Riobamba - Ecuador!

Riobamba (full name San Pedro de Riobamba) is the capital of the Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, which is located at the Chambo River Valley of the Andes.It is 200 km (120 mi) south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at 2754 m on the Avenue of the Volcanoes. The city is an important regional transport center as well as being a stop on the Pan-American Highway that runs through Ecuador. Riobamba stands as one of the largest cities in the central portion of Ecuador's Sierra region.


Cityscape

Riobamba is a mid-level city in Ecuador, and the 10th largest in terms of population. It is the urban center of the Riobamba canton, with a historic center that has a number of well-preserved churches.
Festivals

The main celebration in Riobamba is Fiesta del Niño Rey de Reyes, which starts in December and ends on January 6. Another celebration is Riobamba's Independence Day on 21 April.
Museums
Tungurahua Volcano (2003).

    Ateneo de Chimborazo

It´s a cultural group whose main center is located on a privately museum "Córdoba Román" with sculptures, furniture, photographic equipment, documents and memorabilia, is at 24-25 and Veloz Velasco. Ateneo was founded by the poet Luis Alberto Costales.

    Armas

It exhibits a wide selection of uniforms, arms as well as religious materials which depict various epochs of Ecuador's history, located on Ave. Héroes de Tapi.

    Arte Religioso de la Concepción

This museum has a gem-encrusted gold monstrance. The art encased in this religious collection is comes from the 18th century. entry.

    Ciencias Naturales del Colegio Maldonado
    Casa de Bolivar
    Córdova-Román
    Antropológico del Banco Central

Riobamba have others universities such as Cisneros school, Anda Aguirre school.

Sports

Riobamba is the trekking and mountain climbing capital of Ecuador and is a base to climb Carihuairazo, Chimborazo, Sangay, El Altar, and the Lost Pyramid of Puñay. There is a ball game in Riobamba called "the mamona", which is played with a leather ball. It is usually played by the locals all afternoons at the Plaza Roja. Mountain biking is another common sport. Swimming can be practiced in CENAEST, where temperate swimming pools and Spa attract many tourists. Cockfights are usually seen during Riobamba's festivities and on weekends at the Gallera San Francisco.Riobamba is the home city of one top-level football club, Centro Deportivo Olmedo.
Sightseeing

The Train ride (Nariz Del Diablo) from Riobamba is extremely scenic, the highlight being the Devil's Nose and Alausí round trip, with zig-zags. The train departs from Riobamba's main station on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 07:00, arriving in Alausí around 10:00-10:30, hits Sibambe about 11:30-12:00 and regresses back to Alausí around 13:30-14:00. The costs of the former journey is around US$20 for foreigners while round trip from Alausí is US$15. Before 2009 passengers were permitted to sit on the roof. However, this practice was prohibited in 2009 for safety reasons.

Voss - Norway.

Voss is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Voss. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim,Oppheim, Stalheim, and Vinje.

Voss sits in a location surrounded by snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes and fast flowing white water rivers. This has led to its development as a notable center of skiing, water sports, skydiving, paragliding and other adventure sports. The area hosts the Ekstremsportveko(Extreme Sports Week) every year in the last week of June, which is regarded as the world's premier extreme sports festival. Bømoen, the local airstrip, is home to Skydive Voss, one of the largest dropzones in Norway, as well as a gliding club. The rivers provide various levels of white water, attracting kayaking, rafting and river boarding. Kite surfing and Para-bungee may been seen on lake Vangsvatnet. The ski area, to the north of the town, is accessible via a cable car, Hangursbanen from the town. There is also chair lift access from Bavallen, a short distance to the northeast of Voss.

The town's proximity to the Sognefjord and its position between Bergen and Flåm on the scenic railway have made it popular with tourists. One of the sights on the road to Flåm is the waterfall Tvindefossen.

The Voss Museum displays several old farmsteads, including the larger than life stone statue of Lars O. Kindem. Next to the open-air part, there is a museum building with over 20,000 items from traditional farm life.

