Hilton is getting into hostels

On November 18, 2018November 16, 2018 By Rick McIn economics, product endorsements, things getting better, travelLeave a comment

I’ve stayed in many hundreds of different hostels around the world. I like them much better than hotels.

Cost in 2018 runs about $15 / night for a bunkbed. $35 / night for a private room.

Most of the best I can recall were in New Zealand. The worst in North America.

One of the new upscale chains is called Clink. I recently tried to book at Clink London but it was booked out for weeks.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Happily we are soon to have more and better hostels. Companies like the Hilton chain are getting into the low end market.

… Private rooms are much more common than they once were and some of the properties are starting to mirror the design-led approach of boutique hotels. …

There’s even a debate about using the word hostel itself with many of those making the most noise preferring to use terms such as “hybrid,” “open house” or poshtel instead. …

Hostels or youth hostels aren’t a new phenomenon. The movement goes back to Richard Schirrmann, a German teacher who founded the first one in 1912. …

“We see a massive demand in America and there is no supply, actually… and this is why we also, absolutely, think it’s the right time to step into the U.S. market,” Spanring said. …

The Big-Money Reinvention of the Humble Hostel

Best of the best for me are bunk beds … but bunk beds that are privacy pods.

Einstein’s blackboard

On November 16, 2018November 12, 2018 By Rick McIn science, travel1 Comment

Einstein gave 3 lectures in Oxford 1931. Students stole the blackboard from his second lecture.

It’s obvious to you and me that the great man included an error in 1931. 😀

He corrected that in a later review of relativistic cosmology written 1945.

The Bird and Baby, Oxford

On November 15, 2018November 12, 2018 By Rick McIn books, food, travelLeave a comment

The Eagle and Child, nicknamed The Bird and Baby, is a pub in St Giles’ Street, Oxford, England, owned by St. John’s College, Oxford. The pub had been part of an endowment belonging to University College since the 17th century. …

When I stopped in for lunch, neither Tolkien nor Lewis nor any of the Inklings were there. Too bad.

I asked the barkeep for a recommendation. He suggested bangers and mash.

While I was there a library was hosting an exhibit titled Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.

my first visit to Oxford

On November 14, 2018November 12, 2018 By Rick McIn education, travel1 Comment

I’d always wanted to visit Oxford.

Must be the academic elitist in me. And I am a big fan of the Inspector Morse detective novels set in Oxford.

For the tourist it’s well worth the short trip from London.

With an estimated 2016 population of 170,000 Oxford is easily walkable. And runable.

The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

The University has been a thing since at least the 12th-century. I took a guided tour with the highlights being all the weird Hogwarts-esque traditions still in effect at the many historic Colleges there. The Tortoise Race is new having been started in 1920.

Here are a few photos from my wanderings.

world’s largest travel bookshop

On November 13, 2018November 11, 2018 By Rick McIn books, hiking, travelLeave a comment

Stanfords is an iconic specialist bookshop of maps and travel books in London and was established in 1853 …

Its collection of maps, globes, and maritime charts is considered the world’s largest. …

After visiting, my thinking was to stop in London en route to my next travel adventure to pick up the books and maps I will need.

They’ve been in the same location since 1901.

revisiting the British Museum

On November 12, 2018November 11, 2018 By Rick McIn Art and beauty, travelLeave a comment

Anyone visiting London MUST visit.

The British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury area of London, in the United Kingdom, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works …

It first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 …

Its ownership of some of its most famous objects originating in other countries is disputed and remains the subject of international controversy, most notably in the case of the Parthenon Marbles. …

The Tree of Life is a sculpture created by four artists in Mozambique. It was commissioned and then installed in the British Museum in 2005. It was built from the surrender of 600,000 weapons that were converted into art following an initiative started by Bishop Dinis Sengulane. …

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – parts 1 & 2

On November 9, 2018November 8, 2018 By Rick McIn books, movies, travelLeave a comment

Of dozens of possible stage plays to see in London, I chose 5+ hours of Harry Potter. I was keen to see magic stagecraft. And it was pretty cool.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a two-part stage play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling and John Tiffany.

It premiered on 30 July 2016.

The story begins nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and follows Harry Potter, now a Ministry of Magic employee, and his younger son Albus Severus Potter, who is about to attend Hogwarts …

One of the hashtags is #KeepTheSecrets … so I don’t want to reveal any spoilers.

I can say that my favourite character is Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry’s former nemesis Draco Malfoy.

Ron Weasley is entertaining, too.

The Palace Theatre, London is an appropriate venue. Very evocative of the Potter look and feel. Chairs are tiny, however.

The plot is dumb. I overheard people saying the action was rushed. Personally I was happy they kept things moving quickly. I did fall asleep at one point.

Bottom line — Harry Potter fanatics will enjoy the stage play.

Regular fans like myself will enjoy a few scenes. Be impressed by the magic. But ultimately find the story too saccharine and predictable.

revisiting the National Gallery, London

On November 7, 2018November 6, 2018 By Rick McIn Art and beauty, travel1 Comment

FREE MUSEUMS (donation recommended) in LONDON are awesome.

Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. …

Its collection belongs to the government on behalf of the British public, and entry to the main collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. …

Overwhelmed, I jumped quite quickly to the the Impressionists and Post-impressionists. My favourites.

In fact, one special exhibition convinced me to buy a ticket.