It was like a simple sketch Treasure Island It first took shape in the mind of Robert Louis Stevenson. In the summer of 1881, he painted an imaginary, romantic island in Scotland. This would be the setting for his children’s tale of pirates, rebellions and buried treasure. But seven years later, he discovered his precious… Read More »
In the shipyard where the Titanic was built, a residential ship is taking shape that will soon embark on a non-stop world voyage. It will travel around the world every three and a half years, visiting 425 ports in 147 countries, including more than 100 islands. I tour Harland & Wolff’s Villa Vie Odyssey in… Read More »
And there’s the man outside Aldgate East station. A strange-looking, cadaver-like, soft-spoken man with an accent that somehow didn’t quite fit this world. He exudes a charismatic menace in the gloom of Whitechapel. Between April 1888 and February 1891, Whitechapel and Spitalfields were rocked by the horrific murders of 11 women. Five of these were… Read More »
The manager of a newly renovated boutique hotel in the old town of Nîmes told me that he had recently gained and lost a star. The hotel’s restaurant, Rouge, run by Benin-born chef Georgiana Viou, recently earned its first Michelin star. However, the rating of the hotel itself, Margaret Chouleur, was downgraded from five stars… Read More »
One day we’ll tell our grandchildren about the time in 2012, when a black-and-white French film set in the silent era and containing only a few words of dialogue won five Oscars, including best picture, and grossed $133 million. counter. Will they look at us as if we’ve been hit in the head by a… Read More »
On quiet summer evenings in the southern Italian town of Tropea (“Pearl of Calabria”), a crowd gathers next to the 17th-century cannon in the eponymous Piazza del Cannone, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. As the sun sets, the sky turns into the shadow of the Calabrian clementine, and all eyes are drawn to the bright sandstone… Read More »
Sunny islands of Bond movies, ripley‘s magnificent Italian sanctuaries, Subrogation‘s ultra-luxurious Big Apple life: We’re all fascinated by screen positions; So much so that most of us now plan our holidays according to these locations. Understandably, it’s a movement the entire travel industry is behind – and now cruise lines are joining in; Companies like… Read More »
The words “weak” and “yen” generally refer to a range of negatives for Japan, from rising import costs to cuts in household spending due to inflation. However, there is a positive side to the ever-depreciating currency: Many tourists from abroad are turning to Japan as a destination that offers surprisingly good value for money. In… Read More »
If temperatures are likely to be around 25 degrees, Gotland, with its sandy beaches and pastel-painted houses, is ideal. Most people’s idea of packing for a summer vacation in Europe involves packing a swimsuit, shorts, and plenty of sunscreen in a bag. When she visits her holiday home in France, Lebby Eyres does all this… Read More »
Where? Located on the idyllic coastline of Costa Navarino on the west coast of the Peloponnese, Greece’s Messinia region, where the famous Battle of Navarino took place during the Greek War of Independence in 1827, the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino hotel overlooks Navarino. It overlooks the bay with its own private beach and the iconic… Read More »