And now, a personal travel dispatch from the wilds of North Wales...

Every few years in the course of my travels, I will without fail run smack-dab into a postcard-perfect scene of locals enjoying a game of boules, backed by amazing scenery which is commonplace to them. The first was Bocce on one of Rimini, Italy's famous beaches, though just after the season so the town was as good as deserted. The second was Bocce in the public gardens behind the presidential palace in Slovakia's capital of Bratislava. The third, a sandy game of Petanque along the Esplanade in Nice, enjoyed while snacking on honeyed treats from an Arabic bakery with no name.

And now: a proper game of lawn bowling on a perfectly manicured field situated just behind the medieval castle of Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey. It's one of those things about traveling—that one can go for a walk and stumble upon such pleasant scenes, scenes which will remain in the memory despite their apparent banality. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-04T15:22:59-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/24/95625/8628

This week, Jaunted contributor Heidi Atwal will guide you through a series of food and shopping-rich travels through Copenhagen, a quaint European city trafficked by many a bike and artsy hipster. Stay tuned for suggestions on where to eat, hang, drink, and what to see in the city.

Provided that I'd recently seen a staging of Hamlet at London's Globe Theater, it's appropriate that my recent jaunt to Copenhagen concluded with a trip to Kronborg Castle, the supposed site of the Bard's famous work.

Located in Helsingør, approximately a 35-minute train ride outside of the city, the castle is quite easy to get to from Copenhagen's central station, though the journey itself doesn't afford particularly pretty scenery. (The seaside is mainly obscured by shrubbery en route.)]]> Heidi Atwal 2011-06-24T12:10:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/5/1073/95337

All this week, Jaunted contributor CMB will be giving us notes on her Dublin Field Trip. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know.

If touring a castle in Ireland just isn't enough and leaves you wanting more, then why not sleep in a castle? it's the easiest way to live out your fantasy of being a royal, and you're in luck because there are plenty regal Irish castles that have been turned into luxury hotels.

One of the best castles-turned-hotels is the Dromoland Castle in Co Claire, just a few minutes from Shannon, making it easily accessible via the Shannon International Airport. It's also an excellent home base for visiting tourist traps in western Ireland, like the Cliffs of Moher and of course the Blarney Stone. ]]> cmb 2009-08-05T16:36:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/19/20312/7492

All this week Jaunted contributor Eric Rosen will be filling us in on his recent field trip, drinking his way through France. Any questions about what he saw, did and drank? Let us know.

In a little-visited corner of France, way down south near the Spanish border, and bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the Pyrenees on the other, lies Cathar country. The area was the domain of Romans and Visigoths, medieval troubadours and heretics, fiercely independent mountain men and cultured damsels.

Today, that checkered past makes for some fantastic travel options where you can go hiking to mountaintop Cathar castle ruins one day, and taste some of the region’s unique wines the next (or do both the same day, if you’re in a hurry).]]> EricRosen 2009-05-20T14:16:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/14/85239/2823

Moviegoers will come back down from space this weekend with the opening of Ron Howard's movie adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons novel.

While the film is largely set in Rome, just about every European locale is looking for their own way to cash in on secret society-obsessed tourists. One of the most prominent examples of this is to be found in Portugal, which has its own spooky Knights Templar history to show off. ]]> BS 2009-05-14T11:05:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/22/203029/06

We didn't think ol' Queen Elizabeth II was getting so many gigs these days, but today she's journeying to the Slovak capital of Bratislava to do a spot of monument unveiling.

In fact she'll be just outside Bratislava at the old ruin of Devin Castle, on the border to Austria. Her Majesty will officially open an iron sculpture sitting on the spot where the Iron Curtain--in this case a barbed wire fence between Austria and Slovakia--used to stand.

Today it'll be all fanfare and nice cups of tea, but it wasn't that long ago that you could've been shot for trying to cross over that part of the border. Of course if the 82-year-old Queen tries walking around the rickety walls of Devin Castle, it'll be just as dangerous for her, so we hope plenty of Slovaks are there to catch her if she falls.

Related Stories:
· British Queen to Unveil Iron Curtain Memorial at Devin Border [TASR]
· Devin Castle [Official Site]
· Slovakia Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: themanwithsalthair]]]> amandak 2008-10-23T09:00:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/15/181313/593

Take a break from reality this weekend and hit up the theater to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the next installment in the series of the the Pevensie sibs.

This time the charming English foursome find that hundreds of years have passed since their last trip to Neverland, er, Narnia, and a new villan, King Miraz, has taken over the throne. Of course they enlist help from all the Narnia creatures and then have to figure out how to get home. This one's full of mythology, some new local characters and even a night raid on a castle.

In that vein we encourage you to explore Narnia this week. We kid, we kid. Instead, try checking out some of the below hotspots in Poland, where parts of the film were actually shot:

Where to Stay: Hotel Grodek, Krakow Part of the Donimirski family of boutique hotels, the Grodek features distinct rooms (you can view them all online and decide before booking) and is tucked away in the Old Town area of the city.]]> sedona 2008-05-16T09:00:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/