Voss has a wide range of habitats, everything from high barren mountains to rich fertile valleys. The large areas of coniferous forests provide food and shelter for a whole host of species, while the many wetland areas are regarded as some of the most interesting birding habitats in the county. There is a bird reserve at Lønaøyane with marked paths and a tower hide. Over 155 species have been seen at this locality. Many are common Scandinavian species, but the area has also produced the unexpected like the Great Egret, European Hobby, and Woodlark.

Queenstown - New Zealand

Queenstown (Maori: Tahuna) is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island.

It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains such as The Remarkables, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and just above the town; Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill.

Queenstown has an urban population of 12,500 (June 2014 estimate), making it the 29th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest urban area in Otago, behind Dunedin and Oamaru.

The Queenstown-Lakes District has a land area of 8,704.97 square kilometres (3,361.01 sq mi) not counting its inland lakes (Lake Hawea, Lake Wakatipu, and Lake Wanaka). The region has an estimated resident population of 30,900 (June 2014 estimate). Its neighbouring towns include Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston, Wanaka, Alexandra, and Cromwell. The nearest cities are Dunedin and Invercargill. Queenstown is now known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with New Zealand, Australian and international travellers alike.



Queenstown is situated on the shore line of Lake Wakatipu, the third largest lake by surface area in New Zealand. It is at a relatively high altitude nestled among mountains, and there are close-by gorges and some plains suitable for agriculture.




Tourism and education


A resort town, Queenstown boasted 220 adventure tourism activities in 2012. Skiing and snowboarding, jet boating, whitewater rafting, bungy jumping, mountain biking, skateboarding, tramping, paragliding, sky diving and fly fishing are all popular.

Queenstown is a major centre for snow sports in New Zealand, with people from all over the country and many parts of the world travelling to ski at the four main mountain ski fields (Cardrona Alpine Resort, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Treble Cone). Cross country skiing is also available at the Waiorau Snowfarm, near Cardrona village.

The 100-year-old twin screw coal fired steamer TSS Earnslaw traverses Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown lies close to the centre of a small wine producing region, reputed to be the world's southernmost. The Two Paddocks vineyard is owned by local actor Sam Neill.Neighbouring, historic Arrowtown features restaurants and bars.

Queenstown has many festivals. In 2013, examples include Bike Festival (March/April), Winter Festival (June),and Jazz Festival (October).



Transport

Queenstown is accessible by road and air but not by rail (similar to Taupo and Nelson).

As a resort centre, there are many bus services that operate into Queenstown, with most being for package tours, but daily services for the local or itinerant are available to and from Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch, which are the main cities closest to Queenstown.

Queenstown has an international airport with flights from Australia by Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar and in particular, from Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney (the frequency is much increased over the ski season and during summer). Domestic flights operate from Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch. Due to sustained growth, expansion of the airport terminal was undertaken in 2005 through 2010.

Queenstown Airport is New Zealand's busiest helicopter base, also the fourth busiest airport by passenger traffic, and is also heavily used for tourist 'flightseeing', especially to Milford Sound and Mount Cook, using both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.

The primary road access to the Queenstown area is via State Highway 6 (SH6), which travels from Cromwell through the Kawarau Gorge to Frankton, where a 9 km spur (SH6A) leads to the CBD and connects with the Glenorchy Road. SH6 continues south, crossing the Kawarau river before heading down the eastern side of Lake Wakatipu to Kingston before crossing the provincial boundary and emerging on the plains of Southland, terminating in the city of Invercargill. A difficult road over the Crown Range leads to Cardrona skifield and Wanaka, and is New Zealand's highest paved public road.

Queenstown is the departure point for a large number of day trips to the similarly famous Milford Sound, which entails a return trip of approximately 12 hours. There are scenic flights available to Milford Sound. A return flight, including a two-hour cruise, is approximately four hours.
Queenstown Airport is located 8 km from town and has scheduled flights from Auckland, Christchurch, Rotorua, Wellington, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Interlaken - Swiss!

Interlaken is a town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, and the main transport gateway to the mountains and lakes of that region.

The town is located on the Bödeli, between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and alongside the Aare river that flows between the two lakes. Transport routes to the east and west alongside the lakes are complemented by a route south into the mountains following the Lütschine river.




