A Trip to Italy in 1965 Through Beautiful Pics

These color pics were found by eyedot that documented a trip to Italy of two women named Bette and Dot in 1965.

Bibione. Dot, Bette, Margaret at the beach, 1965

Bibione, Italy, 1965

Bibione, Italy, 1965

Bibione, Italy, 1965

Bibione, Italy, 1965

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A Trip to Mexico of an American Family in 1958 Through Amazing Pics

A set of amazing pics from Leon Reed was captured by his father Walter Reed that shows the 1958 trip to Mexico of his family by their trailer.

“Photos of the 1958 trip to Mexico. We drove in via Nuevo Laredo, drove down to (and beyond) Mexico City (including Taxco, Cuernevaca, Teotihuacan, Morelia, etc.), and returned back via Nuevo Laredo. We were in Mexico for nearly a month. 

We traveled everywhere you could go by trailer in the years between 1950-1964, and Mexico was by far the most spectacular trip in every sense of the word: most fabulous sights (both natural wonders and manmade/historic stuff), most "different" place, etc. 

 My only regret is that we didn't get far enough south or east to see any Maya sites -- a shortcoming I need to fix in the next couple years.”

Mexican roadside scene

Arch, Leon (Lion) on Christmas Day in Mexico

Burro caravan alongside road

Cuernavaca cathedral

Cuernavaca street market

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Rare Photos of a Very Young George Harrison Taken by Paul McCartney During a Hitchhiking to Wales, 1959

“Best times with George? We hitchhiked to a place in Wales called Harlech, and we were kids before The Beatles. We had heard a song “Men Of Harlech”, saw it at a sign post, yeah, there was a big castle. And we just went there. We had our guitars everywhere and we ended up in this cafe. You know, we’d try to go to a place, a central meeting place, and in Harlech, there was this little cafe that had a jukebox. So this was home. So we sat around there. So we met a guy, he started talking, he was into rock and roll, you know, we went and stayed at his house. So it was great, me and George top and tailing it in a bed.” – Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney and George Harrison at the time only lived one stop apart from each other at what they called ‘The Trading Estates’ in Speke. On these bus rides George had found out that Paul played the trumpet and was getting a guitar and Paul found out that George played guitar, the two would get together at night and played from what Paul remembers songs like “Besame Mucho” and “Don’t Rock me Daddy O”.

Paul and George became friends fast even taking a hitchhiking trip to Wales in August 1959, before they were even famous or in The Beatles.

“One year, Paul and I decided to go hitchhiking. It’s something nobody would dream about these days. Firstly you’d probably be mugged before you got through the Mersey Tunnel, and secondly everybody’s got cars and is already stuck in a traffic jam. I’d often gone down with my family down South to Devon, to Exmouth, so Paul and I decided to go there first.

“We didn’t have much money. We found bed-and-breakfast places to stay. We got to one town, and we were walking down a street and it was getting dark. We saw a woman and said, ‘Excuse me, do you know if there’s somewhere we could stay?’ She felt sorry for us and said, ‘My boy’s away, come and stay at my house.’ So she took us to hers - where we beat her, tied her up and robbed her of all her money! Only joking; she let us stay in her boy’s room and the next morning cooked us breakfast. She was really nice. I don’t know who she was - the Lone Ranger?

“We continued along the South coast, towards Exmouth. Along the way we talked to a drunk in a pub who told us his name was Oxo Whitney. (He later appears in ‘A Spaniard in the Works.’ After we’d told John that story, he used the name. So much of John’s books is from funny things people told him.) Then we went on to Paignton. We still had hardly any money. We had a little stove, virtually just a tin with a lid. You poured a little meths into the bottom of it and it just about burned, not with any velocity. We had that, and little backpacks, and we’d stop at grocery shops. We’d buy Smedley’s spaghetti bolognese or spaghetti milanese. They were in striped tins: milanese was red stripes, bolognese was dark blue stripes. And Ambrosia creamed rice. We’d open a can, bend back the lid and hold the can over the stove to warm it up. That was what we lived on.

