Global Resorts Network Blog

We have been talking about getting a passport for the first time to get ready for international travel. Getting all of the documents together can be quite a headache. You have to fill out the application, prove your citizenship, prove your identification and provide a photo. Hopefully, these explanations will make this process easier for you.  

For proof of citizenship, there are a couple of things that you could use to get a US passport. You could use your official birth certificate provided by the county in which you are born. If you don’t already have one, it is usually easy to get and a small fee of less than $20 is usually required. This is true with all applications for those who are born in America. If you were not born in the U.S., you can bring your certificate of citizenship or nationalization to testify that you are indeed an official resident of the United States. An expired passport of the United States can also be valid proof.

When applying for a passport, proof of identification can be in the form of a valid identification card with your recent photograph attached to it. Your driver’s license is one good example. A valid military or government ID with signature can also be accepted.

In order to meet the requirements for a recent photo to get a passport, you need to bring two photos that are completely identical and were just recently taken at least within five to six months. You have to surrender a 2×2 picture that was taken in front view with plain background. Clothing should be presentable and without any accessories like glasses or hats.

The completed application will be the passport application or form DS-11. Be sure that you have every entry filled out EXCEPT your signature. This is to be done in front of authorized personnel otherwise processing is not valid.

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Before packing your things and vacationing out of your country, you first must get a passport. This will serve as your ticket to any destination. This article could be very helpful to if you applying for a passport for the first time.

First of all, the application must be in person. There are over seven thousand government agencies like post offices and courthouses that accept applications for passports or you can just visit your local passport facility. It would be wise to first make a quick call to your county courthouse to find out what documents you need to provide in order to process your passport quickly. The following documents are the most common: proof of citizenship, proof of identification, and a recent photo.

Here are a few more tips when applying for a passport:

1. Be honest. You have to fill out the form DS-11 in all honesty to avoid any possible problem

2. Be sure that you attach the original documents and not just photocopied papers. The originals will be returned to you once you receive your passport.

3. Make copies of your originals including your application just in case something gets lost before you send it out.

Preparing for international travel can be quite exhausting but with a little help, you’ll have a great time!

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Getting a passport for your children is a must if you’re planning for international travel. They need passport for traveling overseas. Although, if you’re planning to cross into Bermuda, some parts of the Caribbean, Mexico or Canada by sea or land, children who are aged 15 and under can just use a certified or original copy of their birth certificates in the place of passports. This also applies to children who are 16 to 18 years old provided that they are accompanied by an adult or if they affiliated with an athletic, religious or cultural group. This is applicable with the destinations that were just mentioned.

If you need to get a passport for your child, you can, provided that he or she is with you upon application; noting that all first time applications are made in a personal attempt. In addition, for your child’s passport renewal, you must also do it in person if he or she was under the age of 16 when you first applied his or her passport.
In general, you must bring:

•Form DS-11 completely filled out EXCEPT for the signature

•Two passport photographs that is identical, 2×2 in size, colored, which was taken within six months. Therefore, your child’s photo must be recent and should have a white background for formality’s sake.

•Proof of citizenship. Ideally your child’s authenticated birth certificate.

Thoughts of Chicago are almost always followed by thoughts of food.  Chicago is full of ethnic enclaves and each is more than happy to share their cuisine with you. Don’t try to walk around downtown Chicago without bringing your appetite along. You will be surrounded by mouthwatering aromas that are difficult to resist.
 
Visiting the city of Chicago offers any visitor the opportunity for a great time. You will find amazing skyscrapers and many diverse ethnic neighborhoods. You can walk through Little Italy and sample the pastas, then enter Little Saigon and get a bite of the famous Vietnam dish Chao Tom, which is an original shrimp dish. Do not eat too much there because as soon as you walk around the corner you will enter Little Warsaw which will make it impossible to resist the taste of fresh Polish pierogi’s and borscht. Save some room for Greek town as you can not pass up a bite of the flaming cheese. Keep in mind that the food is completely authentic and unbelievably affordable.

Ethnic foods like those found in Chicago restaurants provide Chicago with a unique diversity unmatched by most American Cities. Offerings of food and friendship are around every corner while visiting Chicago. Don’t forget that you will be coming here hungry and leaving happy.

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Chicago is world known for the food that is cooked up and served street side. No one could ever pass up Chicago’s most signature dishes, the ones that are just plain and simple but warm the heart. No one else makes a hotdog quite like it, a hotdog with mustard, onion, relish, sliced tomato, dill pickle spear, and just a hint of celery salt. Although many have tried, no one has been able to replicate it. This is a specialty for everyone. Another famous signature dish of Chicago is the Chicago-style deep dish pizza. This pizza is unlike any other and definitely requires a fork and knife to eat.

