Compass
Sydney comes to life in summer. It is a glorious city, no matter what time of year but in the summer, we have long days, warm nights, hot beaches, and the biggest party in all of Australia: The Sydney Festival.
Not so many fascinating wetlands are present on the African continent. However, one of these few is the Okavango Delta, situated in the Kalahari Desert within the ancient country of Botswana. The Okavango offers both an unusual environment and an amazing host of diverse wildlife.
Sir Hans Sloane was a naturalist who had managed to amass an enormous collection of books, manuscripts, dried plants and antiquities from his travels. As he neared his death, he did not wish to see his collection broken up or, worse yet, forgotten. Sloane bequeathed his collection to King George II who, in turn, gave his royal assent to an Act of Parliament to establish the British Museum using Sloane's collection as a foundation. Two large libraries of books, one of which included the only surviving copy of Beowulf, were added to the Sloane materials. The concept for the British Museum was unique - it was owned by the government, but not by the king, and was freely open to the public. First situated in the Montagu House, the exhibition galleries and a reading room opened on January 15, 1759. The gallery was first situated in Montagu House in Bloomsbury. [...]
For those adventurous enough and not scared of heights, there is a new attraction in Las Vegas that is sure to give people a thrill. The new attraction is called the FLY LINQ at the LINQ Promenade, which is a zip line along the infamous Vegas strip. The zip line opened up on Jan. 1 and has a special superheroes theme display.
Join World Footprints as we embark on an exciting journey in Big Sky Country, Montana, where we uncovered new dinosaur fossils and other incredible treasures. Our recent trip offered a hands-on experience in paleontology, making it an adventure of a lifetime.
On January 10, 1863' the London Underground (a.k.a. the Tube) became the first underground rail system in the world. In 1890 the world's first electric trains began operating there as well. The original track ran between London Paddington station and Farringdon station. Many more lines would be added to the Underground railway network over the years, but most of it was developed over the next 50 years.
The Cunard Line, then known as the Cunard White Star Line launched the RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1938. Named for Queen Elizabeth (not the current Queen but her mother) the RMS Queen Elizabeth was the largest passenger liner ever built, a record she held for 56 years.
The War of 1812 was over. On December 12, 1814, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent ending the war. Unfortunately, American forces under the command of General Andrew Jackson and British forces encamped near New Orleans were unaware of that fact. The two armies had faced each other off south of New Orleans since mid-December and news traveled slowly.
The cathedral in Pisa has a free-standing bell tower on which construction began August 9, 1173 and took 117 years to complete. The development of the Tower started in 1173. Initially intended to be a bell tower, it stood upright for more than 5 years, yet when the third floor was finished in 1178 it started to lean.
The U.S. State Department is warning citizens on their travels to China to be a bit more cautious. According to the agency, there has been some subjective implementation of local laws along with special restrictions placed on dual U.S.-Chinese citizens.
Last year, World Footprints published stories about people and places all over the world. Our writers told stories that helped our readers make deeper connections to a community, understand more about a foreign place while traveling more mindfully.
Tourism is a major economic activity for Sri Lanka that has exponentially grown since 1970. With annual visits by the travel community in 2017 reaching 2,116,407, tourism is among the major earners for the country.
