1 . Bike Rental & Guided Tours

Welcome to Amsterdam, welcome to MacBike. You see much more from the seat of a bike! Cycling is the most economical, sustainable and fun way to explore the city, with its beautiful canals, parks, squares and countless lights. You can also bike along lovely landscapes outside of Amsterdam.

Why MacBike

MacBike has been around for almost 30 years and is the biggest bicycle rental company in Amsterdam. With over 2,500 bikes stored in our five rental shops at strategic locations, we make sure there is always a bike available for you. We offer the newest bicycles in a wide variety, including basic bikes with foot brake (刹车), bikes with hand brake and gears (排挡), bikes with child seats, and children’s bikes.

Prices

Guided City Tours

The 2.5-hour tour covers the Gooyer Windmill, the Skinny Bridge, the Rijksmuseum, Heineken Brewery and much more. The tour departs from Dam Square every hour on the hour, starting at 1:00 pm every day. You can buy your ticket in a MacBike shop or book online.

Beijing is a city bridging the ancient and the modern. From Buddhist temples to museums, narrow hutong     1     royal palaces, it is home to more than 3,000 years of glorious history even down to its layout, with the city keeping its carefully     2     (build) system of ring roads.

But for all its ancient buildings, Beijing is also a place     3     welcomes the fast-paced development of modern life, with 21st-century architectural     4     (wonder) standing side by side with historical buildings of the past.

It is a distinct visual contrast (反差) that shouldn’t work,     5     somehow these two very different worlds make a good combination.     6     (visit) several times over the last 10 years, I     7     (amaze) by the co-existence of old and new, and how a city was able to keep such a rich heritage (遗产) while constantly growing. As a photographer, I have spent the last two years     8       (record) everything I discovered.

The     9     (remark) development of this city, which is consciously designed to protect the past while stepping into the modern world,     10     (mean) there is always something new to discover here, and I could be photographing Beijing for the next 50 years.

4 . Where to Eat in Bangkok

Bangkok is a highly desirable destination for food lovers. It has a seemingly bottomless well of dining options. Here are some suggestions on where to start your Bangkok eating adventure.

Offering Thai fine dining. Nahm provides the best of Bangkok culinary (烹饪的) experiences. It’s the only Thai restaurant that ranks among the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants list. Head Chef David Thompson, who received a Michelin star for his London-based Thai restaurant of the same name, opened this branch in the Metropolitan Hotel in 2010.

Issaya Siamese Club is internationally known Thai chef Ian Kittichai’s first flagship Bangkok restaurant. The menu in this beautiful colonial house includes traditional Thai cuisine combined with modern cooking methods.

Bo.lan has been making waves in Bangkok’s culinary scene since it opened in 2009. Serving hard-to-find Thai dishes in an elegant atmosphere, the restaurant is true to Thai cuisine’s roots, yet still manages to add a special twist. This place is good for a candle-lit dinner or a work meeting with colleagues who appreciate fine food. For those extremely hungry, there’s a large set menu.

Earning first place on the latest “Asia’s 50 best restaurants” list, progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan is one of the most exciting venues (场所) to arrive in Bangkok in recent years. The best table in this two-story colonial Thai home offers a window right into the kitchen, where you can see chef Gaggan and his staff in action. Culinary theater at its best.

The Xi’an City Wall is the most complete city wall that has survived China’s long history. It     1     (build) originally to protect the city     2     the Tang dynasty and has now been completely restored (修复). It is possible       3     (walk) or bike the entire 14 kilometers.

We accessed the wall through the South Gate. The wall is 12 meters high and from here you can see streams of people moving inside and outside the City Wall.

After     4     (spend) some time looking at all the defensive equipment at the wall, we decided it was time for some action and what     5     (good) than to ride on a piece of history!

