How an enterprising couple have transformed their farm into a bucolic base amid cider orchards and vines – perfect for exploring an ancient landscape and flourishing arts sceneIn Old English its name meant “the land of the summer people”, after the local practice of coming down to the Somerset Levels after the winter flooding receded. Today, Somerset is still somewhere where seasons are felt vividly, as Sophie Brendel and Panu Long discovered when they and their two children moved to Thornfalcon, their farmstead in a village of the same name, 15 minutes’ drive from Taunton, at the end of 2022. Here, they are on constant weather watch, tending their young vines (Panu, now a winemaker, has a background in the drinks industry) and harvesting daily from the kitchen garden. They are also busy making plans for the apple harvest, which will go into the 150-year-old cider press.In addition, they have created a handful of places to stay on their 16-hectare (40-acre) site, which sprawls through woods, orchards and vines to a reed-fringed lake. Walking around it at the end of May, you feel the cusp of summer, from the water lilies coming into bloom and the nesting swan, guarded by her mate. “Soon the eggs will hatch, and later she’ll teach the cygnets to fly, before taking them down to the Somerset Levels,” says Sophie. Continue reading...

  The prices are part of Alaska’s Global Getaway sale, celebrating a “Taste the World” theme of culinary destinations.   Europe Flights Start at 20,000 Miles, While Asia Starts at 30,000 Miles The sale will run through June 30, 2025, valid for travel between August 1 and November 15, 2025. Seats are available in both […]

  404 Media reports the law enforcement agency purchased data from Airlines Reporting Corporation at a price of $11,025, with the flyer data company asking CBP to not identify them as the data source.   Data Purchased to “Track People of Interest” Flying in the United States The information was revealed after 404 Media made […]

A six-day hike on Arran – a new Unesco Geopark – reveals tales of dinosaurs, tectonic plate collisions and lightning strikes from millions of years agoAround 240m years ago, a 12-foot-long reptile called a chirotherium walked along a beach in what was then part of the supercontinent of Pangaea, and what is now the shoreline of Kildonan village, on the rugged, southern coast of the Isle of Arran. Natural dykes of black igneous rock – cooled magma – jut out into the ocean here. The houses on shore are backdropped by grassy cliffs.We know that this giant proto-crocodile once roamed here because it left behind footprints – which can still be seen today. “This is older than the dinosaurs,” says Malcolm Wilkinson of Arran Geopark, as we crouch down next to the trace fossil. I place my hand in the massive print and attempt to imagine the world millions of years ago, when Scotland sat just north of the equator and the climate was tropical. Continue reading...

Still gliding above the town of Wuppertal on an overhead track 125 years after it was built, the charming Schwebebahn has lost none of its magicIt’s easy to be seduced by the romance of train travel. Think of sleeper trains, boat trains, vintage steam railways, elegant dining cars. But it’s rare that an urban transport system can capture the imagination quite as much as the Wuppertal Schwebebahn in Germany caught mine, and that of anyone else who’s clapped eyes on the world’s oldest suspended railway.In October it will be 125 years since Kaiser Wilhelm II took a test ride in the Schwebebahn, just a few months before the hanging railway officially opened for business in March 1901. It was an incredible feat of engineering then, and remains so today. Even with sleek modern carriages having long replaced the original ones, it looks like something imagined by Jules Verne, with carriages smoothly gliding under the overhead track. They have even preserved the first 1901 carriage, nicknamed Kaiserwagen, which can be hired for private occasions. Continue reading...

From Baltic beach holidays to Spanish city breaks and cruising on French canals, here’s our pick of the best getaways for dogs – and their owners Continue reading...

Dogs have a sense of adventure, don’t they? We thought Missy would enjoy exploring France and Spain. She had other ideasPlus tips on travelling with dogsWhen, two years ago now, our dog sitters cancelled on us just 24 hours before we were due to go on our summer holiday, we felt more than a little put out. Aware that we couldn’t leave Missy, our border terrier, home alone with a tin opener, we sent out frantic texts and made urgent phone calls before at last finding someone, a friend of a friend of, I think, another friend, and simply hoped for the best. What else were we to do? The flights were non-refundable.It all turned out fine, but it was not an experience we were keen to repeat. And so, the following year, we took Missy with us. Dogs are portable, after all, and have a nose for adventure. Also, this was to be an extended holiday, away for a full month – working part time in order to fund it – and we couldn’t be apart from her for that long. Continue reading...

