Stokes Croft in Bristol – the area where art turns to life!

We’ve already told you about Bristol, the city where art, history and beauty come together.  It’s a must see place if you ever come to the United Kingdom or in London and stay for more than a few days.

Bristol is a very artsy city, so if you enjoy street art this is the place to be. You’ll be amazed by the interesting stencils and  graffiti on the walls of Nelson Street and those in Stokes Croft area.

The name Stokes Croft has come to refer to an area around the road as an informal district encompassing Jamaica Street, the junction of Picton Street and Ashley Road, and the southern part of Cheltenham Road.

The area (Stokes Croft)  is a centre of art, music and independent shops in Bristol, with clubs such as the Croft, Lakota and Blue Mountain; the nearby music college BIMM Bristol on King Square.

Moreover, the area’s character has given rise to a group of activists and artists calling themselves The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC), who are seeking to revitalise the area through community action and public art.

Stokes Croft takes its name from John Stokes, a medieval inhabitant of Bristol who was mayor of the city in the late 14th century.

This part of the town is a very exciting place to visit – you will walk through underground passages transformed into galleries where you will find original and expressive graffiti.

Also, at the junction of Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street, it is a large mural,“The Mild Mild West”, painted some time ago in the 1990s by Banksy. It depicts teddybear lobbing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police. In 2007 the mural was voted Alternative Landmark of Bristol.

We warmly recommend this city and Stokes Croft area. It’s urban, amazing and genuine artistic, therefore if you enjoy subcultures you really should put Bristol on the list.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Incredible images! How about swimming in a pool with nothing but glass underneath?

Everyday something reminds me that we truly live in an incredible world, full of wonderful people. Some of them are architects and some of them have amazing ideas.

For example, creating a fantastic pool. According to dailymail.co.uk, the 24th storey pool in Shanghai, China, has nothing underneath it apart from a pane of toughened glass – and a huge drop.

Holiday Inn hotel, Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao/ Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

Moreover, the unique swimming baths, in the Holiday Inn hotel, Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao, are 30 metres long.

If you are afraid of heights, maybe you won’t want to swim in this beautiful piece of art However, you should know that the majority of it is inside the building – although you will probably want to stay in the shallow end.

Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

The staff from the hotel says guests using the pool can feel like they are swimming over the air, although many won’t dare look down.

How would you feel about experiencing something like this? Please tell us in the comment section below

Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

I’ll go wherever the Megabus takes me!

I recently took a 12-hour epic bus ride, at night, from London to Amsterdam. We left Victoria Coach Station at about 9.30pm and stopped in Dover around 1am, then took the ferry to Calais and continued our journey towards Brussels. After a short stop in the Belgium capital, it was dawn already; we headed towards our final destination. We alighted from the bus at around 9.30 am in Amsterdam. And all for only £20 round trip!

You could wonder why one would spend their night on the road from London to Amsterdam instead of taking a 45 minute-flight and spare a sleepless night and uncomfortable seats that ruin your neck and hurt your spine. Well, obviously, because it is one of the cheapest ways of getting from point A to B. And because, in some cases, it is fun! Either way, this is an experience that allows you to spend less for more! Not only that you get to enjoy a trip with the ferry, make friends on the bus and listen to new stories, but you also get a glimpse of other cities, especially Brussels, in my case.

Low-budget is not for everyone, but for those who like to taste the adventure by different means. A ride with the Megabus will also give you time to read, listen to music, watch a movie, write on your blog or just let your mind wander anywhere and everywhere. The good part is that you have free Wi-Fi on the bus, so you won’t get bored if you’re an internet savvy.

Course there are some downsides and risks that you must be willing to take: lack of comfort – remember to bring a neck-pillow if you want to catch forty winks; dysfunctional toilet – this could have turned into a massive issue, but at least our driver fixed it half way to London; the excessive cold or heat from the AC; some crazy passengers with seats right next to you, so you’ll have to put up with their stomach issues and relationship matters for almost 12 hours. And the biggest risk of all: having an insane driver. But let’s think positive and see the full part of the…Megabus.

You can find this mega value bus in the UK, the United States and Canada. Basically, it is a low cost inter city travel, so you can see the country at a minimum price. That is if you have enough time to do it! But its best feature is that it can take you across the borders into the big bad world

Leave the UK to go to Paris, Boulogne, Brussels or Amsterdam. Plus, Megabus loves Wednesdays when you can travel for only £5 on all English and Welsh routes. On the American continent, you can become one of Kerouac’s characters, jump on a bus and travel the country. And it can also take you to Canada; switch from English to French in a blink of an eye. Or more, to be honest. If you’re lucky enough you can catch a much comfy seat in the new fleet of double deckers, with at-seat plug ins and panoramic windows.

The megabus.com service was first launched in the UK in 2003 and offers fares from £1 (plus booking fee) across the UK, linking around 50 locations. The coaches are carrying more than 2 million passengers a year. On the American continent, it was launched in April 2006 and has served more than 15 million passengers throughout more than 70 major cities in the Midwest and Northeast of the USA and Canada.

It is not the fastest way to travel, but definitely a safe and cheap one, so you can give it a try. There’s a new motto me and my friends laugh about: I’ll go wherever the Megabus takes me! 

Get ready, GO! Inspiring Travel Manifestos

This life should be about discovering new places and get to know this beautiful world we live in. We don’t always take chances and follow our inner voice.

We get too tired from work, making plans, calculating budgets and we keep delaying our passions and our wildest dreams. It’s like, 90% of the time, we forget that we are not immortals and believe that we have all the time in the world.

Dear friends, now is our time and now is when we should start doing what we love. Travelling helps us rediscover ourselves and if you, like us, feel the need to break free from time to time, remember that there’s no time like the present.

We have gathered for you some special manifestos and quotes that we hope will inspire you and will give you the necessary kick for you to start moving

Related: 50 Memorable Travel Quotes of All Time