Tagged With "Italian hill towns"
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Re: Top 10 Most Beautiful Gardens In The World
Any such list would be contentious, of course. However, this one doesn't contain a single garden in Africa and this, in my opinion, is a serious omission. The Majorelle Garden in Marrakesh and the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town would be obvious contenders. There are also many more fantastic gardens in Asia - e.g. the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#308)
Today we get to see a statue located in the town concerned as well as a chandelier. The latter is what many visitors see within minutes of their arrival here
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Glad you're traveling again, Mac. Boston is my home town, and October is THE BEST MONTH. Where are you staying in the city? I'd walk the Freedom Trail if you're feeling up to it. Go down to the waterfront. Boston Common and Charles Street are fun places to hang out. Newbury Street is fancy shopping and also has a few fun bistros and coffee shops. The Science Museum is excellent. Plenty of seafood to be had. New England clam chowder is great if you have sweater-weather. Go whale-watching...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Thank you Dr. F. - wise words we will keep 1-2 hotels booked ahead and be flexible beyond that. We are really looking forward to this new 'slice' of America, I never realised that the Pilgrim fathers just named every new town after their old home towns - I'm going to be quite confused!! Thanks too Garry that looks lovely! I envy you being there ahead of us!! PS we are now on the verge of booking Cuba too and are horrified at the cost that Virgin Atlantic is trying to screw us for an upgrade...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov 17, 2015: Mdina Gates, Malta
Mdina is one of the few places I've been that's, in my experience, unlike any other. I thought it so beautiful on my first visit that I booked a room in the closest hotel just outside this gate and spent several days exploring it and the adjacent town of Rabat. Lunch at the restaurant of, I believe, the only hotel in Mdina, the Xara Palace , was memorable, wonderful service and food and a small compensation for not staying in the 5 star hotel. Thanks for the memory, IslandMan.
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Re: Heidelberg Castle: Where Gumbo Was (#135)
If you're referring to the marked area below, it's not an illusion, but not part of a building, either! There are buildings further up the hill, but not that close to the castle.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct 20, 2015: Sicilian Fiat
These cute little Fiats were only 633cc and air cooled. But the tiny little Fiat engines was banned from western Europe for their excessive emissions.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct 20, 2015: Sicilian Fiat
Belongs in the pantheon of true "people's cars" along with the Citroen 2CV and (dare I say it?) the ugly duckling of the lot...the Trabi, which was advanced over its peers in a number of ways. Ironic, isn't it, to think the original Fiat 300s like this one were banished for smoking, and now we find that VW's "clean diesel" was smoking a pack a day on the road!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct 20, 2015: Sicilian Fiat
Oh, and let's not forget the original Morris Mini-Minor...not as early as the others, but wonderful in its own right.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct 20, 2015: Sicilian Fiat
Let's also not forget the Volkswagon on the European side. And the Ford Model T, which so greatly dropped the cost of an automobile it became a mass consumer good.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct 20, 2015: Sicilian Fiat
This Tatra V570 was produced in 1933. Three years before the VW Beetle. It had a rear mounted air cooled engine. Lower centre of gravity to make it more stable. And aerodynamics to improve its efficiency. The Czech company tried to sue for copyright infringement - but Adolph H. dismissed the claim. He invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939. VW finally paid up in 1961.
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Re: Whitby - North Yorkshire Coastal Town
Camping on the pig farm beyond the abbey in the sixties �� But loved it. A fine wee nugget of a port town that never seems to lose its charm - there's no room, unlike sprawling cousins of Scarboro, Brid and Filey
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Re: Shunpiking Through Northern Ohio
I enjoy your journeys around " Small Town USA". The US has such a wealth of history. You should write a book so that Brits like me know where to search for new ventures - ready for my next trip across the pond. Thank You.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#294)
Today we get to see a couple of statues located in the town concerned. There are many more around.
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Re: Oct. 31, 2018: Dia de los Muertos, Cozumel, Mexico
Currently in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. Today was full of action all around town but especially in the zocalo with students dressing up the square and themselves. Tomorrow I’m off to a couple of villages and we’ll see what a Zapatista Dia de los Muertos looks like.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan, 21, 2014: Raccoon, Vancouver, British Columbia
And they are smart. When my kids were young, we used to camp every summer in Maine, at a site where raccoons came every night to feast at the cans. One year I decided I'd had enough, and brought chain tethers to keep the lids on. Worked fine, the lids stayed quiet all night. But in the morning, when we left our tents, we found that our two stryofoam coolers (which were not in use) had been shredded, all the implements from the table were on the ground, and the ropes securing our storage tarp...
