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
City of Film
By Linda Tancs
Hollywood, Bollywood, Cannes, Sundance, Venice–and Bradford? It’s time to add a new place name to the list of luminaries in cinema. Bradford, a west Yorkshire city in the U.K., beat out the traditional media moguls for the coveted title, City of Film. The moniker is a new award being bestowed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to a city having historic links and a notable infrastructure related to filmmaking. No doubt Bradford–once a poster child for industrialization–was helped in its bid as the host city of the National Media Museum, one of the most popular museums outside London. Three annual film festivals and a landscape conducive to movie shoots certainly didn’t hurt, either. Bravo!
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Interlaken Goes a Little Bit Country
By Linda Tancs
They’ll be breaking out the boots and Stetsons this weekend in Interlaken, Switzerland for the 16th annual International Trucker and Country Festival at the former military airfield. With lots of sunshine and weather in the high 20s (Celsius) forecast, expect stellar attendance and lots of campers. Join country music fans, truckers, and bikers the world over for an exhibition of gleaming trucks and bikes, country dancing and plenty of food and drink. Are you a little bit country? As Charley Pride once said, there’s room in country music for everybody.
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Worthy Boss
By Linda Tancs
In case you haven’t heard, Bruce Springsteen (aka The Boss) is headlining the U.K.’s Glastonbury festival on 27 June. Taking place now through the 28th, the event at Worthy Farm in the Vale of Avalon is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. As you might imagine, tickets are sold out, but don’t fret. Venture outside London’s Hyde Park on 28 June and you’ll get an earful of The Boss at the Hard Rock Calling summer music extravaganza. There are lots of other acts in the lineup as well but not many tickets. Better act fast!
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The Wedding Pageant
By Linda Tancs
European royalty have been uniting (in a familial sense) since the earliest of times. But it isn’t all that common for a medieval union to continue to be celebrated–unless, of course, you’re in Landshut, Germany. Every four years the historical association presents the Landshut Hochzeit 1475 (Landshut Wedding), a 5000-strong procession in period attire celebrating the union of the daughter of a Polish king and the son of a very rich duke, one of the grandest events of its time in 1475. The town, over 800 years old, is known as much for its classic Bavarian hospitality as for its famous nuptials. The event runs from 27 June to 19 July. The bridal procession makes its way through town on 28 June, 5 July, 12 July and 19 July.
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Earth Music
By Linda Tancs
From 22 to 25 June at Tromøy, the largest island in southern Norway, the organizers of Hove hope their alternative music fest will elevate your eco-mind as well as your rhythm. In fact, the only metal you’ll find at this shindig is in the music. The two-year-old carbon-neutral event rounds out the task with organic food. So pitch a tent at the campgrounds and be at one with the elements.
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Health Alert for Brazil Travelers
By Linda Tancs
Travelers to South America are well aware of the dangers posed by dengue fever, which is currently on the rise in Rio and Bahia. Carried by mosquitoes, symptoms of dengue fever usually begin 7 to 10 days after being bitten and include flu-like symptoms such as high fever, aches and pains and a headache. Covering up and using repellent is paramount as there is no vaccination. Apparently, yellow fever is also on the rise these days, meriting front-page placement on the New York Consulate’s website, urging visitors to obtain a vaccination at least ten days prior to entering the country. Of course, these concerns are in addition to confirmed cases of swine flu, now declared a pandemic by WHO.
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The Rain in Spain
By Linda Tancs
In the musical My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle intoned, “The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain.” Add to that: “but not in summer.” Low rainfall, particularly around–where else–the Sun Coast (Costa del Sol) makes Mediterranean Spain an attractive summer tourist destination. Too crowded for your taste? Then head northeast to the equally sun-kissed area of Murcia in the Alicante region. With only 300,000 inhabitants (and far less tourists), Murcia offers all the sun and surf of its southern neighbor for a fraction of the cost. Its focal point is the Cathedral de Santa Maria, a Baroque beauty worth a visit. Golf and gastronomy will round out your stay.
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TV Fest For High Rollers
By Linda Tancs
So what do you do after the Monte Carlo Casino takes all your money? Well, at least now through 11 June, you attend the TV Festival at Grimaldi Forum. In its 49th year, the event is chock full of public screenings and autograph signings. Competition is keen for recognition as the best of worldwide television programming. The winners are rewarded with the Golden Nymphs statuettes, a rendition of the “Salmacis” Nymph by Monegasque sculptor François-Joseph Bosio. His original work is on show at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
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Friday Night Fever
By Linda Tancs
“Laissez les bon temps rouler” (let the good times roll) takes on a new meaning in Paris on Friday nights. Beginning at 10 p.m. on Place Raoul Dautry in the 14th arrondissement the rolls of inline skates roar through the streets on a 3-hour tour of the city (weather permitting). The 18-mile route is not meant for the casual skater; the level of difficulty differs widely (think: Tour de France). The organization responsible for this endurance test, Pari-Roller, frequently changes the route; the trek for the week can be viewed on Thursdays. Think you’ve got the goods? Give it a roll.
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Underground Monument in Lithuania
By Linda Tancs
So what do underground music and Vilnius, Lithuania have in common? Answer: Frank Zappa. Zappa, the late underground music czar and leader of The Mothers of Invention, has a monument in his honor in the artsy neighborhood of Užupis. Although perhaps better known for his collaborations with former Czech leader Václav Havel as a cultural consultant, Zappa exerted a strong influence on the underground music scene across Eastern Europe. What better time to visit Vilnius than 2009 as the city celebrates its designation as a European Capital of Culture (or is that subculture?).
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