Archive for the ‘travel essentials’ Category
ride em’ cowboy
bull riding at rodeo
bull riding at forth worth…
Texas is a State teeming with must-sees and cant-misses. And inspired by the new destinations we have on our radar this year, we wanted to give you a bit of everything too by showing the enormous contrasts that exist in The Lone Star State: From the city’s bright lights and non-stop rhythms, to epic Cowboy landscapes. Want more? How about experiencing Texan space age modernism and then Wild West rodeo?
6th street in aust
block rockin’ beats in austin
The area from around East Sixth Street up to Red River Street, near to Austin’s prestigious university, is the world’s live music mecca…and that’s no exaggeration. This area, no more than a handful of blocks, rocks to the tune of Texas’s finest performers. Find all of the favourite Texan sounds here, for every type of Rock, Indie, Grunge and Punk, all the way to the other end of the scale with good ol’ Texan Honky Tonk, Country, Blues and Jazz. To get the most out of the sheer quantity of live music on offer here, work your way around on a loop in an eclectic whistle stop bar hop, taking in all of the tunes on offer.
rodeo in fort worth
fort worth stock yards
In the heart of Cowboy country, Fort Worth is the place to discover your Wild West side. Head on down to the Fort Worth Stock Yards and find all manner of Cowboy culture waiting for you. This is the place to catch a rodeo, swat up on your cowboy history, ride a bull and shop for your authentic Cowboy outfit. When the sun goes down, the Cowboys ride out and we can’t recommend catching a live rodeo show highly enough. On horseback, the riders show off their skills in a series of events such as barrel racing, calf roping and the most famous of all, bull riding. Yee haw.
space travel in houston
nasa space center
We love travelling around the globe, but travelling beyond it has always been a secret little obsession of ours. And while holidays to Mars feel like they’re still a few light years away, a trip to the Johnson Space Center will show you just how close we are. This is the center where NASA operates; designing, building and controlling the space missions of the last fifty years and still to this day. As well as a tour of the training facilities, the command modules and the enormous rockets that propel them there, you’ll be able to take a front seat at the command centre and see all the space age gadgetry that is used.
For more tips on Texas check out our new trips
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Loading ...BVI baby
My BVI
that’s my BVI…
British Virgin Islands
Snuggled amongst the gentle currents and smiling sun of the Caribbean lies a little bit of Britain that couldn’t be further from home. On the British Virgin Islands (BVI) life’s a beach; an isolated paradise to take you back to island living before the invention of fast-food and stress. Four main islands make up the majority of the BVIs; Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, each with their own personality and unique brilliance.
We’ve got the inside scoop on this one. Oh yes… click here to find some local insights on the BVI’s.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...which cayman are you?
east end beach
palms swaying in the breeze…
Our new and exciting squeeze, the Cayman Islands have been taking up all our attention the last few weeks as we’ve got to know all the wide-eyed wonders there are to behold on these stunning Caribbean islands. And we’ve fallen hard.
an aquarium... nope just the cayman islands water
We’ve been spoilt with beaches straight out of paradise, enticing us onto their sugary white sands and into their warm clear waters. We’ve been watching the gentle lapping of the waves from our peaceful perch on a hammock, shaded under palm tree leaves, wondering if life could really get any better than this. On Grand Cayman, Seven Mile Beach’s stretch of sun-kissed sand (oddly only five miles, not seven) is our undoubted favourite for chic seaside style. Blessed with some of the most spectacular sand and sea we’ve ever seen, all the hip happenings of Grand Cayman are here too, with top-notch restaurants, trendy bars and five star hotels jostling for beachfront space. Try out some Cayman specialities like conch cerviche and pork stew, or indulge in the island’s delicious international cuisine, serving up all the high-class classics from across the globe.
