Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for travel writing
The Largest Theatre in Paris
By Linda Tancs
Grand Rex is the largest theatre in Paris and one of the largest in Europe. Boasting the city’s largest screen, the cinema’s outsized lines and Art Deco-style dome are out of sync with the hotels, bars and pubs along rue Poissonniere but nevertheless befitting a shrine to Parisian cinema. Inaugurated in 1932, the Ministry of Culture has decreed it a national monument. Discover its legend through an interactive, 50- minute long audio guided tour.
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The First Veterans’ Monument
By Linda Tancs
The traumatic fate of nine colonists in 1676 is commemorated in a wooded area near the public library in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Known as Nine Men’s Misery, the stone memorial there is reportedly the first veterans’ monument in the United States, a tribute to nine colonial militiamen slaughtered at the site by the Narragansett tribe during King Philip’s War. The conflict, named for its Native American leader Metacomet (referred to as King Philip by the British), pitted tribes in New England against the British colonists and their allies as the Puritans increasingly encroached upon Native American settlements. Despite the colonists’ eventual victory, the war ravaged the population and economy of the region.
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Persian Pearls
By Linda Tancs
The ancient kingdom of Persia, now known as Iran, isn’t exactly a tourist magnet yet boasts 16 World Heritage sites worthy of distinction. Some, like the pre-Christian monumental ruins of Persepolis, represent one of the greatest ancient sites outside the Holy Land. Another top attraction is Isfahan’s Masjed-e Jāmé (“Friday mosque”), the oldest preserved edifice of its type in Iran and a prototype for later mosque designs throughout Central Asia. Created to exemplify Eden, the Persian Garden is a collection of nine gardens selected from various regions of Iran, maintaining an ancient geometric model and integrating cultural and social aspects of society in a manner intended to harmonize with natural surroundings. Thankfully, many of its historic sites are far removed from the more problematic border zones around Iraq and Afghanistan, a plus for the many university groups seeking tours of Persia’s pearls.
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All in the Family
By Linda Tancs
In Little Silver, New Jersey there’s an old house that predates the founding of the United States. Known as the Parker Homestead, the unassuming white Colonial with green shutters dates to 1725 or so. Descended from the earliest English settlers in New Jersey, the Parker family retained ownership of the home for over 300 years. This National Historic Site also boasts a horse barn, livestock barn and wagon barn. Together with the house, all four structures sit on land acquired by Joseph and Peter Parker under a land grant in 1665.
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A Year of Homecoming
By Linda Tancs
Although national gathering festivals are nothing new, it’s easy to appreciate each country’s unique artistic, cultural and ancestral heritage. This year, it’s Scotland’s turn to shine. Dubbed the Year of Homecoming, the slate of events includes a whisky festival, a re-enactment of Britain’s battle with Robert the Bruce, a celebration of Forth Bridges’ 50th anniversary and the Highland Games, a tradition since 1867.
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The Centre of the World
By Linda Tancs
Have you ever pondered which town is the nearest to the centre of the world? The people of Ludbreg in Croatia would have you believe that since ancient times certain circles of the earth expanded concentrically from their fair town, determining the position of major European cities. And so every year the citizens of Ludbreg add another tile bearing the name of one of the cities of the world to their main square on 1 April, Ludbreg’s birthday. It’s no April Fools’ Day joke; today is the Day of the Centre of the World.
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A Land of Urban Culture
By Linda Tancs
Croatia prides itself as a land of urban culture, sporting more cities than any other part of the Mediterranean. But the Mediterranean is only part of its charm, circled as it is by eastern, western and central Europe. Learn more about this newest member of the European Union on Travelrific® Travel Show.
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An Architectural Trifecta in Belarus
By Linda Tancs
Mir Castle, a red brick fortress in Belarus, is a trifecta of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture. Located in the town of Mir in the Grodno region (55 miles southwest of Minsk), the fortification serves as an emblem of the vast Lithuanian empire that ruled the region, the castle grounds having once belonged to the grand dukes. The castle complex was later built by Prince Yuri Ilyinich in the 16th century and became the family home of the Radziwills for over two centuries, who undertook extensive renovations of the complex to include an artificial lake, an Italian garden and a three story Renaissance palace along the eastern and northern walls of the castle. Recently renovated and restored, the castle is again open to the public.
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The Graves of Arles
By Linda Tancs
Southwest of the center of Arles in southern France is the ancient Roman necropolis, Les Alyscamps. Later a Christian burial ground, the path lined with numerous sarcophagi was a subject of paintings by Van Gogh and his onetime roommate, Gauguin. Van Gogh was quite prolific while residing in Arles; the Van Gogh trail is a self-guided walking tour highlighting points of artistic inspiration.
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Like No Place Else on Earth
By Linda Tancs
According to the National Park Service, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon’s only national park, is like no place else on Earth. Maybe it’s the lake at the heart of it all, one of the world’s deepest. Its majestic blue color can be viewed by driving the 33-mile path around the rim or getting up close and personal on a boat tour. Along the way, maybe you’ll see the Old Man, a mountain hemlock log that has been floating upright in the lake for more than 100 years!
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