Luxury marina Porto Montenegro

30 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels, Sport, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Porto Montenegro © Daniel Nyul/cc-by-sa-3.0

Porto Montenegro © Daniel Nyul/cc-by-sa-3.0

Porto Montenegro is a Luxury yacht marina and adjacent waterfront development currently under construction in Tivat, Montenegro.   read more…

French Guiana

30 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

île Royale Harbor and St Joseph island © Tylda/cc-by-sa-3.0

île Royale Harbor and St Joseph island © Tylda/cc-by-sa-3.0

French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France, on the north Atlantic coast of South America. It borders Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west. Its 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi) area has a very low population density of only 3 inhabitants per km2, with half of its 250,000 inhabitants living in the metropolitan area of Cayenne, its capital. By land area, it is by far the largest overseas region of France. As an overseas region, it is inside the European Union, and its official currency is the Euro. The addition of the adjective “French” in English comes from colonial times when five such colonies existed (The Guianas), namely from west to east: Spanish Guiana (now Guayana Region in Venezuela), British Guiana (now Guyana), Dutch Guiana (now Suriname), French Guiana, and Portuguese Guiana (now Amapá, a state in far northern Brazil). French Guiana and the two larger countries to the north and west, Guyana and Suriname, are still often collectively referred to as the Guianas and comprise one large shield landmass.   read more…

Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

30 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

© flickr.com - Toni Castillo Quero/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Toni Castillo Quero/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Mosque-cathedral of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita–catedral de Córdoba), also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita de Córdoba), whose ecclesiastical name is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), is the Catholic Christian cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.   read more…

Theme Week East Anglia – King’s Lynn

30 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Custom House © Alienturnedhuman

Custom House © Alienturnedhuman

King’s Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated 97 miles (156 km) north of London and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800. The town has two theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues. There are three secondary schools and one college. The service sector, information and communication technologies and creative industries, provide limited employment for the population of King’s Lynn and the surrounding area.   read more…

Newport Beach in California

29 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  15 minutes

Newport Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Newport Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Santa Ana. The population is at 87,000. Newport Beach is also home to Newport Harbor. The city’s median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings. The Daily Pilot, a newspaper published in the neighboring city of Costa Mesa but which serves the greater Newport-Mesa community, reported in 2010 that more than a quarter of households have an income greater than $200,000, and the median value for homes exceeds $1 million. The city is bordered on the west by Huntington Beach; on the north by Costa Mesa, John Wayne Airport, the City of Irvine and UC Irvine; and on the east by Crystal Cove State Park. Areas of Newport Beach include Corona del Mar, Balboa Island, Balboa Peninsula (also known as Balboa), Lido Peninsula, Newport Coast, San Joaquin Hills, and Santa Ana Heights, and West Newport. Newport Harbor is a semi-artificial harbor that was formed by dredging Newport Bay estuary during the early 1900s. Several artificial islands were built, which are now covered with private homes: Newport Island, Balboa Island, Little Balboa Island, Collins Island, Bay Island, Harbor Island, Lido Isle and Linda Isle. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries such as boatbuilding, shipbuilding, and commercial fishing, but today it is used mostly for recreation. Its shores are occupied mostly by private homes and private docks. With approximately 9,000 boats, Newport Harbor is one of the largest recreational boat harbors on the U.S. west coast. It’s a popular destination for all boating activities, including sailing, fishing, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding.   read more…

Theme Week East Anglia – Newmarket

29 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Clock-tower to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria © geograph.org.uk - Robert Edwards/cc-by-sa-2.0

Clock-tower to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria © geograph.org.uk – Robert Edwards/cc-by-sa-2.0

Newmarket is a market town in the county of Suffolk, approximately 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of London. It is generally considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing. It is a major local business cluster, with annual investment rivalling that of the Cambridge Science Park, the other major cluster in the region. It is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain, the largest racehorse breeding centre in the country, and home to most major British horseracing institutions, and a key global centre for horse health. Two Classic races, and an additional three British Champions Series races are held at Newmarket every year. Racing at Newmarket has been dated as far back as 1174, making it the earliest known racing venue of post-classical times. King James I (reigned 1603–1625) greatly increased the popularity of horse racing there, and King Charles I followed this by inaugurating the first cup race in 1634. The Jockey Club‘s clubhouse is in Newmarket, though its administration is based in London.   read more…

Wroclaw in Poland

28 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, European Union, European Capital of Culture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Wroclaw Panorma © Lukaszprzy

Wroclaw Panorma © Lukaszprzy

Wrocław is the chief city in south-western Poland, situated on the River Oder (Polish: Odra). Wrocław is the former capital of Silesia and today, capital of Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been either part of Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia or Germany. According to official population figures for June 2009, its population is 632,000, making it the fourth largest city in Poland. Wrocław, along with San Sebastián, Spain, will be the European Capital of Culture in 2016.   read more…

Theme Week East Anglia – Burnham Thorpe

28 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Birthplace of Admiral Lord Nelson © geograph.org.uk - Nigel Jones/cc-by-sa-2.0

Birthplace of Admiral Lord Nelson © geograph.org.uk – Nigel Jones/cc-by-sa-2.0

Burnham Thorpe is a small village and civil parish on the River Burn and near the coast of Norfolk. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, victor at the Battle of Trafalgar and one of Britain’s greatest heroes. At the time of his birth, Nelson’s father, Edmund Nelson, was rector of the church in Burnham Thorpe.   read more…

The German Colony in Palestine

27 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  35 minutes

German Colony Jerusalem - Templer Communal House © Shayzu/cc-by-sa-3.0

German Colony Jerusalem – Templer Communal House © Shayzu/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Templers, a religious Protestant sect formed in southern Germany in the 19th century, settled in Palestine at the urging of their leader, Christoff Hoffman, in the belief that living in the Holy Land would hasten the second coming of Christ. The Templers built a colony in keeping with strict urban planning principles and introduced local industries that brought modernity to Palestine, which had long been neglected by the Ottomans. They were the first to organize regular transportation services between Jaffa, Acre and Nazareth, which also allowed for mail delivery. In 1874 the Christian denomination of the Temple Society underwent a schism and later envoys of the Evangelical State Church of Prussia’s older Provinces successfully proselytised among the schismatics, making up about a third of the colonists. Thus the Colony became a place of partisans of two different Christian denominations and their respective congregations.   read more…

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