Harrogate in North Yorkshire

31 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Betty's Tea Rooms © Bucs

Betty’s Tea Rooms © Bucs

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park and the Nidderdale AONB. Harrogate grew out of two existing smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. It is consistently voted as one of the best places to live in the UK and in 2013 a poll by Rightmove of 40,000 people found that Harrogate was the happiest place to live in the United Kingdom. In 2013 Harrogate was declared to be the third most romantic destination in the world, beating off rivals including Paris, Rome and Vienna.   read more…

Salisbury in Wiltshire

31 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Ox Row © geograph.org.uk - Chris Talbot/cc-by-sa-2.0

Ox Row © geograph.org.uk – Chris Talbot/cc-by-sa-2.0

Salisbury (the anglicised form of Salzburg) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city within the county. It is the 2nd largest settlement in the county by population, between Chippenham and Swindon. It has also been called New Sarum to distinguish it from the original site of settlement to the north of the city at Old Sarum, but this alternative name is not in common use. The city is located in the south-east of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain. It sits at the confluence of five rivers: the Nadder, Ebble, Wylye and Bourne are tributary to the Avon, which flows to the south coast and into the sea at Christchurch, Dorset. Salisbury railway station serves the city, and is the crossing point between the West of England Main Line and the Wessex Main Line, making it a regional interchange.   read more…

Theme Week Los Angeles – Santa Catalina Island

30 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Catalina Casino and Avalon Bay © flickr.com - Justin Ennis/cc-by-2.0

Catalina Casino and Avalon Bay © flickr.com – Justin Ennis/cc-by-2.0

Santa Catalina Island is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island is 22 miles (35 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) across at its greatest width. The island is located about 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Los Angeles. The highest point on the island is 2,097 feet (639 m) Mt. Orizaba. Santa Catalina is part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago and lies within Los Angeles County. The total population is at 4,100 people, 90 percent of whom live in the island’s only incorporated city, Avalon (named after Avalon from King Arthur). The second center of population is the unincorporated village of Two Harbors at the island’s isthmus. Development occurs also at the smaller settlements of Rancho Escondido and Middle Ranch. The remaining population is scattered over the island between the two population centers.   read more…

The seaside town of Deal in South England

29 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Seafront © Shantavira

Seafront © Shantavira

Deal is a town in Kent, England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town. Closely associated with Deal are the villages of Kingsdown, Sholden and Walmer, the latter being where Julius Caesar first arrived in Britain.   read more…

Theme Week Gascony – Auch

28 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Armagnac Tower and Auch Cathedral © Chrwalker/cc-by-sa-3.0

Armagnac Tower and Auch Cathedral © Chrwalker/cc-by-sa-3.0

Auch is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.   read more…

Olinda on the Atlantic Ocean

28 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

historical center © flickr.com - Prefeitura de Olinda/cc-by-2.0

historical center © flickr.com – Prefeitura de Olinda/cc-by-2.0

Olinda is a historic and one of the oldest cities in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country’s northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista. It has a population of 397,000 people and is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil.   read more…

Theme Week Gascony – Pau

27 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Boulevard des Pyrénées © Flo641/cc-by-sa-3.0

Boulevard des Pyrénées © Flo641/cc-by-sa-3.0

Pau is a commune on the northern edge of the Pyrenees, capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Département in Aquitaine. It was also the capital of the historical Béarn Province. It forms the communauté d’agglomération of Pau-Pyrénées with 13 neighbouring communes to carry out local tasks together. Place Clemenceau, the heart of the downtown area, is the site of many public festivals, great shopping, and a beautiful fountain.   read more…

Virgin Gorda in the Caribbean

27 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Moon Rise over Saba Rock Island © Louis 92 B/cc-by-sa-3.0

Moon Rise over Saba Rock Island © Louis 92 B/cc-by-sa-3.0

Virgin Gorda is the third-largest (after Tortola and Anegada) and second most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Located at approximately 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area of about 8 square miles (21 km2). Christopher Columbus is said to have named the island “The Fat Virgin”, because the island’s profile on the horizon looks like a fat woman lying on her side.   read more…

The university town of Jena

27 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Wagnergasse © Hamster 3

Wagnergasse © Hamster 3

Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.   read more…

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