Luxury travel operator offering idyllic a Virtual Whisky tasting experience to Scotland
Over the past 13 months, the pandemic has forced us to adjust everything from the way we travel to how we imbibe drinks with our loved ones.
The silver lining? Technology has allowed us to enjoy some experiences more easily. Luxury travel operator Away From the Ordinary, long offering idyllic getaways to Scotland, has transitioned to creating virtual visits for whisky aficionados (note the Scottish decision to drop the “e”’) during the pandemic.
Since 2017, the tour operator has hosted in-person whisky tasting events, but the pandemic allowed it to realize the value of the digital space for virtual distillery visits. “Normally, if there’s a crisis in the world, you can go to the bar, and talk it over with a few whiskies with your best friends, and say, ‘Oh my god! The world’s gone crazy.’ I thought everything would be back to normal by June [2020], which is obviously not true,” said CEO Aeneas O’Hara.
Realizing the need for people to still meet together and socialize, O’hara made the decision to immediately embrace virtual events. “We had loads of inquiries. It was something that resonated with people. Whisky is about sharing a moment in time with someone. We talk about the passion of the maker of the whisky, and we talk about the passion that human beings have to congregate together,” O’Hara added.
Making the shift to virtual
Before starting Away From the Ordinary, O’Hara worked in a financial technology company and lived on three different continents while globe-trotting in his free time. When he’d travel, O’Hara would tell clients where to visit in Scotland and what whisky to drink.
During the pandemic, the core messaging and strategy of Away From the Ordinary—taking people on an authentic and intimate tour of Scotland and its whiskies—never changed. They simply shifted platforms. And, the company became more international with its outreach and marketing.
For example, when the tastings were in-person, O’Hara focused on Scotland and London-based demographics. But with virtual tastings, the company found it could be more ambitious. They adapted their marketing to create messaging that would appeal to other regions, especially the U.S. With people in lockdown, the tastings became even more about taking clients on a virtual journey through Scotland, rather than merely hosting a whisky tasting.
Now streaming: Whisky cinema
Though Away From the Ordinary could’ve stuck to virtual whisky tastings, O’Hara mentions he “wanted to carry on evolving and to challenge ourselves” in order to have repeat guests. So, in addition to traditional tastings solely focused on the whisky, the company has now created a series of pairings with chocolate and cheese. During the “digi-tastings,” guests are obliged to remain unmuted so they can engage in conversation and ask questions pertaining to whisky or Scotland.
Then, there’s Watch with Whisky, where the company has curated five drams (a small sip’s worth of the spirit) intended to be paired perfectly with Scottish-influenced cinematic classics, Braveheart and Thunderball. This experience allows attendees to gain a deeper connection to classic Scottish films by carefully pairing whiskies with key scenes.
The viewer receives samples along with instructions of when to drink the whiskies during the film. The instructions include exact scene times, plus brief descriptions on why the specific whisky has been chosen to be paired with the scene. Since the movies are available via various streaming services, the attendee can schedule Watch with Whisky on their own time.
Inspiring a travel reset
Recently, the brand has hosted a music-focused event called Whisky & Tunes. Along with distilleries, many musicians have been deeply affected by the current crisis. With this in mind, O’Hara coordinated Whisky & Tunes to shine a light on incredible whisky, and also tie in members of the Scottish community–such as artists–impacted by the loss of gigs due to the pandemic. “It’s about bringing people together in a room as much as we can to try to share that cultural Scottish experience of having musicians, having whisky and being in a room in a convivial atmosphere, where there’s music, laughter, and great whisky.”
Both previous travelers who visited Scotland with Away From the Ordinary and new virtual visitors are attending the events, the company said. The new group has been enticed to book travel by free virtual tastings, with the company saying that some people are beginning to book trips to Scotland as soon as this fall and later into spring 2022. Fortunately, the company has put flexible cancellation policies into place in case potential travelers have to cancel due to COVID or other unforeseen circumstances.
After last year, O’Hara mentioned he’s given up on predicting the future. But, he vows to continue hosting virtual events long after the pandemic ends.
“People have seen that it’s an effective way to have dad’s 60th birthday party—and dad’s passionate about whisky. So, let’s get pop, the kids, and cousins together for a virtual tasting,” he said. “Now, in a way, we’re coming full circle. The fact that people have joined a virtual whisky tasting and are now booking travel with us is the proudest thing for me with the business.”
“It shows that we pivoted—and the pivot was not only successful in its own right, but it ties in beautifully with the whole ethos behind the company. You don’t have to like whisky to like Scotland, and you don’t have to like whisky to travel with us.”
By Gabrielle Nicole Pharms www.adweek.com
American Airlines won’t offer alcohol in economy until September
American Airlines won’t resume alcohol sales in its main cabin until September.
An internal memo to flight attendants Saturday says economy passengers will have to wait until at least Sept. 13 before they can order a mid-flight drink. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline had previously announced plans to end its pause on alcohol sales in the economy cabin this summer but hadn’t set a date.
The federal face mask requirement for airplanes, airports and other modes of transportation currently runs through Sept. 13.
Alcohol sales in American Airlines’ main cabins were first suspended in late March 2020 to limit interactions between passengers and flight attendants amid the COVID pandemic. The decision to continue no alcohol sales through most of the summer comes after numerous accounts of unruly passengers in recent months, including one incident in which a Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth after allegedly being assaulted by a passenger.
By Bailey Schulz www.usatoday.com
American Airlines offers free access to Rosetta Stone and Skillshare
American Airlines has entered into an exclusive partnership with Rosetta Stone and Skillshare to bring online/remote learning onboard.
As of 1 June, customers can choose from a collection of more than 150 creative, productivity or language classes, and learn for free on American’s new Lifestyle in-flight entertainment channel.
“The importance of personal enrichment has grown over the past year, but so have the varying priorities competing for our attention,” said Clarissa Sebastian, Managing Director of Premium Customer Experience and Onboard Products. “We are thrilled to team up with Rosetta Stone and Skillshare to introduce new, interactive ways for our customers to spend their time with us.”
Through Rosetta Stone, passengers will be able to learn bite-sized content in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. More offerings will be added in the coming months.
Skillshare is the world’s largest online learning community for creativity. Customers traveling with American can bring along a journal, sketchbook or put the beverage napkins to good use while exploring classes about writing, illustration, design, photography and creativity.
In addition to Rosetta Stone and Skillshare, the new Lifestyle in-flight entertainment channel will include existing customer favourites like Calm, Austin City Limits live music and concert performances.
Lufthansa launches new ‘Onboard Delights’ catering concept
Onboard Delights, the new economy class food and beverage service for Lufthansa’s European flights, has officially launched.
Developed in collaboration with Retail inMotion, the culinary assortment is available on cross-border European flights with a duration of 60 minutes.
At Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs, the dishes are prepared daily by Gate Gourmet according to recipes from dean&david.
Lufthansa is also expanding its long-standing cooperation with the coffee house, Dallmayr, which is supplying confectionery and patisserie specialties, as well as the hot beverages. The products on offer include a special Ethiopian coffee whereby the proceeds are linked to support various humanitarian projects in the Dano region.
In addition, there is a large selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as numerous snacks for purchase. A water bottle and a chocolate surprise will be served to guests free-of-charge.
The selection of fresh products is updated every three months. The service concept in Business Class remains unchanged. In order to meet hygiene requirements on board, payment will be made exclusively without cash.
The best countries with incentives to retire
The idea of retiring abroad is an appealing one. With no office tying you down, and the option to spend your days wherever—and however—you please, passing your time in a new country calls to many avid travelers. But once you decide to relocate abroad (and get a sense of what it will take to do so), you’ve got to decide where to go.
While moving abroad can generally be tricky business, a number of countries are more than accommodating to expat retirees. In fact, some offer real incentives, too. Small towns in countries like France, Spain, and Italy, for example, sell off fixer-upper homes for one euro to attract foreign investments; other places are more directly trying to tempt retirees and pensioners looking to relocate, with visas that promise tax cuts, and steep-discount programs that make U.S. dollars go a long way.
The below six countries, across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, offer some of the best incentives for retirees—promising to make the big move well worth your while.
The official currency of Panama, the balboa, is currently equivalent in value to the U.S. dollar, making deciphering costs easy for Americans keen on retiring here. There are also an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 American expats currently living in Panama—no surprise, since the Panama Pensionado (or Panama Retirement) visa, started in 1987, is one of the best for attracting foreign nationals.
Why? It’s all about the discounts. Think of the Panama Pensionado as the ultimate coupon book. Qualifying applicants for this permanent-residency visa receive import-tax exemptions on household goods up to $10,000 and on a new car every other year, plus substantial discounts on everything from utility bills (25 percent) to dental exams (15 percent) and transportation services (up to 30 percent). The full discounts list, which includes savings on hotel stays, theater performances, and even airline tickets, is available here.
Requirements: Anyone 18 years of age or older can apply for the Panama Pensionado, as long as you have a proven lifetime pension or income of $1,000 per month (it’s an additional $250.00 per month for each dependent). If your monthly pension falls between $750 and $999 you can still qualify by purchasing local property worth at least $100,000. All applications must be submitted in Panama, and through a Panamanian lawyer.
If you have money to invest, Greece may be the retirement spot for you. Since 2013, this European country has offered its Greece Golden Visa, granting five-year permanent residency to anyone investing approximately $301,892 or more in local real estate. After five years you can then renew your residency (as long as you’re still invested in local property), and you can apply for citizenship after seven.
To make things more enticing, Greece’s Ministry of Finance recently proposed a seven-percent flat tax for any foreign nationals willing to transfer their tax residence (meaning the place where you’re legally required to pay taxes) here. This means that any pensions, rental income, and other transferable investments will stay at a seven-percent tax rate for up to 10 years. With tax brackets in the U.S. typically ranging from 10 to 37 percent, it’s a steal.
Requirements: There’s no requirement to invest in local real estate to take advantage of the tax rate, nor are you expected to permanently reside in Greece. Still, the overall goal is to bring in foreign dollars, so government officials hope you’ll spend accordingly. Anyone interested in utilizing Greece’s flat tax can take advantage, no matter their age. To qualify for a tax transfer, however, you can’t have paid taxes in Greece over any of the last five years. Also, the country or nation where you’re transferring your tax residence from must already have a tax agreement with Greece; the U.S. income tax treaty with Greece qualifies, and means you’re won’t be paying taxes twice.
Although it doesn’t lead to permanent residency or citizenship, the alluring Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program is a great way to enjoy the benefits of retiring abroad without actually having to retire. MM2H visa holders ages 50 and older can still work part time, as long as the work you’re doing isn’t taking employment from a Malaysian national. For instance, retirees with knowledge of English literature can lecture at a university, or an expat professor with specialized skills can work up to 20 hours a week.
Successful applicants receive a 10-year, multiple-entry visa that is renewable, plus a tax-exemption on all the money brought with you. Expats can also purchase property in Malaysia, as long as local state authorities approve the purchase first. A minimum price of $242,395 is typically required, though it’s often lower for MMH2 visa holders in select states, like Penang. There’s also no inheritance tax in Malaysia, which makes it easier to pass along assets to your descendants.
