With claims of over 500 unique dishes, a world-renowned chef, and inspiration dating back to the Incas, Peru is emerging as the latest in global culinary hotspots. Ranging from the sweet taste of neon-colored Inca Kola, the savory tang of a lemon zested ceviche, and the just plain unusual look of a fully cooked Guinea Pig, enjoying a meal in Peru is an experience to remember. Here are nine mouthwatering dishes to tempt your tastebuds in Peru.
Whether you’re a health fanatic or just a curious traveler on the hunt for an adventure, biking is an ideal way to explore a city. There’s nothing quite like taking in the sights and sounds of a new destination as you whip past monuments, street vendors and public parks. Due to the increased popularity of urban biking, many cities have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make easily accessible bike lanes for travelers. So, the next time you find yourself in a bike-friendly city, skip the car rental and let your legs do the driving.
Here are 10 global cities that are best seen by bike.
Tour the Dutch countryside on a bike! » Read more: 10 of the Best Cities to Explore by Bike
“It’s like our version of fruitcake,” said my Roman friend Enrico during my first Christmas in the Eternal City in 2002 as he sliced a piece of panettone onto a plate. As soon as he uttered the words “fruit” and “cake” in dangerous succession of each other, I lost my appetite, thinking of the “delicacy” Americans have relegated to a holiday culinary punch line.
I like to think of myself as open minded, especially when on the road. I’ve lived in Prague, Paris, and Rome, and have gluttonously celebrated holidays in each place. And while I didn’t end up eating the spongy, candied-fruit-studded dessert that night, I eventually learned that one person’s panettone is not just another person’s fruitcake. Enrico’s sweet of choice is what Pistachio baklava is to a Greek or amaranth-laced dulce de alegria (which means “sweets of joy”) is to a Mexican or a cardamom-scented cannoli-like krumkake is to a Norwegian. Holiday desserts—whether at home or abroad—are more than just the last course of a big meal. » Read more: The Power of Dessert: Christmas in Prague
So Navrathri is round the corner and you would certainly be getting ready to get involved with all the fun, enjoyment, and celebrations that are related to it. Come the month of September and India is agog with activity and entertaining activities. Indians indulge themselves in lot of festivities and the festive mood is what energizes them to carry on with the day to day activities at other times. Festivals are the way they take a break from their monotonous life and get to meet friends, relatives and enjoy with their near and dear ones. Dussehra is one such festival which the Indians celebrate with a lot of enthusiasm and happiness.
Occurring normally in the Hindu month of Ashvin, that would be around September or October of the Gregorian calendar, this festival signifies the triumph of good over evil. It symbolizes the victory that Lord Rama had over the demon king of Lanka Ravana. It also shows how Goddess Durga triumphed over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus Dussehra on the whole is a celebration of good over evil and has a lot of enthusiasm coupled with energy involved. Celebrations are the name of the festival and the entire country is a great festive mood during this time. Dussehra also brings the end of the hot summer month and welcomes the winter months with great gusto. The seemingly hot months seem to end and the Indians now look forward to getting cozy in the coming winter. » Read more: When Celebrations are Tenfold – Dussehra
Milan, Italy’s capital, can be a hard city to crack for tourists. Some might argue there’s a more rushed feel here, a sense of hurry and a lack of the relaxed charm that radiates from other Italian gems. So to get a little help understanding what makes this city tick, I booked a three-hour tour with a private viewing of The Last Supper.
Milan Walking Tour
I met my guide Alice and group in the centre of the Piazza Duomo. We start with an introduction to one of Italy’s best-known and most beautiful buildings, the Duomo. For a cathedral that has had 30 kilos of pigeon poo dumped on it each day and was under construction for six centuries, Milan’s Duomo, the third largest church in the world is looking in pretty good shape the morning I see it.
The stunning facade that features over 2,300 hundred statues was put in place by Napoleon during the French occupation. Today we’re lucky enough to see it gleaming white and sans scaffolding, the result of a seven-year restoration and clean up that kept the building covered most of the time.
