My very first time eating lobster was when I was 14 and traveling up the east coast from Georgia with my family to go pickup my brother who had just finished hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine (that’s 2,175 miles) back in 1986. Once we had left the northeast urban areas of New York and Boston, the road became surrounded with fur trees and less buildings. I can remember breaking out onto the coast and seeing the craggy cliffs and lobster traps floating in the turbulent surf down below thus beginning my love affair with lobster (the other really good white meat).
‘Maison’ is French for ‘house’. In this case the word is slightly misleading. While no palace, though sited in the Place des Vosges - originally known as Place Royale - the site is no simple domicile. These sprawling apartments were the home of the famed writer between 1832 and 1848. Hugo fled from the revolution in that year.
Hugo was the author of such well-known (if less widely read) works such as Les Mis?rables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also penned lesser known, but far superior works, such as Ninety-Three and The Man Who Laughs.
A treat even for those with only a passing interest in literature, the Victor Hugo museum is chock full of drawings, mementos, 19th century furniture and more. The Chinese salon from Hugo’s house on Guernsey has been relocated here, as well.
Finding great travel tales often entails getting a little dirty. The best stories are the ones that smell, the kind you can’t hope to spot from inside an air conditioned tour bus.
Get down on your hands and knees and poke around, dig into the muck-heap, grab on to something and pull it out into the light.
After you wipe off the grime, you might just see a buried treasure, a story full of hope and resonance and truth that most people would never think was there.
Suite name: Royal Residence Hotel:Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai Size of accommodation:?6,890 sq ft Cost per night: 230,000 Baht, plus taxes and service charge Who’s stayed there? Prime Minister, Head of State and several VIPs What makes it special? Unique design which inspired by a mix of northern Thai palace and Royal Lanna architecture with six private pavilions featuring three king size beds and three twin bedrooms, three swimming pools, as well as a number of sitting and dining rooms, open-air salas (Thai Pavilion) and even a lounge with a grand piano and bar.
Until recently I had never thought of a beach vacation in Maine. Maine conjures images of 10 foot snow drifts and moose and mosquitoes - so when I was looking at the Maine Guide one day while planning a trip to Nova Scotia I saw an ad for Ogunquit. My interest was piqued - I saw sandy beaches and kids playing in the water.
Maine Beach Video
This is a video of the beach in winter - but it still looks like fun - more fun when it’s 80 degrees though!
Further research revealed average summer temperatures in the 80’s in July and the average humidity is about on par with the rest of the US.
Malmaison?- the AA Hotel Group of the Year 2006-7 -?is to add?yet another hotel to its growing brand.? The Malmaison Reading, once a Great Western Railway hotel,?includes a “seductive wine bar” serving “dangerously good cocktails”, a?brasserie and a caf?, and is due to open at the end of the month with special offers starting from ??99.? Let’s hope the current UK flood crisis, which is extending its way towards places such as Reading and Caversham, doesn’t delay the group’s plans.
The Maine Department of Transportation has a killer website about what to see and do in this diverse coastal state. It’s called Explore Maine and you’ll find this online resource helpful whether you plan to travel by air, car, bike, ferry, public transit or a combination of methods.
