Starting on January 1, 2010, Bank of America cardholders can get into select museums, zoos, science centers, botanical gardens and more for free with the Museums on Us program . All you need is your Bank of America card and a photo ID.

Some of the country’s finest are included, such as the Museum of Fine
Arts in Boston; Winterthur in Delaware; High Museum of Art in
Atlanta; The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI; Please Touch
 in Philadelphia, PA; and in New York City: the Metropolitan,
Bronx Zoo, and Whitney Museum of American Art. 

Get the full list of participating locations, as well as eligible 

weekends through September 2010, here:

http://museums.bankofamerica.com/

Finding discounts on travel has never been more important.  While Orlando theme park admissions remain expensive, annual passes may be a way to save, especially for Florida residents.   

Sea World currently offers a fantastic deal good through December 31, 2010.  Florida residents (children and adults) pay only $69.95, less than a 1-day ticket, and can come back all year to enjoy Shamu, the rides and sights with a 2010 SeaWorld Fun Card. Enjoy unlimited general admission through December 31, 2010 if  purchased online. The ticket has no blackout dates, but parking is not included.  A combined Fun Card for Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa is $139.90. Check the Internet at www.SeaWorldOrlando.com or www.BuschGardensTampaBay.com or at participating AAA offices.

For non-Florida residents, the Blackstone Corp. parks, which include Busch Gardens, Sea World and the two water parks Adventure Island and Aquatica, offer “annual passports” for any combination of the four parks. For example, the one-park annual price is $99.95, or a 2 year pass is only $149.99.  An annual pass with unlimited entry to any of the four parks costs $239.95.  The cost can be broken into monthly payments that are drafted from a bank account. Again, see the website for various combination ticket prices. 

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure also offer a discounted Florida resident holiday pass.  Enjoy unlimited admission to both theme parks through January 31, 2010 with no blackout dates for only $79.99 plus tax per person.

However, you may wish to think ahead. Universal’s Islands of Adventure will open the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in spring 2010. At a construction cost of $235 - $265 million, this park guarantees magic for mere muggles.  An annual pass to both Universal parks can be purchased for $149.99 with blackout dates or $229.99 with no blackout dates and free parking. Since Universal has no firm Potter opening date, it remains difficult to plan for school spring breaks. However, the price is outstanding compared to a 1-day, 1-park gate cost of $79.  Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure also offer monthly payments for an annual pass.

Disney does not offer a monthly payment plan. Nor does it allow consumers to choose which of the four parks they’d rather visit, making the cheapest of its passes, the seasonal pass, the priciest of all the parks. The cost for ages 10 and up is ^$489; however Florida residents get a discounted price of $369, including parking.  A Florida seasonal pass (which includes many blackout dates) is only $249 and Floridians may buy an Epcot after 4 PM pass for $139- good if you enjoy dining onsite. Check www.MouseSavers.com .

As a grandparent of five, purchasing myself a card may be the best way to go. Remember, the savings will depend on the number of times you actually visit the park.  Of course, the gift of an annual pass will guarantee smiles and gives any age child something to look forward to-with or without grandma.  

In one of the most gorgeous scenic landscapes anywhere in the world, you will find one of the most bizarre mortuaries.

The tiny town of Hallstatt (population 1,000) lies precariously perched on the side of a mountain. Little A-frame houses cling to the hillside as if they were magically suspended or stuck on with Velcro. Main Street rests at the base, along the shores of a shimmering blue lake resembling a fjord.  A stone church with a tall pointed steeple seems close enough to teeter on the edge.

    Walk along Main which runs up and down like a staircase throughout the village (cars are not permitted during the day). Climb up to the Roman Catholic Church with a fine 16^th-century altarpiece and cemetery with an eerie bone chapel. Compared to the Capuchin Cemetery in Rome (see my previous blog) , the Hallstatt collection is more a one room schoolhouse. Called a Beinhaus or charnel house , it crams in 1,200 skulls painted with floral designs and in some cases the name, date and cause of death.

You see, shortage of space in the graveyard limited the number of burial plots.  So, bodies were removed after decomposing for ten years to make room for the new.  The practice makes sense when you understand and see the territorial constraints. The bone chapel is a sacred place to the close-knit residents.

Most tourists come to Hallstatt to see the beauty of the setting and visit the salt mines.   A nearby funicular runs up the mountain transporting guests to observation point with a storybook, awe-inspiring view.  Then, they hike a path to the mine entrance and don pajama-like jumpsuits.  Group tours enter a tunnel and then progress deeper underground via fast wooden slides.  This makes a fun adventure and eventually you exit by straddling a small train.

Hallstatt calls itself Austria’s oldest town with solid evidence dating back to 400 BC. The town name derives from the Celtic word “hall” meaning salt. Hence, salt mines near the village provided the livelihood for the region, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site .

Another fascinating attraction in the area is the Dachstein ice cave.  To get to the cave, ride a gondola, then hike uphill about twenty minutes to reach the entrance. Spectacular and certainly worth the effort. Warning:  even in summer the temperature in the caves is cool enough to require a jacket.

Absolutely don’t miss the Reinanke trout fresh from the lake. The local fish is served on a slab and tastes luscious, buttery and mouth watering good.  In fact I’ll make a bold statement– Reinanke is the best fish I have ever eaten. I devoured it both nights we stayed in
the Salzkammergut region .

My family loved visiting Hallstatt in the month of June, but I can’t imagine stopping there in winter.  Well…I do live in Florida.  However, if I got that chance, I’d go- with the warmest parka I could find.

You’ll find the cemetery, actually a crypt beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, on the Via Veneto near Palazzo Barbareni. The ghastly chamber reeks with decay and is divided into five tiny chapels linked via a dim passageway.  The place is so weird, even Dan Browne never mentioned it in his book, Angels and Demons.

Within lies the final resting place for over 4,000 Capuchin friars, who died between 1528 and 1870. Some were first buried elsewhere, and then transferred here. The soil in the crypt was brought from Jerusalem. A few dozen skeletons remain intact, draped in hooded Franciscan habits. Large numbers of bones adorn the walls in complex decorative patterns; some resemble bas-reliefs, others hang from the ceiling as working light fixtures. One chapel overflows with countless leg bones and  another with skulls.

A plaque in one of the chapels reads, in three languages, “What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.”

The first room, known as the crypt of the resurrection, features a picture of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, framed by parts of a human skeleton. Visitors are encouraged to interpret the displays of funereal art as the Christian belief in resurrection and everlasting life.

I honestly can’t describe the macabre, grotesque effect, albeit with a certain artistic merit.  The unearthed skeletal array makes this sacred shrine more a ghoulish tourist attraction. One needs only a few minutes to see the place, if at all.

Disney theme parks will offer free admission to those who complete a day of volunteer work in 2010.  Yes, a free day’s admission to 1 million guests who complete a day of volunteer work next year.

The “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program will provide certified volunteers with a one-day ticket to any park at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, or Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, in 2010.

Disney is partnering with HandsOn Network , a clearinghouse with 70,000 affiliated agencies, from Habitat for Humanity to local food banks, churches, health-care centers, and educational programs.

Once their service is verified by HandsOn, volunteers print out an online certificate that can be redeemed at a Disney park. See www.DisneyParks.com.