Exploring the Globe

In a picturesque fisherman’s village, outside the city of Sorrento, on the Italian Amalfi Coast, you can find La Minervetta in a dramatic location. This small hotel is almost hanging over the sea as it is built into the mountain wall. And of course it offers the most amazing views.

La Minervetta is a family run hotel that less than 5 years ago was completely renovated to its past prestige, but with a modern design provided by the owner’s son who is an interior designer and scenographer.

The clean and subtle but elegant design allows the spectacular views over the Bay of Naples and the mountain Vesuvius to be the focal points in each room.

Doubles start at $440 per night.

Please also check out our previous articles about the Amalfi Coast and nearby Capri:

• A ROOM WITH A VIEW IN POSITANO, ITALY
• LOW COST GUIDE TO ITALY’S AMALFI COAST
• NEW JK PLACE HOTEL ON CAPRI
• THE ITALIAN AMALFI COAST

Zeppelin travel has not been possible in the U.S. since the tragic catastrophe of the Hindenburg in New Jersey on May 6th, 1937.

We have of course plenty of blimps in the United States, but those are somewhat smaller and used mainly as flying advertising boards.

Now Airship Ventures is bringing a Zeppelin to the U.S. for “flightseeing” tours, media and science mission operations. Airship Ventures will be operating out of Moffett Field in the San Francisco bay Area of California. Airship Ventures’ Zeppelin NT07 airship carries up to 12 passengers and will be the largest airship flying in the US.

At 246 feet in length, it is more than 50ft longer than the largest blimp. It has been flying in Germany and Japan since 1997 with a clean safety record.

The Zeppelin NT has been manufactured since the 1990s by a company that considers itself a successor of the company founded by Ferdinand Zeppelin.

The original Zeppelins were amazing technical breakthroughs of their time. The first Zeppelin used for commercial passenger transport was manufactured as early as 1909 and by the late 1920s the Zeppelin technique had been perfected to produce the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg, which offered transatlantic flights in spacious luxury accommodation for its passengers.

The only flaw, that became the tragic undoing of the Zeppelins, was the use of the highly flammable hydrogen gas. At that time the safe Helium was not widely available. Today all Zeppelins and blimps use the safe Helium gas.

Zeppelin flights by Airship Ventures will be available starting fall 2008. Enthusiasts can already now put themselves on a mailing list to be notified when tickets will become available.

For more pictures click here.

Airship Ventures
via Gizmodo

Le Rouge Restaurant, in the beautiful Old Town of Swedish capital Stockholm, offers turn of the 19th century French atmosphere, and a Moulin Rouge inspired interior with vibrant red colors, heavy textiles and plenty of details.

The luxurious restaurant which has almost a tent like feel seats 125 persons. The restaurant also has separate rooms for more private entertaining.

Here you can enjoy French cuisine with a twist of Italian simplicity. Every two weeks a new five-course evening menu is created. In addition there is an a la carte menu.

But you need to understand that Stockholm is not only charming, but also one of the world’s most expensive cities and Le Rouge is an upscale restaurant. So dining here does not come cheap: Appetizers $30-$37, Entrees $54-$70, desserts $19-$23. You can also opt for a prix fixe menu at $108.

Le Rouge also has a more moderately priced section upstairs, Le Bar Rouge, which during day time is a lunch ($16-30) restaurant, later a café and wine bar, and after 5pm a bistro.

Also check out our previous articles about Stockholm, Sweden:

• GREAT CITY DESTINATION IN EUROPE: STOCKHOLM
• STOCKHOLM’S COSMOPOLITAN REBIRTH

Northwest Airlines announced today that it will start a new daily nonstop service between Seattle, Washington and Beijing, China. The new service is scheduled to begin March 1, 2009.

Northwest has the oldest fleet of all the major U.S. airlines. But on this route it will use the relatively modern and fuel efficient Airbus 330-200. It seats 32 in business class and 211 in economy.

As announced earlier Northwest will also be launching daily nonstop Detroit-Shanghai service next March. The route will be operated using 747-400 planes with 65 passengers in business class and 338 in economy.

Northwest Airlines

Alberobello, Italy has the looks of a fairytale town thanks to its 14th century Trullo architecture. The Trulli are traditional Apulian stone dwellings, built without cement nor mortar, relying on gravity instead. This, according to local stories, so that the houses could be easily dismantled when tax inspectors would arrive.

The most recognizable feature of a Trullo is its cone shaped roof. The limestone roof is constructed in two layers: an inner layer of boulders, and an outer layer of slabs to make it watertight.

