Marathon Match at Wimbledon

We’ll start and end this post in London, where the tennis championships at Wimbledon are coming to the end of a first week that’s yielded all sorts of records. By far the most impressive is the marathon match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, which ended on Thursday after over eleven hours of play spread over three extraordinary days. Isner finally won 70-68 in a fifth set that lasted longer than any entire match in tennis history. Both players served over 100 aces.

Elsewhere in London, a prominent museum has been accused of doctoring a famous photo of Winston Churchill. Churchill, one of the most outspoken politicians of the twentieth century, seems to have posthumously fallen victim to a bizarre political correctness stunt. The famous photo of Churchill has allegedly been airbrushed to remove his trademark cigar…although no-one is owning up to it.

Original

Edited version

If you’re not into sport, you must be sick of the World Cup already. But South Africa’s still worth a visit. Sun City is home to the world’s most exhilarating zip line…over a mile long at speeds of over 100mph. Alternatively, if you just want to see some big game, you could head to Arizona, where you can now feast on lion burgers.

Elsewhere in America, you might remember the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which we mentioned in last week’s post? It’s getting rave reviews from critics, but don’t bother going if you’re packing poundage. Find out why fatties aren’t welcome.

You’d better be careful when you fly, too. Air Transat recently removed Sandy Russell from a flight because the armrest could not be lowered for takeoff. In a PR disaster, the 32-year old was flying to Canada to see his dying aunt, who passed away two days later.

Air Transat

At least he didn’t have to wait forever to get his bags after a flight. If you’ve ever been left waiting until the final few bags come rumbling down the conveyor, have you ever wondered what happens to the odd bag that’s left circulating with no apparent owner to claim it? Wonder no more. Our friends at Lonely Planet have investigated.

We’ll end, as normal, with the funniest story of the week. This outrageously funny letter to Virgin, addressed directly to Richard Branson, has been doing the rounds for a while. Is it the best complaint letter of all time? It prompted a direct response from Branson himself. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve got to take a look.

New London Bus Design / Photograph: TFL

The futuristic hybrid design, incorporating lightweight materials and green technology to lower fuel emissions by up to 40%, also includes an open platform at the rear to allow passengers to “hop on” and “hop off” – just like the original RouteMasters.

A key part of Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s electoral manifesto in 2008, the buses are not without criticism. At a time when ordinary Londoners are increasingly tightening their belts, the £7.8m scheme has been dismissed as “extravagant”.

April’s Top 50 Destinations list was released on Friday. It is dominated by beach resorts, but still includes TEN HouseTrip cities:

• London (7)
• New York (9)
• Amsterdam (10)
• Barcelona (12)
• Paris (17)
• Rome (21)
• Edinburgh (24)
• Prague (28)
• Berlin (29)
• Lisbon (39)

Expect to see more and more HouseTrip cities appearing in this list, as HouseTrip continues to add to our top destinations

The scheme was dreamt up by Colette Hiller of Sing London, who previously placed 30 pianos around the capital in 2009, adorned with the slogan “Play Me, I’m Yours”.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who has previously irritated the Chinese by claiming that table tennis is a British invention, will kick off Ping London with a match against Lord Coe, head of the 2012 Olympic Committee

The ping pong bats will include the tongue-in-cheek message “Please put me back”.

Although urban cycle hire had been in existence for many years, it gained worldwide acclaim after being trialled in 2007 in Paris, where the “Vélib” (Vélo Libre) is still going strong. With over 20,000 bicycles around the city, the Vélib is the largest system of its type in the world.

To hire a bike, users must register with a credit or debit card, and there is a large fine if the bike is not returned. Although this by no means eliminates vandalism and theft, it does reduce the number of bikes that go AWOL.

In London, as in Paris, there is a rapidly escalating payment scale: the first half hour is free, while an hour is only £1, but two hours costs £6 and three hours £15. The model strongly favours the use of the bicycles as a means of short-term transport, rather than a leisure activity.

With 400 docking stations available, it’s a great way to see more of the city, instead of relying on the tube. It’s yet another great reason to visit London this summer.

The award broke Copenhagen’s incredible five-year stranglehold on the Leading Cruise Destination award, and the monopoly of Europe’s elite tourist cities (London, Paris, Barcelona etc) on the Leading Destination award.

So which city made this breakthrough?

I guessed it must be somewhere on the Iberian Peninsula. If you agreed with me, you’d be right. But if you thought, like me, that it must be Barcelona, you’d be wrong.

The answer, in fact, is Lisbon.

Lisbon

At first glance, the awards might seem a surprising choice, given Lisbon’s unwanted and ignominious reputation only a few years before as a tired has-been: a poverty-stricken remnant of its former medieval glories.

But in fact, its recognition as one of Europe’s premier tourist destinations capped a remarkable renaissance that began in 1994 with its selection as European Capital of Culture and continued with the hosting of the 1998 World Expo and the 2004 European Football Championships.

It was the sort of attention expected and demanded by a city which had attracted settlers as early as 900BC, which had launched countless explorations in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and which had been at the heart of an empire stretching from Brazil to India.

