Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!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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Art and Decadence in Marseille
By Linda Tancs
In the Panier quarter of Marseille is a French gallery-turned-guesthouse that proudly proclaims its marriage of art and decadence. Known as Au Vieux Panier, each room in the five-room B&B boasts a different design by a different artist, redesigned annually by a new group of creatives. The rooms have sported monikers like Purgatory Palace (a convergence of geometric patterns and biblical imagery), Catch the Wind (a 1960s style commune) and the Panic Room (a down-the-middle split between stark white and graffiti gone wild). De beaux rêves!
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A Jubilee Fit For a Queen
By Linda Tancs
Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation took place on 2 June 1953. Celebrating her 60 years on the throne, the upcoming central weekend of her Diamond Jubilee (2-5 June) promises to be as memorable and majestic as, well, her Majesty. Some highlights include the river pageant on Sunday afternoon, a mustering of 1000 boats and ships upriver of Battersea and ending at Tower Bridge, featuring the Queen’s barge, a floating belfry, historic ships, boats spouting geysers and music barges. On 4 June the BBC will present a concert at Buckingham Palace surrounding what Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, famously referred to as The Wedding Cake (the Victoria Memorial). The concert will include classic hits from artists including Shirley Bassey, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, Jessie J, JLS, Elton John, Tom Jones, Lang Lang, Annie Lennox, Madness, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and Ed Sheeran. The long celebratory weekend will end on 5 June with the carriage procession up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and down the Mall through the center gates at Buckingham Palace. As the royals wave from the balcony, the RAF will fly over the palace–minus Concorde, whose deafening roar signalled its awesome impending approach during the Golden Jubilee flyover in 2002. Long live the Queen!
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Torch Relay in Ironbridge
By Linda Tancs
On the border of North Wales and approximately three hours from London is the town of Ironbridge in Shropshire, England. Its world famous Iron Bridge is the first arch bridge to be made of cast iron. The bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will cross the Iron Bridge today at 3:14 p.m., making its way along Wellington Road to the Museum of Iron and finishing at the Coalbrookdale pub at 3:39 p.m. Entertainment starts at 2:00 p.m. Expect large crowds; use the free park and ride at Stoney Hill.
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Winging It in the Falklands
By Linda Tancs
The black-browed albatross has the largest wingspan of any flying bird. You’ll find two-thirds of the world’s population in the Falkland Islands, a compact group of more than 740 islands approximately 400 miles off the southeastern tip of South America. Rendered an endangered species by BirdLife International, this majestic bird breeds on Steeple Jason and Beauchêne Island. Perhaps one of nature’s best kept secrets, the unspoiled terrain of this UK Overseas Territory draws visitors from around the world, particularly in conjunction with cruise tours of Antarctica via the Drake Passage. There are also scheduled flights from Europe or other parts of the world with LAN Chile via Santiago de Chile and Punta Arenas. Not up for a commercial flight? Consider hitching a ride with the RAF via Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. It won’t be cheap, but it will certainly be adventurous–as will ground travel. The Falklands has the greatest number of four-wheel drive vehicles per capita in the world thanks to, shall we say, choppy road conditions.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 