MGM Resorts has revealed, after the stolen information was posted online, that a hack of their guest databases in the summer of 2019 exposed the personal information of more than 10.6 million guests. The stolen information included names, addresses, telephone numbers and, in some cases, passport numbers. The hotel does not believe that any financial information was exposed.
A barrier has been set up around Rome’s Trevi Fountain to stop people from sitting along its rim. As described by Rome’s mayor, the barrier will neither block views of the fountain nor prevent people from throwing coins.
Sitting on the fountain was made illegal in 2019, but the city had not enforced that law by erecting a fence until now. The barrier will also help obstruct the occasional visitor who illegally climbs into the fountain.
In a reversal of a plan that would have completely outlawed guided group tours in Amsterdam’s Red Light District (May ’19, pg. 4), the Dutch city announced in mid-February 2020 that guided group tours could still visit the neighborhood, but they could not include visits to the area’s display windows where sex workers pose for potential clients.
The sex workers’ union asked the city to allow tours to continue, saying that tour guides helped keep them safe by reminding visitors to be respectful and not take photos of the women without their consent.
The South American airline conglomerate LATAM is leaving the airline alliance oneworld on May 1. Due to separately negotiated bilateral agreements, LATAM will continue to allow passengers to redeem miles from most oneworld airlines for LATAM flights, as well as allow members of those mileage programs to earn miles for flights purchased from LATAM.
In four submarine bays on a former submarine base in Bordeaux, France, works of famous artists are projected on the water and on walls 39 feet high in the digital art space Bassins de Lumières (Impasse Brown de Colstoun, Bordeaux; www.bassins-lumieres.com/en), which opened April 17.
More than 4.5 kilometers of boardwalk meander through a saltwater mangrove forest environment — home to numerous bird and aquatic species — in Jubail Mangrove Park (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; phone +971 56 303 2423, park.jubailisland.ae), which opened in January 2020 on the north shore of al-Jubail Island in the city of Abu Dhabi.
Elvas, in eastern Portugal, has a long history of preserving plums in syrup. The town’s oldest operating plum-processing factory is Frutas Doces (Rua Martim Mendes, 17A; phone +351 268 628 364, ameixas-elvas.com), founded in 1919, and visitors to its museum can watch workers prepare greengage plums using traditional methods.
Also on display are items from the factory’s 100 years, including tools, advertising and packaging. Open daily, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-6 p.m. Entry is free.
In the town of Tarnowskie Góry, Upper Silesia, Poland, a silver mine with sections dating back to the 15th century is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visits can be made only on a guided 90-minute tour (available in English).
Starting in the mining museum, tour members are taken 133 feet underground down the Angel shaft, then continue walking on a mile-long path (partly in a corridor with a 4½-foot-high ceiling) between the Angel, Viper and God Bless shafts, taking a boat ride through a flooded section.
Visitors to Bogotá can take a private-group, guided walking tour of the city’s largest market, Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao, with Foodies (Bogotá, Colombia; phone +57 321 5160483, foodies.com.co).
Members of the 3- to 4-hour “Savoring Paloquemao” tour can try fresh fruits and other produce plus breads and cheeses and see the flower and crafts markets. Tour members then take a cooking class to make ajiaco (chicken-and-potato stew).
Visitors can take a culinary walking tour in the historic port city of Falmouth, Jamaica, with Jamaica Culinary Tours (Kingston, Jamaica; phone +1 876 586 1817, jamaicaculinarytours.com).
Scheduled to start at 11 a.m. each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 2½-hour tour ($55 per person) will include at least five food tastings, possibly including in a private home. Vegetarian options are available.