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Breaking news: Ireland has more than two cities

Ireland is one of the more hip, inclusive, free and charming places in Europe.  When you meet an Irish human, you will inevitably strike up a natural and amiable conversation, no matter the situation.  The Irish - the same as the Australians - are simply like that. Everyone tends to gravitate to Dublin and Belfast…

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Try not to drool

AirBnB, constant bad press notwithstanding, has created a wonderful new model on how to travel.  Almost everyone wins. VRBO, an Expedia company (and one of our valued affiliate friends,) have taken the model and successfully given AirBnB a run for their money:  in some recent months, they have marched past AirBnB in bookings. But, this…

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Do good, feel good UNESCO style

This is a simple, but very important request.  For those of us who are fortunate enough to travel, this should almost be mandatory. UNESCO has created the Sustainable Tourism Pledge. The pledge takes an industry-first approach to environmental and cultural protection, requiring hotel operators to introduce firm measures to eliminate single-use plastics and promote local culture. The…

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We are the robots

As mother earth spins faster, and more and more of us spin with her, big changes happen.  New ideas, new materials, new studies, new pharmaceuticals . . all culminating into new "us"? Very soon, we will be presented  with all types of complicated information about the condition of our health, including our individual levels of risk…

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Hey, bungalow thrill

"If looks could thrill it would have been us instead of him"  All the children sing. These looks will thrill - at Reserva Alecrim EcoSuite & Glamping in Portugal. The properties, the views, the surroundings, the location - wow!  And the bungalows look more like dwellings on the moon. Set by a lake in the Alentejo…

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The Sylvia Path

We're not sure if Sylvia Plath ever stayed at Sylvia's Restaurant and Lounge in Vancouver, but we're sure she would have felt at home. The Sylvia Hotel is a designated heritage building - there aren't too many of those in Vancouver  - ideally located on English Bay, beside Stanley Park and just 5 minutes from…

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Every breath you take, every move you make

Those with tin foil hats, look away now. People are people and, therefore, unpredictable.  Sometimes that's fine (and fun) but when it comes to wrangling millions of us at a time, that can be . . not fun. In the UK,  Transport for London is using aggregated and anonymised data from its wi-fi network to provide real-time…

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H2Go!

Nature provides, if we respect her.  And respect is something that seems to be in short supply nowadays.  Automobiles still (mostly) run on 1900's technology, we still pump fuel out of the ground, which has untold repercussions. The worst thing is that we know better and have the technologies, and yet, we as humans, are…

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Are we there yet?

Either by design, or by bad planning, or if you're simply a glutton for punishment, here is something to dread, or spend months preparing for. What are the world’s longest non-stop routes between July and December this year (2021)? The aviation world has changed greatly and we wanted to offer an updated list of these…

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Take a “trip” to Hong Hong

No, this is not about drugs.  But it is about sensory experiences that you can enjoy no matter your mood. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is featuring a collection of four autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos that show off the acoustic ambience from the all parts of the city. Custom-made to arouse the…

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When football is all

We suspect that there are some football fans in our audience:  in this instance we are talking about the football played around the world - you know, the round ball, black and white. Some football fans are beyond passionate:  they get tattoos of their team, name their children after star players, relocate to cities where…

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The centre of the earth

India is a wonderful place full of wonderful people and lots of surprises.  Here's one. Jatayu Earth Center, also known as Jatayu Nature Park or Jatayu Rock, is a park and tourism centre at Chadayamangalam in Kollam district of Kerala. It stands at an altitude of 350m above the mean sea level. Jatayu Nature Park…

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Pardon me, madam, but your palace awaits

How often does one get the chance to sleep in the same halls as royalty?  Not often for most of us. But, you can at the Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski in Istanbul directly on the Bosphorus.  A former home to Ottoman royalty, you will find yourself bathed in history, glamourous surroundings, sumptous spas and world-class restaurants. And,…

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The menace of Venice

Venice in peril.  If it's ancient foundations crumbling, and literal hoards of tourists aren't troubling enough, Venice is now being genuinely threatened by the gargantuan cruise ships that pull up to the ancient city. So much so, that UNESCO has put Venice on its endangered list unless Italy permanently banned cruise ships from docking in…

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But, will we have enough extension cords?

Mother earth is heating up - dangerously - but so is the race to enable humans and animals to live in a world that will not burn to a crisp, like it seems now.  We have the brains and the technology, but our will needs a kick in the pants. Fortunately, more and more evidence…

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Too little, too late?

Europeans - and we include the UK here - generally tend to be ahead of the curve when it comes to things like healthcare, social security, immigration  . . . and the environment. The UK has published its Transport Decarbonisation Plan.  The intent to decarbonise all modes of domestic transport by 2050. Is that too…

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