Travel Briefs
Tropical health consultants
The “Directory of Clinical Consultants in Tropical Medicine & Travelers’ Health” is a resource for travelers seeking referral to a specialist in tropical medicine and/or travelers’ health, whether for pretravel counseling and immunization or post-travel evaluation, consultation and treatment.
Deluxe ‘flotel’ on the Amazon
A deluxe ecocruise vessel is navigating Ecuador’s Rio Napo in the Amazon jungle. Big Five Tours & Expeditions’ Manatee Explorer is a modern, 3-deck vessel with air-conditioning, 13 en suite cabins, dining room, bar and lounge.
Roof collapses in Paris’ CDG Airport
Four people were killed when a 98-foot section of a departure lounge roof collapsed in Terminal 2E at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport on May 23 at about 7 a.m.
Dining in England
Two free guides provide details of 43 places to eat in the English counties bordering Wales.
Wolsey Lodges private homes
Founded in 1981, Wolsey Lodges is a consortium of 188 privately owned houses providing lodging in England, Scotland and Wales. Arrivals are treated as family or friends, rather than guests, and often dine with their hosts.
Royal Oak Foundation
The Royal Oak Foundation is the American membership affiliate of Britain’s National Trust. The National Trust owns and operates over 200 historic houses, gardens, castles and sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Royal Oak members enter these properties free of charge, saving on admission fees.
Colombia kidnappings
According to government figures released May 3, a total of 317 people were kidnapped in Colombia in the first three months of 2004. That’s a decrease of 46% compared to the same period in 2003.
Castles in the sand
In Travemunde, north of Lübeck, Germany, 70 sand sculptors will use over 70,000 tons of sand to create sand castle masterpieces at a beach festival, July 9-Aug. 22, 2004. In fact, 2-hour workshops in sand sculpting will be held twice a day, Monday through Friday.
Bird-watching in Korea
Migratory birds flock to Yangji-ri in Dongsong-eup, Cheorwongun, Gangwon-do, Korea, every winter, including endangered eagles and cranes, and the Cheolsae (Migratory Bird) Village people of Yangji-ri have built the Durumi Pension to house bird-watchers.
Royal Academy’s Fine Rooms
Hidden behind closed doors for over two centuries, the Royal Academy’s suite of Fine Rooms has been restored to its Neo-Palladian glory and in March opened to the public for the first time.
Fabritius exhibit
The complete oeuvre of Carel Fabritius (1622-1654), a pupil of Rembrandt, is on display in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 23, 2004-Jan. 9, 2005.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line announced that it will keep the SuperStar Leo in its fleet, rename it “Norwegian Spirit” and operate it in the Alaska and Caribbean areas. Its sister line, Star Cruises, will operate NCL’s 15-year-old Norwegian Sea.
‘Stay on a Farm 2004’
The free guide “Stay on a Farm 2004” lists more than 1,100 farms in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland offering bed and a hearty breakfast at an average cost of £25 (near $46) per person per night. The majority have en-suite bathrooms, and many provide an evening meal.
Luggage delivery service
Luggagefree, Inc., ships luggage anywhere in the U.S. as well as to Canada and Europe.
Travel with a private jet
Orient-Express Hotels is offering the “Orient-Express Private Jet Experience.” Flying out of the U.S.
St. Croix to Tortola
Seaborne Airlines, based in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Road Town Fast Ferry, based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, now offer a high-speed, 2-hour connection between St. Croix and Tortola.
Kensington Palace ‘D-Day menu’
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day, The Orangery restaurant at Kensington Palace and the New Armouries restaurant at HM Tower of London will feature, for one year only beginning June 2004, special World War II menus.
<em>Nordnorge</em> to Antarctica
Norwegian Coastal Voyage has reduced the rates on its air-inclusive 19-day NCV Expedition Voyages to Antarctica and the Chilean fjords, including 15 days aboard the 464-berth MS Nordnorge, between Nov. 3, 2004, and Feb. 9, 2005.
Victorian home reopens
The home of a 19th-century cartoonist and his family has reopened in London after a 3-year renovation. A middle-class townhouse of the period, Linley Sambourne House was the home of the Punch magazine illustrator Edward Linley Sambourne from 1875.
Lufthansa innovations
Taking Web surfing to new heights, Lufthansa soon will offer its passengers aboard jumbo jets the opportunity to browse the Internet and access their e-mail with FlyNet. Anything that can be accomplished over the Internet on the ground with a wireless laptop, passengers will be able to do at 30,000 feet.