Exploring the Globe

The United States prides itself on the freedom of its citizens. But among the democratic countries of the world it is actually one of the most restrictive, as far as free travel of its own citizens goes.

It is long overdue to end the travel restrictions to Cuba. Actually the entire embargo should have been canceled decades ago.

The embargo against Cuba has proven ineffective and today it is hurting the image of the United States. Since the U.S. lacks moral rights for the embargo, it makes the U.S. appear as a bully in its own backyard.

In the meantime longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who was the personification of the reason for the embargo, was able to sit in power during no less than ten U.S. presidents, from Eisenhower to Bush Jr! And he finally abdicated power to his brother last year not due to U.S. pressure but to old age and failing health.

The Cuban regime may be undemocratic and violating human rights, free speech and freedom of the press. But so are many other regimes in the world, some of which we have quite close relations with like China, Saudi-Arabia and previously the Soviet Union.

It is no justification to single out a country for an embargo just because it is small, economically weak, and lacking strategic minerals. So lets stop bullying our tiny neighbor Cuba! And for the United States to restrict free travel of its own citizens does certainly not improve freedom in Cuba!

Orbitz has started a campaign, Open Cuba, to gather signatures for a petition to the Obama administration and Congress. The petition states:

“We call on you to reverse our failed policy of isolation and end the 50-year ban on travel to Cuba in the United States. We believe that every American should have the freedom to travel to any country in the world, including Cuba, because the interaction between peoples from different countries is the single most powerful way to advance the causes of peace and prosperity.”

Exploring The Globe joins Orbitz in urging every American to sign the petition!

Also check out our previous articles about Cuba:
• CUBA: !VIVA LA REVOLUCION!
• CITIZENS ALLOWED IN HOTELS IN CUBA
• CUBANS FINALLY TO GET CELLPHONES
• SARATOGA, HAVANA’S NEW LUXURY HOTEL
• CUBA THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Last call for cheap fares to Europe! The high season is starting this month and the European summer airfares are usually significantly higher. It can already be seen in the offerings, but the fares are likely to go even higher as we go further into may.

Singapore Airlines offers great fares that already include taxes & fees (prices are for one way based on roundtrip purchase) to select destinations in Asia and Europe.

In addition American Airlines offers great bargains from Miami to Peru, Colombia and Central America

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Villa Glencoe is beautifully located on the waterfront of Losinj island in the Croatian archipelago in the middle of the crystal blue Adriatic Sea.

Losinj, Croatia’s largest island, is growing in popularity, the island has been praised by both British and Swedish newspapers.

The island has many ornate villas and a Austro-Hungarian and Venetian influenced history. Losinj has a few picturesque small towns and villages. The center of the largest of them, Mali, is within a short walk from the hotel. There is even a floating fruit market and Losinj also has pine forests.

Beautiful Villa Glencoe has opened after a very thorough renovation offering 8 small apartments, for for up to four persons, each with a large terrace, kitchen, bathroom, air conditioning, cable TV and free parking. Sparkling clean and renovated to American standards, this small apartment boutique hotel offers spacious, highly functional accommodation and a great value.

Croatia is definitely the place to visit, but the rising prices have scared away some people lately. But with places like Villa Glencoe, Croatia can still be a tourist paradise, even for the budget minded. So just lets keep it a secret!

Prices vary by season. At low season the prices per night range from $40 - 67 (30 - 50 euro) and at high season from $73 - $180 (55 - 135 euro).

Also check out our previous articles about Croatia:
* RIVA BOUTIQUE HOTEL, HVAR, CROATIA
* CROATIA’S NEW CAPITAL OF COOL: ZADAR
* SPLIT CROATIA, A NEW SAILING HOT SPOT

* DUBROVNIK, THE PEARL OF THE ADRIATIC
* TRANQUIL AND BEAUTIFUL CAVTAT, CROATIA
* NEW GUIDE ON SLEEPS IN CROATIA
* YOU SHOULD VISIT DUBROVNIK, NOW
* BARGAINS FOUND IN ZADAR, CROATIA
* LIGHTHOUSE VACATION IN CROATIA
* TOP TEN ISLANDS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
* EUROPE’S WELL KEPT SECRETS
* ZAGREB, CROATIA
* CROATIA, THE NEW RIVIERA

For those who are looking for value, functionality, design, comfort and cleanliness and are willing to give up on space, Qbic offers quite an interesting alternative.

Qbic is something of a hybrid between a Japanese capsule hotel and a design hotel,
definitely influenced by Yotel, and reminding of a Citizen M Hotel.

