Jul 20th, 2011 at 9:00AM: Segovia is an easy day trip from Madrid and has plenty of medieval and Renaissance buildings to capture the imagination. Yesterday I talked about the Alcázar, the city's castle, and today I'm looking at Segovia's many churches.
Most of the churches are Romanesque in style, like Iglesia de la Veracruz, which was actually built outside the city walls in 1208. The signage says this church ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
renaissance posts
Madrid day trip: Romanesque churches and a Gothic cathedral in Segovia
Jul 20th, 2011 at 9:00AM: Segovia is an easy day trip from Madrid and has plenty of medieval and Renaissance buildings to capture the imagination. Yesterday I talked about the Alcázar, the city's castle, and today I'm looking at Segovia's many churches.
Most of the churches are Romanesque in style, like Iglesia de la Veracruz, which was actually built outside the city walls in 1208. The signage says this church ...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 ...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 ...Five steps to free Mexico and Caribbean travel from Marriott and Renaissance
Nov 29th, 2010 at 1:30PM: Need a little sunshine in your life this holiday season but can't get out on the road? Hey, I get it: we all shell out enough cash this time of year. There are gifts for the kids, unavoidable family travel and those Christmas dinners that get expensive pretty quickly. These costs can sneak up on you, depriving you of a little mental health time out on a beach somewhere.
Well, a travel contest ...Marriott Renaissance New York Times Square: Manhattan's hidden hotel treasure
Nov 3rd, 2010 at 2:00PM: There's a lot to love about Times Square. The bright lights of Broadway, the scrolling marquees, endless restaurants and bars, TKTS booth and on any given occasion, a live street performance. Times Square is the epicenter of New York - the convergence of everything - the mecca of Manhattan.
Tourists come in droves, book Times Square hotels and spend the majority of their time walking Broadway ...Saints' relics in Rome
Sep 23rd, 2010 at 11:30AM:
Everywhere you go in Rome, there are body parts on display.
The churches are full of them, and people travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to see them. They're the mortal remains of saints and apostles and are venerated as holy relics.
Relics were big business in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Every church wanted some because it meant pilgrims would come visit, and pilgrims meant ...The tombs of Rome--where art meets death
Sep 15th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
If you're going to your eternal rest in the Eternal City, you should go in style.
Sure, you can't take it with you, but you can show off what you had, and with all the competition in this place you have to do something special to make an impression. Rome is filled with grandiose monuments to the dead. First there are the giant tombs and temples of the Roman emperors. They were worshiped as ...Atlanta loses three hotels to weak market, two to become dorms
Aug 6th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Three hotels have succumbed to weakness in the Atlanta market. Among the recent casualties is the 502-room Marriott Renaissance. Rates have been pushed lower by an abundance of capacity that has caused even top brands to get stuck charging less than $100 a night. When there's far more supply than demand, of course, this is what happens.
Joining the Renaissance in the graveyard will be the ...Renaissance Hotels let the kids pamper mom with a pancake playdate
Apr 14th, 2010 at 1:30PM: Renaissance Hotels wins my prize for the most creative Mothers Day promotion this year (and yes - we get emailed a lot of them!). On Sunday May 9th, participating Renaissance properties will open up their kitchens just for kids - and the hotel chef will guide your little ones through the art of making the perfect pancake.
Prices for this pancake brunch start at just $25, and kids can make mom ...Take a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel
Apr 3rd, 2010 at 3:30PM: Seeing the Vatican's Sistine Chapel is a hassle. It's constantly mobbed, you're not allowed to take pictures (unlike the sneaky photographer on the right) and you have to walk through a maze of rooms to reach it. But the minute you gaze up at the beauty of this Michelangelo masterpiece, all the pains of getting there evaporate. Now there's a totally new way to view this stunning masterwork without ...Renaissance hotels offers the sweetest of suites for Valentine's day
Jan 27th, 2010 at 11:30AM:
Around Valentine's day, we tend to get a huge amount of emails promoting the various romantic hotel deals on offer around the country. The vast majority are pretty boring, and involve little more than some Champagne in the room. Thankfully, every now and then someone sends something that is just too awesome to ignore.
Take for example the Renaissance New York Hotel 57 where you can book ...Some hotel futures at risk
Jul 26th, 2009 at 12:00PM: The number of hotels defaulting on their loans surged 125 percent in May and June this year. Travel is down (no shit), which has an obvious effect on the top line. When there's no money coming in, it's hard to send cash out to meet some pretty hefty obligations. So, if none comes in, none can go out ... and defaults start to rise.
Some high-profile properties have defaulted already, including ...
