In 1923, the Crescent Sign Company of Los Angeles were commissioned to create a huge sign. It was to advertise a new housing development, the name of which was Hollywoodland. It was intended to be a temporary structure that would last for about eighteen months –...
If you speak British English, then you will refer to it as a ‘lift’. If you’re American, or were taught to speak English in the American way, then you’ll call it an ‘elevator’. But despite this difference, I’ll bet that we all...
Most people in the world are friendly, law-abiding folk. who just want to get on with their lives. And yet if you were to read comments on, for instance, a forum for short-term-rental hosts, you might get the idea that as soon as a normal, average person turns into a...
Most days during meal preparation, I’m likely to grab the bottle of olive oil. Sauteeing, dressing a salad, that olive oil is used so many times. And sometimes I’m in danger of being one of those children you hear about who think that meat comes in a...
A plane journey doesn’t always offer the best possible experience. And there are two particular aspects that bother me about the flight itself. They are: The hygiene The tiny seat space Aeroplane hygiene never used to bother me but like many other people,...
For many years now, travellers have been attracted to abandoned places. This isn’t surprising as most have an atmosphere that’s hard to compare with anywhere else. It’s as though, forgive a little poeticness – these place still retain the...
The Hotel Negresco in Nice is located on the Promenade des Anglais. Eccentric dancer, Isadora Duncan, died on the promenade in 1927, – by many accounts right outside the hotel. She was wearing a long silk scarf, as was the fashion in the 1920s, when she and a...
The hotel industry does come in for a lot of criticism these days but we do have to applaud its initiatives to be more planet-friendly. For example, for several years now, fresh towels are supplied on request rather than the old system which meant all clean towels...
Yes, there really is a place called Two Egg in Florida. Google maps will even confirm it. And doesn’t it amuse you that it’s two singulars, rather than being Two Eggs? The Two Egg website says that the name developed because of the farm produce that the...
In 1926, Agatha Christie was already well-known thanks to her novels. But in December that year she suddenly disappeared. Her car was found abandoned and for the next eleven days, a massive police search was undertaken. It was surmised that she had committed suicide...
We have so many accommodation decisions to make when we travel, haven’t we? Hotel or bed & breakfast? Hostel, maybe? A rented apartment or studio? A rental house? Perhaps a room in someone’s home? And the chances are that we’ll have different...
The monument depicts a mortally wounded lion and was described by Mark Twain as ‘the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world’ It was carved in 1820-21 to commemorate the Swiss Guards who died in the French Revolution. Mark Twain describes it...
This quirky bookstore, which seems to be so very French, was opened in Paris in 1951 — by an American, George Whitman. Although it’s a legitimate commercial concern and sells new and secondhand books it’s also a sort of literary drop-in centre and...
Stay at the La Dimora di Metello Hotel in Matera and the terrace above will be an excellent place to sit and enjoy a glass of local wine and gaze at the most amazing scenery. Sassi di Matera, also known as ‘The City of Caves’ is a UNESCO World Heritage...
The British Isles, The United Kingdom, Britain … all give you a clue that when you go there, you have the chance of not only visiting England. You’ll find plenty of articles on this site about places to visit throughout the UK – places that...
Before smart travellers appreciated the extremely good reasons for travelling with them, sleeping bag liners were the preserve of the hardy campers. And still are I suppose, but for some time now I’ve been travelling with one in my hand luggage – and you...
United Record Pressing opened up for business in Nashville in 1949. The business was a success – creating the new and popular vinyl records. It was a specialist business indeed. As the business expanded into the fifties and early sixties, it was Motown music...
That’s the name of a place in Wales. Truly. My Auntie Mavis knew how to say it. I don’t. Do you? (The videos down the page might help). So how is it that a Welsh village acquired such a name? Well, today if you address an envelope to a resident and...
It’s something that short-term-rental hosts and owners complain about all the time. ‘Guests don’t read’. Actually, guests do read. They read all the time. But they read what they want to read. They just don’t read your long and boring...
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...
