A selection of Chicago's architecture from the Chicago River.

Ten reasons why Chicago is the best city in the US

Discover why Chicago is America's best city: world-class architecture, deep-dish pizza, lakefront beaches, blues music, and Midwestern friendliness. Over my twenty-plus year career as a travel journalist, I’ve visited dozens of US cities. Many of them more than once. I thoroughly enjoy most of them,…
When having bad handwriting is useful

When having bad handwriting is useful

Hotels asking for email addresses It’s increasingly common when checking in to a hotel to be asked for your email address. “If you can just fill in your name, address and email address,” the receptionist will ask after you arrive at the desk. Up until…
Blue skies at Elizabeth Quay, Perth.

Five underrated aspects of travelling in Australia

Yeah, Australia’s got the beaches, the reef, the Outback and the wine regions. But there’s plenty that people don’t tend to expect. The light Australia has the reputation of being sunny, but it’s not just the warmth that counts – it’s the brightness. The vividness…
Orlando Airport.

My Orlando Airport disaster

How picking my wife up at Orlando Airport suddenly got very complicated. Waiting for the flight to arrive in Orlando It was a foolproof plan. I knew it takes about ten minutes to get out of Orlando Airport once cases have been salvaged from the…
Chocolate brownies.

Five things I learned this week – 23 June 2025

Airport hotels, chocolate brownies, the Ark of the Covenant, the White Stripes and an annoyingly long fact check on the flag of Belize feature in this week’s slightly interesting discoveries. Hilton’s claim to the first airport hotel is complete nonsense The Hilton chain has long…
Why our mental maps are so unreliable

Why our mental maps are so unreliable

Working out where places are relative to each other without seeing a map can be surprisingly difficult… A little quiz on English towns On Sunday evening, I had an idea for a quiz. Given an English town, you have to name the nearest city from…
The Durban city skyline and Indian Ocean beaches.

Durban: The city that South Africans go to for winter sun

South Africans go to Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal coast for winter sun. But why don’t international travellers join them? Direct flights to Durban When British Airways announced it was going to start (now-cancelled) direct flights to Durban in October 2018, it came to many as…