Category Archives: Travel

Top New Travel Videos: “Through Our Lens – Mongolia” Directed By Kay Van Huisseling

Director, CreGator, Editor: Kay Van Huisseling 

Through Our Lens Mongolia by Kay Van Huisseling 2019

Hero Traveler’s favorite places to visit and things to do in Mongolia include:

UlaanBatar, Gobi Desert,  Ugly City Eagle Hunters

“Through Our Lens'” celebrates the beauty of a destination through the point of view of one of our spirited creators. Come along with filmmaker and Hero Traveler Contributor Kay Van Huisseling as he takes us on a breathtaking cinematic journey through Mongolia.

Through Our Lens Mongolia by Kay Van Huisseling 2019

Website:  https://www.instagram.com/kayvanhuiss…

New Books: “Airline Maps – A CENTURY OF ART AND DESIGN” By MARK OVENDEN and MAXWELL ROBERTS

From a Penguin Random House review:

Airline Maps A Century of Art and Design Mark OvendenIn this gorgeously illustrated collection of airline route maps, Mark Ovenden and Maxwell Roberts look to the skies and transport readers to another time. Hundreds of images span a century of passenger flight, from the rudimentary trajectory of routes to the most intricately detailed birds-eye views of the land to be flown over. Advertisements for the first scheduled commercial passenger flights featured only a few destinations, with stunning views of the countryside and graphics of biplanes. As aviation took off, speed and mileage were trumpeted on bold posters featuring busy routes. Major airlines produced highly stylized illustrations of their global presence, establishing now-classic brands. With trendy and forward-looking designs, cartographers celebrated the coming together of different cultures and made the earth look ever smaller.

Airline Maps A Century of Art and Design Mark Ovenden Book Cover

A nostalgic and celebratory look back at one hundred years of passenger flight, featuring full-color reproductions of route maps and posters from the world’s most iconic airlines, from the author of bestselling cult classic Transit Maps of the World.

To read more: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600815/airline-maps-by-mark-ovenden-and-maxwell-roberts/

Literary Destinations: The Faulkner House Bookstore, New Orleans

From an Atlas Obscura online review:

Faulkner House Bookstore New Orleans interiorInside, the small store has a good selection of literary fiction ranging from classics to current publications. There is also a great selection of books about New Orleans and local culture. There is, of course, a dedicated area, almost shrine-like, for Faulkner’s works, and the shop owner will let you take a look at those more expensive books, “if you want to get in trouble with your wallet.”

Blink while passing through New Orleans’s French Quarter, and you may miss this small, charming bookstore. But step inside, and you’ll steal a quick peek at the space where William Faulkner himself lived while in the city.

Though he later penned famous works like The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, Faulkner wasn’t much of anybody yet when he moved to New Orleans, and in fact published his first work in a local journal. There is a historical plaque outside the building that states that Faulkner wrote his first novel, Soldiers’ Pay, while in residence there in 1925.

To read more: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/faulkner-house-books?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5bf02e2e8b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_31_02_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-5bf02e2e8b-63029309&mc_cid=5bf02e2e8b&mc_eid=9baf474570

Destination Hotels: The “Hotel Il Castelfalfi” Is 2700-Acres Of Scenic, Medieval Medici Heritage

From a Jetsetter online review:

Hotel Il Castelfalfi ItalyOnce owned by the Medici family, this 2,700-acre, 800-year-old medieval village in Montaione fell away from the public eye—that is, until lifestyle hotel brand TUI Blue saw its potential. With the help of the surrounding village’s government, the town has been resurrected into a sprawling five-star resort. Il Castelfalfi, the region’s first new-build hotel in years, offers suites with both sunrise and sunset patio views. Across the street, a disused tobacco factory is now an adjacent boutique hotel, ruinous farmhouses have become holiday homes, and acres of surrounding lands now make up Tuscany’s largest golf course.

