DW Travel (March 24, 2024): Barcelona is one of the most popular Spanish cities for visitors and social media is filled with beautiful pictures of its most popular attractions.
Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:41 Sagrada Família 04:22 La Rambla 05:48 Park Güell 07:10 Our conclusion
But are they really that stunning in reality? We take a closer look at the famous La Sagrada Família, the La Rambla Boulevard, and Park Güell.
TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (March 23, 2024): From mountain ranges with snow dusted peaks and the clear blue sea, the beautiful country of Greece boasts 13,000 km of shoreline.
Today we look at the region of Epirus, starting in the wilderness near the Albanian border, we go through little mountain villages to the historically significant town of Ioannina and then then all the way down to the Ambracian Gulf. Learn about the lives of locals in the area, from shepherds, herb collectors, tavern owners, and the caretaker of a cliffside monastery.
When it’s a quick trip from the schlocky pleasures of Cancún to the remote cities of the Maya, is something lost along the way?
El Tren Maya, which links five states in southern Mexico, is one of the country’s most-debated infrastructure projects. Carved through the Yucatán Peninsula at great expense, the 966-mile loop pits the megaproject ambitions of Mexico’s departing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, against the will of environmentalists and Indigenous leaders seeking to preserve a pristine environment of jaguars, ancient ruins and sacred underwater caves.
Why had immigrants, seekers and pilgrims been drawn for centuries to the treacherous shores of Mona Island? I set off to find out.
By Carina del Valle Schorske
Every year, I spend a month or two in Puerto Rico, where my mother’s family is from. Often I go in winter, with the other snowbirds, finding solace among palm trees. But I’m not a tourist, not really. I track the developers that privatize the shoreline; I follow the environmental reports that give our beaches a failing grade. I’m disenchanted with the Island of Enchantment, suspicious of an image that obscures the unglamorous conditions of daily life: frequent blackouts, meager public services, a rental market ravaged by Airbnb. Maybe that’s why I turned away from the sunshine and started to explore caves with my friends Ramón and Javier, seeking out wonders not yet packaged for the visitor economy. I’ve been learning to love stalactites and squeaking bats, black snakes and cloistered waterfalls — even, slowly, the darkness itself.
James Alexander-Sinclair hails the remarkable revival of the gardens at Dowdeswell Court, Gloucestershire, the charming Cotswolds home of Jade Holland Cooper and Julian Dunkerton
The cutting-garden diaries
In the second of a series of articles, Oxfordshire flower grower Anna Brown shares her tips on creating a floral spring spectacular
Great nurseries
Growing sweet violets has been a family passion since 1866 at Groves Nursery in Bridport, Dorset, as Tilly Ware discovers
‘After everything they do, we owe them’
Service dogs and horses risk life and limb to keep us safe. Katy Birchall salutes the work of a charity supporting these animal heroes in retirement
Mark Cocker’s favourite painting
The Nature writer lauds a work by a masterful wildlife painter
Where traffic stops for sacred cows
Dairy farmer Jamie Blackett is heartened to witness cattle worship on a trip to Rajasthan
New series: The legacy
In the third instalment of this new series, Kate Green celebrates the Revd John Russell’s role in the emergence of the terrier
The very nature of Middle-earth
James Clarke visits the magical Malvern Hills to explore a land-scape that so inspired Tolkien
Planters punch
Amelia Thorpe picks garden pots that make a sizeable statement
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell ushers in spring with a selection of floral favourites
Interiors
Soak up the style with an array of elegant bathroom fittings and furnishings from Amelia Thorpe
Kitchen garden cook
Fresh spring onions steal the show, says Melanie Johnson
Grandeur in granite
The restored Cluny Castle in Aberdeenshire is equipped for a future as prosperous as its colourful past, finds John Goodall
It’s a kind of dark magic
Whitby jet and mourning go hand in hand, but is it time to reassess this beautiful heritage gemstone, asks Harry Pearson
How to revive a classic
Michael Billington puts himself in the director’s chair as he ponders spectacular remakes of plays by Ibsen and Chekhov
Back to square one
What is it about cryptic crosswords that has kept us racking our brains for the past 100 years? Rob Crossan has all the answers
DW Travel (March 17, 2024): Delicious food, centuries of history and insider tips: our reporter Sarah Hucal tells you how to see the best of Athens, in just one day.
Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:36 Filopappou Hill, Acropolis views 01:13 Monastiraki Square 01:44 Historic neighbourhood of Plaka 02:22 Hadrian’s Library and the Roman Agora 02:42 How to save money and visit the Archaeological sites 03:02 Finding local souvenirs at the Kypseli farmers’ market 04:35 Street band Sourloulou 05:37 The Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis 07:09 Greek Rebetiko music and dining at Skordópistē restaurant
In this video you will find tips for how to visit the main sites in the Greek capital like the Acropolis and Roman Agora. Taking you off the beaten tourist track, Sarah explores Greece’s rich musical traditions and shows us an authentic side of Athens that most tourists don’t see. Did you miss something in our video? Let us know in the comments!
TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (March 9, 2024): The west coast of Vancouver Island is full of spectacular landscapes, from barren coastlines to world famous hiking trails, its a coastal adventure destination. Accessible only by boat or plane, this rarely seen gem of nature is full of marine wildlife and coastal caves with subsea reefs.
The magnificent Pacific Rim National Park is the only national park entirely on Vancouver Island, providing protection for substantial rain forests and an amazing marine environment on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The full force of the mighty Pacific Ocean mercilessly pounds the constantly changing shores of this rugged coastline.
Expedia (March 7, 2024): What is Canadian food? Episode 1 of Where To goes beyond the search results to pull up a chair and find out.
