What is a resort without a golf course? The answer is, not a very good one. Resorts and golf courses go hand in hand. Golf is one of the most relaxing, enjoyable and popular sports in the world today, and should without a doubt be included in your next vacation. America's resorts have some of the best golf courses in the world, but it can sometimes be hard to find the really challenging and beautiful ones. There are a couple of resorts that come to mind with exceptional courses every golfer should visit at least once.

If your travels take you to the beautiful region of northern San Diego, CA, be sure to plan on staying at the Four Seasons Residence Club Aviara in Carlsbad. Not only will you delight in the elegant accommodations, but the par 72 golf course here is truly breathtaking. It is the only Arnold Palmer designed golf course in San Diego and includes scenic water traps, well kept gorgeous grounds and quite difficult uphill and downhill shots. This outstanding course was ranked 80th in Golf Magazine's 1998 list of the 100 best U.S. Golf courses and the resort itself was given a gold medal by the magazine.

For those looking for the most exciting golf course in Virginia, look no further than the Cascades at the Homestead Resort. Many golfers consider this to be the best mountain golf course in America, and it's no wonder as it's located in the foothills of the beautiful Alleghenies. With a $1 million dollar renovation in 1995, the course now sports a 6,211 yard formation with charming features like a bubbling creek and very large greens. It is also home to America's oldest continuous tee, first made in 1892. In short, this is a course worth traveling to. The accommodations at the resort are nothing short of marvelous with 483 guest rooms and a timeshare complex known as the Owners Club at the Homestead Resort featuring a fireplace, washer/dryer and a full kitchen. The resort also offers many other activities for family members that don't wish to golf like horseback riding, restaurants and live entertainment. Be sure to check this gem out!

So, if you are a golf fanatic traveling to America or you are a resident, try to rent a timeshare or guest room at one of these resorts and experience truly exceptional courses. Don't be deterred by the prices on the resort site, as you can find lower priced rentals on sites like Sellmytimesharenow.com.

Summer is an excellent time of year for UK travel, with many popular destinations across the country drawing crowds of tourists during this season. Brighton is one of the best British coastal towns, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists each year who enjoy tours of the Brighton Pavilion, eating ice cream on the pier and sampling some of the famous local fish and chips.

For history lovers, the walled city of York is an attractive destination which boasts charming cobblestone streets and fascinating historical architecture at places like the York Minister and Betty's tea house. Nature lovers will want to pay a visit to Norfolk broads, which are the largest protected wetlands in Britain. This area is famous for its unspoilt coastline and it's especially popular with boaters and hikers.

One of the long-time issues with traveling across the world is language. People the world over trek back and forth, but there are so many languages that no one could possibly ever learn them all. Smartphone application developers have finally devised a way that you can travel abroad and not have to worry about someone knowing your language. This is just another way that smartphones are changing the way we live for the positive and have made globe trekking far less stress free.

We started seeing these portable translation software hit the market a few years ago. These simple apps can be downloaded onto your 4G Slide Android Phone, and all you have to do is speak the word or phrase that you want to say and the phone will then translate it and provide audio that you can play for the person you're wanting to talk to. This same thing works in reverse so this way you can have a conversation between two people that don't share a similar language. You don't have to worry about ordering a meal in a restaurant in Spain or ask for directions with a limited understanding of German. This has unchained travelers from the trappings and limitations of language and freed them to explore however and wherever they want.
There's been other software programs on the market, but the apps have dramatically improved the travel experience. With constant updates to these apps, more words and phrases are being added all the time and it gets better with each generation. Before you could just get basic words or phrases, but now you can translate entire sentences at a time. This is all thanks to the many advances in speech-recognition technology. There's no longer lag time or waiting for the message. It's spoken back to you immediately.

There's a lot of these programs on the market, most of which are free and very user friendly. Some argue that this has just made us lazy and that fewer people will take the opportunity to immerse themselves in a culture and make attempts at learning another language. As always, it depends on the user.

Technology has always had a habit of making us lazy, but it's meant to be used as a way to free us up to explore other opportunities and that's exactly what this software does. Whether you're planning a trip abroad or have put one off for years because you wanted to learn the language first, now you don't have to worry. Check out some of the translation apps on the market before you next trip.