Alice explains that what we see today is like a dress- the real structure is underneath. Inside, we’re able to view the thick black that coats the soft sandstone inside. Having Alice guide us through allows us to admire the little things we may have otherwise missed on the tour. » Read more: Milan Walking Tour – From the Duomo to da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”
Being a Londoner, I would never have thought of going on a London day trip anywhere. Oh, how ignorant I was!
Boarding the coach at Victoria Coach Station, I was pleasantly greeted by Nick, our tour guide for the day; a very knowledgeable and friendly man. He made us all feel comfortable, as we embarked on a two-hour trip down to Dover. That first half hour of the drive was almost a tour on its own; we passed many of London’s greatest attractions, learning tidbits even I (a proud-to-say-Londoner) didn’t know. Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the Tower of London, all witnessed from the comfort of my coach seat. Nick produced a calm ambiance around us, making the journey that much more relaxing.
The imposing white Cliffs of Dover, Dover coast, England
It was not long before the view outside my window changed. Taken from the busy, industrial scenes of London, we were now in Kent, the garden of England – a picturesque countryside many London tourists miss out on. Nick filled our ears with history, and soon my anticipation was over. I could see the white cliffs of Dover. The town itself is very Olde England. Quaint shop signs, a seaside view and, most of all, a medieval castle, like a shepherd watching over its flock. We were driven right to the castle gates. Nick stopped to carry out all the ticket malarkey with the box office as we walked as if being pulled by a magnet up to the castle’s entrance, a great arch of white stone carrying medieval magnificence.
We were told to explore the castle and its great tower in our own time before we would be taken down into the tunnels. I walked up inside the great tower and found little beds, little dining tables, everything was almost in miniature. Even though everything inside the great tower is not real artefacts, they have been replicated to exact detail, causing my Dover Castle experience to feel much more authentic. The colours that decorated it were rich and were contrasted by the paleness of the stone walls.
Taking my senses back to the medieval times, I tasted some traditional mead. It was sweet, warm and just what I needed on a cold autumn morning, awakening my taste buds to the whole experience. The gift shop has an array of different wines and meads to try, as well as chutneys (Gooseberry with Elderflower being my favourite). Not only can you buy all the medieval goodies but there are books, children’s toys and many collectors’ items to take back to reality with you.
The imposing towers of Dover Castle in Dover, England
Walking a little downhill to the Secret Wartime Tunnels we were fast-forwarded to the Second World War. Although the first tunnels were built in the Napoleonic times, those above and below them were built during the War and aided the evacuation of Dunkirk. Walking through these eerie tunnels you can see the names of soldiers etched into the stone; the old military operation rooms, plotting rooms with real artefacts and equipment were preserved. Each room had its purpose, told its own story. Walking around everyone is silent; all you can hear are footsteps and the voice-clippings of those back in the day. Every one of us are now in awe of the history being told by the white walls. My favourite fact of the day was that the function all of the equipment down in the tunnels – and there was a lot of it – could be carried out by one normal laptop.
Back in the coach we are driven to the city of Canterbury. As we enter the town Nick tells us about its literary history: The Canterbury Tales, The Marlow Theatre and its connection with Charles Dickens, as well as the history surrounding the Cathedral, which is also connected to Dover Castle by one man named Thomas Becket. We are taken to an old style English pub to eat a quintessential British lunch consisting of fish and chips – the best I’ve had in a long time – before we had two hours to explore the medieval city ourselves.
The magnificent, famed Canterbury Cathedral in the town of Canterbury, Kent, England
The city centre is full of old store buildings juxtaposed with contemporary shops, all providing a blanket around the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral. You can enter the Cathedral for just eight pounds and with the great coloured glass windows, medieval tomb stones and immense energy; itis actually worth it, even if you’re not the religious type. One other place I happened to find myself in was the Old Sweet Shop, on the corner of the main high street. Fudge, chocolate, marzipan and all kinds of gummy sweets from ceiling to floor decorated this cute store and it was not long before I found myself spending a little too much on ‘candy.’ One thing that did surprise me was that the shopping rivaled that of London, and you will not hear me say that often, if at all. Feeling rather content and that much more knowledgeable, we boarded the coach again for our journey up to Greenwich.
