Europe places to meet pure bred aristocracy and royalty

: Want to meet a Duke or a true Prince and Princess? One of the easiest and most convenient places to meet pure royalty is at one of the prestigious hotel casinos. They hang out at many of the following five casinos and, once you are in, you can interact with them, play against them and if you are good enough, even beat them. Wouldn't you like to boast that you defeated a King? These five hotel casinos give you that chance. But do not expect an all you can eat buffet or players with baseball caps and cool shadese dressed elegantly and only then will you be let in to share a baccarat game with pure-bred European aristocracy. The European casinos listed here are the largest and the most luxurious casinos in Europe. Their appointed clientele is less the seasonal tourist gambler and more the upper crust. So, if you are looking for a stylish way to spend your latest lottery winning, you can shoot the dice in one of the casinos listed below while your traveling partners lie around the French Riviera beaches or go on wild shopping trips in the streets of London or Moscow. 1) Casino de Monte Carlo, Monaco: Monte Carlo has been the favorite gaming destination of Europe's rich and famous for almost 150 years with the first casino that was founded by Prince Charles III of Monaco in 1863. Casino de Monte Carlo is a complex of five posh casinos located by the seashore and decorated in French rococo style with marbled columns, golden ornaments and crystal chandeliers. The overall environment would make you feel like an extra in a French history movie. 2) Casino Metropol, Moscow: The Russian Federation has the biggest number of casinos and slot machines in Eastern Europe. The best casinos for tourists are obviously the ones located in hotels. Casino Metropol is part of the five star Hotel Metropol, which is not only one of the most elegant casino hotels in the area but it is also conveniently located in the center of Moscow within a walking distance from the Red Square and the Kremlin. The lowest minimum table requirement is 25 dollars and a night at the presidential suite will cost you 2,000 dollars. 3) Baden Baden Casino, Baden Baden, Germany: The veteran European casino was founded in 1809 and although it has changed several ownerships since then, its reputation as one of the finest casinos in Europe in general and in Germany in particular has not change. Nowadays, the Baden Baden Casino is one of the city's landmarks along with the famous thermal baths. If you ignore the table games and the slot machines, walking through the 32,289 square foot casino looks as similar to a visit in an European art museum with permanent exhibits of oil paintings and sculptures. 4) The Clermont Club, London, England: If you are visiting the UK, you cannot just pop into a casino but have to apply for a membership at least a day ahead. If you plan to follow this procedure, the Clermont Club in Berkeley Square is one of the most reputable gaming clubs around. Set in a 17th century building, the Clermont Club was designed to resemble the Great Hall at Holkham. In addition to its friendly and convenient gaming room, the Clermont Club includes a bar and a clubroom where members and their guests can lounge over a banquet of a vintage bottle of champagne. Note that playing at online casinos is legal in the UK, so you can just pop into any internet cafe for online games. 5) Casino Barriere de Deauville, Deauville, France: The elegant seaside casino resort had inspired Ian Fleming in depicting the Casino of Royale les Eaux in his first James Bond novel Casino Royale. First founded in the 1860s by the Duc de Morny, the extravagant palace is one of the most beautiful casinos in the world. In addition to its gaming facilities, Casino Barriere hosts variety of exclusive entertainment shows as well as cultural and artistic events.

Company helps you brighten a soldier s day

It is a time-honored tradition to send care packages to soldiers overseas. But with increased security concerns and reams of red tape to go through, sending a package to military personnel can be a daunting task. However, one company is doing its best to make it easy for any American to send care packages year-round to help boost the morale of thousands of U. S. military men and women. Treats for Troops, a Colorado-based company, is the brainchild of Deborah Crane, a businesswoman, military mother and former military wife. Its Web site, provides a huge selection of themed care packages with names like 'Snack Attack" and "Crazy for Chocolate." The packages contain goodies and necessities, from sweet and salty snacks to games to Ziploc bags. Creative shoppers also can pick out items to create their own custom packages. The company then packs and ships the gifts on the senders' behalf and in accordance with military rules. "I'm proud that so many troops are receiving packages year-round through Treats for Troops," Crane said. With Treats for Troops' unique Foster-A-Soldier program, you can choose to send a package to a soldier based on home state, military branch, gender and area of deployment. If you do not specify anything, the site will choose the soldier who has been waiting the longest to receive a package. Unsure of what to send? The site is filled with items that soldiers most want and need, with packages starting at less than $20. In addition, there is a "Top Ten" package featuring the most popular treats. Treats for Troops also has a group gift department that provides personal shopping services for those who do not have time to shop, or groups who wish to sponsor more than one soldier. You can create a personal message to go with your package. Treats for Troops also forwards notes and e-mails from soldiers to the sponsor who sent the package. "It is nice to know that someone out there cares about us and understands that mail is one of the things that keeps us motivated," noted one recipient in a thank-you letter. "Thanks for your part in helping us to keep the peace."

