Updates: 9/16/12 - Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope wins two Lowell Thomas Awards, announced at Society of American Travel Writers (press release PDF).
5/11/12 - The program has just received three Emmy® Award nominations for Outstanding Special Class Directing (Joseph Rosendo), Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Photography (Jon Speyers, Zebediah Smith) and Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Live Action (A. Tad Chamberlain, Jason Grigg) (press release PDF).
4/9/12 - Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope has been honored with the Canada Tourism Commission's Northern Lights Award for excellence in travel journalism (press release PDF).
Publicity & PR Contact:
Julie Rosendo
julie@travelscope.net
310-455-7164 (office)
310-482-1052 (cell)
Underwritten by: Rosetta Stone, Volvo and No-Jet-Lag
Host / Writer / Director: Joseph Rosendo
Producer: Julie Rosendo
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Website: http://travelscope.net
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Blog: http://travelscope.net/blog
Podcasts: http://travelscope.net/podcast
Season 6 Promo Video
Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope Episode Descriptions
#601 - Easter Island – Mysteries & Myths
Joseph travels to the most remote inhabited place on earth during his Easter Island adventure. Located more than two thousand miles from the coast of Chile, Rapa Nui (the island’s native name) offers a world of mysteries that have remained unanswered for centuries. Questions abound surrounding the origins of the Rapa Nui culture, their enormous carved stone moai and the cause of the Rapa Nui people’s ecological and natural disasters. Although one question invariably leads to another, Joseph attempts to explain what often eludes explanation while he spotlights the amazing journey of the Rapa Nui people, from the shores of Polynesia more than 1,500 years ago through their glory days and times of turmoil to the vibrant culture that flourishes today.
#602 - Hong Kong – Asia’s World City
Long known as a commercial center, Hong Kong has become much more than a shopper’s paradise. It is a multi-cultural, multi-faceted city with a world of attractions. On his Hong Kong adventure, Joseph takes in the luxury hotels, designer shops and Michelin-star restaurants of Asia’s World City, but also explores its local neighborhoods, colorful markets, places of natural beauty and meets the people who retain their connections to their customs and traditions. He discovers that while Hong Kong is a vibrant international town, it is the people and their cultural heritage that keep him coming back for more.
#603 - Riding the Range in Southern Alberta, Canada
Joseph hits the trail to Southern Alberta, Canada and follows the path of the province’s settlement from the early days of the buffalo and the Blackfoot people to present-day ranchers and cowboys. His travels take him to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park and Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump, sacred and historic native sites where he celebrates the rich heritage of the Blackfoot First Nations people through their history, dances, chants and songs. At the Lucasia Ranch, he partakes of the area’s cowboy culture when he saddles up and rides into the Alberta foothills in search of a few strays before sitting down with the Lucas family for a rousing ranch house dinner. His journey of history, culture and natural beauty ends aboard the M.V. International on a cruise across the Canada–U.S. border on Lake Waterton, part of the Waterton–Glacier International Peace Park.
#604 - Southern Ethiopia – Tribal Lands and Primeval People
Joseph’s adventure begins along the shores of Lake Abaya and Chamo, two of the lakes of the 2,400 mile Rift Valley where modern man is said to have originated. After becoming acquainted with the lakes’ fishermen, birds, crocodiles and hippos, he soldiers on across dry, wide stretches of savannah and forests that hug the river beds into the Lower Omo Valley. During his stay in the valley, he has close encounters with the Konso, Hamer and Mursi people, mostly nomadic tribal people who still live untouched by modern inventions and amenities. In the towns, markets and tribal camps, he meets the people and shares in their ancient customs and ceremonies. Although not without its challenges, this Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope adventure offers an unforgettable look at prehistoric cultures in transition.
#605 - Northern Ethiopia – Ancient History and Spiritual Present
Joseph travels to Northern Ethiopia to uncover its ancient history and discover its spiritual present thorough cultural adventures, myths and legends. His path takes him from the monasteries of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, to the castles of King Fasiladas in Gondar, to the stelaes of Axum and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. There are World Heritage sites and surprises galore as Joseph traces the lineage of Ethiopia’s kings back to the days of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. In the ancient town of Axum, he stands at the threshold of the chapel where Ethiopians believe the Ark of Covenant is housed. In Lalibela, he prays with a pilgrim before visiting a local school that is being supported by children in the United States.
#606 - Land without Limits – The Cariboo–Chilcotin–Coast Region of British Columbia, Canada
It may seem hard to say, but this little known region of British Columbia, Canada offers travelers a world of adventures. “Land Without Limits” is the area’s slogan, and, in this case, it’s right on target. From the ocean to the mountains, Joseph crosses the region having experiences that range from smoking salmon with the First Nations Nuxalk people, fishing for prawns with local fisherman, hiking through the wilderness to Canada’s third highest waterfall and stepping back in time at the roaring gold rush town of Barkerville. Throughout the journey, Joseph comes face-to-face with the region’s expansive, remote beauty and wildlife that includes hundreds of species of birds, Grizzly and Black Bears, as well as a mother moose and her calf. It’s an adventure without limits that is close to home.
