Tom Royce

Tom Royce writes The Travel Bloggers, guides to lesser-known towns — markets, rivers, neighborhoods, food, and where to stay — for travelers who skip template itineraries. Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, he started traveling young (cross-country trips from New York to California at 15, a solo flight to Australia at 17, and studying in Europe during college) and later built a standby-travel life after marrying a flight attendant. Recent trips include time in Paris and a Rome-based look at Italy, with day trips to Pompeii and the towns around Sorrento.

Trade saints lean from Ludwigstraße façades in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

October 28, 2026 by Tom Royce

Vintage postcard collage of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a banner reading 'Greetings from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany' and circular scenic insets (mountains, church, bridge, waterfall, chalets).

Most visitors treat Garmisch-Partenkirchen as a base camp with a ticket booth. They ride the Zugspitzbahn, photograph the Olympic ski jump from the bus, and leave before they notice that this place is still two towns sharing one postcode. I stay for Partenkirchen’s Ludwigstraße. House saints, trade symbols, and painted windows lean out over a … Read more

Egypt Point still marks the Island’s northern tip above the Solent in Cowes

October 28, 2026 by Tom Royce

Lighthouse on a stone jetty at sunset, with sailboats moored in a calm harbor nearby.

Cowes is yachting capital for a lot of people — Cowes Week flags, Squadron blazers, Red Jet wakes slapping The Parade. I keep walking west along the sea wall past the green until the town thins and the coast tips into open water. Egypt Point still marks the Island’s northern tip above the Solent in … Read more

Sandbags still hold the chord at St. Burchardi in Halberstadt

October 27, 2026 by Tom Royce

Vintage Halberstadt, Germany postcard with six circular landmarks surrounding a cream ribbon reading 'HALBERSTADT' in bold red letters.

You hear it before you quite believe it. Not a fanfare. Just a low organ tone hanging in the bare stone of St. Burchardi, held by sandbags on the keys and a bellows that refuses to hurry. John Cage’s ORGAN²/ASLSP has sounded here since the turn of the millennium, stretched toward 2640. Chord changes arrive … Read more

Morning fish under the vaults at Mercato San Benedetto, Cagliari

October 27, 2026 by Tom Royce

Vintage postcard showing Cagliari landmarks—Bastione di Saint Remy, towers, amphitheater, cathedral, and Palazzo Regio—under 'Greetings from Cagliari'.

The ground floor smells of salt before you see the ice. Under the vaults of Mercato San Benedetto, crates of fish still drip from the night boat. Women behind the counters call out prices without looking up from their knives. I come for that early hour more than for the Bastione views that end up … Read more

Fish Boats Tied Under the Corniche at Vallon des Auffes, Marseille

October 27, 2026 by Tom Royce

Vintage postcard reading 'Greetings from MARSEILLES, FRANCE' with harbor scenes and landmarks in circular frames.

Most visitors meet Marseille at the Vieux-Port, where the water is wide, and the photos look pre-approved. Fair enough — the harbor has earned the attention. But the city I keep returning to sits a short bus or long walk west, where the Corniche lifts over a notch in the cliff, and a fishing cove … Read more

Fornici under Corso Resina in Herculaneum

October 26, 2026 by Tom Royce

Vintage postcard collage of Herculaneum, Italy, showing key sites: House of the Deer, Neptune and Amphitrite mosaic, wooden two-storey façade, College of the Augustales fresco sacellum, large palaestra pool with fountain, and Samnite House atrium.

Most visitors treat Herculaneum like Pompeii’s quieter cousin — half a day, then the Circumvesuviana hauls them somewhere louder. I stay for the lower edge of the dig, where the ancient beach sits under hardened mud and a row of arched boat sheds holds what the polished streets above only hint at. The modern town … Read more