Taken in Portugal, this gorgeous sunset shot from flickr user flicts makes me hate the snow on the ground outside my house even more. I can just imagine sitting on the beach with a bottle of Portuguese Super Bock next to me, thanking God to be alive.
Notice the reflections of the clouds on the water in the foreground? I’m sitting here tilting my head to see how the photo looks upside down– still pretty cool. Try it if no one’s around.
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Who doesn’t remember that disastrous run of JetBlue flights during which more than a 1,00 people flying the airline sat hostage on the tarmac for hours — one flight for more than 11 hours — during a New York snow storm in early 2007?
Since then, such tales have become less common in the airline industry, even as a passenger bill of rights continues to get shot down by the government.
But such delays still happen, as anyone flying TACA recently from El Salvador to LAX knows. Two-hundred passengers were stuck on the plane for nearly 9 hours last Sunday after the flight was diverted to a regional airport 45 miles to the east of LA due to heavy fog in the city.
Problem was, it seems that either TACA didn’t request that its passengers be allowed to disembark and clear immigration at this small airport, or local customs officials didn’t allow it. The result: Passengers were stuck on the plane most of the night, receiving only water and crackers from firefighters and airport personnel toward the end of the ordeal.
In all, the passengers’ trip to LA took more than 15 hours.
I find it funny how the London tube is so adamant about warning passengers about the gap between the subway platform and the train. Sure, it’s an big hole in the ground and you could fall into it if you weren’t paying close attention, but risks like this are everywhere and on some platforms without warnings, the gap is much larger. On the RER in Paris, I could fit a donkey in it (pictured).
Obvious warnings like this always make me think about Drew Carey’s commentary on the Nanny State. Is it really necessary to warn people about everything? At which point should common sense take over?
There is an inherent risk in traveling. Whether this is getting hit by a bus, dying in a plane crash, falling off of a camel or into a 4″ subway gap, at some point, if you’re going to try to enjoy your trip you’re going to have to accept this risk, sack up and acknowledge the fact that you could get hurt when you leave your home.
Personally, I found that once I accepted this risk, realized how minuscule it was and moved past it, that my stress level went down and I started to genuinely enjoy my travels much more.
Architectural firm Fentress recently unveiled some concept images for its planned redesign of Los Angeles International Airport, according to BD Global, a design Web site.
This is the same firm that designed Denver International and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport.
The structural theme of the redesign — manifested in many new, curved buildings and roof lines — is the ocean, which LAX overlooks.
The Tom Bradley International Terminal will get the brunt of the redesign, with new curbside canopies, centralized security and two additional floors of departure lounges, among other improvements, BD Global says.
The curved roof lines are meant not only to evoke waves, but to be both energy efficient and minimize glare from the south-west side of the airport.
This is just one photo of the new LAX international terminal. You can check out a few more here.
According to Genevieve Swart of The Sydney Morning Herald, the term sundowner, meaning sunset cocktail, originated in Africa, where they have some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.
Swart has taken special pains (and pleasures) in finding the most beautiful places on the planet for sundowners. Her list includes hotel and restaurant locations in Cape Town, Santorini, Zanzibar, Norway, Brazil, Cambodia, and Florida — yes, Florida. She even found the best drinks! Would I like a Veligandu Secret in the Maldives? Yes, I would!
Unfortunately, I’m stuck in New York for the moment – but I bet I can find a patio on the Hudson River where they’d be willing to bring me a drink and tell me I’m in Asia. This “sundowner” idea is great!