May 14th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
It's impossible to know what a lost conversation might have yielded. A lost conversation occupies a place in memory, a reservoir of sadness or relief. It's the shape of the reservoir that remains forever unknown. This uncertainty often renders the very recognition of a lost conversational opportunity difficult.
The decision to welcome a stranger into conversation while on the road isn't ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
unitedkingdom posts
Travel Regrets: One Lost Conversation
May 14th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
It's impossible to know what a lost conversation might have yielded. A lost conversation occupies a place in memory, a reservoir of sadness or relief. It's the shape of the reservoir that remains forever unknown. This uncertainty often renders the very recognition of a lost conversational opportunity difficult.
The decision to welcome a stranger into conversation while on the road isn't ...British Tourism Q&A: Travel Writer Donald Strachan
May 11th, 2012 at 9:00AM: British tourism is a big topic in 2012. With the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next month, the Olympics in July and August, and the Paralympics in August and September, the United Kingdom is under some serious scrutiny, in particular as a national brand and a tourist destination.
Here I ask Donald Strachan, travel journalist, guidebook writer and all around Twitter delight, some questions about the ...Orkney Islands Serendipity: Discovering The Best Place I Never Wanted to See
Apr 19th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
"You'll need to catch the bus to Stromness," says the lady at the tourist information office. She's the cheery sort you'd expect to find working here -- that rare employee who genuinely seems to love her job.
I arrived in Kirkwall, the largest town in the Orkney Islands, less than an hour ago. I've come to ask the best mode of transportation to the Orkney Folk Festival, three nights of ...Facts By The Numbers For The 2012 Olympic Games In London
Apr 12th, 2012 at 4:30PM: Excited for the upcoming Olympics? While you may have a favorite athlete in mind or a specific team you're rooting for, there is actually a lot more that goes into preparing for the Olympic Games than working out and training. To give you a better idea, here are 20 things you probably didn't know about the upcoming Olympic games:
There will be 26 featured sports from 39 disciplines
The ...Tourism In Britain Q&A: Travel Writer Sally Shalam
Apr 5th, 2012 at 11:00AM: Sally Shalam, a regular contributor at the Guardian, is an experienced travel writer with a strong focus on tourism in the United Kingdom. Her archive at the Guardian is full of wonderfully detailed reviews of accommodations across the UK. Many of these reviews are republished on Shalam's website, Sally Shalam's Britain, which organizes her reviews into helpful categories – my personal ...Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee: 2012's other major British event
Mar 2nd, 2012 at 11:00AM: In London, signs of the coming Olympics are everywhere. Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations have begun to expand into East London toward key Olympics sites, billboards urge drivers to begin to think about how they'll deal with increased traffic, and the Prime Minister is busy warning unions that the prospect of a strike during the Olympics would be "unacceptable and unpatriotic."
Meanwhile, ...10 St. Patrick's Day alternatives to Dublin, Ireland
Feb 26th, 2012 at 9:00AM: While travelers often think of Dublin, Ireland, as the must-visit place for St. Patrick's Day, there are many other excellent destinations all over the world to celebrate the festivities. To help you decide where to spend March 17 this year, check out this list of ten excellent St. Patrick's Day destinations.
New York
I've attended St. Patrick's Day in New York many times and can honestly ...Getting to know the royal history of Norfolk, United Kingdom
Feb 17th, 2012 at 3:00PM: Norfolk is a mainly rural county in the United Kingdom that offers many experiences for visitors, such as historical market towns and villages, nature reserves, wildlife, excellent dining and shopping options, unique heritage sites, and, of course, chances to experience the royal history of the area.
Visit Castle Rising Castle (shown right), which dates back to the 12th century and was owned by ...London hotel offers champagne baths
Feb 9th, 2012 at 12:00PM: While drinking a 2002 Dom Pérignon, have you ever thought to yourself, "Damn, this stuff is so good, I should take a bath in it!" Well, you're not the only one with such luxurious fantasies. Starting Valentine's Day and running through the next year, the Cadogan Hotel in London will be offering a menu of champagne baths to guests who want to try out the ultimate bubbly bath.
What's your ...Luxury Vacation Guide 2012: East London
Jan 10th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
London, a perennial tourist favorite, is no stranger to the luxury travel market. What's relatively new is the proliferation of luxury hotels and other venues in traditionally working-class East London.
