Check out the disappointed tourist: an elegy to lost places, a record of those grand and mundane places lost to time or other occurrences, whose presence we continue to mourn.

“It would be better to describe reading not as a public duty but as a private pleasure, sometimes even a vice. This would be a more effective way to attract young people, and it also happens to be true. When literature was considered transgressive, moralists couldn’t get people to stop buying and reading dangerous books. Now that books are considered virtuous and edifying, moralists can’t persuade anyone to pick one up.” from Reading Is a Vice [The Atlantic; ungated

European rail travel, AI’s impact on travel planning, what’s trending in travel gear, and much more at Nomadico which has news, tips, and tools for travelers and digital nomads alike.

We may never get an invite, but we can See inside London’s beautiful and unique private members’ clubs

I have a vague recollection of my maternal Grandmother telling me a story about some distant relatives who hailed from Minsk, but I’ve never thought much about visiting the sad former Soviet city. Paying a visit to Europe’s last dictatorship is a fascinating long read about taking a bus to Minsk and back.

Books That Belong On Paper has recommendations of visually striking books, with sample pages. Eclectic does not cover it.

Rental car companies love to shake you down with their toll programs—- either pay an absurd daily fee (like $25/day!) for their toll service or risk getting slammed with massive processing fees if you hit a toll booth. But here’s a money-saving move: register your rental car’s license plate on The Toll Roads website before driving. Take a photo of the plate and VIN (enter it here to get the car’s year, make, and model) at pickup and add it to your personal toll account right there in the parking lot—takes 2 minutes. Set the start/end dates for your rental period and you’re good to go.