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Twitter & Facebook for Ski Resorts

Published on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 in Features and Ski. 0 Comments Tags: Facebook, ski resorts, Skiing, Snowboarding, Twitter.

With social networking taking over the world and every man and his dog using it in one way or another, surely all the top ski resorts will have joined the bandwagon by now. As I am sure you are aware most skiers and boarders see their snow-filled holidays as much a necessity and addiction as anything else in their lives. We love to know where the best snow is, what’s going on in our favourite resort and when our usual traveling companions will be skiing.

With Facebook one of the most visited sites on the internet and the likes of Twitter and Bebo growing by the day, most tech savvy skiers will have access to at least one online social network. With online travel agents making the booking process easier we are spending more time researching and reading about skiing and snowboarding online.

Whether booking holidays, checking our resort reviews, or signing up to snow alerts all the info we need is out there. I decided to have a look into the so called big resorts to see who we can ‘add as a friend’, ‘like’ or ‘tweet’. With growing numbers of people using Facebook and Twitter to organise their holidays with friends there had to be a presence of info out there to help with our choices.

The first thing I noticed is when looking at the big North-American resorts such as Whistler, Breckenrige and Aspen they all use Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds and weekly newsletters to maximum effect. With minimal effort you can find out where the snow, best deals and biggest parties will be.

In contrast the European resorts are a little further behind. The Three Valleys has so far abstained from social networking, with exception to the independently run LaTania.co.uk (though anyone who knows La Tania wouldn’t expect any less from Toffa). The Espace Killy have joined in the world of Facebook with posts in English, whereas you may need to brush up on your French when looking for your Les Arcs fix.

Below I have complied a list of the ‘big’ resorts social networking, though I will update the list with any comments you may have.

Andorra

  • Grandvalira: Facebook (Catalan/Spanish)

Austria

Canada

France

Spain

U.S.A.

Where to Watch the World Cup 2010 – London Bars For All Nations

Published on Friday, April 30, 2010 in Features and General. 6 Comments

Being only once every four years, it’s hard not to get excited about the World Cup. We’ve compiled a list of London 2010 World Cup bars with venues for every nation to celebrate, support and bite our nails with the fans of every team in the tournament.

World Cup Bar ItaliaThe idea behind the challenge is to take in the atmosphere from all the different footballing nations. Venues like Bar Italia in Soho are pretty famous for the TV screens in the windows and the Italian fans lining the street with azure blue and espresso. There is more to the world’s biggest festival of football than just supporting your country at home or down the pub, this is a great opportunity to enjoy the carnival spirit of the Latin American nations, the noise and vibrancy of the African nations and the, well, orange-ness of the Dutch.

Bars, restaurants, cafes and even open houses are fair game. Basically, anywhere that we can be surrounded by people supporting whoever is playing, whether it be Algeria vs Slovenia or England vs U.S.A. Living in London offers people the chance to take in so many cultures, in my office alone we have managed to find different venues for half the matches.

World Cup 2010

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is shaping up to be a fantastic tournament. As usual, the English believe they finally have a team good enough to win and will rely on two or three players, Rooney, Stevie G and Lampard this time, Shearer and Sheringham in years gone by. Argentina barely qualified but boast the world’s best player in Messi and you just can’t bet against Maradona. There are the usual suspects of Brazil, Germany, Italy and the perennial under-achieving Holland. Right now Spain are on top of the world and with a fit Torres and Villa they look pretty formidable.

This year also has a great choice of underdogs. Africa has never had a World Cup winning country and with the tournament being played in South Africa it could make for an interesting tale. The Ivory Coast look dangerous, with the ever controversial Didier Drogba leading the line and top players like the Toure brothers Kolo and Yaya, Ghana may be an outside bet and if Essien is fit you never know.

London Bars

With the help of a few friends and the power of Facebook and Twitter we have amassed a list of venues. If you want to help us finish the list please tweet us your suggestions or post a comment below and we’ll update this page.

View London World Cup bars 2010 in a larger map

Algerian Bars

Argentinan Bars
Santa Maria del Sur (Queenstown Road)

Australian Bars in London
Walkabout (Temple)
Walkabout (Shepherd’s Bush)
Beluschi’s (Borough)

Brazilian Bars
Guanabara (nr Covent Garden)
Rodizio Rico (Bayswater)
Rodizio Rico (Islington)
Made in Brazil (Camden)

Cameroon

Chile

Denmark
Nordic Bar (nr Oxford St)

England

French Bars
Les Bar des Amies (Clapham Junction)
Le Bouchon (Clapham Common)

German Bars
Bavarian Beerhouse (nr Old Street)
The Octoberfest Pub (Fulham)

Ghana
The Gold Coast Bar & Restaurnat (South Norwood)
The Gold Coast Bar (Brixton)

Greece – Greek Bars
Parsons Green (any suggestions?)
Halepi Restuarant (Bayswater)

Honduras

Italy – Italian Bars
Bar Italia (Soho)

Ivory Coast

Japan

Korea DPR
The Fountain (New Malden)

Korea Republic
The Fountain (New Malden)

Mexico – Mexican Bars
Mercado Bar & Cantina (Stoke Newington)

Netherlands – Holland – Dutch Bars
De Hems (Soho)
Lowlander (Covent Garden)

New Zealand – Kiwi Bars
The Southerner (Temple)

Nigeria
D’ Den, Kilburn
Mama Cala Bar, Wembley

Paraguay

Portugal
Bar Estrela (Stockwell)
Cafe Kick (Exmouth market)
Bar Kick (Shoreditch)

Serbia
Paya and Horse (Battersea)

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa
The Bok Bar (Covent Garden)
Puzzle Pub (Earlsfield)

Spain – Spanish Bars
Bodega De Tapas (Camden)
San Miguel’s (Edgware Road)

Switzerland – Swiss Bars
St. Moritz (Soho)

Uruguay

U.S.A. American Bars