The town is principally a base from which to explore the surrounding areas. Among the main attractions are the mountains of the Jungfrau region, including the Jungfrau, (4,158 m (13,642 ft)), the Mönch (4,107 m (13,474 ft)) and the Eiger (3,970 m (13,020 ft)). Whilst the peaks of these mountains are accessible only to mountaineers, a sequence of connecting mountain railways gives access to the Jungfraujoch, a coll (3,450 m (11,320 ft)) between the Jungfrau and the Mönch, which is the highest point in Europe reachable by train.

Closer to Interlaken, the Harder Kulm (1,322 m (4,337 ft)), just to the north of the town, and the Schynige Platte (2,076 m (6,811 ft)), just to the south, are also accessible by railway, and provide extensive views of the higher mountains. Lake Thun and Lake Brienz are both close to the town, and the Aar river flows through the town. Boat trips operate on both lakes, serving various lakeside towns. One of these, Brienz, is the starting point for Switzerland's last remaining steam operated mountain railway, the Brienz-Rothorn railway.

Jungfrau Park, an amusement park, is situated just to the south of Interlaken. It was originally opened as Mystery Park, a paranormal-based theme park owned by author Erich von Däniken, but was closed in 2006 after three years because of financial difficulties. It re-opened in its current guise in 2009.

Interlaken has a large selection of hotels of various grades, many of which are located along the Höheweg, a street that links the towns two railway stations and offers views of the mountains. Other hotels are clustered around one or other of the two stations, or located across the river in the neighbouring municipality of Unterseen.

Interlaken is also a destination for backpackers. It has numerous backpacker-friendly hotels and companies providing guided services in skydiving, canyoning, hang gliding, paragliding, and skiing.
Transport
Berner Oberland train at Interlaken
Lake Brienz ship Jungfrau at Interlaken

Interlaken has two railway stations, Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West, which are both served by the BLS AG's Thunersee line that provides direct services to Spiez, Thun, Bern and beyond, with onward connections at Bern to the rest of Switzerland. Through international services are provided by TGV to Paris and ICE to Frankfurt and Berlin.

Besides being the terminal of the Thunersee line, Interlaken Ost is also the terminus of the Zentralbahn's Brünig line to Brienz, Meiringen and Luzern, with onward connections to north-eastern Switzerland. The Berner Oberland railway also operates from Ost station, providing the first stage of several mountain railway routes into the Jungfrau region and, most notably, to Europe's highest station at the Jungfraujoch.

Boat services across Lake Brienz to Brienz and across Lake Thun to Spiez and Thun are operated by the BLS AG. The boats on Lake Thun operate from a quay adjacent to the West station, connected to Lake Thun by the Interlaken ship canal. The boats on Lake Brienz operate from a quay on the Aar river by the Ost station. The remainder of the Aar river between the two lakes is controlled by several weirs and is not navigable.

Interlaken is connected by the A8 motorway to Thun and Lucerne, with onward connections by other Swiss motorways to the rest of Switzerland. Local roads also follow both banks of the lakes to east and west, and follow the valley of the Lütschine river south into the Jungfrau region. However it should be noted that there is no direct road connection across the mountains of that region into the canton of Valais to the south, with the nearest such connections being the Grimsel Pass to the east, or using the vehicle transport service through the Lötschberg rail tunnel to the west.

In the more immediate area, two funicular railways, the Harderbahn and the Heimwehfluhbahn, provide service to nearby vantage points. Local and regional bus services are provided by PostBus Switzerland, whilst Verkehrsbetriebe STI operates a regional bus service to Thun.
Events
Unspunnenfest in 2006

    In September, the Jungfrau Marathon starts in Interlaken.
    The Unspunnenfest is a festival held in Interlaken and the neighboring communities of Matten and Wilderswil approximately every twelve years. The festival highlights traditional Swiss culture and features competitions of Steinstossen (stone put), Schwingen (wrestling) and yodelling. The last Unspunnenfest was held in September 2006. The next celebration is scheduled for the year 2017.
    On 15 July 2007, the Red Bull Air Race World Series was held on the airport situated near Interlaken.
    During Summer, there is the Greenfield Music Festival on the outskirts of Interlaken.

