As we like to do, let's put politics to the side for now and bask in sheer genius, instead. And, not surprisingly, we are featuring China again. The width and depth of their resources, combined with the remarkable can-do attitude and creativity still continues into this millennia. How many countries can boast…
* “Pearls are always appropriate.” So said Jackie Kennedy, and she should know. And as we happened upon this groovy 1960's throwback hotel in San Diego, California, we knew immediately that we should feature it. It's the kind of kitsch, swingin,' happenin' groovy pad that seems to have disappeared from the planet. …
Once again, forgive us for focusing on Frank Lloyd Wright, but how many places or things or activities can be as heart-stopping and forever-memorable as the man's work? We've been visiting and lusting after his efforts since we were in our early twenties, and that's a long time ago. When you take a…
Like it or not, after decades of scorn and pushback, followed by love and admiration by many, monster trucks are here to stay, and in some of the least likely of places: specifically Asia and Europe, where some of these behemoths can fill up left and right lanes simultaneously. Still, people seem to…
In this place in time, today - January of 2024 - the idea of having holidays in Russia may not seem appealing or even plausible to many. Moscow and Washington are rattling their sabers again, and the weight of that activity is throwing the world off balance yet again. But it wasn't always…
It's funny how some people see things differently than others, especially when those people come from a new city or country. Their perspective is often fresh and surprising to "the locals." So, when you get a glance at what you see before you, it's like a brand new day. Your tired view…
Here's another one of those posts where you get to experience places that you may never see, but should. But this one is very particular, because it focuses on a particular place (in this case, Japan) in a particular city (Nishinomiya) and, amongst other joys, it hosts a delightful little (or should we say…
I don't know about you, but we've grown a bit tired of tired action movies. Same old plot, same worn-out dialogue, same heroic clichés. Blecch. Life is too short. But, nonetheless, Hollywood keeps churning out the same drivel, and the crowds keep eating it up. One good example is…
If you're not too much into history, you might want to jump to any of our other 2000+ posts, but you may also want to stick with us here, because this is a wide-reaching discussion on how New York City blossomed into the behemoth that it is, and why - if you're the curious type…
There are precious few countries that celebrate the simple things in life as much as the Japanese. Joy is almost a mandate, and lucky are those who visit this delightful part of the world. Naturally, most of the focus is on Tokyo, and rightly so, but one of the best things in life…
Hardly! Mexico is a massive and bustling country, but to this day, it still has a "reputation" of being slow to move and not firing on all cylinders. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. We've been there and it is as action-packed, bustling and diverse as any place on the planet.…
We know we're not the only ones who have cottoned on to the fact that the world has now stepped into rich mode. In Canada, for example, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.8% on an annual average basis in 2022, following gains of 3.4% in 2021 and of 0.7% in 2020. Those are sizeable…
As much as we love the UK, it does rain a lot. 800 mm to 1,400 mm per year, on average. We guess that this fact should be plainly obvious, especially since the UK is in the North Sea and surrounded by cold, cold water. But one benefit of this arrangement is…
Some travel companies actually think a bit about their offering. Rather than pushing and polishing the same old thing, they gather around a table, brainstorm and - et voila - out come some innovative ideas that make you think - "hey, why didn't they think of that before?" Even more gratifying is when…
Despite us living here in the Pacific Northwest of North America, and having traversed a lot of it, something new appeared to us yesterday about this vast region that was quite interesting. To preface this find, we should probably start out by explaining how much of this part of the earth is covered by…
Ahh, la belle France. We can never get enough of it. And there is lots to get. As of 2022, the most desirable places to spend your holiday time in France are 1. Paris. 2. Nice. 3. Lyon 4. Bordeaux 5. Marseilles 6.Strasbourg 7. Lille and, finally…
Look up in the sky. How many jets or jet-trails do you see? Where we live, we're about 50 kilometers from our main airport. And, due to that relative proximity, dozens of airliners fly over our area each day. But did you know that, overall, there are about 100,000 aircraft…
There's a reason why we especially like our affiliate friends, Virgin Airlines, in any of its configurations. And so we like to feature the airline when we can. Sir Richard Branson is holding up to his promises, and one of those is to promote and use Virgin Atlantic’s historic flight on 100% Sustainable…
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. Does that ring any bells, Cap'n? If you lived in North America or Canada in the 1960's you'll know that song - the theme from Gilligan's Island. …
..... it's an Ilyushin IL-96-300 from Madrid, touching down in Havana, Cuba. And the blogger here is rather pleased. It's less about the flight and more about the aircraft, the Ilyushin il-96-300.
In some countries, the idea of Russian planes and the country of Cuba get sabers rattling and spittle splattering in all directions.…