S2G Ventures, one of the biggest venture capital funds focused on making the food system healthier and more sustainable, has invested in more than 60 companies, from Beyond Meat to Sweetgreen, since it launched in 2014. But the money behind it has always been clouded in mystery. That’s because its biggest funder wasn’t public until now: Lukas Walton, a 35-year-old billionaire grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton.Walton is intensely private about his life and, until now, hasn’t talked about his work. But for the last several years, Walton has been quietly helping create a new platform that he says is designed to tackle systemic social challenges. The platform, which publicly launched today as Builders Vision, combines philanthropy, direct investment—including S2G Ventures—and advocacy. “Philanthropy itself wasn’t necessarily addressing where and how the ladder of innovation to scale companies …. was happening,” Walton says.When S2G Ventures first launched, few investors were looking at the food system. “Food wasn’t sexy,” he says. “Neither was agriculture.” Walton’s interest in the food system is lifelong: As a toddler diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer, his parents attributed his recovery in part to a shift to healthier food. His parents (his father is Walton’s son, John T. Walton, who died in 2005; his mother is Christy Walton) later started a community education center focused on nutrition and gardening.
Hiking trails aren’t necessarily meant to get one’s adrenaline going. Sure, they’re meant to get the blood pumping and encourage people to climb to great heights – metaphorically and literally. In the case of El Caminito del Rey, though, the excitement might be a bit too much for someone who considers themselves to be a novice hiker. In fact, for any hiker that’s inexperienced, hiking this trail – for lack of a better term – might be downright dangerous.As one of Spain’s most famous hiking routes, it’s not surprising that it draws hundreds of thousands of people every year. With that being said, it doesn’t mean they all make it across, and it doesn’t mean the hike is easy enough that everyone should attempt it. Here’s what to know before attempting this unbelievable trek.
On July 23, 1960, crowds gathered at the Bologna Train Station to witness the maiden journey of a brand new electric train, the ETR 250 “Arlecchino.”
The four-carriage, first-class only convoy was a thing to behold: It featured a striking gray-green magnolia livery, sinuous lines, and two belvedere— panoramic viewpoints—from which travelers could watch the sweeping landscape as if they were at the cinema.
Its interiors, conceived by star architect Giò Ponti and designer Giulio Minoletti, piqued people’s curiosity, too. Chic and avant-garde, they boasted plush velvet seats in a range of vibrant colors (hence the name: Arlecchino is one of the main stock characters of the Italian commedia dell’arte, known for wearing multi-colored patches all over his costume), faux leather walls, and a futuristic-looking bar area where uniformed staff would serve coffee in dainty ceramic cups.
On October 3, 2020, the scene in Bologna was pretty much the same—bar the myriad of smartphones snapping photos—as was the train. Sixty-one years after that initial ride, the Arlecchino was back on the tracks again, relaunched as the first vintage luxury train in Italy that is an experience in and of itself. Tickets for that first trip sold out in less than 48 hours.
Michael Caine is 88 and walks with a stick. He has a gammy leg and a dodgy spine and reckons the only time he leaves the house these days is when his wife has the time to take him out for a drive. The other week he was sent a screenplay that had his character running away from a bunch of crooks, and this made him laugh – the very idea he could play it. “I can’t walk, let alone run,” he says. “And I’m more or less done with movies now.”
He was winding down anyway, hadn’t shot a film in a year, and then sneaked in one last movie, Best Sellers, just before the pandemic struck. He doubts he will ever make another, which is fine by him, no great loss. He’s got his knighthood and his Oscars; what does he have left to prove? He says: “I’ve done 150 movies. I think I’ve done enough.”
Caine has been such a reliable fixture for so long – part of the furniture, a familiar face on the screen – that it’s unnerving to imagine the landscape without him, like walking into the Tower of London and finding the ravens all gone. It’s more unnerving still to realise that it may already have happened; that he might have retired without anyone making a fuss. Caine spent the first part of his career storming the barricades and the second enjoying the spoils of his success. One would have expected some big final act, a showstopping swan song. Instead, we have this: a clean getaway.
The actor is speaking via video link from his Surrey home near Box Hill (the first time, he says, he has done an interview this way). He’s supposed to be promoting his role in Best Sellers, an amiable enough enterprise that casts him as a dyspeptic old author who becomes a viral sensation. But the man’s not feeling it; he seems to have moved on. When I tell him I’ve heard he based the character of Harris Shaw on a monstrous old director he once worked with, he pleads total ignorance and says he can’t think who I mean. “I don’t remember. I might have done. It’s been two years since I did it, so it’s funny talking about it now.” He slurps his tea. “Also, I’m 88. My mind’s not as agile as it used to be.”
Ever been inspired by Journey to the Center Of The Earth and wanted to go into the belly of the earth? In Iceland, one can actually tour inside a real dormant volcano (and this is the only volcano in the world where one can!). Next time in Iceland put Thrihnukagigur (spelled “Þríhnúkagígur” in Icelandic) on one’s bucket list.Iceland is basically a big volcanic hotspot (kinda like Hawaii) and is a paradise for those looking to see and explore the world of volcanos. Both Iceland and Hawaii boast some of the world’s most awe-inspiring volcanos and are both worth visiting to see these dramatic works of nature.
