Culture Archives - Page 18 of 65 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Ladies Marmalade from America to here

2nd April 20222nd April 2022 funtime65

Now I’m back home doin’ 9 to 5, livin’ the grey flannel life, but when I turn off to sleep, memories creep. More, more, more Ladies Marmalade from America to here.

I was a bit of a gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, Dada myself in CityWalk’s Rising Star Karaoke Bar in Orlando.

When despite the acclamations of the MC that my rendition of the Patti Labelle classic was ‘how to do a chick’s song’…

I actually murdered it, while my hosts taped me for posterity.

Daddy Marmalade

All of which nostalgia came flooding back as I watched Daddy’s Little Girl nail Lady Marmalade with her dance troupe in Tranent in East Lothian in Scotland.

Lady Marmalade, of course, is a celebration of Creole and bordillo culture ‘in old New Orleans.’

Though it morphs into Moulin Rouge by the time Lil’ Kim, Christina Aguilera & Pink! got their hands on it.

I know it was for the film Moulin Rouge, but I hazard that Lady Marmalade would only ever have worked a sizzling city like Norleans.

Norleans

Now those of us who criss-cross the Oo Es of Eh to cover its travel fairs especially look forward to when it is Norleans‘ turn.

We still wait, and for the time being we make do by smiling at the pictures of our old pal and Travel legend JP Thompson.

As he decked himself head to toe in kitsch carnival clothes for a Bourbon Street parade.

Why then he took shy when calls went up for karaoke volunteers that night in Orlando we’re still interrogating him to this day.

Now we’re all living with Covid one of the staples of a party holiday, the karaoke is thankfully back.

Karaoke memories

Fab four: Terry, Bernard, Claire and Ray in Portugal

Our first was in the fun surroundings of Cabanas in the Algarve, Portugal (and we keep going back)

When ‘Leeds Ray’ and myself whip-cracked away into the theme from Raw Hide.

More Booze Brothers us than Blues Brothers.

Nor did either of these embarrassments put me off getting up again and again.

But with age has come experience and I lowered my range to channel my inner Chuck Berry.

And Memphis Tennessee on board MSC in the Norwegian fjords.

Our duet

Tag team: With The Scary One in the fjords

On none of these occasions has the Scary One joined me on the Mic.

Although I guess she might plump for Hit the Road, Jock.

Whatever your karaoke song of choice, whether Ladies Marmalade from America to here, enjoy.

Countries, Culture, Europe

Nefertiti on the Island of Museums in Berlin

24th March 202224th March 2022 funtime65

Where else would you expect to see an Egyptian pharaoh)? Yes, that’s the bust of Nefertiti (stop sniggering at the back) on the Island of Museums in Berlin.

I’ve just been catching up with my old freundes from Deutschland who have been filling me in on among other things their Island of Museums in their capital.

Not what you would initially associate with Berlin.

But we’re talking a World Heritage site here in the historic Mitte on Spreeinsel (Spree Island).

It encompasses five large museums built under the Prussian rulers.

Here comes the Sun Queen

As well as a reception and exhibition building, the James Simon Gallery, opened in 2019.

The bust had arrived in Berlin in 1913.

Along with the other finds from Amarna unearthed during the excavations of 1911–13 and allotted to the German team.

It had entered the collection of James Simon, who had funded the excavations.

Simon initially displayed the bust in his villa on Tiergartenstrasse, where it was first presented to Emperor Wilhelm II.

Nefertiti who you’ll find in the Neues Museum is known as the Sun Queen.

And together with her husband Akhenaten paid homage to the new religion of the sun.

A gift of antiquities

The three-winged Pergamon Museum by Alfred Messel is the most visited museum in Berlin.

It displays the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of the Ancient Near East and the Museum of Islamic Art.

The Collection of Classical Antiquities is one of the most important collections of Greek and Roman art in the world.

The most famous work is the Roman Pergamon Altar, whose sculpted frieze depicts the battle between gods and giants.

