Theme Week Colombia – Bogotá

24 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  19 minutes

La Candelaria, the historical district © flickr.com - Pedro Szekely/cc-by-sa-2.0

La Candelaria, the historical district © flickr.com – Pedro Szekely/cc-by-sa-2.0

Bogotá, officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (lit. ‘Holy Faith of Bogotá) during the Spanish Colonial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest cities in the world. The city is administered as the Capital District, as well as the capital of, though not part of, the surrounding department of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economic, administrative, and industrial center of the country.   read more…

Hudson Valley in New York

19 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  12 minutes

Empire State Plaza in Albany © UpstateNYer/cc-by-sa-3.0

Empire State Plaza in Albany © UpstateNYer/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to Yonkers in Westchester County, bordering New York City. In the early 19th century, popularized by the stories of Washington Irving, the Hudson Valley gained a reputation as a somewhat gothic region characterized by remnants of the early days of the Dutch colonization of New York (“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow“). The area is also associated with the Hudson River School, a group of American Romantic painters who worked from about 1830 to 1870. Following the building of the Erie Canal, the area became an important industrial center. The canal opened the Hudson Valley and New York City to commerce with the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. However, in the mid 20th century, many of the industrial towns went into decline.   read more…

Theme Week Paraguay – Asunción

28 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  16 minutes

Calle Palma © Bruno Arriola/cc-by-sa-3.0

Calle Palma © Bruno Arriola/cc-by-sa-3.0

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay. The city is located on the left bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the River Pilcomayo, on the South American continent. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the northwest separate the city from the Occidental Region of Paraguay and Argentina in the south part of the city. The rest of the city is surrounded by the Central Department. The city is an autonomous capital district, not a part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San Antonio, Limpio, Capiatá and Villa Elisa, which are part of the Central Department. The Asunción metropolitan area has over 2.2 million inhabitants.   read more…

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