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 People’s Voice on Air Travel
By Linda Tancs
Air travel is rife with passenger complaints and concerns over everything from tarmac delays and status information to transparency in pricing and food allergies. Do you want to have your say in the resolution of the matter? Then be sure to comment on proposed regulations when they’re drafted by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Regulation Room makes it easy to know what the feds are up to; you can easily view at a glance the topics that are currently awaiting public comment. And who better to address the travails of the traveling public than…you? As the late economist Milton Friedman once remarked, “The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.”
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New Jersey Film Festival Reels Them In
By Linda Tancs
Over twenty film/video directors, artists, and actors will delight visitors at this year’s New Jersey Film Festival. The event will run through 4 November and feature over 50 film screenings, many of them premieres. Enjoy the cushioned seats, stadium seating and high definition projection and sound systems at the primary screening venue in Voorhees Hall at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Highlights include experimental film screenings on Thursday nights and the annual Halloween 3D Show (on 28 October), featuring a 3D screening of Creature From the Black Lagoon. Tickets for the festival are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Better hurry!
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The Horses of Borgharen
By Linda Tancs
In the Netherlands, horse riding is a very common sport, with horse farms and manege (riding stables/riding schools) dotting the countryside. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that a burial ground for 51 horses dating to the 17th century was recently unearthed in Borgharen, a few miles shy of Maastricht. The mystery of their demise still remains, however. Was it a result of battle during the Eighty Years’ War over the strategic Maas River? We may never know for sure, but the find lends the area the distinction of hosting Europe’s largest known equine burial ground. However, the area might be better known for Castle Borgharen. Originally built as a defense tower, it was rebuilt in the 18th century as a humble abode for Baron Van Roosen. It could be yours for a cool 5 million or so euro.
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Gastronomy Rules in Budapest
By Linda Tancs
Hungary’s official website boasts “a love for life.” Make that food, too–especially during the September Festival, taking place from 3 to 5 September in Budapest’s Bókay Garden. This year’s eleventh running of the event will bring together internationally recognized master chefs, dance groups, Olympic and world champion athletes, politicians from the European Parliament, famous artists and 80,000 or so visitors who will dance, cook and otherwise enjoy themselves. The emphasis, though, is on cooking, as evidenced by the Strudel Festival, Sausage Festival and Pálinka (strong fruit brandy) Festival. In fact, cooking is so much a part of the event that Guinness records are often made or broken. Sought after records this year include a surprise meal in a 4,251-litres kettle and a Somló sponge cake with a diameter of about 3.4 metres. Good luck to all!
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Tipping the Tankard in Belgium
By Linda Tancs
The oft-quoted comment that beer is proof that God loves us is often attributed (erroneously) to U.S. founding father Ben Franklin. Nonetheless, it’s a sentiment heartily espoused in Belgium, particularly during Belgian Beer Weekend on the Grand Place. Taking place from 3 to 5 September, the event features some 240 kinds of Belgian beer. Surely you’ll find something to suit your palate among the pils, amber, white, trappist, abbey, geuze, fruit, strong pale, strong brown, red-brown, regional or assorted sundries. Cheers!
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400 Years of Culture in Santa Fe
By Linda Tancs
New Mexico’s capital city of Santa Fe is celebrating its 400th anniversary all year long. So what’s in it for you? Plenty. Be inspired by the landscape often depicted by American painter Georgia O’Keeffe, whose works are exhibited in the city’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Nicknamed “The City Different,” Santa Fe is the product of centuries of co-existence among Native Americans, Spanish, Mexican, European and African Americans. For instance, Canyon Road was a route by which Native Americans brought their goods to trade with the Spanish settlers in the Plaza de Santa Fe, where the Spanish began to build their adobe homes in the 1750s. A fine example of adobe is the Palace of the Governors, which served as Spain’s seat of government for the entire Southwest region. In this city also stands North America’s oldest church, San Miguel Chapel, whose adobe walls were constructed around 1610. Another curiosity is the Loretto Chapel, drawing visitors the world over for its remarkable spiral staircase to the choir loft built without any visible means of support with nails or beams, considered a miracle by the convent’s Sisters of Loretto. Other attractions include world-renowned art galleries, marketplaces, and performance venues, accessible on foot or by city bus.
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Down to Earth in Willamette Valley
By Linda Tancs
Thirty-five miles southwest of Portland, Oregon is the Willamette Valley’s Yamhill-Carlton District AVA (American Viticultural Area), an area rife with dark, plummy, black-fruited Pinot Noirs framed by minerality reminiscent of pipe tobacco, espresso, clove and dark chocolate owing to the marine sedimentary soils of the region. In other words, earthy–or down to earth–a moniker characterizing the inhabitants of the valley as much as the wines themselves. The AVA is bringing the valley to Portland today for a wine tasting at the Gerding Theater, Portland Armory, from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance or $35 at the door. Why wait in line? Buy your tickets now.
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Air Show Turns 21
By Linda Tancs
The number 21 often signals a coming of age. No wonder, then, the folks at South Lake Tahoe California’s Lake Tahoe Airport are throwing a big bash at this year’s air show on 28 August. Among the many events planned are guest appearances by aerobatic performers Bill Cornick and Jon Melby and the gravity defying antics of Spencer Suderman in his famous Pitts. Gives new meaning to the phrase, birds of a feather fly together.
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Nevada State Fair Opens Today
By Linda Tancs
The Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center hosts the Nevada State Fair today through 29 August. Admission is free on opening night; the grand procession begins at 7 p.m. As is the case with any state fair, the event will highlight the usual livestock shows, auctions, agricultural events, and exhibits, as well as carnival rides and live entertainment. However, in this and future years Nevada’s long and storied Wild West history will be featured during the annual attraction. That means you can expect to experience a mining camp, a frontier town, a Native American village, stage coach rides, and a host of other features defining the State’s history. That’s a lot to see in one day, so why not buy a 3-day passport and save $45!
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Feeling Blue Around the World
By Linda Tancs
Feeling blue? In some parts of the world, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. That is to say, if you live in a blue zone–areas of the world where the population regularly lives to the ripe old age of 100 or more. Places like Loma Linda, California, Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Sardinia, Italy and Okinawa, Japan. Don’t pack your bags just yet, though. Just being there won’t increase your chances for longevity. You gotta walk the walk, as they say. That means lots of whole grains, veggies, beans and fruits. Maybe Mama was right after all.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 