Tag: Historical Travel

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Got $189 Million? Then You've Got 5,500 Artifacts from the Wreck of the 'Titanic'

January 5, 2012 at 4:33 PM | by | Comments (0)


A mug from third class on the Titanic

Anyone got $189 million just chilling in the bank? If your answer is yes, then you've probably also got enough extra space to house some 5,500 artifacts raised from the ocean floor wreck of the RMS Titanic, because all that is about to be auctioned off...in one fell swoop.

That's right; if you want to buy just one piece from the massive collection, you're going to have to buy all of it, since the auction comes complete with a 19-page document of what you can and cannot do with the items. It's mostly cannot do. So there'll be no drinking your morning coffee from a steerage class mug, nor will there be fogging up a porthole with your breath, only to write "J + L = <3" with your finger. You've got to treat these items with respect, just as the salvage company has attempted to do until now:

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Break Out the Spats and Pin Curls for Miami's Art Deco Weekend

January 5, 2012 at 9:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

Miami may kick off the year as vice city for hordes of NYE revelers, but as January gets underway, the beach goes back to its pre-Cocaine Cowboys roots to celebrate all things Deco.

From January 13–15, the Miami Design Preservation League (the folks who keep South Beach looking so pretty) kick up their heels Charleston style with the annual Art Deco Weekend.

This year's three-day festival will include a fashion show, car show, musical performances, furniture fair and, as always, a lineup of walking tours to show off all the glorious buildings the MDPL has managed to save over the years.

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Hunting for Hummus in the Old City of Acre, Israel

Where: Acre, Israel
January 4, 2012 at 12:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

The city of Acre (Akko in Hebrew) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in Israel. Probable references to it stretch back to the 16th century BC, and over the centuries it's been ruled by everybody who was anybody in the Middle East. The Canaanites, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, British and now the Israelis have all had it at one time or another. The upshot is that there's been lots of time to build and tear down and rebuild the walls around the Old City, photographed here.

The entire Old City has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The problem is that it used to be something of a trap for the many travelers who came to see the ancient sites, many of whom promptly got lost in the winding roads. But over the last few years the Israeli travel and tourism people have made a major effort to make the city more tourist-friendly, posting maps at entrances and in squares. Recently signs have even appeared all over the city to direct people around.

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Here, There and Everywhere with The Beatles: John Lennon Peace Monument

December 8, 2011 at 5:22 PM | by | Comments (0)

Today, December 8, marks the 31st anniversary of the day John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. While fans of Lennon and The Beatles will come together at Central Park's Strawberry Fields to remember him, we'll spend this week focusing on other places to visit to dip into Beatles history.

Today: The John Lennon Peace Monument in Liverpool, England.

This evening is the key moment this week, when Beatles fans and particularly those of John Lennon gather to remember him and meditate on peace. Sure, you can go to Strawberry Fields in Central Park or the Lennon statue near the Cavern Club, or any of a slew of other Beatles-related sites around the world to join in, but the newest gathering spot conveniently sits nearby The Beatles Story museum. It's the Lennon Peace Monument

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Here, There and Everywhere with The Beatles: The Liverpool Museum

December 7, 2011 at 5:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

This Thursday, December 8, marks the 31st anniversary of the day John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. While fans of Lennon and The Beatles will come together at Central Park's Strawberry Fields to remember him, we'll spend this week focusing on other places to visit to dip into Beatles history.

Today: Liverpool's "The Beatles Story" Museum.

Love The Beatles' music, but not up on your Beatles history? This is where to come for something like Beatles 101, with a dash of Liverpool's own music past. The museum is divided into two buildings, one with a 4D film and the other with the bulk of the experience, which takes visitors from the start of The Beatles' fame with mock-ups of the clubs they played and the radio stations that played them, clear through to John Lennon's white piano.

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Here, There and Everywhere with The Beatles: The Cavern Club

December 7, 2011 at 11:09 AM | by | Comments (0)

This Thursday, December 8, marks the 31st anniversary of the day John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. While fans of Lennon and The Beatles will come together at Central Park's Strawberry Fields to remember him, we'll spend this week focusing on other places to visit to dip into Beatles history.

Today: The Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Just around the corner from the newish Hard Day's Night Hotel in Liverpool sits the old Cavern Club, known better as the home club of The Beatles. It bills itself as "the most famous club in the world," and it pretty much is, since many lookalike clubs have sprung up around the world. The typical nightly crowd is a mix of Brits, older Beatles tourists and younger Contiki-type tour groups and, despite its enduring popularity and major place in music history, tickets to the nearly nightly live performances are nice and cheap, averaging £3 per person.

It's here at the Cavern Club that the members of the Fab Four first played, but with other groups like The Quarrymen and Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, before coming together as The Beatles. As The Beatles. they played the Cavern a staggering 292 times, but Beatlesmania forced them into larger venues and the Cavern went through its own period of weirdness before finally becoming the major tourist magnet it is today.

Naturally, we couldn't do a weekend in Liverpool without crossing the place off our bucket list...

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Here, There and Everywhere with The Beatles: Abbey Road Crossing

December 5, 2011 at 5:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

This Thursday, December 8, marks the 31st anniversary of the day John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. While fans of Lennon and The Beatles will come together at Central Park's Strawberry Fields to remember him, we'll spend this week focusing on other places to visit to dip into Beatles history.

