Wherever you happen to be over the next five days, you won’t be far away from celebrations, Guinness and shamrock green. But what you might not know is that as well as being widely celebrated around Ireland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the British Isles, Ireland’s national holiday is also a huge event around the world – especially in the USA and Canada, where some cities really go the extra mile in celebrating their Irish heritage when 17 March comes around.

Take Montreal, which hosts Canada’s longest-running Saint Patrick’s Day parade, or the even more extreme example of Chicago, where the Chicago River is dyed green on this day every year! If you don’t believe me, you can see it taking place in this video from YouTube, courtesy of user mooser53:

On the other hand, if you’re in London this Saturday, you can take part in one of the UK’s largest Saint Patrick’s Day events (outside of Ireland of course!), the Mayor’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival which attracted 100,000 revellers last year to enjoy floats, marching bands and Irish song and dance performances in Trafalgar Square.

So wherever you are next Wednesday, raise a glass to your Irish brothers and sisters! I’ve always thought that national holidays offer the perfect excuse to stop putting off that trip abroad, and it must be fantastic to visit Dublin on 17 March to see how the Irish capital celebrates its public holiday… even if it’s bound to be a little more crowded than usual! There’s an annual tradition among some of my friends who visit Dublin to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, but they do it in the summer when the weather’s better – surely that’s just cheating?

As we enter a month traditionally associated with romance and pancakes, it looks like February this year will be dominated by winter sports, as eyes across the world are turning to Canada – host of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Taking place every four years, the snowy alternative to the Olympic Games may be less high-profile, but is no less prestigious for those involved in the world of winter sports. Thousands of spectators will be flocking to mountains and arenas in Vancouver and Whistler next week to see some of the world’s finest athletes compete in skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, bobsledding, ice hockey and all other sports that work best in the cold.

But that’s exactly where things have been looking a little worrying for the organisers and fans, as according to the Telegraph, weather forecasts have been predicting warmer temperatures this month than expected. So what would usually be great news for the nation may spell trouble if conditions are less than ideal.

Luckily, it seems that the event’s organisers are well-prepared for undependable weather, and have already taken steps to fly in pallets of snow from British Columbia to help ensure ideal conditions on Cypress Mountain, where the men’s downhill event will open the Olympics on 13 February. The venues are also prepared to start artificial snow production if temperatures drop below zero, making sure that millions of viewers around the world will still be treated to the spectacular sight of snowboarders soaring through the air across the magnificent backdrop of Vancouver Bay. You know I’ll be watching

If you have a winter sport of choice, you can check out the official Olympics schedule to find out when all events are taking place across February, closing in grand style with the gold medal ice hockey final followed by the closing ceremony at Vancouver’s BC Place.

Celebrations are taking place all over the world in honour of our Aussie ‘neighbours,’ and for those celebrating in the UK it looks like there’s a packed day of events taking place in London and other big cities to make sure any Australians stranded on this side of the globe will feel right at home.

There’s been some controversy over the festivities in Australia itself with the authorities looking for ways to dissuade people from drinking too heavily. They are even asking some shops to only stock booze with a low alcohol content! But although it may seem a little harsh, I think on the whole they’ve got their hearts in the right place – I’m sure they just want to make sure everyone feels able to have a good time. With a stronger police presence, I’m sure many people will feel safer celebrating on the beach and in other public places – though apparently the scorching weather over there might mean more people choosing to celebrate indoors this year. If only they could share a little with us!

So while it’s inevitable that beer will be a cornerstone of many activities, especially those being held at major pubs and restaurants like Peoples Republic, Belushi’s and of course Walkabout, there are always alternatives – including an Australian wine tasting evening at Vinopolis in London’s Bayswater area, if your palette finds grapes more appealing than barley.

Wherever you are in the UK, if you head downtown you’re likely to see Australians enjoying themselves – even more than usual! Of course, you don’t have to be Australian to join in the festivities, and it seems that Scottish tennis fans may have even more reason to celebrate if Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal in today’s quarter-final in Melbourne.

I’ve always been a fan of the traditional winter weather – from the gorgeous effect it has on the landscape to giving me the excuse to wrap up in my festive finery. But even I could do with a break from the ice right now, after slipping up on my way to the office a couple of times! So I was pleasantly surprised to see how the city of Harbin is getting through its harsh winter by celebrating the natural beauty of the white stuff in this fantastic yearly event.

YouTube channel AllVideoVault has posted a video of this year’s festivities:

The Ice and Snow Festival draws millions of tourists each year to take in the magnificent ice sculptures, castles and mazes, which are made from an estimated 120 thousand cubic metres of snow and 160 thousand cubic metres of ice. With the frozen Songhua River winding its way through the city, it’s not as if ice is in short supply in Harbin, and I think it’s a great idea to put the elements to use in such a positive way. As one of the world’s premier ice events, the festival can also be relied on to attract the cream of ice sculptors, from countries as diverse as Russia, Denmark and the United States.

