Bourbon Street in New Orleans

30 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

© Chris Litherland/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Chris Litherland/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bourbon Street (French: Rue Bourbon, Spanish: Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. With 17.74 million visitors in 2017 alone, New Orleans depends on Bourbon Street as a main tourist attraction. Tourist numbers have been growing yearly after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the city has successfully rebuilt its tourist base. For millions of visitors each year, Bourbon Street provides a rich insight into New Orleans’ past.   read more…

Theme Week Apulia – Bari

28 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  16 minutes

Seafood Market © flickr.com - Italo Greco/cc-by-2.0

Seafood Market © flickr.com – Italo Greco/cc-by-2.0

Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples (the third after Palermo if insular Italy is included), a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 320,257 inhabitants, over 116 square kilometres (45 sq mi), while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants.   read more…

Theme Week Apulia – Foggia

27 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Villa Comunale © Ettore Timi/cc-by-2.5

Villa Comunale © Ettore Timi/cc-by-2.5

Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. The population is at 151.000. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the “granary of Italy”. It is a communication and industrial center and the main wheat market of Southern Italy. Foggia is famous for its watermelons and tomatoes. Although less important than once before, the agricultural sector remains the mainstay of Foggia’s economy. The few industries present are mostly devoted to food processing. Craftsmanship is also encouraged and developed.   read more…

Willemstad on Curaçao

27 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Penha Building from 1708 © Evandria/cc-by-sa-4.0

Penha Building from 1708 © Evandria/cc-by-sa-4.0

Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 150,000. The historic centre of the city consists of four quarters: the Punda and Otrobanda, which are separated by the Sint Anna Bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the Schottegat, as well as the Scharloo and Pietermaai Smal quarters, which are across from each other on the smaller Waaigat harbour. The city centre, with its unique architecture and harbour entry, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   read more…

Theme Week Apulia – Lecce

26 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

Santa Croce © panoramio.com - Lamberto Zannotti/cc-by-sa-3.0

Santa Croce © panoramio.com – Lamberto Zannotti/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lecce is a historic city of 95,000 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Apulia. It is the main city of the Salentine Peninsula, a sub-peninsula at the heel of the Italian Peninsula and is over 2,000 years old.   read more…

Theme Week Apulia – Martina Franca

25 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Piazza Plebiscito and the Cathedral © Tango71747cc-by-sa-4.0

Piazza Plebiscito and the Cathedral © Tango71747cc-by-sa-4.0

Martina Franca, or just Martina, is a town and municipality in the province of Taranto, Apulia. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population of 49,000. Since 1975, the town has hosted the annual summer opera festival, the Festival della Valle d’Itria. Martina Franca is located in the Itria Valley, close to the provinces of Bari and Brindisi.   read more…

Portrait: Architect, city planner, painter, furniture and stage designer Karl Friedrich Schinkel

25 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Berlin, Portrait Reading Time:  16 minutes

Schinkel in 1836 © Carl Joseph Begas

Schinkel in 1836 © Carl Joseph Begas

Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings. His most famous buildings are found in and around Berlin.   read more…

Theme Week Apulia – Brindisi

24 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  16 minutes

Kitesurfing at Torre Canne © Giorgio Galeotti/cc-by-4.0

Kitesurfing at Torre Canne © Giorgio Galeotti/cc-by-4.0

Brindisi is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an important role in trade and culture, due to its strategic position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city remains a major port for trade with Greece and the Middle East. Its industries include agriculture, chemical works, and the generation of electricity. The city of Brindisi was the provisional government seat of the Kingdom of Italy from September 1943 to February 1944.   read more…

Jesus Trail in Israel

24 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

Walking the Jesus Trail near Nazareth © Zeromancer44/cc-by-sa-3.0

Walking the Jesus Trail near Nazareth © Zeromancer44/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Jesus Trail is a 65 km (40 mi) hiking and pilgrimage route in the Galilee region of Israel that traces the route Jesus may have walked, connecting many sites from his life and ministry. The main part of the trail begins in Nazareth and passes through Sepphoris, Cana (Kafr Kanna), the Horns of Hattin, Mount Arbel Cliffs, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Tabgha, and the Mount of Beatitudes. An alternate return route passes by Tiberias, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor, and Mount Precipice. The Jesus Trail runs within the 1967 border.   read more…

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