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The Notting Hill Carnival takes place at the end of August and attracts over one million people, making it one of the largest street festivals in Europe. The small streets of West London are packed in to watch the Caribbean flavoured parade.

Labels: england, london, notting hill carnival

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tesco, the UK's giant supermarket chain, has introduced a self serve checkout trial in some stores in West London. You scan the items yourself and when you are done you pay with card or cash like you would at a train station ticket machine.

I had a go and it seems easy enough to use though I don't know if it is going to work. They will save labour in not employing a check out operator, but then they need to have people hovering nearby to assist people in using it, as well as extra surveillance and security as it will be too great a temptation for shoplifters to sneak unscanned items.

Labels: england, london, supermarket, tesco

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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One of the great pleasures in life - sitting at a cafe in an old town square somewhere in Europe.

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Manhole art - Bratislava

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This is a classic old school cafe in Vienna. A perfect place to while a way time on a drizzly day.

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Labels: austria, rathaus, sunflowers, vienna

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Shop sign in Prague.

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Europe is renown for its bike friendly cities (well bike friendlier than US/UK/Australia anyway). This appears to be true in Basel, Switzerland.

Next to the Haptbahnhof is an impressive bike park facility. From street level a gently sloping entry leads you underground to the velopark.



Here you can leave your bike or hire one at a cheap rate (even by Swiss standards). I was there on a weekday morning and it was just about full. There are lockers, shower rooms and a cafe. This is connected underground to the main train station.

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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I'm travelling around Continental Europe at the moment and I have been blissfully unaware of most news events. Apart from the goodness of being on the road, it has been a bonus to get away from the grinding non stop coverage of terror in the British newspapers.

Occasionally though I slip from my self imposed news exile when checking emails. While scanning The Independent I read of the death of Robin Cook. The British Labour MP died of a heart attack while walking in the Scottish Highlands.

I didn't know much about him until I saw his resignation speech in the House of Commons. That speech was a voice of reason in the lead up to the Iraq war. Re-reading it 2 years later it is still as lucid and relevant as the day it was delivered.

His passing is a loss for Britain.

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Looking at this departure board at Faro Airport you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a domestic airport in the U.K. Indeed The Algarve in the South of Portugal could be renamed the South of England. Out of the 15 flights shown here, 11 are for the U.K, 2 are for Ireland and 2 for other European locations.

Labels: airport, faro, portugal

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As you know I have been admiring the gloriously paved streets of Portugal.
So while in Lagos I saw this blob of tar which to me looks like a map of Switzerland:


Switzerland Tar Blob




Switzerland Proper

Luckily for Lagos and who ever repaves the streets the blob wasn't a likeness of Jesus , otherwise it would be on eBay by now.

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All over Lisbon, and indeed all over Portugal the streets are paved with little square limestone blocks. Many are works of art in themselves and I found myself looking at the pavement as often as the amazing buildings around.

Labels: lisbon, portugal

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A possible portal to Paris via Picoas - Lisbon.

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Traditional Portuguese guitarists cross here.

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The number 28 tram in Lisbon - probably the best tram in the world.

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