  The Fort Worth-based airline announced the first flight of their Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner equipped with new Flagship Suites and Premium Economy options, traveling from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).    Preview Flight Includes Gift Bag, New Amenity Kit The over 200 passengers aboard the inaugural flight were treated […]

  The White House named several countries on a new travel ban list on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.    Ban Based on Intelligence Reports, Overstay Data According to the Executive Order, the decision to ban travelers from certain countries was based on several factors, including intelligence on other nations and how many international travelers overstay […]

The city once neglected its most famous son. But this summer visitors can immerse themselves in a major new exhibition and see the artist’s restored studio, home and the landscapes that inspired himPaul Cezanne is everywhere in Aix-en-Provence: there are streets named after him as well as a school, a cinema and even a sandwich (a version of traditional pan bagnat but with goat’s cheese instead of tuna). And from late June, the whole city will go Cezanne mad, as the painter’s atelier, north of the centre, and the family home to the west reopen after an eight-year restoration.But during Cezanne’s lifetime, and for years after his death in 1906, Aix seemed at pains to ignore the artist later called the “father of modern art”. When his widow, Hortense, offered several paintings to the city’s main Musée Granet, director Henri Pontier declared that Cezanne paintings would enter the gallery only over his dead body. Continue reading...

The broadcaster and author can’t get enough of this stretch of England’s south coast, and has even set his first murder mystery thereMy earliest memory of Devon is being lost, and my mum crying. I was at junior school. I had a friend whose mother was described as “vague” – this was the 1970s, so that could have been code for almost anything. The vague mother had given my normally quite organised mother directions to a remote house where my schoolfriend spent his summers. We were “popping in” (70s code: spending the day there). The instructions to find the place were something like, “Turn left after South Zeal, pass the dirt track and follow the direction the sheep are facing.”After an hour of pretending we were still on the right route, my mum suddenly burst into tears and uttered a rare denunciation of a fellow human being. “That SILLY woman!” she shouted. “We don’t know where we are. Nobody does.” Continue reading...

With help from Gordon Dedman, a consultant on Alone Australia, Rafqa Touma learns how to survive in the wildGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailOn our very first night in the bush, Gordon Dedman issued a warning: “Fussy people die.”Dedman, a man with an apt name for a military survival instructor, is all muscle and green khaki. Sat by the fire, he addresses his students.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

  The Wall Street Journal reports the bag fees for all new itineraries will be $35 for the first bag, and $45 for the second bag.   Luggage Costs Go from Free to $80 for Two Bags For decades, Southwest made their reputation on the trademarked “Bags Fly Free.” Although the in-air product changed, the […]

  Both JetBlue and United Airlines announced their launch of Blue Sky, described as “a new and unique collaboration that gives customers of both airlines even more options to find flights that fit their plans as well as new opportunities to earn and use MileagePlus® miles and TrueBlue points across both airlines.”   Partnership Includes […]

The opening of the V&A East Storehouse and Sadler’s Wells East mark the transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into an exciting new creative hub for the capitalThere’s a collective intake of breath as the curator slowly unzips the white garment bag to reveal the treasure within: a white military-style jacket embellished with gold buttons and epaulettes, worn by Elton John on his 1981 World tour. To my left, laid out on a table, are a gold Versace bag and a pair of daintily embroidered blue silk shoes dating from the 1720s. To my right, a Vivienne Westwood corset and a Balenciaga pink taffeta evening dress from the 1950s. It’s a fashion lover’s fever dream and it’s all here, at my fingertips.I’m at the V&A East Storehouse in east London, a radical new museum experience that allows anyone to order up any item from the V&A’s vast collection – for free – and to examine it at close quarters. Housed in the former Olympics Media Centre, on the edge of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, this lofty warehouse space gives unprecedented access to more than 250,000 objects, from an 11m wide stage cloth designed by Picasso to a cross-section of a maisonette from the Robin Hood Gardens council estate in Poplar. Gone are the glass cases, white walls and carefully curated exhibits of a traditional museum space. Instead, visitors are invited to look behind the scenes of a working museum, to wander among open shelves stacked high with deliriously eclectic objects and to peer into the workshops where conservators are at work. The effect is part Ikea showroom, part Victorian cabinet of curiosities. It’s bold, slightly bonkers and I love it. Continue reading...