Requirements: Applicants 50 years old and over must first prove a holding of liquid assets (this can include cash, bonds, stocks, etc.) totaling at least $84,839, and a regular monthly pension of $2,500. Once approved, you’re expected to put at least $36,360 of those assets into a Malaysian bank account. After one year, you can withdraw a third of your local savings for necessities like medical bills or buying a car. Anyone 50 and under can apply for the MMH2 as well, though your assets must be at least $121,198, with $72,719 of that going into a Malaysian bank account upon approval. All applicants, regardless of age, must have a Malaysian sponsor (which can be a registered MM2H agent), and health care insurance that’s valid in Malaysia.
Portugal is known for its Golden Visa, which uses tax perks to attract foreign nationals. In this case, any expats who invest in a Portugal property of $422,705 or more (on January 1, 2022, the sum increases to $603,865 or more) will receive a two-year residency permit for themselves and their immediate family. It also includes a tax-exemption on most foreign income—including pensions, dividends, and real estate investments—for up to 10 years. You can renew the visa every two years, as long as you spend at least two weeks in the country during that time span.
Another great option for both retirees and semi-retirees is Portugal’s D7 Passive Income Visa. This popular residency program includes the option to become a non-habitual resident (and reap the aforementioned tax benefit), as well as the ability to actually work while there, whether it’s living life as a digital nomad or being employed at a Portuguese-run business. It even allows access to the country’s extensive healthcare system. The visa is valid for two years, and then can be renewed for three more. Five years in, you can apply for permanent citizenship.
Requirements: There are no age restrictions for the D7 visa, though you must demonstrate an annual passive income of at least $9,194 (plus $4,345 per adult, and $2,606 per dependent), which is equal to the country’s current minimum wage, to apply. To qualify for the Golden Visa, you can’t have paid taxes in Portugal over any of the last five years.
Along with its volcanoes, freshwater lakes, and rainforests brimming with wildlife, Nicaragua lures foreign retirees with a bevy of financial incentives. These include the ability for retirees to import up to $20,000 of household goods (such as furniture, clothing, etc.) and a car up to $25,000 in value, duty-free. Another motivator: All foreign income is tax-free.
The advantages of Nicaragua’s Pensionado Residency program, which is renewable after five years, don’t end there. Once you receive a residency card, which grants retiree status (it takes up to 6 months once you’ve submitted your application), you can open a local bank account, use credit to shop, and even get a local phone plan. For those looking to build a home, retirees can also purchase up to $50,000 of construction materials tax-free.
Requirements: Foreign nationals can retire in Nicaragua at the age of 45 as long as they have a permanent passive income of $600 per month (plus $150 per month for each dependent). You’re also required to spend at least 6 months (which can be non-consecutive) per year within the country to keep residency status.
By Laura Kiniry www.cntraveler.com
How Vienna built a gender equal city
In the Austrian capital, all aspects of public life, including transportation and language, are impacted by Vienna’s aim of being an inclusive and gender-neutral destination.
Walk through the Reumannplatz, one of the best-known squares in Austria’s capital city, Vienna, and you will probably spot an outdoor platform, prominently labelled Mädchenbühne (girls’ stage). The large podium, which can be used by everyone, was requested as a performance space by the girls of the nearby school when asked what they would like from the urban area.
The girls’ stage joins workout stations, a playground and more than 50 new trees as new additions to the square, which reopened last year following a gender-sensitive redesign. But in Vienna, it’s not only the urban spaces that are developed with gender in mind. All aspects of public life, including transportation and language, are impacted by the capital’s aim of being an inclusive and gender-neutral destination.
The strategy Vienna uses to achieve this aim is called “gender mainstreaming”. The head of the Department for Gender Mainstreaming, Ursula Bauer, describes it as a tool to achieve gender equality in society based on equal structures, settings and conditions for both women and men.
She says that it differs from women’s policy in that it makes sure regulations and procedures take into account that there is a structural difference between women and men, mainly stemming from traditional gender roles. “Women’s policy is repair work, whereas gender mainstreaming is prevention,” Bauer said.
She explained that the department looks at gender-differentiated data and provides guidelines as well as training to make sure government services are gender-sensitive and accessible. Over the years, a network of gender experts in key areas has also been set up. Bauer likens the department’s cross-sectional role to that of a watchdog making sure all areas of the city’s government take gender inequalities into account. “No-one can escape,” she said jokingly. “We are like a spiderweb.”
In practice, gender mainstreaming takes many forms, such as ensuring government bodies use gender-sensitive language to communicate, or that public transportation includes illustrations of men with children to signal seats reserved for parents. A visitor to the capital might also notice the wide pavements for mothers navigating the city with prams or children, or the fact that a large proportion of the city, including the whole public transportation network, is wheelchair accessible.
Another key area is urban planning. Gender planning expert, Eva Kail, was central to making sure Vienna was one of the first cities to look to gender to shape its public spaces. Inspired by feminist planning literature, Kail began exploring the topic 30 years ago and received the budget and political backing to make it a priority. “It was time to look at the whole city from the female perspective,” she said.
Kail began collecting data on how and by whom Vienna’s public spaces were being used and discovered that the female perspective had often been missing. She explained that the predominantly male urban planners had been basing their designs on male interests and their everyday life experiences, meaning they tended to neglect the perspectives of other population groups.
Kail noticed that the perspective of teenage girls in particular was missing from the city’s parks, and, together with her team, worked with them to understand how to make these urban spaces more appealing. The result was larger areas dedicated to soccer being divided into smaller spaces so that multiple groups could play; and creating additional seating areas, such as hammocks, to retreat to. “It may sound trivial but having public toilets in parks is also important for many park users,” she said.
The new park designs, which were tested in six pilot projects in 1999 and 2000, also addressed the safety fears held by many females. “We made sure the main path was well lit, as straight as possible, and that bushes weren’t too close,” she said.
Observations showed that the pilots were a success. “They worked really well,” said Kail. “More girls were using the parks and they were taking up a larger amount of space in them.” Now visitors to the city will see that every new or refurbished park in Vienna follows the same principles.
The planning pioneer says she is often asked how to spot gender mainstreamed urban design around the city. “When it is done well, it is invisible,” she said. “A well-functioning public space, where no group is missing or struggling to use it, doesn’t stand out.”
But sometimes Vienna’s public spaces are purposefully used to make females more visible. For example, in the city’s urban development project Seestadt Aspern, the majority of the streets, squares and parks have been named after women, such as Janis Joplin, as a small counter to the historically predominant male naming. And there’s the symbolic identification of the podium in the Reumannplatz as the girls’ stage.
While Vienna’s gender mainstreaming approach helps it to position highly in quality-of-life rankings, political science professor at the University of Vienna, Birgit Sauer, says the rest of Austria hasn’t yet implemented it to the same extent. “We have a gap between Vienna and the country’s more rural areas and smaller cities,” she said.
Sauer says that while there is a tradition of gender equality in Austria, including public housing projects dating back to the 1920s, women in Vienna have more access to support, such as free childcare, which tends to be costly and have limited opening hours elsewhere in the country. “This means that mothers can work if they want to,” she said, but adds that gender pay gaps are still common.
Many travellers will think of Vienna, which is known for its formal balls, as a very traditional society, but the professor says that multiple factors have resulted in the capital being ahead of the gender equality curve in Central and Western Europe. Sauer explains that already in the 1970s, the city was home to many active women’s groups and that Vienna has a history of having Social Democratic governments that invested in creating social equality.
And this does not just stop with gender. According to Sauer, there has also been a lot of activism and political support for the LGBTQ community.
Berni Ledinski, who is the Vienna coordinator for QueerCityPass, a tourist ticket for lesbian, gay and trans visitors highlighting queer-friendly institutions, agrees. Ledinski, who also performs as the drag queen Candy Licious, says that “Vienna as a city is a really safe space for queer people.” He says that it not only offers a good range of queer-friendly cafes, bars, shops and museums, but also has a division within the city administration focused on combating LGBTQ discrimination.
For Ledinski, a central moment for the capital’s queer community was when Thomas Neuwirth won the 2014 Eurovision song contest, performing in drag as Conchita Wurst. “It definitely had a really big impact, and marketing campaigns started to include same-sex couples,” he said.
The event also inspired the City of Vienna to make the queer community more visible in public spaces, for example, by including illustrations of same-sex couples in traffic lights. But while much progress has been made for the queer community, Ledinski says there is a potential to do more. “There is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to the recognition of inter and trans people,” he said.
And it appears that important steps in that direction are taking place. Vienna recently unveiled its first transgender crosswalk, located close to the Vienna General Hospital, which is home to the nation’s only transgender healthcare centre. “Due to Covid-19, there have been a lot of problems with trans healthcare, and we thought it would be a great sign of solidarity,” said Dominique Mras who came up with the idea.
Mras, who is the member of parliament in Vienna’s 9th district responsible for diversity, says it is important to note that the pink, blue and white crossing received support from all political parties, including the conservative one. And while it is the only such crosswalk planned for now, Mras believes that it is an important symbol to help open up the conversation around gender diversity and make trans people more visible in Vienna.
“It’s a first step,” she said.
By Noele Illien www.bbc.com
U.S. issues Japan travel warning weeks before Olympics
The US has issued a travel warning for Japan over the country’s Covid-19 surge, amid heightened scrutiny just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics. But US Olympic officials have said they are confident their athletes will be able to take part safely in the Games.
Japan already bans most travellers from entering the country. It long had low numbers of Covid cases but is now seeing a fresh wave of infections pushing the healthcare system in some cities to its limit.
Japan has recorded more than 700,000 infections and 12,000 Covid-19 deaths from the virus.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) said “travellers should avoid all travel” to the country, warning that in the “current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading” Covid variants.
Japan currently does not allow any tourists or business travellers into the country for fear of new strains of the virus. The Japanese ban includes people coming from the US being “denied permission… unless there are exceptional circumstances”.
Large parts of the country are currently under a state of emergency to give regional authorities more power to enforce measures against the pandemic.
Despite the growing crisis, the Tokyo Olympics are still scheduled to go ahead on 23 July after having been postponed from last year.
Public opinion in the country has seen a vast majority of people calling for the Games to be cancelled though, or postponed a second time. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled out both those options.
A lot of people in Japan will be hoping that the CDC warning for Americans not to travel to Japan is a precursor to the US Olympic Team pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics.
For weeks people here have been saying Japan won’t cancel without some outside pressure. There’s even a name for this in Japanese – it’s called “gaiatsu”.
Those people look set to be disappointed. The US Olympic Committee says it is not changing its plans. Nor is the International Olympic Committee.
Last Friday IOC vice president John Coates said the Olympics will go ahead “even if Tokyo is still under a state of emergency”.
That statement did not make him many friends in Japan, where daily deaths from Covid are now higher than at any time during the pandemic, and where the healthcare system in parts of western Japan has been described as “on the verge of collapse”.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said the travel warning saying it would not affect their participation.
Japanese officials on Tuesday have responded to the US travel advisory, saying they did not expect it to have any impact.
“We believe that there is no change in the US position to support the Japanese government’s determination to realise the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics,” said chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato.
No foreign travellers are allowed to attend the Games, and the Japanese government is also not ruling out the option of holding the event without any spectators, should the Covid situation get worse.
Lagging behind other developed nations in its vaccination efforts, Japan on Monday kicked off a mass vaccination programme in Tokyo and Osaka, the two cities which have been hit hardest by the new surge in infections.
So far, only about 1.9% of the population is fully vaccinated. Authorities hope that by the end of July, at least those aged 65 and above will have completed their vaccinations. www.bbc.com/news
Croatia is now opening to vaccinated Americans
The Croatian immigration agent isn’t impressed with my flimsy CDC-issued COVID-19 vaccination card. The paper, filled out in loopy strokes of blue cursive by a pharmacist at a Sam’s Club in Houston more than a month earlier, looks easy to forge.
“Your second vaccination date hasn’t even occurred yet,” the immigration agent says, lifting an eyebrow and pointing to its date: 04-12-2021.
I explain that in the United States, we write the month first, then the day. “Oh!” she shouts with a giggle.
She shows the card to another agent. They snicker at how unprofessional this American vaccination card looks. Then she stamps my passport and welcomes me to Croatia.
The land of beaches and castles is one of the first European countries to open its borders to vaccinated Americans, bypassing the European Union as it mires itself in debate over the ethics and implications of “vaccination passports,” still undecided on how to move forward. But for Croatia, the most tourism-dependent country in Europe, opening up quickly is crucial to reviving its pandemic-battered economy.
“I’ve lost 90% of my revenue for the past one year and three months,” he says.
Khan, originally from Pakistan, has sold souvenirs at this stand for 20 years. Before the pandemic, he earned around $500 a day. “Now I make around $30,” he says with a sad smile.
The Croatian government has helped him with monthly pandemic relief payments, but Split Tourist Board Director Josko Stella admits it’s not enough. What’s worse, he says, is that in the year leading up to the pandemic, Croatia hosted a record number of tourists.
“We were hoping for 2020 to be the best year of all years because we [would] have Americans coming back, we have the U.K. coming back, we have Chinese coming in, we have Koreans coming in,” says an exasperated Stella. “I have been in [the] New York Times Square travel show for two years in a row! Everybody was crazy about Croatia and then, bomb!”
Split went from 18 million overnight stays to just 8 million in a single tourism season. Nationwide, it was far worse — an 86% hit on overnight stays between 2019 and 2020 for a country that usually depends on tourism for more than a fifth of its GDP. According to the National Tourism Board, Croatia had more than 400 million overnight stays in 2019. Last year, the number plummeted to 54 million.
Stella says opening the country to the vaccinated is a step in the right direction. He’s crossing his fingers for this summer. “Because we can endure one year, we can do two half-years, but three, nobody can endure,” he says. “It’s crucial this summer, because people will lose hope if this summer they don’t go on vacation.”
The few tourists who have made it here, like Yuri Merkulov and Carina Kumina, honeymooners from Russia, enjoy empty beaches and vacant Roman ruins.
“It’s [a] very, very good time to be here, actually,” Merkulov says.
“Yes, you can take pictures of every place of interest you want and there won’t be any people there and you can walk freely and you can see the locals,” Kumina chimes in.
Local residents have had their hometowns to themselves for the first time in years. Hundreds of miles down the coast, inside the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik, life has returned to a quiet, pre-tourism existence. The narrow, winding alleys — typically filled with the din of thousands of tourists this time of year — are empty, filled instead with the sounds of a community: a child practicing the piano, a television left on, neighbors chatting.
The old city wall perched atop the rocky shores of the Adriatic — scenery that figured in the HBO series Game of Thrones, where it was portrayed as King’s Landing — is usually a big draw. In the high season, the wall is so packed that it sometimes takes hours to enter.
On the day I visit, there are just a handful of tourists in my two-hour walk along the wall. When I’m ready to get off it, it’s so empty that I need to find someone with keys to unlock a gate to let me back into the city.
“It’s maybe 5% or 6% of the normal season,” says the gatekeeper, as he searches in his pockets for the right key. “Two days ago on the wall, it was 200 tickets sold. In 2019, it was 5,000 a day.”
After opening the gate, he peppers me with questions about how I was able to travel to Croatia, if I was vaccinated and whether I was scared about the mRNA vaccination altering my DNA permanently.
“The city has offered all of us employees the vaccination, but I’m not sure yet,” he says.
Barista Petra Ercegovic, who works in Dubrovnik’s old town, can’t wait to get back to her real job on one of the several cruise ships that, before the pandemic, arrived daily to the city.
“In that glorious year of 2019, when the pandemic was not on our horizon, the city was overcrowded,” she remembers. “The cruise ships were coming constantly every single day. The airport is very close by. Every seven minutes when one plane was taking off, and every 10 minutes one was landing.”
The plaza where she spends her days serving the few who show up to drink coffee is typically filled with a dozen or more tour groups taking photos of the centuries-old church. Now it has returned to Dubrovnik’s residents, including children playing a pickup soccer game against the wall of the 18th century Church of Saint Blaise.
Ercegovic grew up surrounded by tourists in the early 2000s, and she says that until the pandemic, she’d never seen local children play here before. She had only heard stories of it.
“I remember my father telling me and then my grandpa even showed me the old photos and in front of the old church with him playing with other kids,” she says. “So it was really weird that after so many years, I can see kids here now. And it’s kind of nostalgic and it’s very nice to see them.”
Now business is about to pick up. Spurred by Croatia’s opening to Americans with vaccination cards, both United and Delta airlines are restarting direct flights from U.S. cities to Dubrovnik in July. Ercegovic’s cruise ship line has called her to return to work in September.
In the meantime, Dubrovnik’s residents are taking advantage of the empty city, including enjoying outdoor concerts underneath the stars. The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra has invited young musicians from the local high school to perform with them. They typically perform in the Rector’s Palace, a 15th century Gothic structure known for its superb acoustics — but not in the era of social distancing, says symphony director Damil Milat.
“But outside, in front of the Rector’s Palace, it’s fresh air, so it’s possible to be closer at one meter and a half, and also we are trying not to have a big audience,” says Milat.
That isn’t hard. The presence of very few tourists means the square in front of the palace is taken up by a few dozen well-dressed local parents, socially distanced, phones out, shooting video of their children performing with the orchestra.
As the musicians play, one of Dubrovnik’s ubiquitous alley cats wanders underneath the French horn section, then the violins, before curling up around the leg of a cellist. Nobody in the audience seems to notice — the cats, after all, are local residents, too — and for the moment, everyone here has their ancient walled city all to themselves.
By Rob Schmitz www.npr.org
New ‘digital nomads’ are changing Miami’s economy
The Onyx development at 21500 Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura. Miami’s sub-markets are heating up as new-to-market tenants increasingly dominate the urban core.
If remote working helped usher in Miami’s current wave of migrants, what happens now that it’s safe to return to work?
After a year away from the office, companies whose business can be conducted with just a phone and computer are working out just how to balance cost, lifestyle and corporate culture variables in the post-pandemic era.
The shakeout could have implications for Miami’s entire economy.
“It’s the million dollar question,” said Philippe Houdard, co-founder and CEO of Pipeline co-working spaces. While much of the U.S. economy was able to successfully pivot away from the office, he said, “it’s also been demonstrated that there are real limitations to just working from home.”
A growing chorus of firms say they are pivoting to a mixed model that allows for personal flexibility among staffers that still lets employers maintain a baseline corporate culture in a physical office environment.
It’s a strategy that could last — especially as Miami also sees an influx of “digital nomads” now calling the city home but ditching the traditional office model.
“The workplace is moving into a hybrid environment,” said Alan Kleber, executive managing director for commercial real estate firm JLL Miami. “Organizations are attempting to create strategies and policies of how work will get done, and that is going to impact [office] buildings.”
As a result of the shift, local office vacancies have, for now, tipped upward. In the first quarter of 2021, the Miami office market had a total vacancy of 19%, up from 18% in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the most recent JLL office market reports.
Meanwhile, in this transitional post-pandemic moment, some firms are looking beyond the central business district, with virtually every sub-market in Miami-Dade seeing increased interest.
It all makes for a changing local office landscape that is poised to thrive.
Alex Taub is emblematic of the shift. The founder and CEO of Upstream, a digital professional networking platform that on Wednesday announced it had raised $3.25 million from investors, Taub moved with his family from New York City to Miami in the throes of the pandemic.
He has continued to grow the company remotely, hiring workers both locally and back in New York. But for now, he has declined to purchase office space here. Taub said Upstream’s nine employees — only three of whom are in Miami — continue to work efficiently from home.
“We obviously like sitting down and jamming in person, but we are not committed to having a centralized office yet,” Taub said. As the rest of the world reopens, he may reconsider — but at the moment, “we don’t want to get locked into a lease,” he said.
“I think the next step is office space,” Bittel said, “and eventually they would move more and more team members to join them. That’s going to drive a population increase that will continue for the coming years.”
Some local furniture purveyors are already seeing the positive effects of the influx. Brianna Brown, president and designer at Fine-Line Furniture & Accessories in Coral Gables, estimated that up to 70% of her new business is from out-of-towners.
“I think the locals are still struggling a bit with either wanting to go hybrid or in general how they want to transition,” she said, “but everyone coming in from other states wants to get set up from the get-go.”
Yet even new arrivals are pivoting. Harry Hurst, co-founder and co-CEO of Pipe, a financial technology company now worth $2 billion, moved from Los Angeles to Miami last August. Pipe now boasts 30 total full-time employees, about a quarter of whom are in Miami.
Though the firm has leased space in Wynwood, Hurst describes the Pipe office model as “distributed,” with no plans to formally centralize its workforce. While Pipe will continue to be a Miami-first company, the model means finding the best talent anywhere in the world and letting them work from wherever they are best able to contribute.
“Pipe will be hiring across all teams,” Hurst said in an email. “We hope to expand our workforce in Miami, but Pipe will continue to be a distributed team.”
Still at Home
It is not only startups that are rearranging. Bittel said his properties have seen a variety of new work plans. A call-center lessee, for instance, sent all its employees home as the pandemic bore down and has not returned. Law firms, meanwhile, have seen some employees back to work while giving attorneys the flexibility to stay at home if they must.
“Clearly [there are] office tenants not fully back — buildings are open with limited people, and a lot of businesses learned they can work fine from home,” Bittel said.
Patricia Hernandez, founding partner at Avila Rodriguez Hernandez Mena & Garro LLP in Coral Gables, said her firm now gives all employees the option to work from home if they choose — though she found many attorneys missed the camaraderie of the office environment, and that younger lawyers were missing out on mentorship and development opportunities.
“It wasn’t an issue of efficiency — it was more an issue of losing teamwork,” Hernandez said. “People become more isolated at home, and with training, we saw it as a concern that we weren’t able to offer to more junior attorneys as much they would have otherwise.”
When they do come into the office, their desks have been rearranged to remain socially distanced. The firm also still requires masks if someone is walking around.
The lack of a lockstep march back into the office is reflected in downtown vacancies. Commercial brokerage CBRE says vacancy rates in Miami’s central business district increased slightly in the first three months of the year compared with the same period one year ago, from 16.7% to 18.8%, though inventory and class levels have changed over the period.
“We do see that the offices still haven’t really opened up,” said Abe Ng, founder and CEO of Sushi Maki. He said a wider reopening appears to still be some months off — at a minimum, when schools reopen in August. For now, he said, orders are still coming in strong from dining-room-table diners in Pembroke Pines, Palmetto Bay and Kendall.
“People are still treating themselves to sushi while working from home,” he said.
Having gotten used to a bedroom to kitchen table commute, some employees may also now be insisting on avoiding Miami’s notorious rush-hour traffic. That could end up impacting salaries, as employers mull changes in how they compensate workers for their commutes or other cost-of-living factors.
“We might be seeing more [human resources] questions brought to the table,” said Tere Blanca, founder, chairman and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate.
Sub-Market Growth
Few other cities in the U.S. are experiencing Miami’s onslaught of new-to-market tenants. Blanca estimated there is still another one million square-feet worth of demand among relocating firms.
According to CBRE, Class A landlords are taking the opportunity to increase overall rents, even as some provide flexibility on lease terms: Overall asking rents in the Miami market have increased 5.1% year-on-year to $42.66 for all classes.
“Pre-COVID, our growth in the market was driven by local business,” said Donna Abood, a principal and managing director at Avison Young. “What’s different today is that businesses are coming from Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Toronto. It forces local businesses to [move and] stay in the suburban markets. We saw that happening in the late summer and fall.”
So, some longtime Miami tenants may now be considering moves to more competitively priced options at other buildings, including moving to other growing sub-markets.
In Aventura, the 28-story Optima Onyx tower, the third of the three-towered Optima professional campus, is looking to capture some of the spillover. Onyx developer Ariel Bromberg said the tower’s high ceilings and network of open spaces and balconies have neatly situated it for the post-pandemic world.
“We’ve been working with these ideas for many years — the pandemic merely accelerated some of these trends,” he said. “We didn’t have to change things — time is showing we were right in our ideas.”
Optima’s White and Red towers are now nearly 100% leased; Onyx’s anchor tenant, Kawa Capital Management, has signed on for 18,607 square feet in the tower’s penthouse, comprising 6% of its overall space.
“As they look at coming back to the office, some companies who were in Brickell are going to be staying in Brickell, but others are looking at sub-markets that in the past they were not willing to consider,” Blanca said. Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, the Blue Lagoon/Waterford District, and Wynwood are also all seeing significant activity, she said.
For others, like the Miami office of Plaza Construction, COVID reinforced downsizing decisions. Plaza is shrinking its longtime footprint from 15,000 to 10,000 square feet. Plaza Chairman and CEO Brad Meltzer said the company is also eliminating the traditional office entirely. There will now simply be workstations that can be occupied by anyone, from the CEO on down.
“It’s not only office less but address-less,” he said. “The idea is for executives and team members to be all intertwined. The old days of having your own private office with pictures of your family or your golf trophies on display — those days are over at Plaza.”
Co-workers Return
And then there’s co-working — and Miami, long a leader in co-working density heading into the pandemic, has already seen co-working membership growth return. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Miami-based WeWork executive chairman and SoftBank International CEO Marcelo Claure said demand for space now exceeds pre-pandemic levels.
Customers “are basically sending us their employees because they don’t know how many days they’re going to be working,” Claure told the news outlet. “They don’t know where their business is going to grow.”
Pipeline’s Houdard said his company held on to about two-thirds of its members, though in some cases they were offered flexibility in pricing. Depending on the location, his spaces are now back to as high as 95% occupancy.
“Some in Miami are either suffering from cabin fever, or looking to downsize,” he said.
At local provider Büro Group, which has seven locations across Miami, memberships are up since January thanks to local entrepreneurs, firms and businesses of three to five employees relocating from New York, said Michael Feinstein, founder and CEO of Büro Group. Feinstein declined to comment on the company’s total number of members.
“With a lot of new companies moving to Miami, that bodes well to all landlords, including co-working spaces,” Feinstein said. “The co-working industry should benefit from this trend of tech and other companies moving to Miami.”
By Rob Wile & Rebecca San Juan www.miamiherald.com
The luxury villa dining experience
Food is an inseparable accompaniment to any travel or holiday experience. In luxury villa accommodations, dining is taken to a whole new level of exclusivity and personal touch. While some diners make reservations, drive themselves to 5-star restaurants, and wait for a table, villa vacationers instead have the restaurant experience brought right to the very place where they are staying – along with other delightful perks.
Your own private chef
An iconic service feature of a luxury villa stay is having your own private chef. These experienced talents provide full services for guests, from grocery shopping to the actual food serving. They combine local expertise with high-class culinary training, knowing where to find the freshest ingredients and crafting star-quality dishes with finesse.
Personalised menu
Every single meal is customizable. You are free to make requests or ask the chef for recommendations. To add some excitement, some assign a theme for their meals – be it seafood feasts, vegan or meat lover’s choice, Asian or Western cuisine. The chef can also customize the food based on budget and other preferences. For those who want it easy, an in-villa menu is also readily available for quick choosing.
Your choice of dining location and setting
Luxury villas usually have several designated areas where guests can dine with options for both indoor and outdoor. You are also free to choose your kind of setup – whether you wish for a classy dinner or barbecue parties by the pool or at the beach, whether you want a sit-down full-course meal or a buffet style luncheon. You can go for more intimate, romantic dinners for two or all-out family feasts to celebrate special occasions. Some villas even feature signature floating breakfasts in the pool, a usual favorite among guests.
Private cooking lessons on local cuisine
Though not known to many, some villa chefs also offer in-house cooking lessons for guests. This is certainly one of the most unique villa experiences, whether you are looking for a fun and engaging activity for your group or you wish to add exciting local dishes to your list of know-hows. It is a chance to learn new techniques and ingredients, as well as the fascinating food culture of the region. Some cooking lessons even come complete with actual certificates and your very own apron.
By Silvan Kitma
The Alaskan ghost town that electrified the US
This early 20th-Century copper mining town once provided comfort and community to hundreds of residents, but long after the frontier town was abandoned, a new generation moved in.
Crimson paint faded by a century of unrelenting Alaskan winters, the remains of Kennecott rise from the wilderness, an anomaly of right angles against the jagged mountain landscape of Wrangell – St Elias National Park. This early 20th-Century copper mining town once provided comfort and community to hundreds of residents. Abandoned, reclaimed and now preserved, Kennecott is the ghost town that helped electrify the US.
In the 1900s, prospectors searching along the eastern edge of the Kennicott Glacier came upon massive green cliffs of copper. Demand for copper wiring was skyrocketing as large-scale electrification efforts swept the United States, and scions including J P Morgan and the Guggenheim family saw opportunity. They formed the Alaska Syndicate, intent on accessing the mineral riches of the Alaskan wilderness.
By 1911, a railroad had been developed across inhospitable terrain, and the Kennecott mine and mill were complete. At its peak, Kennecott employed 600 people. The work was gruelling – the temperature in the mines hovered around freezing and the hours were long. But according to current local resident Kelly Bay, the community thrived. “They had big social events and ice skating in winter,” he said. The company town included a hospital, a school, recreation facilities, a general store and even a dairy.
In 1978, Kennecott was listed on the US National Register of Historic Places, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. In 1998, the US National Park Service acquired many of the buildings and much of the land and began restoring the site. Today, summer visitors make the seven-hour drive east from Anchorage to stroll the streets of Kennecott, imagining anew the challenges of life at the edge of the world.
By Matt Dworzańczyk www.bbc.com
Encapsulate Greece
Glorious Greece! With their bold reopening, travelers dreams float towards Greece and the sparkling Greek Islands this summer. The warmth and allure of Greek culture transcends millenia, as next generations find their spirits rejuvenated and souls nourished among the azure water and olive trees. Art, literature, history, cocktail bars, muses, and more await. The culture scene is thriving–and a treat for any traveler willing to do some research and dive in. Here’s a culture snapshot and a place to lay your head.
ART
The contemporary art scene thrives in Athens, with a mix of museums and galleries on any art enthusiast’s itinerary. Female gallery owners in particular are making a big splash currently in the capital. Mix old and new on your trip to the Acropolis by popping into nearby Rebecca Camhi Gallery and Eleni Koroneou Gallery.
The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) reopened in 2020 and its collection—mostly purchased during the boom years before the 2004 Olympics—is well worth a visit. Look for Greek artists such as Chryssa, Rena Papaspyrou, and Nikos Kessanlis.
BOOKS
The Magus by John Fowles
This twisted, delicious romp through a young man’s sexual and romantic coming of age, has haunted and beguiled readers since 1965. Set on a mysterious Greek Isle, the novel is filled with psychological and mythic twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very last page. A classic and a beach read in one, don’t head to Greece without this tucked in your bag.
MUSIC
Rebetiko is a folk musical style which originated in coastal cities during the Ottoman era. Similar to blues or fado, rebetiko began as “scandalous” among the downtrodden, before turning into a beloved and essential part of Greek culture. Despite its ancient origins it is still part of taverna culture to this day.
MOVIES
Greek cinema has enjoyed an international renaissance with the Greek Weird Wave, spearheaded by enfant terrible Yorgos Lanthimos. American audiences will be familiar with The Favorite (2018) and The Lobster (2015), but he also directed four films set in Greece, including the comedy My Best Friend (2001), crime drama Kinetta (2005), and dark comedy Dogtooth (2009).
Escapist fare tends to run the Mamma Mia/Summer Lovers route–instead seek out a DVD of High Season (1987) starring Jacqueline Bisset and Kenneth Branagh. Roger Ebert wrote “High Season is an example of a rare species: the intelligent silly movie.” Shot on location in Rhodes, the British rom-com will have you packing your bags immediately.
LAY YOUR HEAD
Melisses is a boutique hotel and sanctuary on the island of Andros. The natural environment inspired the architecture so the property melts into the landscape—guests only notice the panoramic view and dramatic sunsets. Meals are often served by the pool and all rooms have sea views. Retreat packages vary from yoga to winemaking to photography. They sell out fast so don’t wait to book. Your paradise awaits.
TriBeCa’s Jungsik features cutting-edge Korean cuisine
Executive Chef Jung Sik Yim seems to keep upping the ante at his namesake TriBeCa restaurant, Jungsik. Arguably being the first to introduce truly high-end Korean cuisine in New York, his cutting-edge fare continues to evolve. After enjoying the honor of one Michelin star, Jungsik is now the recipient of two of the highly coveted Michelin stars—an impressive honor bestowed on a rare few.
Similar to the plight of Indian and Mexican cuisines, Korean food has been pigeon-holed by many unfamiliar with its complexities, into one particular expected experience and category. It is restaurants like Jungsik that awaken us to the true beauty and variety of what is possible.
Modern, Korean cuisine of extremely high caliber can be difficult to find in New York, but rest assured, Jungsik has this covered. Located in the space that was formerly Chanterelle, this is a beacon for those seeking a truly unique and exquisite epicurean experience.
Chef Yim studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, immediately followed by key apprenticeships at famed restaurants Bouley and Aquavit. This along with a short stint in Spain and a highly successful restaurant venture in Seoul, left him extremely well equipped to execute this extraordinary vision.
Sparsely decorated and equipped with two long walls of comfortable banquettes and white linen-topped tables, the center area frees up staff for an unobstructed bird’s-eye view of their guests needs. The attention to the delivery of top-level service to their patrons is palpable and no need goes unattended. Jungsik is rife with a level of service and formality that is in short supply these days.
Their unique offering includes a variety of tasting menus, one of which is the recommended ‘Signature Tasting Menu’ that is sure to send you reeling. Featuring items such as Osetra Caviar, Branzino, Foie Gras Mandoo and impossibly tender and crispy Octopus, you are certain to be wowed. If you want to increase your heart rate and elevate your experience to even higher levels, be sure to try it with the Premium Wine Pairing which features selections such as Domaine Leflaive, Opus One and Château d’Yquem—exquisite!
Along with their superlative cuisine, Jungsik has also become rather well known for the impressive chops of their highly esteemed Pastry Chef, Eunji Lee. Her 5-course dessert menu (available with wine pairing) is sure to send you off into the night with a smile on your face. It includes a Pineapple Cocktail (Lime-Mezcal Sorbet, Pineapple Granite, Lime Cream, Pineapple Salsa); Fig Tart (Black Mission Figs, Honey Cream, Huckleberry Jam, Pinot Noir Sorbet); Baby Banana (Dulcey Ganache, French Coffee Ice Cream, Baileys Cake); NY-Seoul ver.2 (Brown Rice Choux, Pecan Praline, Vanilla Ice Cream) and a Petit Four (Yakgwa, Bonbon au Chocolat, Perilla Macaron).
Although decadence is front and center at Jungsik, it is certainly not at the expense of class and elegance. This is a top-level dining experience any way you dice it up.
By Doug Singer
Perfect Palma rooftops
Just a short hop Palma couldn’t be more accessible for a break from most European cities and is also increasing in popularity with American visitors since the recent award winning showing of BBC’s The Night Manager and now the The Mallorca Files being aired on US TV.
The city is compact and easy to negotiate on foot, is steeped in history with many attractions such as the magnificent Gothic Cathedral, as well as chic shopping streets and a seemingly endless selection of bars and restaurants.
But where to stay?
A good-looking city like Palma needs admiring and its hard to beat a bird’s eye view! For the urban hotelier of today, the rooftop pool is no longer a luxury but an essential part of the offering, giving guests a place to relax, cool off and admire the view. Here’s our selection of the best spots in the city to sip a cold glass, dip in a pool or stretch on a sunbed under a warm Mediterranean sky.
El Llorenc Par de la Mar
A striking new five star hotel set in a tranquil spot adjacent to Palma’s old city walls and overlooking the Bay. On the edge of the historic quarter, this neighbourhood of La Calatrava is one of the oldest in Palma.
The crowning glory has to be the 360 degree views form the multi-levelled roof terrace with its 12 metre infinity pool and Balinese-style sunbeds. Disconnect from the hustle and bustle, stretch out and drink in that view over the Mediterranean, the old town and the Cathedral.
A couple of steps up is a bar, lounge area and dining tables where all, including non-residents, are welcome to enjoy the beautiful setting and views. Open from lunch to late evening.
Nakar Hotel
This iconic building has been in the Ramis family for three generations and is well known in the city and its location, slap bang in the centre of the smartest shopping district, is hard to beat.
What’s special about the Nakar is views. When the lift doors open at the 8th floor Cuit Restaurant, you are welcomed by views across the rooftops of the Cathedral and the Bay of Palma beyond. The restaurant is open to non-resident guests and is a popular destination for local foodies.
Walk up one level more to the 9th floor (for guests only) and enjoy that same stunning view, complete with loungers and splash pool.
Summum Prime Boutique Hotel
This 16th-century palace has been artfully refurbished into a five-star boutique hotel offering all mod cons while retaining its historic character. Situated in Palma’s Gothic Quarter, it is steps away from the shops of Jaume III and Paseo del Borne.
Lazing around at the Summúm is easy on the pretty roof terrace with spectacular views over the old city. There is a plunge pool where guests can cool off and sun loungers while enjoying a drink or snack.
Hotel Glória de Sant Jaume
Situated in the heart of Palma’s old town, this five star luxury hotel lives up to its name. This dazzling new hotel is just moments from the elegant shopping area of Avenue Sant Jaume and La Rambla.
The only remaining building in the city with four stone arches, it is reminiscent of a far flung colonial club with sumptuous dark woods, furnishings and tiled floors.
The hotel has a blissfully quiet roof terrace complete with plunge pool with views over the old town to Palma cathedral. Why not join the daily yoga classes that take place next to the pool or just sip and ‘ people-watch’ instead.
Boutique Hotel Can Alomar
If you like to be in the thick of things, then Boutique Hotel Can Alomar is for you. Shopping is inevitable. Step outside the hotel and it’s neighbour is Massimo Dutti on one side and Louis Vuitton on the other. But because the hotel occupies the building from the 2nd floor up, there is a feeling of quiet calm, unlike many other city centre hotels which can suffer from noise.
This hotel, similar to the Nakar Hotel, offers a dual rooftop setting. On top of the hotel you find the sun terrace, with rooftop pool and a jacuzzi. On the 2nd floor the restaurant De Tokio a Lima, open to all, has two lovely open-sky terraces, where you can enjoy a fusion of Asian and South American food.
Convent de la Missió
Tucked down one of Palma’s charming little streets in the heart of the historic centre, you will find this stunning boutique hotel.
An 18th century Convent for missionaries has been blended with 21st century luxury to create a chic hotel which is a real gem. With the added bonus of a Michelin Star chef in residence – Marc Fosh. Completely refurbished a couple of years ago, it now now boasts the largest hotel roof terrace in Palma, with pool, huge sundeck and views across the city and in the distance to Bellver Castle.
Can Bordoy Grand House and Garden
Recently opened in the heart of old Palma, this is one of the jewels of the hotel scene. Beautifully-restored close to La Llotja, the trading exchange of Mallorca’s merchants since the 1400s, and the marina and just minutes from the smart shops and pavement cafes of Passeig del Borne, it offers a haven of peace and tranquility.
The roof terrace and pool area is an oasis of calm, where you can look out over the hotel gardens and across the rooftops to the rose window of Palma’s La Seu Gothic Cathedral and the glinting blue of the Mediterranean beyond. The views have got to be some of the best in Palma.
Possada Terra Santa
Tucked in one of Palma’s delightful little streets in the heart of the old town you will find Posada Terra Santa dating back to 1576. It’s location is hard to beat, just minutes from Placa Mayor with its bar, cafés and entertainers and a gentle stroll downhill will bring you to the Paseo Maritimo and the Bay of Palma.
Sitting pretty on the roof top with plunge pool and sun terrace, it is amazing to think that you are in the middle of a busy European city and yet at this lofty level there is a cushion of calm and tranquility. At the push of a button, a staff member will deliver you a refreshment of your choice so that you can just relax and take in the view. Ahhh!
Boutique Hotel Sant Jaume
This grand new hotel is perfectly situated. In a quiet narrow street between the Gothic Sant Jaume church and the Santa Magdalena Convent, just minutes from the main shopping street of Jaime III and all of Palma’s attractions. A lofty atrium awaits you on arrival and a friendly smile from the delightful staff.
Make your way up to the fourth floor sun deck and drink in the views over the roof tops and spires of Palma’s old town and across to it’s majestic cathedral. Surrounded by sunbeds and with a pale blue plunge pool, this is the place to flop and relax.
Sant Francesc Hotel Singular.
Visitors to Palma just can’t get enough of this award winning. In heart of the historic quarter, this handsome 1880 villa has been remodelled into a magnificent luxury hideaway and has become one of the most chic addresses in Palma.
Situated in front of the Basílica Sant Francesc and just minutes away from all of Palma’s attractions, Palma on foot is easy.
But it’s the stylish rooftop terrace that will become your base camp and it’s hard to pull away.
This is one of the few terraces that offers a lunch, supper and cocktail menu with seated dining and sit up cocktail bar (open to non residents except during busy times in high season). Order your lunch, swim it off and snooze the afternoon away after pausing to take-in the 13th century spires as your backdrop. Impressive.
Don’t leave your giddy views of Palma to chance. With such an outstanding collection of hotels to choose from, your head for heights is assured.
By Deirdre O’Connor
Iberia launches pre-order food service
Iberia has launched its Deliverfly initiative to improve the customer experience and reduce waste on the aircraft.
Designed in conjunction with the Spanish start-up Homeria, Deliverfly is available from the moment of booking a flight and up to 60 minutes before departure for drinks and packaged snacks, while fresh dishes such as salads, pokes, and sandwiches must be ordered four hours before departure from Madrid, and 24 hours in advance from other cities served by Iberia.
Deliverfly, is available to customers booking short- or medium-haul flights, enabling them to purchase from a large range of food options, prepared daily by Iberia’s caterers Do&CO in Madrid.
The Deliveryfly range includes both hot and cold dishes and caters for everyone – vegan and salmon “poke” bowls, a variety of salads, sandwiches, and pastas, including lasagne, as well as gourmet tapas, at very affordable prices.
Customers will receive email messages confirming their orders, which will be delivered to their seats by cabin staff during the flight.
Explore Oslo the sophisticated capital of Norway
Norway’s sophisticated capital of Oslo conjures images of stunning architecture, a vibrant culinary scene and Viking museums, but it’s often thought of as being an expensive city to visit.
However, if you’re heading to Norway on an Arctic expedition, it would be an incredible shame to miss out on what Oslo has to offer. That’s why we’ve put together some of the top free activities in Oslo for the budget conscious traveler.
1. Marvel at the futuristic Oslo Opera House
Home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the Oslo Opera House is truly an architectural spectacle to behold. Several art projects were commissioned for the interior and exterior of the Opera House. The most notable is She Lies, a sculpture constructed of stainless steel and glass panels by Monica Bonvicini. It is permanently installed on a concrete platform in the fjord adjacent to Opera House and floats on the water moving in response to tides and wind to create an ever-changing face to viewers. Sitting on the bank of the Oslofjord, the building appears to rise out of the water like a small iceberg, its angular lines enabling visitors to walk up to the roof for a great view of the fjord and the rest of the city.
2. Peruse the collection at the Nasjonalgalleriet
Norway’s largest public collection of sculptures and paintings offers free entry on Thursdays, and houses a range of incredible artworks, including ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch.
The museum also has old master European paintings by painters such as El Greco, Lucas Cranach the Elder (Golden Age), Gaulli (Sacrifice of Noah), Orazio Gentileschi, Artemisia Gentileschi, Andrea Locatelli (Bachannal Scene), Pieter Elinga (Letter Carrier), Ferdinand Bol, Daniel De Blieck (Church Interior), Jacob van der Ulft (Seaport), Cornelis Bisschop (Seamstress) and Jan van Goyen. There are also 19th and 20th Century International paintings by Armand Guillaumin, Carl Sohn, Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet (Rainy Day, Etretat), Paul Cézanne, and Pablo Picasso. There are also Norwegian paintings by Adolph Tidemand, Hans Gude, Harriet Backer, and Lars Jorde.
3. Discover Norway’s past at the Askerhus Fortress
Construction of the medieval Askerhus Castle and Fortress first began all the way back in 1299. It was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the main fief and later main county of Akershus, which was originally one of Norway’s four main regions and which included most of Eastern Norway. A great place to catch a glimpse of Norway’s past, you can roam the grounds of the fortress on a guided tour during summer.
4. Mingle with the locals at the market
If you want to rub shoulders with Oslo locals away from the tourist sites, head to one of the city’s various markets. Vestkanttorvet is Oslo’s largest and oldest second hand and antiques market, taking place on Saturdays from March to December. Another popular spot is the Birkelund flea market in Grünerløkka – held on Sundays, it’s the perfect place to find a bargain souvenir of Oslo.
5. Go for a swim at Huk
If you’re staying a day or two in Oslo, why not head to the beach? Simply catch the 30A bus to the end of the line at Bygdøy peninsula and dive into the water at Huk. The area was acquired by Aker municipality in 1921. The bathing beach is divided into a regular public beach and a naturist beach area.
6. See the changing of the guards at Palace Park
While you will have to pay for a guided tour of the Royal Palace, home to King Harald and Queen Sonja, the Palace Park that surrounds it is free for all to enjoy. You can even catch the daily changing of the guards at 1:30pm.
7. Marvel at the beauty of Oslo City Hall
The Oslo City Hall is arguably one of the capital’s most iconic buildings, featuring a large number of motifs that illustrate Norwegian history and culture. From July to the end of August, you can explore the hall on a free guided tour.
8. Take a peek at Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park
This beloved park is one of the country’s most popular attractions featuring a truly unique collection of sculptures. Over 200 of Gustav Vigeland’s bronze, granite and cast iron works depicting the human form are spread throughout the park, including Sinnataggen (The Little Angry Boy), Monolitten (The Monolith) and Livshjulet (The Wheel of Life). It’s the largest park in the city and covers 45 hectares; the sculpture installation is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist. The Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park is the most popular tourist attraction in Norway, with between 1 and 2 million visitors each year, and is open to the public at all times.
By Craig Upshall
Paris landmarks bookstores struggle to survive
Gibert Jeune bookstore has held a prominent place on Paris’ Place Saint Michel for decades, its yellow awnings nearly as iconic as the plaza’s fountain statue of Saint Michael slaying a dragon.
Here, generations of students, intellectuals, bibliophiles and tourists have perused outdoor book stacks before heading to one of the surrounding cafes in the heart of the Latin Quarter.
But in a blow to the left bank neighborhood, the iconic store shuttered its doors this spring. Teacher Pascale Nédélec says Gibert Jeune meant something to generations of students.
“When I was a kid, I came here every year at the beginning of the school year to get my textbooks,” she says. “So I remember that time and think it’s sad. Because this is the Quartier Latin and it’s supposed to be a place where you have those old movie theaters and all those bookstores.”
Many people are now worried about the pandemic’s toll in this literary city where independent booksellers have long flourished. Bookshops are considered an essential business, and have been allowed to stay open during France’s third lockdown, which is set to end on Wednesday.
As it turns out, the pandemic was just the most recent blow in a series of setbacks for Gibert Jeune. The first was when school textbooks began to be provided for free in the early aughts. Then the Sorbonne and other schools began to open campuses away from the traditional student quarter in Paris’ 5th arrondissement. Then there was the disruption caused by transport strikes and protests such as the yellow vest movement. And the fire at nearby Notre Dame two years ago. And of course, there is the perennial threat of Amazon.
“Our profession is being turned upside down, and Amazon plays a preponderant role in the decline of our activity,” Marc Bittoré, head of Gibert Jeune, in an interview in his office above the store.
More accurately, Bittoré is the general director of Gibert Joseph, which acquired the failing Gibert Jeune chain in 2017. The two separate businesses were founded by competing brothers, who took over their father’s original book shop established here on the banks of the Seine in 1886. Still family owned, Gibert Joseph is doing fine, says Bittoré, because it knew how to adapt.
“Many neighborhood bookstores still play an important role and are surviving this Amazon wave pretty well,” he said. “They’re an anchor in a neighborhood and play a central role in its life.”
As proof, Bittoré takes me for a stroll along Boulevard Saint-Michel, showing me three Gibert Joseph stores in a row. There’s the massive, six-story bookstore with more than 400,000 titles, then a smaller writing-paper and card shop, and the Gibert Joseph record store, which Bittoré says is the largest in Europe.
He says another key to their survival is expertise. “You need teams that are passionate and real connoisseurs of the books and music they’re selling,” he says. That describes Dorian Sarrus, who heads the soul, funk and rap aisle at Gibert Joseph musique.
Marc Bittoré is general director of Gibert Joseph, which acquired the failing Gibert Jeune chain in 2017. He says they have found ways to survive the pressure of Amazon.
Paris has always protected its booksellers. Small shops qualify for subsidies. And rents are stabilized in pricey areas of the city. To keep book prices from dropping too low, the French parliament passed a law restricting Amazon from offering free delivery and a 5% discount across France.
Despite such safeguards, this literary city has lost nearly 30% of its hundreds of bookshops in the last two decades, according to one French survey.
Gibert is the largest independent bookstore in France, with 25 stores in 13 cities, and a website. Historically known for its expertise in school and university textbooks, today Gibert specializes in all genres, from literature to travel to foreign titles.
And Gibert Joseph has something Amazon doesn’t, says Bittoré.
He pulls out his smart phone and opens up an app with a big capital G. It allows anybody to scan their used books and know exactly how much they can get for them at Gibert.
Bittoré says used books have been a core part of their business since 1929, and today, thanks to digitization and the app, used books represent 30% of their online and in-store business.
Outside the bookstore people line up with bags of books. Teacher Pascale Nédélec is selling back some text books and a complete DVD set of the series Madmen. She says even though she won’t earn that much for them, she could never throw a book away.
“It’s the idea that there’s going to be a second life for this book and someone else will be happy to have a cheaper one,” she says. “And I’m making money. So really it’s a win-win situation.”
Nédélec says she loves Gibert Joseph and will always come here before shopping on Amazon. Bittoré is counting on it.
By Eleanor Beardsley www.npr.org
What the new U.S. Covid mask guidance means for unvaccinated kids
A girl and her father wear face masks while they push their bikes last summer in Hermosa Beach in the Los Angeles area. There aren’t yet coronavirus vaccines approved in the U.S. for kids under 12 — which means they should keep masking, according to the CDC.
When the CDC announced on Thursday that fully vaccinated people can safely take off their masks in most settings, one group that did not necessarily breathe a sigh of relief was the parents of young children.
Some noted that the CDC’s new guidance does not have any specific advice for vaccinated parents with unvaccinated kids in their households.
So we dug into the current guidance for kids and parents and talked with infectious diseases expert Dr. Emily Landon about the risks – and how her family is handling this complicated limbo.
What are the COVID-19 risks for kids?
While children and adolescents who get infected by the coronavirus tend to have less severe cases of COVID-19, they can get sick and they can spread the virus to others. And some children have developed serious complications from the disease, including a rare but serious medical condition associated with COVID-19 called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
There are also increasing concerns about persistent, long-term effects of the viral infection — such as fatigue, respiratory issues and stomach problems — for some children who get COVID-19.
So what’s the mask guidance now for adolescents aged 12 and up?
As of this week, the Pfizer vaccine is available to people age 12 and up. (The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently approved only for those 18 and older.) That means kids age 12 to 15 who get their first Pfizer vaccine dose now will be fully vaccinated in about five weeks – two weeks after they receive their second dose.
Once they are fully vaccinated, the CDC says it’s safe for them to remove their masks in most settings, just like fully vaccinated adults. But state and local laws apply, as do school and business policies. And masks will still be required for all on buses, trains and planes, and at stations and airports.
What about kids under 12?
There aren’t any vaccines currently approved for their use in the U.S. – which means the younger set needs to keep masking for the time being.
The CDC says all unvaccinated people age 2 and older “should wear masks in public settings and when around people who don’t live in their household.”
Experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend unvaccinated children 2 and older continue to wear masks around others when indoors, especially when they are among at-risk adults such as those who are immunocompromised or over 65.
But it will likely be at least a few more months until there’s a vaccine approved for those under 12. Pfizer says it won’t be ready to ask for FDA approval for its COVID-19 vaccine in younger kids until September.
I’m fully vaccinated, but my kids aren’t. Can I safely take off my mask in most places?
According to the CDC’s guidance, the answer is yes.
In its updated guidance for fully vaccinated people, the CDC doesn’t list an exception for parents with unvaccinated children in their household. (People with immunocompromising conditions, however, including those taking immunosuppressive medications, should talk to their doctor after they’ve been vaccinated to discuss what protective measures they might need.)
Dr. Emily Landon, who leads the infection control and prevention efforts at University of Chicago Medicine, says the data supports the idea that fully vaccinated parents of unvaccinated children can safely take off their own masks.
“The vast majority of the data that’s coming out — and what we’re seeing anecdotally on the ground, taking care of patients — is that individuals who get COVID after they’ve been vaccinated, as long as they’re not immunocompromised, they get really mild disease and they have such low viral loads that they’re not passing it on to their family members,” Landon says.
For vaccinated parents, it’s OK to remove your masks, Landon says: “As long as everybody in your family, including yourself, are low-risk, it’s probably fine for you to have an unmasked lifestyle now.”
But she says parents might want to keep wearing a mask when they’re out with their kids to set a good example for them.
“Kids often do what they see their parents do. And I know a lot of my close friends who are physicians who have children under the age of 12, and I have a child who’s not fully vaccinated yet because he’s only 12. And we think it’s really important to continue to wear masks, in solidarity with our kids, to help them feel like they’re not an outlier and to make sure that we’re setting a good example for them,” Landon says.
What if my child is immunocompromised?
“You may want to be more careful and make sure that you’re not even bringing home asymptomatic COVID,” Landon says. “This is going to be a personal decision for parents. But there is nothing wrong with continuing to wear your mask if you want to be continue to take extra precautions against COVID.”
And when you’re indoors in a crowded environment, you should protect your eyes as well, she says.
