If you travelled to GB or USA what would you like to see?

Great Britain and The United States of America probably belong among the most visited countries worldwide. They have much to offer either from touristic side of view or from social and economic world alike.
These two states, so different but so similar in many aspects, rank among world powers and make not only political decisions influencing the whole world. Both of them attract also people from abroad who learn English and want to improve their knowledge of this worldwide used language.

Great Britain is the first destination I would like to write about. As I was working in this country for more than a year, I have my own experience of British life and their customs. I have to say that in the first moment I was not looking forward to the trip to Britain mostly because of their well-known, always unpredictable and changeable weather and climate. But it wasn´t that bad at all. I was probably lucky or what it was but I couldn´t moan about weather at all. But it´s publicly known that climate in British Isles is mild and in summer not very hot and winters are not so cold and freezing, on the other side. For tourists, though, the summer is the best season with longer daylight and generally fine weather, not too hot for travelling.

Britain, although all the buses are no longer red nor are all the taxis black, still has wonderful heritage to offer the overseas visitors. From the historical, so beautiful and famous monuments to modern, dynamic cities, that´s what is seen and possible to visit in this 8th biggest island in the world.

So, what should we or what can we see in Britain?
No visitor cannot, definitely, miss the capital. London is known as the green capital with many large parks and open spaces and offers a wealth of interest. To visit and see all those typical London´s landmarks, plan your stay here for more than one or two days. London is the seat of English Royal family led by Queen Elizabeth II. and her residence is Buckingham Palace. It´s called after Duke of Buckingham and was built in 1703. Since Queen Victoria it has been the main home of the sovereign.

Not to leave this palace stand alone, I invite you to visit other places occuring to us when saying the word „London“. „Two in one packet“ could be called the well-known Houses of Parliament together with Big Ben – the huge clock which is a part of Westminter Palace, as this complex is called. To relax a little bit after a long busy day, you have a chance in huge number of London´s parks led by Hyde Park. In this one, if you have a need to express your ideas publicly, you may have a speech on whatever topic you wish in a place called Speaker´s corner. And guys, have any of you a dream to meet your favourite, adored popstar, sport ideal, politician or even her Majesty? Then Museum Madame Tussaud´d is the place for it. Well, I don´t deny they are not alive, only made from wax, but anyway, it is a wonderful experience to stand next to all those celebrities and stars. Believe me.

Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square with (a) Nelson´s column, 10 Downing Street – home of British Prime Ministers, St.Paul´s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey – the burial place of kings and site of modern coronations, Tower Bridge and famous Tower of London, innumerable number of theatres, exclusive shops and other cultural and sport centres, those are places waiting for your look and eyes admiring them and I really recommend you to see them all or at least as much as possible.

But Britain is not just London. There are many other and other places which are worth to visit. Stonehenge near Salisbury is an awesome monument of the Stone and Bronze ages, which symbolizes mystery, power and endurance. It is surely Britain´s greatest national icon.

Moreover, this country abounds with many other original and gorgeous places. Cities Oxford and Cambridge are well-known to everybody for their universities, Liverpool is a home of world famous Beatles, Stradford-upon-Avon, according to me the prettiest and the most romantic place I have ever seen, is the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Dover- justly famous for its imposing white cliffs, and many, many beautiful castles, churches and cathedrals. This country is simply full of rich history, unbelievably romantic, imposing and impressive places and no one who decides to visit it, will not regret.

Contrary to Great Britain, the USA represents modern world created in definitely not so many years as Britain and also cannot pride with such a rich history. But inspite of this fact, it also offers innumerable number of exciting places and attractions. To say New York, Washington, Grand Canyon or California is surely enough to draw your attention. The USA is definitely world power number one, and is known for its economic strength, democratic government and constant fight for their and world´s freedom, but not everyone is their supporter. Many people either love or hate the U.S. American culture is unique and has spread across the globe through its popular films, music and commercial products such as Coca Cola, Levi Jeans or McDonald´s hamburgers. But these are not the only features of the United States.
As far as climate and weather is concerned it´s very different, depending on a part of the USA you are in.
What to see and visit in the U.S. then?
Alike in GB, the capital of USA has a lot of landmarks to draw us with. Washington D.C., the capital, is famous for the well-known buildings such as White House – the residence of American presidents, Pentagon, Arlington´s National Cemetery, The Capitol, innumerable number of museums, and other interesting places. New York, „The Big Apple“, is the largest city in the U.S. It is also called „The city that never sleeps“, as it is alive with attractions all day and night. This city is famous for its skyscrapers, the best-known is the Empire State Building. What nobody should miss is The Statue of Liberty – a symbol of freedom, then parts like Time Square, Central park or Madison Square Garden and suburbs Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, West Side and Harlem. This city has also been drawing our atention more since September 11th 2001 when the terrorist attack was made and the The World Trade Center, famous twin towers, were destroyed.

The USA are so wide, huge and full of great places to visit, but I definitely couldn´t miss also Los Algeles - well-known for suburbs as Hollywood and Beverly Hills, beaches, palm trees and nearby Disneyland. This place is crowded by lots of artists – film and music popstars whoyou can meet at every corner. Furthermore, cities as Chicago, San Francisco with Alcatraz prison or New Orleans – the home of jazz are worth of visit. This country is also home of the best players of ice-hockey, basketball or American football and to see at least one match is surely great and thrilling experience.
Both Great Britain and the USA can also pride with its exciting and beautiful nature and its beauties, in Britain it is especially Scotish and Irish country with its mountainous and always green scenery and USA has a famous Grand Canyon.

But when we want to travel to these countries, we also need to know important information and possibilities of accommodation, transport, and and other needed info, which could influence our stay there.
Firstly, the most essential thing before our trip is to get permission to enter the country. As far as Great Britain is concerned, it has been no problem to travel there since 18th December 2003 as the visas, needed for the enter before, have been cancelled. Visas to USA, on the other hand, have been still valid and since September 11th 2001 it has become even more difficult to get them as American government has made the conditions for it even stricter. And the conditions are: to prove your financial, economical and social commitments to Slovakia, so you come back to the country, to submit basic documents about your job, financial situation and purpose of a trip, besides, your passport has to be valid 6 months after leaving USA and the latest condition is taking your fingerprints.

What is also of big importance before journey, is information about accommodation and ways of transport. Chances to accommodate are probably same for both states. There is sufficiency of hotels of wide range of price categories, then motels, guest houses, youth hostels or even camps. Everything simply depend on your taste and financial situation. And it is same with transport. Nowadays, it is offered to travel either by plane, what is the fastest way to get where you want, or trains, coaches or even hiring cars are also possibilities. All these means of transport are of high standard and comfortable. Among the preparation steps we could also include information about weather, then money exchange and not less important is to manage travel insurance and of course to book tickets. After these steps we can just look forward to the trip and make the most of it.

These two countries are distinguishable, but one thing is alike for both. They deserve our attention and at least short visit and stay. So, when you have opportunity for it, don´t miss it and have fun and excitement while exploring new places and countries.