Settled by Celtic peoples even before the Romans ruled the peninsula they called Hispania, the capital of today’s autonomous community of Castile and León holds a special place in this country’s history. It was the first capital of Castile, then after the game-changing “Catholic monarchs” Ferdinand and Isabella tied the knot here, also the newly united Spain. Cervantes and the notorious inquisitioner Torquemada lived here as well, and it’s where Christopher Columbus sailed off this mortal coil.
It's Thanksgiving Day in the USA, and despite all the world's controversies and problems, many pause to reflect on what in their lives they're thankful for, and perhaps, too, the travel-minded a bit on how they can give a little back of their own good fortune the next time they travel.
It's certainly true that more travelers than ever (especially young women, it seems) are taking a break from the usual “turn-and-burn” vacations or hedonistic city sojourns in favor of travel with a purpose. A
A cloudless sky, the song of birds carried in the wind laced with the calm sound of waves crashing into each other and scent of the sea filled air. White sands and a turquoise sea that is so clear you can see the fish swimming. Have you ever wondered what paradise would be like? Stop wondering, paradise is a plane ride away in Koh Tao, Thailand.
The name Koh Tao means Turtle Island. Koh Tao is one of the three islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Tao is the smallest of them all. The island was
by Felice Hardy
Skiing in Italy‘s fabulous Sella Ronda in the Dolomites recently, I was stunned by the low prices I found for food and drink. In cute little mountain restaurants I paid 1.10€ for coffee, 2€ for soft drinks, and 4€ for a pint (half a litre) of beer… and that’s just the drinks. I was bowled over by a 6.50€ bowl of soup and pasta for 8.50€. Quite a change from France’s Val d’Isère, where coffee ran anywhere from 2.90€ to 4€, soup (soup!) set me back 13€, and let’s not even talk ab
It was the first week of November, and even though summer had officially ended only two months prior, the fam (my wife Sue and my daughter Diz) and I decided that we needed a break.
by Mary Gallagher / Photos by Will A. Davis
If you've driven up and down a lot of the USA's Interstate 95 between the Northeast and Florida numerous times, how many countless times have you passed by or just stopped for a bite to eat at the Florence, South Carolina exit? Well, next time take a two-night break for some big surprises. The ride into this historic city hasn’t always been the prettiest but that’s changing really fast - just like its downtown.
Philanthropy
First off, let me grant that “adventurous” is a relative term. If you’re growing up in Iceland, for example, and rotted shark (hakárl) is part of your culture, it’s no biggie. But for most of the rest of us, that would qualify as “adventurous” eating. So over the course of my travels, these are the 17 of the more offbeat local foods I’ve encountered in a few key destinations (though for the most part I’m leaving out sweetbreads, brains, marrow, tripe, and other internal
Europe has the ideal combination of tall mountains and lots of snow and that means it has plenty of great skiing destinations come winter.
Of course, you don’t want to waste your time hitting average ski resorts or slopes, we want the best there is. I will share my research on the top European ski resorts and what they offer. In preparation I went out and bought some new ski clothing and gear for the trip.
La Grave, France
If you want an ideal ski mountaineering location, you can’t do much better t
photo: Lena Serditova
It is a January morning in Girona, an ancient city of modest size in Catalonia about an hour's drive north of Barcelona. From the window of the Hotel Ultonia, children in uniform can be seen crossing the street on their way to school. Around the corner, the chef at the L'Arcada restaurant builds a fire of cork and olive wood over whose embers mushrooms, leeks, and fresh fish will be grilled for the lunchtime crowd and wonders how the local teenagers can like the food at
Newly opened this past August on Canada Street running through the heart of Lake George Village, Courtyard Lake George represents a community effort to expand this iconic seasonal lakefront retreat into a year round destination.
Each year during summer, thousands of visitors stream into this village of 900 full-time residents only to vanish from October through March. 1950s era motels still dominate and are lovingly patronized across generations of summer vacationers but for years, village offi
When visiting the boisterous city of Salvador da Bahia, besides walking through the Pelourinho district, visiting the monuments and churches of the historical quarter and indulging in the street festivities, you should set aside an hour or two for the largest popular market in the city: the Feira de São Joaquim.
