The whys we travel, wheres we travel, hows we travel, whats we miss.
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As travel continues to be restricted, I've been collecting books on travel and adventure on my Pinterest page that may provide some solace to homebound travelers. They're linked to Amazon for convenience, but don't forget your local bookstores and libraries will have many of them (if you're lucky, your community supports a travel bookstore, such as NYC's Idlewild Books -- you might find a source near you in Biblio.com's list of bookstores specializing in travel).
"In other markets, on other shores, the unfamiliar fishes may be vivid, mysterious, repellant, fascinating and bright with
splendid color; only in Venice do they look good enough to eat. In Venice even ordinary sole and ugly great skate are striped with delicate lilac lights, the sardines shine like newly-minted silver coins, pink Venetian scampi are fat and fresh, infinitely enticing in the early dawn." — Elizabeth David, “Italian Food,” 1954.
Elizabeth David was one of the first food critics to explore the full range of Italy's regional cooking. The foods of Italy, she reported in vivid prose, reached far beyond the simple pleasures of minestrone and ravioli to complex traditions in Tuscany, Sicily, Lombardy, Umbria, and many other regions: Italian Food (Penguin Classics) by Elizabeth David, foreword by Julia Child (Amazon).
'The Land of the Mutts,' on an abandoned farm in the mountains of Costa Rica, is a dog sanctuary where adoptable dogs outnumber people by at least 100 to one.
London and the country roads linking the two great cities by two cycle routes: the 490km/304mile 'classic' from the Tower of London to the Eiffel Tower and the 387km/240mile Avenue Verte from the London Eye to Notre Dame. Passing through rolling countryside, charming market towns and medieval walled villages, suburban streets and country roads take you past historical landmarks, museums and iconic monuments. The daily sections -- 25 to 40 miles -- should be within the capabilities of moderately fit riders, and one direction should take less than a week, according to the publisher, meaning that a round trip, including a few days sightseeing in Paris, can easily be accomplished in a fortnight. Itineraries include directions, points of interest, elevations, and abundant maps. "A comprehensive introduction covers all the practicalities, such as Channel crossings, accommodation and what to take, and also offers a fascinating historical overview of southern England and northern France. A summary of facilities, useful contacts and an English-French glossary can be found in the appendices." Mike Wells is the author of six biking guides, including treks along the Danube, the Rhine and the Rhone.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization announced last week that Spain overtook the United States as the second-most visited destination in the world (France remains number one) in 2017. The U.S. welcomed 72.9 million foreign visitors last year — down about four percent from the previous year’s 75.9 million.
Socrates did not blush to play with little boys, Cato used to refresh his mind with wine after he had wearied it with application to affairs of state, and Scipio would move his triumphal and soldierly limbs to the sound of music … It does good also to take walks out of doors, that our spirits may be raised and refreshed by the open air and fresh breeze: sometimes we gain strength by driving in a carriage, by travel, by change of air, or by social meals and a more generous allowance of wine: at times we ought to drink even to intoxication, not so as to drown, but merely to dip ourselves in wine: for wine washes away troubles and dislodges them from the depths of the mind, and acts as a remedy to sorrow as it does to some diseases.
In Full Upright and Locked Position: The Insider's Guide to Air Travel, Mark Gerchick, former chief counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration, demystifies the airline industry -- from uncomfortable seats and chinese menus of add-ons and fees to the real dangers of air travel. This is a fact-packed, engaging, user-friendly, nuts-and-bolts survey of contemporary commercial air travel. Not for reading on the plane.
“Illuminating… The insights provided will make the turbulence a little easier to bear.” -- Publishers Weekly
"Companies like BlueSmart, Raden and Away make luggage that includes GPS tracking, can measure its own weight, and yes, charge phones. But for all those features, these pieces of luggage need power in the form of lithium-ion batteries, which are generally seen as fire risks on planes. Last year, the FAA noted that their testing of plane fire safety showed that 'current cargo fire suppression systems cannot effectively control a lithium battery fire.'"
The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in Boston and the oldest restaurant in continuous service
in the U.S. The doors have always been open to diners since 1826.
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui chantent
Les rêves qui les hantent
Au large d'Amsterdam
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dorment
Comme des oriflammes
Le long des berges mornes
Et ça sent la morue
Jusque dans le cœur des frites
Que leurs grosses mains invitent
À revenir en plus
Puis se lèvent en riant
Dans un bruit de tempête
Referment leur braguette
Et sortent en rotant
In the port of Amsterdam
There's a sailor who sings
Of the dreams that he brings
From the wide open sea
In the port of Amsterdam
There's a sailor who sleeps
While the river bank weeps
To the old willow tree
In the port of Amsterdam
There's a sailor who dies
Full of beer, full of cries
In a drunken town fight
In the port of Amsterdam
There's a sailor who's born
On a hot muggy morn
By the dawn's early light
In the port of Amsterdam
Where the sailors all meet
There's a sailor who eats
Only fish heads and tails
And he'll show you his teeth
That have rotted too soon
That can haul up the sails
That can swallow the moon
And he yells to the cook
With his arms open wide
"hey, bring me more fish
Throw it down by my side"
And he wants so to belch
But he's too full to try
So he stands up and laughs
And he zips up his fly
In the port of Amsterdam
You can see sailors dance
Paunches bursting their pants
Grinding women to porch
They've forgotten the tune
That their whiskey voice croaked
Splitting the night
With the roar of their jokes
And they turn and they dance
And they laugh and they lust
Till the rancid sound of the accordion bursts
And then out of the night
With their pride in their pants
And the sluts that they tow
Underneath the street lamps
In the port of Amsterdam
There's a sailor who drinks
And he drinks and he drinks
And he drinks once again
He'll drink to the health
Of the whores of Amsterdam
Who've given their bodies
To a thousand other men
Yeah, they've bargained their virtue
Their goodness all gone
For a few dirty coins
Well he just can't go on
Throws his nose to the sky
And he aims it up above
And he pisses like I cry
On the unfaithful love
In the port of Amsterdam
In the port of Amsterdam
Bikes in Los Angeles' Griffith Park cost only $1 for an hour of use, compared for example to the walk-up fee for the Metro or Santa Monica bike-share systems, which each charge about $7 to use a bike for an hour.
"In other markets, on other shores, the unfamiliar fishes may be vivid, mysterious, repellant, fascinating and bright with
In 
