Travelsmartplanet

Neither cows, nor any other animals were native to New Zealand. They were all brought in by the British and other explorers when they arrived here.

Get your phone’s ready to snap pix of the silly corrugated iron sculptures all over this town. Here’s a cute story: In 1986, Otorohanga briefly changed its name to “Harrodsville”. This was to protest the threat of a lawsuit against restaurateur, Henry Harrod of Palmerston North. Mohamed Al Fayed (yes that one – Diana’s boyfriend’s father), was the owner of Harrod’s department store in London and wanted him to change the name of his restaurant.
As a show of solidarity for Henry Harrod, the District Council suggested that every business in Otorohanga change its name to “Harrods”. The town’s name was even temporarily changed to Harrodsville. After being mocked in the British newspapers, Al Fayed dropped the legal action and Harrodsville and its shops reverted to their former names.

Captain James Cook (1778-1729) was a British adventurer who explored New Zealand. The indigenous Maori introduced him to the manuka plant as a medicinal tea. It reminded him of home.

On June 4, 1792 , British Captain George Vancouver ‘s expedition reached where the city of Everett now stands and Vancouver claimed the entire region for England, naming it New Georgia, after King George III.

While searching for the Northwest Passage, British Captain George Vancouver explored this northwest area. On May 19, 1792, Vancouver anchored off what is now Seattle. He sent Lieutenant Peter Puget south to explore what became the body of water named after him, Puget Sound.

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When you visit the Tower of London, you learn the superstition about why there always are ravens guarding it. Look for the raven master near the line to go in to the Crown Jewels. He’s happy to chat with you.

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Here you can imagine dancing at a ball in a palace in Queen Victoria’s days. Her gown appears at the end of the video.
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How delightful to walk into living history at the Tower of London. It’s so much more fun when you learn the stories of the people who “lived” or were imprisoned there. Did they lose their heads?

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Pubs are inexpensive places to grab a bite and a beer in London. Some of them are hundreds of years old. Notice the wrought iron bell above The Old Bell tavern and the caricature of Punch on Punch Tavern. Many people back then were illiterate so objects were hung to create easy way for them to find shops and pubs. We passed these on Fleet Street while aboard the Hop On Hop Off Bus which was included in the London Pass.

The Bell Tavern was built by architect Sir Christopher Wren in the 1670’s while he was working on the churches nearby. Since it is located on the famous Fleet street which was the epicenter of the newspaper industry, the writers and inkies(printers), penned their copy here while probably perennially hammered.
Punch Tavern got it’s name in the 1840’s as Punch magazine had its office here on Fleet Street. There was a pub here even before then called the Crown and Sugar Loaf.

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Sometimes while riding along, you just snap the shot at the exact right moment – this one was on the Hop On Hop Off bus in London and captures the amazing mosaic of architecture found in this city.