Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope

I just returned from a wonderful Mediterranean cruise aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner as part of its PTV at Sea cruise. While on shore we did our best to capture a taste of the wonders of Venice, Croatia, Malta, Tuscany and Sicily for season six of Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope. The challenge was formidable and the task sometimes daunting – presenting three countries and six cities in one show – but I think everyone will be pleased with the outcome. One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to Taormina, Sicily, known for its Roman ruins, amazing cuisine and warm hearted people. My Sicilian excursion and our stop in Tuscany, where we visited two wineries and I had my fill of Chianti Classico (if one can ever get their fill of such delicious wine), was put together by our friends at Select Italy. Their tours are an excellent alternative to the shipboard excursions, offering personalized itineraries and genuine encounters. I highly recommend Select Italy if you want an authentic experience. To plan your own Italian adventures go to SelectItaly.com. My superb guide in Sicily was Giacomo Mazza. In a lovely square in Taormina I spoke with him about Americans traveling, or rather not traveling, to Sicily and what they miss.

Volvo is one of the underwriters of Travelscope’s Christmas in Switzerland show, which will begin airing November 15th and run throughout the holiday season on PBS stations nationwide. It’s a perfect match for many reasons. Foremost among them is that fact that Volvo has an overseas delivery program that is not only one of the best around, but also offers a European trip as part of the deal. The program includes two free round trip air tickets to Sweden, hotel accommodations, free U.S. delivery and a number of other extras that makes it a dream come true for travel lovers and prospective Volvo new car owners. There’s an attractive Winter Offer going on right now that includes some features not available during the summer months. To get the inside scoop on this unusual travel opportunity Joseph spoke with Anders Robertson, manager of the Overseas Delivery Program. After you listen to the pod cast, you can get more information on this New Volvo/European Vacation deal at VolvoCars.us/MyBagsArePacked or by calling 800-641-1102.

Making the travel experience the best that it can be is one of Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope’s primary goals. One of the underwriters of our Christmas in Switzerland television show which will be airing on PBS stations across the country beginning in November 2011 is Park Air Express — a parking company dedicated to making at least one part of your journey go smoothly.  Joseph met and spoke with Park Air Express vice president of marketing, Jeff Okyle, about some of things travelers can do to make getting to their destination easier.

Joseph breaks away from heat for a cooling and relaxing stay among the gentle gulf breezes of the South Texas Coast.  In every season the pleasures are easy in this laid back Southern town where often the best thing to do is nothing.  The active visitor has plenty to keep them busy and Joseph tries his hand at surfing, sand castles, kayaking, fishing and dancing a two step or three.  In keeping with his joy of lifelong learning, he hops aboard a University of Texas research vessel for a cruise of the bay and a look at the bay’s denizens.

While shooting two episodes on Taiwan for the now-airing 5th season of Travelscope, Joseph captured the art and craft of tea including the beauty and serenity of a formal tea ceremony.  Upon his return, he discovered an authentic tea experience near his home in Southern California at the Ten Ren tea store and Tea Station tea café in San Gabriel.  In this pod cast Joseph speaks with Jimmy Huang of Tea Station, Inc. about the joys of tea – the world’s second favorite drink after water.  After listening to it you can sip some of the best teas at the twelve Tea Station shops in California and Las Vegas, as well as learn more about the pleasures and curative properties of tea at TeaStation.US.

In September, Joseph will be traveling to the picturesque town of Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula as part of Travelscope TV’s Toronto adventure. Niagara-on-the-Lake, with its art and culture, gourmet restaurants and premium wineries, makes a great day excursion from the city. It’s just an hour and half ride from Toronto on the Queen Elizabeth Highway to Niagara-on-the-Lake — a town of 13,000 lucky souls whose picture postcard home exudes Victorian charm. In this latest pod cast, Joseph takes us on a trip to the peninsula to sample some of the wines, take in the theater, cycle its trails and dine on stunning food prepared by some of Canada’s premier chefs. Travelscope TV’s Toronto episode will begin airing as part of Season 6 in June 2012. Until then get information on Toronto by visiting http://www.SeeTorontoNow.com. 

As a preview to Joseph’s visit to Toronto (Canada’s largest city) in September to shoot an episode for Travelscope TV, during this pod cast Joseph returns to a previous visit to the city and features its attractions, activities, history and culture. Along the way he discovers fine dining, a lively theater scene, revitalized neighborhoods and one of the greenest cities in North America. Travelscope TV’s Toronto episode will begin airing as part of Season 6 in June 2012, until then you can get information on Toronto by visiting http://www.SeeTorontoNow.com.

The community of Topanga Canyon, California is a very special place.  It is surrounded by Topanga Canyon State Park, the largest wild land within the boundaries of a major city in the United States, and has always been a home of free-spirited, creative, innovative, artistic people who are able to strive and thrive in the natural, peaceful environment just minutes from the second-largest city in the country.  Created seven years ago by filmmakers Urs and Sara Bauer, the Topanga Film Festival continues the community’s creative legacy.  Featuring more than 50 films, as well as a documentary film competition and four days of panels and workshops, the festival takes place from July 28 – 31, 2011.  Recently Joseph spoke with Urs Baur, who with his wife Sara started the event seven years ago in their Topanga backyard.  Listen to Joseph’s pod cast and then go to TopangaFilmFestival.com to get more information on the festival and to purchase tickets for a single screening or the entire festival.

