Do you ever get that melancholy sense of dépaysement when you’re traveling far from home? Does the lambent glow of Autumn kindle the wonder of komorebi for you ? Or, does it encourage you to seek the sublime feeling of Waldeinsamkeit ?
Artist Ella Frances Sanders has cleverly illustrated some of these marvelous but elusive words which have no single equivalent in English. See how many you can slip into your conversations today. Maybe during a pleasant sobremesa session. But mind that culaccino.
The elusive Banksy continues to take NYC by storm with his diverse and random art bombs. One of the most recent creations is an ordinary delivery truck transformed into a mobile garden space complete with an actual waterfall. This component of Banksy’s “Better In Than Out” series will be appearing at different locations around the city every evening. Viewers can learn more about the installation right here or call 1-800-656-4271 for audio commentary and information.
Transport For London (TFL) has partnered with London poets to encourage Tube riders to be respectful, courteous and mindful. The overarching goal of the project is to encourage what they call Poetiquette: Patience, Helpfulness, Courtesy and Awareness.
Along with celebration of National Poetry Day last week at major Underground stations, TFL has sponsored poetry posters and a website for public transit poets to share their work.
KLM Airlines has just rolled-out a new digital service called MydreamCatcher . Travelers simply enter a destination and dates and the app offers a wide range of recommendations on hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment and shopping. The information is aggregated from a dozen review and informational sites, including Yelp, TripAdvisor, Frommers, Foursquare, Facebok, Last.fm, Google, Muselia and Wikipedia. Take a spin.
Elemental Iceland is an extraordinary time-lapse video shot over a three week road-trip last month . Peripatetic Norwegian photographer Stian Rekdal created the video from more than 40,000 shots.
If you’ve ever visited Iceland, it will whisk you right back there. If you’ve never been, be prepared to start searching Kayak for airfares.
You see more of Rekdal’s awesome travel photography on flickr and Facebook.
Many thanks to Jessica Finger from noodle.org for this neat infographic (see below). Created in partnership with Betsy Bird, the New York Public Library‘s Youth Materials Collection Specialist, it covers some of the best children’s books of 2013.
If you are anything like me, you agonize over finding the right children’s books when buying gifts. This infographic may be just the ticket. Take a look:
Do you think that you know your way around London? Know the Underground like the back of your hand ? Could you name all 270 Tube stations? Well, comedian and song-writer Jay Forman has managed to squeeze it all into a three minute song tune “Every Tube Station Song”. Follow along as he takes a whirlwind ride on the Tube.
This month the legendary British street artist known as Banksy is hitting the streets of New York City with a new “show” titled “Better Out Than In”. The dodgy artist has launched a new website to accompany the show at BanksyNY.com . He’s already kicked-off the fun with two pieces in Lower Manhattan featuring two boys called “Graffiti is a Crime”.
Update: It seems that the “Graffiti” pieces were possibly vandalized already. No one knows if the paint-over was by Banksy or just a critic.
Situated in a former industrial warehouse building, Bonn Germany’s BaseCamp Young Hostel is a very clever campground with a twist. The hostel consists of a group of rehabbed, quirky, vintage camping trailers and rail cars. The units are arranged in a circle to recreate that old campground vibe and to encourage camper camaraderie. The trailers each sports a unique theme and décor, with names like Space Shuttle, Drag Queen, Safari & Flower Power.
Launched in August by Michael Schloesser, the unique hostelry offer 120 beds in 15 different units and will be open year-round. Accommodations cost from €54 to 76 per night. Check it out right here.
Like every other visitor to Barcelona, I’ve been gobsmacked by the awesome Sagrada Familia church. And like most Gaudi fans, I’ve wandered around the unfinished marvel trying to imagine what the completed project will look like. This amazing video (see below) from the Sagrada Familia Foundation combines computer animation and stunning aerial footage to show exactly what the UNESCO World Heritage Site will look like when it’s completed in 2026.
