Categories
Articles Croatia

Random Croatia Photo of the Moment

Here’s a random photo from our Istria page of our Croatia album:

Medieval Street

Categories
Articles Croatia

Random Croatia Photo of the Moment

Here’s a random photo from our Plitvice Lakes page of our Croatia photos page.

Water in Plitvice

Categories
Croatia

Krka National Park

Krka National Park is a natural botanical wonderland in Croatia with a multitude of different species of plants and animals. The park covers over 109 square kilometers mostly around the Krka River. Krka park is known for the cascading waterfalls along the plunging river and the sights bring many to the park from around the country.

Although not as dramatic as Plitvice lakes, the waterfalls are dynamic and the scenery is largely untouched except for hiking trails and the occasional access point to the river. Unlike Plitvice, visitors are allowed to swim in the pools at Krka national park in addition to hiking up and down the length of the river.

Krka river comes out of the ground at what is called a karst spring which emanates from the ground after flowing through an underground system of caves or collected from the rainwater or snow melt in other basins. Although the water of Krka is untouched, karst springs, because they fluctuate so much with the seasons, have notoriously low water quality and you should probably not drink out of the river.

Getting there

Krka park is more convenient to Split and other big cities than Plitvice and if you are in the area and have limited time you can get the idea of what Plitvice is like without devoting a few days to traveling up there. If you have the option of seeing Plitvice though, it far surpasses what Krka park has to offer.

From Split, drive northwest along the coast on the E65 highway then head north on 33 and west on 56 after passing the A1 highway (which can also be taken from Split). Follow signs from there to Krka and be prepared to pay about 10 euros as an entry fee.
waterfall_rocks_croatia_270401_l.jpg

View Larger Map

Categories
Articles Los Angeles

Norton Simon Museum

painting_strokes_yellow_277363_m.jpgPasadena’s Norton Simon Museum describes itself as an “adventure in the visual arts.” This may be the case compared to other stodgy museums with comparable collections, but the Norton Simon Museum is probably referencing its place on the forefront of painting collections. The Norton Simon does not have the most extensive or complete collection in the world, the west coast, or even Los Angeles. But the collection is prestigious and focused, full of works you’re not going to see elsewhere.

In addition to the unique paintings the museum displays, the Norton Simon displays some remarkable statues from South Asia, tapestries and a lake built in to the museum garden.

The Norton Simon Museum has gone through several names in its history. The Pasadena Art Institute became the Pasadena Art Museum, which became the Norton Simon Museum. Along with its name the building has evolved over the last few decades. The architect Frank Gehry redesigned the museum so that it had had more display space, an increased capacity for temporary exhibits and a floor solely devoted to Asian art.

Location

The Norton Simon Museum is located at 411 W. Colorado Boulevard, near Old-Town district in Pasadena. The Museum is on the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade route and during television broadcasts of the parade the building’s exterior can be seen.

Admission

Adults are charged $8.00 for admission to the museum and seniors $4.00. Students with ID, museum members and anyone younger than 19 get in free. The Acoustiguide Audio Tour costs $3.00 for use during your tour of the museum.

Hours

The Norton Simon is closed on Tuesdays, but open from noon to 6:00 p.m. the rest of the week. On Fridays the museum stays open until 9:00 p.m. and from 6:00 to 9:00 on the first Friday of every month admission is free.

Categories
Articles Croatia

Random Croatia Photo of the Moment

Here’s a random photo from our Boats and Beaches page of our Croatia photos page.

Croatian boat

Categories
Los Angeles

Los Angeles Deals from Multiple Travel Sites

Airplane sunsetYou can often find special travel deals for Los Angeles if you look around the internet for a while, but in order to be sure you are finding the best one you have to check many different places. There are frequently special airline deals from various cities, and good hotel deals too, but they are spread all over the web. The good news is that BootsnAll has just launched a new service that combines all the best deals from multiple sites onto one page with all the Los Angeles deals in the same place.

You can find the best airfare-only deals to Los Angeles, the best hotel packages, and airfare+hotel packages that combine the best of both worlds into what are usually the best deals around. Check out the new BootsnAll Los Angeles Travel Deals page. The best new deals are added regularly, and some of them are for limited times or have limited availability, so it’s worth checking back often if you don’t see the idea one on your first visit.

Categories
Articles Croatia

Random Croatia Photo of the Moment

Here’s a random photo from our Plitvice Lakes page of our Croatia photo album:

Waterfall

Categories
Articles Los Angeles

Anaheim

guitar_blues_electric_263163_l.jpgAnaheim is located in Orange County, 28 miles southeast of Los Angeles and is best known for being the home of Disneyland, several sports teams and the Anaheim Convention Center.

Disneyland

Disneyland is located in Anaheim, just off Interstate 5 in the heart of Orange County. Disneyland brings millions of visitors to Anaheim each year and is a big part of the reason that Los Angeles is such a popular tourist destination. Disneyland, however, is largely self-contained. Disneyland offers deals on park admission and hotels so that it makes the most sense for visitors to spend as much time as possible in the park or their hotel. Some visitors to Disneyland never see the rest of the city.

Sports

Anaheim is California’s 10th largest city and the city hosts many of Orange County’s sports teams. Just down the street from Disneyland, the Anaheim Pond is home to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play their games next door at Angel Stadium.

Anaheim’s sports teams have enjoyed incredible success over the last few years, the Ducks winning the Stanley Cup and the Angels winning in the World Series in 2002.

Culture

No, that’s not a typo and no, we’re not going to make snarky comments. OK, there might be a few, but we thought it worth mentioning that Anaheim is the home of that sad, angsty pop sound that is so popular now on the radio. Blame Anaheim for the rising popularity of emo-music and sad-punk that pubescent teens sink into as they grow up. Social Distortion, No Doubt, and many other bands with their own flavor of affected rock come from Anaheim.

Categories
Articles Croatia

Trakoscan Castle

castle.jpgThe Trakoscan Castle, an easy day-trip from Zagreb, hearkens back to a simpler time, when people lived in castles instead of just admiring them on vacation and the dungeon wasn’t just for tourists. Trakoscan was an occupied dwelling until the middle of last century and only recently opened to become part of the set of attractions that Zagreb has to offer.

Trakoscan Castle was built in the middle of the 13th century as part of a network of fortifications throughout Croatia. The origin of the name of the castle remains disputed, but it is agreed that it is a Romanesque fortification.

The Draskovic family came into possession of the castle in return for services rendered to King Maximilian in the 16th century. For a few generations the family lived there, then abandoned the estate for a more exciting existence abroad. It wasn’t until the second half of the 18th century, when manor houses and estates became popular in the countryside, that a group of Draskovic’s returned to the castle and restored the interior and gardens to a point that surpassed the former level.

The castle was inhabited until the 1940’s when the remaining Draskovic family members emigrated from Croatia to Austria. The castle is now state owned and the facility is on display for the world to see and tour.

Trakoscan has four main levels, including the dungeon, and each one is a large area to tour and see. The castle has the feel of something that has stopped in time and living there must have required an intense respect for days gone by in order to not upgrade the facilities to include heating systems and other modern amenities. Almost immediately after the Draskovic’s left the Balkans, the government turned the castle into a museum.

The two most notable rooms in the castle are the Knights and the Hunting rooms, which are on display year round, although only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the summer. The rest of the year, the museum is open and the castle is available for tours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.