#607 - Sechseläuten – Switzerland’s Spring Festival
We find out what Sechseläuten really means when we join Joseph on his springtime visit to Zurich, Switzerland. Considered a dry, formal, business town, Zurich casts off the stereotypes and its residents slough off their inhibitions when they welcome spring in celebration with the town’s historic medieval trade unions. On parade day, Joseph dons a baker’s cap and joins the Bakers Guild for a romp through the streets of Zurich to the square where the Bogg (snowman), in observation of the end of winter, loses his head in a burst of firecrackers. Once he is engulfed in flames, winter is banished and the citizens of Zurich use the glowing embers of his pyre to roast sausages while they quaff local wine and party well into the night.
#608 - Dreamin’ California’s Coast – Malibu to Big Sur
Joseph and Julie are California Dreamin’ as they celebrate their anniversary along the state’s romantic coast. They join up with a California Luxury Tour that begins in Southern California in their hometown of Topanga and travels to the nearby Getty Villa where they partake of the glory that was Greece and Rome. From there, they follow the winding coast to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County and then northward to the edge of the Big Sur. Highlights of their adventure include wine tasting in the sampling rooms of some of Malibu’s little-known but star-studded wineries, visiting Santa Barbara’s famous mission, horseback riding on the Pismo dunes, soaking their bones at Sycamore Hot Springs and strolling the peddle-strewn beaches of Cambria. California Dreamin’ takes on new meaning when they imagine life among splendor that is Hearst Castle in San Simeon, where the rich and famous once played at being common folk. The sun dramatically sets on their adventure at the world-famous Point Dume State Beach in Malibu.
#609 - San Miguel de Allende, Celebrating in the Heart of Mexico
Joseph makes his way to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for the annual Fiesta de San Miguel, a celebration in honor of its patron saint. While taking part in miles of processions, enjoying the world’s greatest fireworks display and dancing the night away accompanied by the music of dozens of local bands, he takes time to acquaint himself with the history and beauty of this UNESCO World Heritage colonial city, which is famous for its artistic soul. During his stay, he models for the artists at the famous Instituto Allende, soaks in the mystical Mayan Baths, steams with a shaman in a sweat lodge, sails across the city in a hot air balloon and parties with the best of them in El Jardin, San Miguel de Allende’s main plaza. To top off his stay, he meets Chef Felipe of the Casa de Sierra Nevada, one of the town’s top chefs, in the main market to pick up the fixings for his one-on-one cooking class featuring local cuisine. Vive Mexico!
#610 - Ontario, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula - Toronto and Beyond
On his visit to the Canadian province of Ontario, Joseph sets out to show there’s more to the Niagara Peninsula region than world-famous Niagara Falls. To prove his point, he begins his wandering in Toronto, Canada’s largest and most cosmopolitan city. He finds that besides being a cultural Mecca for art, theater, film, music and fine dining, as well as one of the greenest cities in North America, it is one of the world’s most multicultural cities. Italian, Irish, Indian, Greek, Chinese, Vietnamese -- the ethnic diversity matches the seemingly never-ending list of world-class attractions and activities. From gentle bicycling along Lake Ontario’s shore to kayaking along the Toronto Islands or hanging 116 stories above the ground from the edge of the CN Tower, Joseph finds out there’s never a dull moment in this young, vibrant and ever-evolving town. And, if that isn’t enough, a day excursion to the Niagara Peninsula wine region and the quaint town of Niagara-On-The-Lake keeps Joseph sippin’, nibblin’, pickin’ and hoppin’ through the more than 60 wineries that have sprouted up in one of Canada’s most scenic regions, at one time described by Winston Churchill as, “the prettiest Sunday drive in North America.” During this episode, Joseph and his viewers are truly on a movable feast for all the senses.
#611 - Cruising the Mediterranean
Joseph climbs aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner for a Mediterranean cruise adventure. Onboard, he joins other public television and NPR journalists on a PTV at Sea cruise experience -- meeting, greeting and speaking with his public television viewers. Onshore, he sets out on a journey of discovery and captures the enduring beauty that is Venice, the history of Croatia, the multi-culturalism of Malta and the heart and soul of Sicily and Tuscany. Along the way, he visits medieval towns, bustling markets, regional restaurants and local wineries where he expects – and finds – the unexpected.
#612 - Christmas in Switzerland
Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope heads to Lausanne, Montreux and Basel, Switzerland to bask in the glow of a Swiss-style Christmas at some of the country’s best Christmas markets. Joseph’s adventures include a visit to a Christmas ornament artist, samplings of Swiss culinary specialties, a journey to old St. Nick’s village and a close encounter with Father Christmas himself and his trusty companion the Schmutzli, who’s been checking his list to find out who’s been naughty or nice. A full slate of holiday fun is guaranteed for all!
#613 - Passage through Chile’s Tierra del Fuego around Cape Horn
The spirit of Magellan, the worldwide traveler, is alive and well as Joseph circumnavigates the tip of South America on an expedition passenger ship. He sails through Tierra del Fuego and around Cape Horn on Joseph’s latest Chilean adventure. As the ship follows Darwin’s watery trail, he travels into the Beagle Channel and through “Glaciers Avenue,” where the majestic Spain, Romanche, Germany, Italy, France and Holland glaciers seem close enough to touch. Along the way, he encounters elephant seals, Magellanic penguins and sea birds aplenty. A highlight of the show is a stop on Isla Del Horno – Horn Island – where Joseph stands at the end of the Americas and visits the memorial to the ancient mariners who lost their lives attempting to make the Cape Horn passage.
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