So while the idea of taking a long-haul flight to an even colder destination might not be the first choice for UK holidaymakers right now, it’s inspiring to see a city getting something so positive out of the deep freeze. We haven’t been the only ones suffering from the freeze after all, with China Central Television reporting that Harbin experienced temperatures as low as minus 34 Celcius this winter – and we’re complaining about minus seven!

Anyone who fancies braving the cold can visit the festival throughout the rest of the month; right up until it closes in early February, when the ice starts to melt. An event that makes use of nature and even clears up after itself – what’s not to love?

Looking back, I probably owe my not-so-secret passion for all things weird to a childhood visit to the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum in Great Yarmouth, sadly no longer with us. From elephant-headed boys to mutant animals, it was a jaw-dropping experience, and the Ripley’s museum in London is even more astounding – not that that should really come as a surprise. Included in the 500 exhibits across its five floors are real dinosaur eggs and a model of Tower Bridge made entirely of ordinary matchsticks – 264,345 to be very precise!

I just learned that Ripley’s now operates 30 such museums all around the world, all with unique spectacles to offer. So if oddities are your thing too, you might not have to travel far – there could be an Odditorium in a city near you! Mexico alone is now home to three of them, with the new opening at Veracruz featuring such stand-out attractions as an eight-foot-tall horse made entirely of car bumpers – which I guess gives you a good idea whether this is your kind of thing or not. I must admit, it makes a trip to Mexico that little bit more enticing – maybe I should even pay a visit to the creepy Island of the Dolls after all?

Ripley’s attractions have been drawing crowds since Robert LeRoy Ripley himself debuted his collection of oddities at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, and the museums always offer something different for visitors. Take the Odditorium in Orlando, which is built at an odd angle as if the building is sinking. Be careful finding your way around in that one!

Hot on the heels of the Mexico opening, the 31st Odditorium is set to open in Australia’s Surfer’s Paradise in late January, showing that the Ripley’s franchise is still going strong, and hinting that the key to fighting the recession may be to focus on the irresistible urge to seek out the weird and wonderful… believe it or not!

Mexico’s La Isla de las Munecas – or Island of the Dolls in English – is definitely one of the strangest things I’ve come across, and yet there’s something about it that totally intrigues me. Basically, this is what it is: located just south of Mexico City is an island where almost every tree on its surface is decorated with ancient, creepy and degenerated dolls.

Just seeing some of the pictures of this place on the net was enough to both put me off my lunch and make me consider that maybe a visit to Mexico during my upcoming trip to San Francisco could be on the cards. It’s so weird! The story – according to OddityCentral.com – goes that the Island of the Dolls first began when a hermit called Don Julian Santana moved to the island because he wanted to live in solitude, despite being married.

As he spent the last 50 years of his life on the island, Santana claimed he was haunted by the ghost of a young girl that had drowned in one of the island’s canals and, whenever a lost doll turned up in the waters, he would fish them out and place them around his house as a dedication to the little girl’s ghost. He was even rumoured to trade his home grown food for dolls to take back and place in his home.

In 2001, he was found dead in the same river that the young girl reportedly drowned in, which further adds to the creepiness of the tale and the whole island has been preserved as is, with scary-looking dolls nailed to trees and placed in various locations all over. Many tourists say it feels like you’re being watched when you visit and some have said that the dolls whisper to one another as you walk past. Some even suggest all visitors leave gifts to appease the spirit of the little girl as they arrive – who knows what could happen if you offended them!

Well, I’m not sure if La Isla de las Munecas is really the place for me, but something about it certainly does sound intriguing – have any readers ever visited this spooky Mexican attraction?

The 43rd annual Cavalcade is illuminating neighbourhoods and tourist attractions across Toronto, accompanied by fireworks displays and public concerts. The festivities started in Nathan Philips Square on Saturday, and saw the lighting of the city’s official Christmas tree, a Fair Trade market and even a skating party on the city’s famous ice rink. All this, and with the new year still over a month away!

That’s the good news for anyone who fancies making the trip to Canada but has already made arrangements to see the New Year in at home. Every weekend is New Year in Toronto – or at least, every Saturday offers the same fantastic range of events. Dedicated DJs will set the theme for each night of fireworks, dancing and skating on December 5, 12 and 19, before things go out with a bang on December 31.

