Linda A. Tancs's Blog: The Long and Short of It, page 3

Calgary’s Peace Bridge

By Linda Tancs

Peace Bridge is a pedestrian bridge across the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Named as a tribute to the military, it was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. A downtown icon, it features a tube-like design with red accents and a dedicated bike lane. Enjoy the skyline views.

A Light for Padstow

By Linda Tancs

Trevose Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Trevose Head on England’s north Cornish coast. Just west of the town of Padstow, it was built to bridge the gap in lighting between Land’s End and Lundy. The headland lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and about 79 acres are part of the Constantine Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest for its sea cliffs, maritime grassland, heath and wet habitats. You’ll find a variety of plants, marine wildlife and wildflowers along trails like Booby’s Bay walk.

Galway’s Prehistoric Fort

By Linda Tancs

The Aran Islands comprise three rocky isles guarding the mouth of Galway Bay in western Ireland. The largest island, Inishmore, is home to the prehistoric fort Dún Aonghasa. Perched on top of a high cliff facing the Atlantic Ocean, it’s lauded as one of western Europe’s most magnificent stone forts. Over 3,000 years old, it has three massive defense walls ringed by a chevaux-de-frise – that is, a dense band of jagged, upright stones numbering in the thousands. Come prepared with boots or good walking shoes to conquer rough, natural rock.

The Three Cities of Malta

By Linda Tancs

The Three Cities is a collective description of three fortified cities of Malta: Vittoriosa (Birgu), Senglea (Isla), and Cospicua (Bormla). They played a pivotal role in defending Malta during the Great Siege, when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer Malta in 1565. Birgu is the oldest and most popular of the cities, where you’ll find the Maritime Museum, the Malta at War Museum, the Inquisitor’s Palace and Fort St. Angelo, which was home to the Grand Master of the Order of St John. You can take a ferry there from the capital, Valletta, across the Grand Harbor. Another option is to travel via one of the traditional Maltese boats for an authentic experience.

Small But Mighty in Costa Rica

By Linda Tancs

Home to verdant rainforests and white-sand beaches, Manuel Antonio National Park is Costa Rica’s smallest national park. Despite its size, it’s one of the most popular parks, where visitors flock to see wildlife like three-toed sloths, endangered white-faced capuchin monkeys and hundreds of bird species. Hiking trails are aplenty. One of the most popular is Mirador, a route less than one mile with over 200 stairs to Punta Serrucho (Saw Point), a beautiful viewpoint of the rugged coastline.

Meeting of the Waters

By Linda Tancs

The is the confluence between the dark Rio Negro and the pale, sandy-colored Amazon River, referred to as the Solimões River in Brazil upriver of this confluence. For nearly 4 miles the two Amazon tributaries flow side by side without mixing, forming a boundary that’s visible from space. The phenomenon is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Manaus, Brazil. Several guided tours will take you there; you might also experience it on a cruise ship.

Unspoiled in Cornwall

By Linda Tancs

Largely unspoiled, Polperro is a quaint fishing village on the south coast of Cornwall, England. It’s dreamy for shutterbugs, picturesque as it is with cottages clinging to steep hillsides around a small harbor. That’s probably why it’s regarded by many as one of the most beautiful villages in Cornwall. It’s also well known for its smuggling history. By the late 18th century, much of the success of the smuggling trade through Polperro was controlled by Zephaniah Job, a local merchant who became known as “the smuggler’s banker.” You’ll find the village’s fishing and smuggling history recounted at the heritage museum.

Portugal’s Prized Heritage Complex

By Linda Tancs

The Jerónimos Monastery (also known as the Hieronymites Monastery) is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the complex is renowned for its Manueline architecture as well as for being the final resting place of luminaries like explorer Vasco da Gama. The 16th-century masterpiece was the site of the ceremony for the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, which initiated significant reforms within the European Union.

Bath’s Tower on a Hill

By Linda Tancs

A key landmark in Bath, England, Beckford’s Tower was commissioned by William Beckford in 1827. Originally built to house his extensive art collection from the family’s fortune, the 120-foot neoclassical tower on Lansdown Hill ultimately fell into disrepair before a structural restoration in the late 1990s. Today’s Grade I-listed building features a tour allowing visitors to climb the spiral staircase, examine the museum collection, explore the Victorian cemetery and descend to the hidden grotto used by Beckford to access the tower. An add-on adventure allows small groups to climb to the tower’s lantern. The lantern is at the top of the tower with 154 steps to the start of the lantern tour and over 50 steps within the lantern.

Saxony’s Towering Landmark

By Linda Tancs

A short trip from Dresden, Germany, Bastei Bridge is one of Saxony’s most famous landmarks. Located in Saxon Switzerland National Park, rock formations tower over the River Elbe spanned by a sandstone bridge about 250 feet long. Popular with hikers, there is no shortage of scenic routes. One of the most popular is called the “Golden Triangle,” a hike that runs between Stadt Wehlen via Bastei to Kurort Rathen. Lookouts abound, like Basteiaussicht, where shutterbugs will appreciate the opportunities at sunrise or sunset.