Trips posted in
Ancient Sites
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Beauty of Gliding Above Mayo, Ireland
This is a video story. Even better, few if any words. let’s start with the former castle home of Lord Mountbatten…near Sligo town. Then the flying beauty above R366 of the Connemara’s. Finally, the White Cliffs of Ashleam. Thanks to the amazing, graceful and beautiful footage shot by Doug Zajaczkowski. I hope this was fun!…
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The Best of Sligo, Ireland: the Land of Legends, as told by Sean Cunningham.
Ireland is a Land of Legends. The modern and the Neolithic live in close proximity. The tales of giants and warriors, lovers and spirits fluidly intertwine. In so many ways, the vibrant history of the Irish (pre-British colonization) is core to their character and a vital part of their present. Few places hold more of…
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Exploring Ireland: My Memorable Adventures
My first memories of Ireland are being sent to the heath to look for 4-leaf clovers while my mother and sisters watched the Dublin Horse Show. I found one. Ireland is resplendent with natural beauty. But Ireland is a country where the beauty extends into the souls of the people, who seem to have a…
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Let Irish history come alive with the passion & authenticity of Davy Holden (Kilkenny).
Davy Holden has just entered his 30’s but already owns the wisdom of someone who understands his country’s history form a very human and authentic place.
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Escape the cacophony of Rome for Ostia Antica: Once Rome’s mighty port, open, preserved and off the beaten track.
Ostia Antica. Rome is overwhelming in its magnificence but let’s admit it, it is just as overwhelming a city because of the tourist hordes. Everyone wants a piece of the magnificent beauty and history. Is there even an off-season? But imagine a place of intact frescoes, ornate mosaics, tall marble columns, buildings and avenues free…
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Knossos, the 3900 year-old labyrinth of ancient legend.(No Minotaur sightings.)
The Palace of Knossos, on the Mediterranean isle of Crete, presents a daunting task that broaches mere tourism: how does one really take it all in? As a site of such massive size and complexity, ruined earthquakes, tidal waves, toppled empires…clouding the eyes of history with the dust of legend of Midas and the Minotaur,…
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More of the magnificent Abruzzo, Italy: Days 4-6 of moments, images, observations.
Day 4: a long drive to one of Italy’s great caves, Grotto Di Stiffe; descending down from the foothills and farms and onto SP50 highway — not a long ride, but a bit hard to locate due to lack of signage and the fact that the cave is in the mountains, which is a bit…
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Isle of Rhodes and Temple of Lindos: a view worthy of 3,000 years of conquests and worship.
Humankind has always, throughout time, sought the high ground; this was always, and still is, considered a strategy for both war and peace. A most ancient example of this is on the Isle of Rhodes, in the cross section of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Atop a natural bluff and rocky outcropping, sits the wide…
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The magic of Egnazia: the lost town and the museum of the ancients outside of Monopli, Puglia.
In Puglia, on the southeastern coast of Italy, near the vacation town of Monopoli, was the oddest, almost ignored and yet gem of a museum and ancient archaeological town site called Engazia, dating back to pre-Roman Bronze Age period when the Greeks colonized the Eastern coast of Italy. We love ancient places; they teach so…
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UNESCO site: the magnificent ruins of Castel Del Monte, Grand Sasso mountains, Italy.
Another UNESCO site — magnificent, haunting and mighty in its ruin On of our travel goals is to see as many UNESCO sites as possible. Why? Simply because they are a guaranteed unique and magnificent experience — whether Angkor Watt in Cambodia, or Glendalough, Ireland, these sites are all so different, and all a tribute…
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Angkor Wat: Overwhelming feat and it changes you, but it is up to you how…
While this post focuses on Angkor Wat, I have to start in the middle of the full day guided tour we took. This specific temple was the most haunting and impressive; each tower and column with a different carved face. Each face stood perhaps 40 feet tall. The feel of the mystical and painfully human…
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The 1,000 year-old leather tanneries of Fez Medina, Morocco
At the heart of the labyrinthine Medina of Fez, Morocco lies the very ancient leather tanneries; they are a site unlike any other you will ever see. As you should always have a tour guide in this maze, it is inevitable to end up in the leather shops that overlook the many swirling pools of…
Outspoken Traveler 