Travelocafe Travel Blog

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen Elected

2012-02-17T13:28:00.002+01:00

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2012

After a long and extravagant gala, the queen of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival was elected on Wednesday. She is 22-year-old, her name is Carmen Gil Gonzalez and she was wearing a gorgeous dress called 'Imperio' by designer Santi Castro.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Queen 2012

This year's carnival theme is a beautiful and melancholic one - the 'Flower Power' and the 60s and during the lively and colorful parade introduction, the audience could listen to songs from the period, like Yellow Submarine (Beatles), Aquarius (FifthDimension), Satisfaction (Rolling Stones), and Stand By Me (Ben E. King).

After a long and extraordinary gala, Carmen Gil González was crowned Carnaval Queen 2012 at the Gala Election in Santa Cruz’ Recinto Ferial. She was one of twelve girls competing for the title, and I can't even begin to imagine how she must have felt when she heard her name in the same sentence with 'queen'.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival nomine

It was a breathtaking colorful gala, the pick to any holidays to Tenerife, as the Carnival of Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands is the second-largest Carnival celebration in the world and aspires to become a World Heritage Site.

The festival has two parts: the official Carnival, and the Carnival on the street. Basically the party starts once the queen has been elected. Parades and people dressed up in fancy costumes take the streets and the party goes on and on, night after night, till the Ash Wednesday when the burial of the sardine is celebrated in mourning atmosphere. However, the party starts up again the following weekend, known as the weekend of the piñata.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival nomine

Photos courtesy carnavaltenerife.es

At 15, Jordan Romero Is Ready To Conquer The Seven Summits

2011-12-09T22:07:00.001+01:00

Jordan Romero

UPDATE: On Christmas Eve, Jordan, along with his father and his stepmother, reached the top of Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, the last of the mountains on his list, and in the process became the youngest person to achieve this feat.

Only a year ago, Crina Popescu successfully conquered Mt. Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, and completed the Seven Volcanoes. Now it's Jordan Romero's time to do so. Crina was 16 back then. Jordan is only 15 now. And I still believe there's something wrong with the teenagers nowadays.

At the ago of 13, Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. His passion for climbing started back in 2005 when he was barely 9. He saw a mural of the Seven Summits in his elementary school and that was what had him started on the dream of climbing the highest mountains on each continent. He's done pretty well up till now and all that stays between him and the title of the youngest person to ever conquer the Seven Summits is Mt. Vinson.

Next week Jordan Romero, together with his father and step-mother will leave U.S. for Antarctica. If everything goes according to plan, they will start climbing the 16,050-foot Mt. Vinson the next day. The Seven Summits was completed only by 275 people up till now.

Though Antarctica is the place with the harshest climate on Earth, this it is the best time to do the climbing. The sun is shining 24/7 during the Antarctic summer with an intensity that melts snow on dark objects. Nevertheless, the team will face brutally cold temperatures (the average temperatures during this period are usually −30°C), winds and the threat of avalanches.

Though Jordan Romero succeeded to climb Mt. Everest at a very young age, he might keep his record for a while. Just after his accomplishment, the climbers community started to wonder how young is too young and Nepal and China set strict age limits, requiring Everest climbers to be at least 18 before they embark in a such dangerous adventure. This is sad news for Crina Popescu, as Mt. Everest is the only one she still has pending to complete the Seven Summits and become the youngest woman to ever do so. Crina is 17 by now, so we will hear about hear soon. Crina and Jordan met during a previous expedition in North America and became friends.

London Declared European Capital Of Shopping

2011-11-17T21:16:00.001+01:00

Covent Garden, London

Like London wasn't getting enough attention already with the up coming Golden Jubilee of the Queen and the Olympic Games, now it's been also named Europe's top shopping destination.

London beat off stiff competitors like Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Rome to be crowned the best European city for shopping in the Globe Shopper City Index - Europe. Belgrade, Oslo and Geneva were judged the least attractive cities for shoppers.

To create this top were taken into consideration 33 cities from all over Europe, scored out on their shopping, affordability, convenience, hotels and transport, and culture and climate.

London can offer great shopping experiences to all kind of shoppers, some of it's best shopping areas being the trendy Carnaby Street, the shops around Covent Garden, the back streets of Soho, the arcades of Bond Street and High Street Kensington.

For fashionistas planning a city break, London is heaven. There wasn't really a need for a year long study to tell anyone that. Though London is not exactly what you would call an affordable city - it scored 24th on the affordability factor - it has other qualities that make people flock to the UK's capital.

I think it's safe to say that the cultural heritage, the museums and the events organized in a city are what drive in the tourists. Take care of that and they will take care of the shopping. After all, it's always nice to say you bought that gorgeous dress while enjoying the holiday of a lifetime in a marvelous city.

However, as retailers open more boutiques worldwide, the shopping experience, the merchandise and the window designs become all the same everywhere. They call it globalization, mind you. But I think every time they open a new, let's say, Zara shop, a little fairy dies and the magic of shopping dies with it.

What's your favorite shopping destination?

Photo via Flickr Creative Commons

The New 7 Wonders Of Nature - The Final 7 Announced

2011-11-11T12:23:00.001+01:00

Voting for the New 7 Wonders of Nature closed today and the provisional 7 finalists have been already announced. So, the winners in alphabetical order are... Drum roll... Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain.

I must admit I only foresaw Amazon among the winners. I was so sure the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon were going to make it to the final 7, but... I was wrong. After all I am glad that less popular, or at least less world famous places made it to the New 7 Wonders of Nature list. I don't think the Great Barrier Reef's tourism for example will suffer because of this, but the new 7 will immensely benefit from being in the limelight. Oh, and it seems so unfair Aurora Borealis never made it anywhere close to the final list.

Eventually the results look like this: 2 natural wonders for South America, 1 natural wonder for Africa and 4 natural wonders for Asia. The map might be unbalanced, but this surely doesn't mean that Europe, Australia and North America are less beautiful. This is just a provisional list. The winners will be confirmed in early 2012 during the Official Inauguration ceremonies.

Amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname & Venezuela

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Iguazu Falls, Argentina & Brazil

Jeju Island, South Korea

Komodo, Indonesia

Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines

Table Mountain, South Africa

Ever since the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, humankind compiled lists around the magical number seven. The New7Wonders of Nature campaign started in 2007 in a contemporary effort to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll and to highlight and celebrate the beauty of our planet, but also to raise awareness of the dangers it faces.

The campaign progressed through various voting stages. In July 2009 the top 28 finalists were declared; today the top 7, comprising the final list, was revealed.

Map with the 28 finalists for the New7Wonders of Nature

The objective of the Swiss-based non-profit New7Wonders Foundation is to contribute to the protection of the world’s natural and man-made heritage and to foster respect for our planet’s diversity and fragile equilibrium.

Following the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World and the New 7 Wonders of Nature, a third campaign is already being organized - the New 7 Wonders Cities. Nominations can be submitted until December 31, 2011.

Do you agree with the New7Wonders of Nature list? What places would you have included?

Photos via Flickr Creative Commons

Disney Avatar Park To Open At Animal Kingdom In Florida

2011-09-27T18:05:00.000+02:00

Avatar movie scene

Fans of the blockbuster movie Avatar would be happy to know that they will soon be able to visit James Cameron's fictional world, walk through its rainforests and experience the oceans at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. Humankind might not get to explore fascinating new worlds very soon, but we surely can create out of this world theme parks.

The construction of the Avatar-themed amusement park is planned to begin in 2013 and will cost an estimated $400 million. We all knew 'cheap' was not in neither Cameron nor Disney Parks' vocabulary. The Disney Avatar Land is supposed to open to the public in 2016, after both Avatar sequels will be released in theaters and will feature locations, characters and stories from all three movies.

Pandora will be brought to life using animatronics, 3-D, and holographic technology. Avatar Park will include rides, shops and restaurants, but Cameron wishes to go beyond current boundaries of technical innovation and experiential storytelling, and that sounds all too familiar by now.

However, while the fans were overjoyed, voices were raised all over the internet questioning if an extensive project based on the PG-13 movie - which includes profanity and violence - was appropriate for a family-friendly park. I'm sure they will figure a way out.

Man Fulfills Every Kid's Dream By Flying With Balloons Over Alps

2011-09-26T13:20:00.000+02:00

Jonathan Trappe, crossing the Alps

I've covered a few crazy adventures here, and I must admit it never gets old. People just like to push their limits, go the extra mile, risk their lives, and make the impossible possible for 15 minutes of fame. They are even willing to risk the integrity of a cabbage in their quest for bridging the gap between dreams and accomplishment.

The last remark goes for Jonathan Trappe, an american adventurer who last week was the first to safely cross the Alps in a chair strapped to 54 colorful helium balloons before making a perfect landing in the Village of Andezeno, Italy. At 38, he fulfilled every kid's dream and he managed to watch the sunrise from 15,000ft.

However, this was not Jonathan Trappe's first balloon adventure. Last year he crossed the English Channel by helium balloon as well, landing in a French cabbage field. See? Here's where the cabbage comes along.

I can't help recalling Pixar's 'Up'. It's a wonderful fantasy made reality. Fortunately for Jonathan Trappe, it even worked and he came out of it unharmed. Twice! I'm sure his grandchildren will love to here his stories later on in life. He's every kid's hero.

Shot With Arrows In Clash Of Civilizations

2011-07-06T12:55:00.000+02:00

Papua New Guinea tribesmen

Matt Scheurich's misadventure with the Papua New Guinea tribesman was all over the news in the past few days. Poor guy was shot with arrows when stood up to protect his French girlfriend, Anais Gerard, from the tribesman who wanted to make her his bride. The couple was hunted through the forest and rocks were thrown to them. Luckily they escaped and Miss Gerard, a French anthropology doctoral student who was there to study tribal life, managed to activate the personal locator beacon.

While Mr. Scheurich and his girlfriend escaped the attack and seem to be doing fine after the doctors patched them, the incident surely sheds a dash of light on potential risks of travel well-beyond the beaten path.

It is said that we discover the essence we are made of when facing the obstacles; and there is no doubt that one way of doing it is by traveling. History is full of brave people who engaged on journeys of discovery and self-discovery, like the guy who tries to hitch-hike all the way from Transylvania to Kamchatka, or the guy who solo climbed Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in USA, in January. These are travelers whose adventurous spirit keeps the adrenaline pumping through their veins and that helps them going the extra mile. But sometimes that extra mile gets them off the beaten path, on uncharted territory. And there's where the remotest corners of the self are supposed to be brought to light; that's if one manages to get out of it alive.

Visiting indigenous communities, be it for taking intriguing photos, studying their culture or just for the sake of the experience, it became sort of a fashion lately. But are we so innocent to believe there won't be clashes of civilizations? Both contacted and uncontacted tribes are fighting to preserve their cultural and religious identities. It's human nature; we do the same. Miss Gerard probably seemed pretty exotic in the tribesman's eyes and having her as bride would have raised his status inside the tribe.

Many native cultures though are known for their violence and in Papua New Guinea one particularly violent rite that might still be in place is headhunting. Young men are not considered adult until they kill an enemy in battle and behead him.

Andrew Burmon from AOL Travel says: "The premium placed on the exotic has driven a certain sort of person to take increasingly extreme risks as the beaten path has gotten beaten wider and wider. India is easy, so travelers head to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is peaceful, so they move on to Borneo. Borneo is accessible, so travelers look to PNG. PNG is incredibly dangerous. Hurrah."

While meeting and learning about diverse people is beyond any doubt a positive thing, the question is are we prepared to deal with the cultural differences. No, the natives are probably not, but they are not eager to come into our world either. We, the civilized, are the ones who invade their privacy, driven by a sick curiosity, I guess the same one we feel when seeing monkeys at the zoo. It's a comparison out of which we are the ones that always seem to be the winners; but are we?

Photo credit Ian@ThePaperboy.com

Transylvania To Kamchatka: Hitch-Hiking With Norbert Demeter

2011-07-04T11:04:00.000+02:00

Norbert Demeter hitch-hiking

On the morning of June 6th 2011, Norbert Demeter, a young Romanian guy left his hometown embarking on an epic adventure. With nothing but a backpack full of dreams he plans to hitch-hike all the way from Reghin, Transylvania, Romania to the Kamchatka Peninsula, Eastern Siberia, through some of the most rugged territories in the world. The rules Norbert set for his journey are tough: no public transportation, no paid accommodation, no map, no dictionary. He’s made it about half of the journey so far and right now he is in the town of Khovd, Mongolia from where he was kind enough and gave us this interview. Norbert studied Tourism & Geography in Romania and Business Management in Sydney, Australia so it’s pretty safe to say his bold passion for travel has deep roots. He basically wants to hitch-hike Asia from one end to another and he calls this a journey for the body and soul; but not only his soul as he might have thought in the beginning, but the souls of all the people who follow him on his journey from behind the screens too.

