UNESCO World Heritage Site #149: Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 04:58 PM PDT

UNESSCO World Heritage Site #149: Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco

Tárraco (modern-day Tarragona) was a major administrative and mercantile city in Roman Spain and the centre of the Imperial cult for all the Iberian provinces. It was endowed with many fine buildings, and parts of these have been revealed in a series of exceptional excavations. Although most of the remains are fragmentary, many preserved beneath more recent buildings, they present a vivid picture of the grandeur of this Roman provincial capital.

The Roman remains of Tárraco are of exceptional importance in the development of Roman urban planning and design and served as the model for provincial capitals elsewhere in the Roman world. Tárraco provides eloquent testimony to a significant stage in the history of the Mediterranean lands in antiquity.

If you drove through the city of Tarragona you might not think it was anything special, even if you saw the Roman ruins in the middle of town. However, this was one the Roman capital of the entire Iberian peninsula. Julius Caesar, Augustus, Pompey and Hannibal all visited here. As Roman ruins go, Tarraco isn’t the greatest in the world. What is lacks in the spectacular ruins it more than makes up in history. The ruins of Tarraco are an easy one hour drive from Barcelona by car.

View my complete list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Originally posted on the Everything Everywhere Travel Blog. Discover great travel photos.

Monday’s Links For Curious People, Lake Tahoe Edition

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 03:04 PM PDT

This week has been pretty productive for me. I’ve spent most of my time chained to my computer catching up on photo editing, writing and other projects. I’ve gone from being behind the curve to slightly ahead. I still have a lot of writing and editing to do, but I’m a bit ahead of things with some blog posts.

I was invited to an event in Lake Tahoe this week for Hotels.com and as I am getting caught up I thought it would be a good trip. I have never been to Tahoe before and the scenery should be beautiful.

I’m also going to be doing something very strange for me: I’m going to be flying without a checked bag. Because I normally have to carry all my possessions with me I always check a bag when I fly. I’ve never lost a bag and the time spent at the baggage claim isn’t usually a big deal for me. The idea of just being able to hop on and off the plane is something I’m looking forward to.

I also get to go hot air ballooning!!

New Feature

You may have noticed yesterday a guest post by Anil Polat about his trip to Iraq.

This is something I’m looking to do on a weekly basis. If you have an interesting travel story that you think should be featured, send me an email (Gary at my domain name). You story should be genuinely interesting and should have photos and video to go along with it.

You don’t have to be a blogger or a writer to have your story featured. Your story also doesn’t have to be a trip per se, it should just be travel related and interesting. Please do not contact me if you are just looking for a quick link for SEO purposes.

What I’m Watching

I haven’t purchased any new books this week. I’ve been busy working and haven’t gotten through the books I have from last week. Also, I can read anywhere but there are some things I can only do in the US. One of those is enjoy Netflix. This week I managed to go through most of Season 4 of Mad Men on Netflix.

I’ve also caught up with the recent season of Entourage, but that isn’t as big of a deal as they are only 3 episodes in.

I don’t watch much television, but I have to say the state of the shows I’m seeing is HORRIBLE. If I see another show about pawn shops and I’m going to go to a pawn store and stick my face in a used lawn mower.

What is especially sad is the state of the Travel Channel. They have basically become the Food Network and their latest show is about a guy who runs a truck stop….which has nothing to do with travel. All these cable networks are becoming indistinguishable.