With its vibrant festival scene, gorgeous swimming spots and rugged mountain biking trails, the Victorian town has a lot to offer, says local writer Doug WallenRead more local’s guides to AustraliaBeechworth is on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wavereoo, Dhudhuroa, Min-jan-buttu and Ya-itma-thang people, who collectively make up the Pallanganmiddang nation. It’s about three hours from Melbourne. People used to visit en route to the Victorian alpine region ski fields but it’s become its own destination now, known for its well-preserved gold rush-era sandstone buildings.Before they closed in 1995 and 2004, respectively, most residents worked at Beechworth Asylum (also known as Mayday Hills) and Beechworth Gaol. Later, Beechworth Bakery (which opened in 1984) got popular for its pies and cakes, more things opened and now tourism is the main industry. Continue reading...

  The hospitality giant launched Wyndham Rewards Experiences, a new platform to exchange points for access to exclusive events, along with a partnership with Applebee’s to let travelers earn points when they eat.   Experiences Include Pro Golf Round, Rockettes Performance, and Vans Tour Tickets The Experiences will be offered at Wyndham’s website, WyndhamRewards.com/Experiences. While […]

  The carrier will welcome guests in their newest Flagship lounge and Admiral’s Club at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) starting on Thursday, May 22, 2025.   Lounge Divided Into “Neighborhoods” to Create Unique Experience The 25,000-sqare-foot lounge space is divided into four “neighborhoods” to help flyers relax and find the respite they need. The Lounge […]

The state government wants to institute flat rates for low and high seasons. But many campers are troubled by the proposed pricing structure changeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAfter he’s got the fire at his campsite roaring, Andre Laudams likes to sit down and look up. “Getting to see the stars at night is one of the best things about camping,” the Sydneysider says. In the city, he is used to them being hidden behind a veil of light pollution.“I don’t think we should pay to get that peace and solitude.” Continue reading...

  The ultra-low-cost-carrier announced several wallet-friendly perks for both elite members and credit card holders, including free checked luggage.   Free Luggage Added as Spirit Credit Card Benefit Among the upgrades are the addition of two free checked bags for flyers who hold the Free Spirit Travel More Mastercard later in 2025. Full details will […]

  The airline announced the launch of their Elevated Interior with the United Polaris Studio seating, a top-end product launching out of San Francisco International Airport (SFO).   Polaris Studio Features Privacy Doors, Companion Ottoman, and Larger Screen The Elevated Interiors will come installed on United’s new deliveries of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The first […]

Completed last year and maintained by volunteers, the six-stage trail takes in vineyards, towns and bushland and can easily be broken into shorter walksGet our weekend culture and lifestyle email“If we’re going to see koalas today, it will be in the next few hundred metres,” my guide calls to me as we tackle stage two of the Clare Valley wine and wilderness trail.So far, flame robins have licked the trees just in front of us, galahs have shrieked to mark our arrival in otherwise serene clearings, and roos have skipped away, barely snapping a twig.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

From cruise ships to UFOs, from King Kong to a giant whale, half the sex in Japan may take place in its dazzlingly imaginative love hotels. But have some become just too seedy? Our writer checks inDo whales make you horny? How about UFOs? Maybe you’ve always dreamed of having a tryst in a fairytale castle, or making love inside a gigantic biscuit tin? Whatever your weird fantasy may be, it can probably be catered for on a roadside somewhere in Japan, if a new book on the curious phenomenon of love hotels is anything to go by.French photographer François Prost has been on a 3,000km pilgrimage of passion, driving from Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, to the island of Shikoku in the south, to document Japan’s unique architecture of furtive liaisons. What he found spans from manga-embellished motels and Christmas-themed love nests to pastel-hued stage sets worthy of Wes Anderson. And some things stranger than your most eccentric kinks could dream of. Continue reading...

Just 20 miles from the bustle of the medina, Ourika valley is a place of magical gardens, olive groves and walking trails in the foothills of the High AtlasFrom my vantage point on a rooftop terrace I can see the snaking form of the Ourika River meandering through the swathe of palmerias at the southern edge of Marrakech. It’s hard to imagine that barely 20 miles (32km) separate me from the frantic bustle of the famous Djemaa el Fna square and the clamour of the souks.“Salam alaikum,” says Abdelkarim Ait Ali, owner of Ourika Lodge (doubles from £53), as he loads my already groaning table with the generous breakfast offerings that are part of traditional Amazigh (Berber) hospitality. “There are so many [hot air] balloons this morning!” he says, pouring glasses of sage-scented tea. Continue reading...

From hidden doorways and blue stairs to panoramic city views, here are the most Instagrammable photo spots in Chefchaouen, Morocco! The post The Most Instagrammable Photo Spots in Chefchaouen appeared first on The Blonde Abroad.