This prehistoric monument that served as a primitive space and calendar observatory, is estimated to be as old as 6,000 years. It’s located in Newgrange, County Heath, Ireland. If you look at the sun through the stone openings at a certain time of the day, it could  tell you when Happy Hour begins.

We were in Pompeii last year and marveled about how the care and excavation by the Italian government had returned this ancient Roman city back to almost as it was when the volcano struck. The streets, houses, baths, taverns and everything else were still standing. Now one of the most interesting is no more.

The Schola Armaturarum, school and barracks for the gladiators was well worth the visit. The frescoes on the walls clearly showed how the guys were trained to fight their battles in the arenas, and also portrayed their various battle unit symbols. It reminded visiting ex-GIs of basic training or Navy/Marine boot camp. It wasn’t much different than today’s service schools, except maybe that our guys are trained to fight to live, while ancient gladiators were mostly destined to die in the arena.

If your travels take you to Naples, Italy, be sure to sign up for spending at least a couple of hours in Pompeii. You never know when the rest of the town will collapse if old Mount Vesuvius gets angry again.

Will China become the next combination of New York, Miami, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas? Major hotels, including Marriott and Hilton chains, are developing a string of literally hundreds of glitzy hotels throughout the nation.

Despite the recession in the United States and Europe, China’s economy is booming and the world’s largest nation is fast becoming the world’s richest.

The success of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, enormous growth of their world trade and significant upturn of tourism, have all added to the building hotel boom. Visitors to the two glitziest cities in China, Shanghai and Hong Kong, can see by the brightly-dressed people and modern skyscrapers that business and pleasure are booming. 

It seems the Chinese have finally dumped Communism and embraced capitalism. These days, instead of waving their little red Mao books, they’re waving their checkbooks.

For more information about visiting China, go to www.tourismchina.org and check out schedules and promotions with your favorite hometown and online travel agency.

Located near Walt Disney World, SeaWorld is adjacent to Busch Gardens. If you’re planning a family trip to the area, bring everyone, including grandparents and grandkids. Now that weather is getting wintery in many other parts of the U.S. and Canada, be sure to allow at least three to seven warm, sunny days and comfy nights to experience all of these wonderful vacation facilities.

Lots of bargain hotels, motels, restaurants, amusement parks, swimming, boating, shows and scads more waiting for you to enjoy. Be sure to see the wonderful water acrobatics, performed both by talented humans and their fantastic aquatic animal pals at SeaWorld!