Trulli can be found in various areas of Puglia, Italy, but Alberobello in the Bari province is considered the capital of Trulli. The town is almost an Italian secrecy, since it is significantly more popular with Italian than foreign visitors. Alberobello has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site.

And when visiting you should of course stay in a Trullo. Hotel Il Palmento not far from Alberobello, offers Trullo accommodation in elegant suites. The hotel has beautiful views, gardens, pools, sauna, Turkish bath, tennis court, playground and its own restaurant.

This week there are great fares to Latin America: for instance roundtrip from Miami to Guatemala $138, to Costa Rica $198 and Peru $298 and from Houston to Oaxaca, Mexico $139. The prices are for round-trip fares. Additional taxes, fees, and restrictions apply.

Click below to check out more fares and details:

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The Personal Jet or VLJ (Very Light Jet) brought the dream of owning a private jet of one’s own much closer to many flying enthusiasts.

But if the million plus price tag, not yet counting fuel and maintenance, is over your budget, don’t worry. You can now opt for a fractional ownership also for Personal Jets (well of course it is going to be a less personal, but anyway). That is if you happen to live in Europe. Luxembourg based Smart Air S.A. has ordered eight D-Jet Personal Jets from Diamond Air. Smart Air will offer the planes for fractional ownership mainly to non-pilot, private individuals, families, and businesses. It will initially service the markets in Finland, UK, France, Benelux, Germany and Italy.

Check out our previous articles about Personal Jets or VLJs:

• SINGLE ENGINE VLJ REALITY
• THE WORLD’S FASTEST PERSONAL JET
• HONDAJET SALES STARTED TODAY
• PIPERJET ANNOUNCED
• YOU CAN SOON ORDER YOUR PERSONAL HONDA JET
• THE PERSONAL JET NOW IN PRODUCTION
• POOR MAN’S JET

Aero-News.Net

Poland Quick Facts
Population: 38.5 million
Language: Polish.
Religion: Christian
Currency: Zlotych (1 USD = 3.44 PLN).
Capital: Warsaw
Size: 312,685 sq km, slightly smaller than New Mexico, or slightly larger than Italy.
Neighbors: Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast), Slovakia, and Ukraine.
Location: Central Europe.
Climate: Temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation> Mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers.

Today Poland is celebrating Constitution Day in commemoration of May 3rd, 1791.

Poland has a long history and the country has gone through many different changes. Lately it has been transitioning from a communist country into western democracy and it on the way to catching up with western Europe economically.

As a result it still offers plenty of history and old traditions, but also great hotels, interesting cafes, excellent restaurants and a vibrant nightlife, especially in Warsaw and Krakow. And a great advantage is the fact that the prices have not yet caught up to the sky high levels of Western European countries, Poland still offers good value.

And the Polish people are known for their friendly charm and hospitality. So Poland is a great choice if you are thinking of visiting Europe.

Click on the YouTube movie below to see the video Krakow:

The airlines are dropping out of the sky at such a rate, that they could very well end up extinct if the trend continues. So it might be appropriate to think about contingency plans for life without them.

Not to worry. Concepts for quite interesting products already do exist like this one, the Libelula Rocket Helicopter from Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana.

Ok, so it probably will need some tweaking and fine tuning before it can become transportation for the masses. Even a fully working prototype would be nice. But it is an interesting concept anyway. And it certainly does have the advantage of having strong resemblance to means of travel that we have already grown accustomed to from old sci-fi movies.

Sorry, no information about test flights, availability nor price yet.

via Crave
Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana

Marshall Islands Quick Facts
Population: 63 thousand
Language: Marshallese. English is the second official language.
Main religion: Christian
Currency: U.S. dollar.
Capital: Majuro
Size: 181.3 q km, about the size of Washington, DC, or almost ten times the size of Monaco.
Location: Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia.
Climate: Tropical, hot and humid. Wet season May to November. Islands border typhoon belt

Today the Marshall Islands is celebrating Constitution Day in commemoration of May 1st, 1979.

The Marshall Islands became independent from a US-administered UN trusteeship on Ocober 21st, 1986. Sadly the United States abused its trusteeship in the worst possible way by testing no less than 66 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands between 1947 and 1962, including the largest nuclear test the US ever conducted.

But today the remotely located Marshall Islands are living happier times. The island group consists of more than a thousand coral islands with lush green vegetation, white sand beaches, turquoise reefs and crystal clear waters. The locals are excellent seafarers and the islands offer great diving and surfing.

Click on the YouTube movie below to see the video Marshall Islands Outer Island outrigger: