Category Archives: Europe

London Is Out of This World (for the summer)

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Writers and artists through history and around the globe have long imagined “other worlds” through the genre of Science Fiction. Science Fiction allows writers to ask the big questions such as: “Who are we?”, “What is reality?” A new exhibition … Continue reading →

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Emily Bronte in Ireland

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

  IT is one of the best-selling novels of all time. But a sharp-eyed bargain hunter has managed to turn a €8,000 profit on a copy of a book that is found in homes up and down the country. The … Continue reading →

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Antwerp Throws a MAS Bash

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Antwerp, Belgium’s great port city and best kept travel secret, started a three day celebration bash yesterday to launch its audacious new MAS museum. The spectacular 10-story museum, which takes its name from the Dutch acronym for Museum on the … Continue reading →

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Paris Is Serious About Bread

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

This week marked the 18th “Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris”, the annual competition to select the best baguette in Paris.  Every year a panel of judges—mostly bakers and a few food celebrities—gather … Continue reading →

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Scotland Turns Green or Whisky a Go Go

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Some of my friends in Scotland (and elsewhere too) seem to think that whisky solves all problems. Now Scotland’s power needs are being met by Scottish whisky distilleries. So far 16 of Speyside’s 50 distillers, including Macallan, Glenlivet, Famous Gouse and … Continue reading →

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The Art of the Car

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

The Musée des Arts Paris is now presenting “The Art of the Automobile” , which features 17 fabulous cars from Ralph Lauren’s amazing car collection. The cars on display—among them Bentley, Mercedes, Jaguar, Ferrari and Bugatti—provide a visual timeline for … Continue reading →

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Seville the Beautiful

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

I have not been to Seville for a few years, but I’m anxious to get back to see the newly completed Metropol Parosol project. One of the world’s largest wooden buildings, this beautiful series of undulating umbrellas of interlocking wooden … Continue reading →

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Booklovers to SLAM Paris

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

  In June 1984, the Syndicat national de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (SLAM) organised the first International Antiquarian Book Fair in Paris at the Conciergerie. In this historic location (once prison to Marie-Antoinette), the success was considerable. Paris became … Continue reading →

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London Is Getting Messy (pt 2)

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

For the last three days, Bompas & Parr candy mongers have presented an astonishing five ton chocolate waterfall in the middle of London’s Whiteleys Centre. The enormous falls,in all its chocolatey glory, cascaded at a rate of 12,000 liters per … Continue reading →

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London Is Getting Messy (pt 1)

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Wednesday artists from art activist group Liberate Tate staged a performance in the Tate Britain on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over … Continue reading →

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