I remember Nick mentioning that this part of the trip was where he found many of us ‘tourists’ fall asleep and, to my surprise, I woke up as we were driving into Greenwich. It baffles me that so many of those that visit London do not travel just the other side of the Thames to Greenwich. There is so much to do, with breathtaking backdrops to accompany it. From Wednesday to Sunday the market is open – home to some of the best Brazilian food you can find except in Brazil, vintage books and clothing, as well as arts and craft collections. There is also London’s only public Planetarium, the National Maritime Museum, and home to Greenwich Mean Time – where east meets west. You can place one foot in the western hemisphere while your other is in the east and funnily enough be in two places at one time.
Usually the coach will drop you off in Blackheath, at the entrance to Greenwich Park, and you can take your time walking through the park, seeing the sometimes forgotten view of London as you make your way down to the Thames, taking in all the sights and history that go with it. However, as this is a very British tour, we had the British weather to back it up – it was raining, heavily. Because of this Nick decided it would be better to get dropped off in Greenwich centre and take us to the middle of the now Greenwich University, a spot from which all the great buildings, the Thames and even Canary Wharf are visible. He narrated the history that tied up all the facts of the day, a nice way to end the trip as there was a continuous flow of the past between the three places we had visited that day.
View of London Tower Bridge from cruise on Thames River, London
It wasn’t long before we all decided to embark on the last part of the trip: a boat on the Thames. We walked the five minutes to Greenwich Pier and before we knew it we were all sitting comfortably in our dry, warm seats watching the bridges of London pass above us. It was a great way to end the day. I had been taken from Olde England and thrown back into modern day London, with a much more cultured view of my city and its history.
- Mariella Agapiou
Viator offers quite an array of tours that showcase the magnificent castles and chateaux of Europe, and they are consistently amongst our highest rated tours. What is it about a day spent wandering around old buildings that people find so appealing? I decided to investigate; here are my findings…
The Guard at Windsor Castle
It doesn’t matter where you live: the suburbs of Sydney, the centre of San Francisco, the middle of Manchester or the outskirts of Oslo: nothing can help you imagine what life must have been like for the residents of a place like Versailles, Vaux-Le-Vicomte, Cesky Krumlov, Linderhof or Windsor… to name only a few. Each of these superb “residences” — a word that strains under the weight of any of these places — has a magic and grandeur that sets it completely apart from our everyday existence.
Not the view from your office window…
It’s not just the buildings: after all, some of the architecture is decidedly stodgy (Windsor?) while some (Versailles?) can be just a little over the top. The interior design, furnishings, scale, gardens and surrounding villages all add to the realization that this is not your life, never was, probably* won’t ever be!
No matter how hard-bitten, cynical or world-weary you may have become, a day-trip to these destinations provides a chance to travel back to those days of princes, princesses and fairy tales that were part of your childhood. That’s not a bad thing, and it certainly provides a partial explanation for the wildly enthusiastic reviews we often see for these tours. But that can’t be the only reason, can it?
Buckingham Palace, you say, is right smack in the middle of London! I concede this point… let’s move on! Because most castles and chateaux are anything but central; they demand you leave the city and all its pressures and people behind, immersing you instead in the countryside, in tiny villages and rural surroundings where your mind turns to crops and wines and local cheese and the simpler things of life.
Don’t worry; it’s only for a day. But what a release, to escape the built-up for a moment, to breathe the fresh air of the Loire Valley, enjoy the serenity of a Bavarian lake, or feel the wind as it blows through the Blansky Forest. You can’t experience any of these things in your day to day life, and that’s exactly what makes these tours so precious. A change — even if just for a day — is as good as a rest.
Viator iPhone Application
Listening to our customers talk about why they like these day trips so much, another one of the consistent messages is that Viator makes it all so easy. So, some patting of our own back is necessary here:
I could go on, but I think that’s a good enough wrap up of my investigation. Next time you’re in Europe, take the chance to escape the city and submerge yourself in another time and place. We’ll help make it a great experience; it’s what we do best.
- Rod Cuthbert
* Probably? Well, consider the case of Mary Donaldson, account director at an advertising firm in Sydney, Australia, who went for drinks with friends one night in 2000, met a nice young man, and was married to him in early 2004. Now, as Crown Princess of Denmark, she has a number of rather grand residences, too numerous to mention here. For the hopeful dreamers out there: fairy tales do happen.
