathedral date back before 900. The current Gothic cathedral was completed not long after a devastating earthquake in 1356.

If you are lucky enough to have a sweetheart for Valentine’s Day, you’re going to need to decide on the perfect gift to express your love. It needs to say that you have given this task a lot of thought and that you recognize the importance of romance in your relationship. You don’t want to be caught buying something you found in a gas station in the last minute. Pleasing your woman shouldn’t be such an arduous task. A general rule of thumb to use when choosing a romantic gift is to buy something chocolate!

Truffles, mints, melties, creams, whites, caramels, delicate darks and decadent milks – whatever you choose will be guaranteed to please. Chocolate is not only delicious, but also it is as much the traditional symbol of love as the red rose.

If you want to get her chocolate but something a little different I would suggest a ‘bouquet’ of chocolate roses. It’s the perfect rose that will never melt, made of yummy white, milk or dark chocolate. If you’re really out there you can even have flavored chocolate or make a mixed bouquet of different chocolate roses.

Of course the flower petals are the most important part of a rose; however, your rose will need a stem in order to be complete. The roses in the bouquet will each receive an artificial stem as well as shiny red foil wrapping and a ribbon to tie it all together. But that’s not all – the bouquet will be enclosed in a rose box for you to properly present to your sweetie. She’ll think you bought her an ordinary box of roses – she’ll be thrilled to find your creative chocolate surprise instead!

Singapore Airlines has built an impressive list of credentials in the airline industry. The eighth largest carrier in Asia, it ranks sixth in the world for international passengers carried. It is the worlds largest carrier based on market capitalization. Fortune magazine ranked it the 17th most admired company in 2007. Singapore Airlines is known as a trendsetter in safety and service innovation and is consistently profitable.

In 1947, Malayan Airways opened for business with a chartered flight from Kuala Lumpur. The airline was brought about by an incorporation of Imperial Airways, Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool and Straits Steamship Company of Singapore, and the airline expanded until 1972, when political strife caused them to change the company to Singapore Airlines.

During the 1970s and 80s, the airline grew rapidly adding destinations in India, Asia, the United States, Canada and Europe. Southern Africa was added in the 1990s. SIA offered the first nonstop flights between the United States and Singapore in 2004.

SAI offers 65 destinations in 35 countries from its primary hub in Singapore. With its subsidiary SilkAir, SAI connects Singapore with more international destinations than any other Southeast Asian airline. Singapore Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance and has codeshare agreements with SilkAir, Virgin Atlantic, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei and Airlines.

Singapore Airlines has 76 planes, and the average age for those planes is under seven years old. Having newer planes is part of their strategy, so they are constantly getting new planes. In fact, in recent years they have spend $570 million improving the cabin and the in-flight service for their passengers.