Mobissimo

The things to do for Earth Day are varied, 22 April, I think that the primary day for PA, so obviously an important day politically.  There are a myriad of things to do on the 22nd of April, find something in your neighbourhood and make a difference.  More here via Planet Love.

Earth Day 2008 is just around the corner. Join the global celebration for a healthy planet!

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people celebrated the first Earth Day, the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson, one of the most environmentally aware men to ever grace the United States Senate floor.

Senator Nelson observed “teach-ins” on college campuses against the Vietnam War, and believed the same approach could work to bring environmental concerns to the forefront of American politics. He announced his idea during a speech in Seattle, Washington in 1969.

Ahh, spring in NY.  That means, the wind, the taking down of those hideous weather guards around restos, and of course, the Tribeca Film Festival.  A good time to visit between a rather mild winter this year (usually way rougher) and the fairly oppressive summers.  Nine films to watch, although there will be many more, more here via NY Magazine.

The Tribeca Film Festival is back—and slowly learning from its many mistakes. After raