Travelsmartplanet

You have to admire their moxie. Contortionists are being placed inside suitcases which are then placed inside the cargo hold of buses in Spain. They then have the opportunity to go through any and all of your luggage and help themselves to whatever they want, while you are enjoying the scenic rides between popular tourist destinations. By the time you have reached the end of your journey, they (and their booty) are back inside their suitcase, ready to be plucked off the bus by an accomplice.

Tags: booty, bus, cargo, contortionist, destination, journey, luggage, scenic, Spain, suitcase, Switzerland, tourist

Next door to the oldest vegetarian restaurant, Haus Hiltl, Switzerland’s very first vegetarian butcher’s shop, the Hiltl shop has opened.

On sale are vegetarian and vegan delicatessen products, wines and cooking accessories. At the “butcher’s counter”, customers can purchase meat substitutes such as tofu, seitan, paneer or soy sausages, as well as Hiltl tartare, the traditional local specialty, Züri-Geschnetzeltes, and home-made cordon bleus.

Even the wines are vegetarian or vegan, so do not contain fish bladders or bone gelatin.

Location: Sihlstrasse 28, 8001 Zürich
Neighborhood: Kreis 1
Tel: 044 227 70 00
www.hiltl.ch

Tags: bladder, bone, butcher, cooking, cordon bleu, delicatessan, Europe, fish, gelatin, Hans Hiltl, meat, Restaurant, sausage, seitan, soy, substitute, Switzerland, tartare, tofu, vegan, vegetarian, wine

Harry Potter fans in Canada or anywhere else who wants to travel there, can see inside the famous wizard’s world,  Harry Potter: The Exhibition opened at TELUS World of Science – Edmonton.

You can see the amazing craftsmanship behind hundreds of authentic costumes and film props from all 8 of the Harry Potter films. The show immerses fans in the experience as they get a firsthand view of authentic artifacts displayed in detailed settings inspired by the film sets, including the Great Hall, Hagrid’s hut, the Gryffindor™ common room, and other settings from the films.

While touring through the exhibit space, discover iconic items such as Harry’s original wand and eyeglasses, the Marauder’s Map, Gryffindor school uniforms as well as costumes worn at the Yule Ball.  Enter the Quidditch™ area and toss a “Quaffle”, pull your own Mandrake, encounter Buckbeak™ the Hippogriff and even a giant Acromantula spider.

Edmonton is the 1oth stop for the exhibition which is concluding its global 5-year tour. Harry Potter: The Exhibition debuted in Chicago in 2009 and has since been touring the world with most recent stops in Tokyo, New York and Singapore. The exhibition has expanded in recent years to include artifacts from all eight Harry Potter films.

Dates: until Mar 9, 2014
www.telusworldofscienceedmonton.com

Tags: Acromantula, artifact, Buckbeak, Canada, Chicago, costume, craft, Edmonton, eyeglass, fan, film, Great Hall, Gryffindor, Hagrid, Harry Potter, Hippogriff, Mandrake, map, Marauder, New York, prop, Quaffle, Quidditch, school, science, setting, show, Singapore, spider, Telus, Tokyo, uniform, wand, wizard