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Re: Loiza - Afro-Puertorican Culture
When I lived in PR, in Santurce between Old San Juan and Isla Verde, the commercial street that served the area half a block from my apartment on Calle Taft was Loiza Street (Appears, from a google map to now be numbered, road 37). I wonder if it was the original road from San Juan to the town of Loiza in the early days. Do you know Jonathon? It certainly goes in the right direction.
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Re: Loiza - Afro-Puertorican Culture
Calle Loiza runs from Santurce to Isla Verde which is technically part of the township of Carolina. It currently ends at the border with Carolina, in a neighborhood called Punta Las Maria. I will do some research to see if i can find it's history, whether it actually went to Loiza, or is just named after the town.
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Re: Crashing the geocache
RU thinking that we should ask in the Craigslist Community section for each town where they want to geocache ? Do the kids use that Craigslist section a lot ? That is an interesting idea. Thanks for that. Like your selfie avatar
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Re: Suggestions wanted: Andalusia
Will you have a car? I ask, because if you will, you might consider stopping at one or more of the White Towns between Seville & Granada. I stayed a week in a house just outside Iznajar, a lovely little place, and visited a bigger town, Antequera, worth a stop. For a brief stop I'd recommend the smaller town, one of a number in the area, millions of olive trees everywhere. There is no train there although Antequera has a station, but outside the town. Below the town of Iznajar, beside...
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Re: Is Porto worth the trip?
Much as I loved my time in Porto...it's NOT a day trip. Much too much to do there, including evening stroll along the Douro, port-wine tasting across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia and more. I'd say take the advice above and save Porto for another trip. Of the recommended day trips above, I'd vote for Sintra. It's an easy trip--trains run about every 30 minutes, more frequently in rush hours, The town itself is interesting, the Moorish Castle up on the mountain and the Pena Palace above that...
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Re: Sedona AZ-Red Rocks rise above townscape
Well, that's a surprise! No, doesn't look familiar, appears to be in town rather than south of town as I was expecting. Looking at a map, it says Chapel of the Holy Cross, where I thought you were, unless it's changed utterly, which it could have of course. It's been a while.
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Re: The "Eiffel Tour" Only Starts with the Tour Eiffel
PHeymont, Your post reminded me that I had seen a pre-fabricated church designed by Eiffel in Baja, Mexico. It is in the small town of Santa Rosalia and still in use. There is more info here .
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Wow! This has been very helpful, especially the tip about the Youth Hostels. I'm definitely going to look into that. I think staying at a hostel can help me stay within my budget. I'd really like to go to the UK if at all possible. I know there are cheaper places, but there's only one England and I've always wanted to see it. I think I'd like to spend maybe a week in London then head into the country, maybe doing a circuit to include parts of Wales and Scotland. I need to do some thinking...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Hi Hank, In my opinion Manchester is really worthwhile to see and I loved it.Two libraries are really cool there,John Rylands and Chetham Library, in the School of Music.Also the Manchester Art Gallery and the Museum of Science and Industry are well done and free. Manchester has an area of town,the Northern Quarter,that has independant stores and cafes with no chains allowed that's also worth a walk around Liverpool has some excellent sights as well ,but I'll let the expert GarryRF tell you...
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Re: Montreal: Je Me Souviens
Re the name "Montreal": there is a town in France with the same name so it is not certain that the City of Montreal is called that because of Mont Royal. Apart from that small quibble, I heartily agree with all you have written about my home city. Oh, wait ... it really isn't so that "almost everyone speaks English quite well". Venture east of Blvd St Laurent and you'll soon find that isn't the case. But then the average visitor, unless by accident, will not find him/herself in the part of...
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Re: Sri Lanka: A Land Like No Other. (Part 5) The Elephants of Pinnawala
Thanks, PortMoresby! And we've not even been to the sacred tooth relic in Kandy, the medieval ruins of Polonnaruwa, the beautiful hill country filled with tea plantations and "The World's End", a wildlife safari at Yala National Park, nor any of the nice beaches (but keep reading -- reports on these are coming). Sri Lanka is a great destination, especially now that the civil war is over. I was doubly lucky to not only be able to visit a dear friend there but to have time to leisurely explore...
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Re: Capital of Culture Series: Liverpool
No, not thinking of mills and chimneys, necessarily--note my very pre-Industrial Revolution examples--but certainly industrial, and by the nature of sizable cities with people living in close quarters and with the side-products of their industry, an argument can be made for dirty. It's not a slam...it's just the condition of cities that are alive. Here's a quotation, by the way, from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health: The industrial revolution in England had by the beginning...