This bodes well

The Bode Museum houses a unique collection of sculptures, showcasing exhibits from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, including works from Donatello, Bernini and Canova.

Since July 2019, visitors can once again visit the James Simon Cabinet in its original room.

It had been closed as a result of anti-Semitism under the Nazi dictatorship.

In summer, the riverbank opposite is a popular meeting place for Berliners.

Think on

The Alte Nationalgalerie is considered one of the most comprehensive collections of art from the period between the French Revolution and the First World War.

And it’s here you’ll find The Thinker by Auguste Rodin, as well as works by Manet, Monet and Renoir.

Uber Altes

Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s magnus, the Altes Museum, designed in 1830 was the first museum building on the island.

And for the first time, the royal art collections were shown to the public in a specially designed antique-style building.

Today, under its expansive circular dome you’ll see sculpture, jewellery, vases and coins.

From Greek and Etruscan art, as well as from the Roman Empire.

Gold and silver jewellery is displayed under a blue ceiling in a special treasure chamber.

And so while, of course, you’ll visit the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall isle recommend too that you take in the Island of Museums too.

Five museums on 8.6 hectares compresses a world of history in a compact area just the way we like it.

Living museums

And if you’re thinking here the intimacy of the proximity of the Topkapi Museum, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, you’ll not be alone.

While it would be remiss not to mention the Smithsonians in Washington DC.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… those who forget their history will be condemned to repeat it.

And so span the generations and bust in on Nefertiti on the Island of Museums in Berlin.

Countries, Culture, UK

Banksy, Murtsy and a history of graffiti

23rd March 202223rd March 2022 funtime65

If my school had had a more liberal attitude to wall art, folks would be talking now about Banksy, Murtsy and a history of graffiti.

After all I was only following in a Classical tradition that dates back to the Romans and Pompeii.

For yesterday’s lewd diagrams to denote their red light district think today’s cock and balls.

Whether the graffiti great of the Classics world had the same celebrity though as Banksy has been lost to history.

An exhibition of yourself

But the shadowy scribbler’s notoriety is richly deserved and are celebrated at a special exhibition in Covent Garden, London.

The Art of Banksy is the world’s largest touring collection of Banksy artworks, boasting over 100 original works.

And it has already been shown in Melbourne, Tel Aviv, Auckland, Toronto, Miami, Gothenburg, Chicago, San Francisco and Sydney.

Whether they have the rat and briefcase piece he drew when I took la famiglia to New York for the first time I’ll have to go along to Covent Garden to discover.

The exhibition highlights works made for charities all over the world.

From the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation to international activists Greenpeace.

Showing pieces from private collections, The Art of Banksy showcases his most iconic pieces.

Alongside rare works never seen by the public before.

American Graffiti

Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, lays claim to being the modern-day home of graffiti.

Although, as in most things, New York contests this and insists the City that Never Sleeps is an upgrade.

If you’re a city break fan and seek out the places where the ragged people go then you’ll always glory in graffiti.

Graffiti always explodes where repression reigns and the Berlin Wall was probably the most graffitied surface in history.

Czech this out

We saw it too elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe and particularly in Prague.

Where the John Lennon Wall came to represent the uprising against the Soviet invasion of the Czech capital in 1968.

Put the boot in

Of course these challenging times have inspired an outpouring of creativity to reflect our support for Ukraine.

And our revulsion at the invasion and our belief that the writing is on the wall for Putin.

So you have my permission to make your mark on history.

And maybe I’ll get my spray paint out and get my name out there.

It’s got a ring to it, doncha think for the next exhibition…

Banksy, Murtsy and a history of graffiti.

How to get there

The exhibition at 50 Earlham Street is on Thursday and Friday: 10.00 – 21.00, Saturday: 9.30 – 19.00, Sunday & Monday: 10.00 – 18.00.

