SWITZERLAND
MONTGOLFIADES - GENEVA INTERNATIONAL HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA
6 - 8 April
This breathtaking air event will liven Geneva up with a free-of-charge
colourful and very popular show.
http://www.geneva-tourism.ch
BAA AND EMIRATES
TEST NEW BAGGAGE TAGGING TECHNOLOGY
BAA and Emirates have begun a six-month trial of a radio-frequency
identification (RFID) baggage tagging system at London Heathrow
BOB THE
BUILDER MAKES DUBAI DEBUT
Pingu, Bob
the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine and Barney are among children's
entertainment characters to feature at a new attraction in Dubai
where they are developing family entertainment projects in Global
Village at DUBAILAND, a three billion sq ft development, claimed
to be the world's biggest tourism, leisure and entertainment destination.
The world's
first HIT Entertainment 'Little Big Club' will be created. The
25,000 sq ft project is set to open its doors in the last quarter
of 2008.
It will offer
young children and their families a secure and interactive experience
designed around popular characters Barney, Pingu, Bob the Builder
and Thomas & Friends with themed rides and indoor and outdoor
play-centres.
FRANCE
CELEBRATES THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JOURNEY
"TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES" BY R.L. STEVENSON.
In 2008 it will be the 130th anniversary of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s
trip to the Cevennes. Robert Lewis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist
poet and travel writer and a leading representative of Neo-Romanticism
in English Literature. On the 22nd September 1878 he set off on
a journey in the Cevennes. His walk took 12 days and 220km from
Monastier sur Gazeille to Saint Gard with Monastine his stubborn
donkey. In 1879 his book Travels with a donkey in the Cevennes
was published. The trek labelled GR70 retraces his journey covering
landscapes of valleys, forests and farm lands from the Haute-Loire
in l’Auvergne to La Lozère in the Languedoc Roussillon
and also l’Ardeche in Rhone-Alpes. T
his trek takes you on an unforgettable trip of beautiful sceneries,
a wildlife adventure and also gastronomic discoveries with the
typical Cevennes dish of L’Aligot. L’Aligot is made
of melted tome cheese blended into potato purée with garlic
and needs a special preparation of hours of mixing and turning
to give it that smooth elastic texture.
The Association of "Sur le chemin de RL Stevenson" will
be commemorating this anniversary with many events and festivals
especially during the official anniversary between the 22nd September
and 3rd October.
SMILES
FROM CAR RENTAL COMPANY
Holiday
Autos’ provided us with these bizarre customer stories from
the past 12 months
Holiday
Autos’ customer service team have been kept amused by its
customers’ queries and antics.
Kangaroo
On Main Street - A couple holidaying in Australia claimed
damaged to their hired car occurred when a kangaroo ran out in
front of them… on a busy main road in Sydney.
“Excuse
Me Sir You’ve left A Prosthetic Leg In The Boot” -
Items left in returned hired cars include; a prosthetic leg, dildos,
frilly lingerie, and a glass eye.
A
Fly-ing Accident - One Nice (France) holidaymaker crashed
into a phone box as he was trying to swot a fly – luckily
the phone box was empty and nobody was hurt.
No
Driving License - A potential customer thought he could
legally hire a car for a Florida fly-drive holiday despite only
holding a provisional license.
“How Much for the Hire Car?” - A
female customer grew so attached to her red Clio she bartered
(unsuccessfully) to purchase it
A number
of holidaymakers refused to accept their hire car because they
were the wrong colour
Handbrake,
Signal, Manoeuvre… Out Of The Way Of The Falling Car -
One customer holidaying in Geneva wrote off his hired car during
a trip to the mountains, when he forgot to put the handbrake on
and the car rolled off the mountain.
“Where’s
Granddad?” - One extended Family returning home
from Palma was in such a rush to catch the plane they left Granddad
in the back of the car.