RG Richardson restaurant wine guides now included in restaurant guides (barbecue, buffet, bistro, cafeteria, fast food, take out, fine dining, pub, ethnic restaurants etc.) searches.
Interactive Wine Guides now included in updated guides.
Sit in the coffee shop and start searching away on their WiFi and start using our interactive city search guides with multiple languages!
Dozens of links to open the doors to the best, the coolest, the weirdest, the most inspiring culinary experiences a city can have.
Interactive restaurant guides are exactly what we want to have at your fingertips when in a city. Never out of date and constantly updated!
Tapas at the bar in Barcelona, perfect roast goose in Hong Kong, dinner in a vineyard outside Melbourne, and brunch on a terrace in São Paulo. — when we travel now, we travel to eat.
Restaurants and bars are an opportunity to slip into daily life and experience a city’s unique rhythm.
Due to Covid see what’s open first before you go or better still order take out!
KUNMING, China, Oct 13 (Reuters) – More than 100 countries pledged on Wednesday to put the protection of habitats at the heart of their government decision-making but they stopped short of committing to specific targets to curb mass extinctions.Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu told delegates to a U.N. Biodiversity Conference in the city of Kunming that the declaration they adopted was a document of political will not a binding international agreement.The Kunming Declaration calls for “urgent and integrated action” to reflect biodiversity considerations in all sectors of the global economy but crucial issues – like funding conservation in poorer countries and committing to biodiversity-friendly supply chains – have been left to discuss later.With plant and animal species loss now at the fastest rate in 10 million years, politicians, scientists and experts have been trying to lay the groundwork for a new pact on saving biodiversity.
The European Commission is handing out 60,000 Interrail tickets to young people from Tuesday.The ticket allows for free train travel across Europe for up to a month.During the coronavirus pandemic, young people “showed true solidarity and missed valuable and formative moments of their youth for doing so,” Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said, announcing the contest on Monday.The purpose of the initiative, he said, is to “rekindle mobility in Europe.”How do I get a ticket?The application process opens at midday on Tuesday, October 12, and remains open until October 26.Applicants must be 18 to 20 years old and have nationality of a European Union member state.They will have to take a quiz with questions about the EU to be eligible.Winners will be able to travel around all EU countries for free for up to 30 days between March 2022 and February 2023.
When Dries Van Ransbeeck and Manon Brulard first met in Brussels, Belgium, they immediately bonded over their mutual love of cycling. It made sense for New Year’s Eve 2017 then, that the couple would make the relatively simple 45-mile ride to Antwerp to celebrate.“As we were cycling, we thought it would be amazing to go on a long-distance bike tour,” remembers Van Ransbeeck. With their appetite for long-distance cycling now whet, they decided to really test their talents. “We looked at a map and noticed that you can’t go much further than Japan.”Even though that was a distance of roughly 12,759 kilometers, Van Ransbeeck and Brulard were inspired by the other long-distance cyclists they followed on social media. Over the next 12 months, they put all of their energy together to make their dream trek a reality, spending every possible moment training and meticulously planning for their adventure.
Europe’s cities have had a tough couple of years. But while the day-to-day lives of all city-dwellers have been upended, in the very best kind of neighbourhoods, community spirit has thrived.
We wanted to spotlight these places, so took the results of our annual Time Out Index survey (which this year polled 27,000 city-dwellers about where they live and what they do there) to our local editors and contributors. They then vetted the public vote against certain criteria – cool stuff, but also kind stuff, forward-looking stuff – and made their final picks. Our panel of experts then ranked the lot.
Number one on the global list – and by extension, the coolest in Europe, too – is Nørrebro in Copenhagen. With its cutting-edge restaurants and surfeit of vintage stores, it may seem like an obvious choice. But our local expert pointed out that Nørrebro is also known for its diversity and inclusivity: it’s where the city’s Pride march kicks off, and where protests tend to take place too.
Next on the list is Leith, in Edinburgh, where you’ll find all manner of cool art spaces in old dockyards and railway arches. Third coolest in Europe was the Station District in Vilnius: a fast-regenerating area packed with next-level nightlife and amazing restaurants serving everything from sushi to Uzbek food. The station itself is a getting a Zaha Hadid glow-up, which has proved a little controv for Soviet architecture buffs.
At number four in Europe is XI District in Budapest, which is famed for its green spaces and boho riverside bars. And fifth was Neukölln, ousting Wedding as Berlin’s coolest neighbourhood for 2021.
Here’s the full list of the coolest neighbourhoods in Europe according to us:
1. Nørrebro, Copenhagen 2. Leith, Edinburgh 3. Station District, Vilnius 4. XI District, Budapest 5. Neukölln, Berlin 6. Dalston, London 7. Dublin 8, Dublin 8. Zoloti Vorota, Kyiv 9. Noord, Amsterdam 10. Ancoats, Manchester 11. Sagene, Oslo 12. Gràcia, Barcelona 13. Kemptown, Brighton 14. Ouseburn, Newcastle 15. Chamberí, Madrid 16. Vinohrady, Prague 17. Anjos, Lisbon 18. Haut-Marais, Paris 19. Foz, Porto
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