TRAVEL: Five Great Castles To Rent In Ireland

 

 

 

Irish Central has picked ten great castles in Ireland to rent for vacation. All of them reek with history and guarantees a unique vacation. Can't guarantee you that they are not haunted but at least they will be interesting ghosts! Here are the top five:

1. Ballyportry Castle, County Clare

For those of you who are “Game of Thrones” obsessed this is the castle for you. This tower house stands 90-feet tall over the mystical rocky landscape of the Burren.

Ballyportry Castle was built by the O’Brien family in the late 15th century and served as the family residence during the 16th and 17th centuries until it fell into disrepair in the following century.

Archaeologists restored the tower house in the late twentieth century. Ballyporty Castle’s six bedrooms can hold up to eight overnight guests.

2. Belle Isle Castle, County Fermanagh

Constructed in the 12th century for the MacManus and the McGuire families, Belle Isle was originally called Ballymacmanus.

Belle Isle changed hands in the early 17th century to soldiers Paul Gore. Since then the castle has had multiple owners who have expanded the castle and added gardens and other features to the estate.

There are three cottages, which house four to six adults that are also available for your stay. The nine bedrooms furnished with antique pine furniture will house up to seventeen of your friends.

3. Cloghan Castle, County Galway

Cloghan Castle was built as a fortress in the 12th century and was inhabited until the 15th century.

The castle’s architecture includes the typical Norman features of arched doorways, circular turrets and battlements. After falling into disrepair, the castle was restored over the course of several years in the late 20th century.

Cloghan Castle has seven bedrooms that can house up to seventeen guests.

4. Fanningstown Castle, County Limerick

Invading Normans built Fanningstown Castle as a defensive outpost in the late 13th century. Dominick Fanning helped lead the resistance against Oliver Cromwell in the middle of the 17th century and he did not survive.

Restoration on the castle began in the middle of the 20th century. Fanningstown Castle’s five bedrooms house up to ten guests.

5. Killahara Castle, County Tipperary

Thomas Butler built Killahara Castle in 1495 as part of a defensive system to protect Butler lands in Tipperary. The castle replaced an earlier timber construction built in 1185.

Restoration begun in the early 21st century has preserved the five stone levels of the castle for future use. The seven bedrooms provide room for up to fourteen guests.

SEE THE REMAINING FIVE CASTLES HERE>>>>>>

Cars As Art: The Wonderful Psychedelic Trucks Of Pakistan!

 

 

Image you are tourist in Pakistan and you go for a drive into the countryside. You are a little stoned and coming toward you is a line of psychedelic trucks! You swear off weed forever! Foreign Policy has a pictorial of these famous trucks. Take a look and think about going out into your driveway and starting painting on your pickup and car! Time to liven up the American highway system!

VIDEO: Astounding Color Video Of Driving Around London In 1927!

Claude Friese-Greene was a pioneer in British film. He made this astounding color video of driving around London. It appears as if he is shooting it from the top of a double decker bus!

The film is such high quality and makes you feel like you are right there. You will love this video of London that was taken eight decades ago! The music is by Jonquil and Yann Tiersen.

London in 1927 from Tim Sparke on Vimeo.

HOTELS: Brooklyn's Wythe Hotel Is Hipper Than Hip

 

 

Brooklyn continues to be the 'happening place' in New York City with new restaurants, galleries, bars, music venues and spectacular hotels. Among the best is the new Wythe Hotel along the waterfront in the Williamsburg section of the borough. A renovated 1901 old factory has been turned into a 70 room hotel.

Many of the rooms have extraordinary views of the Manhattan skyline. The bar on the roof has become a favorite with many Brooklynites! Here is how the team running the hotel describes itself:

Located in the heart of Brooklyn, Wythe Hotel is an 8-story hotel on the Williamsburg waterfront. Built in 1901, this former textile factory has been meticulously converted into a 72-room hotel offering service and amenities yet to be seen in the borough, while the building’s industrial character – like its concave corner entrance, original pine beams, masonry, arched windows and cast-iron columns – has been beautifully preserved. Renowned Brooklyn restaurateur Andrew Tarlow, of Marlow & Sons, Diner, and Roman’s, manages the hotel’s expansive food and beverage program. Venues include Reynards - a ground floor restaurant and bar with a wood-fired oven and grill, courtyard seating, and a daily menu featuring market-driven American fare and seasonal cocktails, and Ides - a 6th floor bar and terrace with stunning Manhattan and Brooklyn views. There are various event space as well, including a main event hall, a private dining room, large guest lofts and 60-seat screening room and bar. Throughout the hotel, guest rooms feature 13’ high original timber ceilings, oversized windows, radiant heat concrete floors, seasonally sourced mini-bar offerings, custom amenities and works by local artists. Many rooms, including band rooms, bunk rooms and suites, boast floor-to-ceiling views of the Manhattan skyline and East River.

