When I spent a year studying in Spain and we went on one of our class trips, without question a top highlight for me was getting to Cuenca and beholding the stunning sight of houses hanging over an abyss. The casas colgadas were (and of course still are) the iconic symbol of this city in Castile-La Mancha, two to three hours from Madrid by car or train, a city dating back 1,300 years, when the Moors ruled this land. And back then, gazing up at them ensconced seemingly precariously on that sheer
by Javier Pedreira
Even with all the signs and signals on the roads and motorways, all of us have at one time or another gotten lost whilst driving. It would be natural to imagine, therefore, that in the vast expanse of the sky it would be quite easy to get lost without any signals for guidance. However, the fact is that there are indeed signals up there to rely upon.
Going back to the early days of aviation, it’s true that the intrepid pilots of the day did have to rely upon navigation by sigh
The clear Pacific Coast waters of Malpaís and Santa Teresa, Costa Rica are excellent for stand-up paddleboarding. There is no better way to explore the southern Nicoya Peninsula coastline, and no wetsuit is needed in this warm water!
Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is fast growing in popularity in Costa Rica. In fact, in Malpaís this past May 23-24 was the third competition in the 2015 season of the Costa Rica National Circuit of Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP), Masters and Longboard Surfing. The com
César Manrique (1919-1992) left his mark throughout all of the Canary Islands with his architecture, painting and sculptures. A prolific artist, in this article we present a beautiful tour of these islands analyzing his work.
Here are some of his most important works.
TENERIFE
Parque Marítimo
This 22,000-square-meter space possesses a collection of pools with water extracted from the sea, restaurants, a gym, play center, thermal water jacuzzi, entertainment areas for kids, sports facilities
by Cristobal Ramirez
Brazil’s exciting, vibrant commercial capital isn’t just Latin America’s most populous metro area (not to mention the world’s sixth largest): São Paulo also boasts the curious distinction of being home to the world’s largest Japanese community outside Japan. Many of thesenipo-brasileiros are to be found in Liberdade, a central São Paulo neighbourhood just a hop and a skip from busy Avenida Paulista, also home to other Brazilians of Asian descent including Chinese and Korea
Bánh Xèo With Prawns and Pork
½ (one-half) cup rice flour pancake mix
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 eggs
½ (one-half) tsp salt
2¼ cups water
1 cup coconut milk
3 stalks spring onion, diced
2 prawns, cooked and peeled (or 4 large shrimp)
2 oz cooked pork, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper as desired for prawns and pork
2 tsp oil per pancake
1 oz bean sprouts
3 leaves of lettuce
2 oz of Vietnamese fresh herb leaves (can be spring onions, basil, cilantro, mint, and/or lemongrass
3 stalks spring onion, dice
Did you ever notice how many Manhattan hotel exteriors are often buried in the jumble of surrounding architecture and obfuscated by the frenetic street activity? Without signage, you'd walk right past many of their entrances without noticing.
An exception to this scenario, Sofitel NYC, rises 30 stories above 44th and 45th streets, sheathed in a contemporary pattern of limestone and glass among midtown Manhattan's concrete canyons. Upon stepping through the doorman-attended glass front doors, y
After more than 45 years of traveling the globe, we have finally put together a list of our favorite travel destinations of a lifetime. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, as we can think of additional wonderful places which could be considered for such a list. We have to draw the line somewhere, and so we selected twelve of our favorites.
After reading several similar lists available on the internet, from well known publications as well as from other bloggers, we felt that we should
If you were lucky, you went to a terrific summer camp when you were a kid. Well, now you are all grown up, and your luck is holding up – because we have found the adult luxury equivalent of your bygone summers. So come with us and relive those halcyon days of yesteryear at the Lodge at Woodloch in Hawley, Pennsylvania.
