Win a Trip to Disneyland!

Who wants to win a trip to Disneyland? Everyone, of course!

Here's a free competition from Southwest Airlines for a free trip to Disneyland in California, open to residents of the US, Puerto Rico and Canada.

Closes January 30th, 2012.

Image by Taylor McBride.

Travel Movie: Sideways

Sideways is a 2004 movie showing two bachelors having one last weekend of fun before one gets married. Miles (Paul Giamatti) takes Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) for a couple days of wine tasting in the Santa Barbara wine region, but Jack is more interested in having a final fling before the wedding.

The two men explore the wineries in the area with the help of Maya (Virginia Madsen) and Stephanie (Sandra Oh).

While Napa Valley gets most of the attention as the top wine region in California, the Santa Barbara area has some great vineyards as well within 90 minutes' drive of Los Angeles. Sideways showcases locations in Beullton, Solvang, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez.

Aside from the civilised settings and romantic lighting of the beautiful area, Sideways explores two very different men reacting to crossroads in their lives as they reach middle age (hint: neither is handling it especially well).

Verdict: Rent it (with a bottle of Pino Noir)

Bonus! The Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau has self-guided tour brochures of the restaurants and wineries used in the film if you want to trace their steps.

Word Travels Forum Round-Up #21

Happy May Day! As spring makes its way through the northern hemisphere, here are the travel topics people are discussing on our forum this week:

A week in Norway

Theme parks in California

Best time to travel to Thailand

Religious brainwashing on Intercape buses

If these aren't the answers you need, search our travel forum for posts related to your next destination!

Win a Trip to Disneyland!

After all that talk about California theme parks yesterday, how could I not find you an appropriate competition?

Lifetime Moms is giving away a free trip for four to Disneyland in California!

All you have to do is answer the question here.

(This competition has closed, but click here to see the latest travel competitions, including new Disneyland giveaways!)

Top 5 Theme Parks in California

If there's one thing that Southern California has in abundance, it's theme parks. Taking advantage of year-round sunshine, the top-notch parks are playgrounds for both young and old, catering to every taste. Here's our list of the top 5 theme parks in California, to add to your to-do list:

Universal Studios Hollywood - If you love movies, this is a great place to spend a day. Rides and attractions dedicated to blockbusters like Terminator, Indiana Jones and Shrek are a lot of fun, and you can't miss the famous ride that takes you through King Kong and Jaws! When you're done, stroll through Universal CityWalk for dinner and (of course!) a movie.

SeaWorld - One of the most famous waterparks in the world, SeaWorld has waterslides but is better known for its fantastic animal shows. Home to veteran performer Shamu, the park is dedicated to marine conservation and has great walk-through marine environments. Go on a hot day, because you're bound to get wet!

Six Flags Magic Mountain - This park has arguably the greatest collection of rollercoasters in the world. They have 18 rollercoasters in all with varied levels of thrill and g-force. The park is themed to Looney Tunes and DC superheroes, so where else can you meet both Bugs Bunny and Batman?

Disneyland - The mother ship. No one goes to Southern California and skips Disneyland. The 'Happiest Place on Earth' has all the famous rides and attractions you've heard of, from Pirates of the Caribbean to the Spinning Teacups to Space Mountain. Attached is California Adventure, a park with fewer cartoons and a pleasant lakeside midway.

Knott's Berry Farm - While it doesn't have the supercoasters of Magic Mountain or the beloved cartoon characters of Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm is the best place in Southern California to be for one month of the year. Each October the park gets a total makeover to become the Halloween-themed Knott's Scary Farm. Open late each night, it's a great place to get spooked!

5 Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms (besides Japan)

With the recent tragic events in Japan, there aren't many tourists making the journey to Sakura and Kyoto for the cherry blossom festivals there. Many people don't know, however, that there are other cities that have spectacular displays of pink blossoms each spring, and events and festivals to go with them. Here are a few of the other best places to see cherry blossoms:

San Francisco – California’s best city for pink flowers, San Francisco hosts a cherry blossom festival every April. The best places to go are Golden Gate Park, and the San Jose Heritage Garden, which is a little out of town but has an entire field of cherry blossom trees.

