Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for england
A Shard of Glass in London
By Linda Tancs
If you thought the views from the London Eye were amazing, wait until the viewing galleries for The Shard at London Bridge Quarter open next February. Hailed as a vertical city, the glass pyramid undergoing final construction in London will offer 40 mile views across the city. The Shard is the EU’s tallest building at 1017 feet. You can pre-register now for updated visitor information.
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Taking Off in London
By Linda Tancs
London, England is a treasure trove of cultural enrichment, architectural design and—airports? That’s right. As if Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City weren’t enough to service London and the surrounding area, you now have a sixth option: Southend. Located less than 40 miles east of Central London and less than 38 miles from Stratford, Southend is easily accessible to passengers by car, rail, coach, bus or taxi. The airport officially opened on 5 March. easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, celebrated its inaugural flight from Southend to Belfast on 2 April. With flights to other popular European destinations like Barcelona, Amsterdam and Malaga, the seaside resort-turned-air hub may give the other contenders a run for their money.
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Honest Burgers in London
By Linda Tancs
London offers a menu to suit any palate, but who would’ve known that Brixton’s old covered market area in the southwest area of the city would become a culinary hotspot? Better get in line early for places like Honest Burgers, where the beef comes straight from happy cows on the Yorkshire Moors. Served on a toasted glazed bun with hand cut, triple-cooked rosemary chips, this bit of comfort food is honestly delicious.
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An Enchanting Tour
By Linda Tancs
The last installment of the Harry Potter film series may have passed, but the movie magic will never end. You can experience the enchantment of Harry Potter’s world in London at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. The self-guided, three-hour walking tour takes you behind the scenes of such sites as the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office (including the sword of Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat and the Hogwarts headmaster portraits), Diagon Alley and Hagrid’s hut. The tour also reveals secrets on the execution of those special effects and animatronics. Be sure to order your tickets in advance; there are no sales at the door.
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The Flying Duchess
By Linda Tancs
Woburn Abbey has been the home of the Dukes of Bedford for nearly 400 years. As with any historical manor, the stories of its occupants over the centuries are what bring it to life for contemporary guests. In the case of Woburn, the ladies of the house are just as compelling as their male counterparts. Take, for example, Mary Russell, wife of the 11th Duke. In the spirit of our modern era Amelia Earhart, she embraced aviation and flew record-breaking flights from Kent to India and later Cape Town. An ill-fated flight in 1937 resulted in her plane washing ashore near Great Yarmouth; her body was never recovered. Her adventurous spirit is reflected in the Flying Duchess’ Room at the Abbey.
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Celebrating the Bard
By Linda Tancs
The biggest celebration of Shakespeare ever staged begins today in the UK. The World Shakespeare Festival is the first ever collaboration between Tate Modern, the British Museum, National Theatre, British Council and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Considering that over 64 million children worldwide study Shakespeare, part of the event’s focus is its collaboration with teachers. An education conference in September will bring together education professionals, international artists and academics to investigate learning through Shakespeare and the arts. Another highlight of this months-long event is the staging of Shakespeare-inspired productions with 7200 amateur theatre makers in 260 groups across the UK. Overall, thousands of artists from around the world will take part in almost 70 productions, events and exhibitions in locations including London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Newcastle/Gateshead, Birmingham, Wales and Scotland. Can’t travel? No worries. An exciting digital platform called My Shakespeare will give you a chance to create your own visualization and release your own works onto the site. Over a million tickets will be sold for the festival, which runs through November.
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A Beehive of Activity in London
By Linda Tancs
With the Olympics fast approaching, you can well imagine the beehive of activity in the great city of London. But the beehive of which I speak today is of a different variety: 40 colonies, to be exact. That’s how many families of bees are tucked away in secret locations in London’s Regent’s Park, producing some of the tastiest honey in Britain under the watchful eye of bee farmer Toby Mason. Did you know that a queen bee can lay as many as 2000 eggs per day? With that kind of production, there’s plenty of need for more beekeepers and farmers. You can take beekeeping classes in Regent’s Park and grow your own dynasty.
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The Real Deal in Chelsea
By Linda Tancs
Now the oldest antiques fair in Britain, London’s Chelsea Antiques Fair wants visitors to be assured of high standards. They secure outside experts to check the veracity of labels as well as the quality and authenticity of the pieces on show. So you rest assured that those new 17th century entrants this year are the real deal. Other selections include fine Victorian and 19th Century European oil paintings, British and Continental porcelain, Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass, antique books, prints and maps, and a smattering of the interesting and unusual. If you can’t manage it all from 21 -25 March, then come back in September. The event is at Old Town Hall on Kings Road. Admission is only £5; that leaves room for spending.
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Cornwall Marks Annual Holiday
By Linda Tancs
March 5 of every year is St. Piran’s Day, the patron saint of tin miners. Piran is also the patron saint of Cornwall in southwest England. So what does a typical Cornish celebration look like? That would be an annual processional play acting out Piran’s life from his birth in Ireland to his arrival in Cornwall and discovery of tin. Hundreds of flag-carrying people gather, generally dressed in black, white and gold (the colors of the Cornish flag). The action begins at 2 p.m. at Perran Sands Holiday Park. Don’t be late; have a pasty while you wait.
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Phoenix Rising in London
By Linda Tancs
The Phoenix Artist Club is a members’ club located in the heart of London’s Theatreland at 1 Phoenix Street, a haven for professionals from the performing arts and media industries. Transformed into a theatre bar in the 70s, the site is located in the original dressing and rehearsal rooms of the Phoenix Theatre where Laurence Olivier made his debut on stage in the 30s in “Private Lives” with Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence. Although a private club, visitors who retain any theatre stub or museum ticket can obtain a day pass to take in the nostalgia. Membership is required after 8 p.m.
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