Vive la France! Julie and Joseph recently returned from a Uniworld Rhone river cruise which traveled from Arles in Provence to Calon-sur-Saône in Burgundy. Uniworld’s River Royale offered a very relaxing, carefree way to travel through La Belle France and included in the cruise price were city tours of Arles, Avignon, Viviers, Tournon/Tain l’Hermitage, Lyon and Beaune. Joseph’s latest pod cast features onboard interviews with cruise director, Tony Jenkins, and hotel manager, Eric Christophe. For cruise information go to Uniworld.com.

June 2011 was a banner month for Travelscope. With the 5th season release on June 7th, Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope® currently has 65 episodes airing on PBS which entertain, inform and educate viewers about the wonders of the world and the people in it. In addition to that, this spring Travelscope received its second Emmy nomination in two years. And on the night of June 18th at the 38th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Travelscope and its primary shooter, editor and production supervisor, Zebediah Smith, won the Emmy for Single Camera Photography!  Through this pod cast, join Joseph, Julie and the crew at Travelscope’s 5th Season Launch and Emmy Award party which took place the day after the big Emmy win!

On November 10, 2011 Joseph will be joining Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of Washington Week, Mark Samels, executive producer of American Experience, Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition and an exclusive group of passengers consisting of Public Television viewers and National Public Radio listeners on a PTV at Sea cruise of the Mediterranean aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner.  As a preview to that voyage, in this pod cast you can join Joseph’s previous voyage aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner through Alaska’s Inside Passage.  During this audio-documentary pod cast Joseph stops off in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, takes an incursion into iceberg-filled Tracey Arm and explores the behind-the-scenes operation of the 700-passenger luxury vessel.  For more information on the upcoming November sailing where Joseph will also be producing a Travelscope episode featuring the cruise’s destinations for Season 6, check out the Spotlight On…PTV at Sea article in the Spring 2011 issue of Travelscope’s eMagazine.

Close to Home, but a World Away –– Thirty-two beautiful islands, off the beaten track, yet in your backyard, is what Joseph discovers on his St. Vincent & the Grenadines adventure. These stunning Caribbean isles offer a wide range of water activities from snorkeling and diving to swimming and sailing. Yet, the best adventures are the natural and cultural ones and Joseph experiences them from searching for the St. Vincent Parrot to swimming with endangered sea turtles and dancing to the drums of the Union Island Maroon Festival. Joseph’s latest pod cast is a preview of the Travelscope PBS television on SVG that will begin airing June 2011.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is dedicated to the conservation and protection of gorillas and their habitats in Africa.  During my trek through Volcanoes National park to the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, I was accompanied by Claire Richardson, CEO of the Fund. After our encounter with the Agasha group, we spoke together about the history and future of Gorilla protection in the Virunga mountains and how tourism, in the form of park fees, hotel accommodations and tours run by companies like Baobab Expeditions, are contributing to the welfare of the gorillas and their human neighbors. After you listen to the pod cast if you want more information on the Fund go to GorillaFund.org. Don’t forget to catch Travelscope’s Rwanda Mountain Gorrilla show airing beginning September 2011 on your Public Television station. For more information about Baobab Expeditions click here.

From his travels in Africa Joseph has come to expect much more than grand savannahs where herds of wildebeest and prides of lions roam. Yet, Rwanda expanded even those expectations. No larger than Maryland, Rwanda is a small chunk of Africa shoehorned in between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. With its verdant hills, jungle wildlife and some of Africa’s highest peaks it’s been called, “a tropical Switzerland at the heart of Africa.” And the wild soul of the country lives in Volcanoes National Park—a sanctuary for most of the world’s mountain gorillas. The base of Joseph’s gorilla trekking adventures was the Virunga Safari Lodge. The eco-friendly lodge, which sports solar panels and eco-plumbing, is set on a stunning hillside with a panoramic view of the Virunga volcanoes and the lakes Ruhondo and Bulera. In keeping with a general effort in Rwanda to ensure that tourism benefits the local communities, the resort’s eight stone “bandas” (traditionally-design accommodations) are locally-built and a nearby school is funded in part by the guests’ dollars. During this pod cast Joseph’s speaks with resort manager, David Magezi about the resort, their community involvement and gorilla trekking activities. To learn more, visit VolcanoesSafaris.com

Joseph will join other PBS and NPR journalists on a PTV at Sea cruise aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner which sets sail on an 11-day cruise on November 10, 2011. Besides joining Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of Washington Week, Mark Samels, executive producer of American Experience, Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition and an exclusive group of passengers consisting of Public Television viewers and National Public Radio listeners, Joseph will be part of the Travelscope team that will produce an episode featuring the cruise’s destinations for Season 6 of Travelscope. You will find the Spotlight On…PTV at Sea article in spring 2011 issue of Travelscope’s eMagazine. In addition, this pod cast features Joseph’s conversation with Kevin Corcoran, president of Artful Travelers, the company that is organizing the fall cruise.