Category Archives: Tourism

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 →

Posted in Europe, Tourism | Tagged | 1 Comment

Taking Liberties with Maps

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Artist/designer Lena Corwin  began illustrating maps for Elle Decor magazine in 2004. Her new book, MAPS: Illustrating Cities (Other Books, April 2011), is a charming collection of forty of her favorite maps. Corwin’s whimsical maps are a clever mix of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, Maps, Tourism, Travel Writing | 1 Comment

How to Recycle Paperbacks

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

New York City’s new Japanese restaurant Brushstrokes (30 Hudson Street) has cleverly recycled 12,000+ discarded paperback books by utilizing them to build the walls for its bar/lounge. The restaurant, which opens on April 20th, is a long-delayed project from chef … Continue reading →

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Boutique Hotels at “good value”

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

The folks at Butikk hope to become the go-to site for qualitative information on “good value” design/boutique hotels around the world. Their proclaimed aim is “beauty, but not at any cost.” They currently list just a few dozen properties, but … Continue reading →

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Mapping London Underground

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Hat tip to Evan Smythe for this post:

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GigaPanBot Does It Again

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Photographer Jeffrey Martin of the website 360cities has created what maybe the world’s largest indoor photograph ever: a mindboggling 40 gigapixel, 360-degree image of the exquisite Philosophical Hall in the magnificent 12th century Strahov Monastery Library in Prague. Using the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Libraries, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Do You Tip The Taxi Driver ?

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

After a long discussion with visitors from Europe on tipping practices in the Americas, this infographic seems to be just the ticket to solve the mystery.

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Who Needs Postcards ?

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Artist Bryan Lee Madden has been creating some amazing cityscapes and scenes on pocket Etch-a-Sketch models for the last two years:

Posted in Architecture, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Where’s the Next Pop-up Restaurant ?

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

Beginning this April 1st, a clever pair of pop-up restaurants  commissioned by Electrolux, the Swedish appliance company, will appear around Europe briefly perching on iconic monuments, buildings and mountains. The restaurant “Cubes”, designed by Italian architects Park Associati, feature laser-cut … Continue reading →

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