It’s Monday and we’ve got a whole new week in front of us. So, as you know it by now, it’s also the time for you to find out all about the latest and the most interesting and impressive travel news all over the world.
About 250,000 people are expected at the Pennsylvania Convention Center
Amazing images from how Hindu devotees celebrate the start of spring
Everybody knows that India is one of the most colourful countries in the world! Therefore, when the time comes to celebrate the spring – the time of year when dark, bleak winter fades and flowers bloom into a thousand shimmering shades – they really have to pull out all the stops.
Imagine an explosion of colour and joy when thousands of Hindus come across India to celebrate the Lathmar Holi Festival.
634 meters high, Tokyo’s Sky Tree was completed February 29, 2012 and opens for visitors in May 2012. The new building supersedes China’s Canton Tower (600 meters high) as the world’s tallest tower, but is still nearly 200 meters shy of Dubai’s 830-meter Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure ever built.
Besides giving visitors a chance to gaze across the city, the tower will provide services for digital radio and TV transmission as well as an aquarium, a theatre, academic institutes and regional heating and cooling facilities.
Such spectacular attractions make me realise, once more, how smart and creative can people be. Don’t you think so?
Are you sure you know how to eat everywhere? Find out here 15 international food etiquette rules that might surprise you
Eating is simple and most of the times, a pleasure. However, when you head abroad, things get a little more complicated. Dean Allen, author of the “Global Etiquette Guide” series, explains why knowing what the etiquette rules are, can help you make friends – “It’s simply going to get you out of the tourist bubble”.
Do you love flowers? If so, don’t forget to stop by at the Philadelphia Convention Centre
This year’s theme, “Hawaii: Islands of Aloha”, invites visitors to wander through a tropical paradise. Exhibits include a fantasy surf shack, a beach wedding, a 25-foot-tall waterfall and a tribute to Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire.
And, of course, there will be flowers. Thousands upon thousands of orchids, anthurium and other blooms commonly associated with the Hawaiian isles will be spread throughout 10 acres of fragrant displays.
The Convention dates back to 1829 and is for certain one of the most beautiful in the world.
The Spring has showed its warming sunbeams and sweet scents in some parts of the world, so that’s a good reason to think about travelling to festivals that celebrate its arrival. Let’s see what’s going on in March 2012 and where you could travel to experience the joy of an exciting festival!
St Patricks Day London Parade by travel.aol.co.uk
St Patrick’s Day, 17 – 18 March, worldwide
Either in Ireland, the UK, Australia, Canada, USA, Singapore, Japan or the world wear green and drink a Guinness to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17 March to 18 March 2012. This event is an opportunity for the Irish to showcase all their traditions and culture with laughter, fun and lots of beer.
If you’re in London then you can attend the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 18 March. It involves marching bands, floats, street theatre and more. The parade, which begins at Green Park at 12pm, will proceed through central London to Trafalgar Square and will finish at 6pm.
Along with the Parade there will be the free St Patrick’s Day Festival in Trafalgar Square. The festival offers free entertainment including traditional Irish music, Irish speakers talking about Irish landmarks, concerts, outdoor activities and fireworks.
But the New Yorkers will probably be the most green of all, having even the Empire State Building going the Irish way.
The celebration of the ‘Las Fallas de Valencia’ is a five day festival with bonfires, fireworks, parades, noisy shows, food and other festivities that announce the arrival of spring. This is one of the most famous festivals in Valencia and it’s worth seeing it at least once in a lifetime.
If you plan to visit Spain, then take a trip to Valencia, but be aware that every day, during the festival, will start at 8am with ‘La Desperta’, a wake up call, while firecrackers are burned in the streets, traditional music fills the air and bands march down the main boulevards.
Locals will make paper sculptures aka ‘Fallas‘ that resemble famous characters, display them in the streets and then burn them in one of the greatest and most expensive bonfires you’ll probably ever see. Only one winning Falla will survive, being preserved for eternity in the Fallas museum.
But the most important night is Thursday night also known as ‘La Nit del Foc’, when it takes place the burning of the town hall Falla sculpture. It is a great festival of noise, joy and fireworks.
Thailand International Kite Festival, 9th – 11th March
This is one of the most colourful and enjoyable events in March, displaying over 100 types of kites from all over the world. It is the 11th Thailand International Kite Festival in the Cha–am district of Phetchaburi province.
In different shapes, colours, materials, sizes, the kites will fill the airspace of Thailand giving the tourists the golden opportunity to savour the international flavour of kite culture.
