Blog | Books And Travel

Unusual Amsterdam

Amsterdam might have a reputation as the city of sin, with legalized prostitution and cannabis on every corner in the Red Light district, but it’s actually a laid-back city with tree-lined streets next to beautiful canals with great coffee and a rich cultural heritage.

From medieval churches to the oldest Jewish library in the world, from tiny Rembrandt etchings to an irreverent canal boat tour, here are some of the more unusual things to watch out for when you visit Amsterdam.

Click here for my Amsterdam album on Flickr. You can follow my travels on Instagram @jfpennauthor.

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Sailing On The Tall Ship Elissa In Galveston, Texas, With Carrie McAllister

Unusual Places

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Most of us spend our days on dry land within the walls of offices and our homes, but many of us understand the call of the sea.

In this interview, Carrie McAllister talks about her love of sailing on the tall ship Elissa out of Galveston, and how it has given her confidence as well as adventure.

I talked about my own tall ship sailing experience from Fiji to Vanuatu in episode 1, but Carrie found a way to sail in the same city where she works. You don’t have to go across the world to experience escape from your daily life. Sometimes you can find it close to home.

Carrie furling the main lower topsail on a daysail.

Carrie McAllister is a neuropharmacologist and life sciences consultant. She’s also a volunteer crew member on the Tall Ship ELISSA out of Galveston, Texas, and an instructor in the Seamanship Training Program. And today, we’re talking about sailing and tall ships, in particular.

Show Notes

What qualifies as a tall ship

What life is like living on a tall ship, both above and below decks

On Galveston’s humid climate south of the rest of dry Texas

The interesting history and restoration of the Elissa, a tall ship found abandoned in Greece

The best places for an introvert on a tall ship

The importance of emergency preparedness on a ship

Customs and language that’s specific to the sailing community

On the superstitions specific to sailing and sailors

Recommendations for good books related to sailing

You can find the Tall Ship Ellisa at GalvestonHistory.org. You can also find pictures on Instagram #1877tallshipelissa

13 Strange And Unusual Places To See In New Orleans

Unusual Places

Founded in 1718 by the French, New Orleans passed to Spanish control in 1763. It finally joined the United States in 1803. This change of hands, along with its history of slavery and connection to the local Chitimacha tribes, makes New Orleans a unique place to visit.

It’s suffered many disasters over the decades, including devastating epidemics and hurricanes. More recently, Hurricane Katrina took 1,836 lives in 2005. Thankfully, the city recovered and is open to visitors.

St Louis cemetery New Orleans by J.F.Penn — St Louis cemetery No 1, New Orleans by J.F.Penn

Most of my ARKANE thrillers have focused on the ancient world and Europe. But ever since Jake went to America for One Day in New York I’ve wanted to explore the legends and occult traditions of the New World.

What better place to start than The Big Easy, New Orleans? Especially as I visited the city in early 2017 as part of the research for Valley of Dry Bones. You can see some of my pictures in this article and the whole album here on Flickr.

Here are thirteen strange places to see in New Orleans if you’re lucky enough to find yourself in this very unusual city.

14 Weird And Wonderful Places To See In Spain

Unusual Places

Spain is one of my favorite places, somewhere I return to over and over again. I particularly love the Sagrada Familia and the beachside tapas of Barcelona, the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, the chilled vibe of Malaga, and the cultural heritage of Granada and Cordoba.

But Spain has a darker side.

Bloody religious statues and relics fill the Catholic churches, resonant with the history of the Inquisition and the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, who forced the Jews to convert, leave, or die. Their empire took the faith to Latin America in search of gold and converts … at any cost.

Much later, Spain suffered during the Spanish Civil War with torture, killings, and mob violence. The fight against fascism characterizes memorials around the country and still scars many of those left behind.

The deep religious and cultural history brings beauty in the strange and wonderful places that you can still visit and many writers find inspiration there. My ARKANE thriller, Gates of Hell, delves into sites related to Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, while Dan Brown’s novel, Origin, has scenes in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Bilbao.

So which of Spain’s strange places should you visit?

Macabre Montreal with Mark Leslie

Places

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Montreal is more than just music festivals, street art and the St Laurence river. It also has a dark side.

Mark Leslie is a Canadian horror writer with a passion for haunted places and, today, we’re talking about his book, Macabre Montreal.

Show Notes

On the old world feel of Montreal and it’s history

The influence of the St. Lawrence river on Montreal’s feel

Interesting places to look for history in Montreal, including the cemeteries

Making connections to history through city ghost tours

Recommendations for good books based in Montreal

On the pleasure of walking through a new city

You can find Mark at www.MarkLeslie.ca and on Twitter @MarkLeslie

The Hidden Side Of Strange And Unusual Bath, England

Unusual Places

I’ve been living in Bath for several years now, and although on the surface, it seems like a genteel little place, there is a darker side to the city – if you know where to look.

Bath straddles the River Avon in Wiltshire in the South West of England. Made famous by Jane Austen costume dramas, the city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

But beneath the charming streets, Roman baths, and Georgian grandeur lies a weird city. A strange Bath, a place haunted by Druids with Masonic symbols hidden in plain sight. Ley lines crackle with mysterious power along the same streets used by tour buses, and under these streets lie curses to ancient gods.