BIGGER
AND BETTER. THE BERLIN WELCOMECARD 2008
A must-have
for visitors to the lively, cosmopolitan city of Berlin is the
new, bigger and better Berlin WelcomeCard with its accompanying
Berlin Guide.
With the card
- which costs £16.50 for 48 hours or £21.50 for 72
hours - visitors benefit from free travel on bus and rail travel
together with discounts of up to 50 per cent with more than 130
city 'partners' which include tours, museums and attractions,
theatres and restaurants.
New 'partners'
for 2008 include the Videobustour (25 per cent discount) with
historical film footage shown at the original sites along the
tour's route, plus the new Kindercity for children in the Alexa
Shopping Centre where 25 per cent discounts also apply.
Added for
2008 are orientation guides with listings of attractions around
some of the most-visited areas such as Potsdamer Platz, Kurfürstendamm,
Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz, plus maps and rail/subway
information.
Berlin WelcomeCards
are pre-bookable on http://www.berlinwelcomecard.de.
2CV,
PARIS TOUR.
'Four wheels
under one umbrella' - a new tour pre-bookable via Allo France
where visitors to Paris take a tour in that four-wheeled French
icon, the 2CV, which comes complete with English-speaking chauffeur.
There are
two one-and-a-half-hour tours. The 'Essential Ride' covers the
Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Champs Elysees, Ile de
la Cité, Notre Dame, Madeleine, Les Invalides and Place
de la Concorde, while the 'Unexpected Ride' goes off the beaten
track taking in Place Vendome, Kiosk des Noctambules, Place de
la Fontaine Stravinsky and Hotel de Sully etc.
With two sharing,
price is £60 per person pre-bookable on www.allo-france.com
or by calling 01256 843832. The website also features many other
Paris essentials such as Paris Visite travel cards, museum and
monuments passes, bus and river bus tours, cabaret shows, plus
lunch and dinner cruises.
NEW GLACIER
EXPRESS TO ST MORITZ
ITINERARY BY RAIL FOR 2008
Great Rail
Journeys - the UK's market leader for escorted holidays by rail
- is highlighting its - new for 2008 - 10-day 'Glacier Express
to St Moritz' itinerary to the Swiss Alps which includes a journey
in First Class on the Glacier Express narrow-gauge train along
its entire length - from Zermatt to St Moritz - all in one day.
On this excursion,
the train leaves Zermatt for Brig, climbs up the Rhone Valley
to Andermatt, wends its way towards the Oberalp Pass and continues
through pasture and woodland to the Rhine before arriving in St
Moritz. Being in First Class, lunch is served at the passengers'
seat.
All other
excursions are also by First Class rail with highlights including
a guided tour of Zermatt - with its timbered buildings and English
church dating back to 1870 - plus a visit to the Alpine museum,
a journey on the Gornergrat Bahn to the summit of the 
Gornergrat
where there are spectacular views across the valley to the Matterhorn,
an excursion to Stresa on Lake Maggiore and a journey on the Bernina
Express climbing over the Bernina Pass.
Available
with selected departure dates between May and October, prices
start from £1425 per person, twin-share inclusive of return
First Class rail travel from St Pancras, nine nights' hotel accommodation
(including four at the four-star Parkhotel Beau-Site in Zermatt
and three at the four-star Hotel Monopol in St Moritz) with breakfast
and dinner each day, transfers, a two-person Swiss travel pass,
excursions as above and the services of a Tour Manager throughout.
Reservations:
01904 521 980, http://www.GreatRail.com
On
the General’s death, on 9 November 1970, a huge crowd attended
his funeral. In the years that have followed, hundred of thousands
of pilgrims have come from all over the world to gather at the
gravestone of the “most distinguished French man”
The business class only airline has inked a deal with US Helicopters
providing complimentary flights from downtown New York to JFK
for passengers holding unrestricted EOS tickets.
AIRBUS
ORDERS
TEMPELHOF
WILL CLOSE
AIRLINES
LAUNCHES THREE DAILY DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM LONDON