Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Author Archive
The Calendar House
By Linda Tancs
A calendar house is a form of house dictated by the calendar. The principle of the calendar house is that the number of external doors, windows or panes of glass, chimneys, staircases or other elements should total four (the number of seasons), seven (days in a week), 12 (months in a year) or 365 (days in a year). Dating to around the Elizabethan era, the first such house is Knole in Kent, built after Elizabeth I’s death by one of her courtiers, Thomas Sackville (1st Earl of Dorset). The calendar in this case is represented through the 365 rooms, 52 staircases and seven courtyards. Once an archbishop’s palace, King Henry VIII liked it so much that he forced his archbishop to hand it over to him. Now owned by the National Trust, the Sackville family still occupies a portion of the estate, where you’ll find a medieval deer park and showrooms featuring textiles, paintings and a world class collection of Royal Stuart furniture.
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A Norman Masterpiece in Sicily
By Linda Tancs
Built between 1170 and 1189, the Norman cathedral in Monreale is one of Sicily’s key attractions. Among its treasures are the 12th-century Byzantine mosaics, estimated to have been made with nearly 5,000 pounds of gold. They depict scenes from both the Old Testament and New Testament as well as the lives of saints. King William II of Sicily (William the Good) lived just long enough to see the completion of his commissioned church. He’s the last of the Norman kings to be buried there. Monreale is a few miles from the center of Palermo; there’s regular bus service from Piazza Indipendenza.
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Belfast’s City Hall
By Linda Tancs
In 1888 Queen Victoria granted Belfast in Northern Ireland the status of a city and it was agreed that a grand and magnificent building was required to reflect this new status. The resulting Belfast City Hall does not disappoint. Built in the Baroque Revival style and constructed in Portland stone, it opened in 1906. A one-hour guided tour will reveal its cherished features, including the stained glass windows, civic regalia in the Robing Room and the two royal thrones used by George V and Queen Mary in the Council Chamber. The building is located at Donegall Square.
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The Search for Gold in Kansas
By Linda Tancs
Built in the 1930s and resembling an old stone fortification, Coronado Heights Castle in Lindsborg, Kansas, marks the spot where a conquistador allegedly gave up his search for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Specifically, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado is believed to have visited what is now the Kansas wilderness in the 1540s during his hunt for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Like other explorers, he was unsuccessful in his mission and returned to his native land. Today the site is a favorite for picnicking, flying kites, hiking or riding the off-road bike trails.
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All About Trout
By Linda Tancs
Established in 1896 to propagate, stock and establish trout populations, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives in Spearfish, South Dakota, is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in the country. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it boasts over 1.8 million fisheries artifacts and other objects, the largest collection in the country. The site still rears trout for tribal and military waters. Visitors can engage with brown and rainbow trout by feeding them or watching them through the underwater viewing windows. The grounds are open daily from dawn until dusk.
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The House That Beer Built
By Linda Tancs
Just 25 miles south of downtown St. Louis, the ancestral home of Fred and Mabel Ruth Anheuser (of beer fame) is located in Kimmswick, Missouri. Affectionately known as Fredmar Farms, the historic estate was gifted to Fred and Mabel Ruth in the 1940s by his father, W. Fred Anheuser, whose ancestor, Eberhard Anheuser, was the founder of E. Anheuser Brewing Company. The brewery later became the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, producer of world famous Budweiser beer, after Eberhard’s daughter Lillie married Adolphus Busch. The pristine river estate and its 23-acre grounds were donated to the city, which offers Saturday tours by appointment only.
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Fort Ancient
By Linda Tancs
The largest hilltop enclosure in North America, Fort Ancient is a Native American earthworks complex in Oregonia, Ohio. Located on a bluff overlooking the Little Miami River, the 2,000-year-old site was not really a fort but rather a gathering place for ceremonial activities, particularly at Morehead Circle near the museum on the premises. Today, the site (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is a nature-lover’s paradise with miles of trails, scenic overlooks and earthen embankments, some of which reach 23 feet high. Allow at least two hours for your visit.
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The Home of William Faulkner
By Linda Tancs
Regarded as one of the most preeminent American writers of the 20th century, Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner featured his native state of Mississippi in his works. Rowan Oak in Oxford was his home from 1930 until his death in 1962 and is an essential part of any visit to the North Mississippi area. The Greek Revival house served as inspiration for much of his work and is open for visits year round. The grounds of the estate include Bailey Woods Trail, which links Rowan Oak to the museum of the University of Mississippi, which now owns and operates the estate. Stretching approximately 3,000 feet, the heavily wooded trail, a favorite of Faulkner’s, takes about 20 minutes to walk.
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The Wildlife of Wichita Mountains
By Linda Tancs
Best known for its roaming herds of bison, longhorn and Rocky Mountain elk, Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system. There are abundant opportunities for wildlife photography as well as fishing, bird watching, hiking, camping and kayaking. Take time to explore over 50,000 acres of mixed grass prairie, ancient granite mountains and fresh water lakes and streams. Located near Cache and Lawton, the refuge is open daily from sunrise to sunset.
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A Little Paris in Tennessee
By Linda Tancs
If you’re looking for a little Parisian flair without the air fare, then maybe you should head to Paris, Tennessee. West of Nashville, the city was named after its French counterpart in honor of the general Marquis de Lafayette. And what would a namesake city be without one of the most iconic landmarks in its midst? At Eiffel Tower Park, you’ll find a 70-foot steel replica of the Eiffel Tower. Just across the street from the park is Eiffel Tower Extended, where a stocked pond is open to anyone with a valid fishing license and trout stamp. The pond is stocked with a total of 1,000 trout fish biannually, in December and January.
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