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Temporary Wind Pavilion Opens in London

Aeolus in Lyme Park ©Luke Jerram In Greek mythology, Aeolus was the ruler of the winds. In modern day London, Aeolus is the newest outdoor pavilion designed to use wind movement to create sounds. The piece is also part light installation, consisting of steel tubes that serve as view finders of the surrounding landscape of [...]

Italian Mayor Bans Death, Says Cemetery is Full

“Please sir, can you spare a plot?”   ©nataliemaynor No one looks forward to their last days, but the mayor of a village south of Naples, Italy is now telling his residents that they’re banned from dying. And he’s dead serious. The village of Falciano del Massico does not have enough room in their local cemetery to accommodate [...]

Post Office Opens in Slovenian Cave

The “post office cave”; Postojna, Slovenia   ©architizer.com Long used for underground concerts over the years, a cave in Slovenia has now been fashioned into a post office. Postojna has been visited by humans since the 17th century, and as of this year was developed into the first-ever post office within a cave. Materials for the [...]

Russia Considers Making Vacation Mandatory for Children

Russia | Kremlin ©josef.stuefer Russian children could be sent on compulsory seaside holidays every three years if a law, currently being debated by Russian MPs, comes to fruition. The potential state-funded scheme would cost at least 2.5 billion pounds a year. Russian MPs hope to improve the health of the nation’s youngest citizens by footing [...]

World BASE Race: The Most Dangerous Race on Earth

Jumpers in World BASE Race © Ivar Brennhovd Two competitors stand side-by-side, waiting for the signal to begin. If they’re a little more nervous than your average race competitors, there’s a good reason: this is not your average speed trial. The track for this event is a 750-meter (2,500 foot) drop down the side of [...]

Former Wind Turbines Used to Create Dutch Playground

Wikado playground; Rotterdam, Netherlands  ©Architizer.com The Dutch are most known for tulips, cannabis and windmills. One Dutch architecture firm has recently put one of those national icons (don’t worry, it’s legal) to good use. Architecture firm 2012Architecten designed a Rotterdam playground using discarded wind turbine blades. Wikado playground might look dangerous on first glance, but [...]

British Landmark’s Name may be changed to Honor Queen Elizabeth II

Introducing…the tower of Queen Elizabeth II? ©AndyG1983 It must be great to be a queen–especially when your country may officially name a prized landmark in your honor. British lawmakers want to change the name of Big Ben to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne). At the present time, Big Ben [...]

French Tourism Campaign Uses Photo of South African Beach

French advertising campaign ©Daily Mail France’s tourism bosses spent more than £500,000 on a ad campaign to showcase northern France, and the French Mediterranean coast only to discover that one of the images used is of a South African beach. The advertising campaign–an attempt to lure British holidaymakers to France during the Olympic Games–shows a [...]

Budget Olympics 2012: Where to Find London Pubs & Grub on the Cheap

If you’re lucky enough to have scored Olympics tickets and found a hotel in London that’s not twenty miles away from the stadium and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, well done! But your mission isn’t completed yet; the Olympics will still push up the price of everything in the city. First rule of [...]

Photo of the Moment: Sunset on Sea, Lithuania

© Artiom Ponkratenko

Brits Consider Changing the Name of an Iconic London Landmark

Big Ben ©markhillary Senior members of the UK Parliament are backing a drive to change the name of the iconic Clock Tower, to Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. Commonly referred to as “Big Ben” the tower is officially named “the Clock Tower” and Big Ben is technically the giant bell inside the [...]

Photo of the Moment: Another Night in Paris

© Zdenko Zivkovic

The Other Munich Beer Fest

Prost! ©lindsey gee Starkbierzeit, an annual Lenten celebration is noted as Munich’s “stronger” beer festival. Starkbierzeit is loosely translated to “strong beer festival” and highlights the doppelbock. The Paulaner am Nockherberg Brewery takes its name from the Paulaner monks who produced the original doppelbock called Salvator, Latin for savior. The monks brewed the high-gravity beers [...]

The Staggering Beauty of Iceland’s Glacier Lagoon

Even in a country well known for its astounding natural beauty, Jökulsárlón stands out. The combination of majestic floating icebergs, the giant icy blue lagoon, the contrasting black of the sandy shore and the soaring dome of the nearby Vatnajökull ice cap is so breathtaking, it hardly seems real. It’s no wonder this amazing lagoon [...]

Dutch Book Retailer Opens Newest Store in Cathedral

Holy bookstore Batman! ©architizer.com Dutch bookstore Selexyz opened their newest store in a location that blends old and new–a 13th century Dominican cathedral. The cathedral, located in Maastricth, Holland is still preserved, with newer features housing the books. The architects were careful to use minimal lighting to preserve the integrity of the original space, which [...]

