Geography Div (Nostalgia subsection)

When I entered the travel industry I worked for the Auto Club (AAA) as a "Service Counselor." The biggest part of the job was marking maps and producing "Trip-Tiks" for members. The "trip-tik" was a bound series of strip maps showing the towns, services and points of interest along the route. They were assembled and marked by hand (Mapquest, etc had not yet made an appearance). Many folks were amazed to see one for the first time. However, they've been around for a long time. Here's one from 1250:

At first glance, this medieval itinerary map by Matthew Paris doesn’t even look like a map. Instead, it’s a line of castles and buildings crossed by red text and blue waves. The map charts a route from London to the Holy Land, highlighting all the sights along the way. The mapmaker included rivers and hills, alternate routes, and places to stop on a religious pilgrimage.  At the bottom left of the map, you can see Matthew Paris’s depiction of London as a thick city wall ringing a blue church.  Like many medieval maps, this one was not intended to be carried on the road. It was an expensive work of art that may have been used for an imagined pilgrimage - one where the pilgrim never had to leave England.