Martha’s Vineyard on the Atlantic

19 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  8 minutes

Dock on Martha's Vineyard © flickr.com - m01229/cc-by-2.0

Dock on Martha’s Vineyard © flickr.com – m01229/cc-by-2.0

Martha’s Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony. It is accessible only by boat and air. It includes the smaller Chappaquiddick Island. Martha’s Vineyard is part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Lands. The island is a part of Dukes County, which also includes Cuttyhunk, as well as the island of Nomans Land, the latter of which is currently a US Wildlife preserve closed to the public. Martha’s Vineyard is divided into six towns. Each town is governed by a board of selectmen elected by town voters, along with annual and periodic town meetings. Each town is also a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which regulates island-wide building, environmental, and aesthetic concerns. Each town also follows certain regulations from Dukes County.   read more…

Vedado in Havana

16 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

John Lennon Memorial in Cuba © Christopher Hughes/cc-by-sa-3.0-us

John Lennon Memorial in Cuba © Christopher Hughes/cc-by-sa-3.0-us

Vedado is a central business district and urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Central Havana, and on the west by the Miramar / Playa district. Vedado is the most modern part of the city, developed in the first half of the 20th century, during the Republic period. The main street running east to west is Calle 23, also known as “La Rampa”. The northern edge of the district is the waterfront seawall known as the Malecón, a famous and popular place for social gatherings in the city. Vedado is a ward (consejo popular) of the municipality Plaza de la Revolución.   read more…

The Flatiron District in Manhattan

12 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flatiron District © flickr.com - Dave Lindblom/cc-by-2.0

Flatiron District © flickr.com – Dave Lindblom/cc-by-2.0

The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally the Flatiron District can be said to be bounded by 20th Street, Union Square and Greenwich Village to the south; the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) or Seventh Avenue and Chelsea to the west; 25th Street and NoMad to the north; Rose Hill to the northeast, and Lexington Avenue/Irving Place, Gramercy Park to the east.   read more…

Theme Week Venice – Lido di Venezia

9 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  6 minutes

Lido vaporetto terminal © Gary Houston

Lido vaporetto terminal © Gary Houston

The Lido – or Venice Lido (Lido di Venezia) – is an 11-kilometre (7-mile) long sandbar in Venice, northern Italy; it is home to about 20,000 residents. The sandbar form a barrier between the Adriatic Sea and the Venetian Lagoon. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido every September. Venezia Lido, a public airport suitable for smaller aircraft, is found on the NE end of Lido di Venezia. It has a 1000 m grass runway. Lido developed in the 19th century to the fashionable seaside resort with luxurious hotels.   read more…

The Marais in Paris

5 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  12 minutes

Place des Vosges © AlNo/cc-by-sa-3.0

Place des Vosges © AlNo/cc-by-sa-3.0

Le Marais (“The Marsh”) is a historic district in Paris. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements in Paris (on the Rive Droite, or Right Bank, of the Seine). In 1240 the Order of the Temple built its fortified church just outside the walls of Paris, in the northern part of the Marais. The Temple turned this district into an attractive area, which became known as the Temple Quarter, and many religious institutions were built nearby: the des Blancs-Manteaux, de Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie and des Carmes-Billettes convents, as well as the church of Sainte-Catherine-du-Val-des-Écoliers. From that time to the 17th century and especially after the Royal Square (Place Royale, current place des Vosges) was designed under King Henri IV in 1605, the Marais was the French nobility’s favorite place of residence. French nobles built their urban mansions there such as the Hôtel de Sens, the Hôtel de Sully, the Hôtel de Beauvais, the Hôtel Carnavalet, the Hôtel de Guénégaud and the Hôtel de Soubise.   read more…

The Las Vegas Strip

2 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  13 minutes

'Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas' sign © Pobrien301

‘Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas’ sign © Pobrien301

The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, internationally known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos along its route. The Strip is approximately 4.2 miles (6.8 km) in length, located immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester (however, the Strip is often referred to as being “in Las Vegas”). Most of the Strip has been designated an All-American Road, and is considered a scenic route at night. Many of the largest hotel, casino, and resort properties in the world are located on the Las Vegas Strip. Fifteen of the world’s 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 62,000 rooms. One of the most visible aspects of Las Vegas’ cityscape is its use of dramatic architecture. The rapidly evolving skyline and constant modernization of hotels, casinos, restaurants, residential high-rises, and entertainment offerings on the Strip, have established it as one of the most popular destinations for tourists in the United States, and the world. Historically, the casinos that were not in Downtown Las Vegas along Fremont Street were limited to outside of the city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard. In 1959 the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was constructed exactly 4.5 miles (7.2 km) outside of the city limits. The sign is today about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) south of the southernmost entrance to Mandalay Bay (the southernmost casino). Phrases such as Strip Area, Resort Corridor or Resort District are sometimes used to indicate a larger geographical area, including properties 1 mile (1.6 km) or more away from Las Vegas Boulevard, such as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, Palms Casino Resort and Hooters Casino Hotel. The eastern side of the Strip is bounded by McCarran International Airport south of Tropicana Avenue.   read more…

Oberpollinger in München

1 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, Shopping Reading Time:  6 minutes

© M(e)ister Eiskalt/cc-by-sa-4.0

© M(e)ister Eiskalt/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Oberpollinger is a known department store in Neuhauser Strasse in Munich. It is run by the The KaDeWe Group GmbH and is the largest by area department store in southern Germany. The building was built in 1905 by Max Littmann in the style of historicism, in the form of Neo-Renaissance and is a listed building.   read more…

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl

1 December 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

Statsraad Lehmkuhl and Lord Nelson © flickr.com - Bruno Girin/cc-by-sa-2.0

Statsraad Lehmkuhl and Lord Nelson © flickr.com – Bruno Girin/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a three-masted barque rigged sail training vessel owned and operated by the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation. It is based in Bergen, Norway and contracted out for various purposes, including serving as a school ship for the Royal Norwegian Navy.   read more…

Marina del Rey in California

30 November 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  8 minutes

Marina del Rey © Coolcaesar/cc-by-sa-3.0

Marina del Rey © Coolcaesar/cc-by-sa-3.0

Marina del Rey is an affluent seaside community in Los Angeles County in California. A Westside locale, the population is at 9,000. Fisherman’s Village offers a view of Marina del Rey’s dominant feature, the Marina, the world’s largest man-made small craft harbor with 19 marinas with capacity for 5,300 boats and is home port to approximately 6,500 boats. The harbor, the Los Angeles Times said in 1997, is “perhaps the county’s most valuable resource”. The marina itself, a specially designed harbor with moorings for pleasure craft and small boats, is surrounded by high-rise condos, hotels, apartments, shops, and restaurants. The area also includes the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute and the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center.   read more…

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