We have recently switched over our travel related posts to a new ‘blog of blogs’ - see our new page Travel Tips - so from now on this blog will concentrate on changes and additions to the site, welcoming new experts on board etc. However, if you have a great travel blog, or can recommend someone who does, please let us know, as we can include posts from featured blogs on our ‘best of blogs’ list.
Updates from james RSS
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New Blog of Blogs
James
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Sacred Places
James
Welcome to World Reviewer to Martin Gray who has reviewed over 100 of the world’s most special sacred places, from Fuji San in Japan to Mount Athos in Greece. His stunning images and detailed descriptions make this list one of the best anywhere on the net. For a full range of his reviews and images, visit his website, and for a summary of his reviews on our site, see the Martin Gray reviews page.
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Stop Press!
James
Thanks to all the judges who awarded us the top spot in the Travel Category! Voting is still open for the public ‘People’s Choice’ Award, so please vote for us here if you have not done so already!
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Works of Art
James
Our editors are doing great work building a list of the world’s greatest works of art. This is a really fun project - full of controversy, to be sure, but the point is to put, say, 100 works of art up there, where you can find them, and then get people to rate them or add their own. Is the Mona Lisa the greatest work of all time? Clearly there is no such thing - and there are people like me who can’t stand the painting. But then that’s largely influenced by the bullet proof glass, the reverence given to it, and the fact that you can only glimpse it through a mass of jostling cameras.
But the real value of mapping these works is that anyone with any interest in art might find themselves in a hotel not 200 yards from a really spectacular work - and what better way to prompt them to pay a visit. I have spent many days on visits to Rome, and yet never known that inside the Borghese Gallery is that fabulous work by Bernini, Apollo and Daphne. Now I know, and I’ll make sure not to miss it next time.
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New Postings
James
This week’s best postings come from very opposite ends of the ‘experiences’ spectrum. The ‘The Gay Ghost of The George Hotel‘ in Swaffham, UK, posted by paranormal expert Johnny Blythe, describes an investigation into a ‘green lady’ with the aid of laser thermometers, and a ‘presence’ in the hotel’s dry goods room who was trying to unzip a staff members’ trousers. Weird goings on indeed…
The second, by rainforest explorer Paul Beaver, describes an Encounter with Isula Ant (Paraponera clavata) , one of the ‘true terrors of the Amazon’. They have a retractable abdominal stinger whose sole purpose is to inject neurotoxic venom.
Not sure which is worse..
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The Monday after the weekend before
James
Too much wind was a crashing blow to the Balloon Fiesta experience, though our expert Phil Dunnington was an excellent speaker and had some very interesting stories; and we did shoot the army motorbiking squad jumping four cars end to end and four golf carts (though we don’t have a motorcross category, maybe we should? It was pretty exciting.). We also shot miniature pony chariot races, a helicopter with no doors and some skydivers.
It didn’t feel that windy…