Travel

listening to joni: #17 and final: shine

Shine, 2007 Shine is Joni's most recent, and likely final, studio album. She came out of retirement in 2007 to release the album, nine years after her previous Taming the Tiger. Shine, which was also re-issued on vinyl in 2020, is a themed collection: the lyrics focus on environmental destruction and endless war. Joni composed some of the tracks for The Fiddle and the Drum, a collaboration with the Alberta Ballet Company, for which Joni served as artistic director.   At the time of the album...
Tags: Travel, Music, Iraq, US, Pink Floyd, Starbucks, Catholic, Joni Mitchell, Dick Cavett, Joni, Les Irvin, Laura K, Listening To Joni, WarnerMedia, Warner Group, Alberta Ballet Company

A British millionaire has been ordered to demolish the $64 million chateau he built in the south of France years after he 'forgot' to request a building permit

French courts say the $64 million Chateau Diter was built without permission in a protected woodland area. VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images A British millionaire developer has been ordered to demolish his sprawling $64 million chateau by June 2022. The developer has been in a multi-year legal battle to keep the property, which the court said was illegally built and ignored zoning laws. The chateau, which can sleep up to 36 guests, has reportedly hosted massive, loud parties that drew complain...
Tags: Travel, Europe, Real Estate, France, Trends, Mansions, Le Monde, Provence, Tuscany, Luxury Real Estate, Monica, Grasse, Aix, Arts & Culture, Valery Hache, Katie Warren

The Garden Grows Unafraid

  softly evening comes the sky grows dark darker the moon rises with stars blooming like flowers in an empty field.     Burning brightly constantly changing yet to the naked eye  they remain the same   down below in the silence, in the stillness, in the darkness... the garden grows unafraid of the tiniest seed.                       [Author: French la Vie]
Tags: Travel, French la Vie

A beautifully disintegrating old Tokyo toy shop

Well, it’s a stationary shop that also stocks toys to be exact, but when a place looks as wonderful as this, what it actually sells seems almost irrelevant.
Tags: Travel, Photography, Tokyo

DIVINE Apple Rose Tart!

This divine apple rose tart is a labour of love but it's spectacular in its beauty (if I can be so immodest!). Individual apple roses are shaped and cover a delicious pecan frangipane tart. If you want a dessert to impress for Valentine's Day coming up, then this is it!
Tags: Travel

High Water

Every time I looked at my weather app I would get a message for flooding but Paris seemed dry to me except for some light rain. Then I went to the window that has a slight view of the Seine that I have if I press my forehead against it, and found that the Seine was high so it was flooding somewhere. The walking path along the river is covered by water. You can usually walk in front of the area in front of the Statue of Liberty. Pretty light on the Seine. Another view. ...
Tags: Travel, Photos, Sweden, France, Sculpture, Paris, Italy, Belgium, Flooding, Seine, Seine River, Statue of Liberty, Pont Alma, Pont Alma Bridge, Queen Astrid, Queen Astrid Park

The Night Manager: What Happens When The Lights Go Down? | By Silvia Kirkland Zese

In the summer of 2013, when I was still working for Hyatt in New York City, I found myself facing a pretty tough decision.
Tags: Travel, New York City, Hyatt, Silvia Kirkland Zese

#Qatar banks headed for more mergers | Banking – Gulf News

Qatar banks headed for more mergers | Banking – Gulf News Qatar's overbanked system could see more consolidation triggered by pressure on banks' profitability from the coronavirus pandemic according to Fitch Ratings.The rating agency said while banks with weaker franchises and limited pricing power are likely to prompt the next wave of consolidation, common government ownership is also a key driver to create better capitalised banks with enhanced competitive advantages to support the Qatar Visio...
Tags: Travel, Qatar, MAR, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Masraf Al Rayan, International Bank of Qatar IBQ, Islamic bank Dukhan, Al Khalij Commercial Bank AKCB

Swift regulatory changes supported #UAE’s real-estate markets in 2020, says Knight Frank | Property – Gulf News

Swift regulatory changes supported UAE’s real-estate markets in 2020, says Knight Frank | Property – Gulf News Regulatory changes at both the federal and local levels bolstered UAE’s real-estate markets in 2020, said Knight Frank in a report on Sunday.“Despite being presented with an unprecedented set of challenges in 2020, real estate markets across the UAE have proved to be remarkably resilient,” said Taimur Khan, Associate Partner at Knight Frank Middle East“The easing of a number of geopolit...
Tags: Travel, Middle East, Abu Dhabi, Uae, Knight Frank, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Taimur Khan, Gulf News Regulatory, Khan Apartment

The 9 coolest features of JetBlue's exclusive new Mint business class suites that will soon take travelers to Europe

A preview of JetBlue Airways' Mint Suite business class seat. Thomas Pallini/Insider JetBlue Airways just introduced a new Mint business class cabin complete with private suites. Each suite comes with a closable door and passenger-friendly amenities at every turn. The product will debut on the New York-Los Angeles route before flying to London.  Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. The future of transatlantic business class travel is arriving this summer as JetBlue A...
Tags: Travel, Transportation, Europe, New York, London, News, Air Travel, Boston, Planes, New York City, Trends, Earth, Features, Flying, Aviation, Airbus

