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Category / Don’t Be A Tourist

The Veteran Chanel Window Dresser who opened the Oddest Little Art Gallery in Paris

I once read somewhere that if you were to spend eight seconds in front of every piece of artwork in the Louvre’s collection it would take one year to see everything. I believe the same rule holds true for Station Arret Facultatif. It’s as if a tornado swept through Paris and dumped the best of the…

Welcome to Planet California: Secret Sizzling Springs and Alien Beaches

We made it out of Death Valley. We drove through miles of Mars-like landscape in hairdryer heat (113 F) on seemingly endless roads. The valley’s one mad-made attraction, a 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival villa called Scotty’s Castle, hidden in an isolated desert oasis, was inexplicably closed. Low on gas after taking the lengthy detour to…

The Restaurant where you Dine as if you were an actual Guest at the Fawlty Towers

Sometimes, dining out just lacks a bit of drama. Sometimes, you just want to see an almighty showdown spill out from the kitchen (but hopefully not land in your lap) and add a bit of spice –and laughter– to your meal. Well, today I discovered that such a show(down) exists where you can make a reservation for a table in…

The Woman who is the Mayor, Bartender, Librarian and Sole Resident of her Town

Deep in Nebraska, there’s a one-woman town called Monowi, the only officially incorporated municipality in the United States with a population of just one. Upon approaching Monowi, a green road sign stands at the town limits, proudly displaying its number of resident(s). Meet Elsie Eiler, who you can usually find busying herself in the town’s bar. When…

Reviving the Studio 54 of Paris: Fame & Debauchery in a Bathhouse turned Nightclub

Before it became an icon of Parisian nightlife, it was Marcel Proust’s favourite bath house a century earlier. In 1978, it became Paris’ answer to Studio 54, overflowing with famous faces; a cultural institution fuelled by sex, drugs, disco … and midnight swimming. Photographs (c) Foc Kan “Magnifique, Magique, Mythique”, writes one former patron describing…

Shakespeare, Jazz and Summer Nights Under the Oldest Tree in Paris

Last weekend, four American tourists were attacked in Paris by a raving madman with an invisible dagger. As the long line of visitors swelled in the heat at the legendary bookstore Shakespeare & Company, no one seemed to notice a customer in the queue curiously dressed as an old-fashioned WWI soldier… He soon caught everyone’s…

The Town that went Underground

In the remote South Australian desert, temperatures reach 125 °F / 51 °C – in the shade. Can you imagine the air conditioning bills? Neither could the residents of Coober Pedy, the world’s only underground town. Coober Pedy’s Chimneys / (c) Nicholas James Coober Pedy is a small mining town with a population of just under 2,000,…

The Floating Paris Winery

Between the 19th and 20th century, wine barrels would travel via canal boat from the regions of Burgundy all the way to Paris which were then traded at the riverside cellars of Bercy, destined to grace the tables of thirsty Parisians. Today, there is one little houseboat, known as ‘La Cave Vagabonde‘, still making the…

One City, Five Hours: An Illustrated Off-beat Guide to Layovers

Layovers are tricky. Successfully managing your time in an unfamiliar city with just enough (but never enough) hours to kill requires some careful and thoughtful research– especially for travellers who might prefer to balance offbeat discoveries with the obligatory tourist stops. Luckily, I’ve stumbled across artist Oliver Jeffers‘ “One city, Five Hours” project, which landed him a regular spot…

An Artist Dares you to go find his Secret Swimming Pool in the Desert

If you’re in Southern California this summer and up for a challenge, here’s something that might inspire a road trip rather more surreal than a cruise down Route 66. Somewhere in the Mojave desert, a secret swimming pool is waiting for you to dip your toes into its crispy blue water; a totally free desert oasis complete…

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