I was recently asked if I have a favorite hotel in London. I’ve stayed at a number of luxury hotels in London over the years, but, on my recent visits, I have stayed with friends. My assessment of the best hotels in London may not be too accurate.However, I do know that one of the most expensive and luxurious hotels in London is the Lanesborough. I recently found out the Lanesborough was originally St. George’s Hospital, opened in 1733. In 1991, it opened as a Rosewood Hotel & Resort and then, in 1993, it became a St. Regis.This knowledge reminded me of an Istanbul property. The Four Seasons Istanbul was originally the first jail house, built in 1918 during the Ottoman Empire. It was abandoned in 1969, later used by the military and then finally transformed into a world-class luxury hotel in 1996.While both of these properties were gutted and completely renovated, I can’t help but think about what happened in those halls when they were a hospital and prison, respectively. If I’m asking if you believe in ghosts, I also have to ask if you believe in mind over matter. While I have not stayed in either hotel, I do know both properties are known for superior service and luxury amenities. However, if I were to stay in either property now, knowing the history, I dare say I would be a little on edge, wondering if ghosts are really wandering the corridors!– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher

This month’s issue of Global Traveler has a wonderful article on London, with plenty of great suggestions on what to see and where to stay and dine. I shared the piece with daughter Jenny, as she and her fellow students would be spending a month in the area during their study abroad experience. Our family had actually stayed in London for several days a number of years ago when Jenny’s big sister was studying in England, so she had already had the opportunity to experience some of that delightful city’s offerings. We visited St. Paul’s, the British Museum and the National Gallery, shopped at Harrods and took in a play in the West End. There was not enough time to see everything we wished, so Jenny has been looking forward to getting back to London.

 In just the last two weeks on daytrips in to the city, she has toured the Tower of London (and has decided the jewels alone would make it worth being Queen of England), spent some time in the museums, visited Harrods (again!) and thoroughly enjoyed a production of Sister Act: The Musical at the Palladium Theatre. That is not all she’s taken in, though. No, as a nursing student, Jenny has also visited some lesser-known attractions in London that have been, at the very least, eye-opening.

First stop was the Hunterian Museum, located at the Royal College of Surgeons. John Hunter, an 18th-century surgeon, collected and preserved thousands of specimens of plants and animals (and assorted human body parts) in order to better understand anatomy and improve medical treatment and surgical techniques. His original collection was purchased by the government in 1799, given to the Royal College and grew exponentially over the decades. Even though a large portion of the collection was lost during the bombing of London during World War II, Jenny was amazed at the number and variety of items on display.

They then proceeded to the Old Operating Theatre, dating back to the 1820s and the oldest in all of Europe. It’s actually located in the attic space of a church which adjoined St. Thomas’s Hospital — convenient, I guess, whether the surgery was successful or not. Actually, a large skylight just above the operating table provided good light, and the gallery gave apothecaries and physicians-in-training the opportunity to observe and learn. This was, of course, in the days before anaesthesia was available (except for opium and alcohol, that is), so speed was important. Jenny’s group saw a demonstration of how an amputation might be done, including the knives and other instruments used. Her one-word assessment: “Gross!” Usually, these modern nurses-to-be would also visit the Florence Nightingale Museum, also located at St. Thomas’s, but it is closed right now for updating.

Just this past Wednesday the group took in a little more medical history when they visited St. Mary’s Hospital and the lab where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Fleming had been working with staph bacteria before he’d left on a two-week holiday. On his return, he was clearing away Petri dishes that had become contaminated with mold and happened to notice that the bacteria in those dishes seemed to have been killed by the mold. Jenny found this quite instructive and deduced a few nuggets to live by: Taking a break from work can be good for you in unexpected ways, and perfection in housekeeping could be detrimental, also in unexpected ways. (I would say that when she was a teenager in our house, she had already embraced that last philosophy!)

It just goes to show that there are always fascinating places to see and new things to learn that are often off the beaten track from the usual tourist destinations in the cities we visit. Follow your own interests and inclinations, grab a map or Google a bit and create your own personalized tour.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I recently stayed at the Pineapple Hill Inn Bed and Breakfast in New Hope, PA. I have previously stayed there a few times while in town for Global Traveler business. While I always enjoy my stay at the Pineapple Hill Inn, I would like to offer a suggestion for B&Bs nationwide.

B&Bs usually have some sort of historic theme, and I can find no real reason for this. I would like to see a B&B break format and go with a different theme. I think the historic decor could be dropped in favor of a sports motif. The quaintness wouldn’t have to be lost either. For instance, in the Boston Celtics room, there could be some old black-and-white photos, some hand-stitched likenesses of famous Celtics and a green and white Celtics color scheme. Men would love this (or at least like it more than the usual historic stuff).

