Theme Week Leinster

22 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

Johnstown Castle in Wexford © DeFacto/cc-by-sa-4.0

Johnstown Castle in Wexford © DeFacto/cc-by-sa-4.0

Leinster (Irish: Laighin or Cúige Laighean) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic “fifths” of Leinster and Meath gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled both, thereby forming the present-day province of Leinster. The ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has prompted further sub-division of the historic counties.   read more…

Theme Week New Zealand

24 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

New Zealand Parliament House in Wellington © Office of the Clerk/cc-by-sa-4.0

New Zealand Parliament House in Wellington © Office of the Clerk/cc-by-sa-4.0

New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering 268,021 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). New Zealand is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country’s varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand’s capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.   read more…

Theme Week Berkshire

20 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

New College - Royal Military Academy Sandhurst © wyrdlight.com - Antony McCallum/cc-by-sa-4.0

New College – Royal Military Academy Sandhurst © wyrdlight.com – Antony McCallum/cc-by-sa-4.0

Berkshire is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.   read more…

Theme Week Alentejo

20 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Évora's historic downtown © Bunks/cc-by-3.0

Évora’s historic downtown © Bunks/cc-by-3.0

Alentejo Region, a historical and cultural rich region, is one of the seven NUTS 2 regions of Portugal. It covers all of the historical Alentejo Province and part of the historical Ribatejo and Estremadura provinces. The the largest city and capital is Évora.   read more…

Theme Week Caribbean

23 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Parliament building in Nassau, Bahamas © Crm18

Parliament building in Nassau, Bahamas © Crm18

The Caribbean is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean) and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.   read more…

Theme Week County Mayo

26 December 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  13 minutes

Burrishoole Bridge © MickReynolds/cc-by-sa-4.0

Burrishoole Bridge © MickReynolds/cc-by-sa-4.0

County Mayo (Irish: Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning “Plain of the yew trees“) is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at the 2022 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.   read more…

Theme Week Navarre

21 November 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Parliament of Navarre in Pamplona © Mgoni4

Parliament of Navarre in Pamplona © Mgoni4

Navarre, officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France. The capital city is Pamplona. The present-day province makes up the majority of the territory of the medieval Kingdom of Navarre, a long-standing Pyrenean kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost part, Lower Navarre, located in the southwest corner of France. Navarre is in the transition zone between Green Spain and semi-arid interior areas, and thus its landscapes vary widely across the region. Being in a transition zone also produces a highly variable climate, with summers that are a mix of cooler spells and heat waves, and winters that are mild for the latitude. Navarre is one of the historic Basque districts: its Basque features are conspicuous in the north, but virtually absent on the southern fringes. The best-known event in Navarre is the annual festival of San Fermín held in Pamplona in July. Navarre is one of the wealthiest regions in Spain per capita, with a diversified economy primarily focused on the energy sector, healthcare services and manufacturing.   read more…

Theme Week Ticino

24 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Bay of Lugano © SamuelFerrara/cc-by-sa-4.0

Bay of Lugano © SamuelFerrara/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ticino, sometimes Tessin, officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzona. It is also traditionally divided into the Sopraceneri and the Sottoceneri, respectively north and south of Monte Ceneri. Red and blue are the colours of its flag.   read more…

Theme Week Greenland

19 September 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  18 minutes

Nuussuaq district in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, with Sermitsiaq mountain in the background © Oliver Schauf

Nuussuaq district in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, with Sermitsiaq mountain in the background © Oliver Schauf

Greenland is an island country that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is the world’s largest island, it is one of three constituent countries that form the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark and the Faroe Islands; the citizens of these countries are all Danish nationals. Greenland is divided into five municipalities: Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qeqqata, Qeqertalik and Avannaata. The northeast of the island composes the unincorporated Northeast Greenland National Park. Thule Air Base is also unincorporated, an enclave within Avannaata municipality administered by the United States Space Force. Greenland’s capital is Nuuk. Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and Denmark, the colonial powers) for more than a millennium, beginning in 986. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada, gradually settling across the island by the 13th century.   read more…

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