Vancouver – Vancouver is Canada’s cherry blossom capital. Their events run from mid-March through the end of April. The best streets to see the flowers is 7th Avenue in Mount Pleasant, but the city offers a cherry blossom viewing map that you can download here.

Honolulu – Hawaii has its own tradition of cherry blossoms, which bloom in Honolulu, and Waimea on the Big Island. The best place to see them is in Church Row Park, where the cherry blossom festival is held. Hawaii’s cherry blossoms bloom early though, so this event is usually held in February.

Seoul – If your heart is set on going east, South Korea has spectacular displays each April. The best place to go is Seoul, which has beautiful pink and white vistas at Mount Namsan and Seoul Forest. For a real treat, visit Children’s Grand Park, which lights up its more than 1,000 cherry blossom trees each night.

Washington DC – Outside of Japan, Washington DC is the place to go to see cherry blossom trees. The landscape positively explodes pink everywhere you look, and it becomes nearly impossible to take a bad picture. It all stems from 3,000 cherry trees given to the US by Japan as a sign of goodwill, and each spring the city hosts the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The best place to see the cherry blossoms is in Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park.

Image by katmere.

Win a Trip to San Francisco!

Attention chocoholics! Ghirardelli is giving away a free trip for 4 to San Francisco with all the sugar-laden trimmings imaginable!

Open to US residents over 21. Enter here.

Photo by hiimniko.

PS - San Francisco was named one of our Top 5 Chocolate Cities!

Composite Photos of Tourist Attractions

Switzerland-based artist Corinne Vionnet has created some very interesting images of instantly-recognisable tourist attractions by overlaying hundreds of tourist's photos, taken from the same spot. The results are haunting: busy locations like the St Basil's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal and Tiananmen Square (above) are filled with ghostly crowds of people, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco appears to by trying to fly.

You can see the whole collection here.

Top 5 Cities for Chocolate

There are many reasons people choose to visit certain cities, but I can't think of a better one than chocolate! Here are some of the top cities for chocolate tourism:

Zurich, Switzerland - Zurich chocolate factories read like a who’s who of chocolatiers: Toblerone, Truescher,Cailler-Nestle, Lindt and Sprungli all call it home. With such amazing choices at their doorsteps, it’s no wonder the Swiss consume more chocolate per person than any other country in the world! There are of course chocolate shops wherever you look (like Truffe, Schrober and Merkur), but bargain-hunters can find discounts at the Lindt factory shop.

San Francisco, California - Just as you'll find gold at the end of the rainbow, there is surely chocolate at the end of the trolley car line in San Francisco. Ghirardelli Square has been feeding people joy since 1852, and their cafe is always packed with both locals and tourists from around the world. Across the bay, the Scherffen Berger factory no longer gives tours, but don't miss Joseph Schmidt's amazing boutique.

Hershey, Pennsylvania - With a name that's synonymous with chocolate, it's no wonder that Hershey made this list: "Chocolate Town, USA" is home to both the Hershey factory and the HB Reese Candy Company, and even boasts Hershey Park, a chocolate-themed amusement park!

Oaxaca, Mexico - Oaxaca is the heart of chocolate production in Mexico, and some say where the treat was invented centuries ago by the ancient Mesoamericans. You'll be spoiled for choice with restaurants, cafes and factories all offering mouth-watering options, but the town's specialty is it's hot cocoa, which most locals start every day with. Or you can take a chocolate-making class and brew your own!

Brussels, Belgium - With 12 chocolate factories, 16 chocolate museums, and over 2,000 chocolate shops, Brussels is undoubtedly the chocolate capital of the world! The city has a long tradition of lovingly handcrafted delicacies, including their specialty, the chocolate praline, and is home to Godiva, Neuhaus, and Leonidas.