Archive by Category "News from around the World"

Google Maps Timeline Feature

Open your Google Maps and click the menu in the top left corner. See the “Your Timeline” link? If you’re anything like the editors in the Traveler office, you’ve probably never used the feature, which keeps a log of everywhere you’ve been with your smartphone in hand, creating a historical path for your day.

Timeline has existed for more than a year now, but last week, Google Maps announced it had updated the feature. It’ll now not only keeping track of all of the places you stopped into during your day, but also divide them in categories like restaurants, hotels, shops, and attractions, to make rediscovering them even easier. From there, you can easily add them to your Google Maps starred lists (which Traveler editors meticulously use to keep track of where we’ve been, and where we want to go) so you can access them at any time. It comes in handy when you’ve strayed from your itinerary for a spontaneous shopping spree, neighborhood exploration, or general wandering, and want to remember the exact places you’ve been.

But the real perk comes in the new sharing feature. Now you’re able to export customized lists from your Timeline, selecting specific places you’ve visited on your tracked route with added notes, for when your friends or family ask for your well-traveled advice. Those very lucky people can then download your list directly to their Google Maps as a layer of starred destinations. The exact scenario a Google spokesperson gave us during a demo? That Timeline could replace that email you forward endlessly when someone asks your recommendations. (We have outboxes full of them over at Traveler.)

Back to the location privacy: to get access to the feature, Google Maps doesn’t have to always track your location. You can turn your location history on and off as needed for vacations, and delete certain date ranges of your location history data from within your app’s settings under “Activity Controls.” (If you turn it off, your existing Timeline places will stick around on your phone.) Location history is only turned on when you opt in, so if you haven’t used your Timeline before, it’s likely turned off. If you’re curious about what location data Google keeps, and what it doesn’t, check out the dedicated location history FAQ page.

 

Summary:

Google Maps Timeline
  • Create Timeline. When you turn on Location History, your Timeline will reflect the places you have gone with the devices in which your account is logged-in and which are reporting location. …
  • See your travels. …
  • Turn on or pause Location History. …
  • Edit Timeline.

How to view your location history in Google Maps

  1. Launch Google Maps.
  2. Tap the more button (three horizontal lines) on the top left corner.
  3. Tap your timeline.
  4. Tap the calendar icon to view a particular day.
  5. Swipe left or right to switch months.
  6. Tap a date to view your location history.

 

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Journees du Patrimoine, SEP. 21-22, FRANCE

PARIS & ILE-DE-FRANCE: SEPTEMBER 21st & 22nd 2019, JOURNEES DU PATRIMOINE 2019

European Heritage Days are the occasion to visit Monuments and Castles often for free!
In Paris, discover places usually closed for public. In Ile-de-France, visit the abundant Heritage sites of different eras, from the Renaissance estate to the fortified castles, … Royal Residences.

PARIS Outings to discover:

  1. Elysée Palace opens its doors for European Heritage Days. Visit this high place of power and the prestigious salons of the Hotel d’Evreux.
  2. Palais-Royal and the meeting rooms of the State Council, Ministry of Culture and the Constitutional Council.
  3. French National Assembly, tour Palais Bourbon, Hotel de Lassay.
  4. Ministry of Economy and Finance. Visit Bercy from the inside and enjoy crazy experiences as ziplining.
  5. Ministry of the Interior. Visit Hotel Beauvau, ..lounges, gardens, offices, former jails.
  6. French Court of Appeal.
  7. Grand Palais, created for the 1900 World’s Fair.
  8. Musée de la franc-maçonnerie proposes exclusive tours to discover its values and culture.

ILE-DE-FRANCE

  1. Seine-et-Marne Heritage with guided tours, exclusive open houses and family entertainments!
  2. Yvelines castles and museums.
  3. Essonne and its treasures.
  4. Val de Marne
  5. Val d’Oise.
  6. Seine-Saint-Denis.

Link: https://journeesdupatrimoine.culture.gouv.fr/


Link: https://www.sortiraparis.com/news/heritage-days/guides/54048-european-heritage-days-2019-in-paris-and-the-ile-de-france-region/lang/en

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Rainbow Trail

(CNN) — An airplane speeds through the clouds, a trail of technicolor contrails following behind, illuminating the sky in dazzling rainbow shades.
This incredible moment was captured on film by Brisbane-based Australian photographer Michael Marston, who posts eye-catching aerospace imagery and video on social media.
Marston began snapping shots of airplanes about three years ago. His partner, Tracy, is a Qantas flight attendant and Marston thought it’d be pretty neat to capture a photograph of a plane she was staffing flying across the moon.
He started experimenting with solar and lunar photography, and soon began observing other aerospace phenomena.
“I noticed that planes look very pretty when they go overhead with the right atmospheric conditions — they produce rainbows behind them, with the vapor,” Marston tells CNN Travel.
When an airplane is flying at high altitude, there’s a decrease in pressure and the temperature of the air drops, explain experts at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the German Aerospace Center. If there’s enough moisture in the air, the vapor forming behind the aircraft freezes, generating ice crystals.
Scientists from NASA say the ice crystals form when cold air condenses around particles from the plane’s exhaust.
The remarkable rainbow effect happens when the crystals are aligned at the right angle with the sun, explains NASA.
On June 2019, Marston shot video footage of this marvel, capturing the moment when a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 flew over Brisbane, with stunning rainbow contrails.
This wasn’t the first time Marston took photographs of rainbow contrails, but it’s the first time he captured it on video.
Link: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/airplane-rainbow-trail-photos/index.html
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“2” Take a Pledge 2 Be a Responsible Tourist “2”

