Jul 18th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Madrid offers a wide range of interesting day trips, from a Renaissance castle and Spanish Civil War bunker to challenging hikes. My personal favorite is the ancient town of Segovia just on the other side of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. With a beautiful cathedral and castle, one of the best preserved Roman aqueducts anywhere, winding medieval streets, and delicious cuisine, it's a great ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
castles posts
Madrid day trip: Segovia
Jul 18th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Madrid offers a wide range of interesting day trips, from a Renaissance castle and Spanish Civil War bunker to challenging hikes. My personal favorite is the ancient town of Segovia just on the other side of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. With a beautiful cathedral and castle, one of the best preserved Roman aqueducts anywhere, winding medieval streets, and delicious cuisine, it's a great ...Mystery mound in England turns out to be ancient monument
Jun 2nd, 2011 at 9:00AM:
England's prehistoric landscape has a new addition.
Marlborough Mound in Wiltshire has long been a mystery. The flat-topped cone of earth looks like a smaller version of Silbury Hill, pictured here. The bigger mound was finished around 2300 BC at a time when Neolithic farmers were erecting stone circles such as Stonehenge and Avebury. Now archaeologists have taken samples from Marlborough ...Skeletons at royal castle in Scotland killed in battle, experts say
May 29th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Stirling Castle in Scotland was the scene of several brutal sieges and battles in its violent history. Now a new exhibition looks at the castle's past and the grim discovery of several skeletons in the Royal Chapel showing signs of violent death.
One man had 44 skull fractures from repeated blows with a blunt object, and up to 60 more over the rest of his body. The Middle Ages were a pitiless ...Salt, wine, and wealth in Spain's Basque region
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:00PM:
In the modern world we don't give much thought to salt. We casually pick some up in the supermarket or tear open a packet at a café, but in the past salt was a vital and sought-after commodity. Everyone needed it for preserving food and as a source for iodine. Nobody could live without it and those who controlled its supply became rich and powerful.
The Basque region of Spain was a ...Hiking through Spain's Basque region
May 19th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
Most tourists who visit Spain stick to the central and southern parts of the country--Madrid, Granada, Seville, Barcelona, and the Costa del Sol. They generally skip the greener, more temperate north. If they head north at all, it's to stop in Bilbao in Spain's Basque region to see the Guggenheim.
Yet the Basque region has much more to offer. In Spain, it's an Autonomous Community, something ...Syria unrest: will there be another massacre in Hama?
May 11th, 2011 at 12:30PM: Syrian army tanks 'moving towards Hama'.
Just another headline about unrest in the Middle East. I've read so many, but this one made me shudder. One thing travel does for you is make the world more than just a headline. I've been to Hama.
I visited Syria back in 1994 as a young college graduate with a backpack, a bit of Arabic, and no responsibilities. I spent a month exploring ...The best views of Oxford, England
May 4th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
Oxford is the most beautiful city in England. Its famous "dreaming spires" have inspired generations of writers, poets, and scholars. The problem is, there are only two easily accessible spots to get appreciate Oxford's skyline at its best.
This photo shows the Radcliffe Camera, part of Oxford University's Bodleian Library and where I work when I'm not feeding hyenas in Harar, Ethiopia. I ...Bamburgh Castle excavation reveals Anglo-Saxon building
Apr 22nd, 2011 at 11:00AM:
An excavation in the courtyard of Bamburgh Castle has uncovered an Anglo-Saxon hall, the BBC reports.
It was already known that there was a castle here from the 6th century AD, when England was a patchwork of small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The kingdom of Northumbria was the largest and one of the most powerful. Little was known about the Anglo-Saxon period at Bamburgh, however, because of the ...Bargain shopping for castles - a fire sale on Ireland real estate
Mar 24th, 2011 at 10:00AM: The great recession hit Ireland especially hard. Irish bankers lent money they didn't have to people that spent it on speculative real estate made more expensive by the Irish bankers flooding the market with the money they didn't have. Basically, cash became too accessible and property prices skyrocketed. This is the nature of any proper bubble. Like the tulips in 17th century Holland or a Jose ...Top five sights of Ethiopia: traditional tribes, rock-hewn churches, and medieval castles
Mar 2nd, 2011 at 9:00AM:
As I mentioned on Monday, I'm moving to Harar, Ethiopia, for two months to explore the ancient and unique culture in that medieval walled city. Before settling in, I thought I'd share some of the most popular places to visit in the country. Many of them were covered in my travel series about Ethiopia during my visit last year. All but the Southern Tribes are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
...Madrid daytrip: a Renaissance castle and Spanish Civil War bunker
Feb 18th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
Madrid has a lot to offer--tasty tapas, wonderful wine, and amazing art. There's so much to do in the center of town it's easy to spend your entire vacation there without ever seeing the outskirts. Yet several daytrips offer a different look at Spain.