I’m not suggesting having old game films available to watch (although that would be cool). There are plenty of nice sports items which could fill a room nicely.

If you think sports would be too much, maybe you’d like a vacation decor. There could be rooms dedicated to Paris, Rome, New York and maybe even Las Vegas. The rooms could be filled with tasteful souvenirs and lovely artwork from each city.

Other possible themes could be classic TV, the Golden Age of cinema or music. The possibilities are endless. If you’re still stuck on history, you could do rooms in 20th-century decades, filled with things from the specific decade.

The intimacy and romanticism never has to be lost, no matter the decor. What makes history intimate or romantic anyway? Any theme could be utilized, while still maintaining the “feel” of the historic B&B if it is done properly.

Hotels are always trying new things to set themselves apart and ahead. Why must B&Bs be forever stuck in history?

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

If you’ve been reading my blog over the last few months, you are aware that my younger daughter, Jenny, has been traveling in Europe the last three weeks with a group of fellow nursing students. They have now settled in the picturesque town of Guildford in Surrey, England, to begin their one-month study of community health issues and some practicum experience. Jenny really enjoyed her whirlwind tour of several cities on the Continent but now seems equally pleased to be somewhat settled for a while in one place with a room to herself. I thought I’d just share a few of her impressions of the places she visited along the way and a few lessons she and her friends learned on this, their first big travel adventure on their own.

It doesn’t take much snow to foul up transportation in London. One inch brought havoc to the rail lines, closed the runways at Gatwick for several hours and caused them to rebook on a later flight to Madrid. The girls from Chicago just couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.

Loved Madrid, the Prado Museum, Plaza del Sol and . . . sangria! Also fell in love with Barcelona (I have yet to talk to anyone who’s gone there and doesn’t) and wants to return. After cold and snowy England, the girls loved the sun in Spain.

Jenny celebrated her 22nd birthday in Paris, preferred the Musee d’Orsay over the Louvre and learned a valuable lesson: Check to be sure the site you want to visit is open before you take the time and expense to go there. The group trekked out to Versailles on a Monday only to learn the palace is closed on Mondays (and the grounds, in January, are rather subdued).

Roman men can be charming at any age. On their first evening in the Eternal City, the ladies enjoyed the chivalrous attentions of their “older” waiter (For all I know, he was only 35. Ah, perspective!), and the bartender bought each one a rose from a roving vendor. St. Peter’s was impressive; but Jenny found the colors in the Sistine Chapel to be much brighter than she expected, and the Creation of Adam to be smaller than she thought it would be (again, perspective!).

Squeezing too many cities into too few days along with certain train schedules can lead to frustration. Upon arriving in Florence, the group found that there were no remaining seats available on the train they planned to take from their next stop, Venice, to Munich. Instead, they would have to take an overnight train north, leaving them less than 10 hours in Venice. They never even took a vaporetto to see St. Mark’s Square — sacrilege!!

Food and transportation expenses gobble up the euros; so do entrance fees (and drinks at the hostel bar??).

The Wombat’s hostels in Munich and Berlin offered great, free (except for the tip for the guide), half-day walking tours of those cities, full of great information. Dachau touched Jenny deeply: “I don’t think it is possible to explain how I felt when we were standing in the gas chamber. The evil that existed is unbelievably horrific.”

Be sure you get on the right train. The trek from Munich to Berlin took all day and five trains to accomplish; it should have been one train and a few hours. At least the snowy countryside was pretty!

Based on all the other things Jen has said or written to us thus far, I would venture to say that her greatest lesson is how much there is yet for her to see and learn, and what a great teacher travel can be.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I took a short trip down to the Outer Banks and am working from down here and unintentionally will be missing the snow. It is supposed to hit the Maryland - Virginia - Delmarva Peninsula region, my route from Philidelphia to Kitty Hawk, NC, and they are predicted to get between one to two feet by Saturday afternoon. The Philadelphia area is said to get about a foot.

My neighbors always laugh, as I seem to be making a flight to LA or Asia just as a pending winter storm is to hit. Dave Murphy, my neighbor across the street says, “Fran’s leaving? We are going to get hit hard!” — and it does seem to be the case. I can remember being on a US Airways flight from PHL when the captain announced, “Please be seated, as they are closing the airport in fifteen minutes, and I want us to be in the air by then.” He did it!

Down here, where the Wright brothers proved that man could fly a plane on its own power, we are just to get wind and rain. The winters can be harsh at times here, with sustained winds at 40 mph and torrential rains. I believe this is what we are to receive this weekend. It is always a thrill to watch the ocean here during a storm and how violent it can get. The coast here is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, as many ships have sunk in the storms.

I intend to hit the road Sunday morning to return in time for the Super Bowl back home . . . that is, if the weather allows me to do so!

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO