Tagged With "Britain Civil Aviation Authority"
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Re: Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee: The house Sam Phillips built
Actually, the importance of Memphis is long-standing and for good reason: it's on a flood-free bluff above the Mississippi. At different times in its history, both French and Spanish armies built forts there to control traffic on the Mississippi, and before the Civil War, it was the terminus of the only east-west railroad to cross the South...so it has always been a big transportation center. The railroad guaranteed its role in shipping cotton, and made it the center of the region.
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Re: Stockholm's Skansen Museum Park: Where Gumbo Was #27
I'd never heard of this museum, PHeymont, and find it all fascinating. Another reason to visit Stockholm! But I did guess the building was a cache (name used in Canada for structures like these people use to store meat in the winter without any access except a ladder). Not claiming victory as I had no idea where it was, but you want a building without windows, large doors (although you need a way in, be it from the bottom or side) or an ability to chew threw on ground level to protect your...
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VisitBritain, British Air point out "undiscovered places"
The UK has been having a tourist boom, with record inbound traffic over the last 6 months and is looking to keep it going. The official tourist promotion agency and the "flag" airline have teamed up on a series of ads touting less-known attractions to...
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Government St., Mobile: A Great Historic Street (Pt. 2)
Barton Academy, 504 Government St. First Public School in Alabama I've walked on Government Street in Mobile Alabama four separate times. The funny thing is, as I finished up seeing the sights that I came for, I kept...
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Charleston's Grand Mansions: Drayton Hall
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 1, 2014: Charles Dickens Country Home - Kent, England
Charles Dickens has been a favourite British author of mine since high school. I have fond memories of getting lost reading A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations for hours; he was, after all, the most famed...
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Scotland's vote may help ax high flying tax
The infamous British Air Passenger Duty, which can add as much as $450 to airfare for a family of four flying trans-Atlantic to or from Britain, may have met its match in the Scottish vote against independence earlier this fall. Seem...
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Memphis, Tennessee 3) The rest of the city
There’s a lot more to Memphis than Graceland, although Graceland is by far the city’s most popular attraction (which I’ve previously discussed here ). A city of about 650,000, Memphis has a...
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Tupelo, Mississippi. Birthplace of the King of Rock 'n Roll
This is the first post in a short series on visiting Elvis Presley related sites. I've been a huge Elvis fan all my life and my love for the man's wonderful music has not abated in the 35+ years since he died. My brother (Ottoman) and I...
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Charleston's Grand Mansions: Aiken-Rhett House
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
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Lonely Planet's Best Bang for Your Buck in 2015
While some of the destinations they include will be no surprise to the well-traveled group here on Travel Gumbo, I was interested in some of the places mentioned. Samoa, for instance, I wouldn't have expected, or South Africa. And I'd...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov 15 2013: Blue Lady at White Waltham - retro-revival in England
Increasingly popular in England and throughout Europe are “Retro Revival” weekend gatherings featuring original 1950’s rock and roll bands and also some very good 2000’s Tribute Acts recreating the sights, sounds and styles of...
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A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People
I remember being in Wales several times and looking across the sea to the west, thinking that I needed to get to Ireland. Well I finally made it, completing this journey with my brother on our annual "getaway trip"! It was a trip we really...
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Tea at Downton Abbey? Britain spends big to get you there!
Visit Britain, the government tourist-promotion agency and Expedia are putting up about $7 million each to get more Americans to Britain, building on the popularity of Downton Abbey, about to go into Season 4 on US TV. Most of the money will go for TV...
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Government Opens Up The Azores To Airline Competition
Easyjet and RyanAir announce flights to the Azores after Portugal’s national civil aviation institute informed them on October 31st that the government aimed to open up the market for flights between the mainland and the islands of...
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Most overrated travel destinations
I recently came across this short piece on escapehere.com, in which the author provides his perspective on the 10 most overrated travel destinations in the world. It's worth a quick look. While I agree with a few of them, I'm surprised to...
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Not much progress yet on Universal Airline Tracking
After the disappearance nearly a year ago of Malaysian Airlines MH370, nearly everyone agreed how important it would be for better technology to track all airliners in real time. But that appears to be the last agreement on the issue, as some airlines...
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Tunis attack spurs both cancellations and support
In the wake of the terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunisia, in which 20 tourists were killed, two trends have emerged. MSC Cruises (most of the victims were passengers on the MSC Splendida) and Costa (a division of Carnival) have...
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New code for London's buskers: Sing, share, go, please!
Photo from Wikimedia Commons,Author ProfDEH The new code of Code of Conduct for Buskers (Street Performers) in London was issued on Monday by Mayor Boris Johnson. These official...
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Why You should visit Nevada's Valley of Fire
Tired of the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas? Had enough of the concrete canyons and smoked filled casinos of Sin City? Not sure if it's day or night (there are no clocks allowed in Vegas casinos)? Then you should do...
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UKs First National Civil War Centre to Open With Huge Civil War Re-Enactment
Over 1,000 Civil War re-enactors and cannons from across the UK will be in Newark to help launch the National Civil War Center on May 3 and 4th . The museum recounts the 17th century clashes between King and Parliament . The museum...
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Have We Seen This Before? A Supercar, a Valet and a Mystery
Photomontage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Wikimedia Commons, Author Andre Koehne Details have not been released as the cause of the accident, but it's hard not to think of the famous valet scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. A...
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Spring 2015! Selfie Garden Debuts at Keukenhof
Photo of Keukenhof : Wikimedia Commons , Author Alessandro Vecchi Keukenhof Estate is a 32 hectare park in the Netherlands filled with over 7 million flowers in Spring....
