It is arguably the best party and most venerable event in Europe: Las Fallas – The Torches – festival in vivacious Valencia, Spain. Home of paella and UNESCO World Heritage Llotja de la Seda, incomparable Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències by starchitects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela and elite temple of football Estadio … More

Sydney Mardi Gras is the premier annual LGBTQI pride parade and festival in Australia and arguably one of the most colourful on the planet. For sheer economic impact, the festival is second to one in New South Wales and comes to a climax with the Mardi Gras Parade, which lures over 9,100 participants, scores more … More

How did we miss this? Last November, nomadic big wave surfer-citizen of the world Garrett McNamara hit the break of a lifetime off the coast of Nazaré, 70 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal: a rogue monster that experts now estimate at 90 feet – a new world record. Not too shabby for a 44-year-old from … More

The Krewe of Bacchus was one of the first Mardi Gras “superkrewes” in New Orleans and parades the Sunday before Fat Tuesday. Every year the organisation appoints a King of Bacchus to steward the lead float in homage to the Roman god of wine. Kings of the past include Bob Hope, Elijah Wood and Hulk … More

Lantern Festivals may be all well and good but what about a Sky Lantern Festival? Get airborne and luminous in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, where one of the most famous annual festivals in Taiwan recently took place to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this … More

Some tourism promo vids can be a little over the top and, quite frankly, repulsive. This clip to plug Cape Town’s appointment by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design as World Design Capital for 2014, however, oozes with sincerity and charm. Makes us want to catch the next flight to South Africa, pronto! … More