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Re: Capital of Culture Series: Liverpool
Originally Posted by PHeymont: According to JECH, there is an exhibit of reconstructed "back houses" at the Liverpool Museum of Liverpool Life. That must be a fascinating museum! And the author mentioned that while most of the back houses were town down in urban renewal, the few that remain have been turned into luxury housing! I visited a block of "back to backs" in Birmingham, the last left after thousands were demolished in the move to urban renewal in the city center. They've been...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 18th, 2014: Chihuahua Man of Marsaxlokk
Island Man, just over a year ago I landed on Malta after my freighter trip from Singapore. I stayed first in Marsaxlokk for several days, at Duncan Accommodations, above the bar of the same name, which it appears Chihuahua Man is looking right at! I loved the town, especially fun on market day. Thanks for the memory.
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Re: Cape Grace Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
It was part of a package that included safaris in Botswana and travel to Victoria Falls, so I'm not aware of the line item expense but the package was expensive. But it was a remarkable experience, Andredeya. I usually stay in "average" places but once in a while it's nice to pamper yourself. The Cape Grace will definitely pamper you More info on Cape Town HERE . A Daytrip from Cape Town HERE .
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Re: AAA Premier a Good Idea for Budget Travelers
AAA seems to choose their contracted towing services very well. I have always had good luck with them. I used the coverage when I had a break down with a rental car in a small town. The rental car company suggested that I call AAA for towing to their office in a nearby larger town to exchange the car. The rental car company had a contract with the same towing company that was under contract to AAA in that area. So that was very easy. If the tow goes over the 200 miles, they charge something...
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#313)
If you can identify the object in the photo, you will have a good idea of what kind of building we are in here. It is a key site in the town.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#313)
Wandering along the streets of the town you come across many elaborately decorated buildings.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo #297
Saturday's clues: This Second Empire style house, which was rare for this town, was built for a wealthy banker. The ionic portico of this other neoclassical revival structure mimics a Roman temple. If you think you know the answer, email it to TGsuggestions@gmail.com
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Re: Aug 4. 2016: Delaware City. Delaware.
I agree with Garry. Exploring small town America is tops! I love a few days in the big cities but feel at home in its small towns. Have yet to visit Delaware City but will check it out next time I'm in that part of the country. Imagine they have good crab?
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#178)
Here are today's clues. The boardwalks you see above take you through wetlands on the ridge of a hill. These are some photos of these wetlands, and what grows in them....
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#178)
Time for some more clues. Besides the water on the hill, our also has an interior attraction. There are two entrances to this interior attraction. The first photo is of the historic entrance, which is now fenced off -- from this opening you descended by rope. The second photo is of the newer entrance to our destination allowing you to walk in. I hope this helps....
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Re: Italy goes after beach hogs with €200 fines
I don't think the Italian authorities will collect many fines. Once people notice their chairs and tables confiscated, they wont go back and ask questions
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Re: Walking through New Orleans...nibbling
What's gonnin' on Paul? No breakfast at Angelina? No muffaletta at Napoleon House? No pastry at Sucre? Appreciate you got to Cochon, but did you go next door to the butcher? And the best shrimp and grits in town is at Atchafalaya.
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Re: Foodie Fun on Arthur Avenue
Now THIS is my idea of a great food tour! Wish I'd tagged along, and thanks for the advice on where to go for my favorite type of food.
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Re: Foodie Fun on Arthur Avenue
Arthur Avenue is definitely a stop on my next NYC visit. Unfortunately my regional area has a dearth of generational family run restaurants and small butcher shops, bakeries and the like.
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Re: Paris warned: bigger floods will happen
'An expert is an ordinary fellow from another town.' (Mark Twain)
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Re: Italian town bans barking
If this ban will be enforced, it is effectively a ban on having dogs in that town, because by their nature, dogs will bark. Some do it more than others, but they all will bark sometime. You can try to control and discipline them, but that will have limited success. People love their dogs. I know that's true of me and it's true of many others. Doesn't sound like the kind of place I'd want to live in.
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Re: Italian town bans barking
Calling Dr. Pavlov! We need you back to work on some other aspects of dog behavior. Seriously, it should be possible to train dogs not to bark; the question is what other behaviors would be affected?
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Re: Italian town bans barking
I've had a couple of barkless Basenjis before -but they made other noises besides barking, so I guess that breed still doesn't qualify in Controne
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Re: Italian town bans barking
You might be able to train dogs to bark less, but the only way you can get them not to bark is to surgically transect the nerves that go to their vocal cords, or to surgically mutilate the cords so they don't work any more. Sounds very compassionate, doesn't it?