Saudi Arabian Shares Lead Gulf Gains on Oil, Earnings: Inside EM - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s main equities index led advances in the Gulf on Sunday, catching up with gains in oil and emerging-market stocks last week.The Tadawul gauge also got a boost by earnings from Bank AlBilad and United International Transport that were higher than estimates. Saudi Arabian Mining Co. extended gains after the company said it plans to focus on deleveraging this year.Abu Dhabi’s main index ended higher after the exchange said it’ll reduce trading fees on all transactions. Stock gauges in...
Tags: Travel, Saudi Arabia, Opec, Bloomberg, Joe Biden, United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Oman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Gulf, Tadawul, Emirates NBD, Saudi Arabian Mining Co, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Kuwait Qatar

The new world's longest flight is getting an upgrade as Singapore Airlines builds back up in the US - see inside the luxurious plane

Onboard a Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900ULR. Thomas Pallini/Insider Singapore Airlines is upping its three US routes to daily service, including the world's longest flight.  New York and San Francisco flights are being upgraded to an all-premium Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft. The two-cabin aircraft consists solely of premium economy class and business class cabins. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Singapore Airlines is pressing forward to build back up its US route net...
Tags: Travel, Transportation, New York, News, Air Travel, Singapore, Planes, New York City, Americas, US, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Trends, Features, Flying, United States

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #Kuwait #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar close

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #Kuwait #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar close [Author: [email protected] (Rupert Neil Bumfrey)]
Tags: Travel, Qatar, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Bloomberg UAE Kuwait Israel

Crude Oil Price Recovery Is Too Fast for Its Own Good - Bloomberg

Crude Oil Price Recovery Is Too Fast for Its Own Good - Bloomberg The OPEC+ alliance of oil producers will face a big test of its cohesion in a few weeks’ time, when ministers meet to discuss the next step in their historic production deal aimed at rebalancing the world’s oil supply with recovering demand. Things have almost moved too quickly in their favor.Recent increases in crude prices and the rapid drawing down of visible stockpiles will undoubtedly lead to calls for a more rapid raising of...
Tags: Travel, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Opec, OECD, Rupert Neil Bumfrey

World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Emerges as Investor in #Qatar Insurer - Bloomberg

World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Emerges as Investor in Qatar Insurer - Bloomberg Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund has swooped in to buy shares of QLM Life & Medical Insurance Co., the first Qatari firm to list on the local stock market since 2019.Norway’s central bank, which oversees the world’s biggest wealth fund, purchased a stake just shy of 5% in January, according to data from the Qatar Stock Exchange. The holding is worth about $17 million at the current market capitalization. In...
Tags: Travel, Norway, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Qatar Stock Exchange, QLM Life Medical Insurance Co, Qatar Insurer Bloomberg, Qatar Insurer Bloomberg Norway

Socked in

Saturday was foggy. All day. Then it rained. It was a gloomy day, but still pretty. The muted light really showed up the grassy (and mossy) greens in the yard and the pinks and purples of the cyclamen. It doesn't show in these photos, but the sky had a very slight orange tint. We found out on the noon news that it wasn't our imaginations. The tint was caused by sand from the Sahara blowing northward over Europe. The orange color was much more pronounced down south than it was here. Still, we not...
Tags: Travel, Europe, Weather, France, WCS, Sahara, Garden Flowers Plants

Alvarez & Marsal plans to double Middle East business | The National

Alvarez & Marsal plans to double Middle East business | The National Professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal is planning to double the size of its Middle East business within the next five years, the company’s Middle East head Saeeda Jaffar said.The firm, which is best known for its restructuring work, has grown from just four people when Ms Jaffar joined the company in 2016 to about “50-something” currently.“We’ll probably close the year between 60 and 70 people, depending on how quickly we...
Tags: Travel, Middle East, National, Alvarez, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Alvarez Marsal, Jaffar, Saeeda Jaffar, Marsal, Ms Jaffar

Weekly Top Posts: 2021-02-07

Call My Name Marty, Mathew, Mark and Zane Acts of Love Flooded with Light
Tags: Travel, Zane, FeedSplice by FeedBlitz, Marty Mathew Mark

Most Gulf stocks gain on global rally, higher oil prices | Reuters

Most Gulf stocks gain on global rally, higher oil prices | Reuters Most Gulf stock markets rose in early trade on Sunday, tracking a rally in global equity markets and a jump in oil prices on Friday, while the Dubai index bucked the trend to trade lower.On Friday, global equities rallied on investor expectations of further stimulus from Washington and economic revival hopes that also lifted crude oil prices to nearly $60 a barrel.Brent crude ended Friday’s session up 50 cents, or 0.9%, at $59.34...
Tags: Travel, Washington, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Gulf, Reuters, Saudi Aramco, Emaar Properties, Rupert Neil Bumfrey, Industries Qatar, Dubai Investments, Al Rajhi Bank, Qatar National Bank the Gulf, Reuters Most Gulf

When will Britain's Covid lockdown be lifted? Three scenarios

At best, vaccines and lockdown could make life more normal by May. But at worst, a new mutation could undo any progressCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHopes are rising that Britain may soon put the worst of Covid-19 behind it. After a year in which the disease has paralysed the nation, killed more than 100,000 people, closed schools and universities, and brought the NHS to its knees, there are now signs of hope emerging.Most optimism stems from Britain’s vaccination p...
Tags: Travel, Science, Society, UK News, Medical Research, Britain, Infectious Diseases, NHS, Microbiology, England Holidays, Coronavirus, COVID