Of course Salvador has the famous Mercado Modelo, the best known market in the city and the traditional place where handicrafts such as ceramics, jewelry, leather goods, musical instrumen
Growing up in Miami, I always found found our neighbor just to the north a pleasant enough but somewhat nondescript place. Fort Lauderdale‘s main attributes appeared to be some impressive waterways, a decent ocean beach – and of course a rowdy, booze-soaked college scene when it came time for spring holidays (first made famous by the song/movie Where the Boys Are). And the locals a rather odd mix of yachties and some admittedly salty characters. Not exactly the place that first came to mind for
One of my very first introductions to Great Britain as a youngster was a short but sweet visit to an ancient, elegant city in the bucolic hills of Somerset some 90 minutes by train west from London (closer to three hours if you drive). A smallish, very walkable and liveable city of some 89,000, Bath could not of course be more aptly named – and a fine wallow it is – doable as a day trip but even better over a night or two.
As you know, folks in the Roman Empire did love themselv
by Cristóbal Ramírez
Guatemala might bring many things to mind – the ancient Mayan majesty of Tikal…the present-day culture of their descendants in places like Chichicastenango and Atitlán…the colonial elegance of Antigua. But this Central American country also has a small sliver of Caribbean coast, and this is another, unexpected Guatemala altogether.
Livingston is a small barefoot town on this coast that can be reached only by ferry or motorboat from two other towns, Puerto Barrios and Río Dulce
Few public inns in the United States can boast the patriotic pedigree of the Thayer Hotel at West Point, in New York State's Hudson Valley.
We paid a visit to the award winning Thayer Hotel during the holiday season, and felt it especially appropriate to write about this unique hotel on Veterans Day, when we honor the members of the military that have gallantly served our country.
General Douglas MacArthur stayed at the Thayer whenever he visited the military academy. Dwight D. Eisenhower did the
Members of the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) gathered in the Temecula Valley for their SoCal regional area meeting to showcase two area wineries. We had lunch and a winery tour at Mount Palomar Winery and we visited Europa Village to learn about the progress of the future Europa Village Wineries, Resort and Spa.
Annata Bistro/Bar, Mount Palomar’s full-service bar and restaurant, opened in 2015. Italian for vintage, Annata has lovely views of the valley; serve
Notebooks, ultrabooks, and tablets have become traditional gear for the private and business travelers. However, significant benefits of possessing plenty of data on hand while on en route does include a risk to private and business files and documents.
Below are several techniques you may increase the security of your computer while traveling.
The bag
Always keep the laptop computer in a strong and durable bag created specifically for laptops. The sleeve must be well padded. It is convenient to u
Following up on posts serving up the best vegetarian dining options in Europe and Latin America, I’m turning to the United States, one of the countries where the veg trend was pioneered. The variety at this stage in dining history is impressive, from hardcore little raw food cafés to elaborate and très stylish haute cuisine. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.
In greater Beantown, the veggie trend has long centred most noticeably in Cambridge, with its strong academic and “crunchy” com
A long, curving driveway through the middle of ranch country led us to what was going to become a charming and serene couple of days full of natural beauty at Holman Ranch.
Each of us gathered our belongings and opened the door to our private rooms off the ranch-style patio complete with rocking chairs and artwork. Once inside, we found a hacienda-styled room with leather chairs around the dining table. To add to the ambience, the Western-style comforters were topped with suede-covered pillows. R
Greenpoint, Brooklyn's northernmost neighborhood, started out as farmland that was eventually parceled out during the 19th Century to accommodate insatiable residential expansion away from New York City's core. There was also abundant commerce thanks to direct shipping access via the East River to New York Harbor the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Miles of factories and warehouses fueled the neighborhood's livelihood and character until the 1970's when the economy and manufacturing experienced the first
