More Quirky Things to do in Paris

I’ve written a series of three blog posts about 41 Unusual Things to do in Paris, which you can find here. Due to popular demand, I will continue to write about quirky things to do in Paris.   [1] Find Paris’s tallest waterfall and a cool cave 63 Rue Manin, 75019 Paris, France [NE]   In Paris’s 5th biggest park, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, in the Northeast of the capital, you can find the city’s tallest waterfall (20m/65ft) and a ginormous cave of roughly equal height. Both are man-made. The most famous feature of the park is the Temple de la Sibylle, a miniature version of the ancient Roman Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy. It stands on the rocky Belvedere Island in the middle of a lake.       [2] Check out the half-timbered houses of Paris A.o.: 11 Rue François Miron, 75004 Paris [Centre]   Despite Baron Georges-Eugène […]

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The Exhibitionist Hotel, London – Quirky & Affordable

A few weeks ago, Ellie & I decided that as London travel bloggers, we should probably make more of an effort to check out London hotels. Neither of us had stayed at one for the past 25 years or so. When we saw an offer for The Exhibitionist Hotel, an upmarket boutique hotel in South Kensington, for £135, we booked ourselves in for one night in a standard double. That night was last night. ROOMS AT THE EXHIBITIONIST HOTEL START FROM £125, SUITES FROM £275 During the season, the price goes up to well over £400. Larger-size (but still very small) doubles with balcony have a price range from £170 to well over £500. The suites range from £275 to well over £800. While the hotel is listed as five-star on booking websites and called five-star in previous independent reviews, in fairness, they do not mention five stars on their […]

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One of the World’s Best Luxury Hotels: Schloss Moenchstein, Salzburg

Two weeks ago, just before the Christmas holidays, Ellie & I spent a night at the absolutely outstanding luxury hotel Schloss Moenchstein in Salzburg. Apart from a last-minute short stay in Paris with friends, this was the first trip together since my return from the Arctic, so we thought we’d splash out a little (€620/£515 for the cheapest double room).   All pics (c) BerkeleySqB except last three pics in this blog post, which are (c) Hotel Schloss Moenchstein. HOTEL SCHLOSS MOENCHSTEIN WON BEST LUXURY CASTLE HOTEL IN THE WORLD 4X We had done our research and our expectations were sky-high. During the last year, Hotel Schloss Moenchstein won prizes in several categories of the World Luxury Awards, including Best Luxury Castle Hotel in Western Europe (previously: 4x best in the world) and Best Luxury Romantic Hotel in Western Europe, as well as Best Luxury Small Hotel in Austria. Moreover, […]

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We did it! We won the RGS Christmas Quiz! YAYY!!

It’s only about three months now, since Ellie & I started attending events at the Royal Geographical Society, most of which are open to non-members. So far we loved all of them: lectures, such as a recent one about the Northwest Passage, various whole event series about expeditions like the Everest expedition of Mallory and Irvine or Ranulph Fiennes’ Transglobe Expedition, a two-day expedition workshop called Explore Symposium. Last night three buddies of ours and the two of us took part in the RGS Christmas Quiz. And we won!! The tickets had cost £25 per person and included plenty of snacks and either one glass of wine, a bottle of beer, or a soft drink. You could buy more drinks and snacks from the bar.   Pictures clearly taken during the quiz, incl. pics above, feature photo, Royal Albert Hall (c) BerkeleySqB. Rest (c) Pexels free stock photography, except where […]

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The Corner House hotel in Canterbury – Don’t expect wildebeest.

Last weekend, Ellie & I took part in another GO London hike (18km from Chilham to  Canterbury). Considering that it had been in this little town, that I had proposed to my good wife, 16 years ago, we decided to make a weekend away of it and stay for a night. This is my review. REVIEW OF THE CORNER HOUSE HOTEL IN CANTERBURY Many of the other hotels had been booked out, so we ended up booking the largest room, The Dickens Room, at the Corner House, for £200. When this former 16th Century tavern was still called The Three Musketeers, the great Victorian writer had once spent a night there, even though it is unclear in which room. While the 600-year old Christmas market in the medieval town centre attracts a lot of visitors during the advent season, summer tends to be much busier than winter. During the main […]

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