Hotel Security

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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A newly hatched UK thinktank plan to turn historic, old prisons into high-end boutique hotels may be taking hotel security a bit too far. The project would reinvent famous slammers such as London’s Wormwood Scrubs, Petonville, Dartmoor and the 400 year-old Shepton Mallet hoosegow.

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This prison/hotel conversion model is not so unconventional. Last year we reported on the very stylish renovation of Het Arresthuis Hotel in Roermond, Netherlands. And six years ago, the Malmaison Hotel Group in the UK transformed an Oxford jail into a modern boutique property. While here in the U.S., The Liberty in Boston is a great example of jail to hotel conversion.

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Posted in Europe, History, Hotels, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Venice to Venice

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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This little film transcends its original purpose as a lowly commercial for skateboard footwear with a charming rolling tour of La Serinissima . In the video tale, directed by Federico Vitetta, pro-skateboarder Guy Mariano daydreams his way from the waterways of Venice Beach, California to the canals of the original Venice.

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Scratch, Don’t Sniff

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Old-school travelers may still document their trips with maps and pushpins, but you can now track your journeys with your very own scratch-off maps. Produced by Luckies (UK) the fun Scratch Map series features maps of the World, Europe, the UK and the US, each layered with foil just like a lottery ticket. Doesn’t that sound like more fun than journaling?

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Here’s how it works:

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Travel Roulette

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Heineken Brewery recently launched a fun travel promotion campaign based on a game they call “Departure Roulette” at New York City’s JFK International Airport. The game dares flyers to drop their scheduled travel plans for a chance to travel to an unknown exotic location with the condition that they leave immediately. The players receive airfare, $2,000 and hotel stays.

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“Departure Roulette” was inspired by Heineken’s ongoing marketing campaign called “Dropped” in which travelers are sent to a remote location where their adventures are filmed.

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Who Is Banksy ?

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

If you are interested in street art, then you’ll want to see this neat infographic created by the folks at Canvas Elite, an online “art” seller. The graphic highlights the career of the elusive banksy from 2001 until 2012, with notes on original geographic placement and commentary on important paintings. But it doesn’t answer the question: Who is Banksy

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Mind The Gap (really)

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Forget about pickpockets, muggers, or football hooligans, visitors to London have a scarier prospect to look out for: exploding pavements. The UK Health and Safety Executive has revealed that 12 “under-pavement” explosions have occurred during the first half of 2013 alone. The video below shows an eruption that blew-up on Pimlico Road near Victoria Station on April 26th. It may be safer for pedestrians to just walk in the road.

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Notes From the Underground

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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New York City-based artist Ourit Ben-Haim travels the city’s subway system snapping candid photos of  readers and then posting them with the book titles on her wonderful blog The Underground New York Public Library. I don’t know what’s so compelling about the images, maybe it’s just heartwarming to see so many average folks reading real books.

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Ben-Haim’s blog is reminiscent of Walker Evans‘ Passengers series, where he surreptitiously photographed subway riders over a three year period (1938-41) with a disguised and hidden camera.

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Party Like It’s 1900

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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Beginning tomorrow and running through the end of September, Fête Paradiso, the world’s first traveling festival of vintage European carousels and carnival rides, is making it’s North American debut on New York City’s historic Governors Island. The diverse collection of late 19th and early 20th century attractions will be open every weekend from 10:30am to 6:30pm, with free admission and $3 rides. Free ferries to the event will run from the Manhattan Battery Maritime Building and from Brooklyn’s Pier 6.

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The amazing rides and attractions include a rare 19th century bicycle carousel, flying swings, a bumper car pavilion from 1900 and classic carnival games. Visitors will also find period musical entertainment, side show performances and French carnival food.

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Lovingly reconstructed by French artisans from Rennes, the Fête Paradiso  is made possible by Regis Masclet and Francis Straub who own the collection.

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Free Beer in Europe

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

The recently revived tourism campaign I Am Canadian wasn’t created by Tourism Canada,I-am but instead is the work of Molson Brewery, Canada’s oldest beer maker ( and second oldest business after the famed Hudson Bay Company). Molson’s clever, but self-promotional, campaign placed refrigerators full of beer in public spaces around Europe and filmed locals trying to open them. The catch to unlocking the fridges: find someone with a Canadian passport. Refreshing, eh?

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Fly Happy

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

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When it comes to researching airline tickets, most travelers focus on ticket cost and flight schedule. Now we can also discover how to “fly happy” instead. The new website (and iOS app) Routehappy is a database and flight search engine that aims to collate information such as seat type, legroom, wifi access, entertainment options, refreshments and amenities to help travelers find the happiest flights and the lowest cost.

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Routehappy rates each flight option with an easy to compare “Happiness Scale” of 0 to 10. Users can also add personal ratings to help refine the airline scores. Check-out this brief video to see how it all works:

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