|
Carnevale
di Venezia – 2017
Carnevale di Venezia
allows people in various classes to
mingle without inhibition, wearing masks
and partying without regard to gender
or religion.
The Carnevale di Venezia,
as it's called in Italian, started Feb.
11. The final day's events included
ice skating in the Campo San Polo, a
youth carnival in Zelarino, a mask contest
in the Piazza San Marco and a street
show at the Piazza Ferretto, according
to the Carnival website. Carnival is
a tradition that takes it name from
the Latin term "carnem levare,"
which translates to "remove the
meat" – a reference to the
holiday's timing, as Carnival ends just
before Christians' fasting for Lent
begins.
Since the 18th century,
Carnival has been a chance for people
in various classes to mingle without
inhibition, wearing masks and partying
without regard to gender or religion,
and that atmosphere persists today,
according to Discover Italy.
"There is something magical about
it," Spanish tourist Maile Rebella
told GMA News Online. "It's
something magical that you can't describe;
you have to feel it. You need to live
it and take part in it. We've had the
great privilege of participating in
the parade, and it's a real luxury."
The masks remain a historic holdover
from Carnivals of Venice past. With
feathers, jewels, beads and bright colors,
masks are sold all over Venice for the
festival. Tourists and locals alike
dress up as if they were headed to a
ball for Carnival, even if they're just
out and about for one of the many Carnival
concerts, EuroNews reported.
"The theme of the mask is absolutely
essential to help your imagination arrive
at what I call the dream," costume
designer Stefano Nicolao told CNN
in 2014. "For me, emotion must
emanate through the costume and the
person who wears it. There must be beauty,
originality, an explosion of color."
Rio
Carnival – 2017
Samba, the traditional
music of Brazil that is synonymous with
Carnival, is played almost entirely
throughout the festivities.
Six months since the
world had their eyes on on Rio de Janeiro
for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Now, the
attention is once again on Brazil. On
Friday Feb. 24th, Rio de Janerio kicked
off Carnival Rio, the most anticipated
and exciting holiday, and it is estimated
that millions overall will participate.
One of the biggest attractions
is the Samba schools parade where the
best dance groups sing and dance down
the Sambadrome in collections bright
and beautiful costumes and menageries
of elaborate floats. After months of
preparation, the world is able to see
the creativity, artistic talent, and
unity of the people of Rio de Janeiro.
Themes, floats, and costumes are picked
and executed by Rio's samba schools
and compete in a number of competitions
such as theme of the year, samba song,
percussion band, etc. Winners are announced
on Ash Wednesday.
New
Orleans
Mardi Gras – 2017
The streets of New Orleans
were filled with costumed revelers,
dazzling floats featuring kings and
queens, and people of all ages screaming
for trinkets and beads. Lots of beads.
Last January marked
the culmination of the Carnival season,
which started Jan. 6.
The biggest parades
took place along the St. Charles Avenue
parade route, where the Krewe of Zulu
kicks off the morning's parades and
is followed by the Krewe of Rex.
Families, tourists and
locals set up their chairs and ladders
early to get a good seat for catching
the trinkets thrown by riders on the
floats. The hand-crafted coconuts handed
out by members of Zulu are particularly
sought-after.
In another part of the
city, people dressed in elaborate costumes
take part in the St. Anne's parade -
an eclectic walking parade that starts
in the Bywater and Marigny neighborhoods
and ends in the French Quarter.
Members of various Mardi
Gras Indian tribes - they're African-American
rather than Native American - werel
also out on the streets in hand-sewn,
beaded and feathered outfits that they
have been working on for months.
At the stroke of midnight,
police on horseback did a ceremonial
clearing of revelers on Bourbon Street
to mark the formal end of the Carnival
season before Lent begins Wednesday.
The word "carnival" comes
from the Latin words meaning "farewell
to flesh," and was originally a
time to revel and to use up all the
fat and meat in the larder before the
austerities of Lent.
|
|
Airplane-Provided
Water, Ice, Coffee, or Tea
It's important to stay
hydrated while flying, but you're better off BYOW
(Bringing Your Own Water) rather than grabbing a
free drink from the beverage cart.
