Tag: Travel

Once again, somebody’s been visiting another planet where the cities have the same names as those on Earth:

Somebody’s been traveling under the influence of Ambien, or something.

Or maybe this report was filed in 1988 and they only got round to publishing it now.  Whatever, here are a few of the beautiful landscapes in Seattle:

…and I wasn’t even trying.

If someone visits Seattle as a result of having read this article, they should sue the stupid newspaper.  Talk about fake news…

Oh hell… now EVERYBODY’S going to go there:

Historic pubs are plentiful but few can lay claim to the tag in quite the same way as The George in Norton St Philip, near Bath. Dating from 1397, it’s the oldest tavern in Britain, locals say. It’s certainly a contender, and its timber frame, wonky floors and ancient galleried courtyard all ooze authenticity.

I once went there and had lunch en route to the Far West of Hardy Country:

Yes, they serve Messrs. Wadworth’s 6X, and the lamb chops were exquisite.

It’s not just The George, either.  The village of Norton St. Philip is likewise beautiful beyond words:

The Englishman is of similar mind, now that the foul Daily Mail  has featured it:  “Haven’t been there for ages, I might wait a few weeks now.”

A few weeks.  Gawd knows how long it’ll be before I get back there, but at least the crowds might have dispersed by then.  And unlike last time, I’ll stay overnight (or longer) so that I don’t have to drive under the influence of the aforementioned 6X.

I love England.

Amsterdam is already joint first on New Wife’s and my travel bucket lists, and as if we didn’t have enough good reason to go there, here are a few more that we hadn’t considered before:

Fewer tourists, top-notch culture and Christmas markets: Why you’ll warm to a city break in Amsterdam during the colder months

Not to mention:

During Amsterdam’s Museum Night in November, museums stay open until 2am, and December and January bring The Amsterdam Light Festival to the city’s canals.
As the nights draw in, visitors should also take in the Christmas markets and search for the traditional brown cafes. (Nothing to do with Amsterdam’s infamous cannabis cafes, these Dutch pubs are famous for cosy interiors, local beers and warming winter stews.)

Oh, FFS:

Eating my liver here, Boss.

In talking about some government nonsense that purports to help airline travelers, Insty opines:

Of course, airlines often seem to fudge the reasons for delays or cancellations.

Being a gentleman, he’s giving them too much credit.  “Always” more than “often”, in other words.

Back when I were a leech consultant, I remember having to catch the last flight out of Nashville to Chicago one night.  There were just four of us passengers in the waiting area:  all wearing suits, all carrying briefcases, and all obviously frequent fliers.

One of the guys said, “Anyone want to give odds on whether this flight’s gong to be canceled for a ‘technical problem’?”  Nobody was interested — we were all gloomily certain of that eventuality.  Then I said, “Why don’t we run a book on how long from now before the flight’s canceled?  Five minutes, ten minutes… what am I offered?  Who’s in, for a dollar?”

Needless to say, that got everyone’s attention, and after each of us had picked a time (we were about 20 minutes from the scheduled takeoff), we waited expectantly.

When the announcement finally came, I bet it was the first time that the gate staff had ever had that announcement greeted with whoops and hollers, and money changing hands.

We were told that they’d made arrangements to put us up at the airport hotel overnight, so all four of us met up in one guy’s room and played poker till we had to catch the dawn flight the following day, emptying all four rooms’ courtesy bars in the process.  Must have cost the airline a fortune.

FYI, it was an American Airlines flight, but it could have been any of them, the lousy bastards.

When one has traveled a lot and seen “the sights” — those things which are perennial tourist attractions (the Louvre/Eiffel Tower, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Trevi Fountains, and so on), there is often a desire to create a theme for one’s next trip, based on either a specific interest, or just on whimsy.

One couple I know, who are keen not to say fanatical gardeners, did such a tour of Europe and visited only the palatial gardens of France, Italy, Germany and Britain.  They managed to fit it all into a month, although as the wife admitted, they could have taken six and been much the richer for the experience (although much the poorer financially because Europe).  One woman of my acquaintance did something similar, but going over in the late spring so that she could visit all the major flower shows in Europe — and if New Wife reads this, I’ll have to hide the credit cards.

And of course, for the true art lovers, nothing could be better than touring the Prada in Madrid, the Louvre in Paris, the Art History (Kunsthistorisches ) Museum in Vienna and of course the Rembrandt- and Van Gogh museums in Amsterdam, to name but some.

Mention of Amsterdam, however, got me thinking about a tour based on a different theme altogether.

Yes, canals.

Now of course, when one says the word, the city which springs immediately to mind is Venice, but let’s just set that aside for the moment while we consider some alternatives, just for kicks.

Amsterdam, of course, would be a great starting-point for such a tour, in no small part because the canny Dutch are keenly aware of the appeals thereof, and the canal tours are many and excellent.  Also, if you get tired of doing that (can’t imagine why), you can always hop off and visit some of the city’s other attractions (see above), or to grab a tasty pannekoek or package of fries (hold the mayo, Frans).  Yum.  But let’s move on, just a little down the coast by train, to:

Bruges.

The “Venice of the North” is justly famous, and I don’t know a single person who has been there and come away disappointed.  However, my knock against both Amsterdam and Bruges is that if you don’t want to sit in a boat sailing along a canal, or you’ve got bored with doing so, the canal banks are often short of places to sit and enjoy a pint of beer or gin while watching the world sailing by.  Such is not true of France’s

Annecy:

And just in case that isn’t enough, I should point out that Annecy is located in the Savoie district, which means you also get views like this, when you’re sick of looking at canals:

Yes, those are mountains in the background… not to be found in Amsterdam, Venice or Bruges.  From some list or other:

Annecy is called the “Pearl of the French Alps.” Because of its location, squeezed between Lake Annecy and the Semnoz mountains, Annecy can’t grow much — so it has preserved its old town as it was centuries ago, threaded with more canals than roads. It’s not packed with tourist attractions or booming nightlife. Its charm comes instead from peaceful waterways lined with pastel-colored houses, nonstop gelaterias, tiny cafes, and restaurants.

Feet starting to itch, yet?

There are many large cities, of course, which feature canals as either recreation or as a means of getting from one place to another:  Stockholm, Copenhagen and, of course, Venice.  All of these are popular — millions and millions of tourists over the decade couldn’t all have got it wrong — but I have to tell you, the smaller places appeal to me too, as much if not more.

And in case you’re wondering why I’m sailing down this little tributary [sic]  and have gathered so much info:  I want to do such a tour with New Wife, just as soon as the pieces fall into place.