The Mad Beach Party of 1923

In the summer of 1923, an American husband and wife could be credited with two rather surprising things. Their name is seldom remembered in the context of the glamorous 1920s, but the French Riviera became the summer destination it is today thanks to the infectious expatriate couple known as the Murphys. Gerald and Sarah convinced their circle…

Mansion of the Month: Miami’s Villa Viscaya

It rose from the mangrove swamps of Miami; an Italian Renaissance paradise surrounded by dense tropical forest in Coconut Grove, the city’s oldest continuously inhabited neighbourhood. They called it the “Hearst Castle of the East”, even though Villa Vizcaya came first. James Deering was heir to a harvesting fortune, a lover of the arts, an antiques…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLXVI)

1. The inventor of modern butter sculpture Caroline Shawk couldn’t afford marble, so she started making butter sculptures to raise money at local fairs. Her butter sculpture became a runaway hit at Centennial exhibition, which allowed her to open her own studio and work with marble. Found on Wikipedia. 2. Occult Ceramics The best kind.…

10 Quirky Parisian Dream Pads For Sale, Just Because

I got into another one of my periodical black holes of pretend house-hunting on the internet. So in the hopes that one of you might win the lottery and invite me over for un café, here are few of my favourites… 1. A Country House in Paris Located in what I like to call “the…

Your Summer Photo Goals, as Demonstrated by the 1920s Morris Mermaids

It all started with this those three girls on a rock in 1922, putting my beach snaps to shame. Why is it, that with all the technology we have at our disposal to document every moment of our holidays, most of our summer photos end up looking so, well … uncreative? Photography of the 1920s…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLXV)

1. China’s Abandoned Nuclear City “404 is the name of an abandoned city in the Gansu province of northeast China, situated within the sandy plains of the Gobi desert. The city was built in 1958; it occupied an area of 4 km2 and included a factory, police station, school, and a residential area. In the 1990s,…

A French Chateau Hoarding the World’s Largest Private Collection of Fighter Jets

At no other chateau in all of France will you find a Soviet helicopter parked on the back lawn. Or a 1970s hovercraft. Or a record-breaking collection of World War II fighter jets for that matter. Not to mention a warehouse full of vintage firetrucks, 200 antiques motorbikes, 36 racing cars – and the list…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLXIV)

1. A picture worth well over 1000 words Let me start off by saying I’m terrified of open water. For some reason, I thought it would be a great idea to wake up at 4am, drive to the Dead Sea, and swim out to this salt island before sunrise. The distance from the beach was…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLXIII)

1. A 392 year old shark discovered in the Arctic Ocean (that means he was wandering the oceans back in 1627) Found on Reddit. 2. The tiny video store that survived Netflix In the wake of an algorithm-led video store apocalypse, Captain Video stays afloat by offering the human touch. “Where the hell have you…

The Vault

Don’t be a Tourist Mini Guide to Belgium

Belgium gave us Audrey Hepburn, great comic books and the Communist Manifesto. It’s barely the size of New Jersey but it produces more than 220,000 tons of chocolate per annum and it’s home to about 125 breweries. And those are just the fun facts. Cooler than you think, stranger than you think and more impressive…

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