Ridden with inaccuracies, half truths, and plain old news.
Posts tagged travel
Aussies Celebrate Australia Day
Jan 28th
It feels like it has been winter in England for about the last 10 months, the sky is permanently gray and my kitchen is somehow always colder than the inside of the fridge. As I was eating my breakfast in front of the fire wondering if it was worth bothering to open the curtains I saw a clip on the television of Australians celebrating their national day. Personally if I lived in a country where it is always sunny and everybody hangs around on the beach all week (don’t pretend they don’t) I would celebrate every day.
The Australia day celebrations seemed designed to annoy those of us in the northern hemisphere who are in the depths of winter. Footage of people surfing and sunbathing and generally having a great time in the sun are the last thing I want to see in the middle of January. I consoled myself with the thought that it was very unlikely that I would be bitten by any native species in England whereas in Australia at least two thirds of the creatures are deadly.
The newsreader said that one of the events taking place was the ‘Havaianas Thong Challenge’ that disappointingly turned out to be something to do with flip-flops. There was also Vegemite wrestling (in rather than against) and presumably quite a few barbecues taking place.
The Australians certainly seem to have a pretty great lifestyle and if flights to Australia didn’t take so long (a flight to Sydney takes over 22 hours) I would have visited by now. It actually took me longer than that to travel to Florida because we took two flights in order to keep the cost down so perhaps flying to Australia wouldn’t be so bad. I would just worry that once I got there I would be unwilling to get back on the plane and come home.
El Camino Del Rey Video
Jan 27th
This video is quite old but I decided to post it anyway for those who might not have seen it yet. It is filmed in a place in Spain called El Camino Del Rey (The King’s little pathway) which is near Álora in Málaga. The Camino is a a pathway along the edge of a narrow gorge, it was built between 1901 and 1905.
Wikipedia has the details about the Camino:
“In 1901 it became obvious that workers at the hydroelectric power plants at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls needed a walkway to cross between the falls, to provide for transport of materials, and for the inspection and maintenance of the channel.
The walkway has now gone many years without maintenance, and is in a highly deteriorated and dangerous state. It is one meter (3 feet and 3 inches) in width, and is over 100 meters (350 feet) above the river. Nearly all of the path has no handrail. Some parts of the concrete walkway have completely collapsed and all that is remaining is the steel beam originally in place to hold it up. One can latch onto a modern steel safety-wire to keep from falling, though it can’t hold much weight. Several people have lost their lives on the walkway in recent years; after four people died in two accidents in 1999 and 2000[1], the local government closed the entrances. However, many adventurous tourists still find their way onto the walkway to explore it.”
Since this was written the pathway has been reopened although I’m not sure if it has been restored or not. Either way you wouldn’t catch me up their without being attached to the safety wire, just watching the video makes me feel a little bit sick. Having said that I would love to visit the trail, I have even looked into car hire in Spain and nearby hotels. If I do walk the trail I will film it and post it here although I might have to edit out the sound of me crying in fear…
Fear And Loathing On The Road
Dec 21st
Ever since I read Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I have wanted to travel across America in an open topped sports car, seeing the film cemented this desire. I don’t plan on ingesting a car boot full of drugs but driving cross country really appeals to me. Unfortunately I don’t have an attorney to take with me but I’m sure I can improvise. Las Vegas is the obvious choice for a final destination in particular Circus Circus although if it’s anything like it is in the film I may have to make a hasty retreat.
There are plenty of great books and films which use the wide expanses of the American landscape and a backdrop to events. The great thing about a road movie is that the constant movement drives the action forward so there is never a dull moment. Jack Kerouac’s On The Road is another fine example, a vibrant narrative driven by a cross country journey in a beat up old Hudson. On The Road was written on one long roll of paper in a stream of consciousness style aided by large amounts of coffee, its physical dimensions referencing the endless highways which cross America horizontally.
I have always wanted to hire a car on one side of America and drive all the way across to the opposite coast stopping anywhere that seems interesting. I have even gone so far as to look into car hire in the USA to see if this is possible. Clearly this couldn’t be done in an ordinary car, it would need to be a convertible and preferably red, a Dodge Charger or a Ford Mustang would do fine.
Le Cool City Guides
Nov 18th
A new guide book aims to be an eccentric guide to the coolest spots in five of the coolest European cities. We have all read stuffy guide books which haven’t been updated in 20 years which point out areas of historic interest but lack a personal touch. Le Cool (what an awful name) was created to offer an up to date alternative with details of all the best hard-to-find spots and hidden gems.
If you want to find cheap hotels in London or car hire in Barcelona these aren’t the guides for you. But if you want a locals guide to the best record shops, undiscovered pubs and art galleries then Le Cool is the guide for you. The design is adventurous and the tone is light which isn’t something you could say about most guide books.
The London guide is edited by former Suade bassest Mat Osman. He says that the guide is for
“…people who love the city. People who love scooter shops that turn into coffee shops, and flats with aeroplane wings through them, and manga libraries, and doll’s house furniture shops, and bubble-and-squeak stalls, and hairdressers-cum-art galleries-cum-nightclubs, and rollergirls, and so on and so on …”
More info on the Le Cool website.
Travel Guide: Geneva
Sep 28th
Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland after Zürich and sits on the bank of the Rhône near to lake Geneva. The cities inhabitants enjoy a high quality of life and Geneva has a reputation as being peaceful and friendly. It is an important financial centre and many Genevans work in the finance industry. The city is compact and welcoming with picturesque views backed by snow capped mountains.
Geneva boasts a wide range of museums and galleries to cater for most tastes. It is home to the Red Cross Red Crescent Museum and the Palace of Nations, home of the United Nations. The CERN museum of particle physics is an interesting destination for those interested in what is going on underground at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
Travelling around the city is easy thanks to the network of Buses, Trams and Trolleybuses. Taxis can be hired although like everything in Switzerland they can be expensive for travellers. Car hire in Geneva is an option although the weather can be an issue during winter. Geneva has good rails links and trips into France can offer a welcome break from the City.
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