It’s a practice that has, thank goodness, been declining in the last few years. However, there are still hotels out there (and especially, I have to say in the USA) that charge resort fees to their guests. These fees are usually charged per night, per room and...
San Servolo was once known, eerily, as ‘the island of the mad’. This is because for many years it was an asylum for the insane. Before that, it was a monastery and during that time, the monks were joined by nuns who were escaping from a dramatic seaquake....
Of course, events that seem to be relatively recent to me happened a long time before a lot of people who are reading this were even born. It might be that some have never even heard about the famous scandal that took place as long ago as the early nineteen-seventies....
And I know that seems like a silly question but increasingly, people who run STR accommodation have come to the conclusion – erroneously – that every guest misdemeanor can be solved by creating a ‘house rule’ about it.You know the sort of...
It’s only a short drive from the beach. And when you approach Easterlin Park you’ll wonder where on earth you are going. You’ll drive along a built-up road and underneath the busy I95. Surely there can’t be an area of parkland in this very...
Quite a few people who have been renting out rooms in their home through Airbnb have become a little disillusioned with it. Why? Well, not because there’s anything wrong with the short term rental business – I absolutely love it – but it is hard...
If it isn’t one of the most visited places in Scotland then it certainly must be a contender for the most romantic. It’s certainly one of the world’s most popular wedding destinations. And it has been since the 1700s so you can forgive the locals if...
As you know, Daniel Defoe’s story about Robinson Crusoe was based on several real-life stories about shipwrecked sailors. In those days, shipwrecks weren’t really terribly unusual. But the novel was primarily based on the story of Alexander Selkirk, a...
We have already noted the bizarre language difference between the UK and the USA when it comes to the simple word ‘biscuit’.But if you are from the USA – or indeed any other non-British country – then it’s a good idea for you to know...
It’s a pretty spooky place. There have been fortifications on this site for hundreds of years. The present fort was in use until 1956 – and is now open to visitors. You can see from the map below that it’s located in the very tip of a spar of land...
The Avenue of the Giants is justifiably well-known. Its located in an area that is a National Park and a World Heritage Site – and those trees are big!And don’t be put off by the fact that it’s a National Park. Yes, I know, it’s got plenty of...
Yes, I know it’s an awkward question. And yes, I know that if you’re from the USA you probably prefer to use the discreet euphemism ‘bathroom tissue’ but you knew exactly what I was talking about. Strangely, a surprising number of people...
No joke, I have honestly been messing around for over two hours trying to decide what image to add here as the lead photograph for this article. I’m no copyright lawyer but I’m pretty sure that there’s no way I’m allowed to put work by a...
It’s likely that every New Year’s Eve you and your friends sing Auld Lang Syne. You might know that it was written by Scottish poet Robert Burns. And as his active years were in the 1700s, that shows just how old the song has been around. And it all...
If you’re running an STR business I can understand why you want to know what time your guests are going to arrive. I really do. It helps you to plan your day efficiently.The problem is that we’d all like to plan our days efficiently but we’re dealing...
Gender discrimination, prostitution, sex for sale … it’s all here in the (relatively) hidden area of Herbertstraße. If you’re under eighteen, you can’t stroll down this street. Women aren’t welcome either. Herbertstraße is one of the last...
Anne Lister was born in 1791 in Yorkshire. That’s many years before homosexuality became legal in Britain and at that time, the word ‘lesbian’ didn’t exist but nevertheless, Anne grew up to be a pioneer in the world of being true to her own...
A few years ago, the idea of visiting a place where an assassin hid when he fired the shots that killed an American president would probably have been seen as insensitive.But today, it’s now getting on for sixty years since those events took place. The president...
There used to be a time – long ago admittedly – when I’d sink gratefully into my aircraft seat as soon as I could after boarding. Then, once I’d stowed my handbag on the floor under the seat in front of me, I’d relax. That meant removing...
I was just a kid but I remember the time when a whole new era started. It was a medical breakthrough that happened on the other side of the world but it was exciting news.It was 1967 and in South Africa, a team of surgeons had just completed the first successful human...