All Aboard!!!

 

 

Count me as one of those people who love train travel. One of my biggest disappointments as an American is that we have yet embrace a network of high speed rail travel. There is no question that it is essential for future generations. China will soon be approaching over 15,000 miles of their high speed rail system. Spain and Japan has over 1,500 miles of high speed travel. The United States just has the corridor between Washington, D.C and Boston which is less than 400 miles. Even then a good deal of it is not at high speeds.

Boston.com's Big Picture this week has a photograph essay on train travel around the world Enjoy!

TO SEE MORE PHOTOGRAPHS, PHOTOGRAPHER CREDITS AND DESCRIPTIONS JUST CLICK HERE.

HOTELS: New Banyan Tree On The Bund Is Shanghai's First Full Urban Resort

 

 

A number of new hotels have opened up in the last year but one of the most exciting ones has to be the new Banyan Tree on the Bund in Shanghai. Located right on the river with magnificent views, you will have the full luxury hotel experience. The more expensive rooms have their own small 'pools' (more like large soaking baths) in the room with the view before you.

The hotel has 118 rooms and 23 spectacular suites. By its sharp design, every room is gifted with a perfect view. The hotel is being marketed as Shanghai's first 'urban resort' with full spa facilities.

HOTELS: The Hanging Gardens Of Singapore's Park Royal Pickering!

 

 

 

The Park Royal Pickering in Singapore is an architecture gem and reminds its guests of the 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon" Located on the edge of the city, its maximum of use of green space separates this hotel from others in the city.

Writing for Architizer.com, Patrick Bingham-Hall wrote of the hotel architecture designed by WOHA Architects:

A twelve-storey tower above a five-storey podium is placed on an E plan, so that all guest rooms look north to the park and/or into the sky gardens, whilst the services and the external connecting corridors were placed on the southern elevation. As the hotel is ‘self-shaded’ – by the projecting sky gardens and the adjacency of the three room-blocks – and shielded from early morning and afternoon sun by adjoining buildings, the rooms could be fully glazed (by low-emissivity glass) without external screening devices.

The podium represents a monumental embellishment to the Singapore streetscape, and has thus immediately achieved something that no other recent building has even attempted in the city. Referred to by WOHA as ‘topographical architecture’, stratified layers of pre-cast concrete weave through a modular grid of cylindrical columns without interruption, and without acknowledgment of the boundaries between exterior and interior. Cascades flow down from swimming pools and garden terraces on the podium roof, over the ‘eroded rock-forms’ of the striated mass, and into crevices and ledges from which trees and vines can thrive.

The facade of the hotel is its true star. The lobby is impressive but the rooms seem somewhat traditional and do not rise up to meet the promise of the outside.

VIDEO: Scariest Plane Landings Ever! Yikes!

 

 

If you have a fear flying DON"T watch this video. If you have a sense of adventure then watch these scary and out of control plane landings! You might want to push the mute button to get rid of the music! It doesn't add to the experience of watching the video!

TRAVEL: Head Into The Wild To Namibia's 'Private Camp

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Want the world at your fingertips and totally until yourself? Then head to Namibia's 'Private Camp'. Be in the middle of the Namibian desert in luxury with just your friends, the animals and you. It is your own private home in Wolwedans, Namibia with no strangers except staff to bother you.

The site for the home describes:

Situated in a quiet and idyllic valley, this splendid Suite caters for four guests exclusively. It is the perfect getaway for honeymooners or individuals seeking uncompromising privacy and solitude.

Private Camp offers two spacious en-suite bedrooms, a ‘Sala’ where one can laze away siestas, various decks and the central lounge, combining a study, living room, a dining area and a fully equipped kitchen. Its open-plan design allows uninterrupted views of the surrounding nature.

The Private Camp is designed for those who enjoy the peace that utter silence can afford. Get away for a day or two and revel in the luxury of reading, reflecting or taking walks in one of the most enchanting landscapes in Africa.

Guided activities such as scenic drives, scenic flights, hot-air ballooning and nature walks can be arranged either privately for you (at an extra charge) or to be shared with other lodge or camp guests.

Private Camp is your special home at Wolwedans. It demands nothing much of you, but to relax and gaze at the ever-changing colours of the desert.

And This Is An Airport???

 

 

Airports can be special places but increasingly like plane travel they are becoming more and more stress filled places. Standing in long security lines, not enough seats at the gates and people slamming into you as they are running to catch their planes makes for long trips!  Have you ever attempted to find restrooms at Newark Liberty Airport? Good luck!

However, there is one airport that BusinessInsider.com has discovered to be a special place. Take a look at Singapore's Changi Airport. Wow!

SEE MORE PICTURES HERE....