Destination: England (in the 16th century)
Book: The King’s Damsel (November 2012) by Kate Emerson
King Henry VIII, not to mention his daughter Princess Mary, could have used some of that advice on the Internet about packing light.
I always knew that royalty moved from place to place–they needed to dazzle the locals with their power and authority. But The King’s Damsel
Destination: Cornwall County, England
DVD: Cornwall with Caroline Quentin (NEW, U.S. Debut November 6 2012)
Darn this DVD for adding yet another destination to my lengthy WANNAGOTHERE list.
Outside of the more obvious places–London, Stratford, uh–there must be some other ones–I admit that I am woefully ignorant of England’s counties, so I should not be totally surprised that Cornwall came as a….total surprise. Continue reading Cornwall, Direckly
Destination: London and Africa (1810)
Book: Timbuctoo (NEW July 2012) by Tahir Shah
Picture an African El Dorado where the only known metal is gold! Storehouses overflow with it, and coffers are brimming with it. Roof tiles and cobblestones, cups and plates, buckets and bedsteads all are fashioned from that most intoxicating yellow ore!
William de Witt, British businessman, addressing the Royal African Committee in the novel, Timbuctoo
Contrary to popular belief, the roofs are not tiled in gold, nor is there a wealth of any kind, that is, what we might comprehend to be wealth. Most of the jewellry is made from shells, taken from the river, or made from camel bone. The houses are crafted form blocks of mud, and the majority of the townsfolk live a most squalid existence.
Robert Adams, the American, addressing the Royal African Committee in the novel Timbuctoo Continue reading The Ultimate Exotic Journey: Timbuctoo
