Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of the Clan MacLeod

15 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Dunvegan Castle and Gardens, home to the MacLeod family for over 800 years © Dunvegancastle/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dunvegan Castle and Gardens, home to the MacLeod family for over 800 years
© Dunvegancastle/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the north of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the West coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland.   read more…

Drama in Greece

13 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Byzantine city wall © KFZI310/cc-by-sa-3.0

Byzantine city wall © KFZI310/cc-by-sa-3.0

Drama, is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the regional unit of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace region. The town (pop. 44,823 in 2011) is the economic center of the municipality (pop. 58,944), which in turn comprises 60 percent of the regional unit’s population.   read more…

Velib’, third most extensive bicycle sharing system in the world

12 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  7 minutes

© velib.paris.fr

© velib.paris.fr

Vélib’ is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris. The name Vélib’ is a portmanteau of the French words vélo (English: bicycle) and liberté (freedom). Launched on 15 July 2007, the system has expanded to encompass around 20,000 bicycles and 1,202 bicycle stations, located across Paris and in some surrounding municipalities, with an estimated ridership of 110,000 people per day in average.   read more…

Dülmen in the Münsterland

11 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Town Hall on Market Square © Stahlkocher/cc-by-sa-3.0

Town Hall on Market Square © Stahlkocher/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dülmen is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems river to the east. South of Dülmen the Ruhr area is located. After the local government reforms of 1975 Dülmen consists of the 7 subdivisions Dülmen, Kirchspiel, Buldern, Hausdülmen, Hiddingsel, Merfeld and Rorup. Merfeld was first mentioned in 890. It became a part of Dülmen in 1975. It is known for its herd of Dülmen Ponies. Rorup was first mentioned in 1050 and became a district of Dülmen in 1975.   read more…

Bondi Beach in Australia

10 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - John Lindie/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – John Lindie/cc-by-2.0

Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales. Bondi Beach is located 7 km (4 mi) east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Eastern Suburbs. In 2007, the Guinness World Record for the largest swimsuit photo shoot was set at Bondi Beach, with 1,010 women wearing bikinis taking part. Bondi Beach was added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2008.   read more…

Theme Week Brussels – The Europa Building, a new home for the European Council

8 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Architects and engineers: Phillipe SAMYN, VALLE, HAPPOLD

© Architects and engineers: Phillipe SAMYN, VALLE, HAPPOLD

The Résidence Palace is a complex of buildings between the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and the Chaussée d’Etterbeek/Etterbeeksesteenweg in the European Quarter of Brussels. It is formed of three buildings, a press centre and a building currently being renovated for use by the European Council, mainly, and even also (for some occasions) by the Council of the European Union as a summit building. This new building will be named Europa. To the west lies the main Council building, Justus Lipsius and across the road lie the Berlaymont and Charlemagne buildings of the European Commission.   read more…

Theme Week Wales – Swansea

8 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Swansea Harbour Trust Building © jrw/cc-by-sa-3.0

Swansea Harbour Trust Building © jrw/cc-by-sa-3.0

Swansea, officially the City and County of Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. It is Wales’s second largest city. Swansea lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands. The City and County of Swansea had a population of 239,000 in 2011, making it the second most populous local authority area in Wales after Cardiff. During its 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was a key centre of the copper industry, earning the nickname ‘Copperopolis’. Swansea can be roughly divided into four physical areas. To the north are the Lliw uplands which are mainly open moorland, reaching the foothills of the Black Mountain. To the west is the Gower Peninsula with its rural landscape dotted with small villages. To the east is the coastal strip around Swansea Bay. Cutting though the middle from the south-east to the north-west is the urban and suburban zone stretching from the Swansea city centre to the towns of Gorseinon and Pontarddulais.   read more…

Theme Week Wales – Barry

7 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Barry Waterfront © Cane Giapponese

Barry Waterfront © Cane Giapponese

Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than 7 miles (11 km) south-southwest of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park. Once a small village, Barry has absorbed its larger neighbouring villages of Cadoxton and Barry Island.   read more…

Theme Week New Zealand – The Hen and Chicken Islands

7 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Panorama of the Hen (right) and Chicken Islands and Sail Rock (left) © Glenn h/cc-by-sa-3.0

Panorama of the Hen (right) and Chicken Islands and Sail Rock (left) © Glenn h/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Hen and Chicken Islands lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They lie 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east of Bream Head and 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of Whangarei.   read more…

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