And if you don’t know London, the nearest stations are Covent Garden (3 minute walk), Leicester Square (5 minute walk), Tottenham Court Road (8 minute walk) Holborn (8 minute walk) and Charing Cross (10 minute walk).

Tickets are priced from £14.50 and can be booked online at artofbanksy.co.uk or over the phone, on 08440 412001.

Countries, Culture, UK

How many Ukrainians can Buckingham Palace take?

16th March 202216th March 2022 funtime65

You do the math, but with 775 bedrooms how many Ukrainians can Buckingham Palace take?

The Queen has moved back, of course, to Windsor Castle in Royal Berkshire.

Which means it’s free.

And even someone of her considerable wealth could do with the £350 per month government payment for taking in a Ukrainian family.

It would all help to pay her second-born’s settlement with Virginia Giuffre.

A day at the palace

Of course nobody gets into Buck House for free, unless your titled or entitled.

So it’ll be £30 of your pleb money for a visit to the State Rooms or £55 when it’s Combined with a Royal Day Out.

And that’s the State Rooms, The Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews.

We’ve been down this route before flagging up the royal palaces around the UK which you can visit.

With the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh an old favourite and former neighbour.

How to explain the British reverence, fascination and obsession for the Royal Family?

It’s a combination of tradition, pomp, ceremony and soap opera.

Tourist magnet

And it is perhaps the biggest draw for tourists to the UK.

The experts, of course, are the guides who have an unrivalled knowledge of the history.

Whether they’re the Beefeaters at the Tower of London or the guides at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

And while your Beefeater is stiff and proper there’s a twinkle in the eye of your Edinburgh guide.

A bloody royal tale

Maneater: Saoirse Ronan as Mary Queen of Scots

And he will cheerfully walk you through the story of the murder of Mary Queen of Scots’ favourite David Rizzio.

You’ll be invited into the Queen’s Chamber where the Scots lairds (that’s lords) killed the Italian in front of the queen.

And wend your way down the spiral stone staircase where the guide will point out to you and the impressionable American and Asian party…

Of the blood embedded in the stones.

I swear I saw a brush protrude from his satchel.

Haggis farms

Us Scots are noted for our dry deadpan wit and another example springs to mind of how the guides play with their party.

When Stevie apologised to the Irish party I was with in Aberdeen.

That we were running late and would not be able to visit the haggis farm.

And I had to prompt him later to put them right in case they wrote about the haggis farm in their articles.

Armoured and dangerous: And knowing smiles

So maybe it’s best to leave that question I set at the outset to the guides who know as much about the royal residences as the queen.

How many Ukrainians can Buckingham Palace take?

Africa, America, Asia, Countries, Culture, Europe, South America

Fannie Lou to Putin a sweep of statues

14th March 202214th March 2022 funtime65

Celebrating 35 years of one and the toppling of another… from Fannie Lou to Putin a sweep of statues.

Bandanini and Bandanettes will recognise this as a pet subject here.

And how we prefer to champion statues of extraordinary ordinary people (and animals) than dubious war leaders and slave traders.

Fannie Lou Hamer died this day 35 years ago and is marked in the fist-clenched statue in Ruleville, Mississippi in the Deep South.

The Civil Rights activist who ‘was sick and tired of being sick and tired’ and upstaged LBJ at the Democrat Convention.

And Putin, the imperialist whose waxwork has been removed from the Paris Grèvin Museum’s gallery of world leaders.

The erection of statues and their deselection and destruction are a touchstone of where we are in society.

So it’s timely to ask where we are with totems of tyrants.

Putin on a podium

Few things say narcissist more than erecting statues of yourself or having someone do it for you.

And if your palm has been greased to the tune of $1.2million by a Russian-sponsored development agency.

Then you’ll be happy to put up a statue of the Russian megalomaniac in your ski resort in his puppet state of Kyrgyzstan.

Stalin structures

Go away you little people: Joseph Stalin

To the rest of us he was the perpetrator of the deaths of millions in the Soviet Union.

