At a British- or Irish-style “public house” in an old colonial town, a fictional action figure named John M. Edwards sucks down suds with serendipity. I was standing at the bar at the Jolly Trolley in Westfield, New Jersey, staring at my Fuller’s London Pride, when I decided I was so drunk I would indeed have a hangover in the morning. The red label reminded me of the Protestant solidity of London and the infinite possibilities of drinking … [Read more...]
Lourdes on 25 Prayers a Day
The Lowdown on Tacky Souvenirs and Christian Kitsch - Hautes-Pyrenees France I think it was Goethe who said that the imagination was man’s “deadliest enemy,” but how could that be so when all of us have dreamed up so many fabulous places to visit, celebrity people to admire, and unique pleasures to seek out. Even so, nightmares notwithstanding, we are all vaguely astonished when legend becomes reality and we actually arrive in a place we … [Read more...]
Waltzing through the Kaffehaus Kultura Vienna
“The [Café] Central is a place for people who have to kill time, so as not to be killed by it. . . .” --Alfred Polgar “I AM SIGMUND SPIELBERG!!!” The obviously unemployable flaneur with umlaut eyes landed at my marble-topped table without a proper invite, brusquely pushing aside a Thonet wooden chair. Brandishing a copy of Der Spiegel on a wooden rolling pin in his left hand, and reeking from an unfortunate cologne resembling turning … [Read more...]
Internet Access in Hotels
When I first came to Europe - Internet cafe's were plentiful - seemingly several per block in the more touristy cities. Over the past 6-8 years I've been to Europe many times and have seen the Internet cafe's disappear. Even this afternoon while traveling through the Cote d'Azur in southern France I saw several old Internet cafe's with the name of the business fading above the currently empty location. Friends who don't travel are often … [Read more...]
Driving the Italian Riviera Autostrada
The impressive "autostrada", or toll highways along the Italian Riviera are truly an engineering marvel - with seemingly hundreds of bridges and both short and long tunnels drilled right through the rocky mountain sides. As a result, you have a road that is amazingly level even though it passes through large mountains and deep river gorges. Complicated round abouts and entry points are located next to entrances to the autostrada. Entry requires … [Read more...]
Driving through Tuscany & Antinori Winery Visit
It was hard to leave San Marino - it is such a unique and small country. Interesting museums, eclectic shopping, great views and good food! We opted for the slow drive through Tuscany - covering windy roads up and down the rolling hills, cresting passes and driving through several National Parks. The roads are narrow, steep at times but always through picturesque countryside. This time of year everything is green or in bloom. Spring has … [Read more...]
Exploring Italy and San Marino
Today we spent the morning exploring old town Verona - coming across crowds for the first time since our stay here. The crowds were buzzing around Dante's statue (yes that Dante from Dante's Inferno - he spent some time in Verona) and supposedly the balcony and house of Juliet in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". There has been a lot of rain here, coupled with the slightly warmer temperatures and the snow melt, the rivers are swollen. Verona … [Read more...]
Ten Finalists Chosen: 2012 Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom Contest
Ten Finalists Chosen For 2012 Cintas’ America’s Best Restroom Contest Public Voting Begins for 11th Annual Contest Will America’s next Best Restroom be the result of a multi-million dollar renovation to the nation’s largest natural outdoor amphitheater, and set against picturesque iconic Hollywood Hills? Or will Sin City’s most luxurious loo, a sprawling 2,000 square foot space inside Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, earn … [Read more...]
David Stanley: Traveler & Guidebook Author
David Stanley is a well-heeled travel writer who has written a number of books about the South Pacific for Moon Handbooks. We have admirably followed his career for a number of years. He has been writing guidebooks for over 30 years and has maintained his South Pacific website since the late 1990's. We recently had a chance to ask him about his career, travels and advice in regards to travel writing. Q. You are a prolific writer how … [Read more...]
Select Highlights of South East Europe
These are some of the highlights of visiting select locations in Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro and Serbia. This trip was totally unscripted and unplanned. All we had were our plane tickets to Europe. We used public transportation to get around - buses, trains, city trams and metros where available. Note that while distances on the map don't look that far from each other especially along the Dalmatian Coast, the roads are narrow, windy and very … [Read more...]
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