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 Gold of Varna
By Linda Tancs
Popularly referred to as the “sea capital of Bulgaria,” Varna is a port city and seaside resort on Bulgaria’s Black Sea. Its seaside resorts and beaches beckon holiday travelers, but its biggest claim to fame is the discovery of the oldest gold known to mankind. Buried more than 6,500 years ago, it was discovered accidentally over 50 years ago by an excavator at the city’s necropolis. So far, around 3,000 gold artifacts have been discovered. You can see many of them at the Varna Archaeological Museum as well as the National Historical Museum in Sofia.
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A Unique Treasure in Stockholm
By Linda Tancs
Located on the island of Djurgården, the Vasa Museum is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. One of the most-visited museums in Scandinavia, it displays the only 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. Decorated with hundreds of carved sculptures, more than 98 percent of the ship is original. A film about the ship is offered in several languages as is an audio guide.
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The Woman’s Bridge
By Linda Tancs
The neighborhood of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is built on reclaimed land and sits adjacent to the river. A must-see in the area is Woman’s Bridge (Puente de la Mujer). The graceful bridge over Rio de la Plata represents the image of a couple dancing the tango. The white mast symbolizes the man and the curved silhouette of the bridge, the woman. More than just aesthetics, the bridge has one of the largest turning mechanisms in the world, engineered with a rotating central section that opens and allows the passage of boats. The homage to women doesn’t stop with the bridge; every street in Puerto Madero is named after a famous woman in Argentine history.
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A New Landmark in Cambridge
By Linda Tancs
Constructed between 1977 and 1980, Robinson College is not only Cambridge University’s youngest college but also its first co-educational facility. And now it enjoys Grade II (protected) status, hailed as “a stunning city landmark.” Among its gems are the artistic interiors of the chapel (particularly the window) and the library. Sporting distinctive red brick exteriors, the college was funded by David Robinson, a major contributor to British horse racing.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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The Lords of Verucchio
By Linda Tancs
Verucchio is a small town in the province of Rimini, Italy. It’s known as the “cradle of the Malatesta family,” an Italian family that dominated Romagna from 1295 to 1500. One of the largest fortifications of the period is Rocca Malatestiana, also known as Rocca del Sasso (Fortress on the Rock) due to its position at the top of the rocky crag that dominates the whole area. The watch tower is an easy landmark, embedded with a clock to mark the hours below in the heart of the old town with Piazza Malatesta and the town hall.
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Monkey Business in Thailand
By Linda Tancs
The most honored population in Lopburi, Thailand, is its thousands of macaques, thought to bring good luck to the area and its people. No wonder they get their own festival each year on the last Sunday of November. The highlight of the event is the colorful displays of food (for them, not you), including sticky rice, fruits and salad. One of the oldest cities in the country, you’ll find some spectacular attractions (besides the monkeys) like King Narai’s Palace and Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, a historic temple. The city is about a three hours’ drive north from Bangkok.
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Going the Distance in Türkiye
By Linda Tancs
Long-distance trekking opportunities abound in Türkiye. One of them, combining natural and archaeological sites, is the Pisidia Trail, a 217-mile waymarked route using the ancient name of the mountainous region located in the north of Antalya. The journey encompasses many of the ancient cities in the Pisidia region, such as Sagalassos, Termessos, Pisidia Antioch, Kremna, Adada, Selge, Pednelissos, Amblada, Anabura, Tymriada, Ariassos and Pityassus. At some points, the trail intersects the St. Paul Trail, the country’s second-longest trekking route. That trail passes entirely through Turkish countryside, so maybe a detour is in order. Lodging options include campsites and hostels. Now is a good time to go; avoid the hot summer months.
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Courtside in London
By Linda Tancs
Close to a statue of Abraham Lincoln on Parliament Square, the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Housed in a neo-Gothic building (formerly Middlesex Guildhall), it’s open to guided tours each Friday. Highlights include the beautifully-appointed courtrooms and library. Visitors can also sit in on live hearings during the week.
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The Castles of Lloret de Mar
By Linda Tancs
The popular tourist destination Lloret de Mar lies on the most southerly part of Costa Brava (wild coast), a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain that stretches to the French border. It dates back to the Middle Ages, but only one of its castles does. The medieval hilltop Castell de Sant Joan offers stunning views from the castle keep, the only part of the structure remaining, but the climb is steep. You can walk there from Fenals Beach. The other “castle,” Castell d’en Plaja, was built in 1935 for an industrial magnate and is not open to tourists. The grandiose fortress features in virtually every postcard from the area, though. You can gawk at it from the sandy beach of Sa Caleta.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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The Blackfriar
By Linda Tancs
Built in 1875 on the site of a Dominican friary, The Blackfriar pub is set in a historic, Art Nouveau Grade II wedge-shaped building on Queen Victoria Street owing its survival to a group of conservationists. It features mosaics, ornamental balconies and the famous guardian black friar above the front door. You’ll enjoy the friezes of mottos or little jokes that give a glimpse into late 19th-century England as well.