By Laurel Wamsley www.npr.org
Try the slow food map for Formentera
To help post-COVID visitors savour the best of Formentera, the island’s tourism board has launched mapa-slow-food, highlighting its traditional cuisine, local products and distinct flavours. The smallest of the Balearic Islands, Formentera, has long been recognised for its slow and laid-back way of life. Thanks to a great variety of fresh seafood, organic produce and sustainable agriculture being deeply rooted in the island’s traditions, Formentera has also obtained the ‘Arca del gusto’ (translated as ‘Ark of Taste’) status, granted by the International Slow Food Organisation.
The map locates a number of locally owned businesses across the island where visitors (and locals) will be able to buy organic produce, taste local flavours and learn more about slow food in Formentera. From fruit and vegetable markets to vineyards and producers of olive oil made of locally grown olives, the map highlights the great gastronomic heritage of the island and its reliance on local products which is a result of the relatively isolated location of the Pityusic islands.
What to try in Formentera
Cooked, grilled, stewed or fried; accompanied with rice or on its own, fish is one of the staple products on the island. Dried salted fish, known as Peix Sec, has in particular become a characteristic of Formentera’s cuisine. In a traditional way, handed down from the Phoenicians, the fish is first soaked in ‘sal morra’, a solution of water and salt, and then naturally dried in the sun and wind while hanging from juniper trees. Once dried, it is kept in glass jars and served on lettuce, with bell pepper, onion, and crispy bread, making it a simple, yet full of flavour dish.
Besides savoury dishes, such as a farmer’s salad (which features the Peix Sec), fried octopus (‘Frit de polp’) and a fish stew with potatoes (‘Bullit de Peix’), Formentera offers also a full range of local snacks and dessert. From ‘Flaó’ (cheesecake with a hint of mint) to ‘Les Orelletes’ (a sweet pastry made of aniseed) and ‘Greixonera’ (a bread pudding), there’s plenty of options to explore for visitors with a sweet tooth and savoury food lovers alike.
When to visit Formentera
Although Formentera is known its slow vibe and relaxed way of life all year round, foodie lovers should consider visiting the island outside of the summer season. Every year during the first two weeks of May and October, with this year’s events still yet to be confirmed, Formentera holds its Gastronomic Weekends when the island’s best restaurants offer special menus at a set price. In addition to affordable prices, the event provides visitors to Formentera with a unique opportunity to taste traditional dishes with a modern twist.
Local restaurants, food markets and eateries across Formentera are adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols set out by the local government, ensuring that visitors remain out of harm’s way and able to enjoy the incredible culinary scene Formentera has to offer in 2021.
By Paul Johnson
Dreaming of storybook Summer holiday in France
The pandemic has taken its toll. With months under restrictions, which seem to get ever more stringent, the winter months are even bluer. It is in these cold months, with snow on the ground and de-icing the car, that we turn our dreams to Summer.
For some, booking a Summer holiday is an essential psychological salve that helps them see through the short days and long, dark nights at this time of year. With such uncertainty hanging over international and even home travel, we cannot click our way to happiness and a better Summer ahead.
We can still dream. Even stuck in our homes, we have the freedom in our mind to wander and carve out a perfect getaway. Let’s give you a helping hand. Here we offer some destinations in Provence that you could choose at a moment’s notice and enjoy the beauty, decadence, and luxury of the region.
St Tropez
We are living a dream, so let’s dream big. Sure, St Tropez is known as the playground of the rich, with its luxury and decadence. In our imagination, we can tour the restaurants, visit the exclusive beaches, and enjoy £100 bottles of wine a night.
However, St Tropez shouldn’t feel exclusive. There is a St Tropez for all of us. It is a place of narrow cobblestone streets, endless beaches, the vibrancy of the lavender and some of the most beautiful scenery and heritage sites imaginable.
What is so appealing about St Tropez is the sleepy, French attitude of Provence mixed with the animated streets filled with fun lovers looking to make the most of their time in the sun. There are nightclubs, shops galore and an endless supply and spa and beauty facilities.
If you are going to design the perfect Summer holiday in your imagination – this is the place. And when the world opens, the businesses of St Tropez will be doing all they can to entice you back to this stunning shore. There will be last-minute deals where you could get all this at a bargain – even if this is a pipe dream, it a lovely pipe dream when your toes are cold on a February morning.
Marseille
If it is beaches that float your boat… and boats that capture your heart… then your heart belongs to Marseille. There are twenty-one beaches in this famous French city. You can take the sandy beach option and head along the Corniche coast road. A bit of a road trip with the top down on your car could be just the perfect daydream right now.
Maybe you are okay with artificial beaches and some seclusion, then Le Prado with its fisherman’s cabins is perfect. You could imagine your trip with a romantic interest, living and loving on the Mediterranean coast.
If you are looking for details for your dream, think turquoise blue water lapping against the white sand. Imagine the water sweeping away to the horizon in ever rich shades of blue. There will be trees lining the beach and small boats bobbing from the jetties.
When you are bored of the coast, if this is even possible, you can head into Marseille and enjoy one of Europe’s cosmopolitan cities. There are shops and bars and restaurants and sights to see galore. Why not imagine a stay of three months, go on, you deserve it!
Cannes
We are dreaming of a better life. Of course, when thinking of all the possibilities, you should embrace the coastline of Cannes. While you are going here for the shopping and the potential star spotting, you will also look to catch the sun’s rays on some of the finest sand this coastline has to offer. La Croisette in Cannes has thirteen beaches to choose from.
You’re thinking it is going to be busy. You might still have a bit of a post-pandemic hangover (because in our dream we have come out the other side). So, you might want a little seclusion and get away from that hubbub. Well, take a boat bus to Ile de Sainte Marguerite, and you feel like you have arrived on a desert island. It might not be now we have told everybody, but if we keep it between you and us, you will get some quiet getaway time. You will still be just 15 minutes from Cannes too, so it is a win-win.
Pure Provence
If you have chosen to dream of a time away to Provence, then we know that these are not the resorts that will give you the region’s authentic experience. If tradition and enjoyment of the local outweigh the decadence of a top resort, you need to go a little deeper into the area.
First, we would recommend Gordes, a place where artists play because everywhere you look is beauty. Sprawling across the rocks of Mont de Vaucluse, you will be swept away in the romance of the narrow streets and white houses. And, when you stop for a moment at the end of a random alleyway, you will have to be quiet and breath a little, as the views exceed any words that are possible here.
Then, if you are a fan of fine wines and your dream is to experience the vineyards and the hospitality of the local, then Chateauneuf-du-Pape should be part of your daydream. Sure, you will be paying a lot of money for your wine and food – but this is daydreaming – the bank doesn’t get a say. You spend each day visiting tasting sessions and enjoying the hosts’ stories of life with grapes.
Finally, you should add a castle to this fairy tale trip. Lacoste has the most spectacular castle, the Marquis de Sade’s home, who wrote some risqué books in his time. It is a place where you will imagine you are lost in a John Le Carre novel or maybe James Bond seeking out the master criminal. Alternatively, you might just want some peace and quiet – and this is offered in spades.
By Su Stephens
Discover Puerto Mogán the ‘Little Venice’ of Gran Canaria
The island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, is one of the year-round destinations we can jet off to once travel is back in our lives. One of the prettiest resorts in Gran Canaria is Puerto Mogan on the southwest coast. You’ll see below why Puerto Mogán is known as ‘Little Venice’, and is probably one of the most photographed resorts on the island.
The birth of the resort
Until around 1980, Puerto Mogán was a small fishing village. It was home to a community of hippies, bohemians, as well as the local residents. The hippies eventually moved on when it was decided to develop the village into a small tourist resort.
At first, the development was unpopular with the locals, but this soon changed when the houses were kept small with attractive painted doors and window surrounds. Canals and bridges began to appear, and streets were pedestrianised. Bougainvillea and hibiscus plants became abundant, and roof gardens flourished.
Puerto Mogán today
Today, the charming and picturesque resort offers visitors traditional whitewashed houses, palm-lined avenues, cobbled streets, and floral lanes. Spend a while looking in the boutique shops, and then head down to the marina for something to eat in one of the many waterside restaurants. You’ll walk across many Italian-style bridges crossing over the sea water inlets around the resort.
Mogán beach and marina
If you enjoy a beach, you’ll find a wide, sheltered, sandy beach here with calm water. Relax on the sunbeds beneath an umbrella, or select your spot on the sand. Of course, there are ample bars and restaurants for you to enjoy a drink, or meal.
Puerto Mogán market
Pick up a souvenir of your holiday here at the local market held here every Friday. Stalls sell traditional Canarian crafts including leather items, textiles and ceramics. You’ll also be able to select some fruit and food from the market that will make an ideal lunch.
Temperatures
The island of Gran Canaria is a year-round destination. Take a look at the average temperatures below you can expect to experience in the resort, and you’ll see you can have a lovely stay here even during the winter months.
January 21°C
February 21°C
March 23°C
April 23°C
May 24°C
June 25°C
July 27°C
August 28°C
September 27°C
October 26°C
November 24°C
December 22°C
Things to do in Puerto Mogán
Take a boat ride from the marina out to sea where you can see schools of whales and dolphins – a common sight in the area.
If you prefer, you can have a trip in a yellow submarine and get a glimpse of the underwater world of the Atlantic. Experience the undersea world from your own porthole and spot different fish and even an old shipwreck. The trip lasts for about 45 minutes and you’ll go down to around 20 metres. You may even be lucky enough to see a stingray.
If you enjoy fishing, then you’ll not be disappointed. Deep-sea fishing is available where you have the opportunity to catch tuna and marlin. Indeed, the renowned “Blue Marlin” angling competition takes place in Puerto Mogán every July.
The evenings are the perfect time for a stroll at the marina. Catch the sounds of jazz music in the plaza, or relax in one of the piano bars and sip on a cocktail. Nightlife is fairly quiet in Puerto Mogán. If you’re looking for something a little more lively, then nearly Puerto Rico is worth visiting, and just a 15 minute taxi ride away.
Where to stay
Being a smaller resort, there are just a few luxury hotels available including the following :
Radisson Blu Resort & Spa
This 5-star hotel is towards to back of the resort, but still just a 15 minute walk to the beach and resort centre. Ideal for families, couples, or solo travellers, this hotel has a stylish modern interior. With 3 outdoor swimming pools to choose from, you’ll soon be relaxing, and soaking up some welcome sunshine. You can even enjoy the heated whirlpool.
You can stay here on bed and breakfast, or half board. Restaurants at the hotel include an a la carte Italian, buffet restaurant, poolside snack bar, pool bar and for the evening a disco bar.
Spa facilities are available to adult guests for which local charges apply. These include a sauna, steam room, Turkish bath, whirlpool, and massage/beauty treatments. The hotel also has an air conditioned gym with cardio and strength equipment, and a weights area. You can also enjoy the aerobics, aqua aerobics, badminton, basketball, climbing, petanque, pilates, tennis, volleyball, table tennis, and yoga. There’s also a 800m running track.
