From The Strange Tours File

Last weekend was the big wedding in Great Britain. Meghan and Harry have begun their life as husband and wife. It's the story little girls love--meeting your prince and becoming a princess (actually a duchess). Bring on the unicorns. Like millions of others I watched, at least for a little while. I had to smile as the very solemn faced Brits listened to a very animated pastor deliver a message.

Well now the Brits have given me another thing to smile about. They have a great sense of humor. It's often unexpected and catches you off-guard. For instance there is a London tour company that takes you on unusual themed tours. The name of the company is London Loo Tours. Now if you don't know that the Brits use the term loo for bathroom or toilet it may not strike a chord with you and make you smile. I'm truly smiling as I write this.

So, there are four tours you can choose from, the original loo tour, the Bloomsbury loo tour, the Thomas Crapper's Times and, I'm sure what would be one of my grandsons' favorites, the Fart Tour. The description of the original tour sent me into peals of laughter:

Our classic route runs from Waterloo to the West End, exploring the potty politics of public toilets. From stories of intrigue to practical tips, this tour is an investment in your bladder future! Never be caught short again!

Okay moving on to the Bloomsbury:

We put the Loo in Bloomsbury! This tour travels from Euston Square to Holburn and plumbs the depths of the history of health and hygiene, investigating how the toilet as we know it evolved from scientific discovery and social convention.

Now that seems a bit more educational. Even more educational would be the Thomas Crapper Tour. While he's been falsely credited with inventing the flush toilet, he was still a marvel at depth plumbing inventions and has quite a few patents to his name. Here's the description of that tour:

This tour travels through the Kensington area where Thomas Crapper lived and worked. Learn about the man and the myths and legends that have followed him and his famous surname!

And I finish with the newest tour, the Fart tour:

The Fart Tour with Amber-Loo, which journeys through Soho to celebrate the fun and discover the facts of our greatest bodily function.

So, if you find yourself in London and getting bored with all the usual touristy stops perhaps you'll give one of these a go--if you're flush with some cash of course.

City Tours With A Twist

There is a tour in Cleveland I keep promising myself we are going to do someday. It's an Eliot Ness tour showing the highlights of the city in relation to one of America's great crime fighters who carried a badge instead of wearing a cape. Of course we are home to Superman too. When we travel around the world and stop in a city, we usually take a hop-on hop-off bus if it's available but in some cities there are city tours that introduce you to colorful aspects of the city you may not discover on your own.

While we thought about doing a tour of the Paris sewers, we somehow didn't manage that when we were there. We did however do the Red Light District in Amsterdam (some of it with my eyes covered). Most of the city tours you do on excursions from a cruise ship give the highlights and some historical sights but Smarter Travel.com has come up with a list of 10 Truly Unique City Tours.

The first one that strikes my fancy is the 1960s Summer of Love Tour. It's a trip down memory lane in San Francisco pointing out the important memorable spots for the hippie movement in that city. You ride in a psychedelic bus but it's "joint-free."

London, England has an unusual tour. It's led by someone who actually lives or has lived on the streets. This tour company takes homeless or past homeless folks and trains them as guides. You get the colorful stories of life on the streets and see all the historical points of interest in a whole new light.

The last tour that really piqued my interest is in Toronto, Canada with a professional photographer who not only shows you the sights but helps you set up the pictures and even takes some for you. The tour is a bit prices but comes with 50 professional digital shots for you shortly afterward. It would be nice to take a tour and have someone else snap the pictures for a change.

That's what caught my attention. Check out the article and see what tickles your travel bug.