Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for tourism
London’s Cultural Olympiad
By Linda Tancs
The party has gone on for four years now, commencing with the announcement of London’s acquisition of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Since 2008, the Cultural Olympiad has featured programs and projects inspired by London 2012. The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is the London 2012 Festival, providing over 10 million chances to see free world-class events throughout the UK until the Paralympics end on 9 September. Don’t miss today’s premiere London 2012 event, the world premiere of Lakes Alive, a spectacular new show by Les Commandos Percu. It will follow the arrival of the Olympic Torch at Lake Windermere earlier in the evening and will feature musical rhythms and amazing effects as fireworks dance to a thumping soundtrack. Get the party started!
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Villages of the Gard Provençal
By Linda Tancs
The Gard Provençal in southern France is filled with natural attractions. For instance, La Roque-sur-Cèze was built on a rock peak overlooking the Cèze. Dominated by the traces of the former castle and its chapel, the village has sloping cobbled streets offering breathtaking view of the Cascades du Sautadet. Nearby, at a bend in the Cèze River, is the medieval village of Montclus, nestled between wooded hills, lavender fields and vineyards. From mid-June to early August the lavender prairies stretch as far as the eye can see. What are you waiting for?
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Hunker Down in West Virginia
By Linda Tancs
The Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark, an award-winning resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains, the impeccably appointed Greenbrier offers superb amenities such as championship golf, fine dining, more than 50 activities, designer boutiques, a 5-star spa and a 103,000 square foot gaming and entertainment venue. So it might seem a bit strange that in the midst of these luxurious, pampering surroundings is a bunker. Yes, a bunker–as in the Cold War era, underground kind. Once a top secret Government facility, the now declassified bunker beneath the West Virginia Wing is a unique attraction for a luxury property. Boasting such sites as a decontamination area and power plant, the bunker is a piece of living history open for tours by the public and registered hotel guests alike. The Greenbrier is easily reached via Amtrak or flights to Greenbrier Valley Airport.
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Disney’s Land of Cars
By Linda Tancs
Children of all ages, rev your engines. Tomorrow marks the debut of Disney’s Cars Land. The newest addition to Disney California Adventure Park brings Radiator Springs to life, providing head-to-head racing through the spectacular Ornament Valley. If that’s not enough of a rush for you, then head to Luigi’s Flying Tires, where you’ll literally float on air on an oversized flying tire. In true Disney fashion, the streets of Radiator Springs will come alive with music and lights once the sun sets.
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The Food Beneath Your Feet
By Linda Tancs
Now talk about “farm to table.” Usually, your food comes to you, like a nice catch at 16 feet or so below sea level. Would you like to meet your catch at the source? Ithaa Undersea Restaurant in the Maldives is the world’s first all-glass undersea restaurant. At 16 feet below sea level, you can spot your catch with 180° views of reef and marine life–no scuba gear required. Unforgettable? Be sure of that. Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase “menu is seasonal and subject to change”–don’t you think?
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Putting the Hex On in Pennsylvania
By Linda Tancs
No, it isn’t hocus pocus. The hex–at least in Pennsylvania Dutch country–is a much sought after form of folk art commonly decorating barns in southeastern Pennsylvania. On the Hex Barn Art Tour beginning in Kutztown, you’ll see the ever popular eight-point star, a design symbolizing perseverance. That’s a trait the early German settlers to the region in the 1700s would have had in spades as they set out to farm the land and create new lives for themselves and their families. As you make your way through the 28 mile, self-guided driving tour, be on the lookout for the elusive distelfinks, a pair of goldfinches symbolizing good luck and tranquility. You just might find one in, of all places, Hawk Mountain.
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Life in the Riviera
By Linda Tancs
On the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo lies 86 miles of coastline and Mayan culture. Known as Riviera Maya, this tourist district in the Cancun/Tulum corridor is one of the hottest destinations in Mexican travel. It’s easy to understand why when you consider the plethora of all-inclusive resorts to cater to your every whim, the silky beaches, five cenotes, archeological ruins, food and nightlife, and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere. Life, as they say, is good.
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Safari by Numbers
By Linda Tancs
Generally, Africa may not seem like the ideal place for a family vacation. After all, children under the age of six are generally not allowed on game drives. More than likely, however, you wouldn’t consider a safari destination for children that young anyway (or would you!). You can always choose a lodge with family amenities, like Singita Ebony or Singita Boulders lodges. They offer activities for children including board games, DVDs, wildlife shows, cooking with chefs, a cosmic safari (astronomy), and nature quizzes. If the kids are older, why not consider something more adventurous, like the 12 spacious en-suite safari-style tents at Toka Leya Camp in Zambia, where you can raft and bungee jump. Whatever you decide, the dry winter months (through August) offer the best game viewing.
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An Artist’s Cottage
By Linda Tancs
What does a spa experience evoke for you? A facial, massage, aromatherapy–maybe some hot stones? Add an artist’s cottage to that. That’s right: at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa in southern California, your Shangri-La includes the Artist’s Cottage and Apothecary. There guests will team with artists to learn the skills required to work in media such as oils, pastels, watercolor, and precious metals. Add to that the Apothecary, where you can create your own personal scent for inclusion in lotions, gels and creams that will carry your own name. As you settle into the pink glow of an early evening in the valley, surely you’ll find the surroundings to be inspiring.
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The House That Witnessed History
By Linda Tancs
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991, Bush-Holley House is a saltbox in cozy Cos Cob, a Greenwich, Connecticut suburb on the north side of Long Island Sound. Initially constructed in 1728, the colonial home’s coastal vantage point provided front row views decades later to our nation’s battle for independence. Purchased in the early 1700s by Justus Bush, a wealthy farmer in Greenwich, the family operated a tide mill on the property and later added a storehouse that would become the Cos Cob post office for a time. The house passed into the Holley family, who ran it as a boarding house for artists and writers. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, an art colony for impressionists flourished in Cos Cob. Serving as part of the Connecticut Art Trail, the house museum honors the area’s artistic legacy through temporary and permanent exhibitions.
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