The property feels miles away from anywhere thanks to the rolling hills that surround it on all sides, but the village offers a few quaint distractions including a small alimentari (grocery store) as well as a pizzeria, Il Rosmarino. At the entrance of the village is the tower of the ancient castle, La Rocca, now home to La Rocca di Castelfalfi, whose patio is a beautiful place to watch the sunset over Tuscan specialties like Ribollita and ravioli.

https://www.castelfalfi.com/en/il-castelfalfi-5-stars-hotel/il-castelfalfi/

To read more: https://www.jetsetter.com/hotels/province-of-florence-italy/montaione-italy/view/hotel-il-castelfalfi/

Top Travel Videos: “Nosy Lehibe” In Madagascar By Tom Peyrat (2019)

Filmed, Edited and Directed by: Tom Payrat

Nosy Lehibe Travel Video by Tom Peyrat 2019

Nosy Lehibe means “Big Island” in Malagasy.

This is kind of what I felt during my holidays in Madagascar. This is certainely one of the most exciting thing I saw and I try to resume it in 2 minutes.
I decided to edit in an optimistc way despite what you can hear about this island. I choosed this point of view cause Malagasy people transmitted to me their strenght and their way of life.

Nosy Lehibe Travel Video by Tom Peyrat 2019

Some sounds were recorded directly. For example what you can hear at 1:12 is the yell of the biggest lemur, the Indri Indri. Their yell can be heard from 5 km !

Nosy Lehibe Travel Video by Tom Peyrat 2019

Website: https://www.instagram.com/tompeyrat/?hl=fr

Timelapse Travel Videos: “Chicago” By Jay Anne Boza

I spent a couple of days compiling clips of Chicago and put it all together into one minute. This is a combination of Time Lapse, Hyperlapse and Video created using Nikon, Timelapse Plus, Syrp Genies and Osmo Pocket. Locations are The Chicago Cultural Center, The Flamingo at the Federal Building, The Bean, the Chicago Skyline from the Planetarium, the Chicago “L” train, and sunrise from the Sheraton Grand Hotel.

Road Trip Adventures: The “Khar Us Nuur National Park” In Mongolia

From a Wall Street Journal online article:

A will to avoid traveling absurd distances had informed our itinerary, but in Mongolia, it seems, you can’t get anywhere without one hell of a journey. The arena for this particular expedition was the Khar Us Nuur National Park. Accessible by road from the dusty town of Khovd, itself a two-hour flight from the capital, Ulaanbaatar, the park spans a transitional zone between the Altai highlands and the Gobi Desert. In the company of our driver, Gala, my friend Marcus and I had set out to experience three of Mongolia’s predominant habitats—steppe, mountains and desert—in the space of one drivable circuit.

Khar Us Nuur National Park - Wall Street Journal Illustration by JOHN S. DYKES

WE HAD already been driving for three hours when the lake appeared in the heat-shimmer and the pink smear behind it resolved into sand dunes. I guessed it would be around 10 minutes until we reached the shore. Fifteen tops. We arrived at the water’s edge two hours later. On the empty plains of Western Mongolia, perspective is illusory, patience a necessity.

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-road-trip-in-mongolia-bizarre-in-the-best-way-11572520659

Destination Restaurants: Newly Opened “Le Tre Rane” Inspired By Da Vinci Just Outside Of Florence

From a The Florentine magazine online review:

Le Tre Rane Ruffino RestaurantLegend has it that Le Tre Rane was the name of an inn that a young Leonardo da Vinci opened on Florence’s Ponte Vecchio, with a vision of a pioneering cooking style that would embody fine dining and healthy eating, while heightening the taste of being together.

Stefano Frassineti has taken the helm in the kitchen at Le Tre Rane. Born in Chianti and a career cook for almost 30 years, Stefano believes in dishes based on tradition that evolve into an unmistakable identity. He takes an orchestra of seasonal ingredients from personally sourced Tuscan suppliers and conducts them with endless curiosity and creativity. Eight seasonal menus will rotate year round—the current one is centred around freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil—in addition to an à la carte menu featuring Tuscan meat (and the occasional fish) courses. Start with a delicate ricotta and chard pie, continue with hunter’s chicken tortelli and opt for a beef tagliata or bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Martina-Melchionno_Relais-9-680x454

To read more: https://www.theflorentine.net/food-wine/2019/10/tre-rane-restaurant-ruffino/?mc_cid=e3c3fdbb7f&mc_eid=69f70995d1