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Queen christens Britain's new biggest cruise liner
The Britannia, 11th in the world but biggest in the British cruise industry, has been christened by Queen Elizabeth and will shortly begin her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean. The ship can accommodate over 3600 passengers, and bears the name...
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Britain's Flying Tax Gets a Shave
The much-hated British Air Passenger Duty (APD) which for the past several years has made flying in and out of the UK more expensive than many other routes, is getting some adjustments and reductions. British tourism and travel companies, as...
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As scheduled Cuba service nears, charter operators face unknown future
A surprisingly large industry of scheduled charter flights from the U.S. to Cuba faces an uncertain future as the U.S. and Cuba negotiate their future relationship, including civil aviation, a topic that has already begun to be discussed by the...
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Orlando Breaks 62 Million Visitor Mark
Wikimedia Commons: Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida/Author Visitor7 Visit Orlando, announced today that Orlando ,had more than 62 million visitors in 2014....
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National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta (Where Gumbo Was #109)
Exterior Albert Vecerka-Esto & The Freelon Group-HOK We had some good guesses for this week's Where in the World is TravelGumbo, but believe it or not, no one offered the correct guess. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights opened on Monday, June 23rd 2014 in Pemberton Place, adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. This area is in Downtown Atlanta, just north of Centennial Olympic Park. The Center links the American Civil Rights...
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Florida warned: take action against future flooding
17th c. Castillo de San Marcos, guarding America's oldest city, may be endangered by rising waters. With all the jokes about earthquakes in California creating ocean-front lots in Nevada, it's easy to forget that things are changing in numbers...
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Oh, to be in England! Now that April's...snowing!
Netweather.tv illustration from the Telegraph (UK) Robert Browning wouldn't be very happy with this week's April weather forecast for much of Britain. A "polar plume" is expected to arrive, bringing sub-freezing temperatures to Scotland and...
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Britain ends air passenger tax for under-12s
Today's the day Britain's Air Passenger Duty ends for under-12s in economy, reducing the cost of flying by £11-97 ($17-150) per ticket. The tax, hated by families and blamed by travel industry companies and airlines for shooing away...
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Euro airlines: Delays continue in compensation for delays
Passengers waiting for delayed flights Photo: Wikimedia / Tony Hisget Passengers claiming compensation for flight delays under EU rules are finding themselves still delayed or denied in receiving the...
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Casa Batllo, Barcelona (Where Gumbo was #101)
Roderick Simpson and Dr.J have both correctly placed Gumbo as visiting Casa Batlló in Barcelona.Honorable mention goes to HistoryDigger for getting the city and architect. Designed by the premier Catalan...
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Skedans, Haida Gwaii, British Colombia (Where Gumbo was #106)
Gumbo was visiting the "misty isles", Haida Gwaii, in British Columbia. Specifically, the remnants of the Haida village of Skedans. Sadly, not much remains of the village, captured at its prime in the above image (1878), rich...
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Lulworth Castle, Dorset - the hunts and the fire
This is Lulworth Castle in Dorset, England. Apparently built on the site of an ancient fortified castle. The foundations of this version of the castle were started in 1588 and it was completed in 1609. The castle was actually built as a hunting lodge...
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Bobbies on the Beat in Spain's Ibiza
Spanish authorities on the Balearic Islands vacation spot of Ibiza have arranged for a dozen British police to work with Spanish Civil Guards this summer when British tourism is at its height. The idea is that the British cops, who will have free...
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Historic Route 66 (pt 2) - Needles CA to Flagstaff AZ
Leaving Needles CA, I drove a route that is a MUST DRIVE if you are the kind of person that loves road trips. The main portion of my day was spent on the longest continuous stretch of the original Route 66 that is still in place - From Topock AZ to...
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Historic Route 66 (pt 3) - Flagstaff to Gallup
The next leg of my trip was the shortest distance I had to drive, but it took the longest time. There was a lot to see along the way. Flagstaff AZ I was last in Flagstaff 20 years ago. It was a dismal depressed town in which nothing was...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb. 15, 2015: Sweetgrass Baskets
Among the many traditions of the Lowcountry around Charleston SC few are as fascinating or as rich in history as basketweaving using sweetgrass—native bulrush. These baskets are displayed for sale by their makers on the steps of the...
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Magnolia Plantation: Beautiful but Complicated
This story started out simple: A visit to a beautiful riverside plantation, renowned for its centuries-old formal gardens. But the past is usually not so simple, and in this instance involves not only the ugly story of the slavery that made...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Apr. 29, 2015: L'Écoute at Les Halles
Listening ( L'Écoute ) by Henry Miller (the French sculptor, not the American author) was commissioned in 1986 for a plaza in the area once occupied by the central markets—Les Halles. It's directly in front of the Saint-Eustache...
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Fort Barrancas Has it All: Cannons, Gun Turrets,Tunnels and Great Views
Fort Barrancas is located within the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. You have to show your drivers license, or other ID, to enter the base. It sits on the barranca ,or bluff, overlooking the entrance to Pensacola Bay. This National Historic Landmark...
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Carnival Celebrations in Trinidad & Tobago
Carnival is an annual celebration of life found in many countries around the world. It first originated as a pagan festival in ancient Egypt which was subsequently celebrated by the Greeks and then the Romans. Carnival was later adopted by the Roman...
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The new 'Love Boat:' Pedaling down the Seine
A French couple with a penchant for unusual travel make their way 'on foot' from Paris to Honfleur.
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Columbus Antiquities Discovered in the Unlikeliest of Places
Who would have thought a great collection of Christopher Columbus artifacts could be found in a small Pennsylvania town. Stephanie Kalina-Metzger shares her discovery!
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Strasbourg: Self-service tour of Alsatian food
PHeymont tries something new: A self-service gourmet food tour, organized by the Strasbourg Office de Tourisme.