To some fellow Georgians (though not my old pal George, their ambassador in Dublin) Joseph Stalin is still a favourite son.

As he is in Russia, Mongolia and even more frighteningly outside a nursery school in Asht in Tajikistan.

Mao how

But in a game of Top Trumps psychopaths even Stalin would lose out to the master of the Cultural Revolution in China.

And yet Mao Zedong is still revered in Tianfu Square, Chengdu, Sichuan.

Where he is larger than life, a 100ft statue of the despot still looking down on the little people.

Chavez on high

The further south you get in the Caribbean the more interest the locals show towards dystopian Venezuela just a few miles across the sea in South America.

Particularly the Spanish Ladies who make Trinidad & Tobago their home.

Venezuela is depending on your viewpoint a brave resistor of American imperialism or a tinpot Latin American dictator.

Either way you can see Hugo Chavez’s likeness marked everywhere in Venezuela in the 17 or more statues and busts and countless tat.

A good Korea mood

And in North Korea it was even something of an export industry until the UN and their sanctions stepped in.

You get the Kims (obvs) but our browsing threw up a trade in statues for abroad.

From the Mansuade Art Studio in Pyongyang.

Where they do a roaring business to dictators, particularly in Africa.

The hold that dictators can have on us was brought home to me by a Ranger on our game drive.

In Mount Kamdeboo in the Eastern Cape in South Africa where when I asked the Zimbabwean emigree his thoughts on Robert Mugabe.

And he surprised me by saying that in Zimbabwe the people still respected their elders.

Come on your Rangers: And a Zimbabwean in South Africa

And where there is a demand the capitalist communists of Mansuade were always happy to oblige.

Something to dwell on as we recap today on where we are now. From Fannie Lou to Putin a sweep of statues.

Countries, Culture, Deals, Europe, Music

Erect those Las Fallas in Valencia again

11th March 202211th March 2022 funtime65

No, you mucky pups, this is not a phallic fest but rather it is time to Erect those Las Fallas in Valencia again.

Because Las Phallas are the flaws… and ours come in all shapes and sizes

As can be seen on the streets of Valencia in oversized satirical erections… of public figures.

That is apart from the last couple of years when Covid put it on hold.

Crida Credo

OK then, the Spanish fest all kicks off with the ‘Crida’ – the opening ceremony where the ‘Mayor of Falleras’ encourages citizens and visitors to enjoy the festival.

And it was declared an event of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2016, Las Fallas has returned.

There are traditional acts such as the mascleates (fireworks), late night parties, and art installations.

Where you’ll see around 800 monuments fill the streets from 15-19 March.

The origins of the fest are hundreds of years old.

That was when carpenters would burn old remains from their workshops every 19 March.

That coincides with the celebrations of San José, the patron saint of carpenters.

And this marked the end of winter and gave a warm welcome to spring.

So, if you’re in Valencia this week.

Or you’ve already enjoyed spectacle and fests as a whole then you’ll see this really does stand up as a magical fest get-away.

Gunpowder, music and art

Smiles better: Spain saves its kisses for you

One of the most spectacular acts of Las Fallas is the mascletà.

That’s Valèncian-style fireworks – daily at 2 pm until 19 March with a roar of gunpowder to shake off that sangria hangover.

In the evening, guests can visit the Turia Gardens for fireworks (and we love fireworks) at the castle.

On the nights of 15-16 March, València begins the planta.

The erection of monuments in the streets where 800 works of art are spread across 400 locations in the city.

These fallas are classified into different categories according to their complexity, size and originality and the locals work on them all the year around.

The most spectacular are placed in the historic centre – Ciutat Vella – and the neighbourhoods of Ruzafa and Gran Vía.

The best way to appreciate the monuments is with a guided tour.

And get a local to highlight the most spectacular sculptures and tell visitors the details and traditions of the festival.

Like all the best fests there is an awards ceremony in which the Fallas artists collect prizes for their masterpieces.