How the idea of this adventure came to you in the first place? Why Kamchatka Peninsula?

The idea came while watching an episode of The Long Way Round, more than 2 years ago, where they were showing Mongolia and how hard it was to travel there. I was fascinated by this country, so raw that the only paved roads were in "big" towns. I wanted to experience it for myself; but flying there was out of the question, as it wasn't adventurous enough. So I was thinking of ways to get there, until one day, while looking at a map, I thought that I could maybe, probably, possibly hitch-hike there. It seemed like a stupid idea, but I like a challenge. So I decided to do it, but I guess that wasn't hard enough, so I thought to push on up to Siberia, where the conditions were tough, or tougher, and reach the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The Kamchatka part only came into plan, when my girlfriend-at-the-time said "If you're going that far, might as well go to Kamchatka too". She believed in me and I loved the idea.

Tell us a bit about how you travel. No paid accommodation, no public transportation - this must be the hell of a challenge.

Yes, it is a challenge, but it's what makes it worth it. The more you put in, the more you get out, right? The truth is, I wanted this journey to be hard; that's why I set such limitations. I want the kind of cathartic feeling that comes when you push yourself as far as you can go, so you can discover something new about yourself, to grow and mature. That's what this journey is about, and it's why I wanted to do it alone.

What did you have to do to prepare yourself for such an epic road adventure?

I didn't do much in the way of preparing. All I did was watch The Long Way Round, read 2 books about travel in Mongolia, one of them by a Romanian who rode a motorbike there and back, Mihai Barbu (Mongolia.ro). I contacted him after reading his book, and we talked a bit about it. But other than that, I didn't do much else. I wanted to keep the adventure pure. Actually, when I planned it, I had almost none of the required equipment. It's funny actually; a lot of the gear I have are gifts from people: my top-of-the-line backpack is a gift from my workmates and bosses at Martin Place Bar in Sydney, I got two pants from a friend and my dad's closet, the tent from a stranger, and almost everything else I bought one week before departing.

How long do you think it will take you to get to Kamchatka Peninsula? Do you have a deadline?

I do have a deadline: 31st of August. It's when my Russian visa expires. I hope I can make it to Kamchatka by the 20-th of August; that would be ideal. If I can't make it, I’ll try to extend my visa, but if I can't extend it, well.... I'm still not giving up my dream of reaching Kamchatka, if you know what I mean ;)

How do you keep yourself entertained while all alone on the road?

Ha-ha, good question. The simplest and best way to have fun while walking is singing. And yeah, I do sing a lot. Everything from The Doors to Katie Melua, The Killers, Queen, Cat Empire, Black Eyed Peas and especially my favorite song "Fastball - The Way". It suits this journey. Another great way to keep things interesting is to talk to everyone. People usually smile when they see me, so I say hi and start a chat. I'm not shy, and it comes easy to me to initiate a conversation, and many great experiences came out of this. It's always good to meet new people, they all add to your life experience.

What was the most challenging part of your journey so far?

Hmmm... Probably the most challenging part was arriving into Mongolia, just because the road became harder by a huge deal. No matter how many photos and videos I saw, nothing prepared me for the shock I got when I saw it for myself. It's a big free-for-all, cars are very rare, and in some places the "road" splits up into 10-15 paths going side by side in the same general direction. If I’m on one of those paths, and a car goes on another one 300 meters to my left, they can't even see or hear me, and so I just missed one of those rare rides. It happened a few times, and it's just crushing. Another challenging thing was the lack of confidence from some people, who told me it's impossible and I was crazy to even start this journey.

What was the best part of your journey up till now?

Every night when I can lay my head down somewhere safe, it's the best :) But jokes aside, some of the best things were getting invited to spend 2 nights in a traditional Altaian house, sleeping in a Mongolian ger, staying in a house with a group of former drug addicts in Omsk (nicest people ever), trying to hop on a freight train, getting drunk with 3 Swiss bikers and our Russian host... oh this list can drag on. And most of the journey is still ahead. But the BEST part of this whole thing is definitely the support I’m getting from so many people. When they tell me it's inspiring them to take action and make their own "journeys", it fills me up with an unparalleled sense of accomplishment.

Tell us about the people you've met on the road. You must rely a lot on strangers.

Yeah, strangers make or break this experience, and it's surprising how helpful and kind everyone is. On the first day, I was walking around in a city in Ukraine at midnight, and I asked a guy for some directions, and he invited me to his house. They were very, very poor, but hugely hospitable, and I spent the night there. I knew it then, that it would be a great trip. I guess when I tell people what I’m doing, they feel the need to help me along my journey, and I’ve gotten free meals in restaurants, medicine, a rain poncho, and a driver even gave me money among other things. Many of them give me gifts, like good-luck talismans or symbolic trinkets. This journey awakes the exploring kid in everyone, and maybe they feel like they're a part of it if they help me. And I salute them all. But I’ve also had trippy experiences, like once a driver started using some kind of drug at the wheel, and kept on rambling and laughing loudly, driving way too fast and showing the middle finger to every speeding camera while they were all taking photos of us. I just regret that he didn't offer any to me. (am I a bad example?)

Transylvania To Kamchatka. Norbert Demeter's hitch-hiking journey map

You travel without a dictionary, phrasebook, or guidebook. How does this work for you?

Actually, I had a Russian phrasebook, but I lost it on the second day, in Ukraine. Good riddance, I thought, and didn't bother getting a new one. This trip was meant to be hard, right? All I really need is a big smile; it turns a regular face into a friendly one. Sign language and drawings also help. I got Russian down pretty good by now, so I can understand people, and make myself understood. But Mongolian is like no other language I know, and sometimes I can't make myself understood, to the point that I have no choice but just smile and wave good-bye :)

Do you have any plans for after you finish this trip?

Well, I’m keeping a journal, which I hope I can turn into a book. I think it's interesting enough to be a good read, and maybe inspire others to start their own journeys. Other than that, I’m looking at maps in my head and planning future adventures that would top this one. There are a few ideas in there, including one for a similar journey but with zero money in my pocket. Now that's gonna be a challenge. :D

Do you think this experience is changing the way you think and perceive the world? How?