For the children, they have their own pool and a splash park with tipping water bucket, jets, sprinklers and spouts. They can also enjoy the children’s club (for 4-12 years), and a playground.
Cordial Mogán Playa
This 4-star hotel is just a 10 minute walk from the centre and beach. A more traditional style hotel, the Cordial Mogán Playa is set amongst a lush botanical garden.
There are 3 outdoor swimming pools including one for children, and you can even enjoy the heated whirlpool. Stay here on bed and breakfast, or half board. You can choose to eat in an a la carte restaurant serving international cuisine. Also available is 2 buffet restaurants, another a la carte Michelin starred Spanish restaurant, a lobby bar, disco bar, and 2 pool bars.
For children, they have a pool, bowling alley, children’s club (4-12 years) and a playground including climbing frame and slides.
If you’re looking for spa treatments, the Cordial Mogán Playa has a sauna, steam room, whirlpool, massage treatments for which local charges will apply. Feeling more active? Then take advantage of the air conditioned gym with cardo fitness equipment, weights and strength equipment. There’s aerobics (including aqua), table tennis and tennis. There’s a daytime and evening entertainment programme.
Of course, for some hotels facilities wherever you stay, it is very much dependent upon the Covid situation as to whether they are available, or at reduced capacity. Hopefully you can see that Gran Canaria’s ‘Little Venice’ – Puerto Mogán – is a very picturesque resort to choose.
By Gail Hewitt
British Airways tests 25-second Covid-19 test
British Airways is conducting a trial of a cloud-based digital Covid-19 antigen test that can display results within 25 seconds. The airline, which says it is the first in the world to trial this ultra-rapid test, will initially be inviting flight and cabin crew members to take the test, with the results compared against the results of the tests they are already taking. If successful, the airline sees the technology as a significant tool in opening up travel and making passenger processing more efficient.
The test kit is Canary Global’s ‘Pelican Covid-19 Ultra-Rapid Mobile Test’, an intelligent saliva test designed to detect symptomatic and asymptomatic people with SARS-CoV-2, including variants. The test is non-invasive, with users simply required to put a sample of their saliva into a disposable sensor unit, shake it, and the insert it into a re-usable digital reader, which is connected to a Bluetooth-enabled device such as a smartphone. The results appear via a mobile app, within a claimed 25 seconds.
The test, which uses nano-technology, probes for both the S and N SARS-Cov-2 protein and has been optimised to detect the various variants that have originated across the globe. Canary Global claims the test delivers 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2. The test already has European CE Mark and UK MHRA approval, and is currently also going through US FDA approval process. Subject to successful evaluation the airline hopes to be able to offer the tests on applicable routes where the technology meets the required specificity and sensitivity standards.
British Airways’ chairman and CEO, Sean Doyle, descibes the test as “a game changer” and will be exploring what role it could play as a customer testing option.
Raj Reddy, Canary’s CEO and inventor of the technology said, “Combining the power of nanosensor and digital detection technology, the Pelican CV19 test is the first ultra-rapid test that can return a PCR-like accuracy of 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity. We developed the test with the travel industry in mind, where speed, accuracy and ease of use are paramount.”
By Adam Gavine
Covid safe destinations to explore in Africa
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has cleared its latest hurdle, with the FDA approving the vaccine for emergency use. This is clearly exciting, and good news for those eager to travel again. In the meantime, there are still restrictions on where Americans can travel.
But before you start planning your trip, it is important to ask yourself: “should I travel?” This is an individual decision, and some factors to take into account are:
- your age (if you are over 70, reconsider travel right now)
- your immunity levels and overall health
- the prevalence of COVID-19 in the areas you are traveling to
- the availability of travel insurance to cover you if you require hospitalization
Naturally, if you have COVID-19 you should not travel.
Before making any plans, check the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory page, which has links to country pages that explain restrictions. The countries on the following lists do not necessarily have low rates of COVID-19. The situation for each country can change rapidly, so always check for updates before you travel.
The following countries allow Americans to visit with no testing or quarantine, along with ways you can fulfil your New Year’s Resolutions and make a difference whilst there, in sustainable luxury:
South Africa
The Rainbow Nation has just announced that all travelers can enter South Africa as long as the following conditions are met;
- All travelers will need to produce a negative COVID test certificate not older than 72 hours from departure (it looks like rapid tests will be accepted as well as standard PCR tests)
- Travelers will need to comply with local health protocols whilst in South Africa
- If a traveler presents symptoms, they will need to quarantine at their own expense.
South Africa is usually completely sold out in January, so book a trip to experience incredible luxury safari lodges such as Tswalu, Singita, or Ulusaba, all with private jeeps so social distancing is enhanced. Then explore vibrant Cape Town (stay in one of One & Only’s apartments), and indulge in world-class wines in Franschhoek (repose in a villa at the sublime La Clé des Montagnes).
Make 2021 meaningful and help renovate a day-care center, care for and socialize dogs in need of a home, or prepare and serve meals to those who can’t afford it, all in and around Cape Town.
Kenya
Americans from all 50 states can now enter Kenya if the following conditions are met:
1) you do not have a body temperature above 99.5°F;
2) You do not have a persistent cough, difficulty breathing, or other flu-like symptoms;
3) You have a negative PCR-based COVID-19 test conducted within 96 hours of arrival.
Kenya hosts some of the world’s finest wildlife parks, with the iconic Masai Mara, Amboseli, Samburu, Selankay, and Tsavo parks to name just some of them. Mt Kenya and a gorgeous coastline are also on offer as well as fascinating Nairobi (stay at Giraffe Manor and giraffes may join you for breakfast!), plus you can help your children appreciate how fortunate they are by working together to build a classroom in a school on the edge of the Masai Mara, or even help teach there.
The Maldives
Americans can travel to the Maldives and obtain a visa on arrival – all you need is a negative PCR test result (sample taken 96 hours prior to departure to the Maldives, counting from the first port of embarkation en-route to the Maldives).
If you can tear yourselves away from arguably the world’s finest beaches, you can get immersed in the culture and help build a classroom in the local village.
Rwanda
A negative COVID-19 test is required to enter Rwanda. You must provide a negative PCR COVID-19 test certificate for a test taken no more than 120 hours before your initial flight. The U.S. Embassy recommends that travelers carry a printed copy of their negative test results during all legs of their flights to Rwanda.
Rwanda is one of the world’s most beautiful countries, with its mountains and lakes, its harrowing recent past should not be ignored, and the genocide museum and memorials are excellent. And of course, there are the Mountain Gorillas (minimum age to hike to them is 15) – the hour you spend with them is an hour you will treasure forever.
In January, bond closer with your kids and help build a home for former street-kids in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital.
Tanzania
You may be tested for COVID-19 on arrival, so it is best to bring a negative test result just before you leave the US. There is no longer a mandatory 14 day quarantine for arrivals.
Spectacular safari beckons in parks such as Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Ruaha and Selous. You can see and even trek up Mt Kilimanjaro, and the beaches and Stone Town of Zanzibar are a superb way to finish off your trip.
Whilst in Tanzania, you can make a difference by building a home for a family – sure to be one of your highlights, and will get 2021 off to an awesome start.
Whatever you end up doing in 2021, be safe and make it meaningful!
NB: this is a fluid situation so the status of the destination you are interested in may have changed by the time you read this.
By Christopher Hill
Amazing rail journeys around the world
A journey by rail is one of the most romantic ways to travel. And, as passionate Bradshaw’s devotee Michael Portillo will attest, it’s also a fantastic way to discover remote landscapes, communities and cultures across the globe.
In the early days of the luxurious Orient Express, just a handful of train rides could claim to be bucket-list experiences. Since then, the range of experiential rail routes has grown ever greater. From the Belmond Andean Explorer, which slinks around Peru’s stunning mountainscapes, to the famous Ghan, which whisks you through Australia’s red-rocked outback – you’re now spoilt for choice.
Here are five superlative rail experiences that showcase the breadth of what’s on offer.
The Kalka-Shimla Toy Train, India
This UNESCO-listed mountain railway wends 96 kilometres from the town of Kalka, through a forested landscape, to the Himalayan hill station of Shimla.
Opened in 1903, it was commissioned by the British Raj to ferry officials to their summer capital – in a manner more befitting their status than ox-drawn carts. Today, the railway is for public use, facilitating everything from simple passenger commutes to more resplendent tourist services.
The railway was engineered to overcome the steep gradients, soaring peaks and curving cliffs presented by the topography of this northern region of India – quite a feat. That tricky landscape is also the reason trains running the route do so relatively slowly, giving passengers time to linger with the stunning Himalayan scenery.
The bullet train, Japan
Another feat of engineering, the sleek ‘bullet trains’ of Japan’s Shinkansen network zip across the country at lightning speed (or rather, speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour). Although a number of nations are catching up, Japan pioneered high-speed rail, beginning operations in 1964.
From a traveller’s perspective, city hopping by bullet train remains a thrill. At present, the network spans the length of Japan’s main island, Honshu, before crossing the water to Hokkaido in the north, and Kyushu in the south. That means you can easily navigate between the bright lights of Tokyo, tradition-rich Kyoto, culinary capital Osaka and beyond – all the while admiring the ever-changing landscape as it streams by your window.
Belmond Andean Explorer, Peru
Belmond’s Andean Explorer is the first – and thus far only – luxury sleeper train in the whole of South America. Rolling through Peru’s breath-taking altiplano, it’s also one of the world’s highest rail services. Its route takes passengers from Incan capital Cuzco, across the Andean Plateau to Lake Titicaca, then onward to UNESCO-listed Arequipa.
Travelling on the Andean Explorer, you can choose either a one- and two-night journey. Scheduled stops throughout allow you to alight and explore some of Peru’s most exceptional scenery and archaeological sites. Come the evening, the train’s 24 en-suite cabins promise a comfortable night’s sleep.
The Ghan, Australia
For just over 90 years, The Ghan has been carrying passengers into Australia’s scenic ‘Red Centre’. The popular train is named after the 19th-century Afghan cameleers who helped open up new routes into the outback – hence the iconic camel with rider emblazoned on the Ghan’s carriages.
The Ghan journeys from the country’s northern tip to its southern toe; from Darwin to Adelaide – a distance of more the 3,000km. You can choose to travel the whole coast-to-coast route – which takes three days – or part of it. Regardless, passengers can expect an all-inclusive, luxury rail experience with off-board excursions to key attractions.
The Rocky Mountaineer, Canada
Each of Canada’s regions has its attractions – from towering mountains to thundering waterfalls, cosmopolitan cities to indigenous cultures. Perhaps the peak of travelling here – in more ways than one – is the Rocky Mountaineer. This lauded rail service sweeps passengers from Vancouver into the spectacular landscape of the Canadian Rockies in style.
Michael Portillo described the Rocky Mountaineer as “a train of extraordinary luxury”, and it’s easy to see why. Glass-domed carriages offer uninterrupted panoramas, and there’s even an outdoor viewing area. Cuisine served aboard is gourmet and authentically local, whilst the hosts offer exceptional service.
By Kerry Golds