Having escaped the grasps of development, Grand Cayman’s little sisters, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, offer untouched tranquillity, where the pace of life has slowed down to a serene standstill. On Little Cayman, take to the water and discover the mind-boggling richness of colours that flourish, with corals and shoals of fish at the world famous Blood Bay Wall Marine Park dazzling with its unworldly bright shades and forms. Fish for an exotic catch too, with dream species like bonefish, permit and jacks all breaking the waters here. Cayman Brac’s craggy limestone outcrop is a hiker’s pristine delight, with exceptional bird life to spot, including the rare nesting brown boobies. Beneath the bluff, find an underground lattice of caves, filled with wildlife and still said to possess stashes of pirate gold buried somewhere within it – as if we needed more reason to explore these natural wonders.
Fancy a juant to the Cayman Islands? Then click here to find out more…
(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...high rolling in tel aviv
Tel Aviv
When the summer heat shrouds the cities of our fair planet we say ditch the cars, dodge all those traffic jams and unnecessary waiting, and get a different kind of wheels under your soles. Have a gander at what they’re up to over in Tel Aviv for when the steamy summer months approach the locals take to the roads on rollerblades.
Lawyers, bartenders, families, and singles can be found cruising along the beach front as night sets in for the weekly rollerblading event. Its efficient, eco-friendly, and a great work-out. Whats not to love we say?
See why we love Israel here…
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...beach awards 2011
Beach
Introducing the Beach Tomato Awards 2011
Ladies and gentlemen, let us reveal the first ever Beach Tomato Awards 2011 launched by our sister website, Beach Tomato. Naming the best in beach fashion, beach beauty and beaches around the world, the Beach Tomato Awards will showcase the best of the beach this year.
Combining the Beach Tomato team and industry experts to form a judging panel, June will be spent deliberating the 15 different categories to announce final winners on 28th June 2011.
Alongside a judging panel of industry experts this is your chance to cast your vote in the People’s Choice Award categories to nominate the places and products that make the world’s best beaches worth bragging about. Don’t forget to drop your email address when you vote for a chance to win a very special Beach Tomato goody bag.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...steve mccurry: exclusive
boy in bombay
click on the image above for more inspiring photos…
Clear those coffee tables, have we got a gem for you…
One of the most admired and talked about photo journalists of our generation; Steve McCurry the intrepid photographer has released his eagerly awaited limited edition collection showcasing his most poignant shots that have captured and intrigued the world over.
One only need mention that shot ‘the green eyed Afghan girl’, a haunting yet outstandingly beautiful example of how photography has the ability to conjure up emotions and surpasses our imaginations. We all love to travel and this collection of shots is the closest thing to transporting you right there. Desk-side wanderlust, bring it.
With only 3,000 copies available this master piece published by Phaidon will be snapped faster than you can say cheese.
And you all you special friends of Black Tomato quote this code: BT20CP for 20% of the original price. Click here for more information.
Boy in mid Flight India
Procession of Nuns Burma
Kuchi Nomads Afghanista
Flower seller India
Pilgrim Tibet
Boy at festival India
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...is this the world’s best bar? (yes)
heaven on stilts
shabby chic
A bar that resembles a shrine to the gods of the endless azure, you’d think it had risen from the ocean. We can’t keep our mouths shut about this one. The Pelican Bar anchored just off Treasure Beach Jamaica is a sublime ‘get away from it all spot’ where you can spend the day red stripe in hand soaking up those Caribbean rays.
Conjured up by local fisherman Floyd Forbes this rustic wooden bar is built on a sand bank a quarter of a mile out to sea a short swim from the bohemian chic bolthole Jakes. The bar only serves delectable rum punches and beer (what else would you possibly want?), and if your feeling a bit peckish simply cast a line and voila, a fish dinner. It doesn’t get more Jamaican than this.
Psst, stay at Jakes this summer and get your 5th night free.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...down the canal with a paddle
panama canal
the great canal…
On a recent trip to the secluded beauty that is Panama, I was super excited yet a teeny bit apprehensive to find that I would be kayaking the Panama Canal. An architectural and engineering masterpiece; the canal connects the Atlantic Ocean to great expanse of the Pacific, and has seen a whopping 815,000 vessels voyaging through its tropical passage since opening in 1914. Quite the feat you’ll agree. Bearing in mind the closest I’ve come to a kayak voyage before this had been in a swimming pool on the Isle of Wight, you’ll see where the slight concern comes in. However the thought of gliding through the waters with lush jungle lying ahead and giant cargo ships destined for the farthest corners of the globe behind me was just too appealing. So I grabbed an oar and took to the waters.
We set off early in sight of visiting an indigenous community hidden on the edge of Lake Gatun, an artificial lake which links the canal to the Chagres River. With the monstrous ships setting sail for the Far East behind us we glided further into the lake, until we were surrounded by the blissful sounds of nothing, apart from the odd call of a howler monkey echoing from the teetering jungle. After making our way (very slowly) through a dense mass of waterlilies we approached the indigenous community where we were met by the community’s children showcasing handcrafted trinkets forged from local materials, followed swiftly by a brief overview of the community’s past.
Once back on dry land and having conquered the kayak it seemed amazing that we where so close to one of the worlds busiest waterways, yet with a few strokes of a paddle you could find yourself nestled in the midst of a pristine jungle wilderness.
Fancy experiencing the secret beauty of Panama for yourself get in touch…
(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5) Loading ...go wild outdoor music festival
tafta rocking on the slopes
We caught up with AP Childs who’s been chilling on the sun-drenched slopes of Avoriaz, bringing us exclusive and up-to-date gossip from the go wild outdoor music festival. Bien sur…
The premature summer continued to dictate where the concerts would be held due to the unplanned closures of various pistes across the resorts. It was back to Les Crosets in Switzerland for a home show by that country’s favourites Tafta. A five piece that play very well and craft a magnificent keyboard sound as almost as big as the mountains themselves.
French mock Libertines outfit BB Brunes rounded the week off on Saturday on the French side of the Alps. The band are touted for great things though I am not so sure. However, they draw a decent enough crowd and round the week’s event’s off with fervent festival gusto.
The tourism office at the central Portes du Soleil resort of Avoriaz have confirmed that next year they will programme the festival to commence a few weeks earlier in expectation of more snow. But if this year’s inaugural event is anything to go by then I doubt there will be any problem with the festival being a runaway success. Try it out, why not.
(5 votes, average: 3.80 out of 5) Loading ...the pursuit of the tangible
Joris-Karl Huysmans’ novel ‘Against Nature’ chronicles the vacation adventures of a man who never leaves his house. Scandalous in its day and much admired by Oscar Wilde, the book shows the liberation and decadence of doing the exact opposite of perceived wisdom when it comes to your free time.
no parking...venice beach
Nearly 120 years later, the possibilities of travelling in your imagination are enhanced no end by our relationship with the moving image. Last summer, at its summeriest, an afternoon walk through London Fields, golden sun in my eye, catching an entrepreneurial tray of Pimms making its way around the hordes of those also lucky enough not to be trapped in an office that day, I imagined, no, it did seem momentarily that I was on Venice Beach in the mid 60s. I’ve never been to Venice Beach. Or California. Or the 60s. But as a youth I listened to a lot of the Doors and chewed at least one VHS of the film.
As a child I wanted to be Harrison Ford so much that I thought it was merely a case of wishing hard enough to become him. He was both Han Solo and Indiana Jones. As a teen, it was the Lizard King. OK, looking back, he was a self mythologizing alcoholic bore with a penchant for writing things like “Ride the snake, the snake is 10 miles long” whilst Agent Cooper hammed merrily away on the Hammond. But, it’s a rite of passage to be an arrogant little [thing] and wanting to be Jim Morrison helped me through a difficult stage. It got me laid. It got me stoned. It gave me confidence to play guitar, if not the immediate ability.
Well over a decade later, that film and that band long forgotten. The right gold light, the smell of the chopped mint, the haze silhouetting beautiful forms reawakens a combination of long dormant brain cells. Once again Jim rides through the park. I am the lizard King, I can do anything. And I longed for the California of my mind’s eye.
Paul Hanford is author of leading music & film blog Bring Me Coffee Or Tea
(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5) Loading ...
