Header photo – Zurich riverside/ Border photo – street cobblestones, Prague
“Travel teaches toleration.” – Benjamin Disraeli
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Author Archives: suzykewct
An introduction to Dutch Jenever
An all-too-rare blogpost; a gift to my followers for the holidays- a story of alcohol! I am not much of a hard liquor drinker. I prefer my daily glass of wine (usually white these days) or a nice hoppy British … Continue reading
Balloons in Plainville CT
I have only ever been ‘up close and personal’ with hot-air balloons once that I can recall. That was a serendipitous visit to Leeds Castle in England in 1990. I was driving to London after visiting the then-uncompleted Chunnel site … Continue reading
A blog update from one very lazy blogger
I think about writing something for the blog very often. Ah… if wishes were horses. Just a notice that the HOT LINK list on the right has been updated (finally) for 2018. In fact, a few of the links are … Continue reading
Another eclectic trek around Europe – Part One
The older I get, the harder it is to put together a trip to Europe when there is no big-deal (to me) event which self-selects a range of dates as a starting point. A couple of years ago, I was … Continue reading
Monday night jazz in Hartford, CT
Only one photo here but this is a definite highlight of summertime in central CT, USA. For six Mondays between mid-July and mid-August, the rolling lawn of Bushnell Park, behind the State House becomes the perfect amphitheatre for this series … Continue reading
Falkirk, Scotland beyond the Kelpies
As I described in a (very) old post, I went to Falkirk specifically to see Andy Scott’s Kelpies sculptures and perhaps some of his other works which can be found in a variety of locations around the town. In the … Continue reading
A new program from London TfL
I almost lengthened the title of this post editorially but decided against. Transport for London has launched a new effort to (possibly) make it easier for folks with physical or other difficulties to get a seat. It’s sad to think … Continue reading
Posted in England, General magpie travel, London travel, News from Britain, UK news
Tagged London Tube, London Tube accessibility, TfL
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New TV location tours from Tours International for 2018
Tours International has new TV location tours for next year. These are the folks Dad and I traveled with back in 2002 (the Normandy beaches) and who gave Dad, by his own estimation, the best trip ever! The link to … Continue reading
Aliens captured!
Lazy me. I AM working on a couple of other posts but it takes time, especially if there are more than one or two photos to add. Until then… I came across this photo taken at a local autumn fair … Continue reading
London’s Roman amphitheatre
OK. This Roman ruin has very little left of it compared to the smaller-than-Colosseum structures in Arles, France or Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Those at least are complete; this one would require almost complete reconstruction and the removal of the entire Guildhall … Continue reading
London Fire 1666
The Museum of London has a terrific exhibition commemorating the Great Fire of 1666 on its 350th anniversary. I took loads of photos but they didn’t do the show justice. The story needs more than just a couple of photos … Continue reading
Finding Santons in Metz
If you’re a fan of Peter Mayle and his wonderful stories about Provence life and culture then you may be familiar with santons. The word means “little saints” and refers to handmade clay figures dressed in old style traditional dress … Continue reading
New tours from Tours International for 2017
Take a look at the new tour offerings from Tours International – the folks Dad and I traveled with back in 2002 (the Normandy beaches) and who gave Dad, by his own admission, the best trip ever! I keep the … Continue reading
Posted in All Suzanne's travels, General magpie travel
Tagged Downton Tour, Luther tour, Tours International
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Xmas rats on my dashboard
I know, this barely counts as blog-worthy but hey, it’s timely, no? These two critters came from IKEA many years ago. They started life sitting on the top of my office cubicle and, somehow, somewhy, they began getting dressed up … Continue reading
Posted in All Suzanne's travel essays, not really travel
Tagged dashboard rats, Ikea rats
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St Norbert beer truck – photo
OK. I’m gonna try something new. My desire to blog has been pretty much non-existent for more than a year. Not what I envisioned when I started the thing and no real excuses to offer by way of explanation. Sooo… … Continue reading
London Tube closures 8-9 October 2016 and Tower Bridge
Remember – You can always click on the Planned outages link on the right for up-to-date weekend information when no current blog post appears. Long-term traffic issue – Tower Bridge is closed to all traffic for the rest of the … Continue reading
some updates on London transport – 2016
I found this article embedded in one of the TimeOut emails I get. Don’t think the report that buses are getting slower is either news or useful – who takes a bus to save time? – but the announcement about … Continue reading
London Tube closures thru 14 August 2016
Remember – You can always click on the Planned outages link on this blog page for up-to-date weekend information when no current blog post appears. (I just reposted that link; forgot to change the 2015 link to 2016). Circle line is … Continue reading
London Tube closures 2-3 July 2016
Remember – You can always click on the Planned outages link on this blog page for up-to-date weekend information when no current blog post appears. The weekend looks to be somewhat annoying in central London — Here’s the link for what … Continue reading
A day trip to Mostar
I’ve been working on this post on and off for a couple of years and could have sworn that I’d posted it already. Oops! I also confess that it’s longer than more recent posts; in any event, here it is. … Continue reading
BA short haul to charge for food
I know people who fly British Airways regularly, mostly trans-Atlantic. Be aware though, folks – BA’s short haul flights won’t include food, so keep your sterling handy or bring your own snacks. I’m tempted to advise bringing high-aroma foods (I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Europe from the air, General magpie travel, News from Britain, travel advice, UK
Tagged BA food policy, BA short haul, British Airways
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Best day on planet earth
What follows is my submission to the Rough Guides travel writing contest. The bolded title is one of three themes we could choose to write about. The piece itself is 492 words. The max allowed is 500 words, the min, … Continue reading
Bolshoi Ballet – Spartacus 2016
This is not, strictly speaking, a travel post. I went to the movies near home recently to see a ballet but enjoyed the broadcast so much I decided to blog about it. See… my two favorite performance disciplines are live … Continue reading
Piccadilly line 1 day strike – 23 March 2016
Looks like the 1 day strike on the Piccadilly line is going ahead today. It will start at 21.00 on Wednesday, and continue until 21.00 on Thursday. TfL says that the trains will run until 22.30 on Weds PM – … Continue reading
London Tube closures – 19-20 March 2016 and possible 1-day midweek strike
A late posting, so anyone who cares already knows about some of this… All closures are in place for both days – Circle Line – entire line; District Line – Tower Hill to West Ham; Hamm’smith/City – Kings X/St Pancras … Continue reading
Tours International for 2016
Even though I have this tour company on my Hot Link list in the right-hand column, check out a few of their newest tours for 2016. Shakespeare Tour in April – one of 6 literary tours on offer Downton Abbey … Continue reading
Posted in All Suzanne's travels, England, Europe's gardens, European museums, General magpie travel, London travel, UK news
Tagged Downton Tour, England gardens, England history, England TV and film tours, Richard III tour, Shakespeare tours, Sherlock tour, Tours International, Wolf Hall tour
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old but helpful Dutch rail card news
The old paper tickets are obsolete on Dutch trains. Now you need a smart card, called the OV-chipkaart. Similar to NYC’s Metro card or the London Oyster and Travel cards, these can be bought as either single use or multi-use, … Continue reading
Spinning on Milan’s bull
So… here’s the deal… In the center of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a gorgeous 19th (!) century high-ceilinged open-air covered shopping mall opposite the Duomo, there’s a mosaic of a prancing bull. According to popular myth, you should place your … Continue reading
Visiting Richard III in Leicester
If you are an Anglophile and/or history buff (both of which I am) and you haven’t read The King’s Grave, by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, put it on your reading list. Ever since Richard III – or what was left … Continue reading
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