Of course the day would not be complete without a sweet ending so while venturing down the Magnificent Mile, an absolute must is a stop at Hershey’s Chicago. The only problem is that you will not want to leave and it could turn into an all day adventure, especially if you are bringing the kids. Here, they will gladly personalize a giant Hershey kiss while you wait. The singing baker will sing for you while you decide which original Hershey treats from the bakery that you want to take home. If you still have a sweet tooth, keep in mind that Chicago is home to the very last factory that makes Twinkies.

There is always something going on in Chicago and so much to eat. The choices are virtually unlimited as to what, where, and how you choose to eat. A fancy restaurant is nice but so is dining at a street side café on a nice cool summer night. If you enjoy people watching you are in for a treat because of the cultural diversity that Chicago attracts, you will be enlightened and entertained.

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New York’s Chinatown has a larger population of Chinese-American immigrants than San Francisco’s Chinatown. New York’s Chinatown is located on the lower East side of Manhattan. It offers visitors a variety of activities, dining and shopping as well as a look into Chinese-American culture.

In addition to the many different restaurants and bakeries in New York City’s Chinatown, the area also has many fine shops, including those that sell art, antiques, clothing, souvenir gifts, jewelry and health and beauty aids.  There are over 100 shops to choose from; one can indeed spend an entire day in New York City’s Chinatown just shopping.

Throughout the course of the year, New York City’s Chinatown offers a variety of entertainment depicting Chinese-American culture.   Visitors can also tour the Museum of China in the Americas that explores the history of Chinese-American culture in the West.  The museum has many artifacts and exhibits for anyone who wants to learn about this fascinating culture.

New York City’s Chinatown has the largest population of Chinese-Americans in the Western hemisphere. It is truly a cultural paradise and wonderful place to visit when in New York City.

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New York’s Chinatown has a larger population of Chinese-American immigrants than San Francisco’s Chinatown. New York’s Chinatown is located on the lower East side of Manhattan. It offers visitors a variety of activities, dining and shopping as well as a look into Chinese-American culture.

Chinatown in New York has a range of Asian restaurants serving Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese foods. Chinese restaurants feature a number of different regional cuisines including; Cantonese, Shanghainese and Fujianewse foods, Dim Sum and Tea Houses.

One of the best Chinese restaurants in New York City’s Chinatown is the Shanghai Garden Restaurant located at 63 Mott Street. This Shanghainese restaurant offers everything from lunch specialties to late night dinners and has a family dining atmosphere. In addition to serving authentic Shanghai cuisine, the restaurant is also one of the few that offers Hang Chow Cuisine. The price range for Shanghai Garden Restaurant is moderate with the most expensive entrée costing $23.

Another great Chinese Restaurant is Eat Inn located at 42 Bowery, that offers Cantonese cuisine. The restaurant has a cozy atmosphere and a VIP room. It is family friendly and relatively inexpensive. 

Other Asian restaurants usually offer spicier foods than the traditional Chinese restaurants. One you will want to try is the Singapore Café. This tiny restaurant serves both Singaporean and Malaysian foods and has a diverse menu guaranteed to appeal to most appetites. The Singapore Café is located at 69 Mott Street.

Dim Sum is a variety of dumplings and appetizers that is usually served from a cart.  Dim Sum is served ala carte and each person chooses a variety of appealing specialties to share with companions. Dragon Palace at 202 Centre Street is the ideal place to taste authentic Dim Sum while visiting Chinatown in New York.  In addition to Dim Sum, Dragon Palace also offers authentic Cantonese seafood and has a private room where, after eating, you can entertain your companions with Karaoke singing.
 

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Greenwich Village is simply known as “The Village” to most New York City residents.  Located in Southern Manhattan and surrounded by Chelsea, SoHo and other well-known communities, Greenwich Village became populated in 1822 when an outbreak of Yellow Fever swept through New York City.  Many residents headed for this part of the city that was less inhabited. 

For many years, Greenwich Village was considered a separate part of New York City.  Unlike the streets located within the rest of  Manhattan, that are fashioned in a “grid style” typical of early urban planning, the streets in the Village do not follow any conformity and have names instead of numbers.  There are many twisting, narrow streets as well as dead ends. 

