AirBnB, constant bad press notwithstanding, has created a wonderful new model on how to travel. Almost everyone wins. VRBO, an Expedia company (and one of our valued affiliate friends,) have taken the model and successfully given AirBnB a run for their money: in some recent months, they have marched past AirBnB in bookings. But, this…
Those with tin foil hats, look away now.
People are people and, therefore, unpredictable. Sometimes that's fine (and fun) but when it comes to wrangling millions of us at a time, that can be . . not fun.
In the UK, Transport for London is using aggregated and anonymised data from its wi-fi network to provide real-time…
Nature provides, if we respect her. And respect is something that seems to be in short supply nowadays. Automobiles still (mostly) run on 1900's technology, we still pump fuel out of the ground, which has untold repercussions. The worst thing is that we know better and have the technologies, and yet, we as humans, are…
Venice in peril. If it's ancient foundations crumbling, and literal hoards of tourists aren't troubling enough, Venice is now being genuinely threatened by the gargantuan cruise ships that pull up to the ancient city. So much so, that UNESCO has put Venice on its endangered list unless Italy permanently banned cruise ships from docking in…
Europeans - and we include the UK here - generally tend to be ahead of the curve when it comes to things like healthcare, social security, immigration . . . and the environment. The UK has published its Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The intent to decarbonise all modes of domestic transport by 2050. Is that too…
Well, not exactly, but we wonder if this will become a thing as airlines start to react to the climate situation. "Lufthansa is scrapping its shortest route, replacing the service with a bus. The route between Munich and Nuremberg is just 86 miles (138 km) as the crow flies. Lufthansa operates many domestic services across…
Oh, we go Ouigo! As if European rail wasn't as appealing as it is now, they've made it even better. High-speed train travel between Spain's most beautiful cities has no more reason to cost the earth, with Rail Europe opening ticket sales for OUIGO, Spain's new affordable train network. Prices can be as low as…
This is astounding. It almost defies belief, but the Chinese are behind it, so it could very well happen. Their abilities are legend. China wants to build a $200 billion underwater train to the United States. The China-Russia-Canada-America line would be the most expensive megaproject in history and take years to complete. The biggest engineering…
Raise your hands, those of you who have visited Brescia, Italy.
If you haven't, let us assist you in exploring this rich and varied place.
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo.
With a…
Everyone knows it's windy.
Somewhere in a wind tunnel on the south-western side of Ontario, a group of the world’s leading bridge aerodynamics and acoustics experts are puzzling over a full-scale model of the railing of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The experts have been contracted to solve the mysterious problem of a strange humming sound that has…
Even if you're a European whiz, sometimes you might want to retrace your steps to ensure that you've seen it all. Or maybe you're just in a hurry. So here's a plan for you. Be a tornado. Experience three of Europe's iconic capitals in just ten days. If you only have a short stay in…
We all know that we need exercise, some of us more than others. For some, walking on a treadmill is the next worst thing jumping off of a building. For others, it's jogging or running: will we ever get there, literally and figuratively? Well then, how about bicycling? We know that it's a rather obvious…
Yodele hee hoo! Now here is a wonderful, simple and unforgettable adventure for you - lovely Rigi mountain in Switzerland - and its fabulous cog train. The residents of Rigi have not let their wonderful natural resource go to waste. Above and beyond being a daily mode of transport (since 1871) for its residents, it…
As we've written before, the world is getting smaller as it's getting larger. For better or worse, people around the world are finding more ways to venture to new places, explore new cultures and bask in the visceral joy that travel brings.
But, there is another side to this explosion, and that is there are deep…
Are your "sunset years" approaching? Do you find yourself longing for something completely different? Do you wake up at night pondering how you will continue to maintain that 8 bedroom house of yours? Or, do you simply want to "go off the rails" and take a 180 degree turn in your life? What better time…
To those of us who live in Canada, there is a well-known name, but it might not be as well known to the rest of the world: Air Transat. Air Transat is Canada’s number one leisure airline. It flies to some 60 international destinations in more than 25 countries in the Americas and Europe, offers…
War is hell. There have been too many. But, humans always find a way to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start again. After the end of the First World War, during the euphoria following one of the most awful periods of world history, the Pau-Somport rail tunnel had been driven beneath the Pyrenees…
In his documentary, filmmaker Paul Saltzman retraces his journey of 50 years ago when he spent - almost accidentally - a life-changing time with the Beatles at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram on the banks of the Ganges River.
In 1968, he discovered his own soul, learned meditation, which changed his life, and hung out with…
Some people have all the problems. For example, they live in Paris, not so far from Gare de Nord. They opt to take a night train. Luxurious, fast and totally European. But, they wake up suddenly, only to realise that they're in Venice, not three stops down. Tsk. Such problems. All jokes aside, European rail…
These days - especially during the Covid-19 pandemic - you sometimes don't you if you're upside-down or right-side up. You're glued to the television and, after a while, you'll wonder who that person is who is sitting next to you. Your partner? Or is it you? In 2021, it looks like we’ll still be swapping…