In 2012, East London's reputation as luxury territory will intensify. Why? The Olympics, mostly. London hosts the Summer Olympics from July 27 through August 13. The Olympic Village along ...Your Paintings website puts UK's art collections at your fingertips
Dec 23rd, 2011 at 1:00PM:
An online collection now boasts half of all the publicly owned oil paintings in the United Kingdom.
Your Paintings was started in June by the BBC and the Public Catalogue Foundation and has already uploaded high-quality images of 104,000 oil paintings by 23,000 artists.
The goal is to put online all of the estimated 200,000 publicly owned paintings housed in some 3,000 institutions, making ...Heathrow: The shut-down that wasn't
Dec 1st, 2011 at 7:00AM:
It wasn't the Heathrow shut-down of the decade, that's for sure.
As widely reported, there was a public sector strike yesterday in the United Kingdom. The biggest fear within the travel industry and media was that London's Heathrow Airport would go into heavy-delay meltdown, but the anticipated chaos never materialized. In the Guardian, Robert Booth and Alan Travis reported yesterday that ...10 free things to do in London
Nov 29th, 2011 at 10:00AM: While London, United Kingdom, is often thought to be one of the more expensive cities to travel to, it doesn't have to be. If you plan ahead and add some quality, budget-friendly options to your itinerary, you can actually spend a vacation in London without going bankrupt. To help, here is a list of ten free things to do in London.
Visit a museum
Unlike many other cities, there are many top ...Pipilotti Rist's innovative video installations give audiences an "Eyeball Massage"
Nov 27th, 2011 at 5:30PM: Don't worry, nobody will physically be touching your eyeballs. However, you will be taken on a unique sensory journey through dazzling color, perceptible images, and hypnotic music.
Until January 8, 2012, the work of Swiss Artist Pipilotti Rist will be featured at the Hayward Gallery in London in "Eyeball Massage". Through this exhibit, viewers can see Rita's work from the 1980's to the ...
Want to try 300 drinks from 5 different continents?
Nov 27th, 2011 at 11:00AM: On December 1, 2011, ZaZa Bazaar will unveil its Wunder Bar. You will basically be able to go on a cocktail tour around the world without leaving Bristol, United Kingdom, as the bar will feature 300 drinks from five different continents.
Bar manager, Les Richards, and bar consultant, Ro Santus, have spent hours upon hours coming up with innovative and worldly drinks for all tastes and budgets. ...Kids travel gift: Junior "crumpled" city maps
Nov 26th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Last year we reported on Italian designer Emanuele Pizzolorusso's crumpled city maps, a delightful series of maps made out of tough waterproof material. Pizzolorusso's maps can withstand crumpling and crushing. They fit in a little pouch and are easily transportable. They are a wonderfully fanciful yet solidly utilitarian tool for tourists.
Pizzolorusso, working with Berlin-based ...London's Temple of Mithras is moving back to its original location
Nov 18th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
London got its start as the Roman city of Londinium in the first century AD. Back then the so-called "mystery religions" were very popular in the Roman Empire. These cults, with their personal connections to the divine and secret rites, gave believers a more personal experience than the giant temples to Jupiter, Mars, and the rest of the standard pantheon. One of the most popular mystery ...National Gallery in London opens Da Vinci exhibition today
Nov 9th, 2011 at 2:00PM: London's National Gallery is hosting an exhibition of the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. The show, titled Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan, focuses on the paintings of the famous genius rather than his many other projects. It brings together nine of the only 15 or 16 paintings known to be his. The gallery boasts that it's the most complete collection of his paintings ever shown.
...Frommer's reveals top destinations for 2012
Oct 25th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
What destination are you dreaming of for 2012? The staff at Frommer's have just unveiled their list of top travel destinations for the coming year. Included in the list is a little something for everyone: large metropolises, secluded beach towns, colorful riverside villas, and more.
But Frommer's didn't just rely on their expert editors and author's for this years list--they also polled ...Digital technology meets art with a floating orchestra of ping pong balls
Oct 15th, 2011 at 11:00AM: The Poietic Studio in London in the United Kingdom has combined technology with art in their new exhibit, the Floating Orchestra. Here, 19 ping pong balls come to life, becoming orchestral instruments that increase in volume as each ball rises. By manipulating each ball, you can create your own symphony of music. And, how is this all controlled? By technology, of course, via the touchscreen of an ...
