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 Longest Wooden Pier in Europe
By Linda Tancs
It isn’t uncommon for a seaside city to boast of rejuvenative effects. In Sopot, Poland’s seaside city, they even say that the concentration of iodine in the air is heavier at seaside than on land. Whatever the merits of the claim, what is undeniable is that this small seaside resort sports the longest wooden pier in Europe at about 1676 feet. That’s quite a platform from which to view the town’s panorama of Art Nouveau townhouses, villas and historic parks. Not surprisingly, most hotels are situated along the shoreline, like the stately Grand Sopot. Spring and summer bring a slew of street and music festivals. Better hurry.
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Cheap Train Tickets in UK
By Linda Tancs
Given the relative uncertainty of travel costs in the UK, it’s worth exploring all of the options for cheap travel, like rail bookings using thetrainline. Use the Best Fare Finder to locate the best deal or the Ticket Alert for notification when advance purchase options become available. You can even download a free application to buy tickets from your mobile. Want a package deal? You can select among train, hotel and theatre options for a customized experience. There’s even a carbon calculator for the environmentally conscious among you.
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A Distinctive Hue in Brussels
By Linda Tancs
Most hotels pander to your palate. In Brussels, though, the Pantone Hotel caters to your palette. This hotel of colors features a distinctive hue on each guest floor. Feeling a little blue? There’s a suite just for you.
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Some Enchanted Evening
By Linda Tancs
As the state apartments of London’s Kensington Palace undergo a mulitmillion pound restoration, its enchanting history is coming out of the dust. Transformed into the Enchanted Palace, each room celebrates the life of one of seven princesses who once lived there. Merging fashion and fairy tale, you’ll romp through rooms like The Room of Royal Sorrows, the Room of Flight and The Room of Royal Secrets to uncover the identity of the estate’s inhabitants and their life stories. At last, walls that talk.
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Putting the Glam in Camp
By Linda Tancs
For many of us, camping likely conjures up memories of pup tents, oversized sleeping bags and roasted marshmallows on a stick. Oh, how times have changed. Camping has gone glam. Glamping, or glamorous camping, is outdoors life taken to a luxe level, featuring luxury tents, fine wines, gourmet food and, of course, outdoor adventure. Are you ready for some glam in your camp?
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The Windsor Tattoo
By Linda Tancs
Now in its fourth year, the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo takes place today through 15 May on the private grounds of Windsor Castle. Featuring traditional military tattoo and a tournament, the event takes on an international flair this year with the addition of 250 personnel from the French Army, Navy, Air Force and Gendarmerie. Why don’t you march on over.
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All the Queen’s Horses
By Linda Tancs
The largest outdoor equestrian Show in the U.K. is the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Castle, taking place now through 15 May. Over 65 years’ strong, the event features over 3000 horses and ponies taking part in more than 250 jumping, showing, and carriage driving classes. Have you bought your ticket yet? Finally, a reason to horse around.
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Morne Brabant
By Linda Tancs
Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean. At the extreme southwestern tip is a peninsula, Le Morne Brabant. Its cultural landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, includes a basaltic rock with a summit of 556 metres above sea level. At this most scenic site is the Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa offering, among other things, a private club reserved to guests of Club Suites. The atmosphere is typically British colonial, bearing testimony to Mauritius’ rich colonial past. The circular shape of the tower and thick walls in stone replicate the structures which hark back to the days of the British Empire when several were built as protection against enemies during Napoleonic wars.
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Power in the Pyrenees
By Linda Tancs
The Song of Roland is a historic saga set in the Pyrenees, recounting the epic tale of a heroic knight who died saving Charlemagne (Charles the Great) from an ambush. That’s not the only legendary aspect of this area. Consider Andorra, a country between France and Spain in the Pyrenees Mountains. The sixth smallest nation in Europe with an estimated population of 83,888 in 2009, it tourism industry is estimated at over 10 million visitors annually. Some of them undoubtedly go to El Castell de Ciutat (Castle of the City), a hotel located on a small hill overlooking La Seu d’Urgell, the town of the Prince-Bishops. With the Pyrenees as the backdrop, this hotel is surrounded by Catalonia’s biggest nature reserve. Retreat into luxury.
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A Day Fit for a Queen
By Linda Tancs
The House of Orange (the Dutch royal family) takes center stage on 30 April with the celebration of Queen’s Day, a national holiday celebrating the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands. Beatrix, the current queen, was actually born in January but celebrates her birthday on this day in April, her mother’s birthdate. Orange banners, orange-colored foods and drinks, and copious amounts of people in orange clothing dancing in the streets and in boats along the canals rule the day.
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