Free Republic

President Barack Obama plans to celebrate Earth Day by visiting the Florida Everglades. In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama says “there’s no greater threat to our planet than climate change.” He says he’ll visit the Everglades on Wednesday to talk about how global warming threatens the U.S. economy. He says rising sea levels are putting the “economic engine for the South Florida tourism industry” at risk. …

Carabinieri Captain Lorenzo Iacobone said Monday two tourists from California, ages 21 and 25, were picked up Saturday for carving their names eight centimeters (three inches) high into an upper level of the Colosseum. They were freed later but will face trial for aggravated damage to a monument. Iacobone said the young women apologized for the vandalism, but he said such acts "are extremely serious, and no one considers the damage they are creating."

One of the most under-reported medical success stories in recent years has been the increase in medical tourism: traveling abroad to get high-quality care at a fraction of what it would cost in the United States. The same Lasik eye surgery that might cost $4,400 here (for both eyes) is available in India, for example, for $500, according to the Medical Tourism Association. A heart-valve replacement that might cost $170,000 in the United States could cost less than $30,000 in Israel. While going overseas for care isn’t for most people, it certainly should make us wonder why we don’t encourage...

We understand that Nancy Pelosi is married to a very successful businessman in California. We are very happy that the Pelosi family has enjoyed the fruits of capitalism. Of course, they've enjoyed those fruits because they live in a country that respects property rights and does not confiscate businesses. This week, Rep Pelosi went to Cuba and stayed at the Hotel Saratoga. Let me share this from our good friends at Capitol Hill Cubans: "The Hotel Saratoga is a beautiful neoclassical structure in Old Havana. It was purchased in 1939 by Blanco Lopez and Co., headed by Jose Blanco and...

Planning a 4 day trip to New Orleans. Tourism Suggestions please?

It is one of the most common mistakes made by tourists visiting the capital - referring to beautiful Tower Bridge as London Bridge. But a father-of-one has found the mislabelling of the iconic landmark so frustrating, he has launched a one-man campaign to correct tourists from around the world. Charles Lawley, from London, trawls Instagram looking for users who have who have made the mistake as he gets a kick out of correcting them. His typical reply is 'That's Tower Bridge not London Bridge.'

Israeli travel group Hebro Travel is to hold the first gay tour of WWII concentration camp Auschwitz, it's been revealed. The tour is marketed as 'The Poland and Prague pride trip'. In addition to the visit to the historical site, the trip – taking place from 7-16 August – will take in various Jewish heritage tours, also visiting Krakow and Warsaw before ending up in Prague for the Czech Republic's Pride Festival. Jayson Littman, founder of Hebro Travel – a company for 'gay Jews and those who love us' – last week told the Jewish Daily: 'I knew I was...

NOPD said the 30-year-old victim, who Irish media have identified as Hanrahan, was approached by a gunman in the 2200 block of New Orleans Street. The gunman demanded money, and the victim refused.

Greece's new radical Prime Minister has declared war on the country's all-inclusive holiday resorts and vowed to limit them. All-you-can-eat breakfast buffets and unlimited cocktails and ouzo by the pool could become a thing of the past in Greece despite the all-inclusive travel industry, that brings in £1.5billion for the country. Alexis Tsipras, leader of the triumphant anti-bailout party Syriza, believes such deals 'alienate tourists from the local economy' by keeping them behind resort gates and away from local businesses and attractions. He has warned that contracts with large resort chains will be reviewed and deals to sell public land...

Interesting: Cuba's Bureau of Tourism sponsored a three-minute promo on today's Morning Joe. Oh, wait, no. That was NBC itself, in the person of Kate Snow, with a smiley, unrelentingly upbeat segment promoting the glories of tourism in Cuba that will now be possible for Americans under President Obama's executive order relaxing former restrictions. Snow's segment—entitled 'Bienvenidos a Cuba' just like a travelogue—had it all: beaches, dancing in the streets, cigars, rum, beer and all those nifty vintage cars potentially available to collectors. So, you ask, what did Snow have to say about the repressive Communist regime that continues to...

Security chiefs have taken the dramatic step of withdrawing Royal Guards from their high-profile posts outside palaces amid mounting fears of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks. Elite soldiers of the Queen’s Guard have pulled back from public positions at many landmarks in response to possible threats from Islamic extremists. For the first time since the height of the IRA’s terror campaign, the soldiers are also no longer allowed on sentry duty alone, and are now accompanied by armed police

Soldiers of the Queen’s Guard have been pulled back from public positions at many landmarks in response to possible threats from Islamic extremists.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cuba was once a haven for sun-seeking American tourists. Beautiful beaches, lively casinos and late-night dancing made it the perfect getaway, only an hour's flight from Miami. But the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro and the subsequent Cold War embargo of the communist island nation put an end to that.

On the rim of the Grand Canyon, there is an area that is not part of Grand Canyon National Park. This land does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the Navaho people. The Navaho tribe, as such, has the right to develop its tribal land to bring tourism, money, and jobs to its population. But this kind of thing gives out-of-town environmentalists and the government employees who run the park a sad. The New York Times article on a proposed $1 billion development actually features quite a few viewpoints, mostly fairly, but it frames the whole...

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is making a direct appeal to potential tourists and convention planners who may be having second thoughts about travel to the city that has become the epicenter of Ebola in America..

BANGKOK - The Tourism Authority of Thailand says its preparing to add one more tourist attraction to the Kingdom's long list of temples, beaches, and mountains: life under martial law. "The TAT is preparing a campaign called '24 Hours Enjoy Thailand 'to attract foreign tourists to visit Thailand under martial law," TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik told Thai Rath newspaper on Friday. Thawatchai said that martial law is beneficial to tourism, because it ensures that foreign tourists can be safe 24 hours a day. "We want the tourists to be confident that they can travel in Thailand both day and...

Several cruise lines have changed itineraries due to concerns over Ebola, canceling port stops in West Africa. On Holland America Line's 35-day African Explorer cruise aboard the MS Rotterdam, from Cape Town, South Africa, to Southampton, England, three ports of call in Ghana, Gambia and Senegal will be replaced with an added overnight in Cape Town, an added overnight in Cape Verde and a stop in Tangier, Morocco, according to Holland America spokesman Erik Elvejord....

Me and a few friends will be spending 3 weeks in Europe Early next summer.... Has anyone here been over there? What are a few things "We shouldn't miss"?

The Canadian government has had to warn its citizens not to carry cash to the USA because the USA does not presume innocence but guilt when it comes to money. Over $2.5 billion has been confiscated from Canadians traveling to the USA, funding the police who grab it. If you are bringing cash to the land of the free, you will find that that saying really means they are FREE to seize all your money under the pretense you are engaged in drugs with no evidence or other charges. It costs more money in legal fees to try to get...

ISIS-linked militants in Algeria have beheaded a French tourist captured at the weekend - having earlier made threats to kill him if France did not stop bombing targets in Iraq. Herve Gourdel, 55, was captured by the Islamist group Jund al-Khilifa while hiking in the Djurdjura National Park on Sunday - just one day after he arrived in Algeria for a walking holiday... Gourdel, who lived in the southern French city of Nice, only arrived in Algeria on Saturday and was seized the following day while hiking in the heart of the Djurdjura National Park - whose dense forests, deep...