The surprising discovery of the remains of infamous King Richard III (1452-1485) in Leicester, England, in early 2013 has resulted in a popular exhibition of the artifacts found during the dig plus information about his reign. Admission is free to the Guildhall (in the town center, by the Cathedral). Open 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily.
The temporary Guildhall exhibition may find a permanent home elsewhere in Leicester in 2014. For info, visit www.sociallyleicestershire.co.uk.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, the Canterbury Museum (99 Cashel St) has an exhibit about the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that hit the city in February 2011. “Quake City” explores the seismic activity in the region, runs films and displays objects damaged in the quake, notably the fallen spire of the ChristChurch Cathedral. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Entry, NZD10 (near $8.40).
Three hours south of Bangkok, the Aleenta Hua Hin – Pranburi Resort & Spa (Pak Nam Pran, Pran Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan 77220, Thailand; phone +66 2 514 8112) offers the “Gourmet Gliders’ Retreat” package, a 3-day culinary experience that includes two personal 4-hour cooking demonstrations of Thai and European cuisine with ingredients participants have picked from the resort’s organic garden.
Guests also may take a tandem paraglider flight, a 30-kilometer loop over farms and beaches.
The 60th Macau Grand Prix will be held in Macau, China, Nov. 14-17, 2013. The race is known as the only street-circuit racing event with both motorcycle and car races. The difficult, 3.8-mile track features sharply twisting corners and long straightaways.
Tickets cost $6.25 on practice days and $16.25-$112.50 on race days and are available in advance online and via the ticket hotline. Contact the Macau Grand Prix Committee (phone 853 87962268; www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo).
The US Congress passed a law requiring that by June 1, 2013, all full-body scanners used in US airports must produce only a generic outline instead of an image of a naked body.
The maker of one of the two types of full-body scanners is unable to meet that deadline, so the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been removing 250 backscatter x-ray scanners from the 30 airports where they were used and replacing them with millimeter wave scanners.
In Barcelona, Spain, Gray Line’s GourmetBus (Balmes, 5; phone 902 024 443) offers travelers a 3-course meal by a Michelin-starred chef and a 3-hour tour that passes popular sites, including Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, Gaudí’s La Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, the Torre Agbar, the Arc de Triomf and Port Olimpic.
Outdoor adventurer Bear Grylls and Worldwide Experience have created the Bear Grylls Survival Academy (877/742-2925), offering survival-skills courses led by crew members of the “Man vs Wild” and “Born Survivor” TV shows featured on the Discovery Channel.
Auto Museum Moncopulli (phone 64 210744, [website in Spanish]), 80 miles north of Puerto Montt in southern Chile, boasts 100 vintage cars, 26 of them Studebakers dating from the ’30s to ’60s. Among other makes are a Ford Model T and a 1965 Ford Thunderbird.
Located at km 25, Ruta International 215, in Puyehue, Osorno province, the museum is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 15-March 15 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 16-Dec. 14 (closed Jan. 1 & Dec. 25). $4 adult or $1 child.
Talking statues, shrinking rooms, underground labyrinths, a griffin, a glass pyramid: these are a few of the weird wonders at the Forbidden Corner (Tupgill Park Estate, Middleham, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 4TJ, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 01969 640638), one of Britain’s oddest attractions. Initially one man’s private pleasure garden, the park was
opened to the public in 1994.
All tickets for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 7-23, 2014, are being sold online through CoSport; only Visa cards are accepted for payment.