I don't know yet, but it's certainly reaffirming what I already know: people are good and "sharing is caring". Everyone, including police and border officials warned me that it's very dangerous and I’m going to get hurt, robbed, or killed. I prepared myself for all kinds of bad situations, but it's been surprising how kind and generous people are. Everybody wants to lend a hand, give a push. What I’ve learned though, is that the measure of a life well-lived is the experiences you collect along the way, so I try to cram as many things in there as I can. Never refuse an invitation, don't say no to an opportunity and always be brave when facing your fears.

Thank you, Norbert for this interview. You are an inspiration for us all sorry, lazy asses who sit at our desks day in, day out, dreaming about far away places but never have the guts to follow our dreams. You are the living proof that the world can be experienced in a myriad of different ways.

You can (& please do so) follow Norbert on his travels on Facebook.

Have a safe journey, Norbert! May all your dreams come true!

The Last Free People On Earth - Uncontacted Tribes

2011-06-23T17:58:00.000+02:00

What does freedom mean to you and what's the price you are willing to pay for it?

After months of bureaucracy the Brazilian government finally confirmed what the rest of the world seemed to have known right from the first image released months ago - there still are uncontacted tribes deep inside the Amazonian Jungle. Yes, it's like stating the obvious, but at least now it's official!

After three small forest clearings were detected in the Vale do Javari reservation on satellite images, flyovers were carried out in April this year, confirming the existence of an indigenous community. The first ever aerial footage of an uncontacted Amazon tribe was released in the 'Jungles' episode of the 'Human Planet' BBC series.

Officials from Brazil's National Indian Foundation (Funai) estimated the community's population at 200 people who live in four large straw-roofed structures that have been built within the last year. The tribe appears to grow bananas, corn, peanuts, and other crops. And they are believed to be just one of more than 100 peoples worldwide who live and thrive in isolation from our modern society. The Vale do Javari reservation is nearly the size of Portugal and is known to house at least 14 uncontacted tribes and 2000 people, but no proof on tape was brought to light up till early this year.

As is Brazilian government's policy, Funai will not attempt to contact the group, though this doesn't mean they will get to live free of our civilization's miracles and pains forever. The main threats to the integrity of these groups are illegal fishing, hunting, logging, mining, large-scale farmers and ranchers, missionaries and frontier activities, like drug trafficking. I think that in the end it is just a question of who gets to them first - the illegal miners who might not care for their survival or the "God send" missionaries who will hang their lives on a radical world perception change.

Either way, these innocent people who have no concept of government and have never in their lives seen a car or a computer (can't say the same about flying machines and I really wonder that was in their heads when they first saw one and what legends were born in the days after) are in great danger. Their lifestyle is more likely about to end and their children are probably bound to worry about paying bills, and working long hours to make money. That's if they manage to survive long enough to have children.

Their languages, their names, what they hope for and to whom they pray to is mere speculation. Not so their existence. Nope, we don't have that excuse anymore. Should they be contacted by peaceful organizations before it's too late? Do we have the right to interfere with their lifestyle and civilization? Any gift we might give them will necessarily be accompanied by a curse. They might be free for now, but their freedom is coming to an end; and I can't help but feel nostalgic about it. At least the loneliest man on Earth seemed to have a choice.

It was once thought that all indigenous tribes of the Brazilian Amazon had been contacted during the latter half of the 20th century, after which almost a fifth of their people died from diseases carried by gold-miners to which they had little or no immunity. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, there were several million tribal people living in Brazil; today, there are approximately 650,000. Most died from diseases carried by Europeans; it is still common for at least half of a tribe to die after first contact.

We live on a truly amazing planet. From primitive deep rainforest huts to space hotels there is a sea of possibilities. The vast majority of us sacrifices part of our freedom in exchange for what civilized society has to offer us. But somehow we came to the conclusion that it's unethical to make this untouched tribes a part of our charade. We all value our freedom, but when a loved one dies of a stupid and curable disease like the common cold, I bet any normal human being would choose to pay taxes instead. There are no straight answers. There are too many variables and too many people involved. It is lovely to say they should decide when to come out and join us, but sadly, the decision is not entirely theirs anymore.

The following video was shot from 1km away using a stabilised zoom lens in order to minimize the cultural impact. Please sign the petition for the protection of the uncontacted tribes. Thank you!

Further reading: Scott Wallace's The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes. The Unconquered tells the extraordinary tale of a journey into the deepest recesses of the Amazon to track one of the planet’s last uncontacted indigenous tribes. In this gripping first-person account of adventure and survival, the author follows a 34-man team into the Amazon’s uncharted depths, discovering the rainforest’s secrets while moving ever closer to a possible encounter with the mysterious flecheiros – or “People of the Arrow” – a seldom-glimpsed tribe of deft archers known to defend their lands with showers of deadly arrows before melting back into the forest shadows.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Makeover Complete. Celebrated With Photo Competition

2011-06-22T18:35:00.000+02:00

After 15 years and £40 million the restoration of St. Paul's Cathedral in London is finally finished and the temple has gained back its original glory. St. Paul's is one of Britain's most spectacular buildings, situated atop Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London's financial district and dominated the skyline before the era of tower blocks.

To celebrate the remodel, St. Paul's launched an online photo competition. To enter all you have to do is go to London (if you are not a lucky bastard who already lives there), take a picture of the new old exterior of the cathedral and upload it on St. Paul's Flickr group. Than you can rest and enjoy life and on the 16th of July check to see if you won an exclusive edition glass vase specially made by the Venice-based firm of Salviati. The ten winning images will be displayed in the cathedral's crypt.

The liberation of St. Paul's Cathedral from the ugly scaffolding luckily coincides with the 300th anniversary of the cathedral's original completion. The restoration was one of the largest and most impressive restoration projects ever undertaken in the UK. Every inch of stone, mosaic, wood and metal has been cleaned. Now the cathedral looks brand new inside out as architectural details and interior decoration were repaired and restored to their original luster. The restoration took almost half as long as it did Christopher Wren to design and build the cathedral.

