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Melbourne posts
Gorgeous time lapse of Australia's "Southern Lights"
Feb 10th, 2012 at 10:30AM:
It's been a lifelong dream of mine to see the Northern Lights, that glorious display of eerie green "smoke" that appears to float above the nighttime sky of some of the furthest northern reaches of our globe. But now I have another sight to add to that list: the Southern Lights. Also know as "Aurora Australis", it's the southern hemisphere equivalent of the auroras that occur up north, ...
Advanced technology brings mandatory full-body scans to Australia
Feb 6th, 2012 at 1:30PM: Using advanced technology that makes passengers appear as stick figures, mandatory full-body scans are being rolled out at all of Australia's major airports. Successful trials at Sydney and Melbourne airports last year signal the end of a loophole in legislation that had allowed passengers to request a pat-down instead of having to pass through a metal detector.
"I think the public understands ...This is Melbourne...Wow! (confusing video edition)
Jan 19th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Ever wanted to visit Melbourne? Well dear traveler, today's your (un)lucky day! We're going to take you on a video tour of Australia's second largest city like you've never seen it before - down streets lined with "fanciful emporiums!" Inside a place where restaurants serve meals chock full of "extrinsic flavors!" and past public spaces adorned with the work of "young genius." Wait...huh?
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Skydiving never looked so peaceful
Apr 26th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Depending on who you ask, skydiving is either exciting, terrifying, or both. This video of divers from the Melbourne Skydive Centre coasting through the sky like jellyfish makes skydiving look like a peaceful sort of transcendence, more flying than falling. Instead of an adrenaline packed plummet down gravity's vacuum, this video showcases the serenity of human flight. Filmed in February ...
South Australian cattle station debuts tasting room
Dec 3rd, 2010 at 4:30PM:
There was a time when Wagyu beef was eaten by only the most sophisticated of travelers. True Kobe beef is from Wagyu cattle that are raised in a very specific manner in the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan. Okay, technically Wagyu is the Japanese term for all cattle, and Kobe beef comes from a strain known as Tajima, but this isn't a genetics class.
Kobe Wagyu receive massages to reduce stress and ...Qantas luggage "all tied up" in Melbourne
Nov 29th, 2010 at 4:30PM: It must be those adventure travelers ... they're always so high maintenance.
A rock-climbing rope jammed up some of the Qantas baggage equipment at the Melbourne, Australia airport last night, and as many as 400 pieces of luggage are lying around, waiting to be reunited with their passengers. Of course, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, passengers are welcome to "search through the piles" if ...Qantas mile-high club: what happens when you get caught
Nov 2nd, 2010 at 2:30PM: A woman got nailed in the early stages of seeking mile-high club membership. The Qantas passenger was flying form Melbourne to Los Angeles at the beginning of last month. The lights went low, and she and the man next to her let their hands go wild under the blanket. The cabin crew caught on and split up the passengers, who apparently never bothered to try the lav.
The best part: the woman works ...Round-the-world: Capricorn Route trip top ten
Oct 18th, 2010 at 11:30AM:
Later this week I'll reflect on the ups and downs of our round-the-world trip. I'll look at what we might have done differently as well as those elements that turned out to be particularly well conceived. In the meantime, here's a playful top ten list of some of the best things we encountered along the way: best beach; best ice cream; best tourist trap; best breakfast; best market stall; best ...Qantas flight attendants restrain would-be murderer
Oct 7th, 2010 at 12:00PM: A man threatened to kill the other passengers on a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong, forcing flight attendants to restrain him. An airline spokeswoman wouldn't confirm what some were saying – that the would-be murderer was praying before threatening to kill himself and others and said, "You will all die."
The Sydney Morning Herald continues:
But an Australian passenger, Helen, ...Round-the-world: Why Melbourne is the best city in the world, part two
Oct 4th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
There are lots of other arguments for Melbourne as the world's best city: museums, parks, open spaces; good bookstores. Add all these things to the list I began on Sunday, and soon these posts on Melbourne will begin to look like explicit promotional material. As much as I dig the city, this is certainly not my intention. So let me acknowledge that there are downsides to Melbourne. There is a ...Round-the-world: Why Melbourne is the best city in the world, part one
Oct 3rd, 2010 at 10:00AM:
If it is difficult to write about a hometown, it is also difficult to write about a city you wish were your hometown, a city to which you've fantasized about relocating. I've fantasized about moving to a number of places (Lisbon, Auckland, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Valencia, Chicago) though none of these more than Melbourne.
I first visited Melbourne in 2004. The climate, the ...How to take a round-the-world trip
Sep 10th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
An open-ended round-the-world trip can be led by whimsy and happenstance and benefit accordingly from extremely loose planning. A more structured, time-limited round-the-world trip necessitates figuring out transportation in advance. With five weeks to play with, we fell into the latter camp.
I emailed AirTreks in the spring and dutifully submitted an itinerary through their global map ...A round-the-world trip: Where?
Sep 8th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
Once I'd dispensed with my unrestricted fantasies of scurrying from seldom-visited corner to seldom-visited corner (see Monday's post) we got down to the essentials of figuring out where we wanted to go.
The Micronesian islands of Palau and Yap were our first priorities. Both destinations had been on our radar for years. Palau with its faintly stinging marine lake jellyfish and the ...Travel + Leisure names the world's best hotels
Jul 8th, 2010 at 3:00PM: You deserve the very best. You've worked hard, probably played a little hard, and you're ready to reward yourself by splurging on a much-needed gateway. So, where do the best of the best go when they want to escape?
With the help of their readers, Travel + Leisure editors released the 2010 World's Best awards. The lists include everything from airlines to islands, and hotels to cruise ships. ...Best shoes for summer travel
Jun 28th, 2010 at 10:00AM: Traveling in the warmer months of the year can present unique apparel challenges. When preparing for a trip to the lower latitudes or destinations where water will be a major factor, certain considerations should be made. One important decision is the choice of footwear. There are few shoes that can do it all, but some can accommodate a variety of warm-weather activities.
The beach trip - One ...The 20 greatest cities in the world for foodies
Mar 11th, 2010 at 8:29AM: Once upon a time, the world's food capitals were a mere few well-known locales like Paris, New York, and Bangkok. All the action (and the eyes, and the forks) were focused there.
Recently, though, many areas of the world have expanded and improved both their menus and their talents in the kitchen, resulting in far more places staking their claims in the classy world of quality dining. ...Six new hotels fuse art and luxury in Melbourne
Dec 12th, 2009 at 1:00PM: I love it when art and hotels come together. I found a pair of gems in Orlando back in March, but what's coming to Melbourne, Australia over the next two years is even more exciting. Indy luxury hotel group Art Series Hotels is spending $300 million to open six new properties -- all focused on art. Each hotel will be inspired by a famous Australian artist in name and design, and each will be ...Two Floridians win Tasmania leg of travel contest
Oct 31st, 2009 at 4:00PM:
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Two American girls from Florida are about to find themselves pretty far from home. Dara Simkin and Catherine Fleming won the Tasmania leg of the WorldNomads.com Van-Tastic Adventure. This is the first time an American team has won the Australia contest. On ...
Outback Australia: Where are the Americans?
Oct 14th, 2009 at 10:30AM:
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Close to 300,000 people from outside of Australia visit the Northern Territory every year. And if I noticed anything about those tourists while I was there it's that the vast majority do not speak English. That is by no means a judgmental statement. I enjoyed ...Get out and go: Events around the world (October 8-11)
Oct 7th, 2009 at 7:00PM:
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It's time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly international selection of happenings. If you're close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!
Albuquerque - The 38th Annual ...