Ig nobel prizes funniest science achievements

Did you know that your brainwave would measure differently when you chew different flavors of gum? And that if trained, pigeons can tell the difference between an original Picasso to a Monet? Moreover, did you know that the people who discovered these notable achievements have received an Ig Nobel Prize? The Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded every year to research in the fields of science, medicine, and technology that have made people laugh and then made them think. In other words, the Ig Nobel winners are responsible for creating the most ridiculous and unnecessary studies in their respective fields. However, the Ig Nobel Prizes are not a laughing matter. A real Nobel Laureate selects the nominees and presents the award to the genuine researchers in a ceremony that takes place every year at Harvard University, usually around the same time when the prestigious Nobel Prizes are announced. The first Ig Nobel Prizes ceremony took place in 1991. Then, only three prizes were awarded for achievements that cannot, or should not, be reproduced. Since then, dozens of researchers from different fields of knowledge and from different parts of the world were awarded for their forgettable achievements. Here you can read about some of them. Biology 1) In 1991, Robert Klark Graham, was awarded for developing a sperm bank that accepts donations only from Nobel Prize winners and Olympians. 2) The 1996 prize was shared between two Norwegian professors who had investigated the influence of ale, garlic, and sour cream on the appetite of leeches. 3) In 1997, three different professors from three different countries were awarded for measuring brainwave patterns while people chewed different flavors of gum. 4) In 2005, a large group of professors and representatives of the perfume industry were awarded for cataloging the specific odors produced by 131 different species of frogs in a state of stress. Medicine 1) In 1992, a group of Japanese researchers were awarded for coming to the conclusion that people who believe they have foot odor are right about it while people who do not, are also right about it. 2) In 1996, executives of tobacco companies received this award for testifying in front of the US Congress that nicotine is not an addictive substance. 3) In 2001, a Canadian professor was awarded for his study on injuries from falling coconuts. 4) In 2004, the prize was shared by a group of American psychiatrists who had studied the influence country music has on suicide. 5) In 2005, a Missouri inventor was awarded for creating artificial testicles for dogs. Psychology 1) The 1993 award was given to researches who came to the conclusion that people who claimed they were kidnapped by aliens from outer space were probably kidnapped by aliens from outer space. 2) The 1994 award was presented to the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, who has been investigating for 30 years the effects of punishing three million citizens whenever they spit, chew gum, or feed pigeons. 3) The 1995 prize was presented to a group of professors from the Keio University in Japan who had managed to train pigeons to discriminate between paintings by Picassos as against those by Monet. Peace 1) The 1995 award was presented to the Taiwan National Parliament for claiming that politicians can gain more by punching, kicking and gouging each other than by waging war against other nations. 2) The 1996 prize was awarded to the President of France, Jacques Chirac, for celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Hiroshima with atomic bomb tests in the Pacific. 3) In 2000, the British Royal Navy received this award for replacing the usage of live cannon shell with the usage of the shout Bang! And the list can goes on. Ig Nobel Prizes have also been selected for weird and funny achievements in the fields of literature, economics, physics, nutrition, education, archeology, chemistry and more. Just look out for the upcoming 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes.

Couple s honeymoon goes up in flames

Honeymoons are supposed to be a time of romance and moonlit walks, but not for Jeff and Rhonda West of Bessemer City, N. C. Their honeymoon in Myrtle Beach, S. C., was downright criminal - stolen right out from under them, in fact - which is why they were recently awarded the grand prize in Thrifty Car Rental's "Honeymoon Disasters Contest." Headed for the hotel in Jeff's mint-condition 1968 Camaro RS, they lost a hubcap. After chasing it down, they resumed their journey until they heard a loud "thud." Jeff, still dressed in his tuxedo, got out of the car to survey a blown-out back tire when the car, along with his new wife, started rolling down the hill. He had forgotten to put the car in "park." "I could hear my beautiful bride screaming at the top of her lungs," said Jeff. "Then I started chasing the car until it came to rest in a bunch of bushes. By now my wife is in tears, wondering what's going to happen next." After changing the tire and double-checking the hubcap, the newlyweds were off again. "We finally get to our hotel, only to find out that it had caught on fire the day before and was completely shut down," said Jeff. "This almost pushed my new wife completely over the edge - sitting in a parking lot at three o'clock in the morning on our wedding night without a place to bed down for the night." So the couple started driving from hotel to hotel, trying to find one with rooms available. "While we are stopped at this one little hotel/motel outside the city limits, my bride comes in with me," said Jeff. "When we find out they don't have any place to stay and head back out to our car - it's gone! Someone had just stolen our car." Taking pity upon them, the hotel finally found room at the inn, and the newlyweds slept until 2 p. m. "Then we got up, got dressed and went back home," said Jeff. Thrifty Car Rental is remedying the Wests' situation by awarding them a second honeymoon. They will receive roundtrip airfare to a destination of their choice in the continental U. S., hotel accommodations for three nights, a four-day car rental and $500 in spending money. Where does the couple plan to go next? "Rhonda would like to go to Vegas, if the trip is real," said Jeff jokingly, as his wife of 16 years still doesn't believe they have really won the contest. "Vegas would be the perfect place to renew our vows. So 'Viva Las Vegas' it will be!"