Mexico City - a Heady Mix of Chaos and Beauty
Endless lines of vehicles wind their way along the broad avenues, filling the air with exhaust. Mexico City appears unconcerned. At first glance, visitors may be overwhelmed by Mexico City’s noise, dirt and chaos, but look again.
Mexico City is the largest metropolis on the American continent and it is still growing. Despite the problems that inevitably accompany unrestrained growth, there are superb architectural treasures hidden behind the rather dull facades of this huge city.
No other Latin American city boasts as many baroque churches, monasteries and colonial palaces. It also has a number of acclaimed modern buildings, some of which are decorated with monumental paintings by the famous Mexican muralists, and world-class museums house still more art and treasure.
The eagle, the snake and the cactus.
In 1325, the Aztecs, who called themselves the Mexica, migrated into what is now central Mexico, where they founded their capital city, Tenochtitlan. They had chosen the site well, with a little help. According to legend, the Aztecs received a vision that told them to wander until they found an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its talons.
In the Valley of Mexico at an elevation of more than 2,000 metres they came upon this very scene in a swampy area scattered with lakes and islands. From a strategic standpoint, the location was ideal. They colonized the islands in the middle of a shallow lake, which protected their settlement well. The wandering Mexica had finally settled down.
Later, they built dams and causeways between the islands, which developed into a complex hydraulic system with canals, drawbridges and sluices. Tenochtittan grew in size to cover more than 13 square kilometres. The Aztecs ultimately conquered the entire high valley by force of arms, and soon controlled nearly all of modern-day Mexico, as well as other parts of Central America.
Hernan Cortes and the Fall of the Empire
The precipitous fall of the Aztec Empire began in 1519 when Hernan Cortes landed on the Gulf Coast of Mexico with just a few men. What Cartes achieved is incredible. With a small force, a few horses and indomitable will, not to mention a good dose of brutality and recklessness, he subdued an entire empire. His total command consisted of 500 Spanish soldiers, 16 mounted fighters, 6 cannons and 400 Indian mercenaries. The Aztec population he confronted numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
On 8 November 1519 the Aztecs’ fate was sealed. The Aztec ruler Moctezuma II received Cortes unarmed, possibly because he thought Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl. This was an invitation to disaster. The Spaniards quickly took Moctezuma hostage and massacred the assembled priests and nobles.
The Aztecs were at first able to push back the interlopers and force them to retreat. Unfortunately, this only postponed their demise by a few years. In 1521, Cortes moved in with fresh troops, completely overwhelming the Aztec forces. The Spanish rulers then built their own city with churches and palaces on the foundations of the old one. Most of the lake was drained, as more and more land was needed. Tenochtitlan disappeared under a Spanish city. Parts of it, such as the Tempio Major, have since been excavated by archaeologists and are on view again after hundreds of years of obscurity.
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The Skin Needling Non-Surgical Facelift
Have you ever looked at older photos of certain stars and wondered where their acne scars went - (Cameron, Brad, Britney)?
Our money’s on medical skin needling! Here’s why…
The only options available over the past few years have involved various laser machines or skin needling. Laser machine treatments that can leave the skin with post trauma issues - some skins become lighter in colour and more sun sensitive, while some
individuals are left with red, raw skin for a period of up to six months.
Since the downtime for skin needling is less than 24
hours, it’s most probable this has been the treatment of choice for Hollywood stars.
The Dermaroller is clinically proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, pigmentation and scarring; while simultaneously boosting collagen production for a toned, younger-looking skin.
The Dermaroller is a unique rolling device that significantly enhances the action of the delivery of transdermal agents.
Invented in 2000 and engineered in Germany, the Dermaroller is similar in appearance to a mini paint roller, but is embedded
with 192 ultra fine needles.
The Dermroller stimulates the skin to produce new collagen formation, thereby reducing dimpling, and improving skin texture. A roller with very fine needles is used to produce many microscopic channels in the skin, which stimulate your own body to produce new collagen.
These channels also improve the penetration of therapeutic active ingredients as well as multi-peptides, vitamins, or any other liposomal serums about 1000 times. Treatments stimulate skin renewal, thereby making the skin appear fresher and younger. Dermaroller is different from ultrasonic or Injectables because it affects your bodies own collagen activities so the effects are long lasting.
As the only TGA listed skin needling device on the Australian market, results include:
* Reduction of the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles
* Reduction of large pores
* Oil flow regulation
* Re-pigmentation - production of new melanin
* Smoother, more refined, younger looking skin
Think of the Dermaroller as a non-surgical facelift or having fractional laser without the downtime.
For more information about fat removal and skin needling, contact Image by Laser today.
USA Travel - Miami City Profile
Miami sometimes feels like a huge Hollywood set. The cliches about the city and its illustrious beach community, Miami Beach - nearly all of which are based in fact - are but a small part of Miami’s colourful mosaic.
International financial deals are not the only thing happening in Miami. The city’s concerts, theatre performances, gallery exhibits, ballet companies and museums offer plentiful cultural stimulation and world-class entertainment. Located in picturesque south Florida, Miami is a popular location for television and movie crews.
Fashion photographers from glossy magazines pose their models against the backdrop of the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the deep blue Atlantic Ocean. Looking at Miami’s striking skyline, home to corporate headquarters of hundreds of international financial institutions, it is hard to image that until recently southern Florida was a landscape dominated by mosquito-infested swamps. The first Spanish explorers of the region, arriving in 1513 with Ponce de Leon, declared it completely uninhabitable.
The real history of the city, which was founded on 28 July 1896, began with the advent of the railway. Freezing Canadians and New Yorkers climbed aboard to escape to beautiful, sunny Miami. In the 1920s, during the days of Prohibition, Miami was known as a city with legalized gambling and less than serious efforts to enforce the ban on alcohol. The result was a building boom. Little by little, starting with hotels and apartments, the Miami skyline began to rise.
