In Israel, a complex of buildings from the tenth to sixth centuries BC that were exposed during a multiyear archaeological dig are now open to the public inside the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park (phone 800 25 24 23). Archaeologists have named the complex the Ophel City Wall (see Nehemiah 3:26) and have built passageways around the various buildings, which include a gatehouse, royal edifice and fifth-century-AD wall.
On the Caribbean islands of Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, 25 accommodations (hotels, condos, house rentals) and seven activity companies, including Cayman Luxury Charters and Indigo Divers, are offering a “Worry Free Hurricane Guarantee” for the hurricane season, June 1-Nov. 30.
Now that Thalys runs a direct high-speed train daily between Brussels International Airport and Paris Gare du Nord (Jan. ’12, pg. 47), travelers from India, Canada or the US to Brussels flying Jet Airways can take advantage of a new code-share to transfer to Paris at no extra charge (or land in Paris and take the train to Brussels). When a traveler books his flight, a code-share number for the Thalys ticket is automatically included. The one-hour 47-minute train trip normally would cost €78 (near $104) first class or €66 second class.
In 2012, York celebrates its 800th year as a city. On July 9, the date when York’s royal charter was granted, choirs and musicians will perform a specially commissioned musical piece at the Eye of York, a lawn by the city’s 18th-century administrative buildings.
Eight-hundred years of history in 30 minutes — the documentary “The Riga Story,” in English and Russian, runs daily on the hour from 10 to 3 at Cinema Riga/Splendid Palace (Elizabetes 61, Riga, Latvia; phone +371 67 18 11 44). A ticket costs LVL5 (near $9.70).
Discovered in 1835 in Kent, England, the Shell Grotto (Grotto Hill, Margate, Kent, CT9 2BU, U.K.; phone 08143 220008) is a 70-foot-long subterranean passageway whose walls and ceiling are covered with mosaics made of seashells, at least 4.6 million of them. When was it created? By whom? And why? It remains a mystery.
On Nov. 11, 2011, 93 years after the Armistice was signed in Europe, marking the end of the First World War, Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux (rue Lazare Ponticelli, 77100, Meaux, France; phone +33 [1] 60 32 14 18) opened in Meaux, France.
The 75,000-square-foot museum houses 50,000 artifacts, including uniforms, weapons, art made from bullets, photographs, a Renault FT 17 tank, two aircraft and a 75mm field gun. Its emphasis is on life at home and on the front during WWI and on the war’s legacy.
Vue Zone wireless video-monitoring systems allow people to check on their home or pets while traveling. Through cameras placed in your home, video images (live or recordings) can be accessed over the Internet with a laptop or smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry or Android).
Priced $150-$240, the various packages include cameras, wall mounts and a base unit. Each system can handle up to 50 extra cameras (plain camera, $79.95, and motion-activated, $99.95).
Unique Home Stays (Lantern Cottage, Trebudannon, Newquay, Cornwall, TR8 4LP, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1637 881942) manages B&B rentals plus rentals of private homes — self-catering houses, manor houses, castles, etc. — in 11 countries (mostly in Europe plus Morocco, South Africa and Canada).
Prices range from £40 to £50 ($52-$65) per person per night at a luxury B&B in Suffolk, England (two nights minimum), to €50,000 for a week in a villa at Lake Como, Italy (with manager, waiters, chef and maid).
In Switzerland, the Valais SkiCard (phone +41 [0] 27 775 25 82) offers guests the ability to skip ticket lines at the 54 ski areas and four thermal baths covered by the pass.
In increments of 100, points are added to the card at a rate of one point per Swiss franc, with discounts of up to 10 percent for adding larger balances. Points are valid for two years and can be extended with a deposit of CHF100 ($106).