When I think of London, I often see gray. But not this time. This creative photo from Sarah Landau, a professional touring lighting designer, paints the traditional London skyline a little differently. Featuring the eye, Big Ben, and the Thames, this spooky image is a bit thought-provoking. My thought at this moment: I’d like to visit London again… immediately.
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The London underground may be one of the best systems in the world, but overnight service is still something not offered. Sure, there are plenty of late night bus services, and minicabs are usually everywhere, but once the 2012 Olympics come to town, chances are there won’t be enough buses to transport everyone.
Transport for London and the union representing tube workers are meeting to discuss the possibility of a round the clock service between July 27 and August 12, to help get visitors where they need to be.
As usual, 24 hour service will all depend on pay and staffing issues. To make matters worse, current pay issues have even raised the possibility of strikes during the upcoming Royal Wedding and the 2012 Olympics. Time will tell whether the workers get their demands met before these big events.
[Photo: Flikcr/fofiko]
I have hired some strange tour guides. One was a Balinese man that cackled like a quick fire dub step remix of the word “huh.” One was a spy for the Myanmar government whose eyes widened in the car’s rear view every time I fumbled with my iPod. One made me promise that I would marry my girlfriend when I returned home. Others still furthered strange agendas upon my explorations.
Never though, to the best of my knowledge, have I toured under the guidance of a homeless person.
Thanks to a group called the Sock Mob, the London homeless are taking to the streets and finding a calling as tour guides. The Sock Mob is a volunteer organization that interacts with the city’s homeless or “rough sleepers.” They engage the homeless in agenda-free conversations, distribute socks, and generally commit altruistic deeds. They also have spearheaded a tourism program called “Unseen Tours” that allows travelers to take in some of London’s sights with a homeless tour guide. The lens of homelessness provides a unique perspective on landmarks such as London Bridge, and the guides also showcase hidden corners of the city that a conventional tour may miss. The tours meet every Friday at 7pm and every Saturday at 3pm. Cost is roughly $10, “depending on your circumstances.”
Duty Free. It sounds like such a good idea. Duty Free shops and zones in airports and other places common to travelers beckon us to save money . Quick and convenient, we find savings of up to 50 percent just after passing through security on the way to our plane, train or ship. But buyer beware, you may not make it to your final destination with that great deal.
Duty free shop personnel often lack import knowledge for destinations other than their own. They can get you going from where you are, but often laws of other lands will prevent bringing your duty-free items in.
Australian Customs, for example, has a section on duty-free in its ”Know Before You Go” guide for travelers that states: ”If you are aged 18 years or over, you can bring 2.25 litres of alcohol duty-free into Australia with you” – without mentioning that it is subject to regulations about liquids and must be purchased or carried according to strict rules reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Travelers commonly find out the hard way that security rules concerning liquids vary from country to country. Some require bottles to be in tamper-proof packaging, others don’t. If where you buy and your final destination include a stop in a third country, even a short layover, your duty free purchase could be confiscated.
It’s a good idea to know before you go and online source dutyfree.com tells us “Duty-free rules vary by country, with policies ranging from simple and flexible to complex and rigid. To learn about a country’s duty-free laws, try contacting its customs or border patrol agency. Or, call a travel agency, duty-free shop or airline located in that country.”
Catalyst Creative: Duty Free Stores from Catalyst Creative on Vimeo.
Just a few days ago it was Las Vegas getting a London Eye-like Ferris wheel & amusement park. Now, add Orlando to that list as a Madame Tussauds wax museum and a 425-foot Orlando Eye observation wheel will be part of a new tourist complex in central Florida.
At 425 feet, the Orlando Eye wheel will be almost as high as the 443-foot tall London Eye and be part of a sprawling dining, drinking, shopping and entertainment complex to be called “I-walk Orlando” set for a 2013 opening. To be located in the center of tourist crazed International Drive, developers are looking to make this the next “must-see” attraction in Central Florida.
Merlin Entertainments, the people who will bring LegoLand to Orlando this year, are behind the new I-walk Orlando complex in a partnership with two other developers. Up next? You guessed it: Asian LegoLand Amazing what they can do with Legos. Not long ago, they even built a cruise ship out of them: The Lego Love Boat.
Flickr photo by damo1977