Archive for the 'Europe' Category
National World War II Museum rallies the troops, plus Tom Hanks, for premiere
November 6, 2009 10:14am
Everyone from war veterans to movie luminaries are rallying today, Nov. 6, in New Orleans to inaugurate the expanded National World War II Museum, which has doubled in size and added a theater with a film experience that promises to plunge visitors into the wartime world, complete with (fake) falling snowflakes, seats that shudder as munitions explode and other special effects.
Among today’s attendees is Tom Hanks, executive producer and narrator of the 35-minute movie “Beyond All Boundaries” (photo above), which will screen at the museum’s new theater. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Patricia Clarkson, Neil Patrick Harris, Brad Pitt and many others.
Today’s events were sold out, museum spokeswoman Kacey Hill said. But there was still plenty of room on Saturday, dubbed “Family Fun Day,” when a range of free activities will be offered, she added. Here’s the 411:
The Michael Jackson theme park that never was, but still could be
November 5, 2009 12:29pm
Michael Jackson dreamed of a theme park based on the J.M. Barrie story of “Peter Pan,” complete with looping roller coasters, 3-D flight simulators, water rides, stunt shows, dinner theater, nighttime spectaculars and hotels.
The Disney and More blog has the full story of how the dream nearly became reality, including blueprints and concept art from the envisioned project.
In the late 1990s, the King of Pop partnered with Burbank-based Landmark Entertainment Group — the creators of the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure and the Jurassic Park water ride at Universal Studios Orlando — to draft a plan for Peter Pan’s Neverland theme park.
The concept looks remarkably similar to Disneyland past and present, with all the Peter Pan parts of the park (pirate ship, dark ride, skull rock) amplified and embellished with plenty of pixie dust.
Peter Pan’s Neverland envisioned a grand entrance into Victorian London with replicas of Kensington Gardens, Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.
On Neverland Island, reached by boat, there were six themed lands:
Read the rest of this entry »
Ireland: Flights, car and 6-night castle stay for $948
November 3, 2009 5:57am
For a special short getaway to Ireland this winter, recruit your favorite three friends or family members. Based on four people sharing a three-bedroom villa, a fly-stay-drive package offered by Sceptre Tours can be had for as little as $948 per person, including taxes, from Los Angeles. Your castle awaiting on the Emerald Isle is Adare Manor Villas, ranked the third-best resort in Europe in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Deal: The package for you and your three companions includes round-trip airfare to Shannon, Ireland; six nights of accommodations in the village of Adare in County Limerick; a car rental; entrance to the Belleek Pottery Visitor Centre, along with a tour and museum admission; and a coupon booklet for the region.
Your group will share a three-bedroom unit at the Adare Manor Villas. If you can get yourself past the golf course, shopping and other activities on the 864-acre grounds, you might consider day trips to Limerick, Killarney, Bunratty, the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry scenic route, among other destinations. Read the rest of this entry »
10 smokers’ paradises: A guide for globe-trotters
October 31, 2009 6:00am
With so many places around the world instituting smoking regulations, increasing taxes and, quite literally, kicking smokers to the curb, it’s getting harder to find cigarette-friendly vacation spots.
But not every country is trying to kill that buzz. On the flip side, some of them, such as Greece, are attempting to crack down but are failing miserably.
You may feel alone smoking in some major U.S. cities, so we’ve compiled a list of countries with the most prevalent tobacco use among people aged 15 or older, based on 2005 data from the World Health Organization.
Nonsmokers, too, will want to take note of the list. As you might guess, a smoker’s paradise can be, in turn, a nonsmoker’s hell.
German Rail Pass deal: 20% off, plus free Berlin tour
October 22, 2009 5:57am
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall — it fell on Nov. 9, 1989 — Rail Europe is offering a special deal.
Deal: Buy a four-day German Rail Pass at a rate that is 20% less than regular pass prices. Plus, you’ll get a voucher, valid for 24 hours, for a Berlin City Sightseeing Tour thrown in free. Valued at $25 per adult, the tour is on a hop-on, hop-off, double-decker bus.
The rail pass, good for first- and second-class travel, is valid for four days (not necessarily consecutive) in a month. The discounted passes cost $301 per adult, $151 per child (6 to 11 years old; kids under 6 are free), for first-class seats, and $231 per adult, $116 per child, for second-class seats.
