There are 21 squares in Savannah, a city laid out to a well-designed and geometric grid. However, the most popular one with travellers and tourists is Chippewa Square and has been since the mid nineteen nineties. But why? The square was laid out in the early...
Many people visit London because it’s jam-packed with history. Visitors from newer countries love the fact that there are buildings, streets and stories that existed long before their own country did. But history from way back, although fascinating, is only part...
Today there are four branches of the Hollywood Wax Museum. The one above, for instance, is in Myrtle Beach. For the other locations, see the map below.Maybe you think that you wouldn’t be seen dead at a kitsch-y wax museum. But maybe Elmer McCurdy thought the...
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...
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...
James Bond’s arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld is hiding out in his mountaintop retreat in Switzerland. It is inaccessible by any means other than a scary helicopter flight. But Blofeld is a criminal mastermind and his goal is a simple one – world...
It used to be one of Fort Lauderdale’s best-kept secrets. Inaugurated in 1986, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival began its life for aficionados of independent and foreign films. But it was a secret that we couldn’t keep for long – soon...
When I was a kid, we often spent our family holidays travelling around the area you see below on the map. Favourites were Monaco, Nice, Cannes and Northern Italy. So it’s quite likely that I’ve been to Villefranche-sur-Mer but I really want to go there now...
Imagine. You’re going to stay at a private island in sunny California. It has amazing wildlife and a fascinating history. What’s more, it’s not going to cost you a penny – your stay will be absolutely free of charge and even all your meals will...
I can’t even begin to describe to you that wonderful moment when I realised that Maggie Smith was going to play Miss Shepherd in Alan Bennett’s Lady in the Van. And a marvellous film it is too. For those who don’t know, it’s the (largely) true...
Dark Hedges is a stunning – and rather magical – parade of beech trees to be found in Northern Ireland and brought to general attention by its use as a location in the TV series Game of Thrones. This dark avenue of gnarled trees was planted in 1775 as the...
A cult movie of the 1980s, Dirty Dancing was set at the fictional Kellerman’s Resort in the Catskills. In fact, the filming took place at the Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia. The film was set in 1963 and reflected the lifestyle of prosperous New...
Seriously spooky, Hashima Island is also known as Gunkanjima or Battleship Island. At one time it was densely populated and busy – today it’s a ghost town. It used to be a mining community that first started in 1900 thanks to the Mitsubishi Corporation...
The movie Inkheart tells a fantasy story that features an abandoned village that was revitalised. Here’s the trailer. The village actually exists and it is abandoned. The film gives us some idea of what the village would have been like before it was abandoned,...
If you’re anything like me, you hear or read ‘Joliet’ and it means only one thing – The Blues Brothers! At the beginning of this super-cool, classic, cult film, Elwood Blues is collecting his brother Jake who is just being released from jail...
When i was a child we used to go to Cornwall (in the south-west of England) every year. It’s still one of my favourite places in the UK. Port Isaac is a picturesque fishing village which is typical of the area and has been used as the location for several films...
Although the 1993 movie Groundhog Day was set in Punxsutawney (which I can’t even begin to pronounce) it was actually filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. And if you visit the place there are several places you can see that were featured in the film (many even have...
The 1969 film The Italian Job is considered to be a classic. Some years ago, a scene that had been cut from the movie was discovered and included on the DVD. And it’s a wonderful scene that takes place in the middle of the famous car chase. During the latter...
In the summer of 1979, Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions came together to begin a project. They sent over 160 workers and huge amounts of construction materials to Anchor Bay – a small cove on the island of Malta. Within eight months the...
Just over 150 miles south west of London is Lyme Regis – a small coastal town with fascinating literary connections. People have been living there since ancient times and it’s a fascinating place to visit. One of its attractions is the number and variety...
You might not be old enough to remember what air travel was like in the 1960s and 70s. But I’m assured that it was very different. In those days, flying was still classed as something of a luxury and a definite event. Some people refer to it as ‘the golden...
There are many reasons to visit the Lingotto Building in Turin. It houses a fabulous hotel, concert halls, a convention centre, theatres, shopping centres and more. But it’s also an incredible building – with a history. Construction of the building started...
If you’ve seen this 1980s romantic comedy film, then you know exactly which scene I am talking about here. But was it filmed in a real place? And can you go there? The answers are yes and yes. Katz’s Deli at 205 E Houston St., New York, was where the...
The International Movie Database lists Shawshank Redemption as the number one most popular film. Other lists disagree but just about everyone I knew simply loves the movie. This is why I was delighted to discover The Shawshank Trail – a driving tour where you...
