World Reviewer blog

Updates from July, 2008

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  Best Beaches in America

  Kat 12:12 pm on July 28, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: america, beaches (2)

  We’ve had quite a few Americans though our door so we thought we should take advantage of some of their location expertise and find out a bit more about the best of the big ol’ U S of A… Enthusiastic, outdoor-type, Jordan seemed like the right person to ask for her opinion on America’s Best Beaches and she was more than happy to oblige, providing us with just that bit more, her top recommendations for nine different kinds of beach experience:

  Nightlife: South Beach – Miami, FL

  Families: Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, NC

  People-watching: Venice Beach, Los Angeles, CA

  Romance/Honeymoon: Poipu Beach, Kawai HI

  Seclusion: Papakolea Beach, Water sports: Hanauma Bay, Oahu, HI

  Relaxation: Catalina Island, CA

  Luxury: Main Beach, East Hampton, NY

  Wildcard: Siesta Beach, FL

  Wildcard: Moshup Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

   

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  It's My Holiday Too

  Kat 10:59 am on July 11, 2008 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  Just to prove that I really do love kids I put some research in and did some polling around the office to find out what makes a really great family holiday - one worth a whole chapter in the book of family lore.  I think I came up with a pretty good and varied list and I challenge all kids not to find something on there that looks worth leaving their bedroom to go see.  I’ve called it ‘It’s My Holiday Too’ after my Mum and Dad who used to utter those words under their breath as us kids fought in the back seat of the car on long drives.

   
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  Goodbye, World Reviewer

  Jackie 10:54 am on July 11, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I have four days left in Europe, three days left in London, and a little less than an hour left as a WR intern. I could try to sum up the last eight weeks I’ve spent here in a few sentences, but I would just ramble until I couldn’t stand to look at the computer screen.

  And that would be horrible, because one of the best parts of my job has been able to not only read about, but view pictures and watch videos of amazing experiences from all over the world, most from places I’ve never even heard of. My wishlist on the site grew bigger every day; I’m almost to the point where I could travel for the rest of my life and not even be able to check everything off the list. But judging from the brilliant photos I’ve seen on WR, it’s worth a try.

  I came here not knowing what I was going to do when I graduated from university in two years, and I still don’t really, but I do know that I’d like to work for a website or publication that inspires people to attempt the new, take in something foreign, and become better from life-changing experiences as WR does. But until then, I’ll be reading everyone else’s reviews of the world, and maybe adding a few of my own.

   
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  Kid-free escapes

  Kat 5:16 pm on July 9, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  I like kids, they’re often funny and wise, but as my Dad used to tell me when I was a kid “Children should be seen and not heard”.  If you feel the same way you may want to holiday away from the cries of “Are we there yet?” and “Muuummmm, I’m bored, can we go home?”.  In which case have a look at my list of places to Holiday Sans Kids.

   
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  If you're underwater it doesn't matter if it rains

  Kat 5:10 pm on July 9, 2008 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  In weather wet enough to dive in but really only fit for ducks I met up with our newest World Reviewer expert Nick Shaw who from the intro you have probably already guessed is a diving expert - who actually examines diving examiners. Nick has been to some fantastic places around the globe but in some places has seen more of the underwater topography than the topside, he says he could recognise some countries better by their fish and coral than by their landscape. I told him to have a look at WR next time he’s away and to at least try and see some of the highlights and in return I said I’d try and get under the waves (but only if the water is going to be warm.).

  Nick’s first couple of reviews are for some of his favourite dives. Check out the S.S. President Coolidge off the coast of Vanuatu the wreck of the Thistlegorm in the Red Sea and Barracuda Point in Malaysia which top his list… but it stretches on from there impressively. And like a lot of our experts he has trouble comparing his favourite favourites so he says don’t hold him to the order.

   
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  A rarer expertise...

  Kat 4:33 pm on June 24, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Another new diving review came in today, this one for a visit to the Christ of the Deep statue, sunk off the Florida Keys.

  Nothing particularly odd about that, but when I had a look at who had added the post I discovered that the author was an LK Barrowmet also responsible for our reviews of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer and Cochabamba’s Christ of Peace.  Makes him look like an expert on Great Statues of Christ doesn’t it.

   
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  P.S. Honeymooners

  Kat 4:36 pm on June 19, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  As a post script from yesterdays article on the most romantic places to escape for an amorous summer interlude, here is one for the literal lovers, Honeymoon Beach, contributed by our starry eyed in-office-romantic, Jackie Kochell.

  More suggestions are always welcome…

   
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  The sun is shining and the grass and flowers are calling us...

  Kat 11:29 am on June 11, 2008 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  

  One of the great things about working on the website is considering categories you haven’t before.  I would say I probably like gardens as much as the next person…  I’ve been to Kew several times, it was lovely, and to Canberra’s Floriade, and this year I even went to the Chelsea Flower Show…  But talking to our garden experts really gets me enthused about visiting more gardens.
  It must be the time of year but World Reviewer has been showing a lot of activity on the garden front in the last week:  Donna Dawson has added a few more recommendations to her list and a couple of new gardening experts have joined us, Ted Harper and Emile Harridan.  One of Ted’s recommendations was the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, which he also sent me a link to a great time lapse video a friend of his made of the garden’s cherry tree walk.  I have attached it to the site - it certainly helped me to understand the Japanese cherry blossom parties - wow and Emile recommended a garden in Tokyo, known for its miniature landscapes as well as its graceful blossoms.  If I needed a reason to get outside I think the recent additions to our Best Gardens list would be more than enough…

   
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  Adventures in zero degrees

  Kat 11:21 am on May 16, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  Last week we recruited Andrew McLean to be one of our experts.  This man has been on some seriously cool adventures.  A climber, extreme skier and kite skier, Andrew has been up down and around some of the world’s most remote scenery from Antarctica to Alaska via the Himalayas.  With a successful career as a designer of outdoor and climbing gear, if Andrew thinks his next adventure may be a little challenging he designs a piece of gear to make it more possible…  All temperature references aside that is very very cool.

  His first recommendations for your next soirée into the icy wastes are reviews of his trips to Baffin Island and Bagley Icefield.  From what he’s written it sounds like they went out there with their kites pulling their sleds until they found a mountain they liked the look of then climbed up it and skied down.  Sounds like a plan?

   
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  Where are you going this summer?

  Kat 10:50 am on May 16, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  If those two weeks you’ve booked off work this summer are staring up at you blankly from your diary our new Summer Selections page may be just what you need to fill them.  From beating the inhumane heat at some of Australia’s highlights to European destinations that won’t be a mass of red limbed sweating tourists, we’ve found some inspiring experiences that offer a real escape from the everyday and are at their best in the European summer.