One possibility just opened up last year. Near the Metro stop Alameda de Osuna on the outskirts of town, the city government has recently ...Paradores: the historic luxury hotels of Spain
Jan 13th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
Spain is known for its rich history, fine art, and excellent cuisine. By staying at a government-owned Parador, you can get all three right in your hotel.
Just look at this shot by Michael Stallbaum . This castle in Zafra, Extremadura, dates to 1437 and was once home to a duke. It's the sort of place where you'd expect to pay a few euros, get your ticket stamped, and line up for the guided ...Top five castles of Extremadura, Spain
Jan 10th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Spain is one of the best countries in the world to see castles. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Iberian peninsula was split between various Christian states and the Moors, Muslim invaders from North Africa. These factions fought and traded with each other in a constantly changing network of political alliances. Leaders protected their domains with castles and walled cities. One of the hot ...Mystery tunnel discovered at Lincoln Castle
Nov 27th, 2010 at 1:00PM: Archaeologists excavating at Lincoln Castle in England have discovered a mysterious tunnel under the courtyard. The tunnel is linked to a circular structure of unknown use and delves into the ground. The archaeological team hasn't finished its work or discovered where the tunnel leads.
Europe has many traditions of hidden tunnels connecting buildings or going to secret caves or hideouts.
The ...Human castles may make UNESCO World Heritage list
Nov 15th, 2010 at 11:00AM:
You gotta love Spain. Not only do they like having giant tomato fights and getting chased through the streets by bulls, but they build giant castles out of people.
That's right. Not content with having some of the best castles in Europe, the Spaniards like constructing living towers up to ten people high. Called a castell, the tradition originated in the region of Catalonia in the 18th ...
Top five best castles of Yorkshire
Oct 22nd, 2010 at 3:00PM:
Yorkshire has always been a troubled region of England. It was on the front line of fighting between the English and the Scots and saw lots of action in the English Civil War, when the forces of Parliament under Oliver Cromwell fought the Royalists supporting King Charles I. Because of this, many castles dot the landscape, including some of the most magnificent the country has to offer. Here are ...York: capital of England's north
Oct 19th, 2010 at 3:30PM: So far my journey through Yorkshire has been one of small towns and moorlands, yet the most popular destination in Yorkshire is the city that gives the shire its name--York. No trip to the north of England would be complete without checking out this historic city.
A brief look at York's long history
Like many English cities, York's origins are lost in prehistory. It's first recorded in the ...Colchester Castle celebrates 150 years as a museum
Oct 6th, 2010 at 11:00AM: It's not often that a museum becomes a museum piece.
The Colchester Castle Museum recently celebrated its 150th birthday. Located in Essex, England, and housed in one of the best preserved Norman castles in the world, the museum boasts a massive collection of Roman artifacts.
Colchester used to be the capital of Roman Britain until it was leveled by the warrior queen Boudica in 60 AD. As the ...Durham: castles, cathedrals, and monsters in northern England
Sep 1st, 2010 at 9:00AM:
Ever hear of Durham? Unless you're British or a church historian, you probably haven't. That's because a disproportionate number of visitors to England never get beyond London and its neighbors Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, and Stratford-upon-Avon. This concentration on southern England means that many visitors miss out on seeing the beauties of the country's north.
Durham is one of the north's ...The East Highland Way day six: strange sculptures and cursed castles
Aug 27th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
It's the last day of my hike along the East Highland Way and the trail has given me a special wake-up treat, namely this view of Loch Insh in the early morning. I love this photo because it captures the most alluring aspect of Scottish lochs--the way their placid waters reflect and soften the light. Lochs are the magic mirrors of the Highlands, capturing the surrounding trees and hills and ...