Located at the end of the Millennium Bridge on the north bank of the Thames, the temple witnessed the funerals of Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Churchill, the jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria, the peace services for the end of both world wars, and the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. The crypt holds the earthly remains of many famous people such as William Blake, John Constable, and of course Christopher Wren. In his later years Christopher Wren used to sit in St. Paul's and admire his masterpiece. His grave is marked by a simple plaque that reads in Latin, "Beneath lies buried the founder of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived more than 90 years, not for himself but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you."

The 300th anniversary was celebrated yesterday with a service where Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip attended.

St. Paul's Cathedral photo by The Wolf

InterContinental Hotel Hong Kong Offers The Ultimate Valentine's Day Experience

2011-01-18T20:15:00.000+01:00

Infinity pool, Presidentianl Suite, Intercontinental Hotel, Hong Kong

Dear boyfriends and husbands, if you thought flowers, chocolate, candlelit dinners and diamonds will never run out of fashion, you were terribly wrong. We like to be pampered and feel like princesses and we love it when our girlfriends are jealous of us and you are fools for us. So better put your house up for sale because InterContinental Hotel from Hong Kong is welcoming with open arms your US$130,000 (that's HK$1 million) in exchange for a one night Valentine's Day romance in their 7,000 square feet presidential suite, probably the most extraordinary suite in the whole Asia.

InterContinental Hong Kong's presidential suite is overlooking the dazzling Victoria Harbour and it has a 2,500 square feet rooftop terrace with infinity swimming pool and jacuzzi (isn't that already worth half the money?), duplex living room, dining room, 5 bedrooms, gym, private study, sauna, steam room and rain forest shower for two. How on earth can one enjoy them all during a one night stay? Well, someone at InterContinental Hotel did some hard thinking and came up with a great idea! Let the Valentine's Day Presidential Suite offer be valid for not one, but four nights! And so it is. Between 11 and 14th of February 2011 you can live on love at superlative levels.

Duplex living room, Presidential Suite, Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong

The package comes with even more high-end features, like Rolls Royce limousine with private chauffeur at your disposal throughout your stay, a personal shopper, 1,000 roses (oh, yes, we want them red and all over the place), cocktails, romantic dinner with live music in one of the hotel's 1-Michelin star restaurants (just about all the classic little gifts but at stratospheric new levels), champagne and caviar for breakfast, private butler and... Well, you got the idea and I love the sound of every single word above.

If up till now you thought love was blind, rest assured it can be also bankrupt. Before selling your house, better ask your parents if you can live with them for a while. After all, livin' on love is just the name of an Alan Jackson song, and though I love the guy, it's better to keep one foot on the ground from time to time.

Private study, Presidential Suite, Intercontinental Hotel, Hong Kong

Photos courtesy Intercontinental Hotel Hong Kong

R.I.P. Nevada Shoe Tree. May Your Murderers Lose A Shoe

2011-01-16T00:29:00.000+01:00

Old Shoe Tree, Middlegate, Nevada

Update: It has come to my attention that shoes have sprouted out on a nearby cottonwood tree, not far from the old shoe tree which rests in peace together with its shoes in the ditch it landed.

Once upon a time there was a cottonwood tree that lived on Highway 50, known as the loneliest road in America, in the state of Nevada. It was big, 70 feet high, and strong. It was offering shadow to the anonymous passerbys and shelter to the birds of the desert.

The tree lived a peaceful life up until one day back in the late 1980s when a couple of newlyweds driving to California pulled over under its big branches. They were arguing and the groom decided to leave his bride there to cool off while he drove to the Middlegate Station for a beer. After a pint or two, the guy manned up and returned to his wife, but she was still crazy mad on him, so, in vengeance, he grabbed a pair of her shoes and tossed them into the tree and headed back to the bar for another drink. After another half-hour or so, he returned to his wife. This time, they managed to patch-up their differences. Unfortunately, he found he couldn’t get her shoes out the tree and they drove off, leaving the footwear hanging from a branch. Years later, they came back to the tree with their baby and threw his shoes up into the tree too.

Somehow the tradition picked up. People were passing by and saw the shoes in the tree and began tossing old pairs into its branches. And so the tree was reborn under a new identity: The Old Shoe Tree.

Everybody loved the Old Shoe Tree, one of the quirkiest tourist spots in Nevada. It was even believed to be the world's largest shoe tree ever. Sneakers, cowboy boots and high hills hung in tangling clumps from its branches and from afar it looked like a glycine tree in bloom. Hundreds of shoes tied together in pairs by bras and underwear and whatever came in handy, with love poems, signatures, promises, memories and accomplishments written in permanent marker decorated the Shoe Tree, like an American Fontana di Trevi. And it was quite a sight; beautiful and impressive. It was like a huge social work of art where everybody who passed by and wanted to contribute could do so. The lowest shoes were at least 15 feet off the desert floor and there was a pile of shoes underneath the tree too. The Old Shoe Tree was like the place where Skechers and Nikes went to die, a big shoe graveyard build by generations of passerbys.

Old Shoe Tree, Nevada desert

Now how was it possible for somebody on the night of December 30th, 2010, to cut down the Old Shoe Tree of Nevada? Yes, the road might have been lonely and cold that night, but no, I can't wrap up my head around the idea that somebody needed wood or footwear or that somebody needed his shoes back and found cutting the tree being easier than climbing it... Most likely it was just an act of vandalism as the authorities say. Either ways I believe this was pure evil and I can't stop thinking about that first couple that started the tradition of shoe throwing and how they must have felt about the sad news. The Shoe Tree murderers haven't been found yet. Who knows if they will ever be? The Shoe Tree was a legend and a symbol. It was dragging customers to the local businesses. Everybody knew it and loved it. Well, apparently not everybody. It was famous! And now it's gone. R.I.P. beautiful Tree of Dreams and Hopes!

Old Shoe Tree, Nevada

Yellowstone National Park Sets Visitor Record. Also Gets On Endangered Ecosystem List

2011-01-08T21:34:00.000+01:00

Bisons at Yellowstone by Aaron Villescas

Yellowstone National Park set visitor record in 2010 with 3.6 million tourists. This is the highest number of annual visitors America's first national park, established back in 1872 got in its 138 years of existance. Even President Obama and his family visited Yellowstone in 2010!

This shouldn't come as a surprise as the seven-day pass for the whole family costs only $25. Not to mention that you can bring in your own tent and barbecue and forget about fancy restaurants and expensive hotels. It's relaxing, it's nature at it's best and it's genuine.

