Posted by Jackie Hewett on Thu 19th March 2009 at 01:24 AM, Filed in Europe, March
Annually in March (in 2009 it will be on the 28th March) the beautiful, rich and famous of Monaco attend the state’s famous Rose Ball at the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club. Established in 1954 by Princess Grace (and now hosted by Princess Caroline) the Rose Ball is a charity event in aid of the Princess Grace Foundation, and is open to anyone who wants to / can afford to buy a ticket.
For a cool 750Euros a ticket you can dine, sup champagne, dance and be entertained and join in with the theme (in past years have included Jamaican Reggae and Spanish movida). The theme for 2009 is ‘Rock’n’Roll’. Whilst the tickets certainly aren’t cheap it isn’t every day you can buy the opportunity to mingle with Royalty and A-listers is it?!
Princess Caroline in an unpopular choice of dress at the 2008 Rose Ball.
The spring and autumn equinox (20th – 21st March and 21st – 22nd September) are arguably THE time to visit the great archaeological site of Chichen Itza on the Yukatan peninsula. In both the morning and evening of these four days the angle of the sun casts a shadow on the famous El Castillo pyramid which makes it look like a serpent is winding its way down the structure. The head of the snake being at the bottom of the steps on El Castillo. The only problem with going at this time of the year is that you can guarantee it will be crowded.
I have been fortunate to visit Chichen Itza, although not during an equinox. The site is huge (see Chichen Itza article) – allow the best part of a day to really take it in, and for this reason I would recommend hiring a car and ‘going it alone’ with a good guide book or hiring a private guide rather than going on a day trip from a hotel when you are only likely to get 2-3 hours at the site. Hiring a car is easy – we got ours from Cancun. The drive was about 3 hours on reasonable dual carriage way roads, and we made an overnight stay in nearby Merida so we could visit nearby site of Uxmal the next day. I would definitely recommend a visit to Uxmal too if history is your thing. Making our own way there was definitely the right thing to do – for us.
You don’t have to be a celebrity to go on your own bush tucker trial!
Head to Hokitika on the south island of New Zealand on 13th - 15th March to sample the ‘delights’ on offer! Join the crowds who have been lured here with a curiosity for strange flavours. Fancy swallowing crickets, chewing slugs, gobbling sheep’s eyes and nibbling on sausages made from bulls’ penise, you pay’s your money and you take your choice!
Hokitika is a tiny, beautiful town in the middle of the wild, cold, wet, and did I say wild? West Coast of the southern island of New Zealand. It’s known as the “Greenstone (New Zealand Jade) Capital of the World,” the small seaside town is not much more than a few shops with a beach reputed to wash up jade along the shore. Every spring over 15,000 travelers, tourists, locals, and freaks descend upon the village to put their mouth where their money is and eat all manner of cuisine from the forests, farmland, and ocean waters of New Zealand.
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Posted by Jilly Bowen on Tue 10th February 2009 at 03:00 PM, Filed in February, March
This years Tedfest is being held on February 26, 2009 to March 1, but it’s sold out! However there is a second ‘coming’. Be quick, tickets sell out as fast as they are offered! The second coming is being held on Thursday 5 March to Sunday 8 March; you know you want to go so, go on, go on, go on! Festival numbers are apparently restircted by the size of the island upon which it is held.
For those of you scratching your heads in utter bewilderment as to what this is all about, it’s based on the wonderful cult series Father Ted ‘set on ‘Craggy Island’ with the three batty priests’, and is a few days of totally off-the-wall madness. Anyone that knows the series will understand it means, madness, mayhem and utter chaos. If you have never seen it, oh boy you’ve missed a treat, ‘google’ Father Ted, or better still invest in some DVD’s, I can assure you they will be watched many, many times over!
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OK, we all know the Spaniards are a little off-centre when it comes to their festivals. I am sure you are aware of bull running (most famous on at Pamplona) and La Tomatina (perhaps the dirtiest food fight of them all). Well, here’s one that you might not have heard of before.
This one takes place in Ourense, which is in Galicia (North Wet Spain, bordering Portugal) in the run up to lent and lasts for about three weeks. However, the main action takes place in the 5 days preceding Lent when, you guessed it – the town becomes a blanket of white. Fortunately they tend not to go for the eyes – the perfect shot being anywhere between nose and chin – so keep your mouth firmly shut & I’d be tempted to wear swim goggles just in case!! Local etiquette dictates that men usually ‘attack women’ and visa versa. Know one quite knows why flour – perhaps its something to do with ash Wednesday?
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