Photo of the Day – Lisbon at dusk

by Jeremy Kressmann on

The city of Lisbon is dominated by its hills. It can make getting around this Portuguese capital an interesting experience (tip: make sure to try out one of the city’s elevators). But rest assured, once you make it to the top, you’ll be treated to some of Europe’s most amazing views. Today’s photo, by Flickr user t3mujin, offers a typical example, taken at dusk. I love the warm glow of the city’s street lights, coming to life as the day slowly fades to dusk, Lisbon’s picturesque harbor visible off in the distance.

Taken any great photos during your recent travels? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Tod’s shoe company to restore Rome’s Colosseum

by Sean McLachlan on

The Colosseum in Rome will get some much-needed repairs thanks to the sponsorship of Tod’s, an Italian luxury shoe manufacturer, the BBC reports.

The restoration will cost about 25 million euros ($34 million). The iconic gladiator arena is right next to a busy road in a polluted city, and a subway line runs close by. Many stones have shifted and require bracing, and the whole things needs a good wash.

Don’t expect to see a dramatic change soon, though. Restoration won’t even begin until the end of 2011 and will take two and a half years to complete. The Colosseum will remain open the entire time, although some parts will almost certainly have to be put off-limits on a temporary basis.

Many of Italy’s monuments are in a sad state of disrepair. The problem received international attention last year when several ancient structures collapsed in Pompeii.

[Photo courtesy user AlexSven via Gadling’s flickr pool]

Berlin’s latest attraction: The Computer Game Museum

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re under thirty, computer games have always been a part of your life, but for us old farts wise elders, we remember the first time we took hold of a joystick and moved a spaceship through an asteroid field, or ran a ravenous little yellow circle around a maze while being chased by ghosts. If you’re under twenty, you probably don’t even know what games I’m talking about.

Here’s your chance to learn. The Computer Game Museum has just opened in Berlin. The Computerspiele Museum, as it’s called in German, presents the history of gaming from its early days on room-sized computers in the 50s and 60s, through the arcade craze of the 80s and on up to today. There are even experimental installation pieces examining possibilities for the next generation of gaming, such as RaveSnake, an eight-player game controlled by cell phones via Bluetooth. The developers call this a new genre of “party games for the sidewalk.”

The museum has an archive of about 14,000 games, and some are set up so visitors can play them. According to a detailed article by Deutsche Welle, this is the second incarnation of the museum. It was previously open for a few years in the 90s before shutting down. In following years it created temporary exhibitions for other museums until it got a space of its own and opened on Friday.

In case you’re wondering, the screenshot is of Pong, a table tennis simulator that was one of the earliest games available to the general public, being released in 1972. That’s before even my time!

[Photo courtesy user Bumm13 via Wikimedia Commons]

Spirit of Britain super-ferry enters service on the busy Dover-Calais route

by Scott Carmichael on

This morning, Dubai owned P&O ferries took delivery of the Spirit of Britain – one of the largest ferries in the world. The vessel will operate on the Dover-Calais channel route, and is capable of transporting 2000 passengers.

Compared to the ferries of the past, this new vessel is more cruise ship than ferry – with an upscale shopping center, private lounge, shower facilities, free Wi-Fi and various restaurants.

Passengers on the 90 minute journey can drive their car onto the ship along with up to nine passengers for just GBP19 ($30), with 6 free bottles of wine and a free breakfast. There is room on its decks for 180 freight trucks, for a total of 400 vehicles – or almost 2.2 miles of cars and trucks.

Despite the introduction of the Channel Tunnel back in 1994, ship traffic between the two countries is busier than ever. On this short route, P&O has to compete with two other ship operators.

The Spirit of Britain is the sixth ferry from P&O to operate on the channel route, and will be joined in September by the Spirit of France. The ships were built in Finland by STX shipyards, the same yard responsible for building the massive Norweigan Epic cruise ship as well as various Carnival cruise ships.

[Photo: AP]

Aquarium crocodile swallows cell phone

by Sean McLachlan on

A visitor to an aquarium in the Ukraine was trying to take a picture of a crocodile with her cell phone when she dropped it right into the creature’s mouth, the BBC reports.

Last month at an aquarium in Dnipropetrovsk, Rimma Golovko reached her hand towards Gena the crocodile in order to get a good shot as it opened its mouth. She fumbled and the phone fell right into the Gena’s gullet. The reptile then gulped it down. She told the aquarium staff but at first they didn’t believe her. It was only after Gena’s tummy starting ringing that they realized the crocodile had, indeed swallowed the cell phone.

Funny? Well, yeah, but not for the croc. Gena has since lost its appetite and energy. Considering all the harmful chemicals involved in making a cell phone (they’re considered hazardous waste, after all) it’s not surprising the critter is feeling a little under the weather.

The aquarium’s vet has tried giving Gena laxatives-laced meat, but the it didn’t take the bait. Now he’s considering an operation.

And Ms. Golovko? She says she wants her Sim card back. Well, too damn bad, Ms. Golovko. I’m sympathizing with the giant predator on this one.

[Photo courtesy user MathKnight via Wikimedia Commons]