Abandoned U.K. Mall Sets Up Zombie Fighting Experience

The Reading Mall–bringing new meaning to Midnight Madness shopping ©Digital Sextant Just when you thought you were adequately prepared for the Zombie apocalypse, comes a zombie fighting experience in an abandoned Reading mall. The £119 three hour experience promises to make your typical jaunt to the mall very unique: You won’t be shopping for that [...]

Alcatraz Hotel Opens With Real Prison Experience

The Alcatraz experience–in London © odditycentral.com It might sound like the perfect April Fool’s joke, but a hotel with the “likeness” of Alcatraz opened in London last week. The hotel opened in time for the British debut of the new TV show “Alcatraz”. Potential “prisoners” were given uniforms, had their mugshots taken, and were expected [...]

Lady Mary and Ronald Weasly Want Brits to Have a Staycation

Kilchurn Castle ©wjmarnoch “No passport, no jabs, no visas, no euros.” A new star-studded VisitBritain campaign is urging Britons to skip going abroad and instead opt for a holiday at home in 2012. Dame Judi Dench asserts that “Woodsworth didn’t wander into the nearest taverna, no he wandered lowly as a cloud right here, in [...]

Newly Renovated London Train Station to House Harry Potter’s Platform 9 3/4

One of the many temporary locations of the Platform; King’s Cross Station  ©londonist.com The fabled Platform 9 3/4 from the “Harry Potter” novels has found a home at a real train station in London. With renovations coming to a close at King’s Cross Station, a map of the new station was recently released showing a [...]

Long-Lost Leonardo da Vinci Fresco May Exist in Florence

Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” ©wikipedia.org A team of art researchers and scientists may have uncovered a 500 year old mystery–on a wall at Florence’s city hall building. The team behind the “Lost Leonardo” project believe that a lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco is hiding behind said wall. Using medical-style endoscopic probes and other high-tech tools, [...]

The Queen’s Advice for Staying Healthy While Abroad

Trooping the Colour, Saturday June 16th 2007 ©Jon’s pics She has spent a lifetime traveling the globe meeting with her subjects and foreign dignitaries so it seems only natural that Queen Elizabeth II has developed her own ways of ensuring she stays healthy on the road. The beans were spilled on the British monarch’s travel [...]

Stay at 10 History-Making Hotels

Hotel Nacional de Cuba ©NatalieMaynor Sometimes a hotel room is more than just a place to sleep. On your next trip, instead of staying at a “historic hotel” stay at a hotel that has helped made history. These 10 hotels compiled by CNN give travelers the opportunity to rest their heads in rooms that have [...]

Photo of the Moment: The House in the Woods, Sweden

© Erik Söderström

Mobile Food Tour to Travel Throughout Iceland

A view of Reykjavik, Iceland © lonelyplanet.com Adventurous foodies take note–for twelve days, the Eldhús, “Iceland’s Little House of Food”, will travel throughout the country treating guests to the finest Icelandic cuisine. Eldhús is literally a house on wheels staffed by volunteers alongside noted surprise chefs. The tour kicked off on March 7th and a [...]

The Story of ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ [Video]

A short film that tells the story behind the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster. Its origins at the beginning of WWII and its rediscovery in a bookshop in England in 2000, becoming one of the iconic images of the 21st century.

Spanish Restaurant Uses Volcanic Heat to Cook Meals

Parrillada en el volcán ©Mon Labiaga Ferrer El Diablo, a restaurant in Timanfaya National Park on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, is cooking up food for tourists in a strange and innovative way. At the restaurant, dishes are barbecued on a grill heated using geothermal volcanic heat. The one-of-a-kind grill was designed by architects Eduardo [...]

“Under the Tuscan Sun” Villa Sold for $12.5 Million

The Italian villa featured in “Under the Tuscan Sun” ©MSNBC.com The 10-bedroom Tuscan villa featured in the 2003 film “Under the Tuscan Sun” has been sold for $12.5 million. Fred and Nancy Cline of Sonoma, California purchased the villa three years after the movie was released. In the film, Diane Lane relocates to Tuscany and [...]

Vatican Showcases Archives to the Public for the First Time

Aerial view of The Vatican ©rachmaninoff Documents in the Vatican’s Secret Archives date from the 8th to the 20th Centuries, and now these documents will be on view to the public for the first time. Among the featured documents are a letter to Pope Clement VII in 1530 urging him to annul Henry VIII’s first marriage [...]

Marseilles Hotel Features Room Designed by Graffiti Artist

Tilt’s “Panic Room” at Au Veux Panier ©architizer.com If you happen to stay at the Au Veux Panier in Marseilles,  you could be a very lucky traveler. The hotel regularly enlists the help of artists to create rotating exhibits in their rooms. One such artist–Tilt, completed a recent graffiti art installation. Stepping into the room is [...]

Photo of the Moment: Into the Blue, Malta

© Jon Rawlinson

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