Travel

Travel With Kids – England rejoins the Roberts family after wrapping up their sightseeing adventures in Travel With Kids – London. If you haven’t had the pleasure of viewing a title in the extensive Travel With Kids series, I recommend you read my review of Travel With Kids – London to become familiar with the general premise and background of their kid-centric travelogues. The DVD is separated into two separate episodes of Travel With Kids. Taking advantage of their Brit Rail passes the Roberts family makes their way to the historic city of Bath in the first episode. Viewers are introduced to the origins and development of the ancient Roman spa town. The familiar English narrator comedically leads children into the succession of rule over Bath, and England itself, tracing the line of fluctuating ownership of the town to the current monarchy. The family explores both the modern expression of Bath and its rich culture while delving into the ruins and remains of
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If I could change the world I would create a program that made going abroad easier and more attractive for college-aged people. I’m a kinesthetic learner. I have to touch, feel, and otherwise experience something before it takes up gray matter. Classes with a lecture portion and a lab never made much sense to me. Why suffer through an hour trying to remain still? Tomorrow is lab day, and in lab you get to do something instead of hearing about things other people have done. History class was particularly painful. It was an overload of dates and names and events that meant absolutely nothing to me. It all seemed very random - until, that is, I began to travel. While Oklahoma has a rich past of its own, it is a blip on the sonar of history and world affairs. An epiphany that stands out in my mind is my family vacation to the Northeast. The Freedom Trail — an historic walk through Boston — changed my world. Suddenly, all the dreary speeches on the Revolution were cast into
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When we think about vacations, "Where would I like to go?" is probably the most frequent question. Peter Greenberg, the travel editor for NBC’s Today show, CNBC and MSNBC, suggests "Where should I avoid?" should also be on the list. In Don't Go There!: The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World, Greenberg surveys a wide range of things that might cause serious pause about a particular locale or a method of getting there. Greenberg takes a worldwide look at factors ranging from the environment to weather to traffic conditions to the risk of natural disasters while still opining on such things as the worst cruises, hotels, airports and airlines. His opinions are downright brutal at times: "I'm sorry. Unless you like ugly, oily beaches and a totally unimpressive waterfront, Galveston, Texas, is a definite don't-go-there destination." "Would I go to Haiti? Sure, but it sucks." Even on a good day
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As I senior in high school, I was drawn to Norway. Most people would probably prefer Hawaii. Who actually goes to Norway for vacation? Not too many. But Norway is unique. Norway has snow, mountains, fjords, and women more beautiful than the country they inhabit. I heard a Norwegian man say the Vikings stole all the beautiful women when they went on raids to England, so that’s why Scandinavians have godlike good looks while the British, not so much. For some reason, all those things seemed cool to me. I was very lucky, because my dad agreed to take me to Norway. He travels often, mostly to China for business, and has thousands upon thousands of frequent flier miles. Since he has so much, I was even able to convince him to allow my best friend at the time, Steven, to come along. For two weeks we toured the country. We stayed in Oslo, Bergen, and Jotenheimen National Park further inland. But the most exotic place we went was the North Cape, the farthest north point in Europe. I wanted
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This series, Spain…On The Road Again is a lighthearted but "sometimes food, wine, and scenery intensive" show that brings you the best Spain has to offer in all three categories. And when you’ve got hosts such as famed actress Gwyneth Paltrow; the Iron Chef, Mario Batali; Spanish actress and linguist Claudia Bassols; and New York Times writer Mark Bittman, combined with the sometimes breathtaking beauty, the wonderful food and the robust wines of Spain [not to mention the famed Spanish sun], you’ve got a can’t-miss show that bathes you in gustatory opulence. You can find good food and wine anywhere, but in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the food and wine seduce you, beg you to partake of their sustenance. The reds are redder, the greens greener, the spices spicier. Another millimeter and it would all be over the top, but the Med does it to perfection. [Even though Basque country borders on the Atlantic.] This week’s episode takes
