A million words of poetry and prose have been penned to describe the wonders of Petra, the ancient city that lay forgotten for centuries beyond a secret mountain gorge.
Artists and photographers strive to capture the mystical beauty of this pink-tinged city carved into desert sandstone. Every guidebook to Jordan bristles with views of Petra’s magnificent monuments, now considered one of the seven modern Wonders of the World. Heck, even Indiana Jones swung through the …
If you’re traveling to Africa, chances are that the city of Cape Town is somewhere on your itinerary. The “Mother City” has long been the prime tourist spot in South Africa, but for those who’ve seen it more than once, the cold Atlantic seaboard of Camps Bay and Clifton beaches has started to seem a little too full of traffic jams and tourists, and a lot less appealing than it once was. Visitors from around …
Americans mark autumn with two major holidays: Thanksgiving in late November, and Halloween on Oct. 31. The latter is a personal favorite: Ever since I watched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! as a child, Halloween has been one of my anchor points for the fall season. Halloween as we know it, with the trick-or-treating and funny costumes, is for all intents and purposes a strictly Western practice. Though it has in recent years spread …
Don’t laugh.
Often, when I travel, one of the first places I seek out is the local cemetery, and not just during Halloween season. Why? Because there, believe it or not, you can learn a lot about the place you’re visiting — about its people, about its history, about its lifestyle, and about its colorful characters and legends. You can be moved to tears, of course. But you may also find yourself laughing out loud, …
Antigua’s small sister island Barbuda is truly unspoiled Caribbean at its finest, and we were enroute to Lighthouse Bay Resort www.lighthousebayresort.com sandwiched on a thin sandbar that snakes for some 17 pristine, private miles and accessible only by air, (small plane or helicopter) or a long ferry ride (three hours) and water taxi. But we were arriving in high style via Caribbean Helicopters http://caribbeanhelicopters.com/, as complimentary return passage by whirlybird is included with a seven …
I suspect that if you looked up the phrase “finding paradise” in the dictionary, one of the definitions you’d be given would read like this:
“the act of spending five carefree, abundantly sunny days exploring the idyllic Hawaiian island of Oahu.”
The Hawaiian islands are legendary. The image of arcing palm trees casting shade over a fuzzy-haired surfer as he waits for the tide to come in, has become so iconic in American culture that …
Every European country seems to have one: a city that thoroughly encompasses all that the nation holds dear. Bruges is such for Belgium, sitting there all proud and pretty, epitomizing the grandeur and perfection otherwise relegated to storybooks. With canal boats, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles, the ethnic spirit swallows visitors whole.
It is difficult to sum up the magic of Bruges placid bottle-green canals with steeped-roofed medieval houses, market squares and slumbering parks in just …
America is one enormous country, no doubt about it. It covers more surface area than most people will traverse in their lifetime, and yet, has a history that takes up a relatively small part of the world’s archives. Luckily, because its story is so recent, it’s still easy for us to see just how these States came to be United.
If you hop on an Amtrak train to journey from Boston to Washington, D.C., you’ll …
Aruba is best known for its spectacular beaches and surf side sun and fun, but there are many cool and offbeat activities well worth seeking out that you’ll rarely find anywhere. Here are a few of them…
Adopt a Donkey
Donkey Sanctuary Aruba (www.arubandonkey.org ), on the skirts of Arikok National Park, is a non-profit, fully volunteer foundation dedicated to providing a safe haven for wild, injured, and unwanted donkeys on the island. You can …
Sand…sun…sea; the checklist to the perfect summer break. The trouble with settling on which beach to choose is that usually everyone else has discovered it as well. If you prefer your slice of sandy heaven to come without being sandwiched in by the sun lounger crowds, plan a beach break with a difference in one of the forgotten corners of coastline below.
Ninety Mile Beach – New Zealand
It may be famous in New Zealand …
Zone 1 — Did you now that seven out of ten diamonds come from Antwerp, the world’s largest diamond centre for more than 700 years? Diamonds from numerous mines all over the world are skilfully cut and polished, praised and appraised, bought and sold in Antwerp. Antwerp and diamond are two categories that have been closely related for over 500 years, yet the world’s largest diamond centre covers less than one square kilometre.
Opposite Central …
Dear Travel IQ: I’ve decided I would like to live abroad for a year. I’m not flush with cash, just nerve. What are my pennyless options?
Signed: Expat to be in Charleston, SC
We’ve all felt it: that longing sadness that sinks to the bottom of your stomach as you realize your dream vacation is coming to an end. Just as you thought you were getting a feel for the place, …
A-listers seeking to go off-radar are drawn to this awesome oasis in droves…
Though St. Barts might be best known in the Caribbean for attracting the jet set, it also attracts the paparazzi that follow them. But Anguilla is well known among the elite as an idyllic refuge where they can totally escape the global spotlight to relax, kick back, and just be on barefoot holiday. Of course, the 33 glorious beaches of powdery white …
Every summer, Irish Counties such as Mayo, Kerry, and Waterford celebrate the “Pattern,” or their Patron Saint feast days. Ardmore, a sea-side village in County Waterford, upholds the true Irish spirit of its yearly Pattern Festival with full pints and traditional Irish tunes.
Having been settled by St. Declan before the introduction of St. Patrick to the Emerald Isle, Ardmore is said to be Ireland’s oldest Christianised settlement. Aird Mhór, meaning Great Height, has been …
