In 1968, innovative Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill designed a colorful postmodern apartment building in Manzanera, Spain that loomed above the rocky coast like a Cubist citadel. Inspired by the kasbahs of North Africa, La Muralla Rojaβor, The Red Wallβis imposing from a distance, yet inviting up-close. Signs of relaxed domestic life such as an abundance…
Bishop Castle in Rye, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and Cano’s Castle in Antonito form an unusual route across southern Colorado. A camper van suits it, provided you check the parking and access rules at each stop. The two castles ask for little preparation, while the dunes ask for more. Bishop Castle in Rye Bishop…
You probably picture Phoenix as hiking boots and golf carts. Fair enough, but the city also hides a desert castle and a museum packed with antique fire engines. Then thereβs a sandstone hill with a window worn clean through it. Give those surprises a little daylight, too. Five of these stops cluster around Papago Park…
During World War II, huge sections of Germany were reduced to rubble. In the aftermath of the war, much of the debris surrounding Berlin was fashioned into a man-made hill known as Tuefelsbergβor, Devilβs Hill. Tuefelsberg was once the site of a Nazi military technical college that was too large to bulldoze, so it was…
KwaZulu-Natalβs North Coast has transformed into a high-density extension of Greater Durban, while the Hibiscus Coast retains the low-stress coastal environment that originally defined seaside getaways in South Africa. Travelers seeking uncrowded sand, verified water safety, and genuine quiet find that the southern shoreline delivers a far more restorative break than Ballito or Umhlanga. This…
A bell dings as your tires roll over the air hose. Before youβve cut the engine, an attendant in a pressed cap is at your window, asking where youβre headed, checking your oil, and mentioning a better road past the grain elevator. He may also tell you whose cousin just got married. That was the…
In 1850, Count Cesare Mattei decided to become a self-taught doctor and scientific researcher after his mother died of a tumor. Nearly a decade into his medical studies, Count Mattei began to construct a whimsical Italian castle known as Rocchetta Mattei on the foundation of a medieval fortress which would serve as a fanciful laboratory,…
Two routes lead to the same citadel, and the choice between them shapes almost everything else about a Peru trip. One takes four days on foot across high passes and cloud forest. The other takes a few hours through the Urubamba valley in a seat with a window. Both arrive at Machu Picchu. What separates…