…Some entire countries e.g. Switzerland and Kazakhstan, Austrian Alps have warmed by 2C. The percentage of the globe exceeded 2C.
Extreme warming is fuelling wildfires in Alaska, shrinking glaciers in the Alps, melting permafrost across Canada’s Northwest Territories – i.e. altering marine ecosystems …
It is making already hot places in the Middle East unbearable for outdoor workers and altering forests, lakes and rivers in the United States. It has thawed the winters of New England and transformed the summers of Siberia.

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/climate-change-world/?wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-world–alert-national

 

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Aerophobia – Fear of Flying & 10 Expert Strategies

If you or someone you know struggles with fear of flying, these 10 expert strategies will help ensure a comfortable, panic-free flight.

Does the idea of flying cause you to break out in a cold sweat? You aren’t alone. More than 25 million Americans suffer from some form of flight anxiety, making aerophobia (fear of flying) the second biggest fear in the US after public speaking. If you do fall in this category, you’ve probably had friends and family remind you numerous times that flying is the safest mode of transportation. While that’s very true – your chances of dying in a plane crash are about one in 10 million compared with a one-in-272 chance of dying in a car crash – that’s not always enough to quell the jitters. And advice like showing up early at the airport to eliminate unnecessary stress is practical as well, but for the most nervous nellies among us, it takes a little bit more to get us up in the air.

We turned to the experts – Todd Farchione, Ph.D., of Boston University’s Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders, Martin N. Seif, Ph.D., ABPP, of the Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center, and Captain Steve Allright of British Airways’ Flying With Confidence program – to find out exactly what to do to help alleviate flight anxiety. Thanks to their advice, we put together a 10-step guide to help you conquer your fear – because nothing should stand between you and the vacation you deserve.

    1. Name your phobia
    2. Familiarize yourself with airplane noises
    3. Check the turbulence forecast
    4. Bring a photo of your destination
    5. Skip coffee and wine
    6. Distract yourself
    7. Tell the flight attendants
    8. Embrace safety information
    9. Use this breathing technique
    10. Have relaxation remedies handy

 

Link: https://www.budgettravel.com/article/travel-advice-overcoming-flight-anxiety_12630?fbclid=IwAR0hn9EiuWyt5lNgueEheVcQcSrTqvc_K0Lc0GXyramR7aBVi3hxPapPgp4

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FAA ban on MacBook Pro Laptops

The ban affects 15-inch MacBook Pros whose batteries were recalled by Apple in June due to potential fire risk.

Your laptop might not be able to board your next flight, due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s new MacBook Pro ban. The FAA has banned certain MacBook Pro laptops that were recalled by Apple earlier this summer due to safety concerns with the lithium batteries that include risk of fire.

In June, Apple recalled “a limited number of older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units,” that were sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017, the company said in its recall notice to customers. Apple says the laptops have a battery that could “overheat and pose a fire safety risk.” The FAA has now banned those laptops from U.S. flights, the safety regulator’s standard practicefor products with lithium batteries that have been recalled for safety reasons.

“The FAA is aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops,” the safety regulator told NPR in a statement in August. “In early July, we alerted airlines about the recall, and we informed the public.” (Despite the announcement in July, the news of the ban only started to get widespread attention in August.)

Link: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/faa-bans-macbook-pro-laptops-with-recalled-batteries-from-flights

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Best Restaurants in Paris

The France of the imagination remains undimmed. The romantic boulevards and cobbled streets of Paris. The sparkling waters of the Cote d’Azur. The slow-paced villages of Provence. Each is enough to make travelers swoon. Yet while these hotspots will always be popular with Francophiles, it’s the sheer diversity of the country that makes it so alluring to millions of tourists every year. Whether it’s skiing in the Alps or Pyrenees, surfing in Biarritz or cycling through the greenways of Dieppe, France has got it all. Throw in some of the world’s finest food and best wine, whether in a three-star Michelin restaurant or local brasserie, and it’s hard to think of a more perfect destination.