Jeronimos Monastery

This historical pre-eminence can be seen in the magnificent medieval buildings that dot the Lisbon cityscape: there are cathedrals, museums and monasteries aplenty, such as the UNESCO-protected Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower.

Yet the spirit of the city is defined neither by these glorious historical monuments that pervade its narrow hillside backstreets, nor by the mournful songs of the fadistas that lament the maritime decline and the eighteenth century earthquake that destroyed so much of the city.

Lisbon’s spirit remains quintessentially youthful, with a vibrant pavement café culture that is suppressed only by the coldest and wettest days of winter, and a buzzing nightlife that keeps revellers going until dawn in the old town of Bairro Alto or Docas.

Lisbon tram

Bright yellow turn-of-the-century trams wind their way through leafy streets, past Lisboêtas and tourists enjoying an espresso and pastry, exploring art-nouveau shops or enjoying the exceptional local gastronomic specialities: grilled swordfish or sardines, caldo verde (green soup) or pastéis de bacalhau (salt cod fritters).

And when you’ve had your fill, there’s always more to see.

Outside the city, there is the fairytale town of Sintra, famous among romantics worldwide as a lush, verdant paradise replete with richly hued palaces and precipitous Moorish castles. Not to forget the stunning coastline and gorgeous beaches that make Lisbon a quite unique European capital.

As well as being unique, Lisbon is also Western Europe’s cheapest capital. Accommodation starts from just 40€ per night, with deals on longer stays.

Palacio de Pena, Sintra

Welcome to the HouseTrip blog!

We thought it would be interesting to launch the blog with a series of posts about our short history: “where it all began” starts at the very beginning, the birth of the HouseTrip idea!

I remember exactly when and why I got the idea for HouseTrip: Junjun and I were driving from London to Lausanne (Switzerland), the car completely packed with all the stuff we had accumulated during the 7-month internship in the City of London and I was thinking about those two events, which – I didn’t know – would change my life.

Finding a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) in Scotland

The first event I was thinking about was when I tried to find a nice B&B for a weekend in Scotland: it doesn’t seem like much of a life-changing event but bear with us

Eilean Donan Castle - Beautiful Scotland!

Since we didn’t know much about Scotland, it would have been nice for us to choose from B&Bs based on their characteristics: close to a lake, in the nature, double-bed, convenient parking, for instance. But we could only click on a specific location and then basically go through each single B&B in that area only.

Finally, because we had heard of it, we decided on the Fort William area and searched in that specific place.

For those of you who already booked a B&B somewhere, you probably know that you have to contact the B&B owners in order to book, direct booking (as we know it with hotels) doesn’t exist. So we started sending out emails and after several days of back and forth communications with several owners, we finally had our Saturday night booked in Fort William!

The big day had come and we merrily drove from Edinburgh through the beautiful Scottish countryside all the way to Fort William where we arrived around 10pm.

Queen's view, next to Pitlochry

The hostess was very nice because, even though we hadn’t confirmed our room during the day (we had totally forgotten to do that!), she had still kept it for us. If you don’t experience such nice hospitality, either remember to confirm your arrival during the day or wait for HouseTrip’s release for direct booking .

Scotland was an amazing experience and its beautiful landscape certainly inspired me greatly for the HouseTrip idea.

Renting out a flat in Lausanne

The second event that helped me shape the HouseTrip idea was when we tried to rent out our place in Lausanne for the month of July. In order to do so, we went to all those “classified ads” websites and posted our property. We limited ourselves to the few ones that are free for posting. The problem we experienced with those free websites was to make our place stand out: to actually show potential guests that it was a nice place to stay at!

Vineyards by the Leman lake, a few minutes away from our place

With only a few small pictures allowed and a field for free text, it was not very easy. In addition to that, our house posting was lost in a long list of other properties: it is almost by coincidence that potential guests find your property, we were thinking… In the end, we only received few enquiries which unfortunately never worked out and thus our place remained empty for the month of July… Sob…

Back in the car: the HouseTrip idea!

And there, back in my car at the border in Dover, I got the HouseTrip idea!

A website that focuses on short-term rentals and which will make the rental process finally fun and convenient for both guests and hosts! When the idea was at the very spark in my mind, I remember picturing many images: a map with a lot of properties tagged on it, an online chat between an owner and a tenant, a “book it now” button, etc. Funny how some mental images stay: they are still in my mind today and I often somehow refer to them – to the original HouseTrip vision – when I need to.

Back in the car, I was trying to arrange my thoughts and to reflect on what HouseTrip could encompass:

• A revenue management system? Yes, so that the rental prices are actually adapted to the demand, inexpensive when the demand is low, more expensive when many people want to stay in a property!
• A great search function so that tenants can find the one property suitable for them? Of course!
• A property profile page? With HouseTrip, hosts will be able to describe their place in as much depth as they want and make it stand out.
• What about direct booking? Yes, like that it is as easy and simple as booking a hotel.
• What about some social features? So that HouseTrip users can give tips to each other and develop a community around the only real way to discover a place: sleep at the locals’ homes!

I was so excited in my car that I genuinely was driving at about 10 miles an hour on the highway, absorbed in my thoughts!

The day I got the HouseTrip idea: picture taken on the boat between Dover and France

A new post follows this one, you can see it here.