Travelrific® Travel Journal

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Archive for June, 2012

Vacation Deal of the Week

By Linda Tancs

Compagnie du Ponant is now offering new “all-inclusive” fares, including accommodations and exquisite gourmet cuisine, onboard activities and entertainment, 24/7 open bar, gratuities, and port/safety taxes and fees.  Contact me at Wanderful Cruises for the latest specials.

Brimming Balearic Islands

By Linda Tancs

Only a short flight from mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands are a Mediterranean treasure brimming with not only great beaches but also enough fine food, wines and cultural attractions to satisfy even the most discriminating traveler.  Let’s visit Mallorca, Minorca and Ibiza.  Tune in to Travelrific® Radio.

Copenhagen Rocks

By Linda Tancs

Roskilde Festival is the largest North European culture and music festival since 1971.  From 30 June to 8 July Roskilde will be the new Woodstock, offering beginner and experienced festival goer alike the opportunity to eat, sleep and jam under a lingering summer lighted sky outside Copenhagen.   The lineup is always spectacular, and this year is no different, with acts like Björk, The Cure, Springsteen, Dr. John and a host of Danish bands.  All profits from Roskilde Festival are donated to humanitarian and cultural work.  Get there via train from Copenhagen airport to  Central Station and switch to a train that leaves for Roskilde.  Direct shuttle buses and trains departing from Roskilde station will get you to the field.

 

 

The Fairy Trail

By Linda Tancs

The Lily Dale Fairy Trail sounds like the title of a children’s book, but it’s an honest-to-goodness hiking trail in Lily Dale Assembly, a religious corporation promoting spiritualism located in southwestern New York just one hour south of Buffalo.  The Fairy Trail is marked by pink fairies on the trees, engaging visitors to stay alert for fairy houses, gnome houses and small villages located along the trail.  Like other features of this community (Forest Temple and Inspiration Stump), the trail offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy the natural surroundings in a meditative way.  Lily Dale is open to visitors year round, but visits from 29 June to 2 September require a gate fee.

A Land for Little Vikings

By Linda Tancs

Are you of Norwegian heritage?  Well now there’s a place for your little Vikings to explore their background on this side of the pond.  Land of the Vikings is a year-round cultural and recreational center in Sherman, Pennsylvania.  Just 35 miles east of Binghamton, New York, its 150 acres provide the perfect venue for the children’s summer camp.  In addition to outdoor sports activities, the camp offers classes in the Norwegian language as well as traditions such as rosemaling, woodworking, and hardanger.  The camp serves children aged 12 to 15 from 1-7 July and those aged 8 to 11 from 8-14 July.

London’s Cultural Olympiad

By Linda Tancs

The party has gone on for four years now, commencing with the announcement of London’s acquisition of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Since 2008, the Cultural Olympiad has featured programs and projects inspired by London 2012.  The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is the London 2012 Festival, providing over 10 million chances to see free world-class events throughout the UK until the Paralympics end on 9 September.  Don’t miss today’s premiere London 2012 event, the world premiere of Lakes Alive, a spectacular new show by Les Commandos Percu.  It will follow the arrival of the Olympic Torch at Lake Windermere earlier in the evening and will feature musical rhythms and amazing effects as fireworks dance to a thumping soundtrack.  Get the party started!

It’s a Dog’s Life

By Linda Tancs

Well, maybe it’s not quite a dog’s life after all.  Even pooches need to get away from it all, as Canine Camp Getaway of New York would have you believe.  How does a vacation in the beautiful Adirondacks sound?  Your faithful companion will enjoy activities ranging from frisbee to skateboarding, rewinding afterwards at the very social Yappy Hour.  Don’t feel left out.  You can enjoy your own pursuits, like horseback riding, zumba, and the spa.  The fun lasts from 24 to 28 June at Lake George.

Villages of the Gard Provençal

By Linda Tancs

The Gard Provençal in southern France is filled with natural attractions.  For instance, La Roque-sur-Cèze was built on a rock peak overlooking the Cèze. Dominated by the traces of the former castle and its chapel, the village has sloping cobbled streets offering  breathtaking view of the Cascades du Sautadet.  Nearby, at a bend in the Cèze River, is the medieval village of Montclus, nestled between wooded hills, lavender fields and vineyards.  From mid-June to early August the lavender prairies stretch as far as the eye can see.  What are you waiting for?

Hunker Down in West Virginia

By Linda Tancs

The Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark, an award-winning resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.  Surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains, the impeccably appointed Greenbrier offers superb amenities such as championship golf, fine dining, more than 50 activities, designer boutiques, a 5-star spa and a 103,000 square foot gaming and entertainment venue.  So it might seem a bit strange that in the midst of these luxurious, pampering surroundings is a bunker.  Yes, a bunker–as in the Cold War era, underground kind.  Once a top secret Government facility, the now declassified bunker beneath the West Virginia Wing is a unique attraction for a luxury property.  Boasting such sites as a decontamination area and power plant, the bunker is a piece of living history open for tours by the public and registered hotel guests alike.  The Greenbrier is easily reached via Amtrak or flights to Greenbrier Valley Airport.

Disney’s Land of Cars

By Linda Tancs

Children of all ages, rev your engines.  Tomorrow marks the debut of Disney’s Cars Land.   The newest addition to Disney California Adventure Park brings Radiator Springs to life, providing head-to-head racing through the spectacular Ornament Valley.  If that’s not enough of a rush for you, then head to Luigi’s Flying Tires, where you’ll literally float on air on an oversized flying tire.  In true Disney fashion, the streets of Radiator Springs will come alive with music and lights once the sun sets.