Once again, the differences between English and American can catch us out when we’re looking for accommodation. Imagine an American looking at a listing that begins ‘First floor flat…’ We have a language difference right there – in just...
For well over a hundred years, the City Of New York has partly functioned underground. Out of sight to those of us on the surface, millions of people travel from place to place, quickly and efficiently. They are travelling on the subway – itself a marvel of...
This place is like one of those dreams. You know, those dreams you have when deep down you know you should get out of bed but you’re dreaming that you’re floating weightlessly in a beautiful lagoon… Ik Kil in Mexico is a cenote. A cenote is simply a...
It’s only about a hundred miles away from the fabulous city of Glasgow but yet the Isle of Jura is almost like going back in time. It’s the sort of place that you have to plan to visit – spontaneity isn’t recommended here due to the remoteness...
Once you’ve been to Lençóis Maranhenses, you might well exclaim, as other travellers have, that the photographs don’t do the place justice. And yet the photographs are magnificent. Can you imagine that this place is even more spectacular than the...
Many people travel to visit Ascott House and Gardens, a fabulous country estate in Buckinghamshire. And if it’s on your itinerary, make sure to allow time for a detour to Bridego Bridge. Yes, an ordinary country railway bridge in ordinary English countryside. It...
Are you in love with signage the way I am? I know that some people might think that having a passion for signs might indicate a person who is a bit, well, odd – but the Neon Museum in Vegas is my idea of paradise. Well, one of my ideas of paradise… Las...
When you’re an STR host, you might see your rental business as some sort of side gig. It might be that it’s not your ‘real’ job. You have other things to do. You have a life. However, as far as your guests are concerned, unless you’re...
Do you agree with me that Stephen King must have a pretty weird imagination? I think he must have to ensure his many years of great success writing those really creepy (but deliciously creepy) books. But what is Stephen King himself afraid of? In an article a couple...
It looks like an ugly lump of concrete and … well, it is. It is also a protected historic monument. Really. The fact that it dates from 1941 gives us a clue as to why it’s a historically important structure. And its name? Schwerbelastungskörper means...
Numbers? What am I talking about? Five is five whether you’re speaking proper English or speaking American.. but of course, that would be just too easy, wouldn’t it? Yes, the numbers are the same – basically – but it’s how we use them...
This is a genuine secret garden that was lost – well, unknown – for many years. It had been creatyed in Victorian times but had fallen into disrepair and become overgrown. But in the 1990s a door was found into the walled garden that was buried in the...
Here’s one that’s definitely for your wishlist. The Koshu Nishiyama Hot Spring – see the map below for its location – is officially the oldest hotel in the world according to the experts; the Guinness Book of World Records. It was founded in...
It makes me chuckle. Probably most English people have a bit of a laugh about it too. There are so many articles on the internet that refer to our ‘weird English food’ and cites such items as spotted dick, toad-in-the-hole and other peculiarly-named...
This is a curious house with a curious history. It’s been seen in films and TV shows and residents need to access the place via a funicular. And it had curious beginnings. The original owner had been given the piece of land and the fact that he didn’t have...
Isbjerget means ‘iceberg’ and you can see why that name was chosen for this complex of variously sized apartments. Take a look at the photographs and the drone footage below and you can see exactly why. This award-winning housing development opened in 2013...
If you’re offering rental accommodation to the public, then it’s likely that you’ll have to write about it. It might be that you list your property on Airbnb or a similar site, in which case you’ll have to write about your place for your...
Just as Eileen Gray did in the South of France, so Lina Bo Bardi created another dream house – this time in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The house is named el Casa de Vidro (the Glass House) and was designed in 1951. Lina, born in Rome, was a pioneer of...
It’s a culture shock when you visit the USA. So many things are so different. And if your knowledge of the English language is, well, English, then American is going to puzzle you quite a lot. Picture me then, new to the USA and in a large store somewhere in the...
Stay in a property that neighbours one of the homes often inhabited by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Freely wander through the grounds and you might see the royal couple walking their dogs. Stay in a room that has been carefully decorated with pieces...
