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 World of Peanut Butter
By Linda Tancs
According to the National Peanut Board, Americans eat more than six pounds of peanut products each year, a consumption worth more than $2 billion at the retail level. Peanut butter is as American as apple pie, which is why it might be surprising to learn that a peanut butter factory tour experience has opened in Nelson, New Zealand. Pic’s Peanut Butter World offers a free, 40-minute tour of their facility, which includes free tastings and a photo of you atop the world’s largest jar of peanut butter.
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Spurred On in Italy
By Linda Tancs
Most would liken the shape of Italy to a boot. The spur on the heel of that boot is the Gargano Promontory. Jutting into the Adriatic Sea, much of it is in preserved land comprising Gargano National Park. Regarded as the most extensive national park in the country, its heart is the Umbrian Forest, home to some of the nation’s oldest trees. The locale is the best place to experience an ancient forest in Italy; consider taking a jeep tour.
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Hiding Places in Worcestershire
By Linda Tancs
It was no easy task to be a Catholic priest in Elizabethan England, especially after Elizabeth I lost her tolerance for the “old faith.” As a result, a number of safe houses sprung up. One of them was Harvington Hall, a moated manor house in Worcestershire. The grand estate boasts the largest number of priest hides in the country, including an entire concealed chapel. A false fireplace leading to an attic, trapdoors and crawl spaces behind beams or under stairs are among its secret spaces intended to foil priest hunters. You can reach the locale via train from London Euston to Kidderminster, which is about three miles away from the manor. Take bus line 42 or a taxi from there.
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Acoustics in Hyderabad
By Linda Tancs
Hyderabad, the capital of southern India’s Telangana state, has fast become known as a major center for the technology industry, but its historical and cultural roots span over 400 years. Among other attractions, it’s home to one of India’s famous forts, Golconda. Originally a mud fort from the 1100s, it was refortified between the 14th and 17th centuries, boasting palaces, mosques and a hilltop pavilion. Its outermost enclosure is called Fateh Darwaza (Victory Gate), where acoustical effects like hand clapping can be heard at the hilltop pavilion over one-half mile away. Stick around for the sound and light show in the evening.
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Pancakes in New Zealand
By Linda Tancs
The Paparoa Range is a mountain range in the West Coast region of New Zealand’s South Island, made of ancient granite shaped by ice to form a rugged backdrop to Paparoa National Park near Punakaiki. Limestone underlies most of the park, creating its signature cliffs, canyons and caves. But of all the coastal formations, the park is perhaps best known for what’s popularly referred to as the “pancake stacks.” You also won’t want to miss the three blowholes at Dolomite Point, which put on their best performance during a southwesterly swell at high tide. Intercity buses provide regular service to the area.
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Land of Frankincense
By Linda Tancs
Frankincense is to Oman what peanut butter is to jelly. It’s just hard to imagine one without the other. Indeed, frankincense is so closely associated with the history of Oman that the Dhofar region is recognized by UNESCO as the Land of Frankincense. In Wadi Dawkah (the incense forest), in particular, trees have been harvested for frankincense from ancient times to the present day. You can learn more about the historical and cultural importance of frankincense at the Museum of the Land of Frankincense in Salalah.
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Royal Digs in Northern Ireland
By Linda Tancs
An official residence of Queen Elizabeth II in Northern Ireland, Hillsborough Castle in County Down has undergone a massive restoration not only to the Georgian house but also to the gardens, featuring a remodeled Walled Garden and a previously unseen Lost Garden. Entry to the manor is by guided tour only, where visitors will see the State Rooms, including the Throne Room, scene of the Queen’s coronation ball in 1953. The house is also the home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. After the 45-minute house tour, be sure to leave plenty of time to meander the 100-acre garden.
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The Wall of Love
By Linda Tancs
Where else but in the “city of love” would you expect to find a “I Love You Wall”? A must-see for romance seekers in Paris (especially with Valentine’s Day right around the corner), Le mur des je t’aime is a mural built on a surface of 430 square feet comprising 612 squares of enameled lava, on which “I love you” is rendered 311 times in 250 languages. Located on the square at Place des Abbesses in Montmartre, admission is free.
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A Rival to Versailles
By Linda Tancs
The Medici family ruled Florence, Italy, during the Renaissance. Their contributions to local culture are legendary, as are the many villas and gardens that family members accumulated over the centuries. One of their largest estates was Villa di Pratolino, its mansion and park environment worthy of comparison to Versailles. Eventually abandoned, the villa and the majority of its outdoor trappings became lost to history, and the complex was eventually purchased by a Florentine council for use as a public park. It hasn’t lost all of its Medici charms, however. A surviving element of the original estate is the imposing Colossus of the Apennines, a gigantic, 16th-century stone sculpture by Giambologna. Pratolino is about seven miles from the center of Florence; take bus #25A from Piazza San Marco.
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Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters
By Linda Tancs
This year marks Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters. There’s so much to see, loch to loch and everything in between. If you’d like to experience the most in one touring route, then consider the North Coast 500, an epic, 516-mile scenic route around the north coast of Scotland. Starting and ending at Inverness Castle, it’s the nation’s version of U.S. Route 66. Pursue the trek counterclockwise, traveling the east coast and then venturing into the northwest to Applecross, followed by Torridon and Ullapool. From there you’ll see some of the most northerly points, like Caithness and its village, John o’Groats. But don’t stop there. The northernmost point of the mainland is Dunnet Head, a few miles further west.
