Written By Unknown on Selasa, 15 Juli 2014 | 17.35
PhotoThe Frommer's Translator application.Credit
Perhaps you already know that "buongiorno" is the appropriate greeting in Rome. But what about the concept of "bella figura"? The new translation app from the guidebook publisher Frommer's covers both linguistic and cultural interpretations.
"We want it to be a translator in many different forms," said Pauline Frommer, co-president of Frommer Media which, will launch Frommer's Translator available for Android and iOS devices beginning Monday, July 14.
The free app is a partnership between Frommer's and the language translator app company TripLingo. The latter provides instant language translation including a voice translator, available in 45 languages, that allows the user to speak a sentence in English ("How much is that?") and have the app voice and type it in the foreign language ("Quanto questo costo?" in Italian).
A phrase book offers options for essentials like "How are you?" in formal, casual, slang and "crazy," or highly embellished, versions. There is also an option for live translation assistance.
Drawing on its guidebook expertise, Frommer's covers the app's culture guide, featuring etiquette, dining and travel tips, a detailed overview of doing business abroad, and guidebook-style introductory and history features.
Additional tools include a currency converter, tip calculator and a "Wi-Fi dialer" that allows you to make telephone calls over the Internet inexpensively.
Upgrades, at $10 per month or $50 per year, expand language content, although the full cultural primer – including the advice, in Italy, to present a "bella figura" or stylish presence — is available on the free version.
PhotoUnited offers flat-bed seats for BusinessFirst passengers on transcontinental flights.Credit United Airlines
While service and perks have steadily eroded over the years on domestic flights, transcontinental service remains the arena of one-upmanship among competing airlines — especially those vying for forward-class fliers.
In December, United Airlines introduced flat-bed seats on all flights between New York's Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles and San Francisco. Called "Premium Service," the perks that will be available include 28 BusinessFirst seats with the kind of service, including multicourse meals, usually reserved for international flights.
Last month, American Airlines began flying daily between Kennedy and the two California hubs with its new First Class service in which each lie-flat seat has aisle access. Business-class seats also recline to beds.
To keep up, Delta Air Lines recently announced the addition of lie-flat seats on all flights between Kennedy and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle by next summer.
Whether legacy or boutique, all carriers have been newly challenged for the lucrative coast-to-coast business — considered glamorous based on the number of movie stars and moguls who fly them — by JetBlue.
The traditionally low-cost carrier just introduced JetBlue Mint, a premium cabin on select flights between Kennedy and Los Angeles. In the front cabin, all 16 seats fully recline, and four of them feature doors that can be closed to create private suites. Tickets start at $599 one way. All flights on the Los Angeles route will offer the cabin by Aug. 3, and Kennedy-to-San Francisco service will start Oct. 26.
JetBlue's entry has already scrambled forward-class fares, according to George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. A few months ago, he paid $2,500 for a business-class transcontinental fare on American Airlines, a rate that dropped to around $1,200 on some flights, especially off-peak, since the launch of JetBlue Mint.
Interestingly, Mr. Hobica has observed few fliers actually reclining when they have the chance. "Unless it's a red-eye flight, I find very few people actually recline," he said. "It's almost like the hotel gym where you have to have it, but very few people use it."
A weekly capsule of travel news curated by our writers and editors.
Tight Fit Could your airplane seat become more uncomfortable? This new Airbus patent for seats resembling bicycle saddles suggests that yes, it could. (The Washington Post)
Grumblings New websites allow passengers to post and read comments on airlines, airports and even airplane seats — which may come in handy if the Airbus patent is approved. (The New York Times)
So Long Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. plans to close one of its two Atlantic City casinos in September, putting about 1,000 people out of work in the seaside New Jersey resort town. (Bloomberg)
Explainer Why did Emirates flight attendants award medals to Germany after its victory over Argentina in the World Cup? (Jaunted)
PhotoThe Waldorf-Astoria Amsterdam features an indoor pool overlooking its courtyard.Credit
Created from six of the Dutch city's most beautiful 17th- and 18th-century brick townhouses, the Waldorf-Astoria Amsterdam, five years in the making, sets an impressively high bar for a new sort of stylish and discreetly luxurious European hotel. It does so by offering a carefully curated contemporary approximation of the genteel lives of the burghers who originally built these mansions during Holland's Golden Age, the period during the 17th century when the country led the world in everything from trade and maritime supremacy to art and science. So thoughtful and boutique-like is the design, you'd never guess it comes from Hilton (the corporate chain that owns the Waldorf-Astoria name).