Tests done by the EPA
a few years ago showed that one out of every seven
planes had tank water that did not meet federal
standards, and in fact contained bacteria like E.
coli. Although beverage carts might give you "bottled"
water from a large bottle, that bottle could have
been refilled using the tank water. Coffee and tea
are often made from the same tank water, which is
usually not heated enough to kill germs. Ice is
also sometimes made on board, so it's best to pass
on that as well.
Tipping
Etiquette Around the Globe
As North Americans,
tipping is a reality, and we are sensitive that
the wait staff receives their due. We generally
like to tip at the amount of 15% to 20%. After all,
the wait staff in North America depends on it.
But if you are confused about tipping
in other destinations, we determined what’s
best to tip outside of North America.
- Africa: 10% to 15%
- Australia/New Zealand: None (the
wait staff is well compensated in their hourly
salary
- Caribbean & Central America:
10%
- China: None. (Tipping is against
the law)
- England: 10%
- Germany: 10%
- Ireland: 12%
- Italy: None (except for great
service, where you round out bill)
- Japan: None. (tipping is considered
rude, but you always offer your chef a beer)
- Middle East: 15%
- South America: 15
The
'Trump Slump' – A Devastating Drop In Tourism
to the United States
Experts across the
travel industry are warning that masses of tourists
are being scared away from visiting the United States,
and the loss of tourism jobs could be devastating.
By Arthur Frommer
Courtesy Frommers.com
Though they may differ
as to the wisdom of the move, the travel press and
most travel experts are of one mind: They are currently
drawing attention to an unintended consequence of
the Trump-led efforts to stop many Muslims from
coming to the U.S., pointing to a sharp drop in
foreign tourism to our nation that imperils jobs
and touristic income.
It's known as the "Trump
Slump." And I know of no reputable travel publication
to deny it.
Thus, the prestigious
Travel Weekly magazine (as close to an "official"
travel publication as they come) has set the decline
in foreign tourism at 6.8%. And the fall-off is
not limited to Muslim travelers, but also extends
to all incoming foreign tourists. Apparently, an
attack on one group of tourists is regarded as an
assault on all.
As far as travel by
distinct religious groups, flight passengers from
the seven Muslim-majority nations named by Trump
were down by 80% in the last week of January and
first week of February, according to Forward Keys,
a well-known firm of travel statisticians. On the
web, flight searches for trips heading to the U.S.
out of all international locations was recently
down by 17%.
A drop of that magnitude,
if continued, would reduce the value of foreign
travel within the U.S. by billions of dollars. And
the number of jobs supported by foreign tourists
and their expenditures in the United States-and
thus lost-would easily exceed hundreds of thousands
of workers in hotels, restaurants, transportation,
stores, tour operations, travel agencies, and the
like.
While, earlier in the
year, the Administration had boasted of saving 800
jobs in the Carrier Corporation, the drop-off in
employment resulting from the travel ban would eclipse
that figure.
According to the Global
Business Travel Association, in only a single week
following announcement of the ban against certain
foreign tourists, the activity of business travel
declined by nearly $185 million.
Other observers, including
local tourist offices, have reached similar conclusions.
In referring to New York City's $60 billion tourist
industry alone, the head of the city's tourist effort
complained that his agency's effort to portray the
United States as a welcoming destination to foreign
citizens "was all in jeopardy." Several
other tourist officials have made like statements.
As
you can see, there is plenty of evidence for a negative
conclusion.
Mount
Etna, Europe's Largest Active Volcano, Erupts on
Sicily
Bright lava lit up
the night sky on the Italian island of Sicily recently
as Mount Etna erupted for the first time this year.
Etna, which sits at 3,330 meters (10,926 feet),
is also the highest volcano in mainland Europe,
and typically erupts several times a year, according
to Reuters.
In fact, Etna has been active since
January 23 of this year, reports Wired, with
Strombolian explosions – ejections of cinder,
ash, and smoke – indicating that magma is close
to the surface. The volcano's last major eruption
was in 1992 and threatened the town of Zafferana,
but ultimately led to successful lava diversion
efforts.
