Have you ever slept inside a dog? Dog Bark Park Inn

Dog Bark Park Inn
Idaho USA


"Dog Bark Park Inn is a bed & breakfast guesthouse inside the World's Biggest Beagle.
Guests enter the body of the beagle from a private 2nd story deck. Some of the dog's decorative furnishings are carvings by Dog Bark Park chainsaw artists Dennis & Frances.
Inside and up another level to the head of the dog is a loft room with additional sleeping space plus a cozy alcove in the muzzle."
http://www.dogbarkparkinn.com/

At Dog Bark Park Inn sleeping in the doghouse is a good thing!

Named a Best of America by Reader's Digest, July 2009

Welcome back after the summer break. Today's entry is about DOG BARK PARK INN. As you can see, it is not a very usual design for a hotel or B&B.
To start practicing your writing, you can describe peculiar hotels, restaurants, bars, etc you have visited this summer or any other time.

THE MOM'S SONG

The course is coming to its end. Many of you complain about lack of time, lots of work, many other tasks and activities to be done, family to take care of...Let me put a smile on your faces, moms and dads as well. And enjoy your time, even if studying!




As always, your comments and impressions are more than welcome!!

elllo.org

Do you know ELLLO? ELLLO means English Listening Lesson Library Online :
Learn English naturally.
You can practice English in the funniest way.

Listening Lessons (Views, Mixer, Games ...)Activities include multimedia, free MP3 files, vocab tasks, language notes, print page and more.ViewsMixerGamesVideosSongsNewsPoints

There are now over 600 audio clips on ELLLO. Below are just a small sample of what is on the site.

High BeginnerThese activities are good for students who are new to learning English.

High IntermediateThese listening activities are a little more difficult.

Low IntermediateThese listening activities are a little more difficult, but not much.

AdvancedIn these clips, the speakers talk faster and the topics are more difficult.

The mp3 files and text on elllo are Creative Commons. Students and teachers are free to download, copy and distribute these materials for educational purposes. They are not transferable for commercial purposes.
ELLLO! Listening Games:
http://www.elllo.org/months/weeks/games.htm

The Orient Express reaches the end of the line...

pic 1 thecreme.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/train-crazy/

pic 2 viajemosentren.com

The Orient Express reaches the end of the line...

One of the most well travelled railway routes in Europe will enjoy its final journey in December after 126 years of service. After more than a century of appearing in various guises, the Orient Express does not feature in Europe’s new schedule and the famous connection between the east and the west of Europe will run no more.

The last ever service will take place on the 12th December at one minute to nine in the morning when the westbound route arrives in the Rhine city. The Venice Simplon-Orient Express will continue to run as normal with the 1920s rolling stock, which is only used for luxury private train routes from Calais via Paris to Venice. (...)http://news.carrentals.co.uk/the-orient-express-reaches-the-end-of-the-line-3428320.html

(...)The Orient Express in question isn't the train featured in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express - that was the Simplon Orient Express, which went from Paris Gare de Lyon to Milan and beyond - or in Graham Greene's Stamboul Train, which was the Ostend-Vienna Orient Express, travelling via Brussels. No, this is the original "Express d'Orient", operated by the Belgian Georges Nagelmackers' Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which first set off from Paris's Gare de l'Est in October 1883, and ran between Paris and Giurgiu, a Romanian town on the Danube that had to be crossed by ferry, and whose passengers eventually reached Constantinople (as Istanbul was then known) by another train and a 14-hour sea voyage. (...)http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/holidays/holidays-by-rail/orient-express-end-of-the-line-443570.html

Drop us a line: what do you think of this articles? Have you heard about this? Did you know about The Venice Simplon-Orient Express?

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

image: www.babble.com

This is what Judy Garland sang in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. credited to Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g4lY8Y3eoo by Miss Garland.
http://www.carols.org.uk/have_yourself_a_merry_little_christmas.htm



Christmas is round the corner again.

Why don't you write your letter to Santa telling him what you want for Xmas (as many write it)?

Presents, dreams, wishes... we'd love to listen to them.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas... :-)

Many of our students travel really often and tell us about their impressions and discoveries while they are away.
Would you like to write about that very special corner, place, hotel, city, shop, ... you found out last summer, two years ago or last week????
Come on, use your keyboard right now!!!

I'll try and write about the first one. I'll show you a wonderful place I "discovered" a couple of summers ago that takes you for a while into the Arab world : extremely delicious teas, wonderful sweet treats and home made tasty confectionery and baking!! You can even smoke one of those exotic pipes. The tea list is written (drawn) on a wonderful paper, the decoration is superb, the place is incredible and the owners the best hosts. The customer is their most valuable jewel. You will learn what excellence in service and professional dedication mean.

There is also a small cozy hotel of 7 exclusive rooms you have to see.

The front door comes from a palace in Tetuán, some bronze lamps are handmade, original pigments from Marrakech

They offer whirlpool tub, wifi, satellite tv, welcome tea, wonderful breakfast, welcome fruit basket, etc. Really value for money.

The place: Arabia Riad
Address:Plaza del duque 5, 10003 CÁCERES

http://www.arabiariad.com/

Now it is your turn!!!!

VIDEOS ON POPPY DAY / REMEMBRANCE DAY 2009

from: http://oz.deichman.net/uploaded_images/poppy-773886.jpg


Rememberance at Royal Albert Hall (01:19 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718254.stm


Ceremonies mark Remembrance Day (02:43 m)


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718854.stm

Services remember British fallen (07:31 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718452.stm

Armistice around the world (01:05 m)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718359.stm

POPPY DAY

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWLU0dazfaMaJQxJCiYEAyqqf6HccCRbi2ywX-nD9UR-5n96TjBznkehSfxaYL0ugw1PwSJQ_EG9cDmS5BWW1_IeqT70yYa5brAPvHqqzGNEHPxuiMTUuEnU3rumb3gK20Lnwqw/s320/poppy-day.jpg

http://www.paul-roberts.com/wp-content/photos/PB102885.JPG

Remembrance Day - Poppy Day

Today's entry is long to read but interesting, I think. Some students ask me almost every year about the meaning of the poppy on the lapel of the newsreaders when they watch the UK news on that day.

Did you know about Poppy Day? What do you think of this special date?

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A653924

"Many countries have a special day to remember those that fell in their wars; America has Veterans Day, while France has Armistice Day. The British commemorate those who fought, and are still fighting, in wars for their country on Remembrance Day.
The British Remembrance Day is always held on the 11 November. This is the day that World War One ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Compiègne, Northern France, at 5am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and to commemorate this there is a two minute silence in the UK at 11am, every 11 November.
The period of silence was first proposed by a Melbourne journalist, Edward George Honey, in a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919, which subsequently came to the attention of King George V. On 7 November, 1919, the king issued a proclamation which called for a two-minute silence:
All locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.
As well as the two-minute silence, there are marches around the country by war veterans. The Royal Family, along with leading politicians, gather at the Cenotaph, a large war memorial in Whitehall, in London.
The nearest Sunday to the 11th is called Remembrance Sunday, when church services are held in honour of those involved in wars, and wreaths are laid on the memorials which have a place in every town. Many two-minute silences are followed by a lone bugler playing The Last Post, reminiscent of times of war when trumpets were as much a part of battle as bayonets. A poem called 'For the Fallen' is often read aloud on the occasion; the most famous stanza of which reads:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
These words can be found adorning many war memorials across the country. The author, Laurence Binyon, was never a soldier but certainly appreciated the horrors of war.
Remembrance day is taken very seriously, with disrespect being avoided at all costs (which is why the vandalisation of the Cenotaph on 1 May 2000 was seen as such a horrific crime). If 11 November falls on a weekday, schools, workplaces and shopping centres generally attempt to observe the silence, although some people choose to ignore their attempts and go about their business regardless.
Poppies
Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans, although they do not have a fixed price - they rely on donations.
The motto of the British Legion is Remember the dead; don't forget the living, and they are campaigners for issues relating to war veterans, especially elderly ones.
The poppies are worn because in World War One the Western Front contained in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. They would have lain there for years more, but the battles being fought there churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never before. The most famous bloom of poppies in the war was in Ypres, a town in Flanders, Belgium, which was crucial to the Allied defence. There were three battles there, but it was the second, which was calamitous to the allies since it heralded the first use of the new chlorine gas the Germans were experimenting with, which brought forth the poppies in greatest abundance, and inspired the Canadian soldier, Major John McCrae, to write his most famous poem. This, in turn, inspired the British Legion to adopt the poppy as their emblem.
In Flanders FieldsIn Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)
The American Moira Michael from Georgia, was the first person to wear a poppy in remembrance. In reply to McCrae's poem, she wrote a poem entitled 'We shall keep the faith' which includes the lines:
And now the Torch and Poppy Red We wear in honor of our dead.
She bought some poppies, wore one, and sold the others, raising money for ex-servicemen. Her colleague, French YMCA Secretary Madame Guerin, took up the idea and made artificial poppies for war orphans. It caught on.
In November 1921, the British Legion and Austrian Returned Sailor's and Soldier's League sold them for the first time.
The tragic events in New York on 11 September 2001, left ever increasing numbers of people feeling stronger than ever the need for peace. This, in turn, prompted the manufacture of white poppies to represent peace. They are not a new idea, though. In fact, they date from 1933, having been designed by a UK Women's Guild. The British Legion was invited to produce them twice, in 1933 and 1988, but they not only declined, they also refused to accept the proceeds from them, because they were seen as disrespectful by some soldiers. They are having a surge in popularity once again as people stop feeling as safe as they once did."

