When it comes to Scottish architecture, I don't know much beyond my enthusiasm for my homeland and for designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Whenever I'm in Glasgow, which is never enough these days, I make a beeline for Mackintosh's 1895 Glasgow Herald building, which in 1999 was converted into the Lighthouse, Scotland's first dedicated, national centre for architecture and design. Among the many reasons to visit is a new exhibition there called Architecture in Scotland.
Whoever sang, “Ohh, heaven is a place on earth,” was right. The Yi-spa in Berlin, a full service massage parlor complete with exotic body treatments, Thai-style massages and aromatherapy, claims they can show you the way.
This weekend, a little alien capsule will land on a mountain in the Italian Alps and set up camp there. As compelling a notion as that is, the shiny bauble pictured above is the brainchild of London designer (and self-confessioned 'evolutionary biologist') Ross Lovegrove, and nothing to do with little green men. The Alpine Capsule is the ultimate futuristic compact living unit.
It's intriguing to watch the Gulf states developing right now. All those futuristic sci-fi movies we watched as kids... it seems places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi were really taking notes. We may have dabbled in the 'future', but visit the Persian Gulf these days, and you'll see sci-fi skylines in abundance. The latest state to join the action is Qatar, with Jean Nouvel's Burj Qatar tower (still under construction) and its new Museum of Islamic Arts.
Here's the ultimate thrill for mountain bike enthusiasts: the Ktrak. Turn your regular bike into a snow bike, with this kit that loads your back wheel with traction and switches your front wheel for a ski.
In Biscayne Bay, one mile south of the of Cape Florida, at the tip of Key Biscayne, lies a place where the houses seems to float above the water, as if in some surrealist dream. If you happen upon the place, rub your eyes if you want, but it's not your imagination. You have reached Stiltsville.
Let's face it. Driving your car to the gym is weird. Parking as close as you can to the gym door is weird. Running on a treadmill is weird. We need to get out more. Bicycles are great, but antisocial. Tandem bicycles, well, they just have an image problem. Could the HumanCar be the answer?
Add Mumbai to the list of places too dangerous to visit. Appease terror’s desire and stay away. Believe all the hype and empower the terrorists who don’t want you there. Or, as jewelry designer Superfertile advocates, dare to challenge the hateful few and explore, discover and connect.
In February 2007, Sun21 arrived in Le Marin, Martinique, having crossed the Atlantic from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, in 29 days. This may seem slow, but when you bear in mind the journey was completely powered by the sun, it's very impressive. In fact, it gained the boat a Guinness World Record for the fastest transatlantic crossing made completely under solar power.
Forget bottled Fiji Water. If you travel to New Zealand, to Te Waikoropuru Springs on the South Island, to be precise, you'll find the largest freshwater springs in the southern hemisphere, possibly the world.
Elvis is alive, and working the clubs of Chiang Mai, Thailand - with the help of his mother. I met the young pretender, 23, and his mother at a concert commemorating the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death.
Talk about a room with a view. The Hatari Lodge is a former farm located in woodland on the edge of the Momella swamp, right under Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.
