Category: Travel

Join a certified Spanish wine scholar from her home in Barcelona for an exploration of the history and culture behind Spanish sherry.About this EventWhen people think of Spanish wines they think of big, bold reds from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. But Spain’s most interesting contribution to the wine world is perhaps neither of these, but rather, sherry. Dry and nutty manzanilla and fino wines make the perfect aperitif, sweet and sticky Pedro Ximénez wines make a welcome tipple after dinner. And with various styles of sherry wine ranging from sweet to dry, there is the perfect wine for every occasion in between, too.Join certified Spanish wine scholar and wine educator Nika from her home in Barcelona where she will lead you on an exploration of the history and culture behind Spanish sherry. You’ll learn what sherry really is, how the Spanish drink it today, what to pair it with, and how to make a fabulous sherry cocktail. And with sherry wines becoming increasingly available outside of Spain, we’ll make sure you know where to find it too, so you can bring a bit of Spain to your home no matter where you are in the world.——————————————————————–About Devour Tours:Devour Tours connects people over food. Whether they’re squeezing into their favorite Madrid tapas bar for a calamari sandwich or hosting a paella workshop online with guests from all over the world, they are passionate about introducing people to the food and stories that make cities so unique. Through these interactive experiences, they aim to celebrate and preserve culinary traditions and history and support the small businesses that are the heart and soul of all communities.——————————————————————–Once registered, you can access the Zoom room for this experience through your confirmation email or Eventbrite account. Atlas Obscura online experiences are recommended for attendees age 13+.This event is one of Atlas Obscura’s Online Experiences. At Atlas Obscura, our mission has always been to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share. Now, more than ever, there’s a need to stay connected—not only to our sense of wonder, but to each other.We encourage you to follow and share the hashtag #AOExperiences for more incredible online experiences and our newest addition of Online Courses with Atlas Obscura and our friends. And check out AtlasObscura.com, the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders, to keep virtually exploring the world through the website’s atlas of amazing places, unique stories, and videos.

Source: Sunday Sabor: An Afternoon of Spanish Sherry Tickets, Sun, Feb 7, 2021 at 2:00 PM | Eventbrite

Rum has spent much of the new millennium waiting in the wings, eagerly anticipating its breakout moment while other spirits had their turn in the spotlight. Tequila, single malts, bourbon, rye, mezcal, Irish whiskey, Japanese whisky . . . all ascended on sales graphs and in the estimation of the boozy cognoscenti. Rum sales stayed flat, and even a lot of experts on the subject didn’t know quite how their favorite expressions were made or what went into them, citing the “Wild West” rules, or lack thereof, by which the stuff was produced. Starting around 2009 or so, I would predict that the coming year would mark rum’s big breakthrough, and the fact that I repeated that prediction multiple times illustrates how wrong I was.

Source: The 21 Best Rums of the 21st Century (So Far), Ranked – Robb Report

Colossal fossil ExxonMobil declared an annual financial loss yesterday for the first time ever, capping a year in which it had to borrow money and sell off assets to manage a US$15.2-billion payout to its shareholders.“Exxon now faces growing challenges from frustrated investors, who are pressuring the company to shake up its board and change its strategy, arguing that the company needs to shift its business model to thrive in a rapidly evolving energy market,” the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis reports. “[Tuesday’s] results could add to the urgency of their calls.”

Source: Exxon Faces ‘Frustrated Investors’ After First-Ever Financial Loss – The Energy Mix

After failing to assess elevated risks of drought, wildfire, and flooding resulting from its standard logging practices, British Columbia urgently needs to address impacts of forest clearcutting that were left out of its 2019 Strategic Climate Risk Assessment, according to a report released Monday by Sierra Club BC.“Forest conservation, forestry reforms, and Indigenous expertise and knowledge are urgently needed to mitigate climate disaster risks,” the organization says in a release. The report, commissioned from University of Toronto sustainable forests specialist Peter Wood, implicates contemporary logging practices—especially clearcutting—in the majority of the 15 climate risks identified in the 2019 assessment, including several with potential for “catastrophic” impacts.

