Sanary-sur-Mer on the southern French Mediterranean coast

13 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Patrick Verdier

© Patrick Verdier

Sanary-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in coastal Provence on the Mediterranean Sea 13 km (8.1 mi) from Toulon and 49 km (30 mi) from Marseille. It can be reached from Paris by TGV train in less than 4 hours. In high season there are direct flights to nearby Toulon from London, Oslo, Brussels and Rotterdam.   read more…

Theme Week Vienna – The Vienna State Opera

12 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  5 minutes

Vienna State Opera around 1900 © Library of Congress

Vienna State Opera around 1900 © Library of Congress

The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera (Wiener Hofoper). In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Republic of Austria, it was renamed the Vienna State Opera. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its orchestra.   read more…

Theme Week Corsica – Porto-Vecchio

12 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Nerijp

© Nerijp

Porto-Vecchio is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica.   read more…

Cádiz in Andalusia

11 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Cadiz Palace - City Hall © Falkue

Cadiz Palace – City Hall © Falkue

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.   read more…

The city of Rochester in Kent

10 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Rochester Castle on Medway river © Clem Rutter

Rochester Castle on Medway river © Clem Rutter

Rochester is a town and former city in Kent, England. It is located within the unitary authority area of Medway and is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (48 km) from London. The town is known for its cathedral and castle, and for an epic siege in 1215. Rochester, together with neighbouring Chatham, Gillingham, Strood and a number of outlying villages, makes up the Medway unitary authority area. The town is home to a number of important historic buildings, the most prominent of which are the Guildhall, the Corn Exchange, Restoration House, Eastgate House, Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral. Many of the buildings in the town centre date from the 18th century or as early as the 14th century.   read more…

The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs/West Virginia

8 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  4 minutes

The Greenbrier © Harry W. McCormack/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Greenbrier © Harry W. McCormack/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Greenbrier is a Forbes four-star and AAA Five Diamond Award winning luxury resort located just outside the town of White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.   read more…

The seaside town of Weymouth

7 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Dorset Seafood Festival seen from Town Bridge © Edward Betts

Dorset Seafood Festival seen from Town Bridge © Edward Betts

Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland. The town’s population is 53,000.   read more…

The port city of Corpus Christi in Texas

7 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Aerial view of Corpus Christi © Simiprof

Aerial view of Corpus Christi © Simiprof

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County also extends into the Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The metropolitan area population in 2011 was 463,577. The population was 307,953, at the July 2011 US Census estimate, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the tri-county Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the larger Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area. The translation from Latin of the city’s name is Body of Christ, given to the settlement by the Spanish, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist). The city has been nicknamed the “Sparkling City by the Sea”, particularly in literature promoting tourism.   read more…

Bayonne in Basque Country

6 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

The Quay of the Admiral Jauréguiberry and the Cathedral © Daniel Villafruela

The Quay of the Admiral Jauréguiberry and the Cathedral © Daniel Villafruela

Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It belongs to both vernacular cultural regions of Basque Country and Gascony. Together with nearby Anglet, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 178,965 inhabitants at the 1999 census, 40,078 of whom lived in the city of Bayonne proper (44,300 as of 2004). The communes of Bayonne, Biarritz, and Anglet have joined into an intercommunal entity called the Communauté d’agglomération de Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz (BAB). Bayonne has the longest tradition of bull-fighting in France and there is a ring beyond the walls of Grand Bayonne. The season runs between July and September. Bull-fighting is part of the five-day Fêtes de Bayonne which starts on the first Wednesday of August and attracts people from across the Basque Country and beyond. Parades, music, dance, fireworks, food and drink all feature in the celebrations. Soon after the Assumption festival of 15 August heralds a few more days of bull-fights.   read more…

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