Matador Network's Blog, page 1335

An island is perfect for stargazing

While many small or emerging territories are attempting to industrialize and vault themselves into modernity, others are trying to stay in the dark ages — literally. The Pitcairn Islands, the last British Overseas Territory, is attempting to become a Dark Sky Sanctuary by the end of 2018. A Dark Sky Sanctuary is a “public or private land that has an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights.” With zero light pollution, Dark Sky Sanctuaries are ideal for stargazing.

The geography and demography of Pitcairn make it uniquely suitable for becoming a Dark Sky Sanctuary. Only 50 people live on the main island, which is only two miles long, and 300 miles away from the nearest landmass. Heather Menzies, Pitcairn Travel Coordinator, told Travel + Leisure that “the wonderful isolation and lack of light pollution across all four islands in the Pitcairn group will make our sanctuary status truly special.”

For the residents of Pitcairn, becoming the world’s fifth Dark Sky Sanctuary is about more than just bragging rights “We deeply value our unparalleled view of the universe,” Menzies said, “but we also benefit from the physical and psychological well-being that a truly dark sky affords all living beings.”

If you’re a stargazer looking to add Pitcairn to your list and want to ensure clear skies while you’re there, avoid the rainy season from November to March. You should also prepare to spend three days on a boat, as the only way to access Pitcairn is aboard the MV Claymore II, a passenger and supply vessel.

To really get the ultimate stargazing experience, you’ll also have to visit the other four dark Sky Sanctuaries: the Great Barrier Island in New Zealand, the Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah, the Gabriela Mistral Dark Sky Sanctuary in Chile, and Cosmic Campground in New Mexico.

H/T: Travel + Leisure

More like this: These are the best spots in the world for stargazing

The post This Pacific island could become the world’s fifth Dark Sky Sanctuary appeared first on Matador Network.

$17 whiskey named best in the world

Companies offering budget products are often given a bad rap, but those reputations are often ill-deserved. Just look at Ryanair and EasyJet, cheap airlines that might not have the frills of Virgin or Emirates, but make traveling throughout Europe easy and affordable. Just because something is cheap, that doesn’t automatically make it poor quality — and that’s just as true when it comes to booze. Budget grocery chain Aldi has slowly been taking over the cheap liquor market, already offering budget gin, liqueurs, rum, and sparkling wine. Now, it’s looking to conquer the world of whiskey.

Photo: Aldi

Highland Black 8 Year, Aldi’s $17 blended scotch, and Glen Marnoch, its $23 single malt, both won silver medals at the 23rd annual International Spirits Challenge. Many other competition winners cost well over $50. Julie Ashfield, Aldi’s joint managing director of corporate buying, said to she was “particularly proud of these two whiskies, which have won a whopping 10 medals between them in the past year.”

Aldi’s Glen Marnoch brand whiskey has a fruity, sherry cask flavor that’s common for Scotland’s Speyside region. Its local flavor, along with its price, have made it a favorite budget option for whiskey-drinkers. With Aldi’s quality budget whiskey, connoisseurs don’t need to break the bank to satisfy their refined palates.

H/T: Supercall

More like this: The ultimate beginner’s guide to whiskey

The post appeared first on Matador Network.

Star Wars best vacation destinations

Whether you’re a retired, old-school Star Wars fan, or just a travel-hungry movie geek with no student loans to pay off, why not spend a few months exploring the galaxy (I mean, the world)? This map shows you how you can visit every Star Wars filming location in one epic vacation.

Photo: Opploans

While the suggested starting point is Chicago, you can really start from anywhere. The route spans seventeen countries, from North America to Africa and Southeast Asia. While South America has only a few locations to offer (in Guatemala and Bolivia), Tunisia alone has eight, and there are ten in the UK. If the price is no object, you can see forty-seven Star Wars locations for around $12,520, including flights and car rentals.

For the more budget-conscious Star Wars fan, you might skip South America and fly straight to Iceland for its three locations, then to Ireland and the UK, down to Tunisia, capping the trip off in Italy with a hike up Mount Etna.

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your routes, and may the force be with you!

H/T: opploans

More like this: 23 real-life settings you can visit from Game of Thrones

The post This infographic shows how to visit every Star Wars filming location appeared first on Matador Network.

World's largest airport is chinese

If you’re always getting lost in big airports , or sprinting through long terminals to catch your flight, you’re sure to be out of breath when you visit the Daxing International Airport. Opening in 2019, and slated to be the largest airport in the world, China’s newest airport is designed to meet the country’s ever-growing travel needs, and become the new hub for China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.

