spain posts

There's something about the mention of food from the dollar store that still causes people to gasp in horror, but I can't figure it. The dollar stores I frequent are full of great food options from North America and around the world and it's my belief that you can eat well with food from the dollar store.

Here's Part Two of my examination of dollar store food, this time focusing on drinks, desserts, baking needs and condiments. I've put an * beside the non name brands that my family and I have tried up to now and yes, we liked them.

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I'm sauntering along a shaded path at the south-east end of Central Park in New York City. There's something intoxicatingly relaxing about this 150-year old city oasis and I soak it in as my guide explains how it took 20,000 men to build the 840 acre landmark. In an attempt to imitate the green spaces of Europe, the workers blasted away rocky outcrops, sculpted the land with soil and planted over 270,000 plants to create one of the most famous parks in the world.

I arrive at the Musical Clock arching whimsically above the path. My guide is telling me about the animals that will dance out of it on the hour and half hour. It is a few minutes to 2pm and I want to see the spectacle, so I switch my guide off and wait. That's right, I switch her off. After all, she's just a walking-tour audio guide I downloaded for free from Central Park's website.

There are hundreds of thousands of audio tours on the internet for just about any destination you can think of. Some are free, such as the Arts and Architecture Tour of Central Park.

Most of us will have to be content with watching the FIFA World Cup final on TV, but for soccer fanatics out there, it's not to late to plan a trip to Johannesburg. Seriously.

OK, I'll prepare you now because this one is going to hurt your wallet. But if you are one of those fans that cringe at the word 'soccer' (it's football, you know) and wake in the early hours of the morning and head straight to the pub to watch the beautiful game live with other like-minded fanatics, then I know you will consider, or at the very least dream, about jumping on a plane tomorrow and heading to South Africa. What a memory.

The good news is there are still tickets about for the final. For non-fanatics out there (because fanatics will already know this for sure), the final will be held in Johannesburg on July 11. The teams playing off for a spot in the final are:

• Uruguay vs. The Netherlands on July 6
• Germany vs. Spain on July 7