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
The Birthplace of Modern Democracy
By Linda Tancs
At a riverside site near Windsor Castle, Britain’s King John signed the Magna Carta 800 years ago today. Lauded as one of the greatest constitutional documents of all time, it derived from a meeting between the King and a clutch of angry barons at Runnymede. It was a peace treaty of sorts, designed to quell the growing rebellion among barons against arbitrary and capricious policies of a tyrannical king seeking to line his own pockets. There are four remaining original copies of Magna Carta–two copies belong to the British Library, one copy is at Lincoln Cathedral and one is at Salisbury Cathedral. Today Queen Elizabeth II will attend commemoration events at Runnymede.
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The Paper Island
By Linda Tancs
Thailand’s southernmost island is Koh Lipe, a quiet paradise in the Andaman Sea near Malaysia. Its name has been roughly translated from the local language to mean “paper island.” From the looks of it, that’s an apt description. The island is flat, and its pure white beaches (three main ones) resemble a sheet of white paper. Now in low season, the good weather is coupled with low tourism (although the island in no way approaches the hustle and bustle of Phuket even in high season). Accessible only by boat, in low season the main transport hub is the pier at Pak Bara in Satun. Don’t go there via Phuket, though; the ride to Pak Bara is about seven hours’ long. From Hat Yai it’s only two hours by taxi to the pier.
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The Big Three
By Linda Tancs
In 1945, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin met at Livadia Palace near Yalta in Crimea to discuss Europe’s post-World War II reorganization. Known as the Yalta Conference, it was one of three meetings of the so-called Big Three. Seventy years later, Russia has unveiled a colossal monument to the Big Three in Yalta to commemorate the historic gathering. The 10-ton bronze sculpture features figures that are 10 feet high.
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World’s Oldest Amusement Park
By Linda Tancs
Amusement gardens are nothing new in Denmark, but if the prices at Tivoli in Copenhagen put too much of a dent in your wallet, then head for the forest. Just 10 minutes outside Copenhagen in the beautiful woods of Dyrehaven is Bakken, the world’s oldest operating amusement park. Founded in 1583, the locals’ best kept secret has plenty of rides, arcades, entertainment and dining to rival its beloved competitor. But one thing it doesn’t have is a price: admission is free! The park is open until August 30.
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Another World
By Linda Tancs
Another world–that’s the way tourism officials in Seychelles would like you to view their island nation in the Indian Ocean. That phrase aptly describes the otherworldly beauty of Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Boasting a pristine palm forest, this valley at the heart of Praslin National Park hosts the endemic species coco de mer, the bearer of the largest nut in the plant kingdom. Considered by some to be the original site of the Garden of Eden (and coco de mer the tree of knowledge), the endangered black parrot is dependent on this idyllic valley for its survival.
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A Meeting on the Mersey
By Linda Tancs
In 1840 Cunard established the first scheduled service across the Atlantic with a sailing from Liverpool to Halifax and Boston on the ship Britannia. In celebration of their 175th year of service, Cunard returns to its spiritual home at the Liverpool waterfront with a spectacular meeting of its three queens–Elizabeth, Mary and Victoria–today. The original transatlantic crossing will be replicated by Queen Mary 2 in July.
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The Arts Captivate Charleston
By Linda Tancs
Internationally recognized as America’s premier performing arts festival, Spoleto Festival is the American counterpart to Spoleto, Italy’s Festival of Two Worlds. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, the event was founded in the United States in 1977 by Spoleto’s organizers in Italy, among them Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Taking place tomorrow through 7 June, the annual celebration of the performing arts fills the array of venues in one of the South’s most charming cities with performances by renowned artists as well as emerging performers in opera, theater and dance as well as chamber, symphonic, choral and jazz music.
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The Land of Surfing Hippos
By Linda Tancs
Situated on the Equator, Gabon occupies part of the Atlantic coast of Africa. Needless to say, given its location, it’s hot year round. So it shouldn’t be surprising to think of hippos body surfing in the Atlantic. Or elephants, buffalos, gorillas and leopards meandering among savanna, beach, forest and mangroves. Yet that’s what they do in Loango National Park, hailed as “Africa’s Last Eden” and the “Land of Surfing Hippos.” Conservation is sacrosanct in this western African nation, where 13 national parks cover 10 percent of its land mass. Loango includes part of the Iguéla Lagoon, the only western African lagoon system that is protected within a national park.
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A Thousand Miles
By Linda Tancs
Affectionately referred to as the most beautiful race in the world, Italy’s Mille Miglia (thousand miles) is a race limited to classic and vintage cars. In fact, participation is limited to those cars produced no later than 1957, which had attended (or were registered) to the original races from 1927 to 1957. Like the original races, the route is a round-trip jaunt between Brescia and Rome. This year’s event starts today in Brescia and ends on 17 May.
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The Winterfell Experience
By Linda Tancs
Show enthusiasts know that Game of Thrones was filmed at Castle Ward, an estate on the shores of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. For those desiring to leap into that dynastic fantasy world, a replica of Winterfell Castle’s archery range has been recreated where the filming originally took place. You can dress up in character costumes from the show, tour the movie set, stand exactly where characters Jon Snow and Robb and Bran Stark stood, and enjoy the thrill of firing live arrows, all courtesy of an independent adventure tour operator on the premises. They aim to please.
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