Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for tourism
What is Culture
By Linda Tancs
A special issue of a major magazine is dubbed “The Culture Issue.” This got me wondering–what is “culture”? Don’t mind the dictionary. Just think about it. What does culture mean to you? If you had to gather a compilation for your own issue, what would you include–and why? It seems almost daring to lay claim to culture in a single issue as it’s susceptible to as many meanings as there are sensibilities–or, to borrow the words of late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material but I know it when I see it.”
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Casino Resort Towns Offer Genteel Charm
By Linda Tancs
Less than five miles from the bright lights, big city atmosphere of Atlantic City, New Jersey is a Southern-style genteel charm offered up by the cities of Ventnor and Margate. Look out for the wrought iron-terraced homes, white picket fences and covered porches reminiscent of Charleston and other Southern U.S. cities. Even more surprising, against the backdrop of this style and sophistication, Margate hosts a giant elephant–that’s right, an elephant–named Lucy. It’s a museum, actually, celebrating 128 years this July. Six stories high and shaped like an elephant, the museum (on the National Register of Historic Places) offers a view into southern New Jersey history. You won’t want to miss this stop on a tour of roadside America.
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Let the Good Cheese Roll
By Linda Tancs
Most of us would likely prefer our double Gloucester on a cheese plate with some table crackers, but on Cooper’s Hill in the Cotswolds they’d rather roll it down a very steep slope. Yes, it’s another centuries-old custom across the pond. Think of it as bowling without the pins, but you don’t lose your grip on the ball! Conditions on the hill are expected to be favorable this year, with the first race starting at noon on 25 May. The cheese wheels weigh between 7 and 8 pounds. Not surprisingly, their escorts have suffered an injury or two on the Alpine-like slope. Spectators, too, should be wary of wayward cheeses. Though only one will get the brass ring (in this case, a lot of cheese), the joy for the rest will surely be the thrill of competition, and maybe the agony of ‘de feet.’
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Vermont–Green Mountains and More
By Linda Tancs
Vermont, the Green Mountain State, is small in population but big on culture. Check out some fun facts about this northeastern state at Travelrific® Radio.
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A Different Kind of River Walk
By Linda Tancs
Morecambe Bay, just south of England’s Lake District National Park, gives new meaning to the phrase “to walk on water.” Every year from May to September, intrepid travelers brave the shifting sands in a six-mile walk from Arnside Promenade to Kents Bank Station–dependent on the tides, of course. If it sounds dangerous, make no mistake–it is. That’s why this centuries-old jaunt is led by an official guide with an ancient moniker, Guide to the Kent Sands. Best to wear your shorty shorts and plimsoles or sandals. Leave the fancy gear at home.
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Hail, Victoria
By Linda Tancs
Canada celebrates Victoria Day today, initiated in the 1800s to mark the birthday of Britain’s Queen Victoria. What better place to partake in the day’s festivities than in her namesake city, Victoria, B.C. Over 120,000 people are expected at the parade downtown. It’s a bit chilly (12 degrees Celsius) but it better be sunny. Victoria Tourism offers a sunshine guarantee during the months of April and May; you get $500 if it rains more than 1.25cm in one day during your visit.
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The Other Twin City
By Linda Tancs
Between the “twin” cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minneapolis may get top billing, but St. Paul bills itself as the most livable city in America. Why? Maybe it’s their dedication to the arts through the sidewalk poetry program. For the second year, the city will hold a poetry contest throughout the month of May; winners get their musings inscribed on city sidewalks as part of the sidewalk replacement program. Or maybe it’s because they honor those in military and civilian life who keep us safe and healthy by offering them loans for first-time home purchases. The collective public conscience in this twin city would certainly make its founding father, Lucien Galtier, quite proud. The city derives its name from a Catholic chapel built by Galtier, a missionary sent there to minister to the French-Canadian population. Good thing the chapel name caught on; the area was originally known as Pig’s Eye. And that’s no hogwash.
Answers to yesterday’s trivia: Hudson River and East River (New York).
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Going Green in Madagascar
By Linda Tancs
Recent reports indicate that Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island off the coast of southeastern Africa, just got a little greener. As in frogs–200 new species of them. Not all of them green, of course, but if you put them all together it might look like a small treetop. The way things are going, it may well be the only way to get the feel of a canopy in this idyllic island nation. Word has it that the protected forests are being plundered. In fact, rainforest destruction there is among the highest on the planet. And that gives our amphibious friends really something to croak about.
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Live Like a Novelist
By Linda Tancs
Fans of mystery writer Agatha Christie will be pleased to learn that her beloved Devonshire home, Greenway, has been reopened to the public after refurbishments restoring it to its original condition. Deeded to Mrs. Mallowan (her married name) in 1938, she resided there with her husband for over 20 years, transferring the property in 1959 to her daughter. Now owned by the U.K.’s National Trust, a cottage on the grounds can be rented. Timed tickets are available for tours of the main house. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your muse there. As Christie once said, “Everything that has existed, lingers in the Eternity.”
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Celebrating Mexican Heritage
By Linda Tancs
Think Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for the fifth of May) and up pop images of salsa, chips and margaritas. Like so many dates lost in a bit of kitschy commercialism, the sacrifice or courage that underlies the commemoration is long forgotten. So today a little history: after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1810, it suffered through many wars, leaving the country in economic ruin, unable to pay its debts to other countries. When Mexico failed to pay its debt to France, France invaded. On May 5, 1862 a small regiment of Mexican soldiers bravely faced off against the French at the Battle of Puebla and prevailed–at least for a while. The bravery of that outnumbered and beleaguered militia is celebrated each year on 5 May. The biggest celebration in the world takes place in Los Angeles (though not on 5 May) at the Festival de Fiesta Broadway. Plan ahead for next year.
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