Friday, December 4, 2009

Streetwise Athens Map Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens Greece Folding Pocket Size Travel Map With Metro or Bill Brysons African Diary

Streetwise Athens Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens, Greece - Folding Pocket Size Travel Map With Metro

Author: Streetwise Maps

2008 UPDATED Streetwise Athens Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Athens, Greece - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map

This travel map covers the following areas:
Main Athens Map 1:9,000
Piraeus Inset Map 1:21,000
Greece & the Aegean Map 1:3,300,000

Anyone who visits Greece is drawn to visit the Acropolis of Athens. It houses the Parthenon, sitting majestically on the hill, and offers terrific views of the bustling capital below. Go early or late in the day to avoid the afternoon heat. Mid-day, visit some museums or relax in a cafe with an ouzo. Athens is loaded with museums, and the National Archaeological Museum ranks among the top ten in the world.

The Plaka, located downhill from the Acropolis, is one of the oldest parts of modern Athens. The old market, where philosophers Socrates and Plato once walked and talked, is known as the Ancient Agora. The Psiri, working class neighborhood by day, is the hip nightlife district. All these sites, places, hotels and metro stations are easy to locate with the STREETWISE® Athens Map.

For those venturing outside Athens, there is a detailed map of the port town of Piraeus, where all ferries and cruise ships make their departure for the Greek Islands. And because no trip is complete without visiting at least one Greek Island, a map of the Greek Islands with major ferry routes is also included.

Our pocket size Athens map is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. The STREETWISE® Athens map is one of many detailed and easy-to-read city street maps designed and published by STREETWISE®. Buy your STREETWISE® Athens map today and you too can navigateAthens, Greece like a native. For a larger selection of our detailed travel maps simply type STREETWISE MAPS into the Barnes & Noble search bar.

About STREETWISE® Maps

STREETWISE® is the first map to be designed with modern graphics and is the originator of the laminated, accordion-fold map format. We've set the standard that every map company has imitated but never duplicated. Our mission is to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel safe in a place where you've never been before and to enable you to experience a familiar place more fully.

The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Brown, who had been in international publishing for many years, setting up subsidiaries for textbook publishers. In the 1970's, Brown traveled extensively throughout Africa, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Brown would take a large paper map, cut out the city center, folded it up and slip it into his pocket, thus preventing him from looking like a tourist in areas where discretion is the better part of travel. This was his tool for surviving.

After many years on the road, Brown settled back in New York and decided to start his own business, based on the adaptations he had made to maps in his travels. His goal was to give someone the ability to navigate easily in unfamiliar terrain.

He started with a new map format: the accordion fold. Such a simple idea, but at the time it was revolutionary. No more struggling to fold an awkward, oversized paper map. This new format would enable the user to blend in like a native, instead of stick out like a tourist. Brown then added lamination to ensure that the map would be a lasting tool.

More important than the format was the design of the map itself. It had to be a map that not only succeeded above and beyond any map he had used, but was esthetically appealing as well. The look of it had to be as striking as the functionality. Color was introduced in a way that was never seen before in a map - vivid purple for water, soothing gray for the background of street grids, gold to highlight elements of the map. Clarity, conciseness and convenience in a very stylish package.

Building the business was a 24 hour job. Brown sold the maps during the day, zipping around Manhattan making deliveries on his Harley Davidson. At night he packed the orders and did the design work. More titles were added, each title requiring months of research and design.

Today, STREETWISE® produces over 130 titles for major destinations, regions and countries throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. We have grown from the back of a motorcycle to selling millions of maps around the world.

Yet each title is still painstakingly researched and updated. STREETWISE® is one of the only, if not THE only map company that conducts research by walking or driving an area to ensure accuracy. After all, what good is the map if what you hold in your hands doesn't match what you see on the street sign? This lengthy fact checking results in superior accuracy; in effect, we've done the work, now you have the adventure.

In the end, it's not about the map, it's about getting out and finding your own authentic experience wherever you go. It's about being in a city or a region and discovering things that you never thought you would find. You can do this if you have confidence and you have confidence if you have a great map. STREETWISE® is the great map that you need.

The New York Times

"Don't leave home without STREETWISE."

Travel + Leisure Magazine

"STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential."



See also: Punished by Rewards or Creating Competitive Advantage

Bill Bryson's African Diary

Author: Bill Bryson

“Here is a man who suffers so his readers can laugh.” — Daily Telegraph

Bill Bryson travels to Kenya in support of CARE International. All royalties and profits go to CARE International.

Bryson visits Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to eradicating poverty. Kenya is a land of contrasts, with famous game reserves and a vibrant culture. It also provides plenty to worry a traveller like Bill Bryson, fixated as he is on the dangers posed by snakes, insects and large predators. It is also a country with many serious problems: refugees, AIDS, drought, and grinding poverty. The resultant diary, though short in length, contains the trademark Bryson stamp of wry observation and curious insight.



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