Best of Europe/On Writing Well/Cellar Door
Recomendo - issue #430
Best Europe guides
My chief go-to guide for Europe is Rick Steves, who has made yearly trips to Europe over 40 years, and personally updates his guides. I trust his advice for anywhere in Europe and found him incredibly reliable in his details. He’ll not only tell you where to go, but also what window to get the ticket the fastest, and when is the best time of day to visit, etc. Most important, he will guide you to the best experiences – the evensong choir at the church, the cheesemaking place with samples, the back entrance to the museum, etc. Standard guides like Lonely Planet or Fodors are obliged to cover the whole country, while Steves smartly just directs you to the selected best. I have all the Rick Steves’ guides, and keep them updated. I find it very worthwhile to optimize my travel by buying the latest edition for a relatively small price compared to the cost of the trip. For a good example try Rick Steves’ Best of Europe (2024). — KK
A guide to writing well
William Zinsser's book On Writing Well emphasizes clarity and brevity. He urges writers to cut excess, avoid jargon, and express ideas simply. Don't fret about style. Strip your sentences, and your voice will emerge. I’ve read it three times and it always pays off. — MF
Find the most beautiful word
Cellar Door is on a mission to find the most beautiful word in the English language based on public voting. To participate, all you need to do is pick between two word choices until you get tired of doing so. It's fun to reflect on your personal picks and notice how some words seem to hold more charm than others. This process allows you to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of words, such as their sound and rhythm, regardless of their meaning. As of today, the current word on the leaderboard is: diagnostics. — CD
Long technical interviews
I am enjoying another new podcast doing very long interviews on fairly technical topics. Dwarkesh Patel’s superpower is asking unusual questions that no one has asked the guest before. His Dwarkesh Podcast (also on YouTube) goes deep – and long – on AI, history, and frontier sciences. It’s the ultimate nerd enjoyment. — KK
The Art of Saying No
Found on Reddit, here is a cute illustration of very polite and empathetic ways to decline social invitations. I typically respond with a combination of "thank you for thinking of me" and "I'm sorry I can't make it." If it's someone I definitely want to spend time with, I follow up with an invitation to meet up in the near future. — CD
Free calligraphy classes from Montblanc
My dad gave my daughter his Montblanc fountain pen that’s 50 years old. She went to a Montblanc store nearby, and they cleaned out the dried ink for free. They also mentioned the free online calligraphy classes Montblanc offers. Anyone can join, even if you only have a Bic pen. We took the one-hour French Cursive class together and loved it. You can also watch past sessions. Be sure to download and print the exercise sheets for the classes. — MF
Recomendo is an authentic, hand-crafted, human-written weekly newsletter that is free, but not cheap. Consider supporting our work with a paid option, now at the low price of $45 per year. Paid subs enable us to keep making it free for others. Recomendo is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper and Book Freak.
Recomendo Unclassified Ads work! Here’s how to reach over 88,400 subscribers for just $150.
UNCLASSIFIEDS
My First Million: Life Hacks from Nick Gray: I was interviewed on the famous business podcast last week. 5 new business ideas you can try, how I would live my life if I had $10M, and more. Listen or read on my personal blog here.
Be an everyday genius. Learning a little every day can have a huge impact—especially if you're learning on Brilliant. Explore thousands of bite-sized, interactive lessons on everything from math and data analysis to programming, AI, and beyond. Try it free for 30 days.
Mark Your Calendars - Amazon Just Announced The Dates of October Prime Day 2024! This highly anticipated event is sure to be the first big kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Here's everything we know so far.
Seasonspree is a cozy time-nudging game where you play as a cheerful little tanuki walking around a tiny planet full of other animals. Help your friends as you control the direction of time with simple controls and low-stress. Great for all ages.
Want to get more clients from your content? This one-paragraph newsletter shows you how based on how others have done so. That's why 32,249 subscribers read it.
I couldn't get cellar door to show 2 words to me. And the link in the art of saying no didn't work for me either. Maybe that could get fixed? Otherwise, I really enjoyed this particular Recomendo email. Thank you.