One of the best attractions this year will be the colourful display of fancy kites such as the world’s largest Panda Kites – which is the first time for Thailand, Octopus Kites, Squid Kites, etc. But the festival deepens into space technology, science, ancient art of flying traditional Thai kites and much more.
Shanghai Peach Blossom Festival, 25 March – 11 April
Enjoy the hundreds of peach trees while tasting some of the Chinese culture in the big Nanhui District. You can relax by listening to traditional Chinese music, folk or by watching dancers. It is a festival going on since 1991 and it introduces tourists to a variety of entertainments from watching acrobats, fishing with the locals to attending the pig races or enjoying the delicious Chinese cuisine.
National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, March 20 – April 27
If you are in Washington during this period, you will enjoy an array of spectacular events that celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Just the name of it makes us imagine the superb cherry flowers that welcome the arrival of Spring,
With over 3,000 cherry trees – a gift from the city of Tokyo to the USA capital – the city becomes a vibrant place bathing in white and pink flowers. It will be very busy, but you can enjoy a tour of the blossoms by boat, take a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride or attend one of the 90 special events happening on the two-week festival period.
Bath Literature Festival, England, Bath, 2nd – 11th March
You can travel the world for unusual, exciting events, but if you are a book lover then go to Bath for this annual event awaited by any book lover eager to dig in the analysis of their favourite works with their favourite authors.
This year’s big read are ‘The Golden Age of Arabic Science’, ‘Sacred Hearts’, ‘Alain de Bottom: Religion for Atheists’, along with some of the world’s literature greats like Hisham Matar, Ian Kershaw, Stella Rimington, Giles Gilbert Scott, Claire Tomalin on Dickens, Tony Parsons and Nadine Gordimer. The festival also includes events for children like group reading and other activities.
We know some of you are big fans of Anime, therefore you are not allowed to miss this annually held festival at Odaiba’s Big Sight convention center in Tokyo. It is one of the largest animation related events in the world. It is attended by over 250 Japanese and foreign TV and film production companies, as well as toy, game and software developers. You’ll have a blast with the cream of the Anime!
We’ve talked about this before and we showed you some superb pictures of the festival. It is,indeed, a celebration of fun and freedom using colour to express ourselves, to set our souls free, while embracing the spirit of love and respect.
The Festival of Colours commemorate the victory of good over evil and, surely, you will enjoy it as long as you don’t mind being splashed with colours and water, while dancing and consuming (not too much) Bhang, which is a traditional paste made from cannabis plants.
Come to this festival and you will see the great Rajput royalty symbol: the Elephant. The famous camels are forgotten during this day, which is a sort of introduction to the Holi festival from the next day.
Elegant elephants loaded with glitter and gold and astonishingly decorated parade on the streets of Jaipur in front of an acclaiming crowd. The regular events include best decorated elephant competition, elephant races, folk dances, and tug-of-war between elephants. Unfortunately the popular game of elephant polo has been missing from the festivals in the recent years.
However, the day ends with spectacular display of fireworks, while people start the splashing of Holi colours in a celebration of life and freedom.
Surely, the effervescent beginning of the Spring should be spent in India. With so many colourful and joyful festivals happening in the country, it’s hard to resist the temptation of jumping on a plane to India in order to dance under the colour and water sprinkles, admire the elephants or watch the fireworks.
Gangaur is the spring festival dedicated to the goddess of abundance and purity, Gauri (a manifestation of Parvati, Lord Shiva’s wife), and most of the festivities are conducted by women. On the day of the festival, a clothed idol of the goddess decorated with luxury jewelry is the centrepiece of an elaborate procession. Throughout the whole month some of the locals carry the idols from village to village and then return to where they started from.
Also, the festival brings in the custom of unmarried men and women who can choose their mates, elope and marry during this period. The rituals of the festival commence the day after Holi.
International Yoga Festival, Rishikesh, 1st – 7th March
Interested in Yoga? If so, this is the place where you want to be by the end of this week. Relax your body, feed your spirit, take a break from the ordinary daily stress and be part of this fast growing annual Yoga Festival.
During this one-week Festival, you will have the opportunity to participate in over 60 hours of Yoga classes from world-class Yoga teachers practicing multiple styles of Yoga including Kundalini Yoga, Power Vinyasa Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and Kriya Yoga. With more than 400 people from over 30 countries, the festival also offers evening discussions with some of India’s leading spiritual leaders.
