Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for November, 2009
Trail Mix
By Linda Tancs
Since 1920 the folks at the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference have been developing, protecting and educating the public regarding the myriad of hiking trails in the region–1700 miles of them, to be exact. With all that acreage, aren’t you glad that someone can help you find the trail that best suits you? Their Web site’s search function lets you find a hike based on difficulty (ranging from easy to moderate to strenuous) and the kinds of features you’re after (like good views, swimming or wheelchair accessibility). You can even volunteer to help build or maintain a trail or engage in fundraising. As the song goes, this land is your land. Mother Earth is counting on you.
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Asian Art Biennial Celebrates Life and Art
By Linda Tancs
Oscar Wilde believed that the secret of life is in art. The Asian Art Biennial at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts is examining that interrelationship and its effect on shaping today’s Asia during the Viewpoints and Viewing Points exhibition from 24 October until 28 February. Fifty-six artists and teams from 20 Asian-Pacific countries have been invited to give their views on the current situations in Asia. What better place to start than with the diverse host locale of Taiwan, an island of multiple tribes, cuisines and religions. And now with the Neihu line connecting all of Taipei’s 12 administrative districts, you can explore the island’s largest city with ease.
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Rugby Rules in Bermuda
By Linda Tancs
Rugby fans are heading for Bermuda for the 22nd World Rugby Classic. Now through the 14th, teams competing for the top spot hail from Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom & Ireland, South Africa and the USA. While they’re there, they’ll help celebrate Bermuda’s 400th anniversary on 10 November at the National Sports Center. A few short weeks later comes the signature anniversary gala on 5 December at Fairmont Southampton. What you won’t find there during this festive season is Jack Frost–temps remain in the 60s and 70s. So put your dancing shoes on and come join the party.
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How Now Brown Cow
By Linda Tancs
Cheese aficionados, take note. If the process of cheesemaking is as interesting to you as the taste, then take a lesson or two at Shelburne Farms, a 123-acre estate in Vermont. Home of the Brown Swiss, a breed known for its high milk fat content, guests can pull an udder or two beside an accomplished milkmaid and immerse themselves in farm life, not to mention history. After all, cheddar’s origins in Cheddar, England date back to the 12th century. West of Bennington and part of the Vermont Cheese Trail, the inn on the farm offers 24 rooms with luxe accommodations (and a price to match). Are these green acres the place for you? Get moo-ving and find out.
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Outback Railway 80 Years On
By Linda Tancs
Named for the Afghan camel drivers who once explored its unchartered territory, Australia’s famed railway, The Ghan, celebrates 80 years of service this year. Led by its fire engine red locomotive, the train traverses the breaktaking landscape framing Australia’s Outback. Originally routed for Adelaide to Alice Springs, the journey now includes a Darwin extension. City slickers need not worry. Connections to the legendary railway are available on Indian Pacific and The Overland for guests travelling to or from Sydney and Melbourne. All aboard!
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A Wild Wedding
By Linda Tancs
Weddings can be a strange affair. You’ve heard of underwater weddings, sky diving weddings, Halloween-inspired weddings, and so on. Well, in a primate rescue center in Dorset, England, you can now have a wedding amongst the largest group of chimps outside of Africa. In June, Monkey World in Dorset, a 65-acre refuge, acquired a wedding license. At least one couple has married on the grounds since then, serenaded by the cacophony of some of the most abused and neglected monkeys in the world. Sort of gives animal magnetism a whole new meaning.
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An Illuminating Sight
By Linda Tancs
The cooler autumn air in Myanmar is warmed up a bit with the cascade of lighting taking place during the Tazaungdaing Festival. During November’s full moon, women weave saffron-colored robes as an offering to the Buddhist monks. More than just a robe-weaving festival, though, the event’s highlight is the vast illumination of pagodas, monasteries and even office buildings with colored lanterns and candles. As Saint Thomas Aquinas once said, “Better to illuminate than merely to shine.”
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