Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Navigating the Cyclades
By Linda Tancs
As summer tourists push through the popular Greek isles of Rhodes, Santorini, and Mykonos, rest assured you won’t be one of them. Why? Because you have a better plan. For half the price of a stay on Santorini, you can enjoy the hinterlands of Paros, the heart of the Cyclades. Painting exhibitions, art, cinema–all the culture you’d expect from an ancient civilization awaits you there. Only 30 minutes by air from Athens, or take the hydrofoil from Santorini.
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Bethel Celebrates Anniversaries
By Linda Tancs
Hard to believe this year marks 40 years since Flower Power took to a rain-soaked field in Sullivan County, New York, site of a musical festival known as Woodstock. As if the enduring legacy of that seminal event in pop culture isn’t enough to commemorate, the pastoral town of Bethel has yet another milestone to celebrate this year: its 200th birthday. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has lots of events on tap to celebrate the tiny town’s past, present and future. Visit the museum for a taste of their centuries-old history; this weekend, admission is free as part of Give Peace a Chance Family Day. And get your tickets now for Woodstock’s 40th Anniversary bash on August 15, starring Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship, Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Mountain, Tom Constanten and Country Joe McDonald.
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Tree Tops
By Linda Tancs
Dunster is a tiny medieval village situated in England’s Exmoor National Park. What it lacks in size it makes up for in notoriety as the site of England’s tallest tree. Near Dunster Castle a Douglas fir measuring almost 200 feet stands sentinel on the Crown Estate. For comparative purposes, consider that the venerable California Redwood grows to at least 300 feet. Perhaps there’s something in the water around Somerset. The castle grounds also sport the oldest lemon tree.
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Beachy Keen
By Linda Tancs
Summer can best be summed up in two words: sun and surf. There’s only one sun but as many opinions on great beaches as there are locations to choose from. Hear about some picks in India, France, Italy, Turkey and St. Barth’s at Travelrific® Travel Show.
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Marie’s Garden
By Linda Tancs
On the outskirts of Paris lies the site of Château de Saint-Cloud. Once a royal palace built in 1572 and later occupied by Napoleon and Marie Antoinette, it was destroyed in the 1800s during the Franco-Prussian War. What remains, though, is a verdant complex comprising over 1100 acres filled with ten fountains, a French garden, an English garden and, of course, Marie Antoinette’s flower garden. Nice place for une pique-nique. Get there via Le Val d’Or or Saint-Cloud rail lines or the T2 Tramway. Bon appétit!
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Living History in Ghana
By Linda Tancs
Central Ghana’s history as the Gold Coast of the British Empire belies its shameful past as the post of last resort for African slaves bound for the New World. Specifically, Cape Coast Castle was a fort (more accurately referred to as a dungeon) for captured West Africans or those sold into slavery during the 1600s to early 1800s. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site and museum, the stark cave-like dwellings are open to tourists. Cape Coast is the capital of Ghana’s central region, located on the Gulf of Guinea. From its hilltop location you’ll get striking views of the Atlantic Ocean.
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World Natural Heritage in Germany
By Linda Tancs
Wattenmeer, or Wadden Sea, is an area stretching from the northern coast of Germany to the Dutch island of Texel. This region, comprising the largest continuous area of mud flaps in the world, is home to millions of migratory birds. Now it will likely see a boost in tourism thanks to its designation as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO, joining such other luminaries as the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos and the Serengeti. The appointment couldn’t have come at a better time, considering UNESCO’s stinging removal of the Dresden Elbe Valley as a world cultural site thanks to a four-lane bridge spanning the river and spoiling the view.
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Avoid the Sting Off Gibraltar
By Linda Tancs
Swimmers, beware. Over 500 stinging Portuguese Man o’ War have been spotted off Spain’s southern coast near Gibraltar. The sea creature, commonly referred to as a jellyfish, is actually a floating hydrozoan with stinging cells in its tentacles (like a jellyfish) to capture and paralyze prey. Although not generally fatal to humans, the sting is not likely to be forgotten very soon. Have an ice pack handy, just in case.
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Saipan Remembers
By Linda Tancs
July 9 marks the final day of the Battle of Saipan in 1944, one of the fiercest battles of World War II. In a memorial park overlooking what has come to be known as Banzai Cliff some four miles from San Roque on the northern tip of Saipan, Bodhisattva of Mercy and Peace keeps vigil. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers and civilians met their fate at Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff in lieu of suffering capture by Allied forces.
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Voices of Wales
By Linda Tancs
Each year since 1947 the little town of Llangollen in the Dee Valley of northeast Wales hosts a big show: the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Now through 12 July, this musical festival and competition includes thousands of international choirs, folk singers and dancers. Many stars credit the festival with developing their musical careers, including Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavorotti. If you missed the grand opening Parade of Nations through the village streets on 7 July, then stick around for the grand finale, a “Licensed to Thrill” concert celebrating the music of James Bond featuring the orchestra of the Welsh National Opera.
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Travelrific® Travel Journal 