Woking in Surey

15 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

The Great War monument on Jubilee Square © Zorro2212/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Great War monument on Jubilee Square © Zorro2212/cc-by-sa-3.0

Woking is a town and borough in north-west Surrey, England, around 23 mi (36 km) from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as Wochinges, and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Palaeolithic, but the low fertility of the sandy local soils meant that the area was the least populated part of the county in 1086. Between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries, new transport links were constructed, including the Wey Navigation, Basingstoke Canal and London to Southampton railway line. The modern town was established in the mid-1860s, as the London Necropolis Company began to sell surplus land surrounding the railway station for development.   read more…

Lord Howe Island in Australia

14 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  2 minutes

Shopping Centre on Ned's Beach Road © Granitethighs/cc-by-sa-3.0

Shopping Centre on Ned’s Beach Road © Granitethighs/cc-by-sa-3.0

Lord Howe Island (formerly Lord Howe’s Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies 600 km (370 mi; 320 nmi) directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, 780 km (480 mi; 420 nmi) northeast of Sydney, and about 900 km (560 mi; 490 nmi) southwest of Norfolk Island. It is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km (0.19 and 1.24 mi) wide with an area of 14.55 km2 (3,600 acres), though just 3.98 km2 (980 acres) of that comprise the low-lying developed part of the island. The island is named after Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe.   read more…

Place Vendôme in Paris

13 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Paris / Île-de-France, Shopping Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Dimitri Destugues/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Dimitri Destugues/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Place Vendôme (lit. Vendôme Square), originally the Place Louis-le-Grand (‘Louis the Great Square’), and later the Place Internationale (‘International Square’), is a public square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the corners give the rectangular Place Vendôme the aspect of an octagon. The original Vendôme Column at the centre of the square was erected by Napoleon I to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz; it was torn down on 16 May 1871, by decree of the Paris Commune, but subsequently re-erected and remains a prominent feature on the square today.   read more…

Full Scottish Breakfast

12 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Google Gemini

© Google Gemini

There are some distinctively local elements of the full Scottish breakfast, including Scottish style or Stornoway black pudding, Lorne sausage, Ayrshire middle bacon and tattie scones. Commonly, a full Scottish breakfast is offered on a menu as an ‘all day’ dish.   read more…

Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco

11 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  5 minutes

© BenRoadNerd

© BenRoadNerd

Van Ness Avenue is a north–south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. Originally named Marlette Street, the street was renamed in honor of the city’s sixth mayor, James Van Ness.   read more…

Sosúa in the Dominican Republic

10 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Sosúa Beach © flickr.com - stupiddingo/cc-by-2.0

Sosúa Beach © flickr.com – stupiddingo/cc-by-2.0

Sosúa is a beach town and municipality in the Puerto Plata Province of the Dominican Republic. The Gregorio Luperón International Airport is located in the western part of the municipality. The town is divided into three sectors: El Batey, which is the main tourist section and on the east side of the main beach (Playa Sosúa); Los Charamicos, on the west end of the beach; north of them, toward the airport, is Sosúa Abajo. Sosua is accessed primarily by Camino Cinco, or Highway 5, which runs the country’s northern coastline.   read more…

Norfolk Broads in England

9 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

2015 Three Rivers Race start © Roger Green/cc-by-sa-3.0

2015 Three Rivers Race start © Roger Green/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms “Norfolk Broads” and “Suffolk Broads” are correctly used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, often the whole area is referred to as the Norfolk Broads.   read more…

Emerald Bay State Park in California

8 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

© California Department of Parks and Recreation

© California Department of Parks and Recreation

Emerald Bay State Park is a state park of California in the United States, centered on Lake Tahoe‘s Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark. Park features include Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion that is considered one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. The architect was Leonard Palme, who was hired by his aunt Lora Josephine Knight to design and build Vikingsholm. The park contains the only island in Lake Tahoe, Fannette Island. The park is accessible by California State Route 89 near the southwest shore of the lake. Emerald Bay is one of Lake Tahoe’s most photographed and popular locations.   read more…

Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid

7 July 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Puerta de Murillo © A. Barra/cc-by-sa-3.0

Puerta de Murillo © A. Barra/cc-by-sa-3.0

Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (Spanish for “Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid”) is an 8 hectares (20 acres) botanical garden in Madrid (Spain). The public entrance is located at Plaza de Murillo, next to the Prado Museum.   read more…

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