Best Travel Blogs

November 1, 2014

In the car rental wars, which side is right?

from Elliott http://elliott.org/blog/car-rental-wars-side-right/

Branson Vows To Continue Space Venture Despite Fatal Crash

Virgin Galactic said it would co-operate with the authorities in the investigation, which is expected to begin on Saturday.

from Travel Feedly http://www.ibtimes.com/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-crash-richard-branson-says-space-venture-will-not-stop-1717341

October 31, 2014

The Painted Elephant

Past and Current If you’d like to watch me edit this photo on video, be sure to sign up for the Stuck In Customs Newsletter and you can find out first about a secret new video series that is coming. It’s gonna be awesome! And while you’re over on that page, you can check out […]

from Stuck in Customs http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2014/11/01/the-painted-elephant/

The Monsters of Bomarzo in Bomarzo, Italy

The Monsters of Bomarzo

The Park of the Monsters, or "Parco dei Mostri," in the Garden of Bomarzo was not meant to be pretty. Commissioned in 1552 by Prince Pier Francesco Orsini, it was an expression of grief designed to shock.

The Prince, also known as Vicino, had just been through a brutal war, had his friend killed, been held for ransom for years, and come home only to have his beloved wife die. Racked with grief, the Prince wanted to create a shocking "Villa of Wonders" and hired architect Pirro Ligorio to help him do so. Ligorio was a widely respected architect and artist and had previously completed the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Rome after the death of Michelangelo, as well as the Villa d'Este in Tivoli. This was to be an unusual, but interesting job for him.

The park is filed with bizarre and fascinating sculptures for which only the accompanying inscriptions provide any explanation. Among the pieces are a war elephant, a monstrous fish-head, a giant tearing another giant in half, and a house built on a tilt to disorient the viewer. Perhaps the most frightening piece in the garden is an enormous head, mouth opened wide in a scream. The accompanying inscription reads "all reason departs."

Built during the Italian Renaissance, the garden layout bore little resemblance to the symmetry of other Renaissance gardens, and the art was made in a rough "Mannerist" style, a sort of 16th-century version of Surrealism. It makes sense, then, that the Surrealists loved it.

Salvador Dalí visited the park and loved it. He was so inspired, he shot a short film there, and the sculptures inspired his 1946 painting The Temptation of Saint Anthony. Jean Cocteau was also a fan of the park. Other artists followed, and a novel, libretto, and opera have all been based on the park.

While there is no way of truly knowing how the Prince felt about the park, the final addition indicates that perhaps he was getting over his melancholy. Built 20 years after the park was begun, it is not a monster but a temple, built to honor his second wife.

When you visit the park, be sure to enter the giant screaming mouth (known as "the mouth of hell"), inside which, on the tongue, stands a picnic table and enough seating for a small group to have lunch.

from Atlas Obscura http://atlasobscura.com.feedsportal.com/c/35387/f/665719/s/40093154/sc/38/l/0L0Satlasobscura0N0Cplaces0Cthe0Emonsters0Eof0Ebomarzo/story01.htm

60 Hours in Buenos Aires: Eating Around the City, Four Notable Meals to Consider

You’ll Also Want to Be Sure to Read: American Airlines Flagship Lounge, New York JFK American Airlines First Class, New York JFK – Buenos Aires Review: Park Hyatt Buenos Aires I had a chance to try some of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires on my recent visit, at least as judged by my own […]

The post 60 Hours in Buenos Aires: Eating Around the City, Four Notable Meals to Consider appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/31/best-restaurants-in-buenos-aires/

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo crashes in sad setback for private space travel

The Virgin Galactic winged spaceship designed to take tourists on trips beyond Earth’s atmosphere crashed during a test flight above the Mojave ...

from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-crashes-sad-setback-private-space-travel/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=virgin-galactics-spaceshiptwo-crashes-sad-setback-private-space-travel

T Magazine: Great Escapism

A stay at a nice hotel can give us a brief opportunity to escape our regular lives, to be someone else and to return home refreshed. So, we hope, can a magazine.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/4009ac91/sc/36/l/0Ltmagazine0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C10A0C310Cgreat0Eescapism0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

T Magazine: The Golden Age of Airport Restaurants

Thanks to a doubling of air traffic in the past 15 years, eating preflight no longer means preflipped burgers and cafeteria seating.

from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/4009ac95/sc/10/l/0Ltmagazine0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C10A0C310Cthe0Egolden0Eage0Eof0Eairport0Erestaurants0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

How to Find Out If You’ve Won 2 Free Hotel Nights!

Frequent Traveler University, December 5-7, Hyatt Regency Crystal City (near Washington’s National Airport) All you need to do is read this post..! This week I ran a giveaway of free tickets to Frequent Traveler University paired with hotel nights for the event. All you had to do was leave a comment to enter. The event […]

The post How to Find Out If You’ve Won 2 Free Hotel Nights! appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/10/31/find-youve-won-2-free-hotel-nights/

8 Reasons to Pick a Nature Break Over a City Break

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Ready to look at some countryside breaks instead of city breaks? Amanda Kendle reveals 8 reasons why you might enjoy them more.

The post 8 Reasons to Pick a Nature Break Over a City Break appeared first on Vagabondish.

from Vagabondish http://www.vagabondish.com/reasons-travel-nature-break-over-city-break/

Should I Transfer A Line Of Credit To Another Card Before Closing My Credit Card?

The answer for 99.99% of us is a resounding yes. For that .01% with piles of credit cards and plenty of available credit, you know who you are! To understand why the overwhelming majority of us should do this, let’s do a quick review of what makes up our credit score. The five factors that […]

from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/10/should-i-transfer-a-line-of-credit-to-another-card-before-closing-my-credit-card.html

What Is A Fifth Freedom Flight?

Fifth freedom flights have always interested me, and I’ve made a point to fly as many of these flights as possible over the past several years.

Some have been interesting, like flying New York to Frankfurt on Singapore Airlines with the “First Lady” of Zimbabwe. Others have been terrifying… you may recall my experience on Royal Jordanian from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

A "fifth freedom" flight is one where an airline from one country has the right to fly between two different countries. An example of this is India’s Jet Airways, which operates fifth freedom flights between Toronto and Brussels.

These aren’t to be confused with “second freedom” flights, which allow an airline the right to stop for maintenance or fuel without disembarking passengers or cargo.

The post What Is A Fifth Freedom Flight? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/10/31/what-is-a-fifth-freedom-flight/