Travel
GUIDEPOST will take yo far and wide through TRAVEL.
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “The Secret Spring of Spain,” 12 April 1968 »
If you are not careful, you’ll miss spring in Spain altogether and spend most of your life wondering how you did it. It’s not hard, because the meteorological border is pretty indefinite; one day it is a dull, cold, rainy winter day and POW… suddenly it’s summer. There are ways to catch it though, and it all depends on how much attention you pay and where you are in the very changeable land of Spain.
TWA Layovers: Del Hotel Plaza al Cielo »
During my thirty years as a TWA flight attendant, I spent many a layover at the Hotel Plaza. Whether coming off a new Boeing 707 in the sixties, the whale-sized 747 in the eighties or a sleek 767 in the nineties, the Plaza was my home away from home. The hotel was nestled inside the Edificio España, wrapped in a cozy cocoon of cafeterias, bars, restaurants and watering holes that catered to all tastes. There always seemed to be fruit floating in the water of the pool in the top floor from someone's sangria. And once in a while, a naked Maja was seen running across the balcony chased by a Don Juan Tenorio.
BRITS CELEBRATE ELIZABETH’S PLATINUM JUBILEE IN BENIDORM »
Spectacular events have been lined up for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, particularly in London. But obviously there are celebrations throughout the UK and the Commonwealth as well. And in Benidorm, Spain too? You bet. It's the most British town in Spain after all.
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “THE ORIGINAL TOURIST IN SPAIN”, 5 May 1967, Last Installment »
Although some passages in his book are dated, they make us realize what hardships The Original Tourist endured in roughing it on horseback across torrid plains and hostile mountains. Much has changed since Ford's day, but among the trifles of which he wrote so well remains unaltered today. "Gatherings from Spain" is more than an extraordinary eye-witness report on Spain in the early 19th century; it is more than a travelogue teeming with adventure and erudition; it is an honest record of a remarkable Englishman's reactions to a country he described as "the most romantic, racy, and peculiar of Europe, which hovers between Europe and Africa, between civilization and barbarity".
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “THE ORIGINAL TOURIST IN SPAIN”, 5 May 1967, Second Installment »
Rich with racy flavour, "Gatherings from Spain" is the earliest comprehensive account of Spanish travels that exists in English, written by Richard Ford, the master of vivid description of the country, Spain, that he loves so deeply, and the singular people who are "scarcely European living on a neutral ground between the hat and the turban". With characteristic zestful perspicacity, Ford would underscore above others the "Orientalness" of the Spaniards.
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “THE ORIGINAL TOURIST IN SPAIN”, 5 May 1967, First Installment »
George Borrow: "How the rage for scribbling tempts people to write about lands and nations of which they know nothing! Vaya! It is not from having seen a bullfight at Seville or Madrid, or having spent a handful of ounces at a posada that you are competent to write about such a people as the Spaniards, and to tell the world how they think, how they speak, and how they act." But there was one, an erudite traveler, Englishman Richard Ford, who did justice to the endeavor. Living in southern Spain for three years and traveling across the peninsula on horseback, he wrote "Handbook on Spain" in 1845 and the even more riveting and timeless "Gatherings from Spain" published the following year and proved immensely popular.
UNIQUE ART IN ACTION, ROCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL, West Nyack, NY »
Exciting and unique art event, 30 April 2022
SEVILLE’S FABULOUS APRIL FAIR IS BACK — BUT IN MAY! »
The April Fair is one of the most internationally popular festivals in Spain. It started out as a livestock fair but over the years it became more of a festive event which gained extraordinary fame worldwide due to its unique color, splendor, pageantry, equestrian displays, horse-drawn carriages and flamenco dancing at all hours. Hundreds of casetas (colorfully decorated tents) are set up in the fairgrounds. There is music, dancing, delicious food and drink practically round the clock. And then of course there are the bullfight festejos of top matadors at the La Maestranza.
SCENES IN THE UKRAINE: 3. the Paska, the Pysanka and the Willow Branch of Easter »
Three of the most significant elements of Ukrainian Easter: the Paska, the Pysanka, and the Willow Branch. See what they are and why they help define Easter in Ukraine.
SCENES IN UKRAINE: 2. Irpin »
Irpin is newly named "Hero City of Ukraine" by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Just a stone's throw away from the center of Kyiv, the Russians thought they'd cakewalk through Irpin and take Ukraine's capital. Thwarted by Irpin, the Russians beat an ignominious retreat. Let its street art clue you in on the essence of this Hero City!
