Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for international travel
On the Water’s Edge in Geneva
By Linda Tancs
The annual Geneva Lake Festival in Switzerland takes place from August 4 to August 14. The event will feature dozens of food stalls, a parade, a carnival and concerts. Don’t miss the fireworks display on August 13 that will illuminate la Rade, the landmark water jet on the lake.
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Where Spring is Eternal
By Linda Tancs
Medellín is Colombia’s second city. Set in the Aburrá Valley, it’s surrounded by green mountains and enjoys springlike weather year round, earning it the moniker “City of Eternal Spring.” The city has come a long way since its darker days as the center of Pablo Escobar’s drug operation and related violence. In fact, in 2013, it was named the most innovative city in the world in The Wall Street Journal’s City of the Year Contest. Call it a model of industrial chic, with sleek new buildings housing cultural centers as well as an airborne gondola system and escalators hugging the hillside, both leading to inspiring views. The view is equally inspiring on the ground this time of year, when the flower festival ends with a parade of flower farmers. They transport beautiful floral arrangements, many weighing up to 150 pounds and measuring 15 feet in diameter.
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Second Life for Historic Ocean Liner
By Linda Tancs
In 1952, the SS United States took its maiden voyage to Europe and broke the transatlantic speed record. Over 100 feet longer than Titanic, it was the ship of choice for a who’s who including the likes of Marlon Brando, Salvador Dali, Grace Kelly and four U.S. presidents. Retired from active service in 1969, the ship has been moored in South Philadelphia since 1996. Now owned by a conservancy group, the old gal is being readied for a comeback thanks to Crystal Cruises. The luxury line recently announced plans to resurrect it as a 400-suite, 800-passenger ocean liner.
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Journey of a Music Hall
By Linda Tancs
Restored earlier this year, Wilton’s Music Hall in London’s East End is the only intact survivor of the City’s Grand Music Hall era. Of outstanding architectural and archeological significance, the arena has gone full circle—from music hall (in 1839, as an adjunct to an ale house) to mission house to warehouse and back to music hall. In its early heyday, two of its stars, Arthur Lloyd and George Leybourne (Champagne Charlie), were the first to perform for royalty. Extreme poverty in the East End in the late 1800s forced its conversion to a mission house that would last for 70 years. Once the mission closed in 1956, the building saw life as a rag sorting warehouse. When redevelopment plans came calling in the 1960s, the campaign began to save the landmark, ultimately bringing it back to life. The hall gives opportunities to emerging artists and presents a year round program that includes theatre (new commissions and classics), opera, dance, magic, music, cinema, circus, traditional music hall, comedy, puppetry and other art forms.
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Britain’s Beloved Models Turn 60
By Linda Tancs
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the very first Corgi diecast model car. Introduced in July 1956, the miniature vehicles were manufactured in Wales and named after the Welsh dog breed. Eventually Corgi achieved market dominance over Dinky, the British company that ushered in the modern era of toy cars in 1933. Its prized collections include The Aviation Archive, Hauliers of Renown, Vanguards and The Original Omnibus Company. They’re celebrating their special anniversary with limited edition models of famous vehicles and liveries from the air and the road. The Hornby Visitor Centre in Kent offers visitors a journey through the history of Britain’s best-loved toys, including Corgi, Hornby, Scalextric and Airfix. The retail shop offers an array of these products as well.
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Ireland’s First School of Falconry
By Linda Tancs
At Ireland’s Ashford Castle in County Mayo you’ll delight in an embarrassment of riches. Dating back to 1228, the glorious castle on the picturesque shores of Lough Corrib set amidst 350 acres of ancient woods was once home to the Guinness family and later found fame as the respite of choice for actors in the classic film “The Quiet Man.” Now part of the Red Carnation hotel chain, the five-star property offers luxurious trappings fit for royalty (a common guest), like unique works of art, carefully sourced antique furniture, custom designed carpets and beds and exquisite towels and linens. No wonder, then, that it’s been voted one of the best hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure. Of all the estate’s activities, one of the most exciting is its falconry school. The oldest established school in the country, instruction in this ancient sport requires no previous training. Just the thing when the usual pursuits of golf, tennis, kayaking, boat cruising, horse riding, tennis or fishing just won’t do.
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Portobello Gins Up Interest in Hotel
By Linda Tancs
What could be better than ginning up interest in—gin! The opening of a new gin distillery in London, England, might not garner that much interest but for the fact that you can eat, drink and sleep in it! That’s the idea behind a new hotel from the folks at Portobello Road Gin. Opening in November, the new venue (at Portobello Road, where else) will include not only a boutique hotel but also a gin museum, blending rooms, a Spanish style “Gintonic” bar and restaurant, an actual distillery and the “Ginstitute,” a mixologist’s delight. Better book early for this spirited respite.
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The Horns of a Dilemma
By Linda Tancs
To run or not to run? That is the question this time of year as revelers contemplate the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The renowned centerpiece of the festival of San Fermin (patron saint of Navarra) takes place each day at 8:00 a.m. from July 7 to July 14. Runners (over the age of 18) must be in the running area by 7:30. The actual run stretches from the corral at Santo Domingo where the bulls are kept to the bullring where they will fight that same afternoon. Undoubtedly wishing to be spared a horn salute, the brave participants will first pray to the saint to guide them in their run, a mad dash that typically lasts three or four minutes. The most dangerous part of the bullrun is a closed curve leading into Calle Estafeta, the longest stretch. The last stretch is also very risky because it leads into a dead end street providing access to the bullring.
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More Than Cheese
By Linda Tancs
Edam is a semi-hard cheese that originated in the Netherlands and put its namesake city on the map. But there’s more to this city than its cheese. In fact, shipbuilding is a prosperous part of its history, giving birth to Halve Maen (Half Moon). That was the ship assigned to Henry Hudson by the Dutch East India Company to chart a new route to Asia. Instead, bad weather found him charting the river in New York that now bears his name. Prized today for quaint shops and canals, it also boasts a fort with spectacular views of the wetlands. And, oh, about the cheese: the cheese market was the hub of the city in the Middle Ages where farmers brought their cheeses to be weighed, sold and exported all over the world. Re-enactments of the market’s hustle and bustle are held on Wednesdays during the summer from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Look for signage to Kaasmarkt.
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The Pride of Norway
By Linda Tancs
One of Norway’s best loved attractions is just an hour’s drive north from Oslo. There you’ll find Skibladner, the world’s oldest paddle steamer, ploughing Lake Mjøsa, Norway’s largest inland lake. The pride of Norway, the oldest preserved paddle steamer in timetabled service is celebrating 160 years of sailing this year. Skibladner sails between the villages and towns around Lake Mjøsa as she has always done: Lillehammer, Moelv, Gjøvik, Hamar and Eidsvoll. Sailings began on June 22 and continue through August 14.
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