From the Bay of Fundy in the east to the rugged Pacific coastline of Vancouver Island in the west, Canada provides glorious outdoor sights. Tour the nation’s impressive scenery, sophisticated cities and peaceful countryside for a vacation you will remember forever.
In the east, the fictional home of Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island will make the beloved young adult series come alive. In nearby Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, see the unusual tides of the Bay of Fundy that rise and fall up to 50 feet (16 meters) each day.
On the western coast, British Columbia has lovely harbors in Vancouver and Victoria, with whale watching, sunbathing and shoreline walks. These and other Canadian cities have eclectic neighborhoods with concentrations of artists and ethnic centers, including interesting Chinatowns.
Spread across the center of the country, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton are among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. All have modern city centers with wonderful restaurants, shopping, museums and galleries. In addition, each has its unique personality, from old French customs to major league baseball to cowboy rodeos.
Canada’s mountainous regions offer superb opportunities for summer hiking and sightseeing and winter skiing. Visit Revelstoke and Whistler in British Columbia and Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta for some of the best Rocky Mountain slopes and views. In the east, Mont-Tremblant in Québec has excellent skiing in the Laurentian Mountains.
Head to the lakes regions in Manitoba and Saskatchewan for fishing and hunting. Travel north to Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon to camp under the northern lights. Canada’s national and provincial parks cater to Canadian and international visitors with scenic trails and adventurous activities.
In Canada try panning for gold, taste maple syrup fresh from production or even go on a polar bear safari. Across the nation you’re likely to be greeted with a friendly welcome. Arrive anywhere and keep exploring the beautiful lands and waters of this great nation.
Country Life Magazine – March 5, 2024: The latest issue features The Country Life Top 100 – Britain’s leading exponents of country-house architecture, interior design, gardens and specialist services…
Welcome to the eighth edition of our guide to Britain’s leading exponents of country-house architecture, interior design, gardens and specialist services
New series: The legacy
In the first of this new series, Kate Green celebrates Dame Miriam Rothschild’s remarkable contribution to the nation as a pioneer of wildflower gardening
Reach for the Skye
Following in the slipstream of swimming cattle, Joe Gibbs enjoys safe passage to the Isle of Skye courtesy of the world’s last manual turntable ferry
Hail the conquering heroes
Jack Watkins is in the saddle for a canter through 100 years of the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival’s Blue Riband event, the Gold Cup
Arts & antiques
Works by a whole host of great artists are more accessible than you might imagine. Carla Passino talks to leading art dealers about the Old Masters you could collect
Sir Alistair Spalding’s favourite painting
The artistic director admires a religious fresco that encourages contemplation and reflection
Out of Africa
Carla Carlisle reflects on the life of Karen Blixen after visiting the author’s former home in Kenya
Renewal and recovery
The restoration of Boston Manor House in Greater London offers a fascinating insight into changing tastes, reveals Charles O’Brien
The Devil wears parsley
March can be the month of all weathers, warns Lia Leendertz
The masked singer
Jack Watkins goes in search of the elusive, enchanting woodlark
London Life
Cashing in with Russell Higham
Celebrating Claridge’s
Revisiting James Burton’s beat with Carla Passino
Jack Watkins finds change in the air at the Natural History Museum
Stancombe revisited
Marion Mako visits Stancombe Park, Gloucestershire — Waugh’s garden inspiration for Brideshead
Kitchen garden cook
Melanie Johnson harnesses the subtle depth of flavour of leeks
And so to sleep…
Hemlock is a pretty addition to riverbanks, but its charm ends there, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee
The claws are out
Simon Lester shares the thrill of an encounter with the secretive native white-clawed crayfish
The good stuff
Patterned or pastel? Hetty Lintell showcases the finest waistcoats
DW Documentary (March 4, 2024): Patagonia’s icefields are very difficult to access. As a result, they remain largely unexplored by climate researchers. Now, a scientist and two extreme mountaineers are venturing into this hard-to-reach area, in search of new data for climate research.
Even after 15 years of research in Chile, scientist Tobias Sauter says that for him, many questions remain unanswered. To clarify them, he decides to venture into areas that are difficult to access. The mountaineers Robert Jasper and Jörn Heller agree to help – and put themselves in great danger in the process. The two icefields in the Patagonian Andes, which stretch across the borders of Chile and Argentina, represent the largest ice mass outside the polar ice caps.
However, as a result of climate change, the ice here is losing mass. In some areas, the icefields are losing up to 20 meters in height per year. Little is known about these dramatic developments and their specific causes. The ice field to the north in particular has so far mainly been studied using satellite-based data. The area’s extreme weather conditions and great remoteness make field research on site a challenge. Tobias Sauter from Humboldt University in Berlin is one of the few researchers to take on this challenge.
France-Amérique Magazine – March 1, 2024 – The new issue features ‘Francophonie Month’ – The French-Speaking Cowboys of Louisiana.
Meet Drake LeBlanc, the French- and Creole-speaking cowboy, filmmaker, and cofounder of Télé-Louisiane; read our interview with Harvard professor Claire-Marie Brisson on the North American Francosphere; and discover why “Molière may be dead, but his language is alive and well.”
CYRIL DEWAVRIN – The American Dream of a Serial Bookseller
Founding a French neighborhood bookstore in New York City was the madcap challenge undertaken by this avid reader and busy entrepreneur. The Frenchman has just opened La Joie de Vivre near Chelsea, a space offering books in French and English, coffee, and pastries.
By Benoît Georges
Also in this issue, Albert Camus travels to America; former ambassador Gérard Araud analyzes the White House race and its potential consequences for France and Europe; and French soccer star and LGBTQ+ advocate Marinette Pichon discusses her U.S. career and her fight for equality in women’s sports.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious