Thanks to new technology from a Chilean-based company, massive water playgrounds are popping up from Singapore to Santiago. Could it put an end to the eternal poolside v. seaside debate?
Category: Food / Travel
A Swiss mountaintop is not the place you’d expect the “world’s best smoked salmon” to come from. But the Balik farm sends its perfectly sliced and salted catch around the world, thanks to a secret recipe handed down fro
New regulations specify that pilots can now fly up to 11 hours straight at night, and 16 hours at a stretch during the day. One pilots’ union official calls the new rules the biggest setback in air travel safety since World War II.
Brazil is expecting huge crowds when it hosts the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. In fact the country’s tourism industry is already heating up – especially in Rio, home to the soon-to-be refurbished Gloria Hotel, and more and more economic alternat
More and more Western governments have outlawed the methods required to fatten geese for the production of foie gras. Meanwhile, China turns out 1,000 tons a year, and is set to open the world’s biggest production facility of the rich delicacy.
The finer things in life sometimes just need a twist to be shared by everyone. The authentic coffee-and-steamed-milk recipe for cappuccino will now be available in Italian caffès for those who are lactose intolerant. The capriccino recipe replaces cow&
“Terra” potato chips, a popular Swiss brand, has gotten people talking about its latest flavor options. How? By having consumers come up with the new recipes themselves. But the real novelty is that the “inventors” of the winning flavors get a nice little
The Chinese have a saying: ordinary folk regard food as important as heaven itself. The tech world’s motto is “Innovate Or Die.” At Google’s Beijing headquarters, one can taste what happens when these two philosophies m
Peruvian cuisine is appreciated around the world, but business leaders can whet their appetite on the country’s success at spreading its restaurant chains globally: from elsewhere in Latin America to the US and India.
Bypassed as a tourist site since the revolution, the southern Tunisian city of Douz looks to regain its hold as an entryway to the Sahara. The country’s tourist industry as a whole has been hit hard by the political unrest.
Already blamed for causing a cruise ship disaster that killed 25 people, Italian skipper Francesco Schettino now faces allegations that past ships he captained were places of “corruption, drugs and prostitution.”
Chileans love hot dogs. Just ask G&N, whose Doggis restaurants dominate the local fast food market with annual domestic sales of roughly $100 million. The company is now hoping Doggis will be able to fetch similar earnings across the continent.
The White Nile offers perfect rafting conditions: soft water and few sharp stones. The number of times you go overboard depends mainly on the mood of who’s steering.
Debate rages over genetically-modified organisms (GMO) used in the agriculture industry, as health experts and environmentalists try to keep a ban in place. In the Gironde region of France, a single corn and vegetable farmer staunchly defends his right to
Fidel Castro’s jungle headquarters are a highlight of a trekking tour in Cuba’s Sierra Maestra mountain range, in the southeastern corner of the island.
Carnival season has just kicked off in Germany. In Cologne and Düsseldorf, hotel and restaurant owners are raking in millions from the beer-fueled festivities, which seems to be getting bigger – though maybe a tad more commercial – with each passing year.
Barolo and Brunello have long competed to be considered the top Italian red wine. Now makers of both wines have decided to market their bottles together, an approach the French have always used. The Italy v. France battle is on to woo millions from the Am
Think ski holiday in Europe, and most people imagine the Alps. But what about Bulgaria’s Pirin Mountains? The skiing is great, the scenery is spectacular and lift tickets are refreshingly affordable.
Rice has long been held in great esteem in Asia. Not so in Europe, where it is often dismissed as “food for the poor.” Little by little, however, Europeans are starting to clue in to the fact that rice is far more than just filler food.
In Milan’s principal wholesale fruit and vegetable market, shelves are empty due to an ongoing truckers strike in southern Italy. Truck drivers are livid over austerity measures being pushed through by Italy’s new reformist Prime Ministe
Some of the world’s trendiest new “bars” don’t serve beer, whiskey or wine. What they do offer is chocolate, and lots of it. From Paris to Tokyo, chocolate bars are attracting all ages eager to indulge their cocoa cravings and fe
Zurich Airport is among the first to begin to test two devices that can detect dangerous liquids. In the future, all of Europe hopes to gradually relax its strict bans on liquids in carry-on luggage.
The German travel company Dertour, one of the world’s leading tour operators, publishes catalogues covering many different countries and themes each season. Now for the first time, a catalogue is out called ‘Gay Travel,’ with some offers
Year-end totals are in for the number of 2011 visitors for the Egyptian capital and its top seaside resort Sharm el-Sheikh. Not surprisingly, hotels were largely empty as protests in the streets surged.
Once a must-stop for the European jet set, Rome’s Café de Paris on the via Veneto fell under the grip of the powerful Calabrian mob. But after a criminal investigation three years ago put the locale under state control, managers are now serving &
Getting your own fresh eggs for your morning Parisian omelette doesn’t necessarily require a trip to the local market. More and more French urbanites are finding space for a hen or two in their own homes.
For the first time, the high-end fish eggs are being bred in Switzerland, where the well-to-do have long enjoyed imported caviar. But it was an odd twist that allowed for the sturgeon to flourish: lukewarm water coming out of a draining gallery in railway
Early export stats suggest that so far this year, Italy’s Prosecco variety of sparkling wine is outselling Champagne, its better known – and generally more expensive – French counterpart. A victory for the underdog? Not so fast, says France. Chri
From Parma to Piacenza, Bologna to Ferrara, the northeastern region of Emilia Romagna offers some to the tastiest classic flavors of Italian cuisine, from cappelletti pasta to Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar and Gutturni wine.
Dulce de leche may not be the healthiest of snacks, but oh man is it tasty. In Argentina, the caramel-like spread is also big business thanks to growing consumption both at home and abroad.
Alcohol, apples and seashells… Swiss authorities have tried almost everything to clear snow off roads and sidewalks. This time, a Geneva-based startup claims it can cut down the use of salt by 70% by replacing it with ‘Snowfree’, a produ
The only program of its kind in Europe requires a group of high school students to manage a 150-bed chalet in the Italian Dolomite mountains for two weeks — with no grownup supervision. But this is not a test: the hotel has real, paying customers who hav
Dubbed ‘Italo,’ the new train is not only fast and red, it’s being launched by Ferrari chief Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Europe’s first privately operated high-speed train service will begin rolling in March. And yes, the train
Master chef Michel Rostang’s famous truffle sandwiches can now be ordered take out. They cost 65 euros a piece. Are they worth it? One reporter took it upon herself to find out.
The Spanish city’s authorities raise the cost of over-doing it for locals and tourists alike. But will it change people’s behavior?
A permanent alcohol ban went into effect Sunday for the S-Bahn, Munich’s subway system. The night before, thousands turned up for one last binge. Reporter Marco Marco Völklein shares his notes on this most unusual of underground parties.
Cobras and scorpions, centipedes and seahorses on bamboo sticks are among the things you never thought you’d taste. A Laotian in Beijing compares two of the world’s more “out there” eating experiences.
Many intellectuals have found inspiration in the bottom of a wine glass. But Swiss scientists may be the first to draw lessons from the way a good wine taster swirls that glass. The subtle slosh, it turns out, may be just the thing drug makers need for mi
Swiss butchers have a bit of leeway when it comes to aging meat. From mincing to marinating, there are several “tricks” they can legally employ to keep their products appealing – even after the meat’s sell-by date has expired.
First brought to Sicily by Arab conquerors, rice farming was eliminated over the past century for Italian political reasons. Now a local “farmer-archeologist” has brought it back to satisfy local desires of Sicilian star chefs.