Santo Domingo teems with Spanish Colonial History, and nowhere is this more evident than in the city’s Zona Colonial, the district that comprises Santo Domingo’s Old Town. Here, cobblestone streets reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans wind their way through this historic treasure trove of monuments, churches, and museums. Here, you’ll stroll down Calle Las Damas (Street of the Ladies), the first paved street in the Americas. Here, the sights and sounds of this thriving Dominican city come alive. To really get a feel for this area of the Domincan Republic, plan to spend at least a half a day seeing the sights, more for extended visits, shopping, and dining.
A View of the city from Fortaleza Ozama
Begin your tour of Zona Colonial at Fortaleza Ozama, set on a steep hill along the Rio Ozama. Built in 1502, this is the oldest colonial military building in the New World. One of the most impressive buildings inside the walled fortress is the Torre del Homenaje (Tower of Homage), a castlelike structure whose roof provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the city.
Fortaleza Ozama
Across the river you can see the El Faro a Colón (Columbus Lighthouse), where some say the bones of Christopher Columbus are buried. If you have time, the lighthouse is worth a visit.
A Stroll along the Calle Las Damas
Exit Fortaleza Ozama and head north on Calle Las Damas, the oldest street in the New World. It’s an awe-inspiring street, to be sure, as it’s lined with some of the most stunning colonial buildings in Santo Domingo. At the north end of the street stand three buildings worth seeing. On your left is the Panteón de la Patria, built in 1747 as a Jesuit church. Today it holds the remains of many of the Dominican Republic’s political heroes and martyrs. Across the street is the Capilla de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, with its stately brick façade and triple-arched belfry. Just north is the Museo de las Cassa Reales, which holds tapestries and artifacts, tracing Santo Domingo’s history from 1492 to 1821.
Onto Alcázar de Colón
From Calle Las Damas, head west on Calle Las Mercedes, then turn north and wind your way up to the Alcázar de Colón (Alcazar of Columbus), the most extraordinary structure in Zona Colonial. The Gothic-Moorish palace was built around 1500 by Columbus’s son Diego, and now houses an astonishing museum filled with paintings, jewelry, tapestries, and 16th-century antiques. Downhill from the castle is Puerto de San Diego, which was building in 1571 and served as the main entrance into Santo Domingo. Just north of Alcázar de Colón is the Museo de las Atarazanas, which displays recovered treasures from hundreds of years of shipwrecks.
Alcázar de Colón
Shrines and Sites on Calle Arzobispo Meriño
Walk west two blocks from Alcázar de Colón to Calle Arzobispo Meriño. A walk north will take you to the Iglesia Santa Bárbara, a church and towered fortress that serves as a place to honor the military. Head south to visit a real treasure, the Amber World Museum. Inside, marvel at the engaging and oddly fascinating collection of animals and insects preserved in amber, as well as stunning amber jewelry and other trinkets. Nearby, on a hilltop, are the ruins of the Monasterio de San Francisco, the oldest monastery in the New World.
Keep walking south until you reach Parque Colón, the heart of the Zona Colonial. Across the park is the oldest cathedral in the Americas, the Catedral Primada de América. Embellished with a gold coral limestone façade, the Gothic church was begun in 1514 and finished in 1540. Just behind the cathedral is the Museo del Larimar, a museum dedicated to larimar, which is a blue pectolite stone found only in the Dominican Republic.
If You Have More Time…
Want to spend more time in Zona Colonial? Head down Calle El Conde, a bustling street that traverses the middle of Old Town. As you walk west, you’ll find a plethora of boutiques, galleries, jewelry stores, shops, restaurants, and street vendors. Inside the old buildings, shops sell a booty of local crafts, including wooden masks and carvings as well as local paintings. Walk west until you reach Parque Independencia, a popular gathering spot for locals.
