North of Madrid lies the Sierra de Guadarrama, part of the larger Sistema Central, the chain of mountains snaking down the centre of Spain. With their close proximity to Madrid, the mountains are a popular spot for a day trip, whether you like sports, nature or exploring historic towns and villages.
Category Archives: Travel
Top Train Travel: ‘Glacier Express’ In Switzerland
The Glacier Express is a direct train from Zermatt to St. Moritz. The train is also referred to as the ‘slowest express train in the world’: the journey takes about 8 hours. There is a good reason for this slow pace: the train squeezes its way through the Alps, through narrow valleys, tight curves, 91 tunnels, and across 291 bridges.
Walking Tour: Canterano -Near Rome, Italy (Video)
A walking tour in 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼, 𝗟𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗼 region, center Italy, a small town of about 325 inhabitants. The virtual walk starts just in the souhtern part of this very cute town, on a sunday morning walk. Very few people around unfortunately, in full Coronavirus period.
Canterano is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about 45 kilometres east of Rome. Canterano borders the following municipalities: Agosta, Gerano, Rocca Canterano, Rocca Santo Stefano, Subiaco.
Travel Tours: ‘Miramare Castle’ In Trieste, Italy
Miramare Castle is a 19th-century castle direct on the Gulf of Trieste between Barcola and Grignano in Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker.
The castle’s grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants.
Travel: ‘Normandy’ In Northern France (Video)
Normandy is a region of northern France. Its varied coastline includes white-chalk cliffs and WWII beachheads, including Omaha Beach, site of the famous D-Day landing. Just off the coast, the rocky island of Mont-Saint-Michel is topped by a soaring Gothic abbey. The city of Rouen, dominated by Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, is where military leader and Catholic saint Joan of Arc was executed in 1431.
Walking Tours: ‘Historic Town Of Mitarai’, Japan
Mitarai is a port town on Osaki-Shimojima (Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture) in the Seto Inland Sea. This area was selected as an Important Preservation District for Traditional Buildings in 1994.
Video timeline: 00:00 タイトル（title） 00:14 高速船（High-speed boat） 00:46 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 01:27 天満宮（Tenmangu shrine） 01:59 菅公の井戸（Well of Kanko） 02:11 お宮のトンネル（Shrine tunnel） 02:24 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 02:52 若胡子屋跡（Wakaebisuya Historic Place） 03:04 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 04:40 常磐町とおり（Tokiwamachi Street） 07:02 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 08:15 松浦時計店（Matsuura Watch Shop） 08:36 御手洗昭和館（Mitarai Showa Museum） 08:53 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 09:12 乙女座跡（Otomeza Theater） 09:21 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 10:19 おいらん公園（Oiran Park） 11:36 歴史の見える丘公園（The Rekishi-no-Mieru-Oka Park） 11:55 大東寺（Daitoji-temple） 12:40 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 13:09 足長小学生？（Long-legged elementary school student） 13:12 満舟寺（Mansyuji-temple） 14:14 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 15:23 恵美須神社（Ebisu Shrine） 15:42 御手洗の町並み（Townscape of Mitarai） 16:13 住吉神社（Sumiyoshi Shrine） 17:13 千砂子波止（Chisago Wharf）
Health: ‘CommonPass’ Smartphone App Confirms Covid-19 Vaccinations
In the coming weeks, major airlines including United, JetBlue and Lufthansa plan to introduce a health passport app, called CommonPass, that aims to verify passengers’ virus test results — and soon, vaccinations. The app will then issue confirmation codes enabling passengers to board certain international flights. It is just the start of a push for digital Covid-19 credentials that could soon be embraced by employers, schools, summer camps and entertainment venues.
The advent of electronic vaccination credentials could have a profound effect on efforts to control the coronavirus and restore the economy. They could prompt more employers and college campuses to reopen. They may also give some consumers peace of mind, developers say, by creating an easy way for movie theaters, cruise ships and sports arenas to admit only those with documented coronavirus vaccinations.
The CommonPass, IBM and Clear apps, for instance, allow users to download their virus test results — and soon their vaccinations — to their smartphones. The apps can then check the medical data and generate unique confirmation codes that users can show at airports or other locations to confirm their health status.
But the health passes do not share specific details — like where and when a user was tested — with airlines or employers, developers said. The QR codes, they said, act merely as a kind of green light, clearing users for entry.
Top Views: ‘Top Of The Rock Observation Deck’ At Night – New York City
New York City’s Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Night (4K Silent Tour).
“The Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center offers breathtaking 360-degree views of New York City. Explore three levels of indoor and outdoor viewing areas as you admire unforgettable sights of Central Park, Midtown, and iconic landmarks and skyscrapers. Experience the best views of Manhattan—70 floors above the city.”
Classic Car Racing: ‘Inside The 2020 Mille Miglia’, Italy
This year, the race had its own challenges, as the pandemic ripped across the world. The Mille Miglia usually takes place in May, but was postponed until October this time round — and many had feared it might be cancelled altogether. But the show must go on — and the sight of more than 400 stunning classic cars glinting in the autumn sun is one I will remember for a very long time.
The first Miglia Mille took place in 1927, founded by a group of car enthusiasts in the town of Brescia, Northern Italy — the race was their response to the region’s loss of the Italian Grand Prix to Monza, seven years earlier. A 1,000 mile loop around Northern Italy (hence the name), the race took place every year for three decades, save for a break during the Second World War. But the perilous, do-or-die nature of the contest led to many crashes and more than ten fatalities, and the final chequered flag fell in 1957. In the 1970s, the Mille Miglia was reborn as we know it today — more of a grand tour than a hotly-contested, breakneck race (although some drivers, even now, forget this from
time to time.)
Home Tours: ‘Tree House’ In Bronte Beach, Sydney, Australia’ By Madeleine Blanchfield Architects
Tree House by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects is a light-filled family home near Bronte Beach in Sydney. As the architect’s own home, the project exemplifies the studio’s experiential design approach, which sees light, form and materiality coalesce to create an experience of place.
The architecture and interiors evoke mood and respond to the changes in light over the course of the day, while the elevated position within the treetops that gives Tree House its name creates a calming atmosphere. With the living space located at the top floor of the architect’s own home, a journey is created through the architecture via a sculptural staircase.
The sculptural forms created by the spiral staircase are balanced by the more pared back interiors, which take their cues from the natural setting. Pale timber, concrete and terracotta tiles, along with the careful approach to both natural and artificial light, reflect the design’s connection to the garden that surrounds it and the nearby beach. This use of few materials detailed to create a highly refined architectural response is characteristic of an architect’s own home.
It highlights how Madeleine Blanchfield Architects has created an experiential home in which simple elements such as materials, details, and changes in light can enhance the mood of a space, resulting in a family home whose architecture, interiors and garden work together to create a sense of lightness and calm.
For More from The Local Project: Website – https://thelocalproject.com.au/
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