分类必应美图下的文章

洛阿雷城堡，西班牙韦斯卡 Castle of Loarre, in Hoya de Huesca, Aragon, Spain (© Sebastian Wasek/Alamy)

Floating in time

The castle of Loarre we show you today is a Romanesque jewel that has remained suspended in time for almost a thousand years near the Spanish side of Pyrenees mountain range. It was built by king of Navarre Sancho ‘the Great’ in the 11th century and there’s no other equal or better preserved fortress of that style in all of Europe.

Once finished, in 1070, it became an unbreakable bastion that played a crucial role in the “Reconquest” of the Aragonese territories occupied during the Arab invasion three centuries before, since it was in the battle frontline and mounted on a rocky hill that made it impregnable. From there Sancho’s grandson troops took back the city of Huesca and managed to advance near Zaragoza. And once the battleground had moved further in the south, the castle became a monastery, was expanded two times and surrounded finally by an outer wall to protect the population settled at its feet.

Today, Loarre is a protected national monument that can also be visited. And actually 100,000 people do it every year. If you like epic cinema, you will surely recognize this place, as it has served as stage in several films, like for instance 2005’s “Kingdom of Heaven” directed by Ridley Scott.

玄武湖公园的金色银杏叶，中国南京 Golden ginkgo leaves at Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China (© SIPA Asia/ZUMA Wire/Alamy)

A tree of many memories

As autumn takes hold in China, a blanket of fan-shaped golden leaves—like this one at Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing—becomes a familiar sight. And it's been that way for longer than anyone can remember, thanks to a native tree with a lineage going back eons, the ginkgo.

Even though most medical experts say it's no special boon to the brain, maybe Ginkgo biloba is touted as a memory enhancer for a reason—after all, many Chinese ginkgoes are known to be at least 1,400 years old. The order they belong to, Ginkgoales, is 270 million years old—meaning the sole remaining member species, Ginkgo biloba, survived the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. Ginkgo biloba originated in China, but has been cultivated all over the world for centuries as a food source, medicinal plant, and splendid symbol of resilience.

马塔马塔附近的霍比特人村，新西兰北岛 Hobbiton, near Matamata, North Island, New Zealand (© 500px Asia/Getty Images)

Happy Hobbit Day

Today is Hobbit Day, marking the anniversary of the 'Long-expected Party,' which sets in motion the 'Lord of the Rings' book series. September 22 is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, the protagonists of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' respectively.

Fans of the film adaptations of those stories will have no problem identifying today's image as Hobbiton in the Shire (though it is actually a set built in the countryside near Matamata on New Zealand's North Island.) You can celebrate Hobbit Day by walking around barefoot all day and having seven meals like a hobbit, or just by watching (or re-watching) any or all of the six films in the series. It's would be only fitting this year since the stories chronical a mythological struggle between darkness and light and today is the autumnal equinox.

斯塔德兰附近荒野上丛生的紫色和粉红色帚石楠，英国多塞特郡 (© allou/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

瓦尔内明德的帆船，德国 Sailboats in Warnemünde, Germany (© Rico Ködder/Getty Images)

Arrr, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day

These sailboats in Warnemünde, Germany, set the scene perfectly for International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The holiday (yeah, we're calling it a holiday) was first imagined in 1995 by two Oregon residents. September 19 was chosen for the annual observance since one of them had an ex-wife whose birthday fell on that day and they figured they could remember it. A few years later, seeking widespread adoption, they pitched the idea to humor columnist Dave Barry, who wrote, 'Every now and then, some visionary individuals come along with a concept that is so original and so revolutionary that your immediate reaction is: "Those individuals should be on medication."' From there, it went viral, and these days, September 19 is celebrated internationally, with major brands and media personalities joining in the silliness. We're fans, too. Just picture us typin' this here with an eye patch, peg leg, an' pocket full o' swag doubloons. Arrr!

