Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for September, 2022
A Giant in Italy
By Linda Tancs
Nearly three times the actual size of its subject, the Colossus of Barletta in Italy is a bronze statue of a Roman emperor (thought to be Theodosius II) in Barletta’s city center. An icon of the city, the 16-foot-high structure is also known as “the Giant.” Legend has it that the statue was found in 1204 on a rock in the port of Barletta following the sinking of a Venetian ship returning from a crusade. The more sensible explanation for its appearance is that it was transported to Puglia from Ravenna by imperial decree to serve as an embellishment. You’ll find it in front of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.
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The Most Flemish City
By Linda Tancs
Sometimes referred to as “the most Flemish city of the North,” Haarlem is one of the most beautiful cities in the Netherlands, its historic city center boasting hundreds of listed monuments. Many of them surround Grote Markt (great market), the oldest part of the city in the shadow of St. Bavo Cathedral. Situated along the river Spaarne, one of the locale’s icons is the functional and imposing De Adriaan windmill, where guided tours are offered in English. An easy day trip from Amsterdam, Haarlem has two railway stations and a bus connection with Schiphol Airport.
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The Turning Point in New York
By Linda Tancs
During America’s Revolutionary War in 1777, American troops battled and beat a British invasion force at Saratoga Battlefield, marking the first time in world history that a British army ever surrendered to another country, an event which helped to secure American independence. The battlefield (in Stillwater, New York) is the largest of four parts comprising Saratoga National Historical Park, an area encompassing Stillwater, Schuylerville and Victory, New York. In Victory, you’ll find a 155-foot obelisk commemorating the American victory; the surrender site (open April through November) is marked by an outdoor memorial just outside Schuylerville. Tours of the battlefield are self-guiding, using information in the park brochure available at the Visitor Center.
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Conservationist History in Vermont
By Linda Tancs
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion in Woodstock, Vermont, was built in 1805 for pioneering conservationist George Perkins Marsh. Originally rendered in the Federal style, it would undergo renovations under its subsequent owner Frederick Billings (a conservationist and pioneer in reforestation) to a Stick style mansion before taking its current shape in the Queen Anne style. Laurance Spelman Rockefeller and Mary French Rockefeller inherited the house in 1954, and it became a National Historic Landmark in 1967. Now part of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, it’s the only park in the nation that tells the story of conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America. Guided ranger tours (May through October) include stories revealed by the objects inside the mansion as well as a tour exploring the conservation legacy of the three families who called this place home. You’ll also want to explore the stunning gardens of the mansion grounds and take a walk through the woodland carriage roads and trails along the forested slopes of Mount Tom, one of the oldest, professionally managed woodlands in America. Enjoy a bird’s-eye view of Woodstock from Mount Tom’s South Peak.
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A Cornish Colony
By Linda Tancs
Cornish, New Hampshire, was the center of the Cornish Art Colony, a popular art movement from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Said to resemble an Italian landscape, the bucolic environment of Cornish and neighboring areas attracted artists and enthusiasts of all disciplines to the region. Its central figure was Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of America’s foremost sculptors, who catapulted to fame following his sculpture of Admiral Farragut, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. His home (named Aspet after the French birthplace of his father), gardens and studio in Cornish form Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park. A variety of guided tours of the park are offered daily, where you’ll find several of his bronze sculptures, including the Farragut monument. You can also explore on your own, including the trails that wind through the woods.
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King Apple
By Linda Tancs
Apples have been grown in North Carolina since European colonists settled there. The western part of the state is where you’ll find the action, particularly in Hendersonville. One of the country’s top apple-growing areas, it’s no wonder that the annual North Carolina Apple Festival is held there every Labor Day weekend. The event features a street fair on Main Street (including live musical entertainment, crafts, apple products, special exhibits and food) and culminates on Labor Day with the King Apple Parade, presenting floats, bands, fire trucks, cartoon characters, antique cars and more. The festival is just a 30-minute drive from Asheville.
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Where the Mountains Meet the Sea
By Linda Tancs
Camden is an idyllic village on Penobscot Bay in Maine’s MidCoast region. A self-described jewel of the coast, it’s often referred to as a place “where the mountains meet the sea.” That is indeed the case, with Bald Mountain (the fifth highest peak on the eastern seaboard) offering excellent views of Western Penobscot Bay, and Mount Battie featuring views of Camden Harbor and its summertime plethora of ships, yachts and windjammers. Labor Day weekend brings the annual Camden Windjammer Festival, the largest gathering of schooners in the Northeast. Celebrating the town’s maritime heritage, as many as 18 windjammers and schooners parade into the harbor on opening day, greeted by a welcome ceremony and followed by a schooner crew talent show and fireworks over the harbor. The two-day event offers family entertainment, day sailings, exhibitors and vendors.
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