Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!British Invasion in Vegas
By Linda Tancs
The Beatles aren’t the only British import lighting up Vegas. Queen Victoria is alive and well on the Strip, too. That is, the Queen Victoria Pub, located inside the Riviera Hotel and Casino. The only British-owned and operated establishment boasts 24 draught beers and over 40 bottled varieties from around the world. Needless to say, you can savor such island favorites as toad in the hole, shepherds pie and fish and chips. Cheers!
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The Year of Klimt
By Linda Tancs
2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Klimt, an Austrian painter and illustrator. Ten Viennese museums will herald the event with special exhibitions throughout the year, featuring his paintings, drawings and designs. The Belvedere has the world’s largest collection of Klimt paintings, where a special exhibition is already underway highlighting his collaboration with Josef Hoffmann. Later, in May, don’t miss the first public viewing of the Wien Museum’s collection of 400 Klimt drawings. In the meanwhile, don’t miss the Art History Museum event beginning next month, or the spectacular events scheduled for Albertina, the Theatre Museum, Kuenstlerhaus, Folklore Museum, Leopold or the Museum of Applied Art.
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Mum’s the Word
By Linda Tancs
You’ve heard it before: talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. In London they celebrate action–visual theatre–at the International Mime Festival. Until 29 January you can experience the circus athletes of Sugar Beast Circus, mask theatre of Kulunka Teatro, the light and shadow of Fleur Elise Noble, acrobat-dancer and magician Claudio Stellato and object theatre of Théâtre Tête de Pioche. In short, a feast for the senses.
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Leapfrogging in Samoa
By Linda Tancs
In Samoa, time really did stand still. The Pacific island lost a day (30 December, to be precise) when it shifted its international dateline on 29 December to be in sync with that of its major trading partners, Australia and New Zealand. The dateline, which runs through the middle of the Pacific, now runs to the east of the island nation rather than to its west.
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Peru
By Linda Tancs
Lake Titicaca, located between Bolivia and Peru, is the highest navigable lake in the world. Conveniently accessed from Juliaca airport, take the bus or a taxi to Puno, Peru’s capital of folklore. Your midsummer adventure there should include the cylindrical Sillustani burial towers, one of the world’s most important necropolises just outside Puno. The cathedral in Puno, built in 1757, is warm and inviting against a frosty midsummer night sky. After all, the city is located over 3000 meters above sea level.
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Slovenian Capital of Culture
By Linda Tancs
Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia, is a 2012 European Capital of Culture. The festivities began this past weekend with music, theatre and dance performances. The year’s events will encompass events as varied as carnival and contemporary dance. Youth art is a particular highlight, quite fitting as Maribor will follow on this year’s cultural award as the European Youth Capital in 2013.
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Portuguese Capital of Culture
By Linda Tancs
Inland from Porto, Portugal, Guimarães is a 2012 European Capital of Culture. The city is known as the “cradle of Portugal” as it’s the birthplace of the nation’s first king, Afonso Henriques. The area is well known for its linens and embroidery, too. In the vicinity is Mateus Palace, whose picture graces the wine label of the same name. The kick-off for festivities is 21 January with a theatre and multimedia open-air show. The year’s events focus on four themes: City, Community, Thought and Arts.
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Go Fly a Kite
By Linda Tancs
The transition of the sun into the Northern Hemisphere has heads turning skyward in India on 14 January. On that day, Indians celebrate this celestial occurrence with a festival called Makar Sankranti, the annual kite festival. The kite flying event is particularly popular in Jaipur, where Air Force helicopters release kites resembling wasps, stained glass windows and birds, among other things. The three-day festival ends with the crowning of winners for the display kite and fighter kite competitions.
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The Jewel of Milton
By Linda Tancs
Just eight miles from Boston, Massachusetts, Milton is a culturally rich bedroom community with the distinction of having the most privately and publicly conserved land within 20 miles of Boston. Settled in 1640 by Puritans who began the settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, it has retained several 19th century country houses and estates, like the imposing Greek Revival mansion of the Forbes family. Known as the jewel of Milton, the Forbes House Museum is a National Historic Landmark housing the treasures of four generations of one of America’s greatest entrepreneurial families. Located atop Milton Hill overlooking Boston’s skyline, the museum’s displays include 19th-century export porcelain, paintings, furniture, and other unique items brought back from China by Captain Robert Bennet Forbes. Other exhibits in the permanent collection are Civil War and President Lincoln memorabilia and Forbes family holdings, including American and European paintings, furniture and artifacts. The Museum offers tours on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 1pm and 3pm. Admission is $8 per person for adults and $5 for seniors and students. The Museum grounds are open to the public free of charge daily from dawn to dusk.
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A Perfect Storm in Oregon
By Linda Tancs
Beachcombers, take note. Oregon’s Cannon Beach, a popular town about 80 miles from Portland, offers unrivaled dramatic scenery in winter. Thanks to the winds, waves and heavy rains this time of year, tide-pool viewing is just one of many delights offered by what many would probably perceive as an unlikely winter beach destination. Fogless nights offer uncompromised views from iconic Haystack Rock and the Tillamook Lighthouse. But perhaps best of all is the beauty of a frost-tinged beach and the excitement of waiting out a winter storm from the cozy comfort of your oceanfront suite, at a fraction of summer’s rates.
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