Yellowstone stretches across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The park is known for its hot springs, extraordinary geysers and a wide variety of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bisons, and elk. Unfortunately, not everybody is happy at Yellowstone as the mountain pine beetle that lately increased in numbers due to global warming is damaging the magestic and ancient whitebark pine forests, the most prominent plant in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The whitebark pine is a source of food for birds and bears and part of a breathtaking landscapes but due to the mountain pine beetle might become functionally extinct in the next seven years. Yellowstone National Park made it to Endagered Species Coalition's top 10 endangered ecosystems list and they are now urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the tree as an endangered species, according to Yellowstone Insider.

Gray Wolf (endangered) at Yellowstone National Park by USFWS Endangered Species

Morning Glory Pool at Yellowstone National Park by David Fulmer

Swans at Yellowstone National Park by Dan Peak

Great Fountain Geyser at Yellowstone by Alan Vernon

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone by Alan Vernon

Autumn grasses in the Orange spring area, Yellowstone by Alan Vernon

Yellowstone National Park by John Carver

Striped Skunk at Yellowstone by Dan Dzurisin

Grizzly bear at Yellowston National Park by Aaron Villescas

Grand Prismatic Spring by Alan Vernon

Autumn color at Yellowstone by Alan Vernon

Photos: Flickr Commons

Hotel de Glace, Canada's Ice Hotel Now Open For The Season

2011-01-08T11:54:00.000+01:00

If Frosty the Snowman would visit Canada, I'm sure Hotel de Glace would be his first choice. But if I am to visit Quebec in winter, I think I would go for a more conventional (and cheaper) accommodation. Of course, I would visit the ice hotel, I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world, but neither the spa and sauna facilities not the intriguing fireplaces would convince me to spend a night in an ice bed.

Hotel de Glace, ice hotel in Canada

I can't stop wondering: isn't it counterproductive building a hotel every December just to melt away at the end of every March? As they've been doing it for more then a decade now, probably not. And for $235 (Canadian Dollars) per person per night I trust they even turn a profit at the end of the season. I mean, ice cannot be that expensive!

For me, this is proof of the huge amount of creative juices that are flowing around us and of the human need for conquering new territories, more than anything else. Building an ice hotel is crazy, but the right kind of it, as it is crafting ice sculptures for the Harbin Snow Festival or building huge papier mache figurines for Las Fallas Festival in Valencia, just to burn them later.

This year's 32 rooms Hotel de Glace was built closer to the city centre than ever before, on the site of the old Quebec zoo and it’s bigger and warmer than ever before. It has improved feature, a larger living space, heated pavilions and a theme I simply love: Biodiversity. Of course it has a restaurant where guests can enjoy a hot soup and a hot chocolate, an ice bar where cocktails are served in ice glasses, and as any self respecting weird hotel, a wedding chapel for those who prefer love below 0ºC.

The overnight rates include a welcome cocktail, tour of the hotel, access to the hot tubs and sauna, equipment & instructions for the night (thanks God!), a hot morning beverage and breakfast. The temperatures in the rooms are kept between -3°C and -5°C (we wouldn't want it to start dripping, would we?) and the beds have a solid ice base topped with a wooden boxspring and mattress.

Hotel de Glace is definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and for Star Wars fans it might be a reminiscence of Hoth, the snow and ice world, but without the moons. Otherwise, the Canadian ice hotel could be just a hell of a freezing experience, bitter sweetened by the five meters high snow arches, the dazzling decor and the crystalline ice sculptures.

The North America's only ice hotel opens every year at the begining of January (January 7th in 2011) and closes at the end of March (March 27th in 2011), when it starts melting away and eventually disappear off the face of the Earth.

Hotel de Glace is not the only ice hotel there is though, and if you live in other parts of the world and want to experience a magical night in a wet bed, you can book a room in the original ice hotel from Sweden (the biggest of its kind), the one in Norway, the one in Finland or the one in Romania, according to Wikipedia.

16 Years Old Romanian Girl About To Conquer The Highest Mountain In Antarctica

2011-01-07T16:37:00.000+01:00

16 years old climber Crina Popescu from Romania

There's something wrong with the teenage girls nowadays; they seem to be more interested in conquering seas and mountains than boys. And I can assure you that wasn't the case 10 years ago when I was there. I remember it all pretty clear!

The 16 years old Crina Popescu from Romania is currently in Antarctica getting ready to put the flag of her country on top of Mt Vinson, the tallest mountain on the continent, by the end of this week. Already a well-known climber back home, she has it all planned. After conquering Mt Vinson (4.892 m) she will climb Mt Sidley (4.181 m), the highest volcano in Antarctica, becoming the youngest woman to complete the Volcanic Seven Summits, which means she has climbed the tallest volcano on each continent.

If everything goes well, Mt Everest is next on the list. She hopes to reach its top in April 2011 and become the youngest woman to complete the Seven Summits (the highest mountains on the 7 continents). The Antarctica expedition is the first one Crina does without her father. Born in Rasnov, a town close to Dracula's Castle, she's been climbing mountains since she was six and she definitely has plenty of mountaineering experience.

In 2010 Crina Popescu climbed two of the Seven Volcanoes and two of the Seven Summits, including Mt McKinley, the highest peak in US, known for its harsh climate conditions.

It's summer time now in Antarctica and the sun is shining 24/7, with an intensity that melts snow on dark objects. The average temperatures during this period are usually −30°C, which means this is a good time for climbing. The annual snowfall on Vinson is low and the climate is generally controlled by the polar ice cap's high-pressure system, creating predominantly stable, cold, windless conditions.

Mt Vinson offers climbers extraordinary views from its summit, thousands of square miles of ice caps and glaciers which then fade into a distinctly curved horizon. I can't even begin to imagine what this girl has seen and experienced already in her young life. I can only hope that after conquering all the mightiest stones in the world, she won't have a problem conquering the human heart. Go get them girl!

1 Butterbeer, 1 Million Butterbeers At Universal Orlando

2011-01-07T00:42:00.000+01:00

Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort

Harry Potter fan or not, you are bound to enjoy a butterbeer pint, get a foamy moustaches and a magic wand at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando Resort, or so the rumours go. The theme park sold the 1 millionth butterbeer during the holidays season, just six months after the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction opened. The event was celebrated on the streets of Hogsmeade with... yes, that's right, more butterbeer!

