Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Ireland’s Oldest City
By Linda Tancs
Waterford is Ireland’s oldest city, tracing its origin to the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century. Even today, Vadrefjord Vikings, a local re-enactment group, walk about the city in traditional Viking dress. Of course, the city is probably better known as the home of Waterford Crystal, conveniently located on the Mall in the heart of the Viking Triangle. This weekend the city celebrates its annual Waterford Harvest Festival, highlighting the region’s food, heritage and culture. No doubt that includes the local bread roll named blaa, introduced by the Huguenots in the 1600s.
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Civil War Medicine
By Linda Tancs
Frederick, Maryland, was at the crossroads of the Civil War, witnessing multiple invasions, including two major battles (South Mountain and Monocacy) involving hundreds of thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers marching through the community. Given the city’s witness to history, it’s an appropriate location for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, a research facility boasting five galleries, over 1200 artifacts and knowledgeable docents. As the name implies, the museum focuses on the medical story of the war.
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Life in a Glass Box
By Linda Tancs
Located on a 62-acre secured private estate in Plano, Illinois, Farnsworth House is an illustration of life in a glass box. Boasting continuous glass walls, the International Style-house was designed in 1945 by illustrious architect Mies van der Rohe for Dr. Edith Farnsworth. Her country retreat along the Fox River was intended to complement and reflect its natural surroundings. The view is particularly striking in the evening, which is why moonlight tours are back by popular demand. Running at the full moon from May to October, the tours begin at dusk and return after dark. The property is otherwise open from April to November. Buy tickets in advance to guarantee access.
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America’s Only Tea Plantation
By Linda Tancs
Located on picturesque Wadmalaw Island in the heart of South Carolina’s Lowcountry, Charleston Tea Plantation is the home of America’s homegrown tea, American Classic Tea. A historical treasure, every Camellia Sinensis plant growing on the grounds of the plantation is a direct descendent of the 1888 crop grown by Dr. Charles Shepard, who founded the Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville, South Carolina. He produced award-winning American tea until his death in 1915. Thereafter, his tea plants were transferred to a potato farm on Wadmalaw Island that later became the plantation beloved today. The plantation is open year round, and harvesting and production are in full swing now. In fact, the plants’ blooming season is at its peak. Enjoy the beauty of the fields with a trolley ride and have a cuppa. The grounds are located right off Maybank Highway.
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The History of Chesapeake Bay
By Linda Tancs
Once the site of a busy complex of seafood packing houses, docks, and workboats, the 18-acre waterfront campus of Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum boasts 35 buildings, 10 of which house exhibitions that are open to the public. The only museum devoted to interpreting the entire maritime region of the bay, the facility traces the geological, social, and economic history of the Chesapeake Bay with the aid of a research library holding more than 10,000 volumes. Also, the museum’s collection of Chesapeake Bay watercraft is the largest in existence at 85 boats. Eleven of the collection’s largest vessels are on floating display at the museum’s docks.
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6,000 Years of Life
By Linda Tancs
You’ll find 6,000 years of life in County Limerick, Ireland. Just 13 miles from Limerick city, in fact, is a prehistoric marvel, Lough Gur (Lake Gur). Surrounding this placid lake is a gem of archeological sites, boasting Ireland’s largest stone circle, Neolithic settlements, megalith tombs, crannogs and castles. The Heritage Centre provides a fascinating interpretation of the area’s riches, including an audio visual show and display panels on the geology, botany, zoology and archaeology of the area combined with local folklore.
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The Golden Age of American Gardens
By Linda Tancs
Draped by the northern Santa Cruz mountains in Woodside, California, Filoli is a country estate with enviable grounds beckoning the Golden Age of private estate gardens. Designed between 1917 and 1929 for prominent San Franciscans Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, its grounds are remarkably preserved as one of the few surviving and best examples of an English Renaissance style garden. Its many charms also include the Sunken Garden and clock tower, a 6.8-acre orchard and a trail system highlighting five different ecosystems. No less elegant, the gracious country house adorning the estate boasts 36,000 square feet, resplendent in an extensive collection of 17th and 18th century English antiques among its 43 rooms.
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Newcastle’s Hidden Heritage
By Linda Tancs
At first blush, England’s northern city of Newcastle would owe its fame to the beer it sired. After all, its namesake brown ale was first produced at the Tyne Brewery in 1927. But in 2007 production was moved to Tadcaster in North Yorkshire by current owner Heineken, so that part of the city’s heritage is but a side note these days. There’s another part of its heritage that’s alive and well, though—albeit a bit hidden. That’s the Victoria Tunnel. Running beneath the city from the Town Moor down to the Tyne, it was built in 1842 to transport coal to riverside jetties for loading onto ships. In 1939, it was converted into an air-raid shelter to protect hundreds of Newcastle citizens during World War II. Part of the tunnel is open year round to the public for guided tours which must be booked in advance.
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Where a Tree Reigns Supreme
By Linda Tancs
Andhra Pradesh is a district in India with the second lowest rainfall, a fact that seemingly has no impact on at least one tree in the region. At the westernmost end, the province boasts a colossal ancient banyan tree at Anantapur‘s village, Gutibayalu. With branches spreading over five acres, its girth earned it a place in Guinness World Records. To put it in perspective, the tree is larger than an average Wal-Mart. Locally referred to as “Thimmamma Marrimanu,” it sports over 1,000 prop roots.
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The Pinnacles
By Linda Tancs
Take a three hours’ drive north of Perth (the capital of Western Australia) and you’ll encounter the otherworldly Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. The Pinnacles comprise limestone shells cast as pillars in the desert landscape of the park, their sheer numbers (and oddball shapes and sizes) creating an alien-like environment. They date back millions of years to an epoch when the sand was beneath the sea. The ride down Indian Ocean Drive is well worth it for the views of coastline fringed by white beaches and colorful native bushland, but you can also get there via coach or a 4WD tour from Perth.
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