As well la ofrenda – the offering – in which the city offers flowers to the Virgen de los Desamparados, the patron saint of València.

Festivalgoers dress in traditional attire, carry bouquets and walk the streets to the beat of local musicians.

The procession ends at the Plaza de la Virgen, where a giant image of the Patron Saint is installed and covered with flowers.

La Cremà – the end and beginning

Burning love: And a message from the sponsors

With the ‘Cremà’ comes the final act of the Fallas. On 19 March, the sculptures are set aflame in great bonfires that cover the city.

The process is carried out in a staggered way, starting at 8pm with smaller statues and 11pm with the larger ones and the winners.

With the bonfires come the finale fireworks, which signal the end of Las Fallas.

Events are free to attend and 2022 flights from £17 via SkyScanner.

So Erect those Las Fallas in Valencia again.

Countries, Culture, Europe

Take the water with royalty in Tuscany

5th March 20225th March 2022 funtime65

Famous for its Chianti and Sangiovese if you truly want to live like a king (or queen) you’ll take the water with royalty in Tuscany.

The monarchs of Europe, showbiz royalty, romantic poets and the elite of classical music have been coming to Italy for centuries.

They’d lie about, sip the salty curatives and do what they did best and create.

TV host Ellen Coughlan has made it her mission to have her name carved into the stones of the VIPs who have visited.

From Puccini to Caruso to Grace Kelly to more.

The full Montecatini

The Irish adventurer has teamed up with Globetrotter TV to showcase the European Route of Historical Thermal Towns with viewings on Sky.

And she kicks off the seven-part Amazing Towns series in Montecatini Terme.

The first thing that strikes you about Ellen is how healthy and vibrant she is and how little need she would have for a termal spa.

Yes, that’s the other thing… that as a gúna-wearing cailín (a dress-wearing lass) she naturally drops the ‘h’.

Ellen explores much of the territory I have myself on my trips to the Spa Triangle in the Czech Republic.

Czech out the Bohemains too

And she’ll experience King Edward VII’s bath (check) in Marianske Lazne, listening to the Singing Fountain (tick) in Frantiskovy Lazne.

And has a licence to thrill at the James Bond Casino Royale (check), the Grandhotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary.

But first it’s Montecatini Terme which like many old Italian towns comes as a pair.

And has an alto hilltop town, like Bergamo.

The Grand Tour

There are plenty of old Grand Tour touchpoints.

Stunning architecture, renaissance art and music.

And fountains and taps obvs for your water.. and 500+ toilette!

Montecatini boasts too its own postcode and post office in its writing house.

Where you can only imagine Byron and Shelley wrote home of their exploits.

This being Italy there’s always exotic travel, and the transport I always levitate to… a funicular.

In this case two red ones much beloved of Guiseppe Verdi (or Joe Green to you and me) take the 1770m journey.

Fun on the funicular

It’s not just the funicular train that takes the strain.

Back down in Terme there are masseurs in hand to ease your knots.

While you can detoxify from your liquid lunch in the hot and cold walking pools and bicycle jacuzzis (si si).

And with that Ellen was off to Acqui Terme to continue her near 3,000km road trip around the seven towns on her odyssey.

On the road again

Before checking in (soz) at my favourite Spa Triangle and Frantiskove Lazne, Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne.

And then Germany and Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden.

So that now you’ve taken the water with royalty in Tuscany you can sample the rest of what Ellen’s Grand Tour has to offer.

Countries, Culture, Europe

Holiday in Europe while Ukraine burns?

2nd March 2022 funtime65

It’s the uncomfortable question all us travellers are facing just now… is it right to holiday to Europe while Ukraine burns?

And it’s one that The Scary One asked me as I gear up for a ski trip to Val D’Isere with Ski France later this month.

Of course, only you can answer that, but those of us for whom travel is what we get up out of bed for have become used to being Public Enemy No.1.

Our travel providers were ignored while everyone else got a hand-out over the last two Covid years.

