Biscotti, Calzone, Fettuccini, Foccacia, Lasagna, Pasta Primavera, Risotto, Spaghetti, Tiramisu and the world-famous Pizza! Do these names ring a bell? The cuisines belong to a traditional country where it all starts with food and wine and claim its roots going back to 4th century B.C. With centuries of different influences, both social and political, Italian cuisines have now dominated the premier places in the whole world.

Italians believe in using herbs in cooking like oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage. While cheese holds equal importance in the process. Italy produces itself, 400 types of cheese, with Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Asiago among the best known worldwide. As you move around the whole country it would be evident that food greatly varies depending upon the region you are in. The first time visitors to Italy may be surprised, as the restaurants serves much more variety than Spaghetti and meatballs or Pizza.

Though Italian believes, for tasting “GOOD FOOD” regional specialities with a wine produced locally at countryside, is essential and mandatory.

Mamma mia!

Leaving the past behind and moving on is one of the most difficult lessons that Life has to offer. And yet if you continue to lug around the baggage of the past, you will continue to feel exhausted and resentful for all the unpleasant things that may have happened. Here are a few simple ways to leave the past and walk ahead unburdened.

Start by accepting what happened to you in the past. Face the event if only to get over it. Don’t be under the illusion that if you bury it, the pain will go away.

An effective way to deal with an unhappy event of the past is to learn from it. Every mistake offers a lesson so find it and be sure never to repeat it again.

An important aspect of facing the past means forgiving yourself as well as others. Even though it may not be to forgive those that have hurt you yet consider it as an essential aspect of self-healing which may finally help you to move on.

Consider tried-and-tested ways of self-healing like talking about the past to someone you can trust or writing about the event and its impact in a journal. These processes are often known to have a cathartic effect which may help you to leave the past behind.

Finally if nothing works and you find yourself sinking into depression, seek professional help. It is the present which is important and fight to live it well.

Yoga is one of the oldest forms of science oriented towards providing better health and improving quality of life. Believed to have originated in ancient India almost 5000 years ago, Yoga today is practice almost in all countries of the world. Newer studies are coming up all the time on the health benefits of yoga and one of the most researched areas is the impact of yoga on heart ailments.

The practice of Yoga involves two main aspects – one, physical postures known as ‘asanas’ and the other mental techniques which relax and empower the mind. It is the second type which includes techniques for meditation and breathing that are being closely studied by researchers to gauge their impact on heart ailments. Yoga was the key component in a heart disease program pioneered by Dean Ornish M.D which focused on the impact of diet and lifestyle rather than medicine to partially reverse heart ailments.

Studies have found that certain breathing techniques or ‘Pranayama’ practiced in yoga can have a significant impact on lowering the heart rate and bring down blood pressure. This is especially beneficial for people suffering from hypertension which has long been identified as one of the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. Among other benefits of yoga that have been recorded are decrease in cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as boosting the immune system.

South Africa, known as the ‘Rainbow Nation’ is truly a land of amazing natural and cultural diversity. The country’s long, chequered history has left imprints in various monuments which are to be found in the country’s executive capital Pretoria.

One of the most notable landmarks in the city of Pretoria is the Voortrekker Monument. Situated on a hilltop, the monument is a towering granite structure and thus can be seen from any part of the city. The Voortrekker Monument was built in the memory of those Pioneers who migrated from the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854.

The main highlights in the interior of the Voortrekker Monument are the Historical Frieze and the Cenotaph. The Historical Frieze is made of marble and is reputed to be the biggest Frieze of its kind in the world. It includes 27 bas-relief panels which depict the history of the Great Trek besides scenes from the daily life, cultural and religious beliefs of the Voortrekkers. However it the Cenotaph which is the heart of the Monument. On the Cenotaph is inscribed the Africaans phrase for “We for thee, South Africa” on which a ray of light falls every December 16 at twelve in the day.

A visit to Pretoria is incomplete without a trip to the Voortrekker Monument. Visitors to this city can check out www.ooaha.com for best Pretoria hotel deals

Stress and anxiety – at work or at home – have become the bane of modern living. However if you can set aside a few minutes everyday to meditate, you feel surely feel more relaxed, restored and better able to deal with the daily challenges of life.

To meditate, start with choosing a place and time free from distractions. Sit comfortably but keep your spine relatively straight. You may also have some calming music playing in the background but it is not necessary.

Close your eyes and start breathing in slowly. The intake of breath must fill out your lungs and belly. Then slowly exhale out the breath. The secret is to concentrate on each breath that you take and leave which will help to you to connect to your inner self.

Don’t strive to bar your thoughts. Let thoughts and feeling enter your mind, acknowledge them and then allow them to pass out. With regular practice, these steps of meditation will lead to waves of relaxation in your body and mind.

Meditation on a regular basis will not only rejuvenate your mind and senses but also help in reducing hypertension and lowering stress-related pains.

Lourdes in Southwestern France is one of the most-visited centers of Christian pilgrimages primarily on account of the famous Marian apparitions that are supposed to have taken place in 1858.

Nestled in the foothill of the Pyrenees, Lourdes is a small French town that shot into limelight in 1858 after reports that Our Lady of Lourdes had supernaturally appeared to Bernadette Soubiros on several occasions. Following reports of these Marian appearances and several accounts of miraculous healing, the place emerged as an important pilgrim center for Christians from all around the world, especially Catholics. The primary destination of pilgrims in Lourdes is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes where the highlights are the candlelight and sacrament processions. Other than that, visitors also make it a point to bathe in the spring water that wells out of the grotto outside the Sanctuary and which is reputed to have healing powers.

Today Lourdes is visited by some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists each season from March to October and is the largest pilgrimage destination in all of France. Lourdes in fact has the highest number of hotels in France after the national capital Paris. To avail best Lourdes hotel deals and advance reservation, visit www.ooaha.com.

All the food geeks of universe, getting unwanted advices starting from your mother, sister, friends, diet-freaks even the junior’s in your office( you never saw), are humbly requested to buy earplugs or cottons pieces to ignore those who do not want to live. Try the most delicious cuisines of the whole world with little experimentation as the part of your daily agenda. If anyone is discouraging you with your eating habits just ignore them and wave yourself through the aromatic essence of all those foods you once saw in the daily-magazines and your mouth filled with water.

After dieting you look like a skeleton resembling a pirate who has never seen food for past few centuries. For the ladies out there, working days and nights regularly getting “the-zero-shape”, here is breathtaking news, guys don’t like skinny girls only with bones and no flesh. So, the most important purpose of the amount of hard work in daily exercise has crashed into the floor with a bang.

Dieting is also responsible for murdering your ultimate eating desires. Even for a day, step into the shoes of food-lovers and simply learn to enjoy saying I don’t care!

Santiago di Compostela in northwestern Spain is a major pilgrimage destination for Christians where legend says that the remains of the apostle St James are interred.

The Cathedral of Santiago di Compostela is where pilgrims come in from all over the world as it forms the final point in the Way of St James, an important pilgrimage route which continues to exist from the 9th century. The Cathedral stands on the edge of the main plaza of the old city and is reputed to be the burial place of St James, one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. The Cathedral is primarily built in the Gothic style with a profusion of classic details. Some of the most significant features of the Cathedral are the 12the century Portico da Gloria behind the Western façade as well as the golden mollusc shell adorning the altar which is kissed by a steady stream of pilgrims as a sign of homage.

The huge significance of the Cathedral and the city of Santiago di Compostela as a Christian pilgrim site was further confirmed when it was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO and also the European City of Culture of the year 2000. The city of Santiago di Compostela offers a wide range of lodging options to its pilgrims and visitors who can check out the best Santiago di Compostela hotel deals at www.ooahha.com .

Nestling in the foothills of the Himalayas in India is the ancient town of Rishikesh. It is here that the most famous river of the country, the Ganges comes down from the mountains and begins its journey across its vast northern plains. Rishikesh is well known as a center for Yoga, Ayurveda, Hindu philosophy and other ancient Indian disciplines.

Rishikesh has long been an important center of Ayurveda, a system of treatment that follows ancient Indian herbal remedies. Today tourists can choose from an array of spas and resorts that cater to international lifestyles and preferences. The Bharat Heritage Services is one of the better known centers offering treatment in Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Reiki, Acupressure and other types of alternative healing.

Rishikesh however is best known to international visitors as the location of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram which the Beatles visited at the height of their Indian spiritualism phase. Even now its many yogic centers continue to draw in visitors from around the world. Some of the prominent schools of yoga are the Tattvaa Yogashala and the Swargashram.

Visitors to Rishikesh can choose from a wide range of lodging options which extend from star-studded spas and resorts to student hostels. www.ooaha.com offers a remarkably exhaustive search and comparison of the best hotel deals in Rishikesh.

Human nature is hard wired to look for patterns and seeks to make sense of the world by categorizing everything around. While this tendency to slot into groups enables us to impose order on the bewildering variety of the world, it lays us open to the danger of perceiving some groups with suspicion and prejudice. Here is how we can understand other groups better and let go of prejudice.

Let us look into out own reactions when we meet people of various ethnicities, races and religions. Overcome thoughts and actions which keep us from fully accepting those of diverse backgrounds.

We also have to confront others who make racist, sexist of other forms of disparaging remarks. There is no sense in remaining passive even if the prejudiced actions or words are not being directed at us.

It is good idea to have informal gatherings or social occasions where people from various cultures are invited. This helps everyone to get to know each other as individuals and not just members of an ethnic of religious group. Try to find common interests and mutual passions. Eventually people will learn to appreciate diverse perspectives and the unique treasures of each culture.