Butterbeer is a very popular wizarding beverage, sweet and creamy that tastes like shortbread and butterscotch or a Werther's caramel candy with a latte type of foam. Originally it had a very slight alcohol content, "which could get house-elves fully drunk, but seemed to have a less pronounced effect on humans", but the Universal's secret recipe approved by J. K. Rowling in a non-alcoholic drink served regular or frozen. The drink is drawn from a tap, like a beer, and the dense, whipped topping is added from a separate tap.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter situated inside Universal's Islands of Adventure, boosted park attendance 36% in the first three months only. Nevertheless, as from the beginning of this year the park raised the annual pass prices with up to $60 and the 4 days pass with $20. It seems that the almost $400 million Wizarding World of Harry Potter investment will take many more $3 ($4 for frozen) mugs of butterbeer to pay off.

Photo: Flickr user popculturegeek

Disney Dream Cruise Ship Arrives At Port Canaveral, Florida

2011-01-06T10:41:00.000+01:00

Disney Dream cruise ship's Art Deco atrium lobby

The brand new Disney Dream cruise ship entered its Florida port welcomed by a fireworks display this week, after crossing the Atlantic from a ship yard in Germany. The Maiden Voyage is set for January 26th, 2011 and according to Disney Cruise Line webpage, it is nearly fully booked. Disney Dream is scheduled to sail three, four and five-night cruises to the Bahamas, from Port Canaveral. This is the third Disney cruise ship and the first new one in over a decade. A forth ship, Disney Fantasy, is set to debut in April 2012.

Disney Dream is 14 decks tall and can comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers in 1,250 staterooms with extra storage and split bathrooms. There will be a crew member for every 2,7 passengers. Now that's a lot of pampering if you ask me, but I think I could survive a few days without lifting a finger! Out of all the pools, spa and fitness facilities, restaurants, live shows and youth clubs Disney Dream promises, the AquaDuck seems to be the best piece of entertainment they have there. No wonder, as it is the very first water coaster at sea! You can have a virtual tour of the AquaDuck in the video below.

Image: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog

Spain Bans Smoking. Take A Deep Breath

2011-01-02T23:20:00.000+01:00

As from today, January 2nd, 2011, it is illegal to smoke in enclosed public places in Spain, including bars, restaurants, discos, offices, hallways, elevators, casinos, airports, nearby school and hospital entrances, and so on. The list with its exceptions is as long as my hand. Hotels, hostels and similar are not allowed having more than 30% of the rooms as smoking rooms and they have to be the same ones from one guest to another. If you smoke, than better book in advance!

I can see the distress café owners and smokers are in. The only place is missing from this list is people's very own, personal homes, you know, that place where you are supposed to be free to do anything you like as long as you don't hurt others. Oh, wait, smoking is harmful to others! Out of 51,000 annual deaths due to smoking in

Spain

, 3,000 are passive smokers. Never mind, just wait four more years and the new amendment will include private residences as well... Spain's national health care system is definitely looking for ways to reduce costs. A new era begins today. Unfortunately smoke-free it's not the same as clean air. Though Spain is a leader in green energy, in this direction work much to be done left is.

The previous anti-smoking law from 2006 allowed small bars and restaurants to choose between being smoking or no smoking and the larger ones required two separate areas. This time though, the Spanish government outdid itself. They even created a webpage where people can anonymously go and file complaints. This so reminds me of Primary School... More than that, the fine will range from 30euro to... take a deep breath... 100,000euro. Not to mention that not only the person violating the law is to be fine, but the owner of the company where the action took place too. Is this supposed to balance the losses Spain might have due to the ones that constrained by these new conditions will slowly give up smoking?

I don's smoke; never did. From where I stand, this is good news. How do you feel about the new anti-smoking law in Spain?

$500,000 Fireworks Show & No Cars On Las Vegas Strip

2010-12-30T10:27:00.000+01:00

Las Vegas Strip by Thierry

More than 300,000 people are expected to celebrate New Year's Eve in the Sin City this year, where the celebration will be highlighted by a $500,000 fireworks show from the rooftops of seven resorts. However, for safety reasons the police decided to close the Las Vegas Strip to vehicle traffic from 6:30 p.m. on Friday night till Saturday morning. The good news is that one can party in the street all night long between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road without being hit by a car. The bad news is... well, stay close to your hotel or party till next morning when traffic will be allowed on the Strip again. Parking lots might be a rare thing and those high hills and colourful cocktails and champagne are not your friends anymore when you have to walk a few miles. What happens's in Vegas, stays in Vegas. At least till the traffic is restored...

Happy New Year wherever you decide to party on New Year's Eve! Just make sure you stay safe!

Explorer Lonnie Dupre To Attempt Solo Climb Of Tallest Mountain In USA

2010-12-29T13:49:00.000+01:00

Arctic and polar explorer Lonnie Dupre

While most of us hope to lose that 5 extra pounds or to get more organized in the year to come, this kind of trivial things are well behind 49 years old explorer Lonnie Dupre from Minnesota whose dream is to become the first man to solo climb Alaska's Mt. McKinley in January. Also known as Denali, this is the highest mountain peak in USA, rising 20,320 feet above sea level.

Dupre has a lifelong love affair with the polar region and 25 years of experience behind him and that surely will help him face the challenges he might encounter in this new adventure. He's already crossed the Bering Strait, trekked to the North Pole twice, circumnavigated Greenland in a canoe and climbed Mt. McKinley during summer. Walking in his own footprints might help him find his way to the top of the mountain again before January 31st as he plans to.

Lonnie Dupre has been training hard for what's going to be the greatest challenge of his life by swinging kettle bells, cross-country skiing for miles, practicing digging snow caves like the ones he will sleep in every night on Denali and exercising daily while connected to a machine that sucks the oxygen out of the air to simulate the high altitude he will face on the mountain. Not in vain they say one climbs the mountain for the hell of it.

Mt McKinley might be a spectacular sight in summer, but during winter, snow, darkness and cold reign its slopes. It can get down to fifty degrease below and to be even more physically and psychologically challenging, there won't be much light either. The lowest temperature recorded on Mt McKinley was approximately −100°F (−73°C) degrees. If you ask me, this is a suicide mission. I better go organize my wardrobe. A little voice inside my head tells me I have more chances to survive that.

