Category Archives: Europe

Improving on the Travel Notebook

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

If you are a writer, or a traveler, or even a travel writer, it’s quite likely that at one time or another you have utilized an iconic Moleskine notebook (or in some of our cases a very good knock-off). But … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Books, Europe, Tourism, Travel Writing, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I was recently trying to remember the details of a camping trip in Denmark many summers ago and ran across this wonderful series of short time-lapse videos of the four seasons there. Filmmaker Casper Rolsted beautifully captures the magic of … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Petite Biblioteque Gratuite

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I’m a sucker for any story about little free library concepts, especially when they involve repurposing old tech. The city of Geneva, Switzerland has done just that with some of its obsolete public telephone booths. This example can be found … Continue reading →

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It’s No Mystery

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Marple is a pleasant English town located a short distance from Southport and Manchester. For decades now, the community has been claiming that it was the inspiration for the name of Agatha Christie’s iconic sleuth Miss Marple. The town has … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

August Antidote

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Just when the dog days of summer were settling in I stumbled upon the refreshing little tilt-shift video below. Filmed by Jorg Daiber for his marvelous Little Big World series, this slice of alpine heaven focuses on the very popular Austrian tourist … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, Tourism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Songs of Experience

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The animated film (below ) by Alex Robinson transposes William Blake’s 1794 poem London over images of an imagined contemporary London. The Blake poem references the effects of an oppressive society on people and nature. The piece is taken from … Continue reading →

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Pack up let’s fly away

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I have always been enamored with classic travel poster art. And there’s nothing better than the old school posters that were created for TWA in the 1950s and 1960s by David Klein.  

Posted in Art, Asia, Europe, Public Transport, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

London’s Folly

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve spent a lot of time in London over the last two centuries and I’ve visited hundreds of local tourist attractions. I even wrote a guidebook for budget travelers to the city. But I’ve never seen anything like the latest … Continue reading →

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Serpentine Saturday

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The wavy patterns on the edges, covers, and endpapers on this tooled and blind-stamped, half-bound book are from Carew’s Survey of Cornwall . This edition was printed in London by Thomas Bensley for J. Faulder and Rees and Curtis in 1811, although Carew’s … Continue reading →

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War of the Worlds

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I have been intrigued by the H.G. Wells iconic science fiction novel  War of the Worlds since I first read the book as a 10 year-old. The terrifying tale was first serialized in nine issues of Pearson’s Magazine (1897/98) with … Continue reading →

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