“We got to Paignton with no money to spare so we slept on the beach for the night. Somewhere we’d met two Salvation Army girls and they stayed with us and kept us warm for a while. But later it became cold and damp, and I remember being thankful when we decided that was enough and got up in the morning and started walking again. We went up through North Devon and got a ferry boat across to South Wales, because Paul had a relative who was a redcoat at Butlins at Pwllheli, so we thought we’d go there.

“At Chepstow, we went to the police station and asked to stay in a cell. They said, ‘No, bugger off. You can go in the football grandstand, and tell the cocky watchman that we said it was OK.’ So we went and slept on a hard board bench. Bloody cold. We left there and hitchhiked on. Going north through Wales we got a ride on a truck. The trucks didn’t have a passenger seat in those days so I sat on the engine cover. Paul was sitting on the battery. He had on jeans with zippers on the back pockets and after a while he suddenly leapt up screaming. His zipper had connected the positive and negative end in the battery, got red hot and burnt a zipper mark across his arse.

“When we eventually got to Butlins, we couldn’t get in. It was like a German prisoner-of-war camp - Stalag 17 or something. They had barbed-wire fences to keep the holiday-makers in, and us out. So we had to break in.” – George Harrison , The Beatles Anthology.

George while hitchhiking, August 1959. (Photo taken by Paul)

George Harrison outside Hare & Hounds in Gloucestershire while hitchhiking with Paul McCartney in August 1959. (Photo taken by Paul McCartney)

George Harrison during the hitchhiking trip, August 1959. (Photo taken by Paul McCartney)

George Harrison and Paul McCartney hitchhiking, August 1959.

Here’s another photograph of a young George Harrison taken by Paul McCartney, ca. late 1950s.

Holiday Nostalgia Train: Take a Ride on a Vintage 1930s NYC Subway Car

Each year during the month of December, New York residents can witness the Holiday Nostalgia Train Rides up and running.

The MTA is bringing back Holiday Nostalgia Rides on vintage train cars, with the 1930s R1/9 train cars, which will depart from Second Avenue F train station. Here’s what the New York Transit Museum says:

“The Holiday Nostalgia Train consists of eight cars from the 1930s that ran along lettered lines through the late-1970s. The vintage Independent Subway System (IND) cars were used by the first subway company operated by the City of New York. Modern for their time, the R1/9s complimented the IND’s Depression-Era Art Deco aesthetic. Featuring rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements, these are the cars that inspired Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train.” Today, they are preserved as part of the New York Transit Museum’s collection.”

The Holiday Nostalgia Train is made up of subway cars in service from 1932 until 1977. Three of the subway trains, from the 1930s, usually reside in the Brooklyn-based NY Transit Museum, which takes them out on a special-occasion-only basis.

Ceiling fans, padded seats, and incandescent light bulbs were state-of-the-art when these cars were first placed in service. Each car holds about 70 seats. About four cars are returned to service for the delight of nostalgic riders, train buffs, and folks looking for a funky way to time travel in the Big Apple.

Not only the trains but their fixers and mechanics, too, are a rarity. As one can imagine, these are historic cars, and only a handful of experts today actually know how to use and repair trains that were designed to function mechanically.

So, pick your era and go for a ride. You might dress up like a 1930s flapper or a 1960s fop...

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No ID, No Problem: 25 Vintage Photos That Show What It Was Really Like to Fly During the Golden Age of Air Travel

Known as the ‘Golden Age of Travel,’ commercial flights really took off between the 1950s and the 1960s. And once you check out about the glamorous styles and luxurious perks that came with flying back then, it’s understandable why the era was dubbed as such. Just take a look at these vintage travel photos that will transport you back to the romanticized period and all it had to offer.

1. High Altitudes at High Prices

Today, there are countless websites designed to specifically help flyers find the cheapest price for their plane tickets. There are even credit cards that allow frequent fliers to collect points to use toward purchasing airfare. We bet flyers in the 1950s would have loved these deals, judging by the sky-high prices they paid to fly.

