Category Archives: Travel

Scenic Tours: Bruges In Northwest Belgium (8K)

Bruges, the capital of West Flanders in northwest Belgium, is distinguished by its canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. Its port, Zeebrugge, is an important center for fishing and European trade. In the city center’s Burg square, the 14th-century Stadhuis (City Hall) has an ornate carved ceiling. Nearby, Markt square features a 13th-century belfry with a 47-bell carillon and 83m tower with panoramic views.

Views: The Landscapes And Culture Of Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa is a Japanese prefecture comprising more than 150 islands in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Japan’s mainland. It’s known for its tropical climate, broad beaches and coral reefs, as well as World War II sites. On the largest island (also named Okinawa) is Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, commemorating a massive 1945 Allied invasion, and Churaumi Aquarium, home to whale sharks and manta rays.

Views: The Two Worlds Of Casablanca, Morocco

Famous from the 1940’s award winning movie, Casablanca is a city of love, drama, and passion. A city just like the Hollywood film, even though not a single scene was shot there. Today, two worlds clash, tradition, and globalisation. An old port city and commercial hub in western Morocco, which at one time was ruled by the French, can be seen through its downtown architectural style.

Casablanca is a port city and commercial hub in western Morocco, fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The city’s French colonial legacy is seen in its downtown Mauresque architecture, a blend of Moorish style and European art deco. Standing partly over the water, the enormous Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993, has a 210m minaret topped with lasers directed toward Mecca. 

Travel Preview: Italia! Magazine – August 2022

Italia! Magazine – August 2022

Captivating Castelli

Italy is so liberally sprinkled with castles, it’s difficult to choose just a few favourites. From solid medieval stone affairs to elegant 19th-century palaces, the nation has a dizzyingly diverse collection of castelli, many of which offer a palpable sense of their region’s unique history and culture. In this feature, however, we’ve risen to the challenge and combed the country to bring you a smattering of the very best castles to visit today (and a few that you can stay in!). Today these fortifications offer wide-ranging reasons to stop by, so whether you fancy soaking up the atmosphere and views, basking in the cultural heritage or enjoying produce from the local vines, one of these places is certain to enhance your next trip to Italy. And if you really love Italian castles, turn the page for options that are available to buy, so you can live the dream like true royalty.

Views: Bike Ride To Swedish Songs, Countryside Roads

Biking along country side roads, listening to songs every Swede know by heart: Sol, vind och vatten, Visa vid vindens ängar, Sjösalavals, En kväll i juni. It’s about 8 o’clock in the evening, the sun won’t set for another couple of hours. Summer is lovely on evnings like these. The music is next to cliché but so much a part of Swedish summer they where the obvious choice.

Travel Guide: 7 Things To Do In Big Sur, California

Big Sur is a rugged stretch of California’s central coast between Carmel and San Simeon. Bordered to the east by the Santa Lucia Mountains and the west by the Pacific Ocean, it’s traversed by narrow, 2-lane State Route 1, known for winding turns, seaside cliffs and views of the often-misty coastline. The sparsely populated region has numerous state parks for hiking, camping and beachcombing. ―

It includes beaches like Sand Dollar Beach, hiking in places like Andrew Molera State Park, places to eat like Nepenthe and the sushi restaurant at Treebones, waterfalls like McWay Falls, and iconic spots like Bixby Bridge. You can see more here: https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2022/06..

English View: The Nunnery In Eden Valley, Cumbria

An exquisite private estate in the Cumbrian countryside — complete with fabulous interiors and secret waterfalls in the grounds .

The Nunnery is — as the name suggests — a former Benedictine Nunnery that has been the recipient of years of renovation works, transforming the historic property into a breathtaking, spacious home. Penny Churchill reports.

Cumbria’s glorious Eden Valley has been well-named and the setting for imposing, Grade I-listed The Nunnery at Staffield, 10 miles from Penrith, on the fringes of the Lake District National Park, is typical of the area, with traditional livestock farms and rolling grassland falling away to the River Eden, against a distant backdrop of dark, moody fells.

The former country-house hotel, set in almost 52 acres of wonderfully private park and woodland close to the village of Kirkoswald, has been beautifully renovated, remodelled and extended by its present owners who acquired it in a fairly run-down state in the early 2000s.

Although the origins of The Nunnery can be traced to a mid-13th-century Benedictine nunnery, according to Country Life (November 23, 2000), the present ‘plain but imposing red sandstone house’ was built by Henry Aglionby in 1718.

Village Walk: Dolceacqua In Northwestern Italy (4K)

Dolceacqua is a comune in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 120 kilometres southwest of Genoa and about 35 kilometres west of Imperia, on the border with France.

The first official document that quotes Dolceacqua dates back to 1151, when the accounts of Ventimiglia had the first heart of the castle built at the top of the rocky speron overlooking the creek where the valley tightens and forks: the Roja valley on one side, the Val Nervia on the other.

In 1270 Dolceacqua was purchased by the Doria of Genoa and over the centuries the “Earth” was developed in the town that stands at the foot of the castle.

Western Views: Idaho’s Evolving Frontier (PBS)

America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston: Episode 2 | Idaho: Tied to the Land Life on the American frontier is evolving. To find out how, and what it means, Baratunde Thurston ventures into the wilds of Idaho in search of its outdoor culture. He finds ranchers and backcountry pilots sharing the wilderness with newly resettled refugees, and sees how climate change is playing havoc with the age-old salmon fishery.

Seaside Travel Tour: Kaş In Southwestern Turkey (4K)

Kaş is a seaside town on the Mediterranean coast in southwestern Turkey. The modern town occupies the site of ancient Antiphellos, with still-visible ruins including a theater. The 4th-century-B.C. Lion Tomb, with 2 carved lion heads, is one of many Lycian rock tombs in the area. The town center has whitewashed houses and buildings covered in bougainvillea. The Lycian Way, a marked trail, passes by the town.