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Lesley Peterson is a Toronto-based blogger tripping on travel, art, culture, museums, cities and legendary landscapes. Catch her on Twitter as @culturetripper or contact her at lesley@culturetripper.com. All content by Lesley Peterson copyright © 2009 - Until the Present. All photos by Lesley Peterson except where other credit noted.
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The fourth best beach in the world
Six of us got off the plane at the tiny airport in Cayo Largo del Sur, Cuba. It had taken two days to get there. Cubana Airlines scheduling problems delayed us overnight in Cayo Coco—hauling luggage and fighting for a place in the buffet line at a massive busy resort. Thirty minutes in the air […]
15.05.2017 · Filled under: Cuba, Destination Guides, Legendary Landscapes · Tags: Beaches, Cuba, FUN, water
Island-hopping in the Atlantic with Azores Airlines
Black volcanic cliffs shrouded in mist, fantastical ferns and flowers that look like props from an episode of Star Trek. I’ve just returned from a big adventure, island-hopping in the Atlantic Ocean with Azores Airlines (SATA). The two-island 12-day package took us on a voyage of discovery to a part of the planet we’d never […]
28.12.2015 · Filled under: Destination Guides, Europe, Legendary Landscapes · Tags: Beaches, Gardens, water
Gone swimming! Best places in the world to swim
Swimmingly \ adv (1622): very well; SPLENDIDLY Several recent Guardian articles on wild swimming (Kenwood Ladies Pond, Hampstead Heath, and Wild Swimming in Italy) have me dreaming of water again. One thing my husband Pat and I can agree on when planning a trip to take together is the opportunity to swim in natural water. We’ll never […]
20.08.2015 · Filled under: Italy, Legendary Landscapes, Mexico, Myths & Legends, United States · Tags: FUN, water
Circumnavigating Manhattan by boat, rare vistas of NYC
Have you seen northern Manhattan from the Harlem River yet? One of the best things I’ve done in New York City is to circumnavigate Manhattan by boat. It’s relaxing to escape traffic and see sides (literally) of Manhattan you’ve never seen before. Manhattan is completely surrounded by water, and there are many ways to get […]
26.03.2015 · Filled under: Architecture, Legendary Landscapes, New York, United States · Tags: FUN, water
Postcards from Grenada
Greetings from Grenada, an island with natural beauty so seductive that–other than a wild ride up the coastal mountains to Gouyave for Friday Night Fish Fry–I’ve spent all my time on the beach. Along the beach, an array of sunbathers that tickle me as resembling a gallery of Henry Moore’s monumental reclining women and modern […]
Greek culture & sponge fishing in Tarpon Springs, Florida
George Billiris oversees his sponge empire from a modest clapboard office on the sponge docks of Tarpon Springs, Florida. He’s also a repository of local history, a past and present that includes links to the legendary sponge divers of Greece. The finest sponges in the world grow in the nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of […]
Welcome to Narnia: The Malvern Hills, England
“It all began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion.” So author C.S. Lewis explained the inspiration for his epic children’s fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. One of the books’ most memorable images is that of a gas lamp glowing in a snowy wood just beyond the wardrobe that serves as a […]
13.12.2012 · Filled under: Europe, Legendary Landscapes, Myths & Legends · Tags: Books, England, water
Lagoon dreams: Venice, Burano & Torcello
I’ve dreamed of the lagoon since returning from Venice, dreamt of jade water shivering as it crosses sandbars, spangled with sun diamonds. Though we rented a car for several days to explore, we left it at the hotel that Sunday morning and took Bus 19 (about a 15-minute ride, 1.30 Euro) from our hotel in Campalto […]
20.10.2012 · Filled under: Architecture, Destination Guides, Europe, Italy, Legendary Landscapes · Tags: CITIES, hemingway, HISTORY, Italy, water
Strait of Messina, Italy: myth, magic and a controversial bridge
When Odysseus sailed the Strait of Messina he had a tough decision to make. Sailing too close to Calabria would mean passing Scylla, a sailor-snatching sea-nymph with a body composed of ravening dogs. Too close to Sicily and the whirlpool mouth of Charybdis could suck down the entire ship. Navigating the water between mainland Italy […]
Myth and water around Lamezia Terme, Calabria, Italy
We’ve been using Calabria as a back door to Sicily for a few years, preferring direct flights to Lamezia Terme to non-direct flights to Palermo. Car rental is a lot easier at Lamezia, too. This time we stayed in the area for a few days to decompress and explore. Our first stop is always the quiet […]
01.11.2011 · Filled under: Destination Guides, Europe, Italy, Legendary Landscapes, Myths & Legends · Tags: water