- William Travis
Beijing is a city that embodies China’s ancient civilization and rich political and cultural history. Alongside all of the historical buildings, temples, and gates is the juxtaposition of a modern China filled with skyscrapers, luxury shopping malls, and a vibrant art and music scene. Here are suggestions of what to do when you come to the capital of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
Start your day with a dive into China’s ancient history. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368-1840). For nearly five hundred years, it served as the palace for emperors and their families, and was the political center of the Chinese government. The Forbidden City is the world’s largest surviving palace complex and a UNESCO Heritage Site, consisting of over 900 surviving buildings with 8,000 rooms. Inside the Forbidden City visit the Palace Museum to witness China’s largest collection of ancient art works.
The Forbidden City, Beijing, China
Just north of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square, a large city square in the center of Beijing. At Tiananmen Square, you’ll see the gate to the Forbidden City along with the iconic Chairman Mao portrait. Tiananmen Square was the site of a number of political events and protests. Now, Chinese visitors from all over the country come to Tiananmen Square to visit Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum and pay their respects.
Go for a late lunch at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant located south of the Forbidden City. Here you’ll take in Beijing’s local specialty dish. The Beijing duck is known for its thin, crispy skin and is usually wrapped up in a pancake with hoisin sauce and spring onions.
After finishing lunch, head to the Temple of Heaven. During the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of China would come to the Temple of Heaven to make sacrifices to heaven and offer prayers for good harvest. The Temple of Heaven is an architectural masterpiece and the design of the temple halls in circles and squares reflects the ancient Chinese belief that heaven is round and the earth is square. Nowadays, you’ll find the park inhabited by retirees playing Chinese chess or practicing tai chi. » Read more: Top Things to See in Beijing
Several years ago, by chance, I saw a TV documentary about the Vasari Corridor in Florence. I’d never heard of it before, though I’d been to Florence. In fact, I’d walked right under it, in the portico between the road and the River Arno. But I suppose that was the whole idea – the corridor was built to be an escape passage for the Medici when they were the Grand Dukes of Florence, and a little nervous of a civil uprising. Although, given that they evicted people from their homes and moved shopkeepers’ businesses from the Ponte Vecchio, it was hardly very hidden. These days it is probably more of a secret because access remains just as restricted now as then.
In 1563, Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Florence, was feeling a little insecure. His family had been battling with other local families and guilds for control of the city for about a century and had finally succeeded in turning the once proud republic into a hereditary monarchy, thanks to intervention from Pope Clement VII (himself a Medici). From 1532 onwards, the Medici would be kings, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
When his son Francesco was due to marry Johanna of Austria, Cosimo decided it was time to take care of his own security. He commissioned Giorgio Vasari (famous as painter, architect and writer of Lives of the Artists), to build a corridor connecting the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of government, with the Palazzo Pitti, the royal home. Unlike most building projects at the time, this one had a limited time for completion. By using a simple brick design, rather than the habitual Renaissance carved stonework, Vasari managed to build the passageway in just five months. This despite the fact he had to displace whole families and remove the butchers from their shops on the Palazzo Vecchio because Cosimo did not appreciate the smell. Since then all the shops along the bridge have been occupied by local gold and silversmiths and the law putting this in place still exists today, which is why, much as they’d love to, Prada, Gucci and the like cannot get into this prime retail space.
The Uffizi itself took so long to build (1560-81) that the originators of the project never saw its completion. Guess who they were? Yes, Cosimo I commissioning Giorgio Vasari. Both died in 1574. And it was not built as an art gallery but as a place for the guilds of the city’s artisans to meet and work, all under the watchful eye – and control – of the Medici.
But enough history, today I saw the Vasari Corridor in the twenty-first century and it’s still something special. For starters, access is extremely limited. Visitors are only allowed in on guided tours of limited numbers, and only along the section from the Uffizi Gallery to the Boboli Gardens. A guardian stands by the unmarked doors in the Uffizi with a special key, and a guardian follows you through the passageway, checking you don’t photograph the paintings along the way or linger too long to enjoy the exclusive view along the river.
