Karel Capek
We’ve seen lots of airplanes that have been converted into hotel accommodations, but this is the first helicopter to make the transition. The folks at Helicopter Glamping in Stirling, Scotland purchased a decommissioned Sea King search and rescue chopper from the Royal Navy for only £7,000 and transported it by road to a pastoral campsite at Thornhill near Stirling.
After restoring the helicopter’s exterior, they transformed the interior space into a comfortable apartment complete with kitchen and bath. A dome and patio doors were added to admit natural light and the flight deck was kitted-out with comfy chairs.
Rental feels start at £150 per night for this unique hotel room. More information can be found at this website.
The accommodation juggernaut Airbnb and the U.S. National Parks Foundation have teamed up to make visiting America’s amazing national parks much easier. Airbnb has created a dedicated page that will make finding a place to stay close to a national park less of a hassle. Locating accommodations in close proximity to parks can be daunting even out of season.
To date, they have listings near Acadia, Badlands, Everglades, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Olympia, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia, Shenandoah, and Zion National Parks. More park accommodations should be up on the site soon. The range of places to stay is impressive, with everything from Airstream trailers to tepees.
You know what I mean.
Spanish street art collective Luzinterruptus has been shining a spotlight on the wastefulness of tourists and locals in Madrid with another powerful environmental art installation. The Laberinto de Residuos Plasticos was created from water bottles discarded in and around the capital city’s historic Plaza Mayor during one month. The installation was commissioned by the Madrid Municipal Government for the “Four Seasons” art project.
images © Lola Martinez
h/t Strand Book Store
Inspired by actress Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf project which anonymously distributes free books on subways in London, Paris, and New York City, Montreal bibliophile and YouTuber Audrée Archambault created Livres dan le Métro. For the last eight months she has been leaving French and English books in underground stations. Happily, the local transit authority, Société de Transport de Montréal has supported the project too.
Regular visitors to this blog will have noted by now that I am keen on any clever take on the transit map. The brilliant graphic below envisions many rivers of the United States as metro lines. Created by New York illustrator and graphic designer Theodore Rindos, the map is a clear allusion to the iconic London tube map designed by Harry Beck. For the moment, the river map exists solely online, but Rindos is wisely considering selling a print version.
images © Theodore Rindos
I have been chided in the past for posting images of international street art and overlooking the remarkable public artwork extant in my own backyard. So, here’s a look at a phenomenal temporary sculpture that towers 40 feet above the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia’s massive Fairmount Park.
Big Bling, which will stand through November 2017, is the work of celebrated American sculptor Martin Puryear. The 40 foot tall by 40 foot long work is constructed of laminated timbers, plywood, chain-link fencing, fiberglass, and gold leaf. Everyone has their own take on he abstract sculpture, but i keep thinking: elephant.
If you’re one of the 41 million plus visitors to Philly this year, take a break from the amazing historic sites in Center City, grab a picnic lunch from the Reading Terminal Market, and head to Fairmount Park for some street culture.
Travel Between The Pages 