A Tunnel to Africa

by Neil Woodburn on

The Chunnel was the world’s last great tunnel project. When it was completed a number of years ago, it linked England to Continental Europe–something Hitler certainly wished existed 60+ years ago.

Now there’s talk of another engineering marvel being considered: a tunnel from Spain to Morocco. Currently the only way to travel between the two continents is by air, boat, or overland through Turkey. An underwater tunnel connecting Spain and North Africa, however, would turn a long arduous journey into a short rail jaunt lasting only a couple of hours.

The Euro/African Chunnel would be 25 miles long (6 miles shorter than England’s Chunnel) and would take about 15 years to build. When completed, passengers will be able to travel from London to Tangier without ever having to get on a boat.

Now, about that New York to London Chunnel…

Gaudí for Kids

by Neil Woodburn on

Part of the reason I like Antoni Gaudí so much is that his phantasmagorical buildings appeal to the child in me.

His brick-and-mortar sand castles are bedecked with dripping balconies, soft-serve ice cream towers, and a kaleidoscope of colored tiles and glass. As an adult I can stare at such buildings for hours; as a child, I might have never left them.

Barcelona, Spain is the center of Gaudí’s world and is the location where most of his masterpieces can be found. Not surprisingly, it is a wonderful place to take the kids.

Recognizing the child-like appeal of Gaudí’s buildings, the New York Times has published a kid-friendly review of the Catalonian city complete with great recommendations for parks, caves, zoos, food and, of course, the very best of the imaginative world of Gaudí.

Take your kids now and in 30 years when they become successful architects, you’ll know where the inspiration came from.

Just Fake It!

by Iva Skoch on

Many folks, these days, are traveling for more than just sightseeing, they’re going shopping. With the dollar lingering near all-time lows versus some major world currencies, many shopping tourists are traveling to the States. However, some real shopping bargains exist elsewhere, particularly in the rip-off goods category.

My trip last year to China was a real eye-opener: the major markets all sold knock-off goods openly, while big, red banners, hang across all entrances, proclaiming “Maintain Intellectual Property” (one of the few signs anywhere in China written in English). (I’m still trying to figure out what the banners that said “Striking Forbid Illegal Management Activities of Soliciting Goods” mean, but that’s another story …)

These huge open-air markets are enough to make brand-name companies fume, with brands like North Face, Nike, Victorinox, and Columbia Sportswear and others all featured prominently, for pennies on the dollar. They don’t even bother with the spelling errors (you’ve seen them: “Addidas”) or mismatched teams (e.g., “Atlanta Braves Football Club”). The rip-offs are so realistic, it’s hard to tell them from the real thing, and it’s all right there in the open. It puts Canal Street to shame for sheer audacity.

But it’s not just China that’s in the big business of selling black-market items. They’re being sold across Europe too, usually in Asian-run boutiques. The shoe pictured above was featured prominently in the window of a downtown Barcelona shoe store just last month. Note the altered swoosh. I can hear Phil Knight screaming …

Spain’s Shrinking Beaches

by Neil Woodburn on

Looking at buying some beachfront property in Spain?

According to a recent report from Spain’s Ministry of the Environment, such a purchase would be a rather poor investment. Sure, you can enjoy it for summer vacations for perhaps the rest of your life, but if you want to pass it on to your children, it might not exist anymore.

The report claims that Spain’s beaches will shrink an average of 50 feet by 2050 thanks to global warming. As water levels rise, and stronger weather conditions swallow up the coast, entire beaches will eventually disappear. Beachfront holiday homes and resort hotels will be inundated with water and investments will float away.

You know what this means? Smart investors should buy cheaper properties a little further inland because those are the ones that will be beachfront in 45 years.

See? There is a bright side to global warming after all.

Lost luggage. Really, Really Lost.

by Iva Skoch on

A few days ago, I blogged about my horrible experience at the lost baggage counter in Barcelona. Today, exactly a week later, I am already back home from a trip to Spain and France, still without that bag!

Although I managed to see Barcelona and drove up to the south of France, my luggage–it seems–saw a lot more of the world without me.

This is the sad story of poor me and my bag:

  • Monday – I arrive in Barcelona from Prague on Czech Airlines, direct flight mind you. My bag does not.
  • Tuesday – My bag arrives in Barcelona. Should be delivered to my hotel “asap”.
  • Wednesday – I am am enjoying the Costa Brava while someone at Iberia decides to send my bag back to Prague.
  • Thursday – I am driving up to France from Spain. Czech Air promises they will send the bag to me in Bordeaux.
  • Friday – I break down and buy new clothes and toiletries. Bag does not make it to Bordeaux.
  • Saturday – Marathon du Medoc day. My bag is apparently on its way to Bordeaux, yet somehow it gets rerouted to Madrid and then San Sebastien, Spain, of all places.
  • Sunday – I give up and drive to San Sebastien. The bag is not there and apparently has never been there.
  • Monday – I fly back home. Czech Airlines tell me they have no idea where my bag is.

According to USA Today, out of the 3,7 million bags that got lost by airlines last year, 420,000 are lost permanently. Umm, it is a little hard to imagine where almost half million bags end up. Apparently in some lost baggage center in Alabama. With the new “liquid” regulation, the number of checked bags has gone up and one would assume the number of lost bags would go up as well.

I love traveling, but the recent developments in the airline industry make me more and more convinced that trains might be the way to go.