Monday: The Abbey Road crossing in London, UK

In 1969, four guys crossed a street in London and the resulting photograph is one of the most iconic album covers in history. It's The Beatles' Abbey Road, named for the place where the picture was taken, which just happens to be right outside EMI Studios. It's a standard crossing which still exists today (as do the Studios).

The crossing itself received historical status just last year, and of course it's open and free for fans to see and walk. There's even a webcam, in case you need to prove your visit to people watching at home.

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A is for Absinthe, B is for Boozing on the New Orleans Cocktail Tour

October 27, 2011 at 10:58 AM | by | Comments (0)

While in New Orleans this last weekend to check out the newly reopened Hyatt Regency, we managed some us-time to see the Saints walk all over the Colts at the Superdome. But the thing we can't stop talking about now we're home? The booze.

While no one needs instruction on how to drink when in NOLA, we decided to take the New Orleans Original Cocktail Tour, so we could wash down our history of the French Quarter with a delightful tonic or two. If you like learning a little somethin' as you get lit, we highly recommend this leisurely afternoon pursuit.

One of the most popular tours in town, it is not a pub crawl but a sophisticated stroll through some of New Orleans' most historic bars and restaurants, with plenty of colorful commentary along the way. Groups are capped at a maximum of 10 to keep things orderly, and our guide was a master at entertaining everyone and moving things along.

Since the tour kicks off at 4pm, the streets of the quarter are already filled with happy, buzzy souls, but we had no trouble finding ourselves a spot at the bar each time we called in for some stories and refreshments.

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A Weekend on the Isle of Man: Castles, More Castles and Some Crazy History

October 13, 2011 at 5:55 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Isle of Man is a mysterious place, a nearly sovereign territory out in the middle of the choppy Irish Sea between England and Ireland. What sort of people live there? What's there to see and do? These are all questions we wanted to answer, so we went ourselves...because why not? All this week we'll be sharing our experiences in this curious island destination.

Like you need another reason to rent a car and drive around the Isle of Man, but we have to say that the transition between architecture on the island is something else. It's like this: BOOM you're at a castle. BOOM you're on a Victorian promenade. BOOM you're along a harbour with a tide so low the boats stick in the mud. BOOM it's a fishing village. BOOM another castle. BOOM another castle. Yea, it's awesome. And here's the thing, that's only in a couple hours of exploring.

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The Mayan Ruins Conundrum: Tulum or Cobá?

Where: Mexico
October 11, 2011 at 11:50 AM | by | Comments (3)

If you're a cruise-ship day-tripper or an eco-lovin' beach bum traveling in Mexico's Riviera Maya, you're no doubt familiar with Tulum.

The oceanfront site of the Mayan ruins make it one of the most visited historical sites in all of Mexico. But, there is a nearby alternative that's just as beautiful and a whole lot less crowded: the ruins at Cobá, about 30 miles inland from Tulum.

If you have a day to spare and can visit both cities like we did, go for it. You'll get to see a range of Mayan structures, including temples, ball courts, and pyramids, and experience two completely different settings. But if you have to choose between the two (each is a good half-day excursion if you're staying near Playa del Carmen, more if you're coming from Cancun), here are our pros and cons of each spot:

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Pesky Hurricane Irene Bumps MLK Memorial Dedication to October 16

September 19, 2011 at 9:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

Stupid Hurricane Irene has no respect, and because of her wind and rain the dedication of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial has to be pushed back. Organizers have finally been able to get everything in place again for a second try of the dedication, and it looks like they’ve selected October 16 to do so.

Originally like 250,000 folks were expected to show up, and we’re thinking the take-two will bring out just as many when the memorial is formally dedicated on the National Mall. President Obama is expected to be just one of the many in attendance, so if you’re planning to visit be prepared for an extra security patdown or two.

If you’re not able to attend the official ceremony next month, no problem, as you can go and check it out right now. It’s not exactly possible to keep the 30-foot statue totally covered up until October, so make sure to add it to your tourist checklist next time your in Washington, DC.

[Photo: tedeytan]

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The Cost of a Domestic American Airlines Ticket in 1964

September 6, 2011 at 9:35 AM | by | Comments (0)

Got a $20 bill? If this was 1964, you'd also have a domestic flight on American Airlines for that little cash. We know this because we unearthed a vintage American Airlines pamphlet advertising the '64 World's Fair in New York City, plus airfares to it from other parts of the USA.

Only a few weeks ago we marveled at the price of an AA ticket from California to NY listed in this very same booklet. Cross-country roundtrip was only $145 back then, a figure which would roughly equal $1,052 today, adjusted for inflation. Of course the last fifty years haven't seen such a hike, so we've got a whole new perspective on airfare deals right now.

And then we flipped to the inside back cover of the booklet, and discovered the prices for a domestic AA ticket. Holy moly $15.35 from Washington DC and $13.50 from Boston. Okay sometimes—during their @JetBlueCheeps Twitter sales, JetBlue occasionally beats even these low-low prices, but dang. It's all just another reason to wish you lived in the days of Mad Men.

[Scan: Jaunted]

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