Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Dancing in Nepal
By Linda Tancs
It’s a festive time of year in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Following the autumn moon this month, the monks of Tengboche begin a solemn ritual of chant and dance for the sherpa community (and international visitors who don’t mind heights). Known as Mani Rimdu, the festival is one of the most sacred and highly anticipated annual events celebrating Buddhism in the Himalayas. The monks, dressed in flowing orange robes and bright yellow headgear resembling a crescent moon, prepare for the 3-day festival with the drawing of a giant sand mandala symbolizing beauty and its impermanent nature. Intricate dances alternate between highly theatrical (including the famous mask dances) and subdued, telling the story of the defeat by Padmasambhava of the evil spirits of the Bon religion and the conversion of the people to Buddhism. The mountain air gets mighty cold this time of year. Warm up at the fire puja (or offering) on the third day, when the evil spirits of the world are said to melt away and peace returns to the mountain kingdom.
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Delaware’s Distinctions
By Linda Tancs
Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Needless to say, historical sites and artifacts abound, but Delaware’s distinctions also extend to its cuisine, unique festivities and great beaches. Learn more about the First State at Travelrific® Travel Show.
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Historic Lisbon
By Linda Tancs
Yes, Lisbon is historic. No, we’re not talking about that legendary city in Portugal with over 20 centuries of history and its capital since its conquest from the Moors in 1147. We’re talking about Lisbon, Connecticut, a small community named after its sister city in Portugal. Located along the old stagecoach route linking Norwich, Connecticut and Worcester, Massachusetts, it’s perhaps best known as a chief leaf-peeping destination given its location on Route 169, a National Scenic Byway. Thirty two miles in length, you can take in all the autumn wonder in just one day. Besides the leaves, there’s plenty more to this route, especially for history buffs. You can take a tour from Canterbury to Pulpit Rock Road Marker in North Woodstock, viewing along the way the first academy for young black women in New England, a stop on the Underground Railroad, and monuments to early settlers, war heroes, and famous legislators.
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Mohonk Still Timeless at 140
By Linda Tancs
In 1869, a Rhode Island schoolmaster named Albert Smiley purchased 280 acres and a ten-room inn overlooking a lovely lake atop the Shawangunk Ridge above New Paltz, New York. Since then, that investment has metamorphosed into Mohonk Mountain House, an idyllic retreat comprising a Victorian castle with 265 rooms, five guest cottages, three spacious dining rooms, 138 fireplaces, 238 balconies, and a half-dozen parlors. The centerpiece of a 26,000-acre natural area in the Shawangunk Mountains, the 140-year-old resort lacks for nothing in the way of amenities, like its 30,000 square-foot spa’s steam and sauna rooms. Not surprisingly, the mountain house was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986. From Sky Top Tower, you can survey the property’s namesake, Lake Mohonk, a 60-foot deep, freshwater beauty. In 1882, the New York Times reported, “There is nothing in the world exactly like Lake Mohonk.” Well, maybe seeing is believing.
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Jurassic Park in France
By Linda Tancs
High in the Jura Mountains of eastern France the sauropod reigned supreme. Just when you think its star would have faded, however, comes news of a discovery there of one of the largest dinosaur footprints (at almost five feet in diameter). Dated from the Late Jurassic period (the era taking its name from the Jura due to some prehistoric rocks there), the well-preserved prints are likely not the last we’re going to hear about the long-necked vegetarian that weighed anywhere from 33 to 44 tons. Perhaps this scientific discovery will invigorate tourism in the area–namely, the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park, southwest of the mountain range on the French/Swiss border. Filled with a wide variety of flora and fauna, mountain forests, high altitude grassland, wooded meadows, peat bogs, lakes and deep valleys, you can traverse the area by hiking, mountain biking or even Nordic skiing. Who knows, you might even stumble upon some really big feet.
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Exotic Adventures for Elders
By Linda Tancs
So you’re “older.” That doesn’t mean you can’t travel like a millenial or one of those other younger generations whether it’s hiking, glacier hopping, kayaking, safari jeeping, or just hanging out with an ornately festooned camel in Rajasthan. If you’d like to travel like a Generation X’er but not necessarily with one, consider an elder trek for travelers aged 50 and over. And remember, as economist Bernard Baruch said, age is only a number.
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1300 Years in Normandy
By Linda Tancs
The motto of WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots) was “We live in the wind and the sand, and our eyes are on the stars.” That could equally apply to France’s Mont Saint Michel (Saint Michael’s Mount), a hauntingly beautiful rocky expanse between Normandy and Brittany whose granite apex hosts the Benedictine abbey started there in the 10th century. The worship of Saint Michael there, however, dates back to the year 708, making this holy site more than 1300 years old. As if that weren’t enough to distinguish it, the Mount is also one of the first locales to obtain a UNESCO World Heritage listing. The village lying beneath the abbey, ringed by a fortress, is built on sand but can withstand the constant assault of the highest tides in Europe. Its ebb and flow, described by Victor Hugo as being “à la vitesse d’un cheval au galop” (“as swift as a galloping horse”) is striking and quite a tourist draw. Take it all in at the North Tower of these medieval ramparts.
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Meet and Greet
By Linda Tancs
Roman philosopher Seneca mused, “The whole world is my native land.” You, too, can have that familiar (or better yet, familial-type) feeling if you’re lucky enough to find a greeter at your next tourist destination. If the idea of finding a friendly native to take you around town for a few hours–for free–appeals to you, then you should see if the Global Greeter Network has a volunteer guide for you. A growing network, the group currently has ambassadors of all ages across the U.S. and in Europe. Why go it alone?
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Chocolate Lovers Unite in Stockholm
By Linda Tancs
Tomorrow through 11 October, chocolate lovers have a reason to smile in Stockholm. At the Nordiska Museum (National Museum of Cultural History), the Chocolate Festival will delight visitors with the best of the nation’s chocolatiers offering tastings, markets, demos and seminars. Would Atkins approve? The Swedes think not.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, or bookmark it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
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Kanc Turns 50
By Linda Tancs
Frequent spring rains promise a spectacular fall foliage season in the U.S. this year. What better place to celebrate the impending color works than at the Kanc–that’s local speak for the Kancamagus Highway, over 30 miles of natural beauty ringed by the White Mountains between Lincoln and Conway in New Hampshire. Named for Kancamagus, an early Indian chief of the Penacook Confederacy, the byway naturally includes old Indian hunting trails. Romanticists are sure to love the covered bridge in Albany. You can learn more at the information center housed in The Russell-Colbath House, the only remaining 19th century homestead in the area.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it, bookmark it or Tweet it. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
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