If you have a taste for the USA and time and money are in short supply, our range of Mini Adventures are just the ticket for experiencing North America's most incredible parts in just a few days.

    These 3- and 4- day tours get you out of the city and off the beaten path in a flash, making the most of your time and money. From the thundering Niagara Falls and the magnificent Grand Canyon to the most iconic landscape in America, Monument Valley, our Mini Adventures serve up a huge helping of American pie!

Vegas to Grand Canyon

4 days from Las Vegas

May-Oct from US $ 789

USA West-Camping

Cowboys, canyons and Indians — Need we say more? Explore Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks before a night with the Navajo people deep in the heart of Monument Valley, then top it all off with the grandest canyon on earth!

Los Angeles to Grand Canyon

4 days from Los Angeles

May-Oct from US$649

USA West-Camping

    Escape the hustle and bustle of Los Angles for some Desert Southwest action! Travel from Lake Havasu to the Grand Canyon, then along the iconic Route66, over the Hoover Dam and into Las Vegas for an included limousine tour that you'll never forget!

San Francisco to Yosemite

3 days from San Francisco

Jan-Sep from US $ 429

USA West-Camping

    Cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the crystal clear waters of Lake Tahoe and on to Yosemite Valley for a full day of exploration. Spectacular views, adventurous activities and abundant wildlife awaits you on this amazing short break in Western USA.

New York to Niagara Falls

3 days from New York

Jun-Sep from US  $599

USA East-Hotel

    Leave city life behind in New York and venture deep into ‘up state' New York to the thundering wonder of incomparable Niagara Falls before a night in the Finger Lakes with the waterfalls and Wineries as your neighbors.

    A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night's sleep. But now a study has found it really does help people nod off-if it is milked from a cow at night.

    Researchers have discovered that “night milk” contains more melatonin(褪黑激素), which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety.

    The study, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea, involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night.

    Those given night milk, which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin, were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime, according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food.

    Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer.

    While the effect of cows milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now, taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night.

    Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content, which helps people to relax.

    Milk is also sugar-free and additive-free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening. The more fat you take in before bedtime, the greater burden you will put on your body at night.

    A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany. “Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men's world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.

    Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women' s Liberation(解放)”. “I don't wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don't think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you're a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”

    If Confucius (孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their national heroes.

    But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

    In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy (哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

    Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

    As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

    Honeybees can do three kinds of jobs.

    It is one of the most unusual insects in the world. Bees are special because they divide up their honeybee work. Each bee has a certain job to do.

    The busiest bee is the worker. Workers build the nest, called a hive. Inside the hive, workers make a honeycomb from wax(蜂蜡). They store honey there for food. Workers are always cleaning and fixing the hive. They even stand at the opening and fan their wings to cool the hive. Worker bees will attack anything—even people—to keep their hive safe, if need.

    Another kind of bee is the drone(雄蜂). Drones are male bees, and their job is to fly with the queen bee and mate with her. After the queen mates, the worker bees drive the drones away. The drones then starve to death.

    The third kind of bee is the queen. Each hive needs only one queen, and her job is laying eggs. She can lay as many as 2, 000 eggs a day.

5 Lifestyle Choices You Will Feel in Your Bones

    YOU SPEND TOO LITTLE TIME ON THE MOVE

    "Bone is a living tissue," says Jonathan Lee, a physician at Montefiore Health System in New York City. "The more you use it, the more it will adapt and strengthen. Likewise, if it is not subjected to loading, it will waste away. "The solution? Weight-bearing exercise-even just walking. Strength training Counts too

    YOU EAT SALTY SNACKS

    A study from Japan showed that women over fifty who had high sodium (钠) intakes were more than four times as likely to have a fracture (break of. bones)As those with low sodium intakes. That's because as the kidneys(肾) excrete(排出) the sodium, calcium is reducing from the bloodstream too.

    YOU SHUT SUNLIGHTAWAY

    "Vitamin D is required for the body to successfully absorb and use calcium," Dr. Lee says. "Most Americans do not get enough sun exposure to generate enough natural vitamin D, and thus supplementation is essential." According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, adults under 50 need 400 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily and adults 50. And older need 800 to 1,000 IU. Talk to your doctor about your specific needs based on where you live, what time of year it is, and which vitamin D-rich foods you eat.

    YOU'RE CASUAL WITH WINE

    Low levels of alcohol consumption may be good for your bones, according to a study from Oregon State University, but more than a couple of drinks a day has the opposite effect. "Too much alcohol can make it harder to absorb calcium," says Dr. Lee. Furthermore, "In women in particular, higher alcohol consumption can decrease estrogen (雌激素) levels, and this can also lead to osteoporosis(骨质疏松), "Dr. Lee says.

    YOU LIVE INANAREA WITH DIRTYAIR

    In a study recently published in the Lancet Planetary Health, researchers dealt with hospital data for 9.2 million Medicare participants in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic between 2003And 2010. They found that even a small increase in levels of pollutants in the air--may lead to an increase in bone fractures and osteoporosis in older adults. If you live in a smoggy area, use an air purifier filter at home, avoid exercising outdoors when the air quality is bad, and get screened for osteoporosis.