Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for March, 2011
Pyrotechnics in Spain
By Linda Tancs
Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain is a different kind of celebration, ushering in the warmer weather with a fireworks-like display of burning cardboard statues and effigies around town. Fallas (meaning fires) is a unique pyrotechnic display, bringing this city of about 500,000 inhabitants into a blaze of glory for five days. The roots of this fiery fiesta are uncertain, but many say that it originated as a Pagan ritual to celebrate the onset of spring. During the day, there are plenty of parades and bullfights to keep you busy until the smoky haze begins again.
Share this:
A Holi Day in India
By Linda Tancs
On 20 March Indians celebrate the festival of Holi, a celebration of ancient origin marking the triumph of good over evil. On this day, people hug and wish each other ‘Happy Holi’. They also are awash in color, using water jets to spray buckets full of color water on each other or rubbing on colored powders–the tradition of playing colors. Holi is the great equalizer, all class distinctions dissolving into colored water. Every day should be a holi day.
Share this:
South by Southwest
By Linda Tancs
South by Southwest is more than just direction. It’s an event in Austin, Texas beginning tomorrow where original music, independent films, and emerging technologies converge. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the conferences and festivals through 20 March offer invaluable networking opportunities. Bring lots of business cards.
Share this:
Opera in a Ghost Town
By Linda Tancs
Death Valley Junction is an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert in California. Formerly known as Amargosa, its sole claim to fame these days is the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel run by a former New York City Radio City Music Hall dancer, Marta Becket. Performing faithfully on weekends for an audience of none or some, Marta’s House is a previously abandoned recreation hall built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. The marker in town explains that the community, with a population high of 300, is a historic crossroad used by Indians, ranchers, farmers, settlers and tourists. At this junction, the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad connected with the Las Vegas-Tonopah Railroad to service the Ryan and Lila C. borax mines near Ryan during the years 1914-28. The town is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Share this:
Tater City
By Linda Tancs
Blackfoot, Idaho was known as Grove City, a tribute to its abundance of trees and parks. Don’t forget the potatoes, though. Blackfoot is the agricultural epicenter of Idaho’s revered potato industry. Known as the Potato Capital of the World, it hosts–what else–the Idaho Potato Museum. With each paid adult admission,
you will receive a box of hash browns to take home with you. Welcome to tater heaven.
Share this:
Crossroads of the West
By Linda Tancs
Salt Lake City, Utah claims to be different by nature. So what’s so different? You can join their real-time chat and find out. Maybe it’s the Great Salt Lake, the largest lake west of the Mississippi, covering 2,100 square miles. Did you know that only the Dead Sea has a higher salt content than the Great Salt Lake? Another distinguishing feature of the city is its world-renowned genealogical center. Located downtown at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, computers at the FamilySearch Center access millions of worldwide records. Best of all, admission is free. Of course, there’s also the skiing. Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort has the longest ski season in Utah (through the month of May). You want to see it all, don’t you? Get the Connect Pass and save on 13 of Utah’s best attractions. It’s what nature intended, after all.
Share this:
High Society Shines in Vienna
By Linda Tancs
The evening view of the Vienna State Opera is spectacular, but what happens in it today has high society all aglow. The auditorium of the State Opera hosts debutantes in white rustling gowns crowned with crystal tiaras and men in tails, regaling guests in a precise and dizzying waltz around the dance floor. Held on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, a ticket to the ball is one of the world’s most coveted. Get your dancing shoes ready for next year.
Share this:
Geneva Auto Show is a People Pleaser
By Linda Tancs
At last year’s auto show in Geneva, automakers debuted their versions of fuel-efficient vehicles. At this year’s 81st Geneva International Motor Show, it’s the human element that gets center stage. In other words, this year’s show strives to recognize that all the engineering in the world is meaningless if the art and pleasure of driving–Fahrvergnügen in Volkswagen speak–is ignored. So it should come as no surprise that this year’s poster, showing the silhouette of a young woman at the wheel of her cabriolet, evokes the pleasure of driving. Visit tomorrow through 13 March at GENEVA PALEXPO, just a three minute walk from the Geneva Airport railway station.
Share this:
Easy Service to Gatwick
By Linda Tancs
Looking for an easy way to get from Gatwick Airport to central London? The easyBus Gatwick Airport bus runs direct to and from Earl’s Court/West Brompton in just 1 hour 5 minutes. Airport transfer prices start from £2 online, and you can guarantee your seat. Services are up to every 20 minutes from the North terminal and South terminal. Another great alternative for transportation from Gatwick!
Travelrific® Travel Journal 