While the only ignominy travel writers and bloggers were spared was being put in the stocks and having rotten tomatoes thrown at us.

We’re welcome

The truth is that never have countries and holiday destinations needed our patronage more than now.

Amid the sheer horror of the war in Ukraine we witnessed a surreal moment when a Turkish holidaymaker asked a TV journalist how he was going to get home now.

While there is a wave of foreign students who have also been caught up in Ukraine wanting to return home now.

All sought out Ukraine in more peaceful times, piqued as we all are wherever we go to seek out a new culture, people and country.

Our own governments help (no, really they do) when they issue guidance on countries that are safe to visit.

But sometimes we just need to trust our own instincts.

A beat surrender

So that when an invite to Tunisia, a couple of years after the beach terrorist atrocity, came in I opted with a heavy heart not to go.

Because it was not long after the inquest of the deaths of Irish people in the North African country.

The worry in travel now over Eastern Europe is how the Ukraine war will alter the holidaymaker’s perspective of neighbouring countries.

And it is only natural that people when faced with a choice of whether to book a cultural holiday to Eastern Europe or a familiar sunspot holiday would choose the latter.

But I always think that such sun, sea and sand holidays will always be there but history and culture is fluid and we should put the energy into seeing these jewels while we can.

Before hostilities break down and borders close.

Behind the Iron Curtain

The Dresden Mural: And a lesson from history

There was a time, of course, before the collapse of Communism when Westerners couldn’t visit behind the Iron Curtain, or Eastern Europeans could see what we had to offer.

And again The Scary One captured the zeitgeist when she sighed that it would be a long time now before she could visit Russia, a country which has long intrigued her.

I am fortunate as all natives of all countries will feel abut their homelands to be born where I was, and when I was.

And that means I have absorbed more than I could ever read or see on television, by visiting Dresden in the old DDR, where Vladimir Putin himself honed his skills in espionage.

I learned first-hand why the Saxons kept their Communist mural up because they did not want to airbrush history.

And that it acted as a constant reminder of what might befall them unless they remain vigilant.

Open embassies

By George: With Ambassador George in the Georgian Embassy

Equally Russia’s neighbours have always greeted us with open arms and vodka and wine.

And while I have yet to get out to Poland and Georgia I have technically visited by being wined and dined at their embassies in Dublin.

I’m glad to say my friends from these countries and others are still retaining some sense of normality by keeping me updated with their travel plans for us.

And that includes the Baltic state of Estonia who keep me up to date with their newsletter.

February’s flagged up the border city Narva, ‘the crossroads of the East and West’.

Or find yourself in Rakvere with its castle ruins.

And Tartu, the Culture Capital of Europe 2024 which we hope will be able to fulfil its brief.

And much more besides.

Estonia’s City of Culture

Picnic time: Estonia and the Great Outdoors

Judging too by the virtual tour of Tartu it would be a crime for it not to get to mark that award.

So, is it right to holiday in Europe while Ukraine burns?

Well, as I always say to those locals who complain about the business of Edinburgh at Festival time.

Don’t you want to show off your city and your country?

Asia, Countries, Culture, Deals

Why Qatar makes frankincense

11th February 202211th February 2022 funtime65

Football World Cups are stressful enough, particularly if you’re of the Scottish variety, which is why Qatar makes frankincense.

You see what I’ve done there, I’ve only linked the Gulf state with its greatest export, way before they found oil.

Frankincense was one of the spices the Three Wise Men saw fit to take to Bethlehem to give to the baby Jesus.

And we think that if that kind of aromatherapy was deemed good enough for the Messiah then it’s good enough for us.

A Qatar tradition

Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som feels the same.

And that is why they’ll pamper you with a wellbeing package fit for a king (or queen).

The resort is the world’s first centre for Traditional Arabic & Islamic Medicine (TAIM).

And that’s a system of healing drawn from Islamic medicinal historians and herbalists.

Remember too that Islamic culture puts cleanliness next to godliness (and I’m going to resist the temptation to say that you find both next to each other in an Irish dictionary).

