T For Travel

Think of Southern Florida and you might conjure images of palm trees, the Keys, or the Art Deco District, South Beach, and a boutique Miami hotel . But what about cattle ranching? That’s an image we more typically associate with the Old West, with Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. It might be hard to picture a cattle drive past marshes and swamps, yet Florida has had five centuries of cattle ranching, beginning with Spanish explorers in the 16th century when they introduced cattle and horses to the area.

If you travel to Miami from September 16th, 2010, to January 23rd, 2011, you’ll be able to learn about cattle ranching in this state from the Historical Museum of Southern Florida , an institution designed to preserve and celebrate the history of Miami through exhibits, tours, education and research. The museum began in 1962, moving to its present location in 1984, in the Miami-Dade Cultural Center, an imposing building designed by internationally known architect, Phillip Johnson, who created a Spanish fortress-like structure to house not only the Historical Museum, but also the Miami-Dade Main Public Library and Miami Art Museum .

The exhibit, “Florida Cattle Ranching: Five Centuries of Tradition,” will trace this activity from its start in Colonial Florida through contemporary cattle ranching, covering Colonial Florida, Seminole cattle ranching, Cracker cowboys, auctions, cow dogs, rodeos, and oral traditions. There will be artifacts, archival photographs, paintings by cowboy artists, and even cowboy poetry.

Other exhibits you’ll have a chance to explore include “Portraits of the Nicaraguan Caribbean,” on display from September 16th to January 23rd, which follows the work of award-winning documentary photographers, Maria Jose Alvarez and Claudia Gordillo. Over 35 photographs will examine the region of Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, taking a look at various cultural practices of Creoles, Garifunas, Miskitos, and Sumos.

The museum is closed on Mondays, but you’ll be able to see these exhibits and more from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, Tuesday through Friday, and from noon to five p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Every third Thursday of the month, the museum remains open until nine at night.

I know, I know you are in the south and Irish pub may not have been the first thing to come to mind while visiting Atlanta Georgia, but, there are quite a few good Irish pub’s in the city. It is a cultural city you know. Anyway, you could almost do a loop and go pub hopping if you wanted too.  

Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant has locations on a number of U.S. cities and Atlanta is one of them. Right now, people are watching the Soccer playoffs of the world from Fado’s. This is a pub for the whole family to come and enjoy a great meal and for the adults to have a refreshing beverage. It is really casual, which is a plus for Irish pubs and everyone, including the staff, is having a great time. Another great thing about Irish pubs is that they love to sing and dance and they often have great live music happening. Fado’s is rather large but with an intimate feel. It is filled with Irish pride in its decor and service.  

If you find yourself wondering into O’Terrill’s you may have gotten a hit of Irish luck. It is known to have the cities best fish and chips. Fish and chips will always go well with a great Guinness or Harp beer. They also have some amazing wings and a few other styles of food such as some hummus and pita bread and tacos. But don’t let that fool you, people are still coming in for the traditional Irish stew. They just want to make sure they have something for everyone in the party.  

Check with one of the   four star hotels atlanta is known for and see what they suggest in the way of Irish pubs. I bet the local staff have a good idea.

St. Simons Island, in Georgia is better known for the National Park’s Fort Frederica, which was built between 1736 and 1739 and was the most expensive Fort in America at that time. The Fort was also the most impressive British settlements ever built. Fort Frederica was strategically placed on a bluff, surrounded by a marsh and there was only one supply road leading into the settlement, which was easily defended from the Spanish who still claimed the territory as theirs. While visiting, there is a great hotel St. Simons offers to all its Fort Frederica tourists, one that will accommodate and meet all your needs during your stay.

Today, you can visit Fort Frederica through the Visitors Center. Once your past the center, which by-the-way is equipped to handle the physically challenged, there is an area where historical interpreters have recreated the lives of all the townspeople living in the settlement and the British military personnel. The entire site, including some of the remains of individual homes are complete with real live actors portraying what life was like in the Fort. You can also buy a brochure that contains a self-guided tour. You’ll be able to tour homes and businesses along the Main road in the Fort, plus you’ll get to see one of the few remaining military structures on the property: the Magazine, where in 1743, a fire broke out and the magazine exploded, which basically ended the Forts viability. The British then disbanded the troops after the fire, but the people of the settlement did their best to entice the troops to stay by offering land if they remained for 7 years, out of the 1000 people, only 250 stayed. By 1756, much of the town was deserted.

Fort Frederica is located on the west side of St. Simons Island, north of town at 6515 Frederica Road. The National Park is open daily from 9am to 5pm and there is a $3 entrance fee for visitors 15 years and older.

