Olive Oil: a key part of the Mediterranean Diet

Olive oil, a major part of the Mediterranean Diet (see 8/25/09 post) is a natural juice that preserves the taste, aroma, and vitamins of the olive fruit. It can be consumed, as-is, freshly pressed. Some olive tress that are hundreds of years old continue to bear fruit.

Once olives have been picked, they need to be processed immediately or the acidic level will climb too high which affects the flavor. Cleaned olives are run through a press that turns them into a paste. The paste is subjected to the malaxation process (slow mixing so that droplets of oil begin to adhere to other droplets). The paste is put under pressure to get the liquid oil along with water from the fruit. Olive oil is separated from the water which is discarded. When bottled, less than 1% acidic levels result in extra virgin olive oil that is rich and intense in flavor. Olive oil with higher acidic level is referred to as virgin.

The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to the high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL ("good cholesterol").

Extra virgin olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives, contains higher levels of antioxidants particularly vitamin E and phenols, because it is less processed. Olive oil has helpful benefit on ulcers and gastritis. Also, Spanish research suggests that olive oil in a diet may help prevent colon cancer.

95% of the olive trees cultivated world wide are in the Mediterranean region with most of the production coming from Southern Europe, North Africa and the Near East. In 2002, Spain contributed about 45%of the world's production and in 2006, Turkey accounted for 5% of the world's production.

Greece (see 6/26/09 post) devotes 60% of its cultivated land to olive growing. It's the world's top producer of black olives and has more variety of olives that any other country. It is 3rd in world olive production. About half of the Greek olive oil production is exported yearly with exports mainly going to Europe (Italy in particular). The Republic of South Africa, also a producer of extra virgin olive oil, is seeing an increase in demand for their product.

Elegant Wedding Invitations At A Low Price

Your wedding day is very special. There are many details that need to be worked out and dealt with before the ceremony takes place. You want quality in everything you do but you also want to be economical.

Low cost wedding invitations, done on high quality art paper from Japan and Italy, are available by ordering them through Rs2Guru. Orders need to be placed at least 4 months ahead of the wedding date to allow enough time for processing, production and shipping. You'll want to mail your invitations to your guests 8-10 weeks prior to your wedding.

If you want something extremely elegant, you can order hand drawn wedding invitations. If you're a more casual person, you can shop the "style collection" which includes destination, romance, classic and modern invitations. If you're an outdoor couple, you might be interested in the " scene collection" which includes ocean/beach, church and lawn invitations. You can also select from 14 movie themed wedding invitations. Invitations are also available by color.

If you're confused or unsure about what type or style of invitation you want, you can request 1-7 invitation samples for $3.00. You'll receive an invitation card, response card, reception card and blank envelope for each sample. This is a one time only request that will definitely help with your decision for wedding invitations.

Shipping is: free 48 hour UPS Express.

Call2Abroad For Low Cost International Calls

If you're working or traveling in Europe, living there as a student or expat, or conducting business overseas and are looking for a way to talk on the telephone that is more convenient, will let your talk longer and is cheaper than other plans, then Call2Abroad is the telephone system that will meet all your needs. Whether you use a cell phone or a land line, you'll definitely want to find out more about their plans and the high quality they deliver.

Countries where calls can be made from are Belgium, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, and the United States to anywhere in the world for as low as E0.04/min.

Once you've selected a plan, payment is easy. You can use PayPal (a highly secured way for a financial transaction) or any credit or debit card.

There is also an affiliate program 2Abroad that allows you to earn money by promoting their cheap international telephone calling plan/system on your website or blog. After you've joined, you'll be provided with banners and links. As with other sites, when someone clicks on a link of yours, they'll be directed to the 2Abroad website and you'll receive a commission for sales made.

United States Passport Information You Need To Know

Are the following statements about your passport "True or False" ?

1. Your passport's expiration date can keep you out of a country.
2. What is not in your passport can be as important as what's in it.

Both statements are true. Countries can set their own entry and exit rules and if your passport is set to expire earlier than the country you plan to visit allows, you won't be able to enter. Lou Lint, a travel agent in Grand Rapids, MI offers additional passport information. He says some countries require your passport to have 2-4 blank visa/stamp pages. Some airlines won't allow you to board if this requirement is not met. Africa requires 2 blank pages in the passport book.

To visit Mexico your passport only has to be valid on entry. To visit Jamaica, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months prior to the date of entry. Many destinations around the world including Italy, France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand require a passport to be valid for 3 months prior to your stay.

Before traveling to foreign countries including Canada, Mexico and Bermuda, check to see what is required for passport and visa pages, passport expiration dates and if a visa is needed. For new or renewed passports or visas, be sure to allow ample time for your request to be processed. Contact the U.S. State Department for guidelines as this post is for general informational purposes only.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa = 294 steps

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Tower of Pisa), one of Europe's most famous towers and designed by Bonanno Pisano, is the free standing bell tower for the adjacent cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. The work of art was built in the years 1173-1350 in 3 stages. It's 183.27 feet tall from the ground on the lowest side and 186.02 on the highest side. The walls are 8 feet thick at the base.

A little know fact is that many of the cathedrals in Italy have bell towers and many of them are leaning for one reason or another.

There are 7 bells in the tower at Pisa that are tuned to musical scale. The largest bell, cast in 1655, is three and a half tons.

Another fact is that the ground beneath the tower is soft so that even before the building was completed. it had already started to tilt. The builders tried to compensate by angling the new construction.

In 1275 architect Tomasso di Andrea da Pontedera realized that the tower could not be straightened due to the poorly laid foundation and loose substrate so many attempts were made to stop additional leaning. The tower (which leans to the southwest) has been closed at various times as engineers worked to shore up the base

The tower was closed in 1990 and re-opened in 2001. I was fortunate that while I was in Pisa I was able to climb to the top. There are 294 stairs, but as you climb, it feels more like 2094. There are no handrails and the walls have been worn smooth. The stairs have slippery groves from the thousands of feet that have gone up and down over the years. The stairs are in a very tight spiral and I think that it's harder to get down than go up.