North Miami Beach

11 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, Miami / South Florida, Shopping Reading Time:  6 minutes

Art Deco Hotel in the North Shore Historic District © flickr.com - Phillip Pessar/cc-by-2.0

Art Deco Hotel in the North Shore Historic District © flickr.com – Phillip Pessar/cc-by-2.0

North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Originally named Fulford-by-the-Sea in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the United States Coast Guard, the city was renamed North Miami Beach in 1931. The population is at 46,000. The hurricane of 1926 essentially ended the South Florida real estate boom, and in an effort to alleviate their losses and the damage to the city, local residents came together as the Town of Fulford. In 1927, the city was incorporated as the City of Fulford. Although the North Miami Beach boundaries once stretched to the Atlantic Ocean, this city on the Intracoastal Waterway no longer has any beaches within its city limits, although they are a short distance away across the inlet. North Miami Beach has a large middle class Haitian-American and Jewish-American community who were born in the U.S. or abroad.   read more…

Deerfield Beach in Florida

18 September 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Miami / South Florida Reading Time:  4 minutes

© D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-3.0

© D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,018. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to an estimated 6,158,824 inhabitants as of 2017.   read more…

Vero Beach in Florida

14 August 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Miami / South Florida Reading Time:  6 minutes

Vero Theatre © SebasTorrente/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vero Theatre © SebasTorrente/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, with a population of 16,800. The Indian River Lagoon, passing through Vero Beach, forms a significant portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, and is a hub for boating, fishing, water skiing, diving, kayaking and other small-craft waterborne activities. There are two large shopping malls the Indian River Mall and the Vero Beach Outlets just west of I-95 on State Road 60. There are small specialty shops along Ocean Drive on the barrier island and in what is called the “Miracle Mile.” The Historic Downtown is a newly revitalized area of shopping, dining, antique stores and art galleries.   read more…

Norfolk in Virginia

7 August 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

USS George Washington in Norfolk Naval Station © U.S. Navy - Mate 3rd Class Summer M. Anderson

USS George Washington in Norfolk Naval Station © U.S. Navy – Mate 3rd Class Summer M. Anderson

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2017, the population was estimated to be 244,703 making it the second-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Beach. Norfolk is located at the core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, named for the large natural harbor of the same name located at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA. The city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. It also shares land borders with the independent cities of Chesapeake to its south and Virginia Beach to its east. Norfolk is one of the oldest cities in Hampton Roads, and is considered to be the historic, urban, financial, and cultural center of the region.   read more…

Boca Raton in Florida

2 August 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Miami / South Florida Reading Time:  18 minutes

Boca Raton is the southernmost city in Palm Beach County, Florida, first incorporated on August 2, 1924 as “Bocaratone,” and then incorporated as “Boca Raton” in 1925. The 2015 population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was 93,235. However, approximately 200,000 people with a Boca Raton postal address reside outside its municipal boundaries. Such areas include newer developments like West Boca Raton. As a business center, the city also experiences significant daytime population increases. It is one of the wealthiest communities in South Florida. Boca Raton is 43 miles (69 km) north of Miami and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which had a population of 6,012,331 people as of 2015.   read more…

Aveiro, the Venice of Portugal

19 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture Reading Time:  8 minutes

Typical azulejo facades © Andreas Trepte/cc-by-sa-2.5

Typical azulejo facades © Andreas Trepte/cc-by-sa-2.5

Aveiro is a city and a municipality in Portugal. In 2011, the population was 78,450, in an area of 197.58 square kilometres (76.29 sq mi). It is the second most populous city in the Centro Region of Portugal (after Coimbra). Along with the neighbouring city of Ílhavo, Aveiro is part of an urban agglomeration that includes 120,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most important populated regions by density in the Centro Region, and primary centre of the Intermunicipal Community of Aveiro and Baixo Vouga.   read more…

Fort Boyard on the west coast of France

15 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Patrick Despoix/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Patrick Despoix/cc-by-sa-4.0

Fort Boyard is a fort located between the Île-d’Aix and the Île d’Oléron in the Pertuis d’Antioche straits, on the west coast of France and is the filming location for the TV gameshow of the same name. Though a fort on Boyard bank was suggested as early as the 17th century, it was not until the 1800s under Napoleon Bonaparte that work began. Building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. In 1967, the final scene of the French film Les aventuriers was filmed at the remains of the fort.   read more…

Delray Beach in Florida, America’s Most Fun Small Town

31 December 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Miami / South Florida Reading Time:  11 minutes

Delray Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Delray Beach © D Ramey Logan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Delray Beach is a coastal city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach is estimated at 67,000. Delray Beach is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to an estimated 6.2 million people. The city’s eastern boundary includes 3 miles (4.8 km) of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean. Delray Beach is one of South Florida’s most popular beach destinations. The area is noted for its restaurants, retail shops, nightclubs, art galleries, and hotels. Directly to the south, the city is bordered by Boca Raton. To the south and southeast, the city is bordered by Highland Beach on the same barrier island east of the Intracoastal Waterway. Directly to the north, the city is bordered by Boynton Beach. To the north and northeast, the city is bordered by Gulf Stream on the barrier island and along a section of mainland east of U.S. Route 1.   read more…

Theme Week Guyana – Georgetown

29 September 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Downtown Georgetown © flickr.com - amanderson2/cc-by-2.0

Downtown Georgetown © flickr.com – amanderson2/cc-by-2.0

Georgetown is the capital of Guyana, located in Region 4, which is also known as the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is the country’s largest urban centre. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed Garden City of the Caribbean. Georgetown serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre. It also serves as a financial services centre. The city recorded a population of 200,500 in the 2016 census. Georgetown is the seat of the central Government of Guyana. All Executive Departments are located in the city. Parliament Building, Guyana’s Legislative Building, is also found in Georgetown and so is the Court of Appeals, Guyana’s highest judicial court. The State House (the official residence of the Head of State), as well as the offices and residence of the Head of Government, are both located in the city. Georgetown is the capital city as well as the main economic base of Guyana.   read more…

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