Retreat programmes are available from three to 14 nights in duration.

With the emphasis on improving diet and nutrition, promoting daily physical activity and stress resistance.

And enhancing sleep quality (kip on your side to stop snoring, methinks), and engaging in joyful activities.

Ooh Hamamma

Now nobody loves a hamam more than me apart from Florence Nightingale, King Edward VIII, Omar Sharif and Jenson Button.,

As I found out in Istanbul at the 300-year-old Cagaloglu Hamam in Istanbul.

This stuff is ancient wisdom and Qatar too is steeped in it.

The Zula Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som’s treatments are derived from the Canon of Medicine written by physician-philosopher Avicenna in 1025.

You might know him too as Ibn Sina, and his teachings are among the cornerstones of the history of medicine in Europe and the Middle East.

And you’ll also get to try out the traditional Qatari hamiz.

It’s a deeply relaxing massage using circular strokes with tadleek oil infused with medicinal herbs and hot stones to reenergise the body.

And there’s also the Hijama therapy (cupping therapy).

That’s a slimming body mask of camel milk which delivers heat to enhance metabolic rate while detoxifying the skin.

Camel ye to Qatar

I don’t know what my camel would have thought of that in Jordan with G Adventures, mind.

There’s also a range of Arabic spa rituals at the resort’s extensive hamam facilities.

Located on the picturesque northern tip of Qatar, Zulal Wellness Resort offers two distinct yet interconnecting experiences.

Zulal Serenity is dedicated to adults seeking an immersive health and lifestyle reset.

While Zulal Discovery invites families to connect and embark on a wellness journey together.

Deal us in

So deal us in.

With retreat programmes at Zulal Serenity ranging from three to 14 nights and designed for those seeking a path of reset and reflection.

Packages start from £2,599.00pp when booked with Healing Holidays (020 7843 3597).

The price includes the three-night Taste of Zulal programme, Qatar Airways flights, transfers and full board accommodation.

Why Qatar makes frankincense… well, I’m sure they know.

We do know that Qatar makes sense for a break, particularly around the World Cup when Scotland will be there (Allah be good).

Countries, Culture, Europe, Oceania

There’s nothing like Australia and it’s back

8th February 20228th February 2022 funtime65

There‘s nothing like Australia and it’s back.. and back with a funky calling card.

The bright single strokes (of a kangaroo and sun) are instantly identifiable as being inspired by the Ken Done school

You might not be able to place Ken Done, particularly if you’ve less than half a century on the clock.

But Ken marketed the imagery of Australia in the Eighties when I first started drinking and living with Aussies.

And I would see his Aussie iconography T-shirts on the backs and on sale at the Munich Beerfest.

Well Done

And also on other shores where Ken’s particular talents lent themselves to capturing the essence of their cities.

Ken showcased city landscapes and cultural reference points and as a sample brought out t-shirts of Boston Harbour and Paul Revere.

Alas, I fear on one of my many moves around the UK and Ireland it went missing.

But hopefully someone else has enjoyed the benefit of it or it ended up in a charity shop.

I’m reminded here of the largesse of my old friend, the inimitable Travel journalist JP Thomson, who would give souvenirs to the homeless.

Bonzer Australia

All of which going around the world is what we will all be doing soon now Australia has opened itself up to the rest of the planet.

I’m indebted here too to charming and fun Travel professional Charlotte who has stepped off the Royal Caribbean ships.

And into a new brief at Travel Australia which, of course, she’ll nail.

Charlotte has outlined the regulations for travelling to Australia.

And Novak Djokovic they’re not that difficult to follow.

Memories of Oktoberfest

When you do get over to Oz, or if you’re headed for the renewal of the Oktoberfest you may come across Aussies in risque T-shirts.

Of racy koala bears and a reference to knowing your roots.

And if you do say hi to Brownie and Smutley from me.

Because there’s nothing like Australia and it’s back.