And because we thought it would be a good idea to offer some alternatives to those of you looking to travel to music festivals in March, you can access this link HERE: ’There’ll be chances to party in the French Alps, roll around Australian fields or club-hop in Amsterdam.’
Enjoy your adventures and, please, share your experiences with us!
Monsanto Forest Park is a protected forest in Lisbon’s Western areas and is one of the largest green city parks in Europe, with almost 1000 ha. The park, often considered “the lung” of this thriving city, was created by an enormous conservation effort on the formerly barren Monsanto Hills and today it offers great opportunities for hiking, biking, and marveling at the stunning views of the bay in the distance.
9. Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland
Dublin’s Phoenix Park at 707 hectares is a historic landscape of international importance and one of the largest designed landscapes in any European city. It was originally established as a Royal deer park in the 17th century, but today it boasts the residence of the Irish President, a medieval castle, the Dublin Zoo, and a diversity of gardens and monuments.
8. Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia
Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardens runs along the eastern edge of the central business district and the northern end of the park just so happens to overlook Sydney Harbor, offering spectacular views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. In addition to world-class views, the gardens also offers a diversity of some of the most beautiful flora and fauna Australia has to offer.
7. Griffith Park, Los Angeles, USA
Griffith Park in LA is one of the largest and most diverse urban parks in the world (at 1700 ha). This often overlooked LA attraction cannot rival many of the other city parks on this list in terms of landscaped beauty, instead it this wild and unkempt park offers a multitude of enjoyable activities and world-famous landmarks, including; the Autry Center, the Hollywood sign, the Griffith Observatory, the historic Greek Theatre, the LA Zoo, and stunning views of the sprawling metropolis that is Los Angeles.
6. Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany
Stretching from the Brandenburg Gate in the east to Zoo Station in the west, Berlin’s Tiergarten is one of Europe’s largest and most beautiful inner-city parks. Originally conceived as a hunting ground for Prussian kings, the Tiergarten is today transformed into a bustling park that homes the excellent Berlin Zoo, the Victory Column monument, the Bellevue Palace, and several picturesque lakes and walking paths.
5. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, USA
Designed as a replica of New York’s Central Park (look a bit further down in the list), this 405ha park attracts 13 million visitors a year (making it one of San Francisco’s most popular attractions). The park offers a wealth of intriguing attractions that keeps visitors coming back for more; the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden, De Young Museum, the Academy of Sciences, the Conservatory of Flowers, a Bison paddock, a couple of lakes, and beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge.
4. Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo’s Ueno Park is revered as the primary destination for rest, relaxation and recreation in the massive capital of Japan. Replete with Shinto shrines, a rental boat lake, a lotus pond, and home to the city zoo, the National Science Museum, the Tokyo National Museum and the Museum of Western Art, Ueno Park is the ideal getaway from the chaos of the city streets surrounding it. The park truly comes to life with its complete natural beauty as hundreds of cherry trees blossom in April of every year.
3. Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain
The whimsical architect Antonin Gaudi’s works are present throughout Barcelona, yet it is his park, Parc Guell, that provides one of his most enduring and beloved legacies to locals and tourists alike. Parc Guell is surely smaller than most other parks on this list, but it makes up for it in uniqueness, hipness, and beauty. This unusual city park blends colorful mosaics, biomorphic sculptural elements, stunning natural beauty, and unrivaled views across the city all the way to the Mediterranean beaches.
2. Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada
Stanley Park is the true heart of Vancouver, emblematic of local’s passion for the outdoor and epitomizing the rugged natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest as dense forest and untamed ocean collide. Scenic paved pathways throughout the park allow for walking, jogging, rollerblading, or cycling along beautiful gardens, native totem poles at Brockton Point, Pacific Ocean beaches, and Vancouver Aquarium.
1. Central Park, New York City, USA
New York City’s Central Park is the city park by which all other city parks are judged by. The first purpose-built public park in North America (1856) is located in uptown Manhattan, nestled amongst skyscrapers and some of the priciest real estate in the world. Today, this emerald oasis provides a welcome tranquility away from the noisy and chaotic streets of the city, and allows visitors to view the romantic Bethseda Fountain, the mysterious Belvedere Castle, the lively Delacorte Theater, restored carousels, street performers, lakes, and the world-famous New York City Zoo.
Some people are city people, some are country people. If you’re a city person, you’ll never stop being fascinated by and enthralled with skylines and architecture around a town.
Cities can be, at times, best viewed at night, if nothing else to realize the vastness of a place.