Heritage sites of national significance
Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau

The former Monastery Building, the Hotel Royal-St. Georges, the Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau and the Kursaal are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire urbanized village of Interlaken is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Santa Monica - California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is named after the Christian saint, Monica. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is bordered on three sides by the city of Los Angeles – Pacific Palisades to the north, Brentwood on the northeast, West Los Angeles and Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on the southeast. Santa Monica is home to many Hollywood celebrities and executives and is a mixture of affluent single-family neighborhoods, renters, surfers, professionals, and students. The Census Bureau 2010 population for Santa Monica is 89,736.

Partly because of its agreeable climate, Santa Monica had become a famed resort town by the early 20th century. The city has experienced a boom since the late 1980s through the revitalization of its downtown core and significant job growth and increased tourism.


Santa Monica has a bike action plan and expects to launch a Bicycle sharing system in 2015. The city is traversed by the Marvin Braude Bike Trail. Santa Monica has received the Bicycle Friendly Community Award (Bronze in 2009, Silver in 2013) by the League of American Bicyclists.Local bicycle advocacy organizations include Santa Monica Spoke, a local chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.Santa Monica is thought to be one of the leaders for bicycle infrastructure and programming in Los Angeles County.

In terms of number of bicycle accidents, Santa Monica ranks as one of the worst (#2) out of 102 California cities with population 50,000-100,000, a ranking that is consistent with the composite ranking for the city. In 2007 and 2008, local police cracked down on Santa Monica Critical Mass rides that had become controversial, putting a damper on the tradition.
Pacific Coast Highway running through Santa Monica
Motorized vehicles

The Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) begins in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean and heads east. The Santa Monica Freeway between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles has the distinction of being one of the busiest highways in all of North America. After traversing Los Angeles County, I-10 crosses seven more states, terminating at Jacksonville, Florida. In Santa Monica, there is a road sign designating this route as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway. State Route 2 (Santa Monica Boulevard) begins in Santa Monica, barely grazing State Route 1 at Lincoln Boulevard, and continues northeast across Los Angeles County, through the Angeles National Forest, crossing the San Gabriel Mountains as the Angeles Crest Highway, ending in Wrightwood. Santa Monica is also the western (Pacific) terminus of historic U.S. Route 66. Close to the eastern boundary of Santa Monica, Sepulveda Boulevard reaches from Long Beach at the south, to the northern end of the San Fernando Valley. Just east of Santa Monica is Interstate 405, the "San Diego Freeway", a major north-south route in Los Angeles County and Orange County, California.

The City of Santa Monica has purchased the first ZeroTruck all-electric medium-duty truck. The vehicle will be equipped with a Scelzi utility body, it is based on the Isuzu N series chassis, a UQM PowerPhase 100 advanced electric motor and is the only US built electric truck offered for sale in the United States in 2009.
Bus

The city of Santa Monica runs its own bus service, the Big Blue Bus, which also serves much of West Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A Big Blue Bus was featured prominently in the action movie Speed.

The city of Santa Monica is also served by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus lines. Metro also complements Big Blue service, as when Big Blue routes are not operational overnight, Metro buses make many Big Blue Bus stops, in addition to MTA stops.
Light rail

Design and construction on the 6.6-mile extension (10.6 km) of the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica started in September 2011 with service scheduled to begin in 2016. Santa Monica stations include 26th Street/Bergamot, 17th Street/Santa Monica College, and Downtown Santa Monica.

Historical aspects of the Expo line route are noteworthy. It uses the right-of-way for the Santa Monica Air Line that provided electric-powered freight and passenger service between Los Angeles and Santa Monica beginning in the 1920s. Service was discontinued in 1953 but diesel-powered freight deliveries to warehouses along the route continued until March 11, 1988. The abandonment of the line spurred concerns within the community and the entire right-of-way was purchased from Southern Pacific by Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The line was built in 1875 as the steam-powered Los Angeles and Independence Railroad to bring mining ore to ships in Santa Monica harbor and as a passenger excursion train to the beach.
Subway

Since the mid-1980s, various proposals have been made to extend the Purple Line subway to Santa Monica under Wilshire Boulevard. There are no current plans to complete the "subway to the sea," an estimated $5 billion project.
Airport and ports

The city owns and operates a general aviation airport, Santa Monica Airport, which has been the site of several important aviation achievements. Commercial flights are available for residents at Los Angeles International Airport, a few miles south of Santa Monica.

