Blog

12 Of The World’s Most Unusual Museums

When you think of museums, you might think of the majesty of the British Museum in London or the grand halls of the Met in New York.

But if you only focus on the famous names, you might miss out on the smaller, more unusual places.

I’ve collected together 12 of the strangest museums around the world that are all worth a visit. You’ll encounter mummies, witchcraft, shrunken heads, and souls on the way through Purgatory.

Choose carefully, and visit with an open mind. Who knows what new ideas or fascinations will emerge for you?

1. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, England

The Pitt Rivers Museum is a place close to my heart as the public front of the ARKANE Institute in my thrillers. The collection is also perhaps one of the weirdest museums in the UK. General Pitt Rivers founded the museum in 1884, and there are now over half a million objects.

By Geni - Photo by user:geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43537596 — Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Photo by Geni, Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Scuba Diving: The Wonder Of Traveling Beneath The Waves With J.F.Penn

Travel Memoir

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | TuneIn | RSS

Travel is about curiosity, the desire to discover new places and experience the extraordinary. It is often about pushing boundaries, extending our comfort zone to the point of challenge and beyond in the hope of discovering something new about ourselves and the world.

In today’s episode, I’m talking about scuba diving and the wonder of traveling beneath the waves and even if you’re not a diver yourself, I hope you find it interesting.

Jo Frances Penn scuba diving. Photo by J.F.Penn

Dreaming Spires: Historical And Unusual Sites Of Oxford, England

Unusual Places

Oxford holds a special place in my heart. I read Theology at Mansfield College 1994 – 1997, so I spent formative years cycling around the streets, spending my student loan on books from Blackwells, rowing on the river, and studying in the Radcliffe Camera library.

I first dreamed of Oxford after reading Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure back in my teens, and the experience of living in the city of dreaming spires has certainly shaped my life … and my fiction!

Oxford is a key location in the ARKANE series. Home to Morgan Sierra, it provides a point of stability in her hectic life of international travel and defeating the bad guys!

Hertford bridge best known as the Bridge of Sighs, Oxford, England. Photo licensed from BigStockPhoto

Let’s take a walk around some of the historical and unusual aspects of Oxford.

Unusual Amsterdam

Unusual Places

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.

[Read more…] about Unusual Amsterdam

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

Unusual Places

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | TuneIn | RSS

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.

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.

1. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, England

Follow Jo Frances Penn