Travel Briefs

October 2010 issue

Buskers festival, New Zealand

The 18th annual World Buskers Festival takes place in Christchurch, New Zealand, Jan. 20-30, 2011. More than 35 musicians, jugglers, acrobats, comedians and other acts from eight countries will provide free entertainment on city center squares and streets plus indoors. Performers accept donations.

Among artists in 2010 were the Daredevil Chicken Club from the USA and Cirque no Problem from Israel. For a schedule, visit www.worldbuskersfestival.com.

January 2009 issue

Tanzanite showcase

Found only in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, tanzanite is one of the rarest gems in the world. The Tanzanite Experience (phone +255 0 27 250 5101, www.tanzaniteexperience.com) in Arusha, Tanzania, showcases the violet-blue gemstone, with information on its extraction, processing, cutting and polishing. Visitors may purchase gems with certificates authenticating color, clarity and cut.

Located on the third floor of the Blue Plaza Building on India Street, the museum is open 9-4 Monday-Friday and 9-1 Saturday. Admission is free.

April 2008 issue

New at Kew

Opening April 19, 2008, in Greater London at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, UK; phone 02 8332 5655, www.kew.org), the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art will be the first of its kind open to the public year-round.

Works from Sherwood’s collection of more than 200 contemporary artists, together with a selection from Kew’s 200,000 items of historical botanical art, will be on display.

Dr. Sherwood, herself a preeminent botanical artist, will have a selection of her plant illustrations on display in the Link Gallery, between the new building...

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February 2008 issue

Using cell phones in flight

In December 2007, Air France began a 6-month test allowing e-mail and text-messaging service to cell phones while in flight (no voice calls yet). Only one Airbus A318 plane is testing the program, and no one will know ahead of time if it will be used on their flight.

The service works only with GSM cell phones. Calls will be billed directly to users by their own providers at “international roaming rates.”

New “No mobile” lights will be installed next to the “No smoking” signs aboard the equipped planes.

Qantas Airways is testing on domestic flights in Australia, and...

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July 2010 issue

3-D ancient Rome

Walking distance from the Colosseum, the exhibit “3D Rewind” (Via Capo d’Africa 5, Rome, Italy; phone +39 0 6 77076627) centers on a video tour of ancient Rome with 3-D renderings.

There also is the exhibit “Wearing a toga,” a bronze shop reproducing ancient daily objects and the opportunity to take photos in period costume. Entry, €15 ($18) adult or, purchased online, €13.50.

May 2009 issue

Deals in Germany

In Berlin, admission to museums is free on Thursdays four hours before closing. In Düsseldorf, you can take a one-hour Rhine cruise for $8; visit http://stadtfuehrungen.duesseldorf-tourismus.de.

The German National Tourism Office (New York, NY; 212/661-7200, www.cometogermany.com) offers more money-saving touring tips on its website.

Its webpage “Saving $$$ in Germany” lists itineraries that include hotel and meals for $100 per day or less. Also find cost-saving ideas, like the free city tours from New Berlin Tours (Auguststraße 5a, 10117, Berlin; phone +49 030 510 500 30,...

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December 2009 issue

Globetrotter SOS

For travelers using mobile smartphones (which can access the Internet), Globetrotter SOS, Ltd. (1 High St., Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 3JG, UK; phone +44 845 003 9943, www.globetrottersos.com) has launched an emergency-response service which uses satellite-tracking technology and is available 24/7 anywhere in the world.

Services include “Inform You” (personal briefings on risks and current situations in over 400 countries); “Alert You” (notification while you travel of any situations arising on your route); “Locate You” (inform up to 10 family members and friends where you are and...

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September 2010 issue

Shropshire Tar Tunnel

Near Telford in Shropshire, England, the Tar Tunnel is one of 10 Ironbridge Gorge Museums.

In 1787, miners struck a spring of natural bitumen, a black, treacle-like substance. The eerie, brick-lined tunnel was a great curiosity in the 18th century, and today visitors can don a hard hat, enter the 365-meter tunnel and still see the tar seeping from the rock.

£2.50 per adult, £2.15 senior, £1.95 child up to 18 (and still in full-time education). Call (01952) 884391, www.ironbridge.org.uk.