Melting pot for Latin Americans.
After Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959, a stream of refugees poured into south Florida. The impact was enormous. Hoards of Cuban refugees arrived in Miami, settling in the neighbourhood called “Little Havana”. There, salsa music resounds in the streets, men play dominos and chess in the parks, and the air is thick with the aroma of coffee and cigar smoke.
A trip along the palm-tree-lined Ocean Drive, Miami Beach’s famous boulevard in the heart of its famous Art Deco district, offers breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, the beach and, of course, the rich and famous. With its uniquely “Miami Style” Art Deco architecture, the entire district is under historic protection today Rich with pastel colours and full of eclectic details, there is no other cityscape like it on Earth.
Unfortunately, the building boom of the 1920s also caused considerable damage to the natural environment. Over 120 hectares of the unique Everglades wetlands were drained to provide Miami with water and sewage facilities and dry land on which to build. Even today, south Florida draws millions of litre of water from the Everglades.
Interrupting the water cycle that supplies this magnificent natural landscape with moisture and nutrients diminishes the vitality of the biosphere. At present, national parks and wildlife preserves protect barely 20 per cent of the Everglades watershed.. The unique flora and fauna of the Everglades were added to the UNESCO List of World Natural Heritage Sites in 1979. Still, the environment was classified as endangered in 1993.
No stay in Miami would be complete without a short trip to Coral Gables, one of the first planned communities in the country. Distinguished by its beautiful Spanish colonial-style villas, Coral Gables also boasts elegant country clubs, world-class art galleries and the University of Miami.
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Wellington - the World’s Most Southern Capital
Wellington, situated on the southern tip of New Zealand’s Northern Island is the southernmost capital city in the world. The gusty winds that blow non-stop off Cook Straight have earned it the epithet “Windy City”.
Wedged between steep hills, Wellington’s limited space for expansion has forced the city to build high in order to accommodate increased demand for commercial and residential space. Victorian structures fell victim to new construction and modernization, giving Wellington the most modern skyline in the country.
The Maori people called the area around Wellington “the Head of Maui’s fish”, a reference to an incident in the Polynesian Maui Cycle when the hero, Maui, fought his siblings over a great fish, leading to the land being cut up both by the fish’s thrashing tail and by their knives.
When James Cook made a side trip here in 1773, the rough landscape of the bay was densely settled. Maori tribes fought one another constantly for the best coastal locations. This, along with the strong, unfavourable winds, may explain why Cook did not drop anchor and go ashore.
European settlement began with the landing of the warship Tory on 20 September 1839. In January of the following year, William Wakefield, commander of the first expedition of the New Zealand Company, “bought” the area from the Maoris for one hundred muskets. Wakefield thus became the founder of Wellington. The city was named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and England’s national hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Wellington was named New Zealand’s capital on 26 July 1865.
Wellington is more than the political centre of the country; it has also made a name for itself as a city of culture. Wellington is the home of Te Papa, New Zealand’s pioneering, interactive national museum, as well as to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and such national treasures as the original Treaty of Waitangi.
New Zealand’s most famous writer, Katherine Mansfield, was born in Wellington and published her first short stories in a local literary magazine. New Zealand’s capital is remarkably diverse topographically, with mountains and hills embracing the compact city and its wide harbour.
At the summit of Mount Victoria, which can be scaled by a cable tramway built in 1902, visitors can enjoy the beauties of Kelburn Hill and the Botanic Gardens. The gardens, established in 1869, now cover 26 hectares.
Beware the penguins
Wellington is almost certainly the only capital city in the world where penguins freely roam the streets. This encourages visitors to walk alongside them; the city centre is best experienced on foot. Visitors (and penguins) can wander through its shopping arcades, lovely cafes and, less happily, constant traffic.
Nowhere else in the country is urban life lived as intensely as in Wellington. Unique adventure tours are available along the Kapiti coast and hiking trails run all along the craggy coastline, just off the coast, the world famous bird sanctuary of Kapiti Island attracts visitors from afar.
The environs of Wellington are known for their luxurious country lifestyle. Many great estates lie inland, just over the hills. Directly north of Wellington is Hutt Valley, where visitors can arrange bush and coastal hikes, SUV trips, golfing, mountain biking and fishing.
For cheap flights and great deals from Melbourne airport, Sydney airport or Brisbane airport, contact Flight Centre today.
Liposound Fat Removal
Non-invasive fat removal and body contouring called Liposound the revolutionary new way to slim down in five easy treatments. No surgery, no pills and no anesthetic - just an advanced system that fights the bulge with ultrasound technology. Because it’s a non surgical fat removal method, there’s no downtime.
If you’re a man or woman who can’t eliminate those stubborn bulges through healthy exercise and diet, and don’t want to undergo surgery, then this nonsurgical fat reduction technique may be for you.
Liposound is based on a high-tech way of destroying fat in the areas of the stomach, thighs, bottom, arms without the pain associated with other cosmetic treatments.
A revolutionary technology that through ultrasound waves focalized on low frequency produces microscopic bubbles that break the membranes of adipocytes (fat cells), without affecting other adjacent structures, respecting the integrity of circulatory and lymphatic system.
The released fat is then eliminated gradually by the body in two days thanks to the normal process of energy production. The results which can be obtained are obvious after very few sessions: accumulations of fat and cellulite are eliminated.
The treatment is best suited for the average to moderately overweight person who has a healthy lifestyle and exercises regularly.
This treatment can be used in conjunction with our skin tightening treatment for optimum results.
For fat removal and skin needling contact Image by Laser today.