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 Cornish Caribbean
By Linda Tancs
About 30 miles off the coast of Cornwall, England, the Scilly Isles are a Cornish Caribbean, featuring azure seas, subtropical gardens and white, sandy beaches. It’s yours for the taking among the five inhabited islands—St. Mary’s, St. Martin’s, St. Agnes, Tresco and Bryher. St. Martin’s is the first island you’ll spot as you cross from the mainland. It offers an abundance of activities for an island just 2 miles long. You can relax on a remote bay with a colorful name like Bread and Cheese Cove. Or you might want to see the Day Mark (built in 1683), the earliest surviving dated example of a beacon in the British Isles. And then there’s the flower farm and vineyard and a dive school offering underwater adventures and snorkeling with seals. Everything is reachable on foot; you can also rent a kayak for a different perspective as well as a view of the surrounding islets. The island is a short flight away from Exeter, Newquay or Land’s End.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Medieval Meets Art Deco in London
By Linda Tancs
In London’s Royal Borough of Greenwich, medieval meets Art Deco at Eltham Palace and Gardens. Indeed, the manor house is a unique combination of ancient and contemporary. The oldest part of the dwelling is the Great Hall, the only remains of the medieval palace that served as the boyhood home of King Henry VIII. The rest is an Art Deco-style mansion built in the 1930s by millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, who saved Eltham Palace from ruin after years of neglect. Among the rooms of interest in the house are the map room where they planned their exotic world travels and the centrally-heated sleeping quarters designed for their pet lemur. The 19-acre garden is likewise not to be missed. The Rock Garden leads to the moat, crossed by London’s oldest working bridge. Closer to the palace, the terraced beds are awash in color now with primulas, pansies and tulips. The property is about a 15-minute stroll from Mottingham railway station, which is served by London Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Prehistoric Europe in France
By Linda Tancs
Move over, Stonehenge. Impressive (and famous) as it is, England’s prehistoric monument is dwarfed by Carnac, the largest collection of megalithic standing stones in the world. Situated around the French village of Carnac in northwestern France, the Neolithic structures are believed to be funerary monuments. Comprising more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones cut from local rock, the site features stone alignments, dolmens, tumuli and single menhirs erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. Due to Brittany’s abundance of megalithic wonders, take advantage of the Megalithic Pass, which will give you reduced rates of entry to nearby attractions.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Tilting at Windmills in Spain
By Linda Tancs
The expression “tilting at windmills” means to attack imaginary enemies. It originated from the novel “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes, wherein Quixote mistakes windmill towers for giants and picks a fight with them. The iconic windmills of Consuegra in central Spain are attributed as the towers in question. Originally built to grind grain, the line of 12 Dutch-like towers is a tantalizing backdrop for the nearby medieval castle. Both the mills and the castle are a cultural historic site.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Wedded Bliss in Accettura
By Linda Tancs
Call it mat-TREE-mony—that is, a wedding of the arboreal kind. That’s right: a wedding of two trees, an oak and a holly. The unusual union is celebrated this time of year in southern Italy. Il Maggio di Accettura is an ancient pagan wedding festival celebrated in Accettura, a mountain village of about 2,000 people in the region of Basilicata. In case you were wondering, the oak is the groom and the holly is the bride. They’re cut, joined together (by the trunk of the oak and the top of the holly) and hoisted by a pulley over the main square of the town, followed by a procession of women wearing tiered headdresses made of candles and flowers. This centuries-old festival is undoubtedly one of the most unusual you’ll ever experience.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Exploring a Dome
By Linda Tancs
At 364 feet high, the dome of St Paul’s is the second largest cathedral dome in the world, an iconic part of the skyline of the City of London. At that height, you’ll find the dome’s Golden Gallery, a mere 528 steps from the cathedral floor. The smallest of three galleries in the dome, what it lacks in size it makes up for in sights. You’ll be treated to panoramic views of London that take in the River Thames, Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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The Castle in a Cloud
By Linda Tancs
Hohenzollern Castle was the seat of one of the most prominent dynasties in European history, chiefly as the ruling house of Brandenburg-Prussia and of imperial Germany. It’s often referred to as “the castle in a cloud” because of the way it looks on a foggy day. Among its many charms are the art collections, including a significant picture gallery, valuable silver and china as well as the crown of Prussian kings. You can download a castle walking tour, in English, on your phone. Trains run from Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof to Hechingen, where a shuttle bus takes visitors directly from the station to the castle car park. For amazing views, walk the steep ascent to the castle from the car park; otherwise, take the bus.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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France’s Opulent Bunker
By Linda Tancs
Arguably, the most interesting aspect of Château de Brézé in France’s Loire Valley is what’s beneath your feet. That’s because the castle boasts an underground fortress opulent enough to function as the main house, which is why it’s referred to as a castle under a castle. The vast, limestone-hollowed tunnels include a kitchen, a stable, a drawbridge and wine-making rooms. Dating from the Middle Ages, the bunker was likely built to protect its owners against marauders. Less than a mile of this labyrinth is accessible to visitors. Of course, the tasteful apartments of the castle proper are not to be missed. Also be sure to check out the dry moats, the deepest in Europe at around 60 feet!
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Dinosaur Trees in Australia
By Linda Tancs
Just a couple of hours northwest of Sydney is Wollemi National Park, a national park and wilderness area in Australia. Bushwalking is a popular activity thanks to the pristine, rugged wilderness met with pagoda rock formations, sandstone escarpments and deep gorges, among other things. In fact, one of the most fascinating discoveries of all time, the last surviving grove of Wollemi pine, occurred in 1994 during a bushwalking expedition in the deep gorges. Once thought to be extinct, its link to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods puts it squarely in the backyard of the dinosaurs, who no doubt looked to the trees as a food source. Despite this discovery, the scarcity of the tree makes it highly endangered, and its location in the park is a closely-guarded secret. No worries, though. There’s enough extraordinary landscape to keep you occupied, and the softer light of autumn provides a great backdrop for outstanding photography.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Myth and Legend at Kylemore Abbey
By Linda Tancs
Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium during World War I. Legend has it that a giant living in mountains adjacent to the abbey threw a giant stone at his rival in the valley. The stone landed in an unusual position in the estate, where it remains today. Known as the Giant Ironing Stone (due to its resemblance to an iron used for clothes), it’s a popular wishing stone for visiting children, who also enjoy the pigs and Connemara ponies. The 1,000-acre site also features a six-acre Victorian walled garden as well as a lakeshore walk that will lead you to a neo-Gothic church that is now used for music recitals and poetry readings.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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