波尔多葡萄园，法国 Sunset landscape and smog in Bordeaux wineyard France (© agefotostock/Alamy)

A hedonist’s paradise

It's harvest season! For this occasion, we are taking you today to the Bordeaux vineyard, which many consider to be the oldest and most prestigious in the world. The influence of French wine culture in general and of the Bordeaux wine culture in particular, are largely due to the expertise of the wine-growers but also, to the rich history of the French territory, to which Bordeaux is no exception.

In Gironde, the department of Bordeaux, there are six large wine regions whose names may remind you of a few properly catered “aperitifs” or dinners. First of all, there are the Bordeaux Métropole wines, for instance those produced in the vineyards of Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, the only vineyard with an address within the city limits. There are also the estates of Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac, Médoc and Graves et Sauternes, then those of the Entre-Deux-Mers and Blayes and Bourg. So many names, so many flavors…

瓜纳华托，墨西哥 Guanajuato, Mexico (© AI NISHINO/Alamy)

It's Independence Day in Mexico

In honor of today's Independence Day holiday in Mexico, our homepage comes from the state of Guanajuato—where the country's battle for independence first began. The conflict started with the 'Cry of Delores,' an event on September 16, 1810, when priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bell in the nearby town of Delores and called for a revolt to free Mexico from Spanish control. His call to arms triggered the formation of an insurgency that marched onward to San Miguel and then to the city of Guanajuato (featured on our homepage). The ensuing conflict spanned more than a decade, culminating with Mexico finally breaking free from Spanish rule in 1821.

Since then, the 'Cry of Delores' has come to symbolize the very idea of Mexican independence. Each year on the eve of Independence Day, the president of Mexico re-enacts the call to arms from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City, while ringing the same bell that Hidalgo used that day on September 16, 1810.

日落时分中央海岸入口海滩上的救生员小屋，澳大利亚新南威尔士州 Lifeguard shack at sunset on The Entrance beach, Central Coast, NSW, Australia (© Yury Prokopenko/Getty Images)

Sand, surf, and sun

Serenity is the name of the game here at the Entrance beach in New South Wales’ Central Coast region, and with sunsets like these its easy to see why. A beloved destination for family holidays and weekend getaways alike, the beach and backing town gains its name by being the entrance to Tuggerah Lake off to the north – acting as a narrow channel between it and the Pacific Ocean on the opposite side.

Just over an hour’s drive from Sydney, the small town packs plenty of history, and is the home to both Norah Head Lighthouse - an operating beacon for shipping that was built in 1903 - as well as a classic carousel built in Germany during the late 1800s, which continues to delight children to this day.

But because the Entrance area has six different beaches to enjoy, most still visit for the perfect combination of sand and surf. As the weather continues to warm on our shores, it’s making us want to start packing our bags as well!

以桑格雷－德克里斯托山为背景的沙丘，科罗拉多州大沙丘国家公园 Sand dunes with Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado (© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures)

Super Sandy Sweet 16

We're in the Rockies of southern Colorado to celebrate Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve's 16th year as a full-fledged national park—though it was a national monument from 1932, and both the dunes themselves and the surrounding valley's history are far more ancient.

The dunes lie at the edge of the fertile, expansive San Luis Valley just east of the Rio Grande's headwaters and west of the Sangre de Cristo range shown here behind the dunes. Humans have lived around here for at least 11,000 years. But that's just a few grains in the hourglass for this sand field that formed when huge glacial lakes dried up, leaving sediments that were blown by wind against the mountains to slowly form the tallest sand dunes in North America.

A city, a cliff, a canyon…and cheese

Gazing down the lush Alzou river valley at the vertically-oriented village of Rocamadour, you won't be surprised some regard the medieval French town as a holy site: Its beauty alone is mystical. The gorges of southwestern France are home to numerous striking historic hamlets built along and atop their steep edges. But Rocamadour is special as a stop for thousands of pilgrims on the Way of Saint James, a UNESCO-recognized traditional route through France and Spain that still draws journeyers both pious and secular. The town's cliff-top sanctuary and the black-painted Madonna statue within have been purported to have healing powers. If you're drawn to more earthly sources of good health, though, Rocamadour also lends its name to a delicious, locally crafted goat cheese.

As we end on that cheesy note, why not test your dairy IQ with today's quiz?

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