Façade of the Uffizi Gallery along the River Arno
Our tour started in the Uffizi itself with a quick tour of some of the key works of the Renaissance. A bonus of being on a tour was gaining entry to the Uffizi through a back door and not having to battle the queues snaking through the courtyard and down the street. My advice: always book a Uffizi ticket ahead of time. It’s crowded enough once you get inside, you don’t want to already be fatigued from hanging around waiting outside. A guided visit with special access to the Vasari Corridor can also be pre-booked, for a much smoother, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Be warned, Florentine galleries involve a lot of stone stairs. And a lot of people. From the beginning, we were jostling with other tour groups in front of the most significant paintings but our patient and polite guide took us through, still managing to take time to really explain how art changed in the significant years of the Renaissance. Beginning with the flatness of the Madonna and Child as rendered by Giotto around 1306, through to the more rounded figures and perspective of Gentile de Fabriano’s Adoration of the Magi of 1423, via the naughty monk Fra Lippi who had a child with a nun (she was the model for so many of his Madonnas), past the delicate beauty (and incredibly crowded room) of Botticelli, and on to the genius of Michelangelo and his only finished panel painting, the Doni Tondo of 1507. Here our tour of the main gallery ended – with so much art left unseen. (I realized I definitely had to come back and when I got home I went online and booked an advance ticket for the next day.)
Painting Gallery, Uffizi
And so, our Vasari Corridor guards and guides awaited us. As we milled around waiting for those who had taken the opportunity to run to the toilets (very long queues – which is a bit of a theme for any Uffizi visit), we looked at the great view from up there. The Medici certainly had a way of putting themselves on top of Florence looking down on the city they basically owned. Originally this top floor was open to the sky and displayed Cosimo’s sculpture collection.
Then we entered the Vasari Corridor, more stairs, and the first thing I saw was a majorly damaged painting. I could hardly see what the image was meant to be. And there was another in similar condition at the bottom of the stairs. I had waited years for this moment and was looking at ruined art. The guide explained that they were examples of the damage caused by a Mafia bomb set off one night underneath the Uffizi in 1993. Five people died. If it had been during the day, the toll would have been so much higher. It was horrifying to think about.
In sober frames of mind, we headed down the corridor, following in the footsteps of the Medici family from 500 years earlier when they came and went from home to work avoiding the people they governed. The route of the corridor goes from the gallery, turning right above a specially-built colonnade next to the Arno, turning left to run across the top of the shops on one side of the Ponte Vecchio, around a tower (there was one family who stood up to the Medici and refused to give way for the corridor), across more shops, then the front of the church of Santa Felicita, then over shops and houses and on into the Palazzo Pitti. Our tour ended at the Boboli Gardens where a few steps lead us back outside.
The corridor is lined by closely hung paintings – this is the gallery’s famous collection of artists’ self-portraits. There is Rembrandt, Rubens, Filippino Lippi, right through to the twentieth century and a wonderful blue swirling self-portrait of Marc Chagall. Of over a hundred portraits of famous artists that we passed, I estimate only fifteen were of women.
Between the paintings are small windows, rectangular on one side, circular on the other. And the views are great – views you rarely have of Florence and so wonderfully framed by these almost portholes. Mind you, some of them were enlarged by Mussolini in 1939; it wasn’t only the Medici who had visions of grandeur.
Porthole window view of Florence at Uffizi Gallery
The most revealing window of them all is towards the end of the corridor and does not look out onto a view but into a building, the church of Santa Felicita. Cosimo decided that seeing as he was passing through a church along the way, he might as well participate in the service, but still only if he could stay aloof from those he ruled over. Hence this window looks down into the church and towards the altar with a small balcony and very thick protective railing. If you look up at the church from the road outside, the front is crossed, and largely obscured, by the Vasari Corridor.
In fact, once you are aware of the Vasari Corridor, you can clearly see it’s uniform façade running alongside the river, over the bridge and atop the buildings towards the Pitti Palace. Not so secret then. But clearly effective – Cosimo I managed to rule Florence for 37 years without getting knifed in the streets even as he accumulated wealth untold.
In fact, the family stayed in control of Florence until the mid-eighteenth century when the Medici family literally died out. Luckily for us, the final Medici, Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, bequeathed all the family’s possessions to the Tuscan State on the proviso none of it ever left Florence. It’s thanks to her that Florence is what it is today and that we get to see all these incredible buildings and artworks. She is definitely my favourite Medici.
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