Tag Archives: UNESCO Sites
Mar-2024
We checked off the most epic adventure to date…hiking the DOLOMITES! It’s truly a hiker’s paradise and even pictures can’t capture the true beauty of these Italian Alps. Let’s start with how the Dolomites were formed: The Dolomites began “emerging” from the richly stratified seafloor during the Cretaceous – roughly 100 million years ago – […]
Nov-2023
I have to admit, I’ve been putting off visiting Venice for YEARS because I didn’t want the crowds to ruin our experience. And, yes, Venice is very congested. But if you can bare the swarms of tourists until the evening hours…this city is utterly magical! Here is a brief glimpse into our evenings exploring this […]
Jul-2023
Buongiorno! We kicked off our summer 2023 European adventures in Bologna, Italy. Bologna is world-famous for its immense cultural, historical and artistic heritage. Breathtaking churches, museums and gardens, the famous porticoes and medieval squares, not to mention the delicious Bolognese cuisine which is known and acclaimed worldwide. It’s one of the lesser touristy cities, but […]
The Knights Templar held enormous power in Portugal from the 12th to 16th centuries, and largely bankrolled the Age of Discoveries. Convento de Cristo is known as a convent, but it was built in 1160 as a headquarters for the Knights Templar, the formidable Catholic military that answered to the Pope. When sovereigns feared the Pope had too […]
Jun-2022
Gibraltar is an extremely unique place. With a quirky melting pot of Spanish, English, and North African cultures, it’s hard not to resist popping on over into Britain’s overseas territory of Gibraltar, when in Southern Spain. And there are likely few places in the world that you enter by walking across an airport runway to […]
Known for the dwellings of the people whom archaeologists once called the “Anasazi” (a derisive Navajo term meaning “ancient enemy”). Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County, Colorado, is home to some of the world’s most beautiful sandstone and adobe structures. The twelfth and thirteenth-century rectangular homes — and circular, subterranean religious structures called “kivas” […]
May-2022
Brú na Bóinne, which means the ‘palace’ or the ‘mansion’ of the Boyne, refers to the area within the bend of the River Boyne which contains one of the world’s most important prehistoric landscapes. Newgrange, Ireland’s best known Neolithic tomb and was built during the Neolithic period around 3000 BC to 2500 BC, making it older than […]
May-2022
The Alhambra, a 14th-Century Palace and fortress in the hills of Granada, is a must-see during any visit to the Andalusia region in Southern Spain. The name Alhambra, signifying in Arabic “the red,” is probably derived from the reddish color of the tapia (rammed earth) of which the outer walls were built. The Alhambra is […]
Located in the heart of Andalusia (between Seville and Granada), the The Antequera Dolmens is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The complex contains three megalithic monuments: the Menga and Viera dolmens and the Tholos of the Romeral. The Viera Dolmen is a corridor tomb consisting of a long passage divided into two sections, at the […]
May-2022
Just like majority of travel in the past two years, nothing is like it used to be. With that being said, we made the most of our two weeks (Dec 2021-Jan 2022) exploring Montreal & Quebec City enduring many restrictions (ie: indoor dining closing towards the end of our trip) and permanent closures (hello Christmas […]
From the historic center of Sintra, you can access the Moorish Castle and also the Pena National Palace through signposted trails. The trails take hikers through the forest, the small watercourses and some gardens and old villages. Built by the Moors, The Castle of the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros) was built sometime between the 8th […]
Jan-2019
With the white and icy blue snow contrasting against the red, brown and tans of the canyon walls, winter is a spectacular time of year to visit the Grand Canyon’s South Rim! With over six million visitors a year traveling to view the canyon, the winter months tend to see far less sightseers due to […]