Browsing: Destinations

Who says you have to travel to the moon to see a lunar-like surface? Or to hear lunar-like silence? Or to feel as if you’re a million miles (or, in the moon’s case, 250,000 miles) from anywhere else?

There’s actually a place in Africa that looks, sounds (silence!), and feels like you’ve landed on the moon. It’s a lot easier to get there, however. It’s called the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, and it’s found in the …

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There’s an exciting moment whenever you set off on a game drive and the ranger asks what you’d like to see.
It always makes me laugh, as if this khaki-clad Dr Doolittle can conjure up spectacular animal sightings on command.
But if you do yearn for a specific view of wildlife – a leopard in a tree or a wild dog hunt, perhaps – you can increase your chances enormously by picking a destination slap …

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One of the most important things I learned when I was in South Beach, Miami for a day recently is that if you are “in the know” you call it SoBe. If you find yourself in SoBe for a day and you like to shop, eat and lounge on the beach, here’s what I did to give you some ideas.

You have some choices when heading to SoBe from another part of Miami, but …

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My teenage son and I arrived at the Tarangire Treetops Safari Camp in the late afternoon. A day of safari through the Tarangire National Park had put us face to face with lions, elephants, baboons and a number of gazellelike creatures of varying types. It had been a terrific first day of exploring Tanzania’s Northern Circuit, and we were eager to see firsthand the camp we had heard so much about. As the Range Rover …

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From boardwalks, beaches, bookshops and bistros, Canada’s largest city is also its trendiest and when it comes down to urban activities it’s on par with some of the world’s biggest cities.

Alongside its ritzy skyscrapers Toronto maintains colorful residential neighbourhoods in its centre; and until recently downtown’s Queen Street West area was a crumbling with fading facades and abandoned storefronts. Now though it’s transformed into the trendy Bohemian part of town, with funky art galleries …

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The psychedelic works of Antoni Gaudí draw thousands of visitors to Barcelona, Spain, each year. While the eccentric architect completed projects outside of the city as well, his most impressive buildings are clustered in the Catalan capital. In fact, there are so many Gaudí buildings in Barcelona that it can be hard to choose which ones to visit if you’ve got limited time. Here’s the scoop on his top creations, plus a few more to …

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Wales is a place that’s impossible to dislike. Tucked away on the west side of Britain, Wales marches to the beat of its own drum — one packed with Celtic lore, friendly faces and a unique identity all its own. The people of Wales — wry, welcoming and incessantly warm — are perhaps the country’s strongest selling point. But behind these warmhearted souls is a land full of charm, history and culinary delights. Animal lovers …

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     It’s been thirty years since I last visited Puerto Vallarta, but in retrospect, that trip in my early 20’s turned out to be a life defining one. I credit the time spent among the locals there –so welcoming and eager to include us in their daily lives- for my later foray into travel writing as a profession.

Located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast where Jalisco and Nayarit meet, the town is tucked among the lush rainforests …

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The next move is the most important of them all, our tango teacher said as I wobbled precariously on one leg.

My other leg was provocatively hooked behind my partner’s thigh, and I couldn’t imagine executing any other move except falling on the floor. “The final move is a sexy face,” she said. You can’t get away with a “trying not to fall over” face in the tango, so we aimed for sexy or sophisticated …

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The sun still shedding its scorching rays reflects off the emerald water like a thousand dancing stars. Strolling down the seaside promenade, a whistling sound in the distance causes me crane my neck and I strain my ears to better capture the sound. As I near the source, the whistling intensifies into a rolling assembly of harmonious delight. I glance around the Nova Riva, now fully submersed in the low, undulating pull of this tune, …

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Those of you who lived through the 1970s or who have rock-n-roll hearts like I do will know the tune. It’s Iceland’s soundtrack, and it kept playing in my head as I explored the island country’s extreme landscape:

“We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and

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According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Milwaukee plays host to the world’s largest festival. From late June to early July each year, Summerfest  takes over a 75-acre festival park with over 700 entertainers on 11 stages over an 11 day period. Last year despite a record setting heat wave, Summerfest attracted over 800,000 people participating in one or more days of the festival.

Along with some regional musical acts, this festival also attracts …

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Before we arrived at lovely Navarre Beach, we stopped at a Publix grocery on the way to pick up drinks and snacks to stock the fridge in our condo. We stopped before we got to Navarre because the last time I was there several years ago, there was no grocery store. You had to drive to nearby Pensacola or Gulf Breeze if you wanted to pick up groceries.

As we pulled up near the bridge …

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London is one of the capital cities of the world that attract visitors by the millions. In 2011, according to ‘Visit Britain’ 30.6 million people visited the capital and stayed an average of one week a grand annual total of £17.9billion. You always hear people saying London is expensive but it really doesn’t have to be, there are many things that are free, accessible, and of interest to visitors and all it will cost you …

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