Austin, Texas is not one the great state’s largest cities, but it is the capital and it’s also an incredibly interesting city with a lot going in. In addition, there are a few passions that are unique to the citizens of Austin, though some which are likely to be obvious or at least apparent to the people who visit it. The fact that their city atmosphere is highly focused on music is one of the standardly accepted passions the city is famous for. The music scene is an important part of the local culture, well to be honest the Austin music scene is relevant to the world. However, there are other aspects of the city and resident’s interest that are interesting and somewhat unique and actually add to the pleasure of many people’s stay.

Most people who live in Austin, Texas love Lady Bird Johnson. And her passion for beautifying the nation’s highways and cities was not lost on Austin. She helped to plant the city’s large flower collection, including the numerous bluebells for which it is famous. There are a few places and landmarks in the city that have been named after the former First Lady and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin is one of them. Lady Bird Lake is another one, and it also represents one of the passions of the people of Austin, outdoor recreational activities.

The Lady Bird Lake has numerous potential for spending time in the outdoors, while taking a break from your hectic day. It is a popular tourist attraction for many of the people in a luxury hotel Austin X, who enjoy and afternoon walk, run or hike along one of the great paths. It’s also a full of bike paths and great picnic and relaxation areas. It has contributed to the beauty of the city and there are frequently scheduled outdoor events such as concerts and other performances. When you visit a luxury hotel Austin you will want to enjoy all the city has to offer, and it can be fun to pay attention to the specific features that make Austin unique.

The crossroads where culture and history meet are difficult to locate, especially in a city with so many streets that already intersect. Add to this the multiple possibilities of crossing thresholds in coming into buildings, and the way ideas cross and merge whenever people meet (even when they are not talking, not listening, not even looking at each other). This is why the challenge for artists in the present day are more furiously interesting than they ever were before, because multiple possibilities also lead to many different answers to the same questions.

From the strain of long nights in the library stacks, to the comfort of a luxury NY hotel , contemplating the bigger questions about the way we are and why we do things is a wonderful thing to do. In a city where the inner life is every bit as essential as the outer one, there is pressure to be thinking deep thoughts, especially in academia, and at NYU the competition is very dense. It’s a breath of fresh air, then, when thinkers like Giana Gonzalez come around, and we get to catch them at the very beginning of their thought, in order to watch the multiple trajectories.

The kind of conception involved in her projects, like Hacking Couture, often leads to various flights of the mind, however, and it’s easy to lose track of the beginnings of any thought. This might be why clothing is such a great center from which to de-center the way that codes and structures function. By putting them in sharp focus, suddenly the threads of other moments start to become untangled, and we are left looking at ways to construct meaning. The ultimate artifacts of contemporary culture just might be found in the shopping malls, and in New York, it’s hard to find malls, but easy to find excuses for shopping, and this means that there is much more work to be done than anyone had ever considered.

There’s always a first for everything and the Wimbledon 2010 Championship has also come up to the net with The All England Club’s announcement of the Championships’ first official poet. Poet Matt Harvey is officially poet-in-residence at Wimbledon . If you thought Wimbledon was already too highbrow, don’t worry, because Matt Harvey’s musings will entertain and bring The Wimbledon Championships into a completely different light. Harvey will be producing a poem a day from now until the opening day of the Wimbledon Championship, June 21st till closing, July 4th, 2010. This appointment was the result of Wimbledon’s venture to connect up with The Poetry Trust.

Matt Harvey, who is a regular guest on Radio 4′s Saturday Live with his own mini-series ‘Very funny, very satirical’, and in the past couple of years, has written the Desktop Poetry section in the Guardian. According to the Guardian, Harvey is a great stand-up comedic poet who got his start at the New Writers Festival at Plymouth Theatre Royal back in 1992, and how it was about time, after 15 years on the circuit, that he finally published his first ‘proper’ poetry book – ‘The Hole In The Sum OF My Parts’. Harvey will create poems that will, naturally, be about the upcoming tennis Championship and his verses will be published online at The Poetry Trust’s website. He first Wimbledon poem is titled ‘Grandest of Slams’. His verse will cover the gambit about anything from the grass, the roof and the rain. Check with the Wimbledon schedule or look for Harvey’s Tweets to catch his latest poem.

If you’re planning to attend the Championships, Harvey will be reciting his poems to the people waiting in the queues to enter the club. The new Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum , which was the original instigator for appointing an official Wimbledon poet, believes this will provide an interesting and novel way to bring to the millions of tennis-loving public, a unique interpretation of the Championships.