Canada’s a pretty far way to travel, especially in this weather! However, I’m happy enough that I won’t be missing out – after all, the UK puts on some pretty great parties too! There’s always going to be plenty to get up to during new year celebrations in the UK, from quiet town and village celebrations (well, probably not that quite) to Edinburgh, where the three-day Hogmanay party enthrals both local and international attendees alike with a packed schedule of concerts, fireworks displays and street performances.

The first – and last – time I ever tried anything that resembled skiing was at Hillend in Edinburgh a couple of years ago. My partner thought it’d be a nice, romantic idea to hit the dry slope in Scotland’s capital before heading out for drinks and to nurse our wounds. Well, in the end, I had so many wounds my partner didn’t get a chance to even think about anyone’s other than mine, and I vowed never to go skiing again.

But you know what it’s like – you see those pristine slopes of the Alps and imagine what it’d be like to go speeding down in the cold, crisp air, throwing up sheets of snow as you make a turn, almost feeling as though you’re flying – and you have to admit that it sounds pretty amazing.

Winter sports have always been something that are popular year round because, no matter what time of year it is, it’s always snowing somewhere. So I’ve been doing a little research on some of the hot ski locations, though I already know that if the opportunity arose, I don’t think I could accept – Edinburgh was traumatic enough for me! But while I’m dreaming, I can at least pretend I’m a good skier – one that gets to hit the slopes in America on an amazing winter break stateside, that is! It looks like there are plenty of places in the US that are great for skiers, like mountains in Montana (who’d have thought?) or stunning slopes in Colorado.

Of course, staying close to home is a more tempting option for many ski fans, especially during the tough economic climate. France looks to be one of the best places for supreme ski opportunities, spreading out towards Germany and Switzerland, meaning there’s a great deal of choice if you’re stuck for where to go. And if you fancy hitting the piste in summer, New Zealand’s always an option…

As for me, I think I’ll stick with the après fun – skiers are known for being great partiers once the day on the powder’s up, right? Well, that’s where you’ll probably catch me – sitting in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, resting up for a big night out

Just imagine trekking in the Savannah, experiencing firsthand the long grass, stubby trees and infrequent opportunities to grab a drink at a watering hole – of course, we’d be safely tucked away in our tour jeeps with our water bottles instead of joining the wildebeest for a refreshing drink, but you get the idea! Then there’s the chance to see an elephant lumbering out of a forest, a rhinoceros basking in the sun and a real hippopotamus escaping the heat by going for a dip in a mud pool. Beasts like these are simply unfathomable in a country like the UK, where the biggest animal you’d see in the wild is about the size of a badger – though, of course, deer and wild horses never fail to make me stop and catch my breath, but – and perhaps it’s because I live here – there’s not a great sense of majesty around such creatures.

Not like polar bears of the Arctic Circle – Canada, Norway and Denmark to name a few – which are breathtakingly impressive in their strength, poise and majesty. That reminds me that Mercedes, the Canadian polar bear that lived in Edinburgh Zoo for many years in a none-too-spacious enclosure has now been moved up near Inverness to enjoy a proper life in a huge nature reserve habitat. Hearing about that recently made my day – I hope she’s happy in her new home!

Going back to Africa, however, the idea of immersing yourself in a whole new country with a different climate, animal population and geography fascinates me – and that’s before you even get to the people and their culture. New scenery, new animals, new rules – though I’m not sure I could be trusted not trying to snaffle a meerkat of my own through customs on the way back!

And guess what? The effort was fantastic. We got hundreds of entries ranging from the sweet and romantic to the downright bizarre, with a surprising amount of you choosing to build your dream break right here at home. There were plenty of entries looking to enjoy a break in Edinburgh, London, Liverpool, the Lake District, Inverness and here in York

We also discovered dreams involving Spain, Italy, France, Norway and Germany, with many of you hoping to take advantage of the cold weather by heading off on New Year or Christmas breaks, filled with romance, snow and walks through idyllic city settings. Some of you, however, wanted nothing more than to jet off for a holiday in the sun in destinations like Hawaii, Sydney, the Caribbean, New Zealand and a host of South American destinations like Peru and Mexico. It was clear our entrants really got their imaginations going and ran wild with their dreams – especially one fellow who included the presence of Angelina Jolie in his!

Unfortunately, there’s only so much Superbreak can do – and that isn’t one of them. One thing we did do, however, was pick a winner. And it was tough. There were heaps of fantastic dreams and cutting them down to end up with only one was a truly nightmarish task. But we managed, and our congratulations go to Paul Marshall for his poignant entry, which we hope he can make true with the £1000 prize which can be used to tailor make a break on our website.

As for the rest of you who didn’t manage next time, keep your eyes peeled. We had so much fun with this competition that we’re already brainstorming the next – so good luck and keep dreaming!