Yalta's Famous Castle of Love: In Yalta, its famous Swallow’s Nest is not a bird's nest, but rather a Love Nest, built by Baron von Steingel for his ballerina mistress. It seems that it was a trend at that time for men of standing to have ballerinas as mistresses, so the good Baron was keeping in step with trends. In Ukrainian, “Maya Lastochka” or My Swallow is a term of endearment used to refer to one's sweetheart. Interestingly, prior to the Baron's castle, there was another structure … [Read more...]
Monastery of the Caves (Lavra)
November 16, 2009 by
Kievo-Pecherska Lavra - a World Heritage Site: The word Lavra is used to describe high-ranking monasteries for monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Kyiv's World Heritage Lavra is the city's most extensive and amazing sightseeing attraction. Locally called Kievo-Pechersk Lavra, the name of the monastery is also translated as Kiev Cave Monastery, Kiev Caves Monastery or the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. The word Pechera means cave. The Lavra or Monastery of the Caves was founded by its … [Read more...]
London Attractions and London Sightseeing
November 8, 2009 by
The Essential Introduction to London: If you're new to London or haven't visited for a while, don't waste your precious holiday time trying to find out where places are. The best and quickest way to get an orientation of where all your London sightseeing attractions are is to join a hop-on-hop-off tour. The Original London Sightseeing Tour is one of the hop-on hop-off buses that lets you experience the essential introduction to London aboard the original sightseeing tour. You'll see all the … [Read more...]
London Museums – Some Interesting Small Museums
November 7, 2009 by
London's interesting small museums: London is full of interesting museums and galleries that cover almost every conceivable subject matter. The British Museum alone is said to hold 1.5 million objects in its collection and it would take a lifetime to see them all. But London also has a range of small museums that rarely make the London itineraries of visitors and are often overlooked. Many of these local and specialist London museums are cheap or free to visit, offer special insider's … [Read more...]
Nazaré's Fishing Tradition
November 6, 2009 by
Portugal's Famous Fishing Town: With its natural beauty and stretches of long sandy beaches, Nazaré is a popular Portuguese beach resort and each year thousands of local and overseas tourists come to enjoy this lovely beach-side town. Walking along the seafront, it is quite obvious that tourism is the main contributor to Nazaré 's income. Yet, up until the 20th century, fishing, fish processing and sale of fish were the main source of livelihood for the people of Nazaré. Change in Fishing … [Read more...]
Sítio Sightseeing Attractions | Nazaré
November 5, 2009 by
Sitio - A different world altogether: A short funicular ride up from Nazaré and we're in Sítio, the old part of town that sits on the cliff-top. I'm really pleased that we've sacrificed the sardines and cakes in Nazaré to come up here as it's a different world altogether. Being away from the sea, farming is a means of livelihood rather than fishing. There are a couple of lookouts along the edge of the bluff from where the views of Nazaré's golden beach and its harbour are really … [Read more...]
Nazare | Funicular Railway to Sitio
November 5, 2009 by
Ascenor da Nazare 1889 - 2009: 2009 marks the 120th anniversary of the Nazare's Funicular. This century-old public transport mode was inaugurated on July 28, 1889. The funicular railway is considered to be one of the better initiatives of the town's history, allowing the growth and development of the district of Sitio, on top of the hill, as well as providing an easier access to the beach quarter. Before the funicular railway was built, access was quite difficult as there were only a … [Read more...]
Nazaré – Portugal's Famous Fishing Village
November 4, 2009 by
Portugal's Famous Fishing Village: We arrive in Nazaré at lunchtime, after a 45 minutes drive from Batalho. This little fishing village with its huge stretch of beautiful sandy beach is a pleasant change of scenery from the castles, fortresses and churches that we've been visiting. We've already been primed on what to eat here, which restaurant has the best sardines or fish stew and who has the best cakes and coffee. Pedro our tour director recommends "Restaurante O Tamanco" for its … [Read more...]
Remember Remember the 5th of November – Guy Fawkes Day
November 2, 2009 by
The 5th of November is Guy Fawkes Day - Remember, Remember the 5th of November: The 5th of November is Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night in Britain and all around the country you'll find Bonfire Night festivities and massive firework displays. This British tradition dates back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and King James I. So Who Was Guy Fawkes? Guy Fawkes was a Roman Catholic and part of a group of Catholic … [Read more...]
Canal Cruises and Canal Holidays – Regents Canal
October 30, 2009 by
Take a canal cruise along the historic Regents Canal: The Regent's Canal runs from the Limehouse Basin in East London's Docklands to Little Venice in north-west London's Maida Vale. You can do canal cruises on the prettiest and most interesting section of the canal - between Camden Lock and Little Venice. Canal Cruise Operators Jenny Wren Jenny Wren provides canal cruises on their traditional narrowboat at Camden. They have two trips a day - at 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm - leaving from … [Read more...]