The Gooi is an area around Hilversum, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants, and its villas. The Gooi is known in the Netherlands as the home of the rich and famous.
Thomas Hardy’s depictions of a fictional Wessex and his own dear Dorset are more accurate than they may at first appear, says Susan Owens.
We feel a frisson when a real place plays a key part in a novel. The Cobb at Lyme Regis will always be associated with silly Louisa Musgrove and her tumble in Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Knole in Kent with Virginia Woolf’s hero-heroine Orlando. Thomas Hardy, however, took the use of known locations to another level. He may have invented the characters in his novels, but he made them walk along actual roads, look across valleys at real views and live in recognisable villages and towns — sometimes, even in identifiable buildings.
For all its operatic symbolism, Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) is a novel in which practical footwear matters. Among its heart-breaking moments is when Tess’s walking boots are discovered stuffed in a hedge where she had hidden them, mistaken for a tramp’s pair and taken away, forcing her to walk many miles back home along a rough road in pretty, but thin-soled, patent-leather ones.
A map depicting Hardy’s Wessex by Emery Walker, drawn for Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Credit: BBC / Album
Those who live in the country come to know land by ear as much as by eye. Hardy’s characters are expert in this — even in the dark and when drunk, as in Desperate Remedies (1871): ‘Sometimes a soaking hiss proclaimed that they were passing by a pasture, then a patter would show that the rain fell on some large-leafed root crop, then a paddling plash announced the naked arable.’
The Mediterranean resort town of Torremolinos in southern Spain’s Costa del Sol region is a sunseeker’s haven. In the 1950s, this former fishing village became one of the most popular destinations for sun-loving tourists. Stretches of dark, sandy beaches offer a multitude of watersports and beach activities, while the many bars, restaurants and local sights occupy vacationers.
Welcome onboard an incredible Luxury Train through some of the most spectacular landscapes in the USA. This is 2 Days on the Rocky Mountaineer’s new Rockies to Red Rocks route in the United States!
Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:39 Day One on the Rocky Mountaineer Rockies to Red Rocks 19:12 Day Two on the Rocky Mountaineer Rockies to Red Rocks
The trip is two days of extraordinary landscapes between Moab, Utah and Denver, Colorado. Vast canyons, inspiring deserts, natural archways and enchanting hoodoos are just a start. Available in SilverLeaf Service, this Rocky Mountaineer rail route is filled with highlights best seen by train, including Ruby Canyon, Mount Garfield and crossing the Continental Divide. If you want to explore more, you can also book one of our carefully curated packages, with options to start or end your journey in Las Vegas or Salt Lake City.
Rarely do tourists make it as far as the Westfjords peninsula in Iceland. Only 10 percent of visitors to the country in the far northwest of Europe come to this remote region. Yet the landscape is simply magical: with huge waterfalls, lonely beaches and raw, wild nature. The Westfjords are one of Lonely Planet’s top travel destinations for 2022. Iceland-based photographer and filmmaker @ISLEY REUST takes us on a tour!
Pensacola, city, seat (1822) of Escambia county, extreme northwestern Florida, U.S. It lies on Pensacola Bay (an arm of the Gulf of Mexico), about 35 miles (55 km) west of Fort Walton Beach and 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Mobile, Alabama.
A Spanish settlement was made on the bay coast in 1559 but was abandoned two years later. The Spaniards formally took possession in 1698 and built Fort San Carlos de Austria, but this was ravaged during the colonial fighting between France and Spain in 1719–20. After the British gained control in 1763, Pensacola (a name derived from Pansfalaya, a local Native American tribe) became the capital of West Florida.
Giovinazzo is a town and former bishopric within the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia region, southeastern Italy. It was a small fortified centre of the Romans, who called it Natolium, maybe built on the ruins of the Peucete Netium which was destroyed during the Punic Wars. The main sights are: the Co-cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta (Mary’s Assumption), built in the Norman period 1150–1180, in characteristic Apulian Romanesque style featuring Eastern and Western elements and the Ducal Palace. In the neighbourhood is Castel del Monte, one of the most famous castles in southern Italy.
Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is set along the Danube River by the border with Austria and Hungary. It’s surrounded by vineyards and the Little Carpathian mountains, crisscrossed with forested hiking and cycling trails. The pedestrian-only, 18th-century old town is known for its lively bars and cafes. Perched atop a hill, the reconstructed Bratislava Castle overlooks old town and the Danube.
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest.
Portland, Oregon’s largest city, sits on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, in the shadow of snow-capped Mount Hood. It’s known for its parks, bridges and bicycle paths, as well as for its eco-friendliness and its microbreweries and coffeehouses. Iconic Washington Park encompasses sites from the formal Japanese Garden to Oregon Zoo and its railway. The city hosts thriving art, theater and music scenes.
This is Moab is a film that was designed to highlight the wide variety of landscapes that you can experience when you visit Moab, Utah – and most of these locations are not located in Arches or Canyonlands National Parks.
Moab Utah is a many things to many people, but what ever it is that brings you to Moab (vacation, off-roading, rock climbing, biking, hiking, photography, painting, rafting, camping) you may not realize that if you just visit the two national parks (Arches and Canyonlands) you’re missing out on 98% of what Moab has to offer.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Moab manages over 1.8 MILLION acres of breathtaking red rock canyons, cliffs, fins, spires and hoodoos – and all of this public land is located outside of the National Parks.
Then there’s the LaSal Mountains, the second largest in all of Utah – with elevations reaching 13,000 feet. Tired of the 100 degree desert heat? Take a drive on the LaSal Mountain Loop Rd and enjoy cooler weather and spectacular mountain scenery.
Moab, Utah is one of the most amazing locations you can visit – whether you’re seeking adventure, solitude, or anything in between. If you’re a painter, photographer, hiker, biker, rock climber, rafter, off-roader, or traveling in an RV or camper – Moab has what you’re looking for. As a photographer Moab offers some of the finest landscapes anywhere on earth – with millions of acres of red-rock sandstone arches, spires, fins, canyons, and hoodoos.
Moab is also home to the second tallest mountain range in Utah – the La Sal Mountains with peaks reaching over 13,000 feet in elevation. Often these peaks are snow-capped even in the spring and early Summer – making for a beautiful contrast between desert landscape and mountains. In summer take a short 1 hour drive from the desert climate of Moab with temperatures near 100 degrees to sitting under an Aspen grove on the La Sal mountains with temperatures in the mid 70’s.
Love stargazing? You’ll love the dark skies around Moab. Head into Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, or Dead Horse Point State Park and enjoy some of the darkest skies in the country. The International Dark Sky Association has designated these locations as dark-sky parks, and you’ll soon discover why. But don’t stop there – anytime you leave town, you’ll discover that the lack of any significant light pollution and the dry high-desert climate ensures a wonderful view of the night sky on most nights. You’ll also be happy to know that Moab is also one of the safest places to hang outdoors – as there really isn’t much in the way of predatory wildlife.
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