Monday, May 27, 2013

Armchair Travel: Norway’s Atlantic Ocean Road

Image courtesy of Peter Kvalvikfjellet [http://www.kvalvik.no]
The Atlantic Ocean Road is an 8.3-kilometer (5.2 mi) long section of County Road 64 which runs through an archipelago in Eide and Averøy in Møre og Romsdal, Norway.

The road traverses an unsheltered part of the Norwegian Sea, connecting the island of Averøy with the mainland and Romsdalshalvøya peninsula. The road is built on several small islands and skerries, which are connected by a number of causeways, viaducts and eight bridges—the most prominent being Storseisundet Bridge.

The route was originally proposed as a railway line in the early 20th century, but this was ultimately abandoned. Serious planning of the road started in the 1970s, and construction started on 1 August 1983. During construction, the area was hit by twelve hurricanes, but despite the hazards involved in completing the project, the road was opened in July 1989.

Today, the Atlantic Ocean Road is preserved as a cultural heritage site and is classified as a National Tourist Route. For reasons that will become clear as you watch the video below, the road is a popular site to film automotive commercials, and it has been declared the world's best road trip. There are four rest areas along the road from which stunning views of the surrounding landscape (or should that be seascape?) can be viewed.

The video below was filmed by Heine Schjølberg, who lives in Kristiansund, Norway, a city and municipality with a direct connection to the Atlantic Ocean Road. Schjølberg states on his YouTube page that the video was shot with a GoProHero 2 and a Sony XDCAM EX1 camera. He goes on to say that the footage was recorded the day after Cyclone Patrick (renamed Dagmar by the Norwegian Weather Service) hit the area on Christmas Day, 2011.


More Information

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, America

~ The Memorial Day Weekend is considered the official start of summer in America, and I wish I was there to see the summer in. Since I’m not, I thought I might at least point lucky visitors and locals to a few of my favorite New York-centric websites and events.

Over the past 50 years, more than five million people have enjoyed free productions of plays by William Shakespeare at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. This year The Comedy of Errors is the Public Theater’s choice for their free annual Shakespeare In The Park production. The play kicks off Tuesday, May 28 and runs through until Sunday, June 30, 2013. All shows begin at 8:30 PM.​​​, and there is no intermission during the 90 minute performance.

Among the actors featuring in this year’s production will be Jesse Tyler Ferguson, one of the stars of Modern Family, Hamish Linklater, and Becky Ann Baker.
If you want to join the audience, you are advised to line up early on the day of performance.
​Free tickets are distributed on each performance day from 12:00 PM (midday) via the free lines at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Tickets are for the daily performance only. You can not line up to get tickets for the following day, or for an upcoming performance.
Once The Comedy of Errors finishes its run it will be followed by Love's Labour's Lost, A New Musical​, which is of course, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Love's Labour's Lost. This production will run from July 23 - August 18​, 2013.

More information: Shakespeare In The Park…

oo0oo

I have written about this website before here… This is my ‘go to’ site for cheap tickets to a whole range of events in New York City and beyond. Via Goldstar you can find tickets (many at half their box office price) to numerous theatre productions and major sporting events, as well as walking tours, harbor cruises and much more. The great thing about Goldstar is that discount tickets are available for similar events in more than 30 other cities across the United States.

oo0oo

SummerStage is another annual arts and music program of New York’s, City Parks Foundation. It schedules a host of free events throughout the summer months, and 2013 will be no exception. As in previous years, the artists chosen for the 2013 program represent a wide range of genres and cultures, and perform in outdoor settings accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. I was lucky to see one of my favourite performers, the late Gil Scott-Heron performing as part of the 2010 SummerStage concert series, and I am very grateful to the City Parks Foundation for giving me that opportunity.

SummerStage strives to develop a deep appreciation for contemporary, traditional, and emerging artists as well as the communities in which these artists originate. All SummerStage shows go on ‘rain or shine’, and are only cancelled if extreme weather events are forecasted.

You can follow SummerStage on Twitter and Like them on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest SummerStage fan content and contest opportunities.

More Information: Summerstage...

oo0oo

Good things are said to come in three’s, and the above three sections point to three of the best in my experience. If you are visiting New York City for the first time, you are in for a treat, and I can only wish I was there with you. All things being equal, I plan on visiting America and New York City again next year, so you can be sure the next twelve months will be filled with much anticipation, and forward planning. I can hardly wait.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Friday Photos: Adelaide Central Market

Let them eat cake? Not when the bread is as fresh as this.
Originally known as the City Market, the facility was officially named the Central Market in August 1965, and continues to offer almost every variety of fresh fruit and vegetable available in South Australia.

The world comes to shop at the market.
Hot nuts! Once you start eating them, you can't stop.

Several tour operators offer tours of the Central Market.  For more information on tours of the Market, visit Top Food & Wine Tours… 

If it is available fresh, you will almost certainly find it at the market.
Processed meats to go.
A wide range of events and activities are scheduled each week at the market. Some traders offer product samples in ‘try before you buy’ promotions, while others present short classes, and product/produce demonstrations each week.

Ice on Mt. Brocoli.
How many varieties of Mettwurst can there possibly be? Ask here.
Mark Gleeson conducts Central Market Tours that provide participants with an exclusive experience interacting with suppliers, producers and retailers of South Australia’s vibrant food industry.

Watermelons by the ton.
Mid-eastern spices and processed foods.
More than 80 stalls offer a wide range of fresh and processed meats, cheese, seafood, nuts, confectionary, coffee and other specialty foods. And of course, let’s not overlook the bakeries, patisseries, and numerous cafés and restaurants.

There is always time for coffee and cake.

Trading Hours
Tuesday: 7am - 5.30pm
Wednesday: 9am - 5.30pm*
Thursday: 9am - 5.30pm
Friday: 7am - 9pm
Saturday: 7am - 3pm
*Optional trading day, not all stalls open

Closed Public Holidays

Here is a brief video of footage I shot during a visit to the Adelaide Central Market:


More Information
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...