Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for April, 2021
Myth and Legend at Kylemore Abbey
By Linda Tancs
Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium during World War I. Legend has it that a giant living in mountains adjacent to the abbey threw a giant stone at his rival in the valley. The stone landed in an unusual position in the estate, where it remains today. Known as the Giant Ironing Stone (due to its resemblance to an iron used for clothes), it’s a popular wishing stone for visiting children, who also enjoy the pigs and Connemara ponies. The 1,000-acre site also features a six-acre Victorian walled garden as well as a lakeshore walk that will lead you to a neo-Gothic church that is now used for music recitals and poetry readings.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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A Figure of Eight in Italy
By Linda Tancs
Castel del Monte in southern Italy strikes a perfect octagonal shape. That’s part of what makes it unique, an octagonal plan with octagonal towers at each angle. Commissioned around 1240 by German Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, this fortress on a hill is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lauded for its harmonious blending of cultural elements from northern Europe, the Muslim world and classical antiquity, its exterior limestone block is remarkably intact. Located in Andria near Bari, you can easily reach it by bus, train or car.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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199 Steps and a Chair
By Linda Tancs
You’ll just need to climb a mere 199 stone steps to get fetching views of the harbor and town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. If that’s too arduous for you, then take the bus tour instead. No matter how you ascend, you’ll also get to visit the ruins of the Benedictine abbey that was founded after the Norman Conquest. A bit more off-the-beaten path is the abbey’s medieval, mile boundary marker. Known as the Whitby wishing chair, the seat-like stone base structure is all that remains of a cross marking the way to the abbey. As the name suggests, you’re supposed to sit in it and make a wish. You’ll find it at the junction of Love Lane and Stakesby Road on the western outskirts of town.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Japan’s Wisteria Tunnel
By Linda Tancs
Arguably one of the most beautiful parks in Japan, Kawachi Wisteria Garden is awash this time of year in, you guessed it, wisteria. An overwhelming 22 kinds of wisteria flowers will be in bloom, forming a kaleidoscopic tunnel measuring 262 feet. The park is located in Kitakyushu, six hours outside of Tokyo.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Romanticism in Portugal
By Linda Tancs
The Palacio Nacional da Pena (Pena Palace) in Portugal is regarded as the country’s greatest example of Romanticism, an umbrella term that covers many of the European 19th-century “revivalist” and Eastern-influenced styles. In this case, it mimics Romanesque Revival and Neo-Manueline architecture. The imposing, colorful castle is perched on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra. They say that on a clear day you can see it from Lisbon. Don’t let that stop you from taking a closer look. The gardens are likewise stunning, filled with walking paths, pavilions, lakes, ponds and exotic trees.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Art in the Canary Islands
By Linda Tancs
Gran Canaria might be best known for its black lava and white sand beaches, but locals are just as impressed with the evolution of artistic styles in the archipelago. Spanish architecture is a given, considering that the Spanish colonized the islands in the 1400s. But you’ll also find aboriginal monuments along with traces of Gothic, Baroque, Moorish and modernist influences. In the port city of Las Palmas, a colossal sculpture known as “Lady Harimaguada” dominates the water’s edge, an abstract work by the late Spanish sculptor Martín Chirino. Several bus routes are just minutes away from it.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Nervous Sharks in Australia
By Linda Tancs
It’s hard to imagine a shark being nervous. Yet there is a species of shark called the nervous shark, so named due to its timid nature around humans. It’s one of at least 28 species of shark in Shark Bay. Located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, this World Heritage Site is approximately 500 miles north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. And don’t let the name fool you. The locale is home to more than 100 species of reptiles and amphibians, 240 species of birds, 820 species of fish and more than 80 coral and 218 bivalve species. It’s also a safe haven for some of the world’s most endangered species, including the loggerhead turtle, green turtle, dugong and four mammal species not found in the wild anywhere else. You can explore some of the area’s best spots by following the World Heritage Drive or book a tour at the World Heritage Discovery & Visitor Centre.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Rural Life in Piedmont
By Linda Tancs
Parco Naturale Valle del Ticino is a protected area in Ticino and Lake Maggiore in the Piedmont region of Italy. The park is situated in the south of Lake Maggiore, where the Ticino River flows out from the lake and reaches Lombardy. The landscape is primarily rural, dotted with mills and farmhouses. The river valley has seen its share of excitement, however, having been plumbed by gold diggers until just decades ago. These days a popular point of interest is Mulino Vecchio of Bellinzago, the only working watermill in the valley. Rebuilt in 1718, it has become a Regional Center for Environmental Education.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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The Blue Forest
By Linda Tancs
There’s good reason why Belgium’s Hallerbos is called “the blue forest.” Around mid-April the bluebells bloom, turning the entire forest floor into a sea of purple-blue wonder. You’ll find two marked trails: the Achtdreven (in the middle of the bluebell area) and the roebuck walk, more than half of which passes through the blooms. Just south of Brussels, the forest is located predominately in Halle.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Racing in Germany
By Linda Tancs
Do you have a need for speed? Then maybe the Nürburgring is for you. Located in western Germany, it’s one of the most famous, historical racetracks in the world. You needn’t sit idly by as a spectator, either. Anyone with a license and a validly titled vehicle can enter the track. The North Loop is especially prized by race fanatics. Of course, the ring hosts several important races, including the World Touring Car Championship’s Race of Germany. The track is just one hour away from Cologne.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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