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There is plenty of beauty to explore in South Wales
Castles, ruins, history and, of course, food; today Adriana shares 10 reasons you should visit southern Wales.
What’s a very Dutch looking castle, filled with elephants, doing in the heart of the Danish capital? We decided to discover the secret facts about Rosenborg Castle, in Copenhagen, Denmark, to find out.
Entering the Castle of São Jorge, in Lisbon, Portugal
We love to explore castles and on our recent tour of Portugal and Andalusia, we saw European castles of all shapes and sizes. Our first castle visit of the trip was the Moorish Castle of São Jorge, in Lisbon.
Raglan Castle, Wales
While Belgium has hundreds of beautiful castles to explore, sometimes it’s nice to step beyond our borders and step into the history of another country. One of our favourite non-Belgian castles is the late-Medieval Raglan Castle, in Wales.
Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl are two charming towns on Germany’s Romantic Road well worth visiting.
Today, Adi begins a tour of Germany’s Romantic Road, starting with the beautiful walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Munich, a German city I knew little about. The theme of my visit was ‘Tradition and Design,’ and while Munich’s abundance of modern design surprised me, so did the richness and diversity of its tradition.
Patio garden of the ‘Cuartos de Granada’ at the Alcazaba of Malaga
The Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro Castle overlook the busy port city of Málaga in Andalusia Spain. These buildings were our first taste of the Moorish architecture so common to this region, which we would continue to see throughout our road-trip through Andalusia.
The Romantic, Mogul-style, Monserrate Palace was the third and final palace we visited, in UNESCO designated Sintra, Portugal, and it seemed we saved the best for last.
Pena National Palace, Sintra, Portugal
High on a hilltop, above Sintra, the multi-coloured turrets of Pena National Palace can be seen from as far as Lisbon on a clear day. Pena’s dramatic architecture has landed it on the UNESCO World Heritage sites list and made it one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. For me though, it was the woodland garden of Pena, that stole the show.
The incredible coat of arms ceiling of the Blason’s Hall, Sintra National Palace, Portugal
With its brightly painted tile walls and elaborate mural ceilings, the Sintra National Palace, is well worth exploring on a day-trip from Lisbon, Portugal.
Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal
Our recent trip to Portugal and Andalusia included visits to numerous religious sites. By far, one of the most spectacular was Jerónimos Monastery, in Lisbon, Portugal. Today we share we you a photo tour of this impressive site.
Bunratty Castle
Visiting historical sites is a great way of gaining an appreciation for events and places. In my previous post about the Castles of Shannon Heritage, I wanted to show history doesn’t have to be boring. I’d love to travel back in time, but sadly the time machine hasn’t been invented. However, there is Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, which does more than just present the history, it immerses you in it.
Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland
When I was in university, I had a poster on my wall of a beautiful castle. It was built of pale grey stone and had turrets and arched windows. It was perched on the edge of a lake and was surrounded by forest. I didn’t know what it was called or where it was located but, for my young self, it represented all that was wild and romantic about travel. I longed to visit it someday.
It wasn’t until many years later, I learned my dream castle was actually Kylemore Abbey, located in the stunning mountains of Connemara, Ireland. At that time, it wasn’t open to the public and I believed I would never get to see my poster castle in person.
Dark and Foreboding, Knappogue Castle tower looms over the countryside.
Alison and I recently returned from a week-long road-trip of Western Ireland. One of the highlights was visiting the castles and heritage properties of the Shannon region.
While there, we visited no less than seven castles, abbeys, and tower houses. Even so, we barely scratched the surface, as there were hundreds of tower houses built during Norman rule, in the 12th century, and beyond. We decided to concentrate on properties maintained by Shannon Heritage. Each one had something special to engage the visitor and bring Ireland’s ancient history to life.
Studying history in school often requires boring memorization of dates and names. Luckily, I was inspired, early on, by a public school teacher who showed my class slides of his travels in Italy, Greece, and more. His personal descriptions of the places and their history made it more real to us as students.
Twenty-five years later, having had the opportunity to travel, I understand his passion for history. When you visit historical locations in person, the story becomes much more engaging. If done right, such a visit should make you feel like you have stepped back in history. This is exactly what we found at the Shannon Heritage castles.
Our ultimate Dordogne-Perigord experience was an early morning hot air balloon flight to see the castles of the Dordogne.
Façade of the Peter of Castile’s Palace in the Alcázar of Seville
The final Moorish palace of our travels in Andalusia was the Real Alcázar of Seville. Just when we thought we were ‘palaced out’, we realised we saved a great one for last.