Central to each room is the Cubi, a cube-shaped state-of-the-art living space that offer a high level of comfort with high quality details like a Swedish Hästens bed and Philippe Starck design bathroom elements. The room also has LCD TV, high-speed Internet, and a safe.

So far there are Qbic hotels only in the Netherlands and Belgium. They are located in Amsterdam and Maastricht, Netherlands and Antwerp, Belgium.

The price vary depending on time of booking. The first persons to book for a certain date get the best price. If you are lucky you could find a double room for under $150, but it is more realistic to expect a price in the $150-200 range.

Qbic

France’s Minister of Health Roselyne Bachelot is expected to suggest the suspension of all flights between Mexico and the European Union in an effort to thwart the spread of the swine or H1N1 influenza virus to Europe. She has reportedly been asking for a quick European Union meeting to deal with the issue.

Cuba and Argentina have already suspended all flights to Mexico.

Today in the Sky

This week there are plenty of great bargains: You can fly from New York to Mumbai, India for $320, from Miami to Medellin, Colombia for $113, from Denver to Frankfurt, Germany for $159 and from Seattle to Malaga, Spain for $275. Please note that the prices are for one way based on roundtrip purchase and that taxes & fees will be added.

In addition Singapore Airlines are offering great fares that already include taxes & fees (prices are for one way based on roundtrip purchase): To Singapore from Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco for $400 and from los Angeles to Tokyo, Japan for 307!

In addition there are many more great fares to Central America, Europe and Asia.

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YachtPlus, launched its first yacht – The Ocean Emerald – in La Spezia, Italy on April 25.

Designed by Lord Foster of London based Foster + Partners, this yacht is guaranteed to impress and satisfy your friends however aristocratic their taste may be. And the interior is not only impressive, it is also tasteful with a clean and functional design.

The 135 feet yacht offers 2,800 sq.feet of internal and 2,500 sq.feet of external space on four decks. It has an owner’s cabin on the main deck with forward-facing windows leading to his and her private balconies, two VIP cabins and two forward guest cabins. The yacht offers total accommodation for up to 12 guests and up to 7 crew. It has nice details like separate crew access corridor between crew and guest cabins to ensure maximum privacy, glass walled main saloon with unrestricted 180 degrees views, and extensive outer deck space, both forward and aft.

Don’t worry if you do not happen to be on the billionaire’s list. Yachtplus offer their boats on a fractional ownership basis. But less than filthy rich do of course not need to bother - the price, although only a fractional ownership is in the seven digits. A one eight fractional ownership costs about $2.4 million plus $260,000 in yearly maintenance.

Ocean Emerald will be the first of four identical yachts to be launched by the company over the next two years. The second yacht, Ocean Pearl will enter service in the autumn 2009 and the third, Ocean sapphire in the early part of 2010. The fourth yacht, as yet unnamed is scheduled to launch in the latter part of 2010.

Also check out our past article FRACTIONAL YACHT OWNERSHIP.

YachtPlus
Foster + Partners

black: confirmed deaths - red: confirmed infections - yellow: unconfirmed infections

The Health Commissioner of the European Union has today issued a warning for Europeans against travel to the United States and Mexico due to cases of Swine flu in the two countries.

The warning states that Europeans should avoid traveling to the U.S. and Mexico for any other than essential reasons.

The European Union Presidency has convened an extraordinary Council of EU health ministers to evaluate the possible threat posed by the swine influenza outbreak and to coordinate European efforts. The extraordinary health Council will take place as soon as possible, in all probability on Thursday 30 April afternoon.

To prepare for the meeting, the E.U. immediately started to plan a series of meetings of member states. It called an urgent meeting of Member States’ attaches responsible for public health agenda to take place today.

This comes after a few cases of Swine flu has also been detected in Europe.

European Union

Click on the Google map below to see the up to the minute situation of the Swine influenza cases worldwide.

The WorldsBestBars.com website has compiled a list of the World’s Top 100 Bars.

And the winner is A21 Lounge in Helsinki, Finland. The result is somewhat surprising since Finland is not exactly known as party central. Recently Finland has been best known for having been destroyed by an international nuclear attack on the cable program South Park.

But position 2 and 3 were both captured by a usual suspect: Berlin, Germany, whose Riva and Saphire Bar took silver and bronze. Der Raum, also a German bar, but this one in Melbourne, Austalia came in 4th and Vertigo on top of the Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok, Thailand 5th.

World’s Best Bars

This week you can fly from New York almost halfway around the globe to Mumbai, India for only $323 (one way based on roundtrip purchase + taxes & fees) on Lufthansa. United offers cheap fares to Moscow, Russia, U.S. Airways to Dublin, Ireland and American Airlines to Central and South America.

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