We     6     (hire) our bikes from the rental place at the South Gate. My bike was old and shaky     7     did the job. It took us about 3 hours to go all     8     way around the Xi’an City Wall. Supposedly you can do it in two hours, but we stopped at the different gates and     9     (watchtower) to take pictures or just to watch the local people going about their     10     (day) routines.

7 . For people who are planning a trip, a visit to a museum might not be the first thing they think of. After all, there are plenty of ways to appreciate the world’s civilization, gain exciting experiences and spend quality time with family and friends.     1    

Museums are where people learn something new, at every age! Are you interested in something specific?     2    . There, you will find yourself drawn in and inspired! Museums are a fantastic place to learn about a region’s history, scientific achievements, major cultural events, and of course, dinosaurs. They also design exhibitions related to visual arts, industrial innovations and anything that inspires an individual to learn about the past and create new paths to the future.

    3     They will surely be an exciting part of the educational experience with the main purpose to expose children to knowledge of various fields and expand their horizons. To achieve that, museums are working to create meaningful and engaging activities, interactive and knowledge-based.

Museums support tourism. They are tourism promoters in small towns and large cities. Museums aren’t a burden on tax revenue (税收) or a separate concern from other city projects.     4    Statistics show that museums support more than 726, 000 jobs in America.

Museums shape communities. They have activities and exhibitions through which visitors can learn about local history. Museums are places where a shared heritage is celebrated and a collective identity is formed. They provide an interesting public space where people meet and talk to each other.     5    

A road trip

Out of all possible road trips, the best one is by car. You finish packing, put everything inside the car, sit inside it, buckle up, look at your friend     1     (sit) next to you, smile and ... go! And then begins the most wonderful part of the road trip. It is not the place you are heading to but what you see from the opened window of the car     2     matters. The best part is when you leave your home before the dawn. Personally,     3     I look in the direction of the east, I am always amazed by how the sun informs the world about its arrival.

I love to meet the sun while driving a road trip in a car.     4     (bring) alive in the new sunlight, everything looks promising. It always seems as if it was the first time in your life that you had seen a green leaflet, the trees,     5     grew right next to your car window, and a light smiling over the nature.

Spring and autumn are two seasons of the year that are perfect for a road trip. In my opinion, spring is the most inspiring time of the year,     6     when you open the car windows, you can actually feel that the world is clean and ready for a new life. The green grass is so fresh that you can’t wait     7     (take) a deep breath. The air is filled with a fragrant smell of the plants.

A road trip in autumn is beautiful, too. The golden brush touches     8     around the gardens, the fields, the groves, the woods. In deep autumn, the whole earth     9     (cover) by colorful plants as if you were driving through a fine carpet. The air is sharp, cool and fresh. You simply put on a warmer sweater but never put the window up!

A road trip for me is the moment of communication with nature. It is a dialogue     10     the nature and me. The beauty that you observe during a car road trip purifies you, refreshing your soul and your mind!

10 . The UK is home to 26 world-ranked universities of the top 200 globally. At the heart of each university is the library, a space for students to access resources, absorb knowledge and gather thoughts. Here are some of our must-visit libraries across the UK.

Located in London, the British Library is home to over 170 million items. The collections offer a glimpse into literary heritage over the ages, from books to maps to manuscripts. Visitors can browse treasures including Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook. Students with a reading pass are known to spend hours at a time in the reading rooms.

Dating back to 1488, the Bodleian Old Library has three notable reading rooms. It is celebrated for its late Gothic architecture. You may recognize the elaborately carved ceiling from scenes in Harry Potter. Students at the university automatically get access to the library.

Opened in 1900, this library is part of the University of Manchester, one of the top five universities in the UK. This library offers limitless research potential for students. Whether you want to make use of the rich collections available, or simply explore the site, this library should be on everyone’s must-see list.

The Mitchell Library is one of Glasgow’s most famous landmarks. On the top of the copper dome (圆屋顶) is a bronze statue of the Roman goddess, Minerva. Visitors can climb the dome for the city’s most distinctive rooftop views.