In the quiet Washington State town of Cashmere is a rather special place, the realisation of one man’s dream. The pioneer village, known as Old Mission, brings together a collection of around twenty historic buildings assembled from the surrounding area. It and the attached museum owe their existence to the way that man’s dying wish inspired a town.
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Like just about everyone else who visits, we came to Ranthambore with the aim of seeing tigers. And Ranthambore is all about the tigers. Every conversation you have here is guaranteed to start with ‘Did you see any tigers?’ The answer is quite likely to be yes, although there are, as ever with wildlife, no guarantees ...
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The capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang, has been developed as a showpiece for the country, demonstrating to both outsiders and the North Korean people the strength and power of the regime, and making a strong statement about the country’s ambitions to be self-reliant in the face of often hostile challenges from elsewhere – those challenges being of course both political and at times physical.
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If you want to find street art in London (and I mean LOTS of street art) you could do far worse than to head to Shoreditch. This trendy (albeit some say ex-trendy) district is a mecca for enthusiasts, both those who create and those, like me, who go to admire.
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In recent years I’ve been fortunate to celebrate my birthday in a number of different places. A memorable day in Ecuador visiting Cotopaxi, which was somewhat spoiled by an attack of altitude sickness! An even more memorable one in Ranthambore National Park in India, where a guide promised to find me a birthday tiger – and did! A day spent travelling to the Atacama in Chile, one of my dream destinations. A number of birthdays in Paris, including my 40th when my husband surprised me with a weekend visit. And a lovely birthday weekend three years ago in Lucca, Italy.
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We had learned to dance in the rain on Iceland’s Golden Circle; now today we were dancing in sunshine! Well, OK, not exactly dancing but certainly smiling. The sun was shining for the first time in several days. We, all friends from the Virtual Tourist community, were enjoying each other’s company at a wonderful weekend gathering. And we were off to explore the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, so packed with scenic spots that it has been dubbed ‘Iceland in Miniature’.
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Antigua, or Antigua Guatemala to give it its full name, is a city shaped by the movement of the earth on which it stands. It was founded in 1543 and despite the ravages of several earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it was for over 200 years the capital and economic centre of the whole Kingdom of Guatemala. This was a significant country, covering what today we know as southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
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What do you think of when you imagine a traditional British seaside resort? My guess is that Brighton would have pretty much everything on your list.
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It isn’t so often that, while out on a city walk with a guide, you are asked if you are easily offended. But that was the question posed by Wilson, who gave us an excellent tour in Cuenca, Ecuador.
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What does a Golden Circle sound like to you? Something shiny for sure, and probably bright. And on a sunny day I am sure Iceland’s most popular tourist route is exactly that. But when I was there a few years ago with Virtual Tourist friends, it was anything but. If ever we needed to learn to dance in the rain, it was today!
