Christmas hampers used to be popular as a convenient way to spread the cost of Christmas food over a year. Each week a small amount of money was paid to a company towards the cost of your hamper, which would contain lots of festive extras such as a Christmas cake, tinned ham and fruit along with wine or spirits.Over the last thirty years or so, the hampers are still a popular choice for Christmas with a lot of people still paying...more
After having learned so much about architecture during my morning walking tour of downtown Detroit, we embarked on another urban discovery: a walking tour through Brush Park, one of Detroit's historic residential areas with a location very close to downtown. Bob Goldsmith, our local expert from Detroit Tour Connections, met us at 97 Winder Street, location of a recently restored bed and breakfast, and started explaining the...more
After my explorations in Windsor, I had about an hour and a half to explore Detroit on my own before my scheduled driving tour of the city. With its impressive 20th century architectural heritage, Detroit had long fascinated me and I was going to take the next four days to explore this city up close. One of the buildings making up Detroit's skyline that has always captured my imagination is the Michigan Central Depot, an imposing 18-story former Beaux-Arts railway terminal that dates back to 1913. Somehow railway terminals have always held this aura of excitement and mobility, connecting people with far-away places. Although now long out of use, sadly run down and fenced off, I wanted to see the beauty of this magnificent building first-hand. I located it right away on my map and drove there to see it up close. This imposing and gorgeous building has been empty since 1988 when the last Amtrak train departed from here, and the ravages of time and human vandalism have taken their toll. Neverthess, The Michigan Central Depot remains a gorgeous component of Detroit's skyline and is a must-see for any architecture fan. Even in its current condition, it is easy to...more
My abode for my last two days in Detroit was the Inn on Ferry Street, a beautifully renovated complex of six historic buildings in the Midtown area of Detroit. It encompasses four mansions as well as two carriage houses that were each built for prominent Detroit families. After many years of languishing, these buildings have been...more
One of the main reasons I had come to Detroit was the fantastic architecture that this city has to offer. Detroit celebrated its heyday in the early 20th century when the automobile industry took off, and car ownership became available to everyday people. Witnesses to this boom are the many stunning historic skyscrapers in Detroit,...more
Finally it was time for another excursion. As a true architecture buff, Detroit had been on my radar for a long time, and I definitely wanted to explore this unique city in detail. So for the last few weeks I had been working with Visitdetroit, the city's visitor and convention office, to map out a detailed itinerary of the city that would expose me to all sorts of unique facets of the Motor City.After a hectic day at the office on October 16, 2009 I finally got going at about 2:30 pm and arrived in Windsor, on the Canadian side of the Detroit River, shortly before 7 pm. I drove straight to the waterfront to catch the last few rays of sunshine that still lit up the skyline. Orange and purple hues formed the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge that connects Canada and the United States. A stunning night-time skyline of Detroit was taking shape. Surrounded by various historic and contemporary skyscrapers, the impressive multi-tower headquarters of General Motors were glittering on the other side of the river. The squeeling of the wheels of the Detroit People Mover, an elevated light rapid transit system, could be heard wafting across the water.I checked in at the...more
It was barely mid-day by now and we had already seen so much. Our ride on the Number 11 bus had introduced us to some of the city's main sights from the comfort of the upper level of a double-decker bus. And our subsequent...more
Regardless of what city I travel to, I always try to build in some sorts of a sports activity, whether it is bicycling, hiking, rollerblading, or - in this case – kayaking! I had tried whitewater kayaking once before in the Canadian...more
Our second day in London greeted us with brilliant sunshine, and even though it was still early May, temperatures in the mid twenties (Celsius, of course) were in store for us. Andrea and I started our day with a nice breakfast at the...more
It's amazing what you can pack into a day: our sightseeing tour on the Number 11 bus had introduced us to some of London's most important sights. During our walking tour we explored Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Trafalgar...more
After five great days in my temporary home in the Western Bay of Palma it was now time to relocate and have a closer look at the eastern side of island. I needed to check out today and move into my next apartment in Port d'Alcudia....more
With my love for the Spanish language and my fascination for Mediterranean landscapes, the island of Mallorca has been one of my dream destinations for a long time. A couple of months ago or so I had finally decided that 2009 was going...more