I agree with your comments about London. Other than an occasional Pete or Savinelli, not much in the way of non-English briar.Cologne also has several good shops.
You would think London would be on the list of the best. Sorry, it's not on my list. A couple of times when I was there I visited several shops which had large selections of pipes and tobaccos. After looking around for a while I asked if they had any Castellos. In every case, not only did they not have any, which I can understand, but they all acted like they never heard of them. Yeah, right! What a bunch of b.s. that was. I'll finish my rant by thanking my great, great grandfather for leaving that town an immigrating to the United States.
Not just that, but in Berlin I saw restaurants even have a humidor on the counter, in plain sight, for their customers to enjoy a postprandial cigar.
Although I've never visited myself, I would suggest Saint-Claude, France; the birthplace of the briar pipe.
Chicago's nickname of "the windy city" is an old political observation not a meteorological appellation. Although wind is a factor there as well.
I never knew that. I always assumed it being situated next to a Great Lake made it windy. The internet is actually giving yours, mine, and other reasons as the etymology so who knows. It would seem the reason you gave still holds true in my experience haha.
That's right. In some good restaurants in Spain too, years ago.
We used to have a Frederick Pipe Club, and met at Quartermasters. (then our club guy, sold his share of the shop).
