sightseeing

Most Americans who visited Europe at the time were likely to go for the “grand” part of the grand tour: They traveled first class by propeller plane and ocean liner, steamer trunks in tow; booked pricey accommodations; went sightseeing with herds of other Americans; and retired in the evenings to hotels where, as Mr. Frommer wrote, “English fills the air” and “bridge games go on in the lobby.”

To Mr. Frommer, travel wasn’t just about sightseeing in foreign places; it was about seeing those places on their own terms, removing the membrane that separated them from us.

In a place where food can be pricey, it’s a budget-conscious salve to a grumbling stomach and a quick stop-off in between a busy sightseeing itinerary.

A sightseeing tour company in San Diego is having to hit the brakes on rentals after about 30 of its vehicles, including several powered by lithium-ion batteries, went up in flames Thursday night, authorities said.

Though the sightseeing may, at first, seem like a device to throw the estranged David and Benji together for a much needed if inevitably fraught reunion, Eisenberg deftly blends the story’s strands in darkly amusing, moving and combustible ways.