Like other cities in Los Angeles County, Santa Monica is dependent upon the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles for international ship cargo. In the 1890s, Santa Monica was once in competition with Wilmington, California, and San Pedro for recognition as the "Port of Los Angeles" (see History of Santa Monica, California).
Emergency services

Two major hospitals are within the Santa Monica city limits, UCLA Santa Monica Hospital and St. John's Hospital. There are four fire stations providing medical and fire response within the city staffed with 6 Paramedic Engines, 1 Truck company, 1 Hazardous Materials team and 1 Urban Search & Rescue team. Santa Monica Fire Department has its own Dispatch Center. Ambulance transportation is provided by AmeriCare Ambulance Services.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center in Santa Monica. The Department's West Area Health Office is in the Simms/Mann Center.


Crime

In 2006, crime in Santa Monica affected 4.41% of the population, slightly lower than the national average crime rate that year of 4.48%.The majority of this was property crime, which affected 3.74% of Santa Monica's population in 2006; this was higher than the rates for Los Angeles County (2.76%) and California (3.17%), but lower than the national average (3.91%). These per-capita crime rates are computed based on Santa Monica's full-time population of about 85,000. However, the Santa Monica Police Department has suggested the actual per-capita crime rate is much lower, as tourists, workers, and beachgoers can increase the city's daytime population to between 250,000 and 450,000 people.

Violent crimes affected 0.67% of the population in Santa Monica in 2006, in line with Los Angeles County (0.65%), but higher than the averages for California (0.53%) and the nation (0.55%).

Hate crime has typically been minimal in Santa Monica, with only one reported incident in 2007. However, the city experienced a spike of anti-Islamic hate crime in 2001, following the attacks of September 11. Hate crime levels returned to their minimal 2000 levels by 2002.

In 2006, Santa Monica voters passed "Measure Y" with a 65% majority, which moved the issuance of citations for marijuana smoking to the bottom of the police priority list. A 2009 study by the Santa Monica Daily Press showed that since the law took effect in 2007, the Santa Monica Police had "not issued any citations for offenses involving the adult, personal use of marijuana inside private residences."

In June 2011, the infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica after being a fugitive for 16 years. He had been living in the area for 15 years.

A shooting in Santa Monica in 2013 left six (including the perpetrator) dead and five more injured.
Gang activity

The Pico neighborhood of Santa Monica (south of the Santa Monica Freeway) experiences some gang activity. The city estimates that there are about 50 gang members based in Santa Monica, although some community organizers dispute this claim. Gang activity has been prevalent for decades in the Pico neighborhood.

In October 1998, alleged Culver City 13 gang member Omar Sevilla, 21, of Culver City was killed. A couple of hours after the shooting of Sevilla, German tourist Horst Fietze was killed. Several days later Juan Martin Campos, age 23, a Santa Monica City employer and former gang member was shot and killed. Police believe this was a retaliatory killing in response to the death of Omar Sevilla.Less than twenty-four hours later, Javier Cruz was wounded in a drive-by shooting outside his home on 17th and Michigan.

In 1999, there was a double homicide in the Westside Clothing store on Lincoln Boulevard. During the incident, Culver City gang members David "Puppet" Robles and Jesse "Psycho" Garcia entered the store masked and began opening fire, killing Anthony and Michael Juarez. They then ran outside to a getaway vehicle driven by a third Culver City gang member, who is now also in custody. The clothing store was believed to be a local hang out for Santa Monica gang members. The dead included two men from Northern California who had merely been visiting the store's owner, their cousin, to see if they could open a similar store in their area. Police say the incident was in retaliation for a shooting committed by the Santa Monica 13 gang days before the Juarez brothers were gunned down.

Aside from the rivalry with the Culver City gang, gang members also feud with the Venice and West Los Angeles gangs. The main rivals in these regions include Venice 13, Graveyard Gangster Crips, and Venice Shoreline Crips gangs located in the Oakwood area of Venice, California.