Giving my stomach a reason to flip over and inside out or shooting my heart rate up at lightning fast speed isn’t necessarily my idea of a grand yee-haw time. So whether it’s indoors or outdoors skydiving wouldn’t be the first thing I’m signing up for, but if you’re a nut when it comes to diving with or without the sky you’ll probably dig SkyVentures. To sum it up like the in-the-know bloggers at CoolHunting, SkyVenture is a vertical wind tunnel that safely and realistically simulates the experience of jumping out of a plane. Developed more so for training purposes, visitors can flip, swoosh, dive and land safely at over 15 locations worldwide. Some locations up and running presently include: London, Malaysia, Arizona, and Orlando. Others in the works are Manhattan, Hollywood, Abu Dhabi, Alcanteria, Silicon Valley, and New Hampshire. See SkyVenture for additional details.
Surfin’ UK
It’s really nothing new. A hip underground sport embraced by a few hearty rebels suddenly becomes mainstream. What was once cool and cutting edge is now available to any loser with a few bucks in his pocket. Trendy sportswear and equipment springs forth, fashion trends develop, and corporate sponsors hop on board. Pioneers of the sport can only look on in horror as the masses embrace it and utterly destroy the hip image it once held.
Surf’s up blokes!
It seems that surfing is finally going mainstream back in the UK. After years of just a few souls braving the region’s cold waters, membership in the British Surfing Association has suddenly increase 400% in the last five years. And, not everyone is happy about it. Here is an interesting take by a somewhat bitter surfer (it seems) as the sport begins to explode in England and lose its hip cachet.
Sound a bit familiar, dudes?
Britain’s Best Beer Gardens
The title says it all. The Times (UK) has come up with a list of the ten best British pubs in which to enjoy a cold pint on a hot day. But these aren’t just any pubs. These are drinking joints eagerly longed for after a winter trapped inside dank, smoke-filled pubs. These are indeed, outdoor beer gardens.
Ten is an awfully low number for a country like Britain, but if you read the short descriptions included you’ll understand that these are simply the best. Take, for example, The Applecross Inn at Shieldaig, Wester Ross. “Overlooking the Inner Sound and the Isle of Raasay… the Applecross’s fuchsia-hedged garden has a vista well worth the giddy drive over Scotland’s highest road…local nets provide squat lobster marinated in sweet pickle and prawns immersed in garlic and butter.”
Now, will someone please tell me where I can find Shieldaig, Wester Ross. There’s a cold pint and some tasty prawns waiting for me.
Brits Drink Germans Dry
God bless them. Even though the Brits lost and are no longer part of the World Cup competition, countrymen all over Germany are showing that they’ve got the mettle to drink the country dry. Of course, the Germans knew what was coming. They tried to plan for the heavy-drinking Brits. But alas, in the end, the quaffing was just too much, and the 70,000 or so English fans who came to Deutschland drank some 1.2 million pints of beer, an average of 17 pints each hooligan…er person. A German beerkeeper said he had never “seen so many drink so much in such little time.” Let us raise a glass on this fine Fourth of July weekend for our brethren overthe pond. Here here, and God save the Queen.
Hedonistic London
Here’s a great assignment. Pick up a copy of the new Hedonist’s Guide to London and spend the weekend researching all of its recommendations.
This grueling task fell upon the shoulders of Katie Bowman of The Times (UK).
I wasn’t aware of the Hedonist line of guidebooks but they already have 12 titles published for 12 cities. Based upon their website, they are “the ultimate weekend break city guide” that promises to hook travelers up with “the most stylish hotels… finest restaurants… and chicest bars.” They also promise to help visitors “party, shop, and play like a sophisticated local.”
Bowman took this as a challenge and went off on a 48-hour binge testing the very limits of what defines hedonism–or so she thought. I was a little skeptical myself when a photo accompanying the article featured her bowling, but I read on nonetheless. It’s a fun read, tagging along with Bowman as she lurches from one recommendation to the next until she finally realizes that “hedonistic simply means expensive or celebrity-approved.”
Her final review? Pick up the book, but use it as a secondary resource for the much better, Time Out Guide to London.