Today let’s talk about the UKs top tourist attractions. Top of the list is the British Museum (6.8m) in London. This is followed by the National Gallery (5.9m). In third place is the Natural History Museum (5.2m).
The figures were compiled by the Leading Visitor attractions (Alva). Altogether some 124.4 million visits were made to 230 Alva sites last year. This is 3.2% higher than the year before.
The rise was due to increased interest in big temporary attractions in London – up 1.6%, and in Scottish attractions – up 5.5%. London claimed the top 10 most popular sites.
Recently four jobs were advertised to work in the British post office in Antarctica. More than 50 people applied for them. The jobs at Port Lockroy in British Antarctica Territory offer a monthly salary of around £1,100. Applications are now closed.
Those selected will see some wonderful mountain scenery including a lot of snow and virtually 24 hours of daylight. Applicants should however be aware of the 2,000 odd penguins they’ll have for company. The job itself involves cleaning penguin poo from the surrounding paths near the post office.
Recently, teenage blogger Jordon Cox decided to do a return journey from Shenfield in Essex to Sheffield in northern England. Cox, 18, managed to book himself a cheap £19 ticket for the journey north but discovered the cheapest fare home was £47. An open return would have cost him £97.70. He decided to look for an alternative way to get home.
Following some online research he discovered he could save money on the rail ticket if he included a flight via Berlin in Germany. The ticket would normally have cost £47.00 by train and taken 3½ hours. By going via Berlin it took him an extra 1,017 miles and 13 hours to get home. It also included a quick tour of Berlin.
(Photo: Jordan Cox)
Today, let’s talk about where we might like to retire to. There are many thoughts on this subject, which this lesson will hopefully explore.
Most of us look forward to the day when we can sit back and retire. However, where should you retire to? Will it be a place by the sea? Perhaps you might like to live in a country cottage or in a house up a mountain.
Years ago many Brits living in cities favoured retiring to places like Bognor Regis, Margate or Blackpool because a place by the sea is what many dreamed of. Over the last 30 years or so many Brits retired to Spain. The weather is good - with 300 days of sunshine.
Today, let’s talk about Christmas markets in Europe. Probably the most popular destination for tourists seeking Christmas markets is Germany. Cities hosting them include Cologne, Nuremburg and Trier. Here visitors can sample the local bratwurst and gingerbread, as well as tasting the local beers and hot mulled wine – Glühwein.
Central Europe offers visitors some wonderful Christmas markets. These include Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Prague. Each offers some wonderful locally-made Christmas gifts. In the week before Christmas check out the locals buying carp from carp tanks!
The Russian plane crash in Egypt was brought down by a bomb. According to French aviation officials it was not due to technical failures. They added the flight data recorder – the black box - suggests a “violent, sudden” explosion caused the crash, killing all 224 people on board.
According to British spies, intercepted militant calls indicated a bomb was put in the hold before take-off. Militants, known as the Sinai Province, and who are linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria, have said they downed the plane.
Recently travel website Lonely Planet revealed the top 500 places to visit. The list, compiled by travel experts and writers, includes the world’s top sights. Today though, I thought we’d focus on some of the more unusual and alternative places to visit in the world. Surprisingly there are quite a few of them to consider visiting.
What about a visit to Silfra in Iceland? Here, divers can see where two continents meet. Alternatively there is Jellyfish Lake in Palau. You can actually swim with millions of huge jellyfish. In the Cayman Islands there is Stingray City. This place is a haven for tourists wanting to get up close to the many different types of Stingray.
Recently travel website Lonely Planet revealed the top places every traveller should visit before they die. The list, compiled by travel experts and writers, includes the world’s top sights, such as the Grand Canyon and Iguazu Falls. A ‘Top 500’ list was created. Today, we’ll focus on a few of them. Ultimately, we’ll create our own definitive bucket list of places to visit.
Topping the Lonely Planet list were the stunning Temples of Angkor in Cambodia. The Great Barrier Reef off Australia came second. In third place was Machu Picchu in Peru. In fourth position was the Great Wall of China in China.
Today, let’s talk about Ikea. It’s a place many of us like to visit when we want something for the home. Whether it’s a new kitchen, a new sofa, or some new bedroom furniture, Ikea sells it. They also sell many other things, like curtains, bedding, and household furniture. In fact, you name it and you’ll probably find it in Ikea.
The Swedish store has had a phenomenal success rate in Europe. Founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943 the store has transformed home furnishings. It has allowed people to have Swedish furnishings. One in ten Europeans now has an Ikea bed. Ikea’s catalogue is the world’s most distributed publication, surpassing the bible. The stores success has made Mr Kamprad into one of the world’s richest men.
Category: Lifestyle / Ikea / Shopping
August is traditionally the silly season for news stories. One such story about the Loch Ness Monster caught my eye. As many people know, the hunt for ‘Nessie’ has been going on for years. There are many photos claiming to show the existence of the beast. Some people spend their lives looking for the elusive monster of the deep.
One of them is George Edwards who has been on the look out for Nessie for 26 years. One of his photos, he claims, proves the monster’s existence. It shows an image of a dark hump slinking in and out of the lake’s waters from the deck of his boat, Nessie Hunter. After he took the photo the monster then quickly vanished back into the deep.
Mr Edwards says his photo proves Nessie is not a sturgeon. More importantly he adds it proves once and for all that the elusive leviathan really exists! He even had the photo independently verified by a team of US military monster experts, as well as a Nessie sighting specialist.
Category: Scotland / Loch Ness / Monster