BONFIRE NIGHT

"Oct 19 2009
In London and in the UK in general, we have a passion for fireworks (pyrotechnics) at this time of year. Halloween isn't really our thing, although more and more children's costumes are going on sale these days. We look forward to November 5th when we commemorate Guy Fawkes's attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament with barrels of gunpowder in 1605, with King James I inside. He was caught before he could do any damage and was duly executed shortly after."

http://golondon.about.com/od/novemberannualevents/a/bonfire_night.htm

Have you ever enjoyed bonfire night in the UK?

Any other special date?

Any similar celebration in your place?

This is a good choice to write-write-write. Come on.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

from http://www.brothersoft.com/happy-halloween-theme-202347.html

Yes, it's Halloween again. Next Saturday exactly!
Every year it is more and more popular in our country. There are parties for adults eveywhere and children also do some crafts and activities at school, at least for their English class.
You can have a look at our last's year post as well.
Give us your impressions on this: whether you like it or not, if you see it as just part of other cultures, tell us about your costume if you are going to wear it, if you know its origins, if you have found a gorgeous page about Halloween crafts, cooking or make up...
Use a search engine or a browser if you want, and read more and see pics about it.
And then, WRITE, WRITE WRITE!


And....HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

A bit rusty...

Feeling a bit rusty?

Start having a look at some tourism magazines, for instance, and then write a review for this blog.

http://www.tourism-review.com/magazine.php

http://www.bviwelcome.com/

http://www.nmmagazine.com/

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/

You can also write about your proyects for your Tourim studies this year, about your holidays this last summer, the chespest flight, the best/ worst experience, etc.

Any topic will do as long as you drop us a line.

Remember: practice makes perfect.

Tower of Hercules (Spain) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List alongside two Swiss watch-making towns

picture taken from: http://www.farodevigo.es/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=2009062700_8_342837__Sociedad-y-Cultura-Torre-Hercules-Patrimonio-Humanidad

Tower of Hercules (Spain) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List alongside two Swiss watch-making towns
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed a Spanish lighthouse dating back to antiquity, The Tower of Hercules in La Coruña, on the World Heritage List alongside the watch-manufacturing towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watch-making town-planning (Switzerland).
The Tower of Hercules has served as a lighthouse and landmark at the entrance of La Coruña harbour in north-western Spain since the late 1st century A.D. when the Romans built the Farum Brigantium. The Tower, built on a 57 metre high rock, rises a further 55 meters. It is divided into three progressively smaller levels, the first of which corresponds to the Roman structure of the lighthouse. Immediately adjacent to the base of the Tower, is a small rectangular Roman building. The site also features a sculpture park, the Monte dos Bicos rock carvings from the Iron Age and a Muslim cemetery. The Roman foundations of the building were revealed in excavations conducted in the 1990s. Many legends from the Middle Ages to the 19th century surround the Tower of Hercules which is unique as it is the only lighthouse of Greco-Roman antiquity to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.
The site of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watch-making town-planning consists of two towns situated close to one another in a remote environment in the Swiss Jura mountains, on land ill-suited to farming. Their planning and buildings reflect watch-makers’ need of rational organization. Planned in the early 19th century, after extensive fires, the towns owed their existence to this single industry. Their layout along an open-ended scheme of parallel strips on which residential housing and workshops are intermingled reflects the needs of the local watch-making culture that dates to the 17th century and is still alive today. The site presents outstanding examples of mono-industrial manufacturing-towns which are well preserved and still active. The urban planning of both towns has accommodated the transition from the artisanal production of a cottage industry to the more concentrated factory production of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The town of La Chaux-de-Fonds was described by Karl Marx as a “huge factory-town” in Das Kapital where he analyzed the division of labour in the watch-making industry of the Jura.
The World Heritage Committee will continue inscribing sites and examining the state of properties already included on the List over coming days. It remains in session until 30 June.

Photos: http://www.unesco.org/en/whc/photos

source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/532

Sleepinginairports.net

"For travellers who are REALLY on a budget and are looking for a way to skim a few bucks off their travel expenses, why not consider sleeping in an airport? Why spend money on a night in the airport hotel when an inflatable raft on the airport floor is free? Sure it may sound a little hard-core at first, but read-on and you'll soon discover a travel community, that for 13 years has been sharing airport reviews, travel advice and "how-to" tips for the uninitiated airport sleeper. Your friends and family may look at you funny when you return with your airport stories, but as you'll read here and on our blog, that's only part of the fun.