Photo: Zaha Hahid Architects

Travelers can expect a spacious, open interior filled with civic gardens and other sustainable elements. These include shading strategies, high performance glazing, and roof lights that will optimize the terminal’s energy performance. All of this is predicted to reduce overall energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 50%. “The overall symmetry of the airport,” says the website of Zaha Hadid, the airport’s late architect, “together with its flowing, interconnected forms, create a fluid composition which evokes the harmony and balance evident in Chinese landscapes.”

Photo: Zaha Hahid Architects

The airport aims to accommodate 100 million passengers a year, with a 700,000 square-meter energy-efficient terminal designed to make navigation as smooth as possible — or, as smooth as can be expected from one of the

H/T: Travel + Leisure

More like this: The 7 most frustrating airports around the world

The post The world’s largest airport will open in China in 2019 appeared first on Matador Network.

Tips for taking your kids to museums

Waiting until your kids get older before you take them to a museum is like waiting until they grow up before you ever travel again. If travel is an important part of your life, you figure out how to bring the kids along. Likewise, if appreciation of art and culture is a value you want to impart to your children, why wait to introduce them to it?

Just like you can’t travel the way you used to before you were a parent, taking tots or tweens to a gallery will require some adjustments. It’s a worthwhile effort that will pay off in the long run. Here are the tricks to do so:

1. Go now.

There’s no magical age at which kids become museum lovers. A teen who’s never stepped in a museum isn’t suddenly going to be inspired by the Dutch Masters. If your energetic youngster can handle an hour a Grandma’s house without destroying the porcelain vases, she can handle an hour in an art gallery.

2. Make a game plan.

With kids, you won’t have the afternoon to while away in a museum. You may not want to go in the afternoon at all. Pick a time of day when the kids will be rested, recently fed, and alert — which is probably the morning — and decide how long you’ll stay. Choose one or two works of art, or an exhibit, that are must-sees and hit them first. If you’re in Madrid and Picasso’s Guernica tops your list, see it. Any extra time at the Museo Reina Sofia is a bonus.

3. Stick to your plan.

Warhol can wait. Don’t promise your children the art house visit will be quick, and then linger there until closing time. You will burn out your kids, erode your credibility, and crush the possibility of future museum trips. Your little ones won’t believe you when you insist the next museum visit will be short.

4. Include kids in the process.

Parenting is not about ceding control all at once, but about giving your kid ever increasing responsibilities. So, while seeing the museum shouldn’t be a yes/no option, what you look at therein can be. If you’re at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, consult the museum map and ask your child whether folk and visionary art or the civil rights and justice wing sounds more appealing.

5. Make it fun.

Take that same museum map and hand it to your child. The maps usually have images of specific artworks. Challenge your kid to find those works of art for an instant scavenger hunt. Other scavenger hunt options could be asking kids to see how many dogs they can find in the 17th Century European Art hall. If you’re looking at portraits, take a cue from the Google portrait gallery app and see which likenesses look like folks you know.

6. Look for the interactive stuff.

Scavenger hunts and portrait matches are a way of making the experience more interactive, but sometimes museums have things you normally wouldn’t have thought of as interactive, too. At the Guggenheim Bilbao, sculptor Richard Serra’s undulating 14-foot-tall walls of steel are like a labyrinth. There isn’t a kid who doesn’t like walking through those.

7. Make it relevant.

Your kid might wonder why he should care about the art. You could pull out your phone and show him the scream emoji and explain that it’s modeled on the four paintings by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Two of those paintings were stolen and later recovered — but one took two years to find!

8. When possible, choose museums or exhibits they’ll care about.

If you’re at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and your daughter is into ballet, find the paintings of ballerinas by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec or Edward Degas. Or perhaps she just studied Egypt in her elementary school. Take her to the Egyptian wing and let her teach you what she’s learned about mummification.

10. Take advantage of museums’ youth outreach.

Museums want to reach younger audiences and are going out of their way to do so. The Bay Area’s SFMOMA is free to anyone 18 and under. Across town, the de Young Museum just curated an exhibit to explore the ancient Maya ruins of Teotihuacan through the game of Minecraft. And plenty of museums offer art projects for kids on weekends.

11. Divide and conquer.

If your family has two parents, one of you may have to beat a fast route through the galleries, zipping through, impatient toddler in hand, while the other sets a more leisurely pace, possibly with the older kid. It’s not ideal, but it still sets the practice that museums are part of the travel experience.

