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
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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Spanish Festival Marks End of Season
By Linda Tancs
From 6 to 9 September this year is the Mare de Deu de Gràcia Festival in Maó (Mahon), the capital of Menorca, the second largest of the Balearic islands of Spain. Sometimes confused with its neighbor Mallorca and not as jetsetting as its sister island Ibiza, this hidden gem offers visitors a wonderful display of equestrian skill and majesty at its annual festival marking the end of the summer season. Beautiful black horses from the local area are paraded spectacularly through the streets, ridden by ornately dressed caixas demonstrating stunning feats of bravery, including jousting. The action takes place at Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where the party continues with music and dancing long after the four-footed stars have retired for the evening. So make hay while the summer sun still shines. Mahon is located near the island’s international airport.
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Nature Conserved in Venezuela
By Linda Tancs
Larger than the U.S. state of Maryland or the country of Belgium, Canaima National Park in Venezuela guards some of the area’s richest natural resources. So it should come as no surprise that it holds the title of World Heritage Centre. Comprising rolling savannas, forests, dense river woodlands, and sheer cliffs, the expansive park (30,000 km squared) in southeastern Venezuela along the border between Guyana and Brazil is covered by flat-topped mountain (tepui) formations of great geological interest. The sheer cliffs and waterfalls, including the world’s highest (1,000 m), form a spectacular landscape. Of course, all this natural beauty attracts tourists in throngs; the ongoing onslaught is not managed entirely correctly, according to some sources, and mining of its treasures is a constant threat. Let’s hope that the incalculable richness of the area can be balanced against the economics of tourism.
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Living Art in London
By Linda Tancs
Forget your measly 15 minutes of fame. Lucky UK citizens get an hour’s worth in London as part of the One & Other living exhibition on the empty stone plinth at Trafalgar Square. The art project allows applicants from every part of the UK one hour atop the plinth, day and night, to exhibit themselves in any manner they wish. Needless to say, the results have been very colorful. Over 32,000 have applied for 2400 places. Some of the winners, chosen at random, include a town crier, an Elvis impersonator and a woman dressed as a pigeon.
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Family Fun in the UK
By Linda Tancs
It may seem a bit strange to think of family fun and youth-appropriate events amongst hop farms and oast houses. Yet that’s exactly what you get at The Hop Farm, just 45 minutes from London. Located near Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, this tourist attraction offers an oast-themed amusement park complete with a carousel, magic show, animal farm, wax museum, and outdoor play area. Don’t miss the new and upcoming Halloween 3D goblin festival and Santa’s Magical Kingdom. True to its hops heritage, the park even offers a hop history museum and a festival in September to celebrate the custom of hop picking. So hop to it!
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A Taste of Sweden
By Linda Tancs
Feeling a bit of Smaklust? Then join 100,000 fellow foodies at central Stockholm’s 2009 tasting event from 21 to 23 August. In addition to the standard fare of reindeer, elk, and preserves of cloudberry comes such epicurean concoctions as asparagus schnapps, cloudberry wines, coffee cheese, elk salami and ostrich milk ice cream. Although held centrally, you’ll experience artisanal delights from all over the country. Eat up, don’t be shy. Best of all, admission is free, so you have more cash to support their culinary endeavors.
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