Kashan is an ancient city of some 433,000 in north central Iran, some two hours south of capital Teheran, and its name is tied in the minds of Iranians to its carpets, silks and other textiles - but also golab (rosewater), with its annual rosewater festival attracting multitudes every year from May 5th to June 5th, when the fragrance of rose flowers fills the air and leaves everyone drunk on its paradisiacal freshness, making the city a dream-like re-imagination of Camelot. All this is due to t

The lovely tropical garden of two of our members’ home in San Diego was the recent setting of Wine Council’s end of summer review of wines.  We tasted a Pinot gris and a rosé from Cameron Hughes and a Pinot gris and a rosé from Mount Beautiful, plus three Pinot noirs from Talawind Ranch. Each member was assigned a wine to research and was asked to bring an appetizer or dish that would pair well with his or her assigned wine.

We started our tasting with the two Pinot gris.  Cameron Hughes is neit

HansenBCN

Millions of visitors flock to Catalonia in Spain's northeast each year, lured especially by its marvelous beaches and spectacular capital Barcelona. But there's a lot more to this varied land, from medieval towns to wine to ecotourism, all flavoured with a venerable culture and language reaching back nearly two millennia. For the most part, its four provinces offer a little bit of everything, so it might be helpful to provide an overview of what you'll find where, to help guide you

Cabajar

Not for its ambrosial Ube (purple-yam) jam or the warm, English-speaking Igorots (the traditional peoples inhabiting the surrounding region). Not even for the glorious pine trees that hug the city or the smiling sunflowers that romance the hills, Baguio City is most appreciated by Filipinos for its unique personality and its youthful chutzpah (more than 65 percent of its population is under 30). Located in the Cordillera Central mountains of the country's main island Luzon, a bit over th

If you are a student and you don’t have much money to splash on fancy voyages but you wish to explore other cultures, there is a way – applying for a student exchange program! Apart from an opportunity to study in a different country and meeting new friends, this is a great chance to develop a global perspective and broaden your social horizons.

Application is easy if your college takes part in the program. You will have to compose a personal statement that shows why you qualify as a best can

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There is a big difference between a traveller and a tourist - for one thing, a tourist only views a place, but a traveller lives the place, breathing it like air and getting lost in its essence. The best travel bloggers not only visit new places and take dreamy pictures but make every moment memorable through the little incidents and simple ways they take in each new destination. Over the years, I've followed a number of such bloggers from the increasingly travel-mad country of Ind

Being the world's second largest country by area, Canada is abundant in beautiful landscapes and unique locations for travellers to explore, boasting culturally rich cities and incredible natural wonders, including 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (and skiiers/snowboarders take note: it also has the world's longest season). There are almost too many fantastic Canadian destinations/experiences to list, but these five, in my estimation, are the ones you should absolutely not miss!

Niagara Falls

Jus

Whether they're here on a honeymoon tour or for any other reason, the Rainbow Nation in addition to history, culture, and safaris as well as other ecotourism sweetens visitors' experiences with its own unique cuisine, the legacy of African, Dutch, English, French, Indian, and Malay influences over the centuries. Here are a half dozen not to miss:


Bunny Chow

South Africa's most famous dish (top) originated in the city of Durban's Indian community in the 1940s and has been gradually finding i

Movies showcasing dreamy destinations are a delight not only on their own terms but to previews or remember your own travels - not to mention armchair traveling to inspire you for the future. Here's a trio I've watched again recently that made me dream of beautiful Tuscany, Bora Bora, and the U.S. West.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Diane Lane headlines as Frances, a divorced book author who has to sell her house to pay her ex-husband alimony. She finds herself gifted a vacation to tour the vast beautie

malivoja

As a small country situated on the Adriatic Coast of the Balkans of southeast Europe, Montenegro is truly a wonderful pearl of the Mediterranean region. There is absolutely no way that you can find a small piece of Earth as beautiful as the one I am writing about right now. Natural surroundings, parks, lakes, and rivers create a breathtaking lobby to a sea entrance.

From the rugged terrains of beautiful and wild mountains averaging more than 2,000 meters in elevation up to long and bre

Dubai, located in the Middle Eastern desert. is not well known for its parks and gardens. So it may come as a surprise that Dubai does in fact have several beautiful parks and gardens located throughout the city, and make a fabulous and inexpensive or free outing. They can also provide a quiet relief for tourists away from the buzz of a typical action packed holiday that Dubai can provide with its desert safaris, amusement parks, and shopping. And here are seven of the best:

Zabeel Park

A favori

Hussainkhan55

Out in the Bay of Bengal nearly 1,200 kilometers off the coast of India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an archipelago of nearly 600 islands spreading across 800 kilometers, offering a mix of white, sandy beaches, crystal clear water, water sports, ecotourism, and other outdoors adventures with historic and cultural landmarks. Many of these islands welcome visitors, such as Diglipir, Havelock, Neil, capital Port Blair (pop. just over 100,000), and Ross and Smith).. But a handfu

How do you get more online bookings and scale up your hotel revenue?

As simple as the question may sound, as you probably well realize, the answers can be tricky and challenging. And these days, that's where digital marketing comes in. With the boom in both the Internet and the hospitality industry, digital marketing has become a crucial part of the hotel business. Creating an effective presence online to increase your bookings and hence revenue is no longer just an option, it's a necessity. A

Over the last several months we have written about some wonderful places to stay along the scenic California coast (for example, here, here, and here). Today we introduce another outstanding lodge, this time in California's neighbor to the north, Oregon.

The Ocean Before Us


The Overleaf Lodge rests on the edge of the Pacific Ocean; so close that you can easily hear the waves thumping the rocky shoreline. The Overleaf seems large for its small-town surroundings. However, it has the advantage

For our first-ever trip to the Caribbean, my friend Michael, his then-girlfriend, my then-girlfriend, and I rented a cottage on the north coast of Jamaica, about a stone's throw from Ocho Rios and the parish of St. Mary. This was in 1979, and travel to Jamaica was different then. Couples Resorts existed, but there were no Sandals or Beaches resorts -- in fact, few large hotels or all-inclusives of any stripe. Nor would we anti-establishment types have even wanted one. 

What we wanted was to tool