12. Reward the kids for their patience.

Something about all that quiet contemplation is tiring even for adults. So, reward your offspring afterwards with food — or a hot chocolate in the museum cafe — and then take them to a park or somewhere outside to work off their energy. As they run around like unleashed banshees, you may wonder if they’ve gotten anything out of the museum experience. Rest easy. They have.


More like this: The world’s 10 wackiest museums

The post 12 pro tips for taking your kids to the museum appeared first on Matador Network.

The allure of the Mile-High Club

Airplane bathrooms are not inherently appealing places. They induce intense claustrophobia, produce frankly alarming noises, and smell like a combination of toilet bowl cleaner and, well, toilet bowls. Common sense would suggest they’d be very low on the list of places where people would ever want to get it on. But their erotic allure is such that they maintain a devoted (if possibly aspirational) fan base  — the ever-popular Mile-High Club. Theoretically, you can join it anywhere on an airplane; realistically, the bathroom is ideal.

Lacking any earthly explanation for the near-mythic status of sex on a plane other than the lure of a challenge, I sought answers from an otherworldly source: a psychic matchmaker.

Deborah Graham, star of TLC’s “The Psychic Matchmaker” and author of Get Your Head Out of Your App: A Psychic’s Guide to Attracting and Keeping True Love, uses her intuitive gifts to help her clients find romance. When she’s in a room with people, she says, she can sense their energy. And when that particular room happens to be a plane, the energy is intense.

In addition to intuiting passengers’ thoughts and feelings, Graham has had client after client meet both life and one-time partners in the air. Here, she explains what the heck it is about airplanes that puts us in the mood.

Suzannah Weiss: From a spiritual perspective, why does sex on planes hold this mysterious appeal?

Deborah Graham: People are so infatuated with this energy, it’s not even funny. It’s almost feeling like you’re out of your body, having that adrenaline. Your psychic ability becomes alive, and you let down your guard because you’re up in the sky, you’re buckled down on the seat, the belt’s kind of tight, getting you kind of excited, and you’re starting to feel a rush of energy. Those sexual endorphins start to move in your energy field, and you start to get more excited.

SW: Walk me through this process. What happens when you take off?

DG: At takeoff, when you’re on an airplane and you feel that energy, it just starts to raise the vibration, and the energy starts to shift throughout your whole entire body. The plane needs to have energy and it needs to have gas to take off, so all those energies and all those vibrations are moving. You’re nervous because the plane is going however many miles an hour, and it’s almost like you’re in a time capsule, just taking off fast.

When you’re at that non-gravity field, you actually feel lighter. You actually get lightheaded. Your blood isn’t able to circulate as well, and it contributes to being more relaxed and tired. You ever get a dizzy feeling, like you had a few drinks? That’s what happens. It’s a natural endorphin that runs through your brain. It’s like getting high, man. And then, of course, you’re having a couple of glasses of wine, and those energies are really starting to move.

SW: Then, how does that all end up leading to sex?

DG: You want to preoccupy your mind because you know you don’t have control. You have a tendency to drop down your walls so you’re not sitting there and getting anxious. That’s what starts making you less defensive about being able to connect with people and talk to people. The person who normally doesn’t talk as much lets down that wall. It makes them more susceptible, versus going into a bar and trying to speak to someone randomly.

People are on the plane and they’re just next to each other. They just start to connect. You don’t even need to go in the bathroom. You’re just basically touching each other there and then. There’s nothing there to hold you guys back. It’s not like that person can get up and walk away. You’re kind of forced into a conversation, and people are more energetically open to let in the possibilities of what’s going to happen. You’re thinking, “They’re hot,” and then you strike up a conversation, and before you know it, you’re in the bathroom together.

SW: Why is the Mile-High Club fantasy so hot to some people?

DG: It gives you a feeling like, “What happens on the plane stays on the plane,” so you almost feel like “I’m never going to see this person again, so what’s the big deal?” It’s the thrill of doing something you shouldn’t be doing on a plane, and it’s because you know you can get away with it. It’s probably something you’ll never forget. It’s right in you – literally.

It is the perfect position. All you’ve got to do is bend down. It’s giving you that energy to let loose, and I’m telling you, there is only one position that really works in that area. It doesn’t take a psychic to tell you that.

SW: Is this just about sex, or is a plane also a good place to find a relationship?

DG: A lot of people in my work have actually met people on the plane and had connections. Some of them ended up getting married. Sometimes, I will send my clients in the first few months of dating on a trip because they go on a plane to really get to know each other.

The altitude of being up at the higher frequency opens up your third eye. That’s your awareness to the part of your brain you normally don’t use, and when you’re at a higher frequency, you’re more susceptible to a connection to people: love, sex, and everything else. It helps you get more connected with your sexuality and spirituality. A lot of people on an airplane come up with some of their best ideas because people are calmer, and you start to use that part of the brain you don’t normally use when you’re on land.

SW: How do you recommend people take advantage of this energetic shift?

DG: I am not going to recommend having sex on planes, but I am going to recommend that people be open and be more aware of their surroundings, and when you see somebody next to you and you think there’s a connection, say, “Hi, my name is so-and-so,” and just start talking, because there’s going to be an opportunity.

There are no coincidences. I believe without a doubt that the universe has a way of putting you exactly where you need to be. If you’re sitting in 3A and she’s sitting in 3B, that connection could be meant to be, whether it’s a past life or a spiritual connection in this life. People should always be open and never be afraid to let down their walls and to always be open to the possibilities because the universe is always working to help you.

I’ve had several clients meet their soulmates on an aircraft. It’s not uncommon, so maybe people need to fly more. Get out there and see the world and have fun while you’re doing it.

This article was originally published on MEL and is republished here with permission. You can follow the author on Twitter or visit her website.

More like this: How to join the Mile High Club

The post A psychic explains the allure of the Mile-High Club appeared first on Matador Network.

Most scenic biking routes in Europe

For cycling enthusiasts and amateurs alike, Europe offers some of the most scenic biking routes in the world. You can cycle a 1000-year-old pilgrimage route in Italy, get distracted by Baroque palaces in Vienna, and admire dramatic Baltic seascapes. Here are seven of the most scenic biking routes in Europe.

1. Via Francigena, Italy

Photo: Via Francigena

The longest signposted cycle route in Italy, the Via Francigena runs from the Great St Bernard Pass on the border with Switzerland to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Once a pilgrimage route, it is over a thousand years old. The route takes riders through Tuscan landscapes and past medieval towns like San Gimignano. In fact, give yourself a couple of extra days just for photo stops, the occasional wine tasting, and to enjoy your grand entrance into Rome.

2. Danube Cycle Path

Photo: Boris Stroujko for Shutterstock

One of Europe’s first cycle paths, and still one of the most popular, the Danube Cycle Path winds along the Danube River from Germany all the way to the Black Sea. Riders can travel through 10 countries and are rewarded with many beautiful sights, from the Danube Loop, a natural wonder of Austria, to the Baroque palaces of Vienna. You could stop in Budapest and use its thermal water to ease aching limbs, though that shouldn’t be much of a problem as the route is relatively flat.

3. Cornish Coastal Way, England

Photo: Helen Hotson for Shutterstock

Fresh sea air, small villages, and excellent seafood are all on offer along this route. There are various trails to choose from, ranging from 30 miles to 100 miles, passing popular seaside towns like St Ives and, for the romantic, along smugglers’ and wreckers’ paths. If the sun is shining, sandy coves and clear water will tempt a pit stop. You can finish the day off with well-earned fish and chips and an ice cream sandwich on the beach.

4. Camino Frances (Camino de Santiago)

Photo: Tono Balaguer for Shutterstock

The Camino Frances is the most popular part of the famous pilgrimage route Camino de Santiago. It’s 490-mile long and passes through major cities like Pamplona and León. It finishes, of course, in Santiago de Compostela, so you’ll find yourself traveling the route along with many pilgrims. Outside the cities, you’ll pass the mountainous landscapes of the Pyrenees, the vineyards of Rioja, and picturesque Spanish villages which make for good tapas stops.

5. Tauern Cycle Trail, Austria

Photo: mRGB for Shutterstock

This route starts at Gerlos Pass and ends in Salzburg, and because it covers several thousand feet in altitude, it’s not for the faint-hearted. However, spurring you along the 150-mile trail are views of Grossglockner Mountain, the Hohe Tauern National Park, Lake Zell reflecting the surrounding landscape, and the dramatic Krimml waterfall, one of the highest in Europe.

6. Baltic Sea Cycle

Photo: anyaivanova for Shutterstock

Nearly 5000 miles long, this route (also known as EuroVelo 10) passes through nine European countries following the coastline of the Baltic Sea. Through countries like Estonia, Finland, and Latvia you will be able to admire white sands and icy blue water from your saddle. If you’re feeling adventurous you can even ride over frozen lakes.

7. Adige Cycle Path, Italy

Photo: Rene Hartmann for Shutterstock

For mountainous scenery, Italy‘s northern region of Trentino Alto-Adige is hard to beat. And seeing as this route is downhill or flat almost all the way you can take your time to enjoy the view. It starts with the dramatic scenery of the Alps and the characteristic alpine city of Bolzano, goes down Lake Garda, and finishes in the romantic city of Verona.


More like this: The amateur’s guide to biking the Tour de France’s most famous routes

The post 7 of the most scenic biking routes in Europe appeared first on Matador Network.

Essential experiences in Maine

If you get past Kennebunk, you’ve already seen more than the majority of tourists do in Maine. But venture further than Portland, or better yet, past Bar Harbor and you can really say you’ve experienced the state. There are certain rites of passage you need to complete in order to get to know the true character of the region, but if you truly want to earn the respect of locals and have an authentic experience, knock off the next five challenges.

1. Venture off Route 1.

A post shared by Lloyd Q

Funny New Mexican habits

New Mexicans are creatures of habits, so whether is it getting rid of our unusual expressions to be better understood out of state or not using some of our very specific superpowers, we have a hard time adapting to life outside of New Mexico. Here are 23 habits we tend to carry with us all over the world, even if we probably shouldn’t.

1. Always ordering our food with a side of chile.

2. Never ever using our turn signal.

3. Always having to wear sandals outside in summer because of goatheads.

4. Putting up farolitos or luminarias with our Christmas decorations.

5. Ordering food “Christmas” style.

6. Making fun of the “Mexican” food the rest of the US eats.

7. Saying “orale” at the beginning of sentences.

8. Keeping an extra fridge just for our green chile.

9. Expecting an amazing sunset every night.

10. Going to Allsups for gas and food

11. Expecting rainstorms to be over in five minutes.

12. Never washing our car because we expect it to rain right after we’re done.

13. Having sopaipillas for dessert.

14. Knowing we can arrive places up to 15 minutes late and it won’t be a problem.

15. Driving without actually touching the steering wheel during summer.

16. Keeping an eye out for coyotes when driving around town.

17. Judging people who can’t handle their spicy food.

18. Speaking Spanglish to everyone.

19. Never having to mow our lawn.

20. Expecting every other person we know to have a Zia tattoo.

21. Being able to buy amazing roasted pine nuts and tamales from the side of the road.

22. Expecting other people to know what we mean when we talk about Zozobra.

23. Not getting free chips and salsa when we go out to eat.


More like this: How to humiliate yourself in New Mexico

The post 23 habits that are hard to break when you leave New Mexico appeared first on Matador Network.

How to properly do summer in Alaska

While summertime is cause for joy and celebration, doing it right takes a degree of forethought and local finesse, especially in the wilds of Alaska. The 907 Alaska-grown tribe has its own special way of relishing that one magnificent, snowless season of the year, and while each of us has our own unique spin depending on where in the state we live and play, there are a number of common and overlapping threads. Here are twelve activities guaranteed to teach you how to properly do summer in Alaska.

1. Stock up on bug spray, mosquito coils, and citronella candles.

Une publication partagée par @jmdado le 31 Mai 2015 à 9 :18 PDT

Like every other Alaskan creature, you’ve been uncaged and broken free from the unrelenting oh-so-restricting confines of winter. The only thing you’ll be doing from this point forward is spending every possible second out of doors and deeply breathing in Alaska’s crisp and pristine air.

To discourage Alaska’s state bird from interrupting your sacred communing-with-nature moments — stockpiling ample supplies of bug spray, mosquito coils, and citronella candles are foundational elements of enjoying summer to the uttermost.

Ignore or overlook this one and the mosquitoes will eat you alive.

2. Build a rocking backyard fire pit.

Une publication partagée par Erin (@erin911) le 21 Sept. 2017 à 12 :02 PDT

After winter, we all need a practice run or two of this essential Alaskan activity. Considering slightly rusty cookout skills and the need to get ourselves in top form for summer’s inaugural wilderness expeditions, the Alaskan backyard fire pit is a delightful summer must-have that will yield an excellent ROI (hot dogs, toasted marshmallows, and s’mores).

3. Polish up your hospitality skills.

Une publication partagée par Max Jackson