The Portobello Road in London

20 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, London, Shopping Reading Time:  5 minutes

Portobello Road sign © Arnoprepa1/cc-by-sa-3.0

Portobello Road sign © Arnoprepa1/cc-by-sa-3.0

Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. Every August since 1996 the Portobello Film Festival has been held in locations around Portobello Road.   read more…

Theme Week Mexico – Mexico City in the Valley of Mexico

16 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

National Palace © Reinhard Jahn/cc-by-sa-2.0

National Palace © Reinhard Jahn/cc-by-sa-2.0

Mexico City (also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country’s largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center. As an “alpha” global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial and cultural centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.   read more…

Cervia on the Adriatic Sea

14 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Garibaldi Square and Fountain © Nerijp

Garibaldi Square and Fountain © Nerijp

Cervia is a town and comune (municipality) in the province of Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna), central Italy, with a population of about 28,000. Originally called Ficocle, it was probably of Greek origin and was located midway from current Cervia and Ravenna. It is known that this originary settlement was destroyed in 709 by patrician Theodore for its alliance with Ravenna against the loyal Byzantines.   read more…

Boston, the birthplace of America

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

Downtown Skyline © Nelson48

Downtown Skyline © Nelson48

Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its largest city, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was named Boston by early settlers from Boston, Lincolnshire in England. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial “Capital of New England” for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper, covering 48.43 square miles (125.43 square km), had an estimated population of 625,087 in 2011 according to the U.S. Census, making it the 21st largest in the country. Boston is also the county seat of Suffolk County and anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to 4.5 million people and the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the country. Greater Boston as a commuting region is home to 7.6 million people, making it the fifth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States.   read more…

Osnabrück, the City of Peace

12 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Heger Gate © Quasitim/cc-by-sa-3.0

Heger Gate © Quasitim/cc-by-sa-3.0

Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. Its population is at 165,000, making it the third-largest city in Lower Saxony, after Hanover and Brunswick.   read more…

Noyers-sur-Serein in Burgundy

9 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

City entrance © Philippe Alès/cc-by-sa-3.0

City entrance © Philippe Alès/cc-by-sa-3.0

Noyers (sometimes referred to as Noyers-sur-Serein) is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France. There are half-timbered houses, ashlars, pillars and pinnacles. There are a lot of lanes and small squares made of chalky and granitic pavements. There are towers surrounded by the river Serein loops.  read more…

The Dubai Mall

9 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, House of the Month, Shopping Reading Time:  6 minutes

Dubai Mall seen from Burj Khalifa © Intelpower

Dubai Mall seen from Burj Khalifa © Intelpower

The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area. Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, and includes 1,200 shops. Access to the mall is provided via Doha Street, rebuilt as a double-decker road in April 2009.   read more…

The Jurassic Coast along the southern English Channel coast

7 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Ammonite, embedded in a rock on the beach at Kimmeridge © Chilepine

Ammonite, embedded in a rock on the beach at Kimmeridge © Chilepine

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of 155 kilometres (96 mi). Chartered in 2001, the Jurassic coast was the second wholly natural World Heritage Site to be designated in the United Kingdom. Its entire length can be walked on the South West Coast Path.   read more…

The Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

6 March 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

City of Schwerin, Lake Schwerin and Schwerin Castle © Günther Pöpperl

City of Schwerin, Lake Schwerin and Schwerin Castle © Günther Pöpperl

Schwerin Castle is a castle located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It currently serves as the seat of the state parliament.   read more…

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