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Growing up near New York City, school field trips to the Bronx Zoo were a regular thing; I don't think a year went by in elementary school when we didn't go to the zoo.  Additionally, with grandparents who were members, there were a lot of non-school trips there as well. The Bronx Zoo is a place I remember fondly, and consequently, on a recent trip back to the area, I went with my wife (who also grew up going there on a regular basis) and my two-year-old daughter, who had never been.  The day started out well enough, with my daughter going through the Children's Zoo, examining all the various birds and ducks and wallabies.  Though she was a little young to read about all the animals, she had no trouble trying to perform the same six-foot standing jump a bullfrog can achieve (she was unsuccessful).  And, while they may have been a mite scary, feeding the goats and sheep proved just as fun to her as I remember it being. Then, with newly arrived
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New York City Parks Department tours kick ass. A few weeks ago we had a special bus tour of Fresh Kills, the huge Staten Island landfill, now closed, capped, and being planted in preparation for eventual conversion to parkland, but not generally open to the public at this point. This weekend, another Urban Park Ranger took us through the old fort at Fort Totten, a Civil War-era granite fortress on the Willets Point peninsula on the north coast of Queens. A short distance across the water from Fort Totten, on a spit of land jutting south from the Bronx and now in the shadow of the Throgs Neck Bridge, is Fort Schuyler, which dates from the 1830s and is now the SUNY Maritime College. The two forts were built to defend against a British naval attack on New York City from the east via Long Island Sound. In the War of 1812 the British had burned Washington, DC, not New York. But the former New Amsterdam was too important a mercantile center to risk leaving vulnerable. During the Civil War
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In Germany, the word “schloss” means castle or “manor house.” These are historic structures, many first built during the Roman times near the very best vineyards in the land. The idea was to create a grand estate to showcase the quality of the vineyards and the wine. With wineries in San Ynez, California considered old at twenty, a 650-year-old winery seems very ancient indeed. Yet this is the age of Schloss Schonborn in Germany’s Rheingau region, which goes back to 1349. Owned by Paul Graf von Schonborn-Wiesentheid, it is the largest family owned estate in the Rheingau comprising some 125 acres (50 hectares) of top vineyard sites. The winery has recently been modernized with stainless steel tanks. Many of the wines produced here make their way to Asia and North America so look for the brand on your wine store shelf. What makes the Riesling of Schloss Schonborn special are the south facing vineyards which face the Rheingau river, reflecting the sun and
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In Latin America and Europe combined, approximately 250,000 bulls die each year. Do these bulls fall prey to a deadly virus, perhaps? Far from it. The bulls are tortured and killed for the sake of entertainment. Have we evolved at all since the Roman times? Latest polls show that over 72% of Spanish citizens have no interest in bullfighting, yet, because of a small group of influential people in Spain, this inhumane tradition is being kept alive. Fortunately, in Europe and Latin America a growing segment of the population is standing up against bullfighting and calling for an end to this cruel spectacle. Here to talk about bullfighting and what we can do to help is Alyx Dow, Programmes Officer (Anti-Bullfighting) for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). Thank you for this interview, Alyx. Could you start by giving us some historical information on how bullfighting began? What is its origin? There is not much specific information on how or where bullfighting began,
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Manchester is not the rainiest city in Britain. This myth-shattering observation came to me on a sunny morning at the top of the city’s Big Wheel. A weekend of clement weather seemed to be undermining the Mancunian reputation for precipitation. The Big Wheel is just one of the innovations I encountered while returning to Manchester after a ten-year gap. Suspended 180 feet above the ground, I spotted plenty of additions to the landscape. Among them was Urbis, a 21st century crystal palace. Urbis celebrates all things metropolitan, with über-cool exhibitions on fashion, photography, and graphic art. At the same time, the building makes an exhibition of itself. The sleek curves and angles of this vision in peppermint clearly trumpet the city’s cutting edge credentials. But while Manchester might be proclaiming its faith in the future, the city hasn’t been neglecting its past. Funded by a 19th century cotton king, the John Rylands Library is an uplifting homage to
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