Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for spain
Madrid’s Hidden Beauty
By Linda Tancs
Prado is Spain’s national art museum, located in central Madrid and filled with masterpieces by Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Goya and El Greco, to name a few. The museum’s collection ranges from the late second century to the threshold of the 20th century. With that much ground to cover, you’ll be grateful that the museum is offering an exhibition through 10 November to showcase its vast inventory–at least from the 14th to 19th centuries. “Hidden Beauty: Fra Angelico to Fortuny” features artists like Murillo, Rubens, Watteau, Goya, and Fortuny.
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Off the Cliff in Spain
By Linda Tancs
For a spectacular cliffside vista, head to Ronda, Spain. Located in the Spanish province of Málaga, the city is perched atop El Tajo canyon, offering incomparable views–particularly from Puente Nuevo bridge. The tallest of three bridges in the city, Puente Nuevo stands 390 feet above the canyon floor. This mountainous environment boasts a number of caves, like La Pileta and its cave paintings. Popular depictions there include “the pregnant mare” and “the fish.”
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Innocent Fun in Ibi
By Linda Tancs
What’s a little flour, egg and a firecracker or two among friends? The southeastern Spanish town of Ibi sponsors a food fight each year on 28 December to commemorate the Day of the Innocents. The 200-year-old Els Enfarinats festival requires participants to dress in mock military uniforms as they take over the city for the day and threaten infidels with flour, eggs and fireworks. The day is the equivalent of April Fool’s Day in the U.S.
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The Park of Kings
By Linda Tancs
Doñana National Park in Spain is a significant European nature reserve. Easily accessible from Cádiz, the oldest city in western Europe, it has seen its share of kings over the centuries: Philip IV, Philip V and Alfonso XIII hunted there. These days a host of threatened bird species needn’t worry about the sport of kings. The park’s lagoons, marshlands, dunes, scrub woodland and maquis provide restful cover for five threatened bird species as well as for one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region.
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Alicante Hosts Iconic Regatta
By Linda Tancs
Lots of regattas are iconic, like Cowes, the longest running annual sailing regatta in the world. And the International Rolex regatta in St. Thomas, or Antigua’s Sailing Week or America’s Cup. But none can match the rigors of the Volvo Ocean Race, the world’s toughest sailing event, a marathon on the seas lasting over eight months and passing through four oceans and five continents. Beginning on 29 October in Alicante with in-port races, this edition of the event will visit Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon and Lorient before finishing in Galway. The first leg leaves for Cape Town on 5 November. Visit Alicante’s Race Village before then.
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Palming Off in Spain
By Linda Tancs
Palm trees are typically symbolic of tropical vacations but are also of historical significance, representating victory, peace or fertility in various cultures. What better place to contemplate the ancient origins of this popular plant than at Palmeral of Elche, Europe’s largest palm grove in the Spanish province of Alicante. Just 20 minutes from Alicante’s main rail station, the maze of old (200 to 300 years old) and young palms is easily navigable thanks to circles in the pavement telling visitors which way to walk. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, cultivation of palms in Elche can be traced back to the 5th century B.C.; the grove’s elaborate irrigation system dates back to the 10th century Moorish roots of its host locale.
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Pyrotechnics in Spain
By Linda Tancs
Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain is a different kind of celebration, ushering in the warmer weather with a fireworks-like display of burning cardboard statues and effigies around town. Fallas (meaning fires) is a unique pyrotechnic display, bringing this city of about 500,000 inhabitants into a blaze of glory for five days. The roots of this fiery fiesta are uncertain, but many say that it originated as a Pagan ritual to celebrate the onset of spring. During the day, there are plenty of parades and bullfights to keep you busy until the smoky haze begins again.
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Magic Returns to Barcelona
By Linda Tancs
For the first time, Carnival Cruises will homeport in Barcelona with the return of the 130,000-ton vessel Magic in 2011. The ship will offer 7-, 9- and 12-day Mediterranean cruises from its adopted port, May through October. As reported in 2008 for Carnival’s Dream liner, Magic will keep the kids happy. Adults may find their inner Zulu at the Serenity spa. Today marks the last day for previous Carnival guests to cash in on pre-sale pricing as part of the line’s celebrated return to Europe. Newbies can view the full fare menu beginning on 26 January.
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The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.
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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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Avoid the Sting Off Gibraltar
By Linda Tancs
Swimmers, beware. Over 500 stinging Portuguese Man o’ War have been spotted off Spain’s southern coast near Gibraltar. The sea creature, commonly referred to as a jellyfish, is actually a floating hydrozoan with stinging cells in its tentacles (like a jellyfish) to capture and paralyze prey. Although not generally fatal to humans, the sting is not likely to be forgotten very soon. Have an ice pack handy, just in case.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
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