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Trains explained

Trains are everywhere in Europe. Some of the trains travel at high speed across the continent, while others move around leisurely, either by day or by night. Find out about the different European trains like sleeper trains, chocolate trains, high speed trains and the provided facilities for a clear idea of what train travel in…

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Thoughts o’ Palazzo

If you visit this site often - or even other travel sites - you'll know that Venice is heaving under the weight of packed-like-sardines tourists, and rising water levels that threaten its very existence. Fortunately, there are those individuals who recognise the threat and are in a position to do something about it. The Anish Kapoor Foundation…

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Wham bam thank you tram

Some places just "get it." As we see mother earth in peril, some of us are just not rising to the occasion.  Climate change is not a joke.  It's real. But, some countries (mostly in Europe) are paying attention and doing something about it.  It could be banning automobile traffic in certain places.  It could…

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Is this Trojan Horse a trojan horse?

You are probably already familiar with the Trojan Horse of Troy, the wooden horse used by the Greeks to enter the city of Troy and win the war.  If not, here is a good tutorial. The horse has been an elusive archeological find, but now, Turkish archaeologists claim they have found what they believe are pieces…

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In my day, things weren’t like this

You think your job is tough?  Think the boss asks too much?   Well, suffer this poor guy, who works for Japanese Rail.  This almost looks like a joke at first.  But it's not.  They are deadly serious and that is something to reckon with. No wonder Japan is admired in so many ways.  But, don't mess up! See…

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NO PRESSURE: the coolest streets in the world

Havana, and all of Cuba (in our opinion) are at the wrong end of the stick when it comes to US sanctions.  The people have suffered enough under decades of embargos and bans.  Cuba is a jewel to behold. Deep in the lanes of southern Old Havana, where trailing plants and drying clothes drape from…

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FREEDOM!!!!

Whether you want to get out of the USA or into Canada, or the other way around, your time has come. After nearly four years of conceptualizing and construction, the nation’s (USA) longest multi-use state trail is open to the public, reaching from the southern most tip of Manhattan right up to the Canadian border.…

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Try not to drool

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…

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Every breath you take, every move you make

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…

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H2Go!

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…

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The menace of Venice

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…

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Too little, too late?

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…

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Lufthansa Bus lines

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…

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Oh, we go …Ouigo

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…

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Take the last train to Wales

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…

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Brescia refresher

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…

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Bridge of cries

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…

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Tornados in Europe!

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…

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