Dupre will be on a six thousand calories per day diet while climbing to prevent him from freezing and to conserve his weight and fuel. He plans to submit daily blog entries, photographs and audio posts during his expedition to inspire, educate and advocate for the environment. You can follow him on his webside - Lonnie Dupre.

"Above 14,000 feet I think it will be a recovery and not a rescue," said Expedition Base Manager Tom Surprenant. So in the end, there are only two options: try hard or die trying. Only 16 other people have ever successfully reached the summit of Mt McKinley during the winter months, but nobody dared to climb this deadly mountain alone in January before. The line between courage and craziness is thin indeed. However, I wish him the best of luck. The world needs climbers to bring back stories for us, the ones at the bottom of the mountain, to have something to dream about.

$11 Million Bejeweled Christmas Tree At Emirates Palace Hotel In Abu Dhabi

2010-12-18T12:17:00.000+01:00

The $11 Million Christmas Tree At Emirates Palace Hotel In Abu Dhabi

This might come as a surprise, but the most expensive Christmas tree ever is brought to you by the Muslisms and it can be seen in the gold-leaf bedecked atrium of the luxurious seven-star Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Yap! The one and only we've seen earlier this year in 'Sex And The City 2'.

The 13 meters artificial evergreen alone is valued at $10,000. The remaining over $11 million is in its glamorous decoration (that at the end of the holiday season will be recovered, which kind of makes you wonder...). Soo Kee diamond Christmas tree from 2007 valued at $1,005,000 and Ginza Tanaka 24k gold Christmas tree from 2008 valued at $1.6 million pale in comparison. How sparkling this Christmas tree must be, all dressed up in diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires, gold and silver! Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and watches hang from its branches and my imagination runs wild just looking at those huge presents under it. This is one Christmas tree that will most likely enter the Guinness World Records Book for the most precious one in history.

My precious! My precious! Must have the precious! We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false!

Update: Here you can watch a video Rosa from newsy.com was kind enough to recommed. It contains closeups of the tree and a little twist.

Photo: mysanantonio.com

Spain To Have The Largest High-Speed Rail Network In The World

2010-12-13T14:23:00.000+01:00

The new high-speed train Madrid-Valencia

Visiting Madrid? Have you considered a day trip to Valencia too? Of course not; almost four hours by train one way barely lives any time to visit the city. But that's about to change. On the 18th of December 2010 the new AVE high-speed train that connects Madrid with Valencia will launch and the 438km between the two cities will seem a short relaxing trip. It will take you only 1h 35min at 330km/h to travel from the heart of Spain to the Mediterranean coast, just enough time to watch a movie on the way. The train will live you in the city centre, next to the Plaza de Torros and only a couple of minutes away from the City Hall and the beautiful Valencian cathedral, where the Holy Grail is kept safe. You can loose yourself on the narrow streets of the old El Carmen district, visit de newly restored baroque churches, go shopping, visit the world-famous City Of Arts And Sciences or even go toast yourself on the beach while sipping a Mojito. The new AVE train will run hourly and the ticket will cost 79,80euro; that's about 30euro extra for the new even greener infrastructure that places Spain on top of the list for the largest high-speed rail network in the world. Discounts are available for internet purchases and for return tickets. For more information visit renfe.com

Photo: renfe.com

Sleep In Your Own Egg Shaped Hotel

2010-12-12T18:28:00.000+01:00

Egg shaped, rent free, eco friendly house

The 24 years old Beijing architect Dai Haifei came up with an ingenious way of living rent free and even more, location free. His egg shaped, sun powered house design is said to fit easily on the sidewalk; on a generous Beijing sidewalk, not on a narrow European sidewalk anyways. The mobile house is made out of bamboo strips and covered in sack bags with grass seed that together with the solar panel definitely give the adobe a modern eco look. This pod literarily puts a roof on top of your head but it stops pretty much there. It clearly has safety issues and might not keep you very warm during a cold winter night, not to mention that The Flintstones had better facilities than this, but for only $1,000 it can be yours forever. If you don't mind sleeping in a cocoon, this might be a good investment. Just think about Tokyo's creepy capsule hotels and decide for yourself. However, if you are claustrophobic, you might want to take into consideration more traditional ways of spending the night...

Photo: AFP / Getty Images

Lady Gaga Gets The Wax Treatment Of A Lifetime At Madame Tussauds

2010-12-10T23:17:00.000+01:00

Lady Gaga's hat hairstyle at Madame Tussauds in New York

Like all the attention Lady Gaga was getting wasn't enough! Yesterday 8 out of 12 Madame Tussauds museums around the world unveiled eight different Lady Gaga wax models, this being the most ambitious figure launch in Madame Tussauds history.

In Hollywood Gaga wears her lady-in-lace look from the 2010 British Awards. In New York, the hat hairstyle shown here steals the show. In London Gaga sports her emblematic Phillip Tracey telephone hat. In Amsterdam, Gaga wears the hair piece, nude Maison Martin Margiela bodysuit and white blazer. Too bad she's kind of stiff for the Red Light District. The other Gaga wax models can be found in Las Vegas, Berlin, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The suits are equally outrageous.

Details of the eight figurines were kept top secret prior to the big launch. Now fans can finaly take pics next to their favorite Lady Gaga and even get e bit touchy-feely. Chances are Gaga will shock us with new suits pretty soon. There are four more Madame Tussauds left uncovered after all.

Photo: latimes.com

Passion For Renoir Bursts At Prado

2010-10-24T23:36:00.000+02:00

“The Letter” - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

In 1892, Pierre-Auguste Renoir visited Prado Museum in Madrid seeking inspiration. Now, over a century later, 31 of his paintings made it to El Prado Museum in "A Passion for Renoir" exhibition, including the French master's "Self-Portrait," (1875), "Madame Monet with Her Son" (1874), "The Theatre Box" (1880), "Blonde Bather" (1881) and "The Bridge at Chatou" (1875). Some of these paintings inspired major 20th-century painters such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

The popular Impressionist devoted his life to mastering the form, the light and the color. The paintings lent from the Clark Art Institute (Williamstown, Massachusetts), the American museum that possesses one of the most important holdings of Renoir’s works are an itinerary of the genres in which he worked: the feminine sensuality, the nude, portraiture, landscape, still life and flowers. This is the first monographic exhibition devoted to Renoir in Spain and it opened on the 19th of October and will close on the 6th of February 2011.