A Region of Kids' Camps and Adult Resorts
We found the Lodge at Woodloch during our writing swing through luxurious vacation destinations in the northeast Appalachians, which in
Sharing a birthday, July 11, with the national day of this landlocked, mostly Buddhist country wedged between China and Siberia (a bit smaller than Alaska and with a population around 3 million) has helped drive a longtime fascination. In the early Middle Ages essentially a world power thanks to the westward conquests of Genghis Khan, in the 1990s Mongolia made a transition to multi-party democracy after 70 years of Communist and Soviet domination (one of the remnants of which is that its lan
The thing that amazed me most standing on Playa Hermosa on a recent Saturday morning was not the beautiful deep blue and turquoise barrel waves, or the warm sunlight glinting off the black sand. It was the nearly complete absence of people.
There were maybe 30 surfers in the water, but so spread out that everyone got a wave to surf regularly. There was a young photographer alternating between shooting images of surfers and his model-looking girlfriend in her bikini. A lone jogger headed down th
It was a warm, balmy early summer evening as I was sitting outside among the flowers and palms near the pool. What could be better? Toss in some Wine Council friends, some very special wines served with delectable food pairings along with a couple of creamy cheeses, and you have the recipe for a magical evening.
The first wine our group sampled was a dry white from Spain called Cal y Canto Dry White 2012 ($18). This wine is a great summertime wine that engaged us with its crispness along with g
Did you know the bicycle, telephone, Ferris wheel, ice cream cone, and air conditioning were all introduced at a world's fair?
And we have a winner!
If you're in the San Diego area in early summer, the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is the place to be. San Diego's largest yearly event packs in close to two million attendees annually.
This year's exhibition, held June 5 to July 5, commemorated, weekend the centennial anniversary of the 1915 Panama-California Expos
It doesn’t lead anywhere, but takes you to many destinations along the way – and then you are back on the circle again! Vienna’s imperial Ringstrasse turns 150 years old – 1865-2015 – Bev Malzard takes a stroll . . .
"Except that it is a windingly ambitious street, breath-catchingly imperial in scale. It is so big that a critic argued, when it was built, that I crated an entirely new neurosis, that of agoraphobia. How clever of the Viennese to invent a phobia for their new city."
Although it’s true that combining sightseeing and a busy nightlife is not an easy task, everyone can find the time to enjoy an evening drink and then who knows how things might liven up later on! It’s important to remember that in Budapest people tend to have dinner fairly early on – around 8 p.m. -, so by 9 p.m. nightspots including discos, pubs and clubs and so on are normally open.
After dinner, there can be nothing better than taking the time to admire the magnificent views of Budapest by nig
When better than the USA’s Independence Day to visit the city (a couple of hours by road and rail from New York City) the locals fondly call Philly, where this country came into being in 1776? The evolution of the “City of Brotherly Love” founded by Quakers in the 17th century has in the centuries since endowed it with a huge, vibrant menu of offerings, from that historic colonial core to vibrant multicultural neighbourhoods – and some pretty trendy ones, too.
What most visitors come for, of c
Is it possible for a Courtyard by Marriott to actually be a boutique hotel? Lately, it seems that mainstream chain hotels are strategically inserting themselves into prime urban locations walkable to top amenities rather than buried in the anonymity of suburban strip development.
Marriott's Courtyard Stamford Downtown exemplifies this trend with a sumptuous lobby wrapped with floor-to-ceiling windows affording sweeping views of surrounding architecture and street life. Its 70-minute train rid
by Will A. Davis and Mary Gallagher
We have visited Greensboro, North Carolina a number of times, and each time I leave, I say "Gee, I really like that city". Of course, the next thought is usually self-interrogation:" Why is that?". The answer is that Greensboro has just about everything, while at the same time not having too much. It's more than anything, I believe, a fun city. Start with the name - easy enough. The "Greens" comes from Nathaniel Greene, a Revolutionary War hero who actually l
The proud capital of Philippines, sprawling across southern Luzon island, Manila is a bustling hub of commerce as well as home to the country's most historic landmarks. Manila is ruled by several countries, so influence of them is still visible over its culture and architecture. The architecture of the city reflects American, Spanish, Chinese and Malay influence, with architects of significant buildings such as the city hall, the Manila Metropolitan Theater, and the Central Post Office including
