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
Thoroughly Bred in England
By Linda Tancs
The October Yearling Sale takes place today through 12 October at Tattersalls, the oldest bloodstock auctioneer in the world and the largest in Europe. Offering the best thoroughbreds to be found anywhere, the Newmarket firm’s annual Yearling Sale is Europe’s premier yearling sale, producing four Derby winners in the past decade alone. Only 60 miles from London, Newmarket (England’s home of racing) is just a short rail or bus ride away. Enter the Tattersalls premises via The Avenue.
Share this:
Natty Napier
By Linda Tancs
Napier, New Zealand is feted as the Art Deco capital of the world, a term derived from Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925. The east coast city, dubbed the Nice of the Pacific, has the highest concentration of Art Deco buildings in a single area. The best way to see it all is by a guided tour plus bus or vintage car excursion. High season is the GEON Art Deco Weekend in February, including over 200 events, but this sun-kissed city welcomes you anytime.
Share this:
A Gothic Revival in London
By Linda Tancs
Strawberry Hill is an 18th century masterpiece in southwest London, one of England’s finest examples of Georgian Gothic revival architecture. Created by Horace Walpole, an English writer and politician, the mansion is particularly striking for its collection of renaissance glass and a state apartment bursting with crimson and gold. The setting at twilight is especially dramatic. You can book a twilight tour during the public opening hours between 31 March and 31 October. Better hurry! You can take the train to Strawberry Hill station from Waterloo, walk there via the Thames Path or take the tube to Richmond and then the R68 bus towards Hampton Court to Michelham Gardens. It’s just a short walk from there.
Share this:
Tallinn’s Concert of Light
By Linda Tancs
As summer draws to a close and Estonia’s days wind into longer nights, now is the time to celebrate the light. Today’s “Light is Walking in Kadriorg” (7pm until 11pm) closes out Tallinn’s summer concert series with thousands of candles and torches around Kadriorg Park. Within walking distance from the Old Town, the park is adorned with a grand Baroque palace befitting one of northern Europe’s oldest capital cities.
Share this:
The Sound of Silence
By Linda Tancs
Silence is powerful, even spiritual. That may be one reason why New Zealand’s Doubtful Sound is such a popular attraction. Part of Fiordland National Park, it is the deepest of the fiords and blissfully serene, featuring a range of flora and fauna along its many islets. Experience its serenity for yourself via kayak, cruise, day trip or overnighter.
Share this:
Brisbane’s Storied Bridge
By Linda Tancs
Dozens of bridges worldwide have a storied past, an iconic status treasured by locals and tourists alike. Indeed, every bridge tells a story, which is why it’s so fitting and natural that Brisbane should name its cantilever bridge–what else–Story Bridge. Spanning the Brisbane River, Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated and constructed in Australia by Australians, a product of the Great Depression providing years of much needed employment. You can view the landscape like one of those bridge workers with a bridge climb. Choose from a traditional bridge climb, an abseil climb or a photographic climb. In any case, you’re sure to have a story to tell.
Share this:
The Park of Kings
By Linda Tancs
Doñana National Park in Spain is a significant European nature reserve. Easily accessible from Cádiz, the oldest city in western Europe, it has seen its share of kings over the centuries: Philip IV, Philip V and Alfonso XIII hunted there. These days a host of threatened bird species needn’t worry about the sport of kings. The park’s lagoons, marshlands, dunes, scrub woodland and maquis provide restful cover for five threatened bird species as well as for one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region.
Share this:
The Remotest Part of Great Britain
By Linda Tancs
Forty-one miles west of Benbecula in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides is the archipelago of Saint Kilda, the remotest part of the British Isles. Of its four islands, Hirta boasts the highest sea cliffs in the country. Its natural beauty earned it a World Heritage Site designation, an appellation enjoyed these days by its permanent residents consisting of puffins, gannets and other seabirds and wildlife. The human population long ago moved to the mainland to escape its isolation. If its sounds difficult to visit this place, you’d be right–but perseverance is rewarded. Try a cruise ship, charter or yacht, for starters. You should know that the only accommodation on Saint Kilda for visitors is a small camp site, with room for a maximum of six people. Visitors may stay for up to five nights.
Share this:
The Kokoda Trail
By Linda Tancs
The formidable trek known as the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea has a storied past, being the site of the battle between Japanese and Australian forces during World War II. The physically demanding journey takes you 60 miles overland through the Owen Stanley range, a slog through mud and hills that’s surely evocative of a war zone. The trail, popular with Australian tourists, is quite the mecca for any adventurous soul or military buff. In Sydney there’s a memorial walkway commemorating the Australian forces –a lot less arduous to navigate but very poignant.
Share this:
World’s Largest Lagoon
By Linda Tancs
In the southwest Pacific and east of Australia lies New Caledonia, a country with French roots surrounded by the world’s largest lagoon. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the lagoons provide not only natural beauty but also a safe habitat for threatened marine species such as turtles, whales and dugongs. The warm and sunny climate is perfect for activities like scuba diving, fishing, jet skiing, kite surfing, surfing, windsurfing, horseback riding and canyoning. Catch a quick day trip from Sydney or a host of other locations, and expect the unforgettable.