Perhaps it was this bit of non-conformity that attracted the avant-garde culture one thinks of upon hearing the name “Greenwich Village.”  During the 1930s, the area began to attract artists, writers, musicians and other, what was once known as ‘Bohemian types.”  Greenwich Village was the birthplace of small art galleries, literary presses and theaters that were considered too unconventional for the general public. Playwright Eugene O’Neill got his start here in the late 1930s as did many artists. Greenwich Village soon became a place where those who “didn’t fit in” with the rest of society could be among those who shared the same progressive ideas and culture.

In the 1950s, Greenwich Village was the home to the “Beat Generation.”  This group of young people, often called “Beatniks” professed their free thoughts and ideas openly within the sanctity of the local clubs by reading poetry and playing music.  Political ideas, considered radical at the time, were also formed within the Village.  This open culture allowed such great writers and poets as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Dylan Thomas to thrive.

In addition to giving a voice to artists, writers, poets and political reformists, the village and New York also played an important role in American Folk Music as artists such as Bob Dylan, “The Mamas and the Papas,” “Simon and Garfunkel,” and “Joan Baez” played in the coffee shops.  Coffee shops were an important part of the culture within the village.  They were meeting grounds for artistic expression.  Greenwich Village invented the notion of the “coffee shop” atmosphere, regenerated in the 1990s by chains such as “Starbucks,” that try, but can never imitate the real thing.

During the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s, the Village became a sanctuary for underground political movements such as the “Weathermen” and other anti-establishment groups.  Although the “safe house” of the Weathermen group was bombed in 1970, Greenwich Village was a place where any alternative culture or lifestyle or anti-establishment group could exist in relative peace.  Those who broke the law, however, were frequently reminded that the culturally diverse area was still part of the United States.

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In the 1980s, housing prices began to boom in all parts of the United States and particularly in New York City.  Greenwich Village was no longer an inexpensive place to live.  The charming area drew those with money.  Today, Greenwich Village, while not as posh as Fifth Avenue, is considered upper-crust. It is no longer a tiny community for starving artists.

Visitors to Greewich Village today, however, can still visit many of the coffee houses that still stand in memory of the inhabitants that made Greenwich Village famous.  They can visit the White Horse Tavern, which is still in existence and which was once a frequent watering hole for poet Dylan Thomas. 

Many famous people currently live in Greenwich Village.  Visitors may be able to spot a glimpse of actresses Julianne Moore , Uma Thurman and Liv Tyler, all of whom live within the Village.  And although the “starving artists” may no longer be afford to live within the village, yet, their artwork is displayed throughout many small galleries.

Greenwich Village in New York is also home to many small theater companies as well as many off-off-Broadway performances.   And Jazz Music is still enjoyed in many of the clubs.The ideals, art, music and culture that once made Greenwich Village so unique, now exist in everyday American culture.  Imagine music without Bob Dylan.  Poetry without Dylan Thomas or theater without Eugene O’Neill.  Anyone who appreciates art, music and literature should pay a visit to Greenwich Village.  If, for nothing else, but to pay tribute to those artists who defied convention and gave us culture.

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The Empire State Building is synonymous with New York City.  For forty years it stood not only as New York City’s tallest building, but the tallest building in the world.  Sadly, it regained it’s fame as New York’s tallest building after September 11, 2001 upon the attack and destruction of the World Trade Center.

The Art-Deco style building was a phenomenon when it opened on March 1, 1931.  The architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon supposedly drew up the plans for the Empire State Building in only two short weeks, designing the building from the spire on top to the ground.  Construction began in 1930. It is located in downtown Manhattan, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. It holds the distinction of being one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and was named an historical landmark in 1986.

Unlike the modern “Sears Tower,” the Empire State Building has the classical appeal of the art deco style that was embraced in the 1920s and 30s. Many buildings throughout the world constructed during this period were also modeled in this artistic, architectural style. 

The interior of the Empire State Building, although renovated throughout the years, still gives one the impression of being in the 1930s. The Art Deco style is evident throughout the building, from the clocks on the walls to the lobby entrance. 

Including the spire on the top of the building, The Empire State Building stands nearly 1,500 feet high, making it ideal for radio broadcast.  RCA began broadcasting from the tower in 1931.  Until late 2001, the Empire State Building was the main site for broadcasting radio frequencies in New York.  After the attacks on September 11, 2001, many commercial stations, fearing another attack, moved their broadcasting stations to other buildings.

If you enjoy worldwide travel for pennies on the dollar, the Global Resorts Network Luxury Travel Club Membership offers the opportunity for families to do just that.  Additionally, these same families are creating 7 figure incomes from simply referring this membership to others.  Get the details here.