Brussels

World’s Best Food Cities — My Top Seven

Published July 20, 2015 | By Clark Norton

A simple Bangkok noodle stand can rival the best restaurants in many other cities.

My recent post on The World’s Top 10 Cities took food into consideration, but also considered many other factors — such as scenery, sights, general ambiance, ease of getting around, friendliness of the residents, etc.

My list of The World’s Top Seven Food Cities includes several of those listed in my Top Cities post, but eliminates some and changes the rankings of others. (Like my Top Cities post, I’m sticking with international cities only, eliminating American cities because I’m partial to my former homes — San Francisco and New York — and would also have to include New Orleans and maybe Savannah, and by then I’d be more than halfway through my list.)

For starters, I’ll axe Jerusalem, Barcelona, Budapest, Venice, and Florence from my international food list, even though I’ve had some very… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, food, Restaurants | Tagged Bangkok, Brussels, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Lyon, Paris, Rome, Valencia | 6 Comments

Hitting the Tintin Trail in Brussels

Published July 28, 2014 | By Clark Norton

The cover of one of the most popular Tintin books.

When my son, Grael, was a child, I used to read “The Adventures of Tintin“ books to him nearly every night.

For those of you who don’t know about Tintin, he was a brilliantly drawn cartoon character created by the Belgian artist Hergé, a boy reporter who, along with his faithful dog Snowy and hard-drinking, foul-mouthed sidekick Captain Haddock, solved mysteries in exotic locales around the globe.

Besides outsmarting and outfighting dastardly villains, he had to overcome the interference of two bumbling detectives, Thompson and Thomson, who looked exactly alike and were equally incompetent, and deal with eccentric figures like hearing-impaired Professor Calculus and operatic diva Bianca Castafiore.

Tintin was always getting into and then escaping from life-threatening situations, and the colorful illustrations, reflecting a world that pre-dated mass tourism, made… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, Hotels, museums | Tagged Brussels, Herge Museum, Hotel Amigo, Tintin, Tintin Trail | Leave a comment

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.