Athens and the Antikythera device

Fancy a really interesting weekend break over the next few months, with great food, blue skies and sunshine, relaxation in a fascinating city and more than a touch of highly-accessible culture?  Try Athens, which offers so much to see and do, and fit in visits to two fascinating museums.  They could of course each take

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High 5: London for lazy mothers

If I have to go the Natural History Museum again this decade, I’ll cry. My ability to infect my child with enthusiasm for taxidermied animals is on the wane. Some days – of the 16 or so weeks of school holiday we have to fill each year – I just want to sit down, drink

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Ten tempting supperclubs from around the world

London, early-2011.  Four trends explode: Dalston, pop-ups, ping pong and supperclubs.  As befits an exploding trend, they all immediately implode, and are mostly now, two years hence, officially ‘over’.  To the point where Harry Styles is partying in Dalston, pop-ups are as exciting as press releases and table-tennis bars are ten-a-penny. Suppercubs, though – supperclubs

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A walk on the West Side: NYC’s High Line Park

The smell of freshly baked bagels, the iconic yellow cabs swarming the streets and the relentless sound of police and fire-engine sirens.  These are all features that, to some extent, define the city of New York. Having lived in the neighbouring state of Connecticut for seven years, I would frequently take in these sights and

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Soundtrack of the Streets

Considering buskers as musicians who’ve passed an audition put them in a different light, and I cast my mind back to those who’d made a lasting impression on me…

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Art or eyesore in Chicago?

Some homeowners opt to enhance their garden with a pretty flower bed, a pond or some wooden decking.  Others go for an enormous, 40-foot sculpture on the front lawn. During a recent visit to Chicago, I was wandering by (and drooling at) lavish mansions in one of the city’s most coveted neighborhoods, Lincoln Park. Suddenly

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Alternative uses for the Scrubba wash bag

When it comes to travel, the first rule of packing is that less is definitely more.  The key to useful travel gear, then, must be ‘multi-functionality’. With that in mind, we put our client, The Scrubba wash bag – AKA the world’s smallest washing machine – to the test, with enterprising reviewers trying to find

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The ‘Sea of Silver Sand’ in Kyoto

Overlooked by the temple Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), the unique ‘Sea of Silver Sand’ garden is attributed to the great landscape artist, Sōami (1465-1523).  Its dry sand apparently sparkles in the moonlight, hence the reference to silver.  The flawless sand sculpture is said to be a tribute to Mt Fuji, and is also called a ‘Moon

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Home is where the heart is…

The place which each of us calls ‘home’ is an extension of ourselves: private hidey-holes for escaping the surrounding world. From the outside, living spaces may look similar, but inside a person’s true affinities can be unlocked for all to see. It is always interesting to visit others’ homes; sometimes thoughts are laced with feelings

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