PhotoInterior spaces feature Delft-blue walls and furnishings.Credit
Liveried doormen greet you at the double stoop at the hotel's main building, and check-in takes place at a pair of desks in a quiet salon with velvet upholstered tub chairs and chandeliers overlooking the pretty Herengracht canal out front. Public rooms are furnished in a soothing scheme of powder blue and willow green, a nod to the watery cityscape of Amsterdam and a large private courtyard garden — a rare luxury in this densely settled city — with a flagstone terrace and an original Baroque gazebo out back. The hotel's well-equipped gym and its small Guerlain spa overlook the garden, too. The old-fashioned safety deposit boxes on view at the Vault, the hotel's bar, are a reminder that the premises most recently housed a bank.
The big surprise here, however, is that the hotel also has one of the two or three best restaurants in town: Librije's Zusje, a branch of the Dutch chef Jonnie Boer's three-Michelin-starred restaurant De Librije in Zwolle. Headed by his former sous chef Sidney Schutte, the new offshoot throws a delicious gastronomic punch by parsing out the traditional Dutch palate — including a love of fish, pickles and cheese — in brilliant new ways, such as brown crab marinated in fino sherry with Granny Smith apple, goose liver, goat yogurt and brioche or cod with green tea, passion fruit, cockles and brown algae. The wine pairing proposed by the talented Italian sommelier is highly recommended, and they also do a terrific vegetarian tasting menu. And don't miss Librije's Zusje deconstructed, sorbet-based riff on a Waldorf salad — the American classic of chopped apples, celery, grapes and mayonnaise that debuted at New York's Waldorf-Astoria hotel in 1893.
Over the course of eight weeks, Ben Towill, the co-owner of the Fat Radish, and the photographer Patrick Dougherty are biking 4,500 miles across the U.S. to talk to strangers about food. Each week, they'll file a dispatch for T about their discoveries.
PhotoKate and Ben enjoying dinner beside American Lake in the Rockies.Credit Patrick Dougherty
If you ever find yourself in La Crosse, Kan., grab a delicious burger at Effie's Place, where the chef is Effie herself. Like the impatient New Yorkers we are, we started complaining about the hourlong wait, only to learn that it was Effie's 93rd birthday and she cooks everything the restaurant serves. After we got over our embarrassment and enjoyed the amazing meal, we headed out onto Route 96 West, the longest, flattest, straightest road I have ever seen, with the majestic Rockies rising far off in the distance. Anytime you have things on your mind that you need to work out, I suggest riding a bike along Route 96 West. Then the climb begins and your only thought will be of pedaling.
SERIES
A Ride Across America
Read more of Ben Towill's weekly dispatches about food and how we eat it, filed as he bikes across the country. More…
In the Rockies, we were joined by my girlfriend, Kate Dougherty, who will be riding with us to the Oregon coast and loves an adventure as much as I do. We decided to spend a few days off the bike and celebrate the birth of this great nation with some all-American campfire cooking. Here are a few recipes from a night camping in the Colorado Rockies, which you can try out on any barbecue this summer. If I can make them delicious using a campfire and a butane burner, with bears lurking in the woods, yours will taste even better.
Colorado Lamb and Chorizo Burgers with Cucumber and Yogurt
Yield: 4 servings
For the burgers: 1.5 pounds ground lamb 2 chorizo sausages, casings removed 4 good pinches salt 2 good pinches of chili flakes
For the toppings: 1 cucumber, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 small tub Greek yogurt Juice of half a lemon
1. Mix the lamb, chorizo, salt and chili and form into 4 burger patties. Cook them over a medium heat in a frying pan until golden brown on each side and medium rare in the middle, about 6-8 minutes on each side.
2. Reserve the fat left over from cooking the patties for the warm beet salad.
3. Mix the cucumber and garlic into the yogurt, and stir in the fresh lemon juice.
PhotoClockwise from left: a Fourth of July feast; Kate and Ben on the hike up to American Lake; the grill fired up; sweet potato and quinoa oatmeal.Credit Patrick Dougherty
Warm Golden Beet and Charred Pepper Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Olive oil Salt and pepper 2 red peppers 2 carrots 2 golden beets Lamb fat saved from cooking the burgers 2 pinches of curry powder 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper, and wrap them in tin foil. Cook them directly on the fire (or a grill) for 30 minutes until soft and charred. When cool enough to handle, first remove the seeds and then slice the peppers.
2. Grate the carrots and beets on a medium grater.
3. Pour the lamb fat into a frying pan and get it nice and hot. Throw in the beets, carrots, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 8 minutes until everything is cooked through and full of lamb flavor.
4. At the last minute, add the cilantro and slices of charred peppers.
Sweet Potato and Quinoa Oatmeal
Chef's tip: As breakfast, this dish is great to hold up your energy all day.
Yield: 4 servings
1 cup of oats 1 cup of quinoa 2 baked sweet potatoes, skins removed (*Chef's tip: Cook them the night before) 2 tablespoons of honey Dried cranberries, cashews, sunflower seeds
1. Cook the oats and quinoa in 4 cups of water for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add the sweet potato flesh and stir well.
3. Divide the oatmeal into 4 bowls, and drizzle each with honey. Top with the berries and nut mix.
*To bake the sweet potatoes, wrap them in tin foil and place in the fire or in an oven for 40 minutes until soft.
PhotoFor the San Francisco-based organization Art City's Way Out West project, artists have commandeered outdoor advertising spaces in the Mission District. Shown are pieces by Jen Stark.Credit Courtesy of Art City
In San Francisco, where tensions between established artist communities and Silicon Valley continue to rise, Luke Groesbeck, a former tech worker and the founder of the fledgling public art organization Art City, wants to help his hometown reinvest in the former. "This is a city with a major arts and cultural legacy," he says. "How do we honor that? Then an idea came up and I got fixated on it: What happens when you turn an entire city into a gallery? Is it possible?"
From now until Aug. 17, San Franciscans will get to find out. As part of Art City's Way Out West project, Groesbeck, along with his crew of curators and organizers, worked with advertising companies and the local creative community to coordinate his organization's pilot urban art takeover. Eleven billboards, four buses and three transit shelters in the Mission District are being resurfaced with works from 20 artists, many of whom have long-running involvements in San Francisco's street art scene. These include the graffiti artist Apex, whose works live on building walls near major streets like Valencia, and members of the Mission School movement like Chris Johanson and Alicia McCarthy, who began collecting praise in the '90s for their Sol LeWitt-like installations of busy, ribboned color.
The project isn't just about the pieces themselves. It's also about what they'll replace: advertising. "Today, San Francisco has about 7,500 ad spaces, which reach tens of millions of people in a given month," Groesbeck explains. "We're doing this to illustrate a different possible future, where in each neighborhood we're instead surrounded by art and contemporary art plays a major role in our lives."
The subject of art versus commerce is a timely one in the Bay Area, especially in the once-gritty, rapidly gentrifying Mission. "Artists, musicians and other creatives that make San Francisco what it is are being pushed out," says Brett Amory, an internationally exhibited artist and local resident who is also participating in the project. "The Mission District is one of the areas getting hit hardest by this change. It's a very appropriate place to have art by local artists displayed, as a reminder of what the city is really made of."
Groesbeck, for his part, thinks the project will help San Francisco remember its roots. "I think this is a way to do something positive," he says, "and hopefully, give back to the city."
PhotoUnited offers flat-bed seats for BusinessFirst passengers on transcontinental flights.Credit United Airlines
While service and perks have steadily eroded over the years on domestic flights, transcontinental service remains the arena of one-upmanship among competing airlines — especially those vying for forward-class fliers.
In December, United Airlines introduced flat-bed seats on all flights between New York's Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles and San Francisco. Called "Premium Service," the perks that will be available include 28 BusinessFirst seats with the kind of service, including multicourse meals, usually reserved for international flights.
Last month, American Airlines began flying daily between Kennedy and the two California hubs with its new First Class service in which each lie-flat seat has aisle access. Business-class seats also recline to beds.
To keep up, Delta Air Lines recently announced the addition of lie-flat seats on all flights between Kennedy and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle by next summer.
Whether legacy or boutique, all carriers have been newly challenged for the lucrative coast-to-coast business — considered glamorous based on the number of movie stars and moguls who fly them — by JetBlue.
The traditionally low-cost carrier just introduced JetBlue Mint, a premium cabin on select flights between Kennedy and Los Angeles. In the front cabin, all 16 seats fully recline, and four of them feature doors that can be closed to create private suites. Tickets start at $599 one way. All flights on the Los Angeles route will offer the cabin by Aug. 3, and Kennedy-to-San Francisco service will start Oct. 26.
JetBlue's entry has already scrambled forward-class fares, according to George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. A few months ago, he paid $2,500 for a business-class transcontinental fare on American Airlines, a rate that dropped to around $1,200 on some flights, especially off-peak, since the launch of JetBlue Mint.
Interestingly, Mr. Hobica has observed few fliers actually reclining when they have the chance. "Unless it's a red-eye flight, I find very few people actually recline," he said. "It's almost like the hotel gym where you have to have it, but very few people use it."
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 13 Juli 2014 | 17.35
PhotoFor the San Francisco-based organization Art City's Way Out West project, artists have commandeered outdoor advertising spaces in the Mission District. Shown are pieces by Jen Stark.Credit Courtesy of Art City
In San Francisco, where tensions between established artist communities and Silicon Valley continue to rise, Luke Groesbeck, a former tech worker and the founder of the fledgling public art organization Art City, wants to help his hometown reinvest in the former. "This is a city with a major arts and cultural legacy," he says. "How do we honor that? Then an idea came up and I got fixated on it: What happens when you turn an entire city into a gallery? Is it possible?"
From now until Aug. 17, San Franciscans will get to find out. As part of Art City's Way Out West project, Groesbeck, along with his crew of curators and organizers, worked with advertising companies and the local creative community to coordinate his organization's pilot urban art takeover. Eleven billboards, four buses and three transit shelters in the Mission District are being resurfaced with works from 20 artists, many of whom have long-running involvements in San Francisco's street art scene. These include the graffiti artist Apex, whose works live on building walls near major streets like Valencia, and members of the Mission School movement like Chris Johanson and Alicia McCarthy, who began collecting praise in the '90s for their Sol LeWitt-like installations of busy, ribboned color.
The project isn't just about the pieces themselves. It's also about what they'll replace: advertising. "Today, San Francisco has about 7,500 ad spaces, which reach tens of millions of people in a given month," Groesbeck explains. "We're doing this to illustrate a different possible future, where in each neighborhood we're instead surrounded by art and contemporary art plays a major role in our lives."
The subject of art versus commerce is a timely one in the Bay Area, especially in the once-gritty, rapidly gentrifying Mission. "Artists, musicians and other creatives that make San Francisco what it is are being pushed out," says Brett Amory, an internationally exhibited artist and local resident who is also participating in the project. "The Mission District is one of the areas getting hit hardest by this change. It's a very appropriate place to have art by local artists displayed, as a reminder of what the city is really made of."
Groesbeck, for his part, thinks the project will help San Francisco remember its roots. "I think this is a way to do something positive," he says, "and hopefully, give back to the city."
Over the course of eight weeks, Ben Towill, the co-owner of the Fat Radish, and the photographer Patrick Dougherty are biking 4,500 miles across the U.S. to talk to strangers about food. Each week, they'll file a dispatch for T about their discoveries.
PhotoKate and Ben enjoying dinner beside American Lake in the Rockies.Credit Patrick Dougherty
If you ever find yourself in La Crosse, Kan., grab a delicious burger at Effie's Place, where the chef is Effie herself. Like the impatient New Yorkers we are, we started complaining about the hourlong wait, only to learn that it was Effie's 93rd birthday and she cooks everything the restaurant serves. After we got over our embarrassment and enjoyed the amazing meal, we headed out onto Route 96 West, the longest, flattest, straightest road I have ever seen, with the majestic Rockies rising far off in the distance. Anytime you have things on your mind that you need to work out, I suggest riding a bike along Route 96 West. Then the climb begins and your only thought will be of pedaling.
SERIES
A Ride Across America
Read more of Ben Towill's weekly dispatches about food and how we eat it, filed as he bikes across the country. More…
In the Rockies, we were joined by my girlfriend, Kate Dougherty, who will be riding with us to the Oregon coast and loves an adventure as much as I do. We decided to spend a few days off the bike and celebrate the birth of this great nation with some all-American campfire cooking. Here are a few recipes from a night camping in the Colorado Rockies, which you can try out on any barbecue this summer. If I can make them delicious using a campfire and a butane burner, with bears lurking in the woods, yours will taste even better.
Colorado Lamb and Chorizo Burgers with Cucumber and Yogurt
Yield: 4 servings
For the burgers: 1.5 pounds ground lamb 2 chorizo sausages, casings removed 4 good pinches salt 2 good pinches of chili flakes
For the toppings: 1 cucumber, sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 small tub Greek yogurt Juice of half a lemon
1. Mix the lamb, chorizo, salt and chili and form into 4 burger patties. Cook them over a medium heat in a frying pan until golden brown on each side and medium rare in the middle, about 6-8 minutes on each side.
2. Reserve the fat left over from cooking the patties for the warm beet salad.
3. Mix the cucumber and garlic into the yogurt, and stir in the fresh lemon juice.
PhotoClockwise from left: a Fourth of July feast; Kate and Ben on the hike up to American Lake; the grill fired up; sweet potato and quinoa oatmeal.Credit Patrick Dougherty
Warm Golden Beet and Charred Pepper Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Olive oil Salt and pepper 2 red peppers 2 carrots 2 golden beets Lamb fat saved from cooking the burgers 2 pinches of curry powder 1 bunch of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper, and wrap them in tin foil. Cook them directly on the fire (or a grill) for 30 minutes until soft and charred. When cool enough to handle, first remove the seeds and then slice the peppers.
2. Grate the carrots and beets on a medium grater.
3. Pour the lamb fat into a frying pan and get it nice and hot. Throw in the beets, carrots, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for around 8 minutes until everything is cooked through and full of lamb flavor.
4. At the last minute, add the cilantro and slices of charred peppers.
Sweet Potato and Quinoa Oatmeal
Chef's tip: As breakfast, this dish is great to hold up your energy all day.
Yield: 4 servings
1 cup of oats 1 cup of quinoa 2 baked sweet potatoes, skins removed (*Chef's tip: Cook them the night before) 2 tablespoons of honey Dried cranberries, cashews, sunflower seeds
1. Cook the oats and quinoa in 4 cups of water for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add the sweet potato flesh and stir well.
3. Divide the oatmeal into 4 bowls, and drizzle each with honey. Top with the berries and nut mix.
*To bake the sweet potatoes, wrap them in tin foil and place in the fire or in an oven for 40 minutes until soft.
PhotoUnited offers flat-bed seats for BusinessFirst passengers on transcontinental flights.Credit United Airlines
While service and perks have steadily eroded over the years on domestic flights, transcontinental service remains the arena of one-upmanship among competing airlines — especially those vying for forward-class fliers.
In December, United Airlines introduced flat-bed seats on all flights between New York's Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles and San Francisco. Called "Premium Service," the perks that will be available include 28 BusinessFirst seats with the kind of service, including multicourse meals, usually reserved for international flights.
Last month, American Airlines began flying daily between Kennedy and the two California hubs with its new First Class service in which each lie-flat seat has aisle access. Business-class seats also recline to beds.
To keep up, Delta Air Lines recently announced the addition of lie-flat seats on all flights between Kennedy and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle by next summer.
Whether legacy or boutique, all carriers have been newly challenged for the lucrative coast-to-coast business — considered glamorous based on the number of movie stars and moguls who fly them — by JetBlue.
The traditionally low-cost carrier just introduced JetBlue Mint, a premium cabin on select flights between Kennedy and Los Angeles. In the front cabin, all 16 seats fully recline, and four of them feature doors that can be closed to create private suites. Tickets start at $599 one way. All flights on the Los Angeles route will offer the cabin by Aug. 3, and Kennedy-to-San Francisco service will start Oct. 26.
JetBlue's entry has already scrambled forward-class fares, according to George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. A few months ago, he paid $2,500 for a business-class transcontinental fare on American Airlines, a rate that dropped to around $1,200 on some flights, especially off-peak, since the launch of JetBlue Mint.
Interestingly, Mr. Hobica has observed few fliers actually reclining when they have the chance. "Unless it's a red-eye flight, I find very few people actually recline," he said. "It's almost like the hotel gym where you have to have it, but very few people use it."