So now, sit back....get out your travel itinerary and read the latest airport reviews. You'll soon discover which airports you can sleep in and those which you should avoid altogether during your next trip. Airport Hotels will soon be an expense of the past!

Whether you sleep in an airport by choice or get stranded due to some airline mess-up, let sleepinginairports.com help you make your stay more enjoyable."

http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

Happy World Book and Copyright Day

By creating links between people from different eras and distinct backgrounds, books contribute to the consolidation of a world community. As vectors of free speech, they further the cause of human rights.
Celebrated on 23 April, World Book and Copyright Day calls for strengthening the perennial inter-fertilization of ideas that books bring about in the interest of human dignity.

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36406&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html


Resolution of the TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF UNESCO, (Paris, 25 October-16 November 1995): Proclamation of 23 April 'World Book and Copyright Day'
Resolution TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF UNESCO (Paris, 25 October-16 November 1995) 3.18 Proclamation of 23 April 'World Book and Copyright Day' Resolution adopted at the twenty-second plenary meeting, on 15 November 1995 The General Conference, Considering that historically books have been the most powerful factor in the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of preserving it, Considering consequently that all moves to promote their dissemination will serve not only greatly to enlighten all those who have access to them, but also to develop fuller collective awareness of cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire behaviour based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue, Considering that one of the potentially most effective ways to promote and to disseminate books - as shown by the experience of several UNESCO Member States - is the establishment of a 'Book Day' and the organization of events such as book fairs and exhibitions on the same day, Noting furthermore that this idea has not yet been adopted at international level, Adopts the above-mentioned idea and proclaims 23 April of every year 'World Book and Copyright Day', as it was on that date in 1616 that Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died.

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5425&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

IS THIS YOUR LUGGAGE?

IS THIS YOUR LUGGAGE?

http://www.isthisyourluggage.com/Site/LANDING.html

This is not exactly a link about luggage but I'm sure it will suggest you many interesting things to write about.

Is this art?

A performance?

Just photographs?

Have you ever wondered where lost luggage goes, what happens when you can't find it...

Good practice for your writing...

the American Diner Museum

http://www.americandinermuseum.org/site/

About the American Diner Museum

"Since 1996, the American Diner Museum has been focused on celebrating and preserving the cultural and historical significance of the American diner, a unique American institution. The museum also hopes to recognize and share the importance of diners nationally and internationally.

The ADM considers it a crucial part of its mission to save the vintage diners that are in danger of extinction from, among other things, redevelopment of property and unnecessary demolition.
The Museum is a tribute to the individuals who built, operated and worked in the diners and to those who continue the diner tradition into the 21st century.
Although the museum does not have an exhibit space, we consider every diner to be a living museum. Many items from our collection are loaned to other orgaizations for their respective diner exhibits"

"What is a diner? A true "diner" is a prefabricated structure built at an assembly site and transported to a permanent location for installation to serve prepared food. Webster's Dictionary defines a diner as "a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car." The word "diner" is a derivative of "dining car" and diner designs reflected the styling that manufacturers borrowed from railroad dining cars. A diner is usually outfitted with a counter, stools and a food preparation or service area along the back wall. Decommissioned railroad passenger cars and trolleys were often converted into diners by those who could not afford to purchase a new diner"

http://www.americandinermuseum.org/site/

Would you like to write something about this museum? Any similar one you may know?

Easter in Spain

Last year we gave you some info about Easter in English speaking countries.

This time we'd like you to write in English about Easter in Spain.

Try to describe what Semana Santa is, our traditions, our recipes, what you do in your place or even to translate (or explain) what torrijas, pasos, nazarenos, saetas, etc. are.

Here is a link to help you start:
http://www.euroclubschools.org/page37.htm

Remeber writing is a very good practice for you and this is one of the places to improve it!!

Happy Easter!

Today: Green

Today, green is the colour. Now, you know why:

March 17th, Saint Patrick Festival

Do you wanna go green?

Watch this from wbztv.com video archive, March 17th :

http://wbztv.com/video/

You can read this too:

http://www.st-patricks-day.com/

WHO SAID ENGLISH WAS EASY?

Last week I came a cross this. When I was at the University I read somewhere a similar "poem". Some humour and practice for you:

WHO SAID ENGLISH WAS EASY?

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England .

We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and
Get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a
Recital?

We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns down,
In which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm
goes off by going on.

And in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Are you going abroad for your Christmas shopping?
Some people in France, Spain, Germany or Portugal go to London for a weekend to do their Xmas.shopping. Harrods is a must as well as its Christmas lights. Legendary!
Tell us about your xmas shopping! Will we all go shopping despite the hackneyed crisis? Which are your plans? Are you a last minute buyer? TELL US!
oh! and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!