Source: B.C. Logging Practices Drive Up Climate Risk, Sierra Club Warns – The Energy Mix

Mattarella told Italians on Tuesday night that they had no choice but to form a technocratic government.”There are now two alternative roads: give birth immediately to a new government able to face the grave current emergencies, health, social, economic and financial, or the other way of immediate early elections,” Mattarella said.While acknowledging that a parliamentary election was an important “exercise in democracy”, he said forming a government would take a long time.”This would mean to keep our country with a government not fully functioning during crucial months, decisive for the fight to the pandemic, to use the European funds, and to tackle the serious social issues,” he said.Italy has suffered greatly due to the COVID pandemic and has the second-highest death toll in Europe with over 89,000 deaths.In 2020, Italy’s gross domestic product fell 8.8% and nearly 450,000 jobs were lost, national statistics agency ISTAT reported this week.

Source: Mario Draghi: Italy’s president asks ex-European Central Bank chief to form next government | Euronews

You could be forgiven if, amid the recent chaos of COVID-19 and U.S. politics, you missed some news related to what is arguably Canada’s most valuable mineral resource.Just before Christmas, the CME Group, the New York-based market operator that takes its name from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange — once described as the biggest financial exchange you’ve never heard of — began trading water futures.For the first time, Wall Street traders are now able to take a stake in the future value of water, the way they have with other agricultural and mineral commodities.As with gold or pork bellies or natural gas, commodities speculators may see it as a kind of sophisticated gambling on derivatives, but the intent of the new water futures market is to share the risk of unexpected price swings for farmers and other water users.While traded in North America’s financial capital, so far the water contracts being bought and sold are limited to five water districts in drought-prone California, representing a tiny fraction of the water actually used in the state, never mind the whole country.But as the commodities market launched, the implication by many of those involved, including CME Group executive Tim McCourt, was that pricing water risk could be a business that expands well beyond California.

Source: Can Wall Street help us find the true price of water? | CBC News

The new measures impact 15 Air Canada destinations and 14 WestJet destinations, according to the airline companies. Air Transat announced on its website that it was suspending its regular operations until the end of April as a result of these new restrictions.Air Canada said it plans to operate a number of one-way commercial flights from affected destinations after Jan. 31 to bring customers back to Canada. The company said in a press release that customers impacted by the new rules “will be offered full refunds given the services are being suspended with no alternative available.”WestJet said it was working to bring its guests already vacationing back to Canada over the next two weeks and would be notifying those booked to travel during the impacted period of their options. Air Transat also said it was working on a repatriation plan for all its customers and would announce details shortly.Sunwing will offer full refunds to customers with cancelled bookings and is in the process of notifying travellers currently abroad about any changes to existing flights.“This decision was not made lightly but something we deemed necessary as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is based on ongoing collaboration with the government and the Canadian aviation industry,” a Sunwing spokesperson said in a statement.Trudeau said the government appreciates how airlines worked quickly to repatriate Canadians in the early days of the pandemic and stressed the importance of staying home during the second wave.

Source: COVID-19: Flights from Canada to Caribbean, Mexico cancelled until April 30 | CTV News

Check out the raw specs on this thing. For US$139,990, you get yourself a conservative-looking 4-door family hyper-sedan with more than 1,100 horsepower. That accelerates from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in less than 1.99 seconds. That rips out sub-9 second quarter miles in smirking silence, leaving Koenigseggs, Bugattis, LaFerraris and Dodge Demons fighting over your scraps. That tops out at a supercar-level 200 mph (322 km/h). And that delivers these unbelievable performance figures while carrying enough battery for a massive range over 520 miles (837 km).

Source: Tesla drops bombshell Model S upgrades, including the wild Plaid+

More than 6.3 million travellers who entered Canada since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic didn’t have to complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine, according to new statistics provided by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).This includes truck drivers and other people involved in the transportation of commercial goods, cross-border workers who travel to the United States regularly, and people who arrive in Canada by plane, either from the U.S. or other countries directly.“The border is not closed,” said Colin Furness, an infectious control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

Source: Coronavirus: 6.3M travellers entered Canada and didn’t have to quarantine – National | Globalnews.ca

Julie Payette’s abrupt resignation after an external review found Rideau Hall was a toxic workplace is an opportunity to transform the role of Canada’s Governor General.The patriation of the Constitution 40 years ago under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau gave Canada complete sovereignty as an independent country. However, it left the Queen’s role as monarch of Canada untouched.The Governor General represents the monarch in Canada and the duties of the office include giving royal assent to legislation — the final step that makes acts of Parliament into law.

Source: Julie Payette’s resignation is a chance to reimagine the role of Governor General