Monocle’s July/August issue marks the return of our annual Quality of Life special edition that is guaranteed to get you in the mood for the sunnier months. Review our index of the world’s 20 most liveable cities, our choices for your perfect summer playlist and an eagerly anticipated visit to the Venice Architecture Biennale. After a challenging year, it’s time to get excited for summer again.
Tag Archives: Culture
Views: The Horseback Fisherwomen Of Belgium
The tradition of horseback fishing for fish and shrimp goes back to the 16th century. Large Belgian Draft horses trawl across the beach with fishing nets attached to their saddles. In Oostduinkerke, at the Belgian coast, this 500-year-old shrimping tradition has remained unchanged, except in 2015, when a small but significant change occurred: for the first time ever, 2 women joined the ranks of what was long considered a “man’s job”. We met up with the women who brave the waves on Belgians weighing up to 1 ton every day.
French Views: Lavender Fields Of Provence (Video)
The #lavender fields of the #Valensole Plateau, in France’s southern #Provence region, are an ocean of purple-blue. This is where much of the plant’s global production is grown. Many families in the region have been working with lavender for several generations. There are those who continue their activity in the traditional way and those who have opted for a more industrial method. Either way, these beautiful landscapes attract thousands of tourists from around the world.
Tibet: A Day In The Life Of A Himalayan Yak Man (Video)
This video is about the daily life of a typical Himalayan yak man, and how he spend his day and how he earns the money to support his whole family. I lived with him and his family for whole two days, and followed him for the life. He lived a simple life, but he deserves all of our respect.
Walking Tour: British Museum – London (4K)
4K HDR Museum Tour – Inside the British Museum -Filmed MAY 2021
The British Museum, located in London, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art, and culture. Its permanent collection of eight million works is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world, having been gathered widely during the era of the British Empire. It was the world’s first public national museum. The Museum was established in 1753 and first opened to the public in 1759.
Mediterranean Views: The Island Of Rhodes (Video)
Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, is known for its beach resorts, ancient ruins and remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. The city of Rhodes has an Old Town featuring the medieval Street of the Knights and the castlelike Palace of the Grand Masters. Captured by the Ottomans and then held by the Italians, the palace is now a history museum.
Julia arrives in the Dodecanese, a far-flung group of islands at the gateway between Europe and the East where she visits the medieval capital of Rhodes.
Reviews: The 10 Best Places To Live In Japan (Video)
Japan is an island country in East Asia, located in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south.
Rankings: 1. Tokyo. (safe, many jobs) 2. Kyoto. (cheap, safe) 3. Hiroshima. (overall) 4. Okinawa. (overall) 5. Osaka. (cheap, jobs) 6. Yokohama. (overall) 7. Sendai. (jobs) 8. Fukuoka. (overall) 9. Kobe. (jobs) 10. Sapporo. (cheap, jobs)
Culture & Design: The ‘Chinatown’ Style In Cities
From London, to Manila, to Melbourne, Chinatowns in cities around the world share similar design elements. And that’s on purpose. Their distinct “Chinatown” style can be traced back to a single event: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which came on the heels of decades of violence and racist laws targeting Chinese communities in the US. The earthquake devastated Chinatown. But in the destruction, San Francisco’s Chinese businessmen had an idea for a fresh start: a way to keep their culture alive, by inventing a completely new one. Chinatown carved out a place for itself under the threat of hate and violence. Today, that legacy is staring us in the face.
Nicknames: Story Of New York City’s “The Big Apple”
A lot of American cities have great nicknames. But it was 100 years ago when the nation’s biggest city got its most famous one. Michelle Miller has the details on how “The Big Apple” came to signify New York.
Views: An Afternoon Tea At Greywalls Country House, Scotland (Video)
For today’s episode I am at Greywalls – an Edwardian Country House Hotel in Scotland, for Afternoon Tea. Join me for a tour of the house and garden, followed by Afternoon Tea. At the end of the video I share how to make a delicious lemon & poppyseed cake.
Overlooking Muirfield golf course, this posh hotel in an Edwardian country house dating from 1901 is 2 miles from Dirleton Castle.
Full Scottish breakfast is included. A haute French restaurant includes a whisky room, and a lounge bar offers pub fare and afternoon tea. A 6-acre walled garden features tennis courts, a croquet lawn and a putting green; massages are also available.
Boomers Daily 