We combined and compiled a list of the 10 best French restaurants in Paris (courtesy of CNN) and Conde Nast and we came up with the below:
Down-market food trucks and pop-up restaurants have invaded Paris just like other cities around the world. But when looking for the best French restaurants in Paris, we want the kind of classic tables that make French dining a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Item.
To find the most memorable food and drink experiences, CNN turned to Meg Zimbeck, brainchild of the extensive online food guide Paris by Mouth. Zimbeck and her colleagues lead walking tours in the capital of France and have been seeking out the best tables in the city for years. With her help, CNN compiled a list of 10 best French restaurants in Paris:

 

1.    Bistrot Paul Bert: classic bistro experience, a gut-busting traditional French meal at its finest (there’s no escaping a food coma following a meal here)
2.    Septime: inventive innovative cuisine
3.    Chez Casimir: where locals go for high-caliber affordable tasty bistro food
4.    Relais d’Entrecôte: steak served with secret sauce and crispy fries
5.    Le Chateaubriand: no-choice menu, morning ingredients put together in interesting ways
6.    Verjus: the best fried chicken dishes in the city
7.    Semilla: open kitchen, distinguished M.O.F. chef, the highest French honor for craftsmen, wine obtained from the nearby Derniere Goutte wine shop
8.    L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon: Started by legendary French chef and restaurateur Joel Robuchon
9.    Les Papilles: copious 4-course fixed menu, plate of cheese that change daily. A lot of chefs come here
10.  Breizh Café: authentic Breton sit-down creperie, an authority in Paris

 

Others by Conde Nast:
11.  Allard: duck with green olives, frogs legs, duck foie gras
12.  Epicure: 3-Michelin-starred restaurant… a meal experience that borders on religious
13.  Clamato: inventive seafood
14.  Tannat: real emphasis on seasonality and wine stories …
15.  Benoit Paris: classic bistro (which opened in 1912): escargots, cassoulet, pate en croute, Scottish salmon with Bearnaise sauce, scallops, cheese, crepe Suzette
16.  Dersou: Taku Sekine has become the chef0around-town with artfully plated dishes, edible flowers…
17.  Le 52: for diners serious not only about food but high good-time quotient
18.  Le Grand Bain: Brit Edward Delling Williams, the tall blond handsome chef
19.  Anahi: steak, steak and more steak, an Argentine institution (so it is more ole than ohlala)
20.  La Coupole: typical French brasserie food with strong seafood emphasis. A living memorial to Paris’ Art Deco legacy. La Coupole has seen more than its share of Parisian Who’s Who (Henri Matisse, Marc CHagal,, Jane Birkin ….)
21.  L’Ami Jean: the food is star of the show, refined, adventurous and surprising
22.  Ellsworth: people come here to eat well. Don’t skip the fried chicken – it’s what they’ve become known for
23.  Le Train Bleu: one of the most dignified restaurant, an icon of Parisian dining… every inch drips with Parisian opulence
24.  Chez La Vieille: reinvented bistro and his genious Chef Daniel Rose
25.  Pierre Sang: creative, unexpected, fresh and full of diverse flavors (with Korean touches)
26.  Bouillon Chartier: opened in 1896 with a simple mission: French food at an affordable price for the masses
27.  La Dame de Pic: Anne-Sophie’s hyperseasonal cooking is bold and delicate.
28.  Vivant: spirited, confident cooking
29.  Le Servan: novel flavour pairing
30.  Le Vieux Belleville: live music, performers walk among the tables with accordion singing French Classics including Edith Piaf
31.  Le Baratin: simple, authentic dining experiences

 

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Louvre Museum Notice

Due to the renovation of the Salle des Etats, the Mona Lisa is displayed to the Galerie Médicis (at room 801, level 2 Richelieu wing), until October 15th, 2019.

It might be possible that you will not see the Joconde for all types of visits (guided & audio guided).
You can go on your own to admire the major works of art.

The program of the visit and timing may change according to the visitor’s flow management by the Musée du Louvre.
It will not possible to re-enter the Louvre Museum once you leave it.

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Dubai: Renewable Energy, Virtual Skydiving, Start-up Funds, Water Taxis

Live in a renewable energy-powered home
For a climate of year-round sunshine Dubai has been relatively slow to embrace the possibilities of solar energy. But the Emirate is making up for lost time with plans to install solar panels on 10 per cent of Emirati homes, and the first solar powered apartments now on the market. With a colossal $13.6bn solar park in development, capable of powering 1.3 million homes, the possibilities are set to expand while the prices shrink.

Virtual thrills
Dubai is on the frontline of virtual reality innovation and offers a broad sweep of goggle-enabled thrills. Visitors can try their hand at simulated skydiving at the iFly Skydiving simulator, pilot a virtual jet with the Emirates A380 Experience, play at being a racing driver at Dubai Autodrome, or star in blockbuster action movies, like The Void: Ghostbusters Dimension, at Hub Zero.

Receive state funding for your start-up
As part of Dubai’s strategy to become a leading global player in business and technology, the Emirate has established several well-funded accelerator programs to support entrepreneurs developing innovative business ideas. These have largely focused on Emirati-owned companies, but in recent years some of the largest programs have been opened to foreign nationals — including the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund worth 2bn dirhams ($544 million).

Infrastructure: Get around underground… and on the water
The Dubai Metro opened in 2009 and has provided a mass-transit system suitable for a modern metropolis. Public transport has also expanded into the waterways with the advent of water taxis and water buses along the coastline.

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