Take
the Road Less Traveled Through Northern Greece
You'll have another chance to travel
with Leftheris
Papageorgiou this fall, with an opportunity
to walk in the footsteps of Alexander in northern
Greece, explore less traveled traditional villages
in the Greek Alps, trail Odysseus to the island
of Ithaka, and finish on Captain Corelli's Kephalonia.
- Take in the highlights of Thessaloniki
- Visit the sites of Vergina, Pella,
Dion,
and Dodoni
- Gaze up enormous rocky columns
to
the timeless monasteries of Meteora.
- Explore the Ali Pasha's citadel
in Ioannina.
- Come to know the Greek Alps in
Zagorochoria.
- Hike and thoroughly absorb the
beautiful islands of Ithaka and Kephalonia in
the Ionian Sea.
More than 4,000 years of history,
amazing hikes (hike the deepest gorge in the world,
if you're up to it!), traditional villages, awesome
swimming opportunities, winery visits, amazing meals,
a private cooking class in a noted winery, and an
excursion on our private motor yacht. Ready to go?!
Learn more about how to join Leftheris
and a small group of lucky travelers as you explore
Greece From
Odysseus to Alexander the Great: On the Road Less
Traveled, set for September 1-16, 2017.
Acclaimed
Wildlife Film Makers Join One Ocean Expeditions
to the Antarctic and Canadian Arctic
Award-winning wildlife film makers,
Karen Bass and Neil Nightingale, will be
joining One Ocean Expeditions (OOE) on three of
its forthcoming small ship adventure cruises, to
offer expert advice and personalized workshops for
passengers wishing to enhance their holiday videos.
Karen Bass, who has travelled the
world for over 30 years, producing and directing
films and television series for both the BBC and
National Geographic, will give talks, master classes
and offer advice throughout the voyage, helping
guests to create their own lasting souvenir of an
amazing polar experience.
Award-winning wildlife filmmaker
and zoologist, Neil Nightingale, will also be on
board. Neil has travelled and worked in many of
the wildest corners of our planet and, through his
films and television programs, has shared his passion
for the natural world with millions of people around
the globe.
Photo courtesy
of De Roskamp
Guests can travel alongside Karen
and Neil on three departures, 'Falkland Islands,
South Georgia & Antarctica' (18 October
to 6 November 2017), 'Canada's East Coast Fins
& Fiddles' (14 to 24 July 2018) and 'Labrador
& Torngat Explorer' (24 July to 3 August
2018).
Commenting on the former, Karen
says: "The vast wildlife colonies amongst the
icy, mountainous scenery of South Georgia and Antarctica
are some of the most breathtaking spectacles and
inspiring landscapes I've ever seen. So this voyage
is a wonderful opportunity for photography of all
types, in stunning wilderness."
In addition to offering small group
workshops designed to cater for complete novices,
as well as those looking to improve their film making
skills, the two natural history experts will spend
quality time with guests over meals, at the bar,
on zodiac journeys and on shore landings.
Passengers will learn the art of
visual story telling through shooting and editing
advice, top tips and techniques, combined with guidance
on how to use sound and music to enhance the emotion
of the film. For those not interested in creating
their own video, there will be numerous interesting
presentations about life behind the scenes in the
natural history world, with plenty of anecdotal
stories about wildlife filmmaking in almost every
environment on earth.
Among the photographic highlights
of the October departure to Antarctica are the vast
king penguin colonies of South Georgia, the dramatic
beach scenes as elephant seals fight for territory
and females, and the ever-changing weather, providing
wonderfully atmospheric sea and landscapes.
Prices for the 19-night Falkland
Islands, South Georgia & Antarctica
itinerary start from US$13,695, while the 10-night
Canada's East Coast Fins & Fiddles start
from $3,395 and Labrador & Torngat Explorer
from US$3,695. Early booking incentives, including
flight offers, are available for bookings made prior
to 31 May 2017. Previous OOE guests not only receive
a 10% discount on these prices when they re-book,
but also have a choice of other benefits with the
ONE CLUB loyalty program. These include cabin upgrades
or flight discounts, private transfers, travel credits
or a night's complimentary hotel accommodation,
a bar credit on board, a welcome basket or a ONE
CLUB jacket.
For further information on One Ocean
Expeditions' cruises visit: www.oneoceanexpeditions.com
|