Ordering on the Rail Europe website is straightforward, and no extra fees are added to the above-mentioned prices. At time of writing, the website noted that shipping is free on all rail orders for an unspecified “limited time.” Read the rest of this entry »
Air France and KLM join rush to charge for second bag overseas
October 21, 2009 6:33pm
Want to check a second bag to Europe on Air France or KLM? Hand over $50, s’il vous plait.
These European airlines, both owned by Air France-KLM Group, are the latest to charge for what used to be free on overseas flights. In recent months, British Airways, American Airlines and United Airlines have all announced fees for coach fliers to check a second bag between the U.S. and Europe. Although at least one carrier, Air New Zealand, still gives second bags a free ride, the list is dwindling.
In the case of Air France and KLM, the $50 second-bag fee will apply to tickets issued Nov. 1 or later. If you’re flying after Nov. 1 but buy your ticket before that date, you’ll still get two bags for free, an Air France-KLM spokeswoman explained. Like other airlines, they will exempt high-mileage frequent fliers, customers flying in first and business class and some others from the fee. For details, see the airlines’ joint news release.
A free hotel night in Paris from Marriott
October 16, 2009 6:19am
Ah France. One hardly needs a reason or an excuse to go to Paris, but any and all incentives are welcome, no? Marriott speaks to the romantic traveler in me with its free-night offer on weekend bookings. Stay two consecutive weekend nights at one of its participating hotels in France and get the third night free.
Deal: Marriott’s “Free Hotel Room Nights for Weekends in Paris, France” is good at a variety of hotels including the Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel, Renaissance Paris Hotel Le Parc Trocadero, Courtyard Paris Neuilly and the Courtyard Paris Defense West-Colombes with rates starting at $78 per night. Make sure the B4F appears in the “Corporate/Promotional” code box when making your online reservation, or ask for the promo code B4F when you call in your reservation.
When: Valid through March 7
Contact: Marriott, (800) 228-9290
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: The Eiffel Tower. Credit: Lionel Bonaventure / AFP/Getty Images
The ultimate shoe store opens at Galeries Lafayette in Paris
October 7, 2009 5:58am
As enlightened souls —or is that soles?—surely know, it’s all about shoes.
So we’ve just got to take note when what’s billed as the the world’s largest footwear emporium opens at the venerable Galeries Lafayette department store on the tres chic Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
The 34,500-square-foot shoe Parnassus opened in July. Reached by a gold and white staircase worthy of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, it has chocolate-brown leather sofas for the trying-on ritual, 150 brands of shoes and 12,000 pairs altogether.
‘Julie & Julia’ foodie tour of France
October 6, 2009 5:56am
Have you seen the movie “Julie & Julia,” directed by Nora Ephron? Read the book?
Much of the film takes off from “My Life in France,” describing Julia Child’s post-World War II encounters with French cooking and eating. The renowned chef was working on the memoir when she died in 2004, leaving it to be finished by Alex Prud’homme.
Now true believers in the “French Chef” can follow her tracks through the land of tripe and escargot on a tour devised by New York-based Tour de Forks, which specializes in culinary excursions around the world, from New Orleans to Australia.
Venetian painters at the Louvre Museum in Paris
October 4, 2009 5:56am
Kill two birds with one stone: Visit the Louvre Museum in the City of Light to see a big new exhibition about La Serenissima.
“Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice” (open through Jan. 4 in the Hall of Napoleon) examines three great 16th-century Italian artists who made their homes in the Lagoon City:
Titian learned from Venetian masters such as Bellini and Giorgione. Tintoretto, a Venice homeboy, was always at odds with Titian, his senior by about 30 years. The divine Veronese crossed hairs with the Inquisition over his placement of dogs and dwarfs in religious pictures such as “Feast in the House of Levi.”
Masterpieces on display include Titian’s lackadaisical nude “Danae” from the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, a Tintoretto self-portrait from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the striking “Temptation of St. Anthony” by Veronese from the Caen Museum of Beaux-Arts.
— Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times staff writer
Photo: “Venus with a Mirror” by Paolo Veronese. Credit: Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
