An Assorted Cast of Characters On the Trip in Northern England
On every press trip, you settle into the ‘press trip groove,’ getting used to all of this packing, moving, and note-taking, and finding out enough about your fellow journos so you know where you want to sit at dinner and a little bit about each person who is traveling with […]
Newcastle’s Seven Bridges Spanning the River Tyne
Everywhere in England are signs directing World Cup viewers to come and “join us for the game!” It’s like the Superbowl, but in this case, it’s way, way more important–as if the big game didn’t come every January, but instead just every four years. There is definitely some handwringing over […]
Mark Graham Was the First to Chase Ghosts Here
York is a city with a violent past. We joined a popular pastime tonight….strolling the city following an actor who recounts tales of savagry by citizens of York to other citizens of York. He wears black, jacket pants, shoes and gloves. And he tells tales with…just..the right…timing and punch, scary […]
In York, a Mystery: Why 37 Headless Bodies?
The city of York is a magnet for both British tourists and travelers from around the world. It’s just about as pretty as everyone said it was; encircled by a Roman-built wall and dominated by the massive York Minster, an oversized cathedral. Guide Mark Graham told us that archeologists have […]
Harewood House Is a Perfect Place for Tea and Scones
In the city of Leeds, there are 500,000 students. This makes the city the ultimate college town, and today we took cabs out of town a few miles to Harewood House, a family estate owned by a cousin of the Queen. This stately chateau, built 250 years ago, is filled […]
Picky Grown Up Eater? Ok, Now I Sympathize
I often get impatient with picky eaters. In fact I think it’s one of my pet peeves, people who say they don’t like stuff, and refuse to even consider trying to put it down their throat. But today I need to reflect and have sympathy; for there are millions of […]
Waking up Feeling like Dinosaurs, with Covers Askew
The languid, sodden days of dripping, unrelenting and oppressive heat have slunk upon us. Did you also wake up, like I did, with covers askew, a fan blowing nonstop, and into air you could cut with a knife? Welcome to July, if it’s ever going to be hot this year […]
American Launches NY-Manchester Route, and I’ll Come Along
Today is a sultry day, already I can tell the heat will envelope us. Tomorrow I’ll head down to Manhattan on the bus then take an hour-long subway ride through some of Brooklyn’s worst neighborhoods all the way to JFK airport. Then I’ll fly over to Manchester, England and begin […]
Who Uses the Most Electricity in ‘Hamp, I Asked
Last night I was at an outdoor bar, with people competing for seats like musical chairs. I ran into a friend who was with his son, he worked for National Grid. I have always been fascinated by utilities…water, sewer, electrical, internet. I am intrigued with the whole idea that there’s […]
A Day of Kudos, Meeting the Prime Minister
A series of really nice little things happened to me yesterday, making me grateful to be alive in the world and able to appreciate them. Last night I learned that Brendan Vanson, a travel blogger, had compiled a list of what he considered the top 50 Independent Travel Websites. Using […]
What Are They Hiding Under Their Maxi Dresses, Anyway?
Lemondrop is AOL’s saucy, sexy, cheeky fashion website. Some times I gotta admit I do read their hilarious takes on today’s hip styles. Here’s some of their juicy copy about things men don’t like that women sometimes wear. “Maxi Dresses What are you hiding under there? A peg leg? Chemical […]
Everything You Touch Comes By Rail, Even UPS
During the depths of the recession, trucking companies and railroads took steep nosedives, running half empty, and leaving thousand of rail cars on sidings, empty and unused. I wrote a blog about all of these railcars causing dismay in little towns, giant barriers that nobody could move. Well, officially, railroads […]
The Woman in the Burqa Smiles Back with Her Eyes
Today I read an essay by a college student living in Amman Jordan. Unlike most of the stories I download and read for GoNOMAD, this piece had little of value to a traveler, but a world of moral value to anyone interested in communication between cultures. In fact as I […]
Oh Mr. Flagman, Why Do We Pay You So Much?
A few years ago, if you drove down any Massachusetts road where work was being done, you’d pass a state cop in a Crown Vic with the engine running. All day. Unlike all of the other states, Massachusetts for decades used off duty staties instead of civilian flagmen…paying them $40 […]
Oliver Stone’s Portrait of a Thug: Ridiculous!
Again and again, Hollywood types make Hugo Chavez out to be some sort of hero. Yet his country is sinking deeper into an economic morass than ever before. A story in this weekend’s WSJ detailed what market analysts are saying, that after contracting almost 5% last year, and the same […]
Bait Bikes and Twitter Fight Bicycle Theft
I read a story in the NY Times while sitting in the window of the cafe, it was about how bike trails and encouraging biking is bringing another unwanted class of bike enthusiasts…thieves. But bikers and cops are fighting back, using baited bikes to catch bike theft ringleaders, and using […]