World-Set.com Guide to Travel

My imagination played. Across the bay, a ferry was leaving port. Perhaps it was on a day like this, about 150 years ago, that my great-grandfather left his home here on the Isle of Man to set sail for Liverpool and a new life in England.

However serious you are about genealogy, a family holiday in a destination where your ancestors lived can add a unique extra dimension. In my case, I was eager to see the family history records in the island’s capital, Douglas. It was also a good reason to share a holiday with my parents, both active senior citizens.

The Irish Sea

Bearing in mind the historical aspect of the holiday, I hoped that the slow ferry from Heysham, on Morecambe Bay, would be the most authentic way to reach Douglas. So it was that I found myself being buffeted by the wind on the deck of the Ben-My-Chree on the route across the Irish Sea.
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Neither the oldest, nor the biggest and, arguably, not the prettiest either. Pretoria, South Africa’s chilled-out administrative capital is, for many tourists, not a must-see. Named after Voortrekker [pioneer] hero, Andries Pretorius, the city still boasts a strong Afrikaner identity.

However, Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president, was inaugurated here and the city also sported the country’s first black mayor.

Located in a warm, sheltered valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magalies mountain range, Pretoria’s Jacaranda tree-lined streets are also decidedly warmer that neighboring Johannesburg – “lekker”, (nice) as locals would say.
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Neither the oldest, nor the biggest and, arguably, not the prettiest either. Pretoria, South Africa’s chilled-out administrative capital is, for many tourists, not a must-see. Named after Voortrekker [pioneer] hero, Andries Pretorius, the city still boasts a strong Afrikaner identity.

However, Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president, was inaugurated here and the city also sported the country’s first black mayor.

Located in a warm, sheltered valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magalies mountain range, Pretoria’s Jacaranda tree-lined streets are also decidedly warmer that neighboring Johannesburg – “lekker”, (nice) as locals would say.
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Published in 2006 and translated into over 30 languages, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love has sold more than six million copies in the USA alone, plus one million abroad. It was at the number one spot on the New York Times paperback nonfiction bestseller for 57 weeks.

In 2007, Gilbert was on Oprah (twice!) and on almost every woman’s reading list. If all that was not enough, in 2008, Time Magazine named Elizabeth Gilbert as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

By 2010, we are awaiting her book in the form of a movie where Gilbert is played by none other than Julia Roberts. The film is scheduled to be released on August 13 in the States.
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Death never takes a vacation away from us. It’s tied to our feet like an arrogant shadow wherever we go, as a constant reminder of all the things we’ve left behind.

And who wants to visit death on vacation? Believe it or not, a visit to Ghana’s coffin makers is on most tourists’ itineraries.

On the dusty, honk-echoing, chicken-crossing, exhaust-fumed streets right outside of Accra, the capital of the English-speaking West African country, one tribe called the Ga is renowned for their casket masterpieces.

They come in a variety of corpse-sized styles: in the shape of fish, elephants, guns, sewing machines, pens, Bibles, guns, airplanes, cars, Coca Cola bottles, beer bottles, cacao beans, peppers, lobsters, ears of corn, cell phones, tractors, microphones, roosters, cigarettes, even replicas of stores.
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London does tend to be an expensive destination. Even if you scale down to a more modest hotel you’re still going to be spending $1,500-$2,000 for a week’s stay. Add eating out day in and day out and your trip becomes quite pricey.

But there are sneakier ways than the local hostel to say in London on the cheap. Short-term apartment stays offer you all the comforts of home and a chance to live like a local. Even in some of London’s more upscale neighborhoods, there are plenty of flats with affordable rates.

All apartments have fresh linen at least once a week and some sort of cooking facilities and food storage available, as well as all the necessary utensils, so doing your own cooking is another great way to save.
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I love my new life in paradise: Bangkok, Thailand. Now, I finally get to do life’s little pleasures — those things I always wanted to do, but was just too busy working to do. These days, I regularly write while seated on a blanket under a shady tree, next to a lake in a beautiful, well-manicured park.

Flowers are in bloom and Thai children are playing and laughing. Since the weather here is always warm, I exercise daily, usually in the athletic park near my home — jogging on the 2-km track around a big lake, sometimes cycling on its bike path, other times canoeing or rowing.

However, we have a saying in America: “Watch what you wish for; you might just get it.” Well, I did. After a little while of getting my freedom and having a change of pace, I found myself missing certain familiar and fun activities from my past life.
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When it comes to energy, Iceland is ahead of the curve in many ways. Blessed with massive geothermal power potential beneath their very feet, Icelanders have managed to build an infrastructure that generates nearly all its heat and electricity from renewable energy sources (both hydro-power and geothermal sources).

Not satisfied with this feat, Iceland also hopes to retrofit its transportation and industrial infrastructures to become as free as possible from petroleum’s grip in coming decades.

As I watched the tragic images of the Gulf oil spill’s impact on flora, fauna, and fishermen alike, the thought of one day breaking petroleum’s grip on our world became increasingly appealing. I couldn’t wait to touch down in Iceland to learn more!
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You can spend a weekend in Virginia’s capital and see most of its historic attractions without spending a dime in admission fees.

I’ve lived in several states and several cities, but Richmond is one of my favorite hometowns. We Virginians may grumble about our state income tax, but it gives back in the form of beautiful parks, world-class museums, and tons of historic attractions. The real secret is that most of those are free to residents and visitors alike.

While Richmond is known primarily as the former capital of the Confederacy, it has been home to many other “firsts”: the first African American governor in the U.S., the first hospital, the South’s first television station, and the only city in the country with Class IV white water rapids running through its downtown.
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Spain’s fourth largest city is home to some of Andalucía’s best known historical monuments, a pulsating nightlife and one of the region’s finest and most varied culinary experiences.

Seeing the Sights

The Torre de Oro (Golden Tower) which overlooks the Guadalquivir River is a great starting point for discovering this fascinating city. It is a stunning remnant of the city the Muslims called Ishbiliya, and has found a new lease of life as Seville’s naval museum.

The tower is far less gold than you would imagine, although when darkness falls, artificial illumination brings it to its auriferous best.

Nearby is Seville’s most famous monument, the 93-meter-tall Giralda Tower which was designed at the end of the Twelfth Century by prominent Islamic architect Ahmad Ibn Baso who is credited as having designed the Hassan Tower in Rabat.
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