If Curious, Author at If Curious

Misadventures of a Cruise That Never Was

Do you dream of taking a cruise some day? The thought of it brings to mind images of luxurious cabins, delicious meals, entertainment, swimming pools, relaxation, sunbathing on deck, day trips in new and different port destinations and so on.

Well, I’m sure that Karilyn, a travel writer from Los Angeles, had similar thoughts when she planned her cruise. It was to depart from Miami, Florida and sail to the Dominican Republic. Her trip, a series of mishaps, began as soon as she left her house and began her taxi ride to LA airport.
Continue reading Misadventures of a Cruise That Never Was

1916 Easter Rising – For the Curious: A Play in Dublin and Short Films in Cork

There are two events taking place this week which the curious Irish person or visitor to Ireland will find interesting at this time of commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising:

The Secret Meeting

The first is a play performed by the Dublin Lyric Players about a little-known, unminuted, secret meeting between James Connolly and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). James Connolly “disappeared” for three days on the 19th January 1916, and his colleagues and associates thought he had been abducted by the British authorities. In fact, he was taken to a meeting with the IRB leadership which included Patrick Pearse.
Continue reading 1916 Easter Rising – For the Curious: A Play in Dublin and Short Films in Cork

Culture Night 2015

This year, 2015, Culture Night takes place on Friday 18th September. It is a nationwide event in Ireland which celebrates all aspects of Irish culture from the arts, creativity, design, craft, history, history and sport. Many cultural institutions including museums, theatres, galleries and studios throughout the country open their doors to the public with admission being free of charge.

In many cases collections or areas which are normally off-limits are also opened for the occasion, with numerous workshops also arranged.

The purpose of the Culture Night Celebration is to encourge people to experience culture in their local area or nearby towns and cities. It also raises the profile of cultural centres and resources and encourages people to get involved with or engaged in their culture.

Many people, groups, clubs, organisations, schools, colleges, universities, public bodies, state agencies, local authorities and government departments are behind Culture Night and their involvement, expertise and generousity is what enables it to happen.
Continue reading Culture Night 2015

The World’s Friendliest City

While some holiday destinations can rely on their good-weather climate & dependable sunshine to draw in the tourists, one of the decisive factors in whether a holiday will be enjoyable and relaxing is the attitude of the people that are met by the holiday-makers. All it takes is rudeness or unhelpfulness from staff in a resort, hotel, restaurant or tourist attraction to spoil part of a holiday.

This could be a reason why Travel + Leisure have an award for the world’s friendliest city. The readers of Travel + Leisure voted for their friendlist city and when the results were counted, the winner for 2015 was:

Galway

Galway is located on the West coast of Ireland, with the wild Atlantic ocean at its door and beautiful coastal scenery all around. The reasons why Galway came out on top is down to many factors, including the natural friendliness of the people, their welcoming nature, and their love of music. Everywhere you go in Galway, you’ll find music and dance. In the pubs and on the streets there are musicians playing banjos, guitars, flutes, whistles etc. Songs and ballad sessions are also very popular in the evening.

Why not visit Galway on your next vacation? To help you research your trip, visit Things to do in Galway, if curious!

Amazing Video of Berlin & Potsdam in July 1945

If you’d like to visit Berlin today, check out this link for Things to do in Berlin and to see the sights or get a guided tour.

If you’d like to see a fascinating colour video of what Berlin was like at the end of World War 2, view this video. They have come a long way.

Busy with Recovery

The scale of the destruction is enormous, yet people are busy at work. People aren’t waiting for things to be done for them, but are getting on with clearing the rubble and rebuilding. Such spirit!

This video of Berlin & Potsdam in July 1945 contains footage taken from an airplane flying over Berlin as well as street scenes filmed from a road vehicle as it drives through the city. One can see people busily going about their business, and clearing rubble from the many collapsed buildings. The scale of the destruction is truly shocking and the immensity of the rebuilding task facing the inhabitants becomes clear as we see street after street and block after block of bombed-out, collapsed and burned buildings.
Continue reading Amazing Video of Berlin & Potsdam in July 1945