Chartres, a city in north-central France southwest of Paris, is famed for its massive Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The Gothic cathedral, completed in 1220, features 2 towering spires, flying buttresses, Romanesque sculptures, pavement labyrinth and elaborate rose windows. The interior’s blue-tinted stained glass is distinctive, and the nearby Centre International du Vitrail has workshops and exhibits on stained-glass art.
Category Archives: Travel
Views: 125th London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
As the official sponsor of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run we thought it was only fitting to send two of our Car Specialists out to experience the 54 mile (87km) journey in a 1904 Cadillac Model F Four-Passenger Tourer. As hundreds of cars set out to celebrate the 125th year of the longest-running motoring event in history, Nick Wiles and Felix Archer take you on an intimate and definitive experience along the way.
Views: A Video Postcard From Florence, Italy
Travel to Northern Italy instantly and inhale the beauty and ancient culture of Florence with our latest Postcard video. Follow as we begin with the gothic architecture of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, before taking in sky-high views from the Campanile di Giotto bell tower attached to the vast complex.
Move on to see the unique handmade craftwork being created at the Antico Setificio Fiorentino – one of the only remaining silk manufacturing workshops in the world – then stop off for a traditional aperitivo of bread, cured meats and crisp, cool white wine. We also venture to the iconic Boboli Gardens and Uffizi Galleries and many other insider places. Watch now and travel through the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region from afar.
Now read our ultimate guide to the best hotels in Florence, as voted for by you in our Readers’ Choice Awards 2021 ►►
Walking Tour: Kulmbach In Bavaria, Germany (4K)
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its sausages, or Bratwürste.
Poetic Views: Museum at Wordsworth Grasmere
The Museum at Wordsworth Grasmere, the second phase of work at the former Lake District home of the great English Romantic poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy, has opened to the public, with all gallery, exhibition design and interpretative overviews by Nissen Richards Studio.
The first phase of work by Nissen Richards Studio encompassed the conservation and reinterpretation of Dove Cottage itself, where William and Dorothy once lived, plus the new identity for Wordsworth Grasmere and the scheme’s signage and wayfinding.
The new visitor journey, designed by Nissen Richards Studio in close collaboration with the Wordsworth Grasmere team, includes a series of threshold moments, such as a totem sign and the setting of words into the walkways, featuring fragments of poems going off in two directions, so that visitors see them clearly on arrival and departure.
The Museum includes a shop and ticketing area, before visitors enter a new, double-height orientation space, where quotations by Wordsworth are set within a dramatic, full-height light wall. Visitors then make their way to a former stable space that houses an immersive introductory film, before stepping over the threshold into Dove Cottage. Visitors return to The Museum via Dove Cottage’s Garden-Orchard, entering an expanded first floor space, loosely arranged into four new galleries. Galleries One and Four are set to one side and Galleries Two and Three to the other, whilst a pause space in between offers views onto the gardens and surrounding landscape.
Culture: The Importance Of Camels In Somalian Life
Air Travel: Why Airport Security Is So Slow (CNBC)
There once was a time when getting through airport security was quick and easy. But after the attacks on 9/11, the TSA, or Transportation Security Administration, was created and security screenings became much more thorough. With millions of people passing through TSA checkpoints everyday, this can create excruciating long lines, especially during holiday travel. Despite enhancements in technology like millimeter wave imaging and CT scanners, the airport security process has been slow to evolve. But that may soon be changing.
Delta, JetBlue, and American Airlines are just a few of the U.S. airlines starting to test facial recognition for boarding and TSA checkpoints. The TSA is also working with companies on designing better screeners so passengers don’t have to remove anything from bags and can leave their shoes on. CNBC explores how far we’ve come in airport security and the ways the TSA and airlines are looking to speed up and make airport security even safer.
Tours: Lake Maggiore Villa In Piedmont, Italy
Overlooking Piedmont’s shores of Lake Maggiore, just a few kilometres from Stresa and the border with Switzerland, this elegant period estate for sale has a private dockyard and direct access to the lake. The possibility of arriving by boat and landing with your own helicopter make this property even more exclusive, ideal for all those who wish to experience being by the lake in an exciting context.
This splendid property consists of a prestigious period villa, whose origins date back to 1820: with a past full of changes behind it, it has managed to preserve its enormous historical prestige thanks to an intense and precious renovation that ‘has seen it reborn as a private home, which also supports a successful hospitality business as a luxury hotel. Next to it, in an exclusive position facing the lake, an original building from the early twentieth century is the result of a meticulous recovery and restoration of what was once a hydroelectric power station. Today, with an internal area of 220 square meters on two levels, it lends itself as a charming annex serving the main estate, with independent and direct access to the garden that surrounds the entire property.
Tours: The Ancient Mayan City Of Calakmul, Mexico
Walk with us through the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul, Mexico. Our guide, Erik Mendicuti Polanco, takes us through this UNESCO World Heritage Site that doubles as the largest protected tropical forest in Mexico. The combination between the Mayan architectural style known as Petén with miles and miles of protected forest creates stunning, lush views unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Video timeline: 0:00 Introduction 0:31 The Largest Protected Tropical Forest in Mexico 1:11 History of Calakmul 2:28 Petén Architectural Style 3:17 Origins of Calakmul 3:58 Walking Up the Sacred Mountain of Calakmul 4:52 The Best View in the Mayan World 5:45 Into the Rain
Architecture & Design: ‘Courtyard House’ In Hawthorn, Australia
Courtyard House by Ha Architecture is a Japanese inspired home, presented as a merging of heritage and contemporary design. The home’s streetscape heritage overlay allowed the existing home façade to be maintained; it was restored and repaired to its original condition, including the original windows. Internally, a meeting of contemporary and traditional principles imbues the space with a tranquil charm – a quiet space of reflection and rest. Inside the Japanese inspired home, Courtyard House is centred around its internal courtyard.
The brief required an adaption of contemporary Japanese architecture and lifestyle ideologies, with a focus on outdoor spaces and passive design principles. The entryway is intimate, instilled with ambient light and an immediate saturation of timber. This sensory experience allows Courtyard House to emerge as a Japanese inspired home, propelled by an inherent sustainability that underpins the very fabric of the project. Windows frame backdrops of bamboo and showcase selected stone features, creating a constant discourse between the internal and external spaces. The landscape orientation, as well as vantage points, play a considered role in the architecture.
Boomers Daily 