A United Airlines passenger flew two hours across the US after the airline failed to reunite her with her bag.
21.07.2023 - 07:53 / roughguides.com
If you consider yourself a foodie, then these travel experiences are for you. Whether you've got a sweet tooth or you like to be a little adventurous, the world has a lot to offer on a plate.
Long the world’s prime cocoa producer, Ecuador was usurped by West Africa in the twentieth century when mass-produced chocs, made with cheaper beans, became fashionable. With gourmet chocolate in vogue again, Ecuadorean cocoa farmers are busier than ever. Guayas province is scattered with family-run plantations; visit during the April and May harvest to see them in action.
Rugged Gascony is a sleepy, untouristed region celebrated for its punchy cuisine – think black sausage, gizzards and foie gras washed down with Armagnac – and it’s become something of a foodie hotspot in recent years. Gascony’s most prized dish is confit de canard: salt-cured duck roasted in its own fat – an ages-old preparation that results in deliciously crispy skin and melt-in-the-mouth meat.
Duck legs confit with potato gratin and mushroom sauce © Anna_Pustynnikova/Shutterstock
After visiting the Hermitage Museum’s extensive art collection, some Russian-style sustenance is in order. The Caviar Bar in St Petersburg’s swanky Hotel Europe is the best place to sample top-notch caviar, selected from a trolley which comes loaded with the traditional accompaniments of blinis, sour cream and chopped eggs. A vodka sommelier is on hand to pair your sevruga with your Stolichnaya.
Black caviar © Goskova/Shutterstock
Truffles certainly don’t look like a delicacy – but their unique aroma can transform a humdrum dish into something really special. Alba’s white truffles thrive in the damp woods around town, and are sniffed out under cover of darkness. The season is short – October to November – which only serves to raise their desirability among in-the-know gourmands: a two-pound truffle recently fetched US$120,000 at auction.
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Authentic bird’s nest soup (as opposed to the inauthentic noodles-as-nest variety) is made from the nest of the swiftlet, a small bird found throughout southeast Asia. Rather than twigs and leaves, the nest is made from saliva strands, which harden when exposed to air. Served in a steaming bowl of chicken broth, the dish is reputed by the Chinese to have aphrodisiac qualities.
Bird's nest soup with bird's nests on the side © imppp/Shutterstock
An unlikely delicacy, tube-shaped percebes, or “gooseneck barnacles”, cling to Galicia’s rocky coastline. Harvesting percebes is not easy: they grow in remote and precarious spots, battered by the pounding Atlantic, and so-called percebeiros take their life in their hands to prise them off the rocks. For many, it’s worth the risk: these prestigious crustaceans, with their flavour of
A United Airlines passenger flew two hours across the US after the airline failed to reunite her with her bag.
I spent the first seven years of my life in the United Kingdom and still have some British terms and phrases in my vocabulary.
When the new Tron coaster opened at Disney World's Magic Kingdom back in April, theme-park reporter Madison Blancafor, couldn't wait for her chance to ride the high-speed coaster, based on the popular sci-fi franchise.
It’s no longer something to keep hidden.
Who will be the next president of the United States, if the airlines had their way?
Tipping for services is a tricky part of traveling—and one that could cost you undue money (or some awkward encounters) if you don’t do your research. But it’s now easier than ever to find out how to tip in your next destination. One guide to tipping even lays it all out in one interactive map; bookmark it for those moments when you’re wondering how much to leave.
Looking for a new museum to add to your travel to-do list? TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) has released the Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Museums of 2018, including the top 10 worldwide and the top 10 in the United States, with some surprising frontrunners. The findings also highlight bookable ways to see each winner—think VIP tours and scavenger hunts—with some offering the added perk of allowing you to skip the lines to get in.
The esteemed Dr. Beach has released his annual list of America’s top ten beaches, and you’ll want to visit all of them this summer—doctors orders.
“Best airport” rankings aren’t typically the most helpful in terms of travel planning: If I want to go to Boston, I’m not going to head for Las Vegas instead because its airport is better. But those best airport lists do come in handy in two cases—when you have a choice of airport for your connecting flight, and when you can choose between multiple airports within a single metro area.
AirHelp, the online service that files complaints against airlines on behalf of passengers entitled to compensation for air delays or cancellations, knows a thing or two about air travel. Because it’s hard for the average person to understand air passenger rights and pursue a legal claim when they’ve been wronged, AirHelp is always going toe-to-toe with airlines and airports—and reveals once a year which ones that treat their passengers for the better (or worse).
America’s newest wicked-long flight is the Boston-to-Honolulu route from Hawaiian Airlines, which is now the longest flight in the country at 5,095 miles. And it’s not a fluke—the new Hawaiian flight is the longest nonstop route in the United States ever. The journey takes a whopping 11 hours 40 minutes when flying to the islands, but it will only take 10 hours and 15 minutes to get back to reality.
Have you had your eye on an interesting museum but haven’t gotten around to visiting? It’s time to clear your schedule on Saturday, September 22, because nearly 1,500 museums and cultural institutions nationwide will be free and open to the public for one day.