Chris Backe's Blog, page 84

Destination: Bogota Police Museum – with our very own police guide!

One of several mainstream but fascinating attractions around Bogota, the Bogota Police Museum (Palacio Museo Histórico de la Policía Nacional) offers up a look at Pablo Escobar’s last hours and a number of other ongoing law enforcement efforts.

Although no reservations are required, you will need a tour guide. If yours is anything like ours, you may geta very young gentlemen with good English skills when you walk in.

The building was constructed from 1923-26, and was the 2nd most important...

August book reviews: exploring Arizona, becoming a ‘jet-setting’ copywriter, and more

Once a month, I put together the books I’ve readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.

Also, a quick disclaimer: review copies were provided or downloaded for free, and links may be affiliate links. These reviews cover the version of the book Ireceived, not necessarily the version that’s currently available. A newer or updated version may be available – check for yourself using the links below.

The Jet-setting Copywrit...

Destination: The Museum of Historical Chamber Pots and Toilets (Prague, Czech Republic)

Yep, you’re reading that right – hidden in Prague is the world’s largest collection of chamber pots.

2,000 pieces, 1,700 chamber pots, 120 toilets, and “other curiosities”. There are chamber pots made for Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, the Chinese emperor of the Qing dynasty, French wedding chamber pots… and the list goes on and on. Originally located in the Trebotov Fortress, it moved to the “cultural and historical center” of Prague in 2014 and is now easy enough to find.

Officially,...

Leave the kids at home: Europe’s top 10 offbeat attractions for adults only (NSFW-ish)

No kids? Great. They’re off traveling on their own? Even better. Presenting some of Europe’s bestattractions for the 18-and-up crowd. Sex Machines Museum – Prague, Czech Republic / Czechia

Let’s kick things off with one of the raunchier places – seriously, if you’re not blushing at least a little at some part of this museum, you’re doing better than I did. Three floors of museum covers a breathtaking array of machines, tools, equipment, clothes, and accessories in the world of sex.Some items...

Leave the kids at home: Europe’s top ten offbeat attractions for adults only (SFW)

No kids? Great. They’re off traveling on their own? Even better. Presenting some of Europe’s bestattractions for the 18-and-up crowd. Sex Machines Museum – Prague, Czech Republic / Czechia

Let’s kick things off with one of the raunchier places – seriously, if you’re not blushing at least a little at some part of this museum, you’re doing better than I did. Three floors of museum covers a breathtaking array of machines, tools, equipment, clothes, and accessories in the world of sex.Some items...

15 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Italy

We spent three weeks in Italy enjoying some of the country’s offbeat sights. Here’s some things we learned along the way to help you enjoy your trip. Italian buses are weird.

By Steve Morgan – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Bologna has excellent bus directions on Google maps, and bus tickets are decently priced at 1.50 . The red machines are located near the front of the bus – the catch is that only accept coins, anddon’t give change. Any change gets turned into credit for the next person – if you n...

Europe’s weird and kid-friendly destinations: ten of my favorites

During our epic trip across Europe, we got to hundreds of places. Time to highlight ten of my kid-friendly favorites.

Yeah, I’m kind of a big kid at heart – and we took in a lot of fun places while taking in Europe.

Lego museum (Muzeum Lega) – Prague, Czech Republic / Czechia

Lots of fun! Once you’re in, look for the building tables for younger kids and plenty of fancy well-built displays. For the adults, the collectibles and nostalgia factor will kick in when you see lots of themed sets fro...

Destination: augmented reality and Pokemon Go at the Toronto Zoo

Last weekend the Toronto Zoo held a rather special PokémonGo party – naturally, we had to check it out.

Nope, it’s not weird – and in fact, this zoo is probably one of the most mainstream destinations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Still, the zoo is home to around 45 Pokéstops (the in-game checkpoints where you can collect stuff and gain XP), and allows you to makesome fun pictures:

This poor guy’s just a little out of place…

Beyond a number of signs like the one above, there wasn’t mu...

The newest book in the Choose a Way series is…

I’m pleased to announce… London!

Much like the other dozen-plus books in the Choose a Way series,Choose a Way London covers forty of the best places in the city. That’s Rachael Marsh’s name on thecover –she’s been based in London for the last few years. (Go on, follow her on Twitter,Google+, or LinkedIn. or check out her site atwww.rachael-marsh.com). I’m really proud to call myself the publisher and editor of this book.

Five days of tap-your-own-destinations in London for $6.99: What makes...

Destinations: the Olympic Museums of Spain and Switzerland

With the Rio Olympics upon us, I thoughtyou might enjoya couple of the world’s best Olympic museums – including one museum that’sone of the best I’ve ever enjoyed.

Start in Barcelona, the home of the 1992 Summer Olympics, for theBarcelonaOlympic Museum (Museu Olimpic i de l’esport). While notsolely focused on the Olympics, the sports not represented in the Summer or Winter Olympics are acknowledged and celebrated.

It’s not every day you see a race car mounted to a wall… There’s plenty of En...