Air travel was relatively expensive back in the day. A flight from Chicago to Phoenix could cost about $150 round trip. Does not seem like a lot? Well, consider adjusting that price for inflation and that domestic trip would be around $1,200 in today’s money. But the amenities coming up on this list will show why the price tag might have been totally worth it.


2. Well Situated

Today, getting on a plane to travel for a long distance flight might mean a few sleepless hours. With so many people packed onto a commercial flight, getting a little shut-eye can be nearly impossible. And the complimentary blankets and sleep masks, while a nice gesture, aren’t always enough to help.

So those who are unable to sleep on today’s planes will be jealous of what flyers got to enjoy in the 1950s. Back then, no one needed a first class ticket to get a “sleeper seat.” A reclining seat was provided to everyone, and was able to basically lay flat.


3. Plane and Powder

Freshening up in an airplane can be pretty difficult today. There are even beauty blogs that give tips for in-air best practices. And if a flyer wants to try to get a little privacy in an airplane bathroom well, let’s just say “good luck.” There is barely any space in there to do practically much of anything.

So just imagine the luxury that came with having an in-flight powder room, complete with a seat, desk and vanity. That was what it was like for some women who flew in the mid-20th century aboard a jet airliner. And that is not even the top luxury that was provided on vintage planes, but we’ll get to that.


4. Fancy Feasts

Flights are not exactly known for their food. Some flights offer lackluster choices that come with a long flight, usually served in a sad, aluminum box that it is hard not to frown over. Other airlines are starting to charge an extra cost for provisions.

But back in the Golden Age of Travel, airlines competed for which could serve the most lavish meals. Passengers were given soups, salads, vegetables, desserts, roast beef and even lobster to enjoy mid-air. Real dishes and silverware were used. Try ordering the lobster next time you board a flight and let us know how that goes.


5. Dressed to Impress

During the Golden Age of air travel, landing yourself a seat on a flight was definitely something to brag about. The time period marked a moment in which airplanes were not just a way to get to vacation destinations, but the flights themselves were a classy part of the whole experience.

While today everyone seems to wear their most comfortable sweatpants on planes, during the Golden Age, people dressed to the nines to fly. Women wore dresses and jewelry with elegantly coiffed hair, and men wore full suits. But after reading the exorbitant cost of a short flight, anyone would understand why people dressed their best for the experience.

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Beautiful Photos Document the European Journey of a Couple by Their Vespa in 1959

A cool photo set from Berit Håkansson shows the European journey of a couple by their Vespa in May 1959.

Danmark

Strandvejen towards Helsingör

Copenhagen City Hall

Ferry trip to Denmark

Charming villages

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Old Snaps Capture People Going on Their Picnics in the 1950s and 1960s

What did picnics look like in the 1950s and '60s? Just check out these old snaps to see.

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50 Amazing Found Snaps Show European Trips of Three Ladies in the Mid-1930s

This album, a car boot sale find, from trashingdays that features European road trips in 1936 and 1938 by a group of 3 ladies, as well as travels around the UK, Madeira, the Canary Isles and North Africa.

Madeira. Flower women, bullock carts

Madeira. Flower women on quay

Madeira. Funchal

Madeira. Street scenes

On the back it says: "Sunday morning - on way from Porrentruy to Interlaken, via Delemont"

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Travels with Bill: A Wonderful Photo Collection That Document the 1963 USA Tour of an American Couple

Here below is a wonderful photo collection from John F. Ciesla that shows his 1963 USA tour with his close friend named Bill.

“Travels with Bill.

USA trip, April through June 1963.

