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
Chocolate Lovers Unite in Stockholm
By Linda Tancs
Tomorrow through 11 October, chocolate lovers have a reason to smile in Stockholm. At the Nordiska Museum (National Museum of Cultural History), the Chocolate Festival will delight visitors with the best of the nation’s chocolatiers offering tastings, markets, demos and seminars. Would Atkins approve? The Swedes think not.
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Rock of Ages
By Linda Tancs
In a country filled with ancient remains, a newly discovered fortress over 3000 years old might not seem like a big deal. But in the City of David, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City, a 26-foot-high wall predating Herod proves that Jerusalem’s Bronze Age is characterized by more than measly little weapons and implements of the period. Now open to the public, the digs are believed to be part of a protected passageway built by Canaanites, residents of the Holy Land prior to the Hebrew conquest. And you thought the early Romans had dibs on the phrase “master builder.”
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Seafest is a Family Fun Affair
By Linda Tancs
Kaikoura Seafest at the Esplanade in Kaikoura, New Zealand bills itself as a smorgasbord of food, wine, and entertainment for the whole family. This year’s event will be held on 3 October, but be advised: tickets to the big top bash on 2 October are already sold out! The food part is easy; the event celebrates the abundance and variety of cuisine offered in the area, including mussels, paua, salmon, prawns, whitebait, ostrich, emu, crayfish, and more. As for the wine, this year’s event is sponsored by the North Canterbury Food and Wine Trail–need I say more? On the entertainment end, kids are sure to love the clowns, face painting, balloons and magic. Musical acts include The New Entrants, Sneaky Feet, Double Talk and The Black Velvet Band. Best of all, the winter has seen plenty of action in the Kaikoura Canyon, where three of the winter resident sperm whales have been sighted in addition to some transients. Just one more reason to make the trip.
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Beijing Celebrates Diversity
By Linda Tancs
Sixty years of Communist rule will soon be feted in Beijing when National Day celebrations commence on 1 October. In addition to its spectacular military parade on Tiananmen Square, the city has erected giant columns to celebrate China’s ethnic diversity. Rivaling the attention given the Bird’s Nest of Olympics fame, the pillars of red and gold are an imposing sight in a city basked in notoriety for its reinvention. Consider the refurbished Palace (now Peninsula) Hotel, the World Trade Center, Grand National Theatre and redesigned airport. Maybe the pillars are as much a tribute to architectural diversity as anything else.
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The Ultimate Fashion Show
By Linda Tancs
Every fashionista knows that the line between art and fashion is not always clearly defined. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than at the WOW (World of Wearable Art) Show in Wellington, New Zealand, where fashion and art merge annually at this time of year. Now through 4 October the WOW Awards feature over 150 garments of worldwide designers hand picked by judges to compete for $100,000 in prize money. In this Carnivale-inspired atmosphere, the top threads are showcased in all their sartorial splendor in a 2-hour theatrical and musical presentation. Fashion meets art. Or art meets fashion? You decide.
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Hotel at the Crossroads
By Linda Tancs
Wilderness meets Baroque among the gentle peaks of the Hyblean Mountains in southeastern Sicily at Eremo della Giubiliana. A five-star hotel, it is set in a 12th century convent that served as a fortress against the incursions of Barbary pirates, surrounded by the Baroque cities of Ragusa and Modica. Above all, it may be the only hotel with its own archeological site, displaying the remains of ancient farm life with late Imperial age and Byzantine wall remains. Of course, you’d rather admire the relics than feel like one, which is why you can take in the view through the large glass doors of the hotel spa facing the site. As you might expect, the facility uses natural elements (like centuries-old olive trees hand crafted into fine soaps) to pamper its guests. As the saying goes, everything old is new again.
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When Pigs Fly
By Linda Tancs
Victoria’s largest public event is taking place now through 27 September at the Royal Melbourne Show in Australia. Like a county fair, the show includes livestock, rides, exhibitions, food and competitions. Perhaps the most engaging contest of all is the pig racing and diving show. Held five times a day during the entire fair to accommodate its loyal followers, the show features flying pigs aiming for a perfect score of 10 as they dive in the water. And the crowd goes hog wild, as they say.
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Budget Travel in Dubai
By Linda Tancs
For better or worse, Dubai is one of those places with a reputation that you need a trust fund to play there. Sure, that may be true when it comes to the super-luxe shopping malls and hotels, but you can enjoy la dolce vita at this Middle Eastern hotspot without breaking the bank. How about enjoying a museum depicting the pre-oil days of this gleaming metropolis? Or window shop at the Bastakiya historical district, where you can find a bed and breakfast in the area for as little as 350 dirhams. You can even rent your own abra (a wooden boat) at the quay to take you across the Dubai Creek for a mere 100 dirhams per hour. Are you ready, captain?
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Bestival Festival
By Linda Tancs
Boutique music is celebrated again this year over the weekend at Robin Hill, a country park near Downend and Newport in the heart of the Isle of Wight. Known as Bestival, the event promises peace, love and dancing to eclectic acts like Bjorn Again, Future Sound of London and Alejandro and the Magic Tombolinos. Add to that a
campsite experience (complete with gypsy caravans and mini yurts), Bollywood Cocktail Bar and a fancy dress parade. In the spirit of keeping it green, public transport or ride share is encouraged.
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Currywurst Museum Opens
By Linda Tancs
Think you know it all about German sausages? Well, forget your brats, bocks and weisswursts. These days, currywurst is king. Enjoying a cult-like status, the wurst has its own museum in Berlin, a stone’s throw away from Checkpoint Charlie at Schützenstrasse 70. This national dish of hot pork sausage and curry sauce claims its origin there. At the museum you can enjoy a multimedia experience complete with a spice chamber, experimental eat-in kitchen and faux snack bar for photo ops. There’s even a personality test to determine the type of curry you are. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Bring your appetite.
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Travelrific® Travel Journal 