Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for tours
Chocolate in Paradise
By Linda Tancs
There’s nothing like a little chocolate in the jungle. In Bali you can tour Pod Chocolate, a hillside cacao farm located amidst jungle, rice fields and an elephant camp near Ubud. One of the few places in the world where chocolate is made just minutes from where it’s grown, your tour there includes an educational foray into the cocoa pod and a chocolate-making exercise. Their equation is simple: chocolate + antioxidants = health. So is yours: you + Bali = paradise.
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The Graves of Arles
By Linda Tancs
Southwest of the center of Arles in southern France is the ancient Roman necropolis, Les Alyscamps. Later a Christian burial ground, the path lined with numerous sarcophagi was a subject of paintings by Van Gogh and his onetime roommate, Gauguin. Van Gogh was quite prolific while residing in Arles; the Van Gogh trail is a self-guided walking tour highlighting points of artistic inspiration.
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A Movable Feast
By Linda Tancs
Tourists are accustomed to eating on the run, often sacrificing finer gastronomic experiences in favor of squeezing in one last attraction. In Barcelona, though, there’s a better alternative: the Gourmet Bus. Imagine dining on a terrine of rock fish and mild mayonnaise coupled with guinea fowl à la royale with parmentier of potato and wild mushroom on a glass roof bus with multilingual attendants, route cameras and commentary. The year-round panoramic sightseeing tour includes such gems as Casa Batlló, Torre Agbar, Plaça d’Espanya and Sagrada Família.
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Hong Kong Foodies
By Linda Tancs
If you have no idea what a Chinese menu says but want to eat like a local, then maybe a Hong Kong Foodie tour is for you. Lasting nearly four hours, these guided walking tours are conducted by a local. You’ll taste samples at six local restaurants serving Hong Kong food. All participants will receive a map with the tour route and directions to the closest MTR stations. Bring your appetite.
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A River Runs Through It
By Linda Tancs
Minutes from Nashville International Airport and next door to the Grand Ole Opry, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center beckons visitors with a glass atrium stretching seven football fields in length. Beneath the atrium lies a stunning display of indoor gardens and cascading waterfalls, viewable along an indoor Delta River tour aboard a Mississippi-style flatboat. Look out for Danny, the 80-pound catfish and mascot of the meandering indoor river. And what better time to visit Music City than during the holidays! The resort’s 30th annual “A Country Christmas” features more than two million lights and dozens of shows and attractions.
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Liberty Bells
By Linda Tancs
Fans of shows like Downton Abbey surely wonder what life was truly like above or below stairs. At Liberty Hall in Union, New Jersey you can quench your curiosity. Built in 1772, the mansion was home to New Jersey’s first governor and later occupied by members of the Kean political family. Like any dynasty, their needs were met by the ringing of a servant’s bell. Open through November 2013, the exhibition “Ring for Service: The Role of Servants in a Country House” welcomes visitors to all four floors of the family estate. The house museum is located on Morris Avenue at Kean University.
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The Bunny Trail
By Linda Tancs
Easter is fast approaching. That means the usual Easter egg hunts, decorated eggs and Easter Bunny photos with the kids. Want something a little different? How about a train ride aboard a 1916-vintage steam locomotive through the scenic Chehalis Valley in Washington State? Just a 90-minute drive from either Portland, Oregon, or Seattle, the nine-mile journey along former Milwaukee Road track winds through pastoral settings featuring several wooden trestles and historic farms. One of the few remaining steam-powered passenger railroads in Washington, the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad offers Easter train rides for kids of all ages, along with other seasonal special events. And, of course, the ride ends with a search for eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny and Chicken Little in the fields.
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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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Titantic Centennial Remembered in Halifax
By Linda Tancs
April 15 will mark 100 years since the luxury liner Titanic sank in the cold, dark waters of the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. One of the greatest maritime disasters, it would be hard for anyone to ignore this seminal anniversary of the tragedy, least of all the folks in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where recovery operations were staged. The Titanic Memorial in the Fairview Cemetery in Halifax is the final resting place of 121 of the 1523 souls lost, and Ambassatours Gray Line will offer tours to the location to commemorate the event. Elsewhere, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will be featuring a special photographic exhibition through June 2012. Stay tuned to Twitter on 14 April, where a real-time account of the wireless messages of the distressed ship will take place. Also on 14 April is Night of the Bells, a free event in the Grand Parade square featuring performances expressing the story of the sinking of the ship, her passengers, and Halifax’s recovery efforts. A moment of silence will be held at 12:27 a.m., marking the time of the last wireless messages from Titanic. You can view a model of the liner’s position on the ocean floor at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography.
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Europe’s Largest Fire Festival
By Linda Tancs
Since the 1880s the folks in Lerwick, Shetland have celebrated Up Helly Aa, Europe’s largest fire festival. Taking place on the last Tuesday in January each year, the event involves a series of marches and visitations, culminating in a torch-lit procession, the burning of a galley and dancing in various halls throughout Lerwick. At least 11 halls will host revelers until the wee hours of Wednesday morning, a public holiday. Thank goodness.
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