Up in the air . . .

BRITISH Airways is making the longest of long haul flying even easier and increasing the number of flights to Santiago and Washington D.C this winter.

From October 28 the airline will boost the number of flights to the Chilean capital from four-per-week to five and will be adding three flights a week to its Washington Dulles schedule, giving customers even more options on these routes.

An additional three flights a week will be added to the current two-a-day schedule to the US capital from October 29. There will be three daily flights on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with return fares starting from £385 per person.

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Picture Credit: British Airways

Top Trumps

TRUMP International Hotel Washington, D.C. and Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver have been designated as Forbes Five-Star Hotels. It is unusual for two new hotels to achieve this prestigious recognition just after their first year of operation.

The Hotel Group is honored that these latest properties join the portfolio’s other Forbes Five-Star Hotels — Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago; Trump International Hotel & Tower New York and Trump International Hotel Waikiki.

Forbes Travel Guide, the global authority on luxury travel, sends anonymous professional inspectors around the world to assess hotels, restaurants and spas against up to 800 objective standards focused on service and facilities.

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Through the eyes of a lens

THE Landscape Architecture of Lawrence Halprin, a traveling photographic exhibition about the life and work of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin (1916-2009), will open February 28th 2018, in #Dallas at the NorthPark Center and will remain on view through April 30th 2018.

Created in 2016 during the centennial anniversary of Halprin’s birth, the exhibition features 56 newly commissioned photographs by leading landscape photographers of dozens of Halprin’s major works. 

Ranging from recently rediscovered residential projects created early in his career in the 1950s to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. capstone projects such as the Yosemite Falls approach and Stern Grove in San Francisco, and significant postmodernist projects including the Los Angeles Open Space Network.

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Cathay Pacific to launch Washington DC service

CATHAY Pacific will connect Hong Kong with the capital of the United States of America for the first time in late 2018, as it continues to grow its network by launching pioneering nonstop routes.

The airline will commence a four-times-weekly service to Washington DC in September next year, which will complement its existing routes to the East Coast, including Boston and New York’s two main international airports – John F Kennedy and Newark Liberty.

The service to Dulles International Airport, which will become the longest on the Cathay Pacific network in terms of distance at 7,085 nautical miles (8,153 miles, 13,122 kilometres), will be operated by the all-new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.

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Where to go for clean air

HOLIDAYMAKERS concerned about air quality when travelling abroad might be interested in a report by Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) which compares pollution levels in some of the world's most popular destinations. 

The research compares 28 cities in 19 countries highlighting their current Air Quality Index (AQI) in October 2015. 

The index is based on pollutants that have adverse effects on human health and the environment. Visitors are advised that if they are travelling to countries where the AQI is higher than 151, strenuous exercises or activities should be avoided.

Holidaymakers heading to the Middle East and Asia should be more cautious about travelling to Dubai in the UAE and Beijing in China. According to the research, Dubai has an AQI of 222, which is considered 'very unhealthy', while Beijing’s score is 328, described as 'hazardous'.

Luckily for travellers visiting destinations in Europe such as Paris, Venice, and Madrid, all three cities showed an AQI of 46 or below, which is considered good, posing little or no risk. Amsterdam’s score was 66, and London’s was 77.

The city with the lowest level of pollution was Bangkok, which recorded a figure of 18, followed by Washington DC at 24 and San Francisco at 25. 

The research can be found in the Know Before You Go section of the APH website at www.aph.com/airpollution.



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Picture Credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69345640@N00/4405955226">Shanghai</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/84292292@N00/7017130433">Bangkok</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license), 

Up in the air . . .

NORWEGIAN is to start flights from Boston, Baltimore/Washington DC, and New York City to two Caribbean destinations: the Guadeloupe Islands and Martinique.

Norwegian’s seasonal service to the French West Indies will launch on December 3, with three flights a week from JFK to the Guadeloupe Islands’ Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It will fly from JFK to Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24315316@N06/4336731625">Mon Chat, Ma Femme..</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)

Selfie stick bans at US museums

SELFIE STICK bans have been introduced by some of America’s leading museums, including the 

Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Getty Center in Los Angeles, and the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC.

‘Selfie sticks are restricted out of concern about damaging the art or people in more enclosed spaces,’ said Julie Jaskol, assistant director of media relations at the Getty Center.

‘Like tripods and monopods, the use of selfie sticks is prohibited at the Hirshhorn to preserve the safety of the artwork and the visitors who come to enjoy it,’ explained Kelly Carnes, a Hirshhorn Museum spokeswoman.

Bans have also been introduced by Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (both in Washington DC), and a ban is being considered by New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Picture Credit: USA via Wikimedia Commons.; "Completely expanded Selfie Stick" by 河中桥 - camera-at-home via Wikimedia Commons.

AmEx saves historic DC site

AMERICAN EXPRESS has given $1 million (£639,000) to restore and preserve the Lockkeeper’s House, the oldest existing structure on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The 178-year-old house stands as a rare artifact of early 19th-century Washington, when commerce was conducted via a system of canals designed to transport goods. 

The Lock Keeper's House located at 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW in West Potomac Park, Washington, D.C. Constructed in 1833, the Federal-style building housed the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Extension operator (the Extension connected the C&O Canal to the Washington City Canal). The house was abandoned in 1855 and fell into disrepair. In 1903, the building was partially renovated and used as storage for park service equipment. On November 30, 1973 the Lock Keeper's House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

It has been boarded up for more than 40 years and is in a state of extreme disrepair, despite its prominent location near the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial on Constitution Avenue.

As part of the grant funding from AmEx, the house will be lifted and moved back 32 feet from the road and heavy street traffic.

‘Historic places such as the Lockkeeper’s House help us unlock our rich cultural and commercial past,’ said Timothy J. McClimon, president of the American Express Foundation. “

Built as both a home and workplace, the house served the lock that connected the Washington branch of the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal and Washington City Canal that ran parallel to where the National Mall is now. The house was operated by a keeper between 1835 and 1873. He collected tolls, kept trade records, and operated the lock gates to allow for the passage of canal barges transporting heavy goods from the interior of the United States. When the C&O Canal was replaced by railways and the canals were filled, the house was no longer needed.

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Picture Credit: 'Lockkeeper's House, DC' by AgnosticPreachersKid (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

America’s top 10 …

AS millions of US travellers anticipate Memorial Day – May 26 – and the start of summer, Travelocity's latest booking data reveals the top 10 Memorial Day destinations of 2014, with New York City in the No. 1 spot for the third year in a row.

The top 10 Memorial Day Destinations are:

New York City

South Florida

Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles

Orlando

Chicago

Boston

San Francisco Bay Area

Seattle

Las Vegas 

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Orlando tops for family fun

FAMILYFUN magazine in the US announced the winners of its 2014 Travel Awards, an annual search for the best kid-friendly locations and holiday spots as chosen by families from across the country.

Orlando, Florida, swept this year's family travel destinations, with Disney's Magic Kingdom Park, Universal's Islands of Adventure, and the City of Orlando taking the top three overall spots. The Strong Museum in Rochester, New York, and the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, round out the top five Travel Awards winners of 2014.

Top family museums

• The Strong Museum (Rochester, New York)
• Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
• The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
• American Museum of Natural History (New York)
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington DC)

Best historic sites

• Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota)
• National Mall and Memorial Parks (Washington DC)
• The White House (Washington DC)
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois)

Top national parks and preserves

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Yellowstone National Park
• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Yosemite National Park
• Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

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