Close friend, William J. Armstrong passed away in March of 2013 at the age of 80. I came in possession of his many travel slides which he had taken through the years, and felt it would be an honor to share these many fine photos for all to see. One of Bill’s many interests was in transportation, and included almost all forms, from the streetcar, to the Jet plane. Early on, he could be found with a simple box camera taking photos of 3rd Avenue Railway streetcars in his native Bronx and nearby southern Westchester County. As he matured, the circle of travel increased to all of the New York metropolitan area, and then to other cities. Bill loved to travel, to see and experience not only his native New York, but the country as well. His interests went far beyond just transportation, but included history, geography, geology, and photography.

Arizona State Route 64, East of Grand Canyon

In April of 1963, a thirty year old Bill Armstrong set out on a two and one half month journey to see the country. He had just purchased a new 1963 Ford Falcon four door sedan, teal green in color and equipped with a rare 4 speed manual transmission mated to the base six cylinder engine. The car would take him across the plains of Texas, through the searing heat of Death Valley, along the Pacific Coast, and to Crater Lake where snow was still packed higher than his car. He drove north to Vancouver, Canada and then south along the eastern front of the Rockies. He and his trusty Falcon would visit many of the fabled National Parks such as the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, and Yosemite. Cities such as Houston, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Most of the driving was done on the old network of US highways, as the Interstate highway system was largely to be built.

Viewing these slides we are seeing our nation as it was over fifty-five years ago. JF Kennedy was President, but would only live a few months longer. Our nation was engaged in a war in Viet Nam that would go on throughout the decade. The civil rights movement was growing as the decade progressed, and then Martin Luther King would be killed. But our nation was still optimistic for the future, and in six years we would land on the moon. Ours was a different nation then, and looking at these photos we see how styles have changed, and just look at all the “old” cars.

Bill loved to share his photos, and presented many evening slide shows during the years. I’m sure he would be pleased, and humbled, that his photos have been preserved and restored as much as possible. Time has not been kind to his color slides. After fifty years the colors have either faded or have changed tint. Bill shot many of his slides using Kodak Ektachrome, which faded very rapidly after developing. Many of those slides could only be saved into a black and white format. Fortunately during the 1963 trip he began to change over to Kodachrome slide film which held up far better. Although Kodachrome turned somewhat purple and darker over the years, a quick session with Photoshop managed to restore much of the color and sharpness. I have included several of the original Ektachrome slides as “before” images for comparison purposes.

This trip served to take Bill from a basic photographer to a highly competent scenic photographer. One can see his mastery of the camera improve as the trip progresses. Note how composition improves, and the use of foreground elements becomes evident during the trip. These photos were all taken with a relatively basic 35mm rangefinder camera with manual focus, lens and shutter adjustment. Bill never used a light meter, instead using the simple instructions provided on the inside of the film box, and let’s not forget the very slow speed of those old color slide films.
So enjoy the trip through Bill’s USA….I’m sure he is smiling.

John F. Ciesla ”

Alabama. Birmingham, view from hotel room

Approach to 25R United Airlines DC8 at LAX

Arcata Redwood logging

Arizona. California State Line near Yuma

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16 Glamorous Vintage Photographs That Show Celebrities Enjoying Venice, Italy From Between the 1950s and 1970s

These vintage photographs, dating from the 1950s to the 1970s, showed everyone from actors to painters enjoying Venice, Italy. The city was host to the world's first film festival and long attracted the rich and famous to its renowned waterways. Some like Salvador Dali enjoyed a relaxing gondola ride while American actress Gene Tierney tried rowing instead.

Gene Tierney, wearing a striped short-sleeved nautical-style shirt, donning a hat, tries her hand at rowing a gondola, Venice, 1951.

Kirk Douglas, wearing a swimming suit and a necklace chainlet, signing on the thigh of the paintress Novella Parigini, wearing a strapless bikini and round earrings, a woman wearing a strapless polka-dotted bikini, Lido Beach, Venice 1953.

Ernest Hemingway, wearing a short sleeves shirt over a plaid shirt, his hurted arm bendaged, drinking vodka from the bottle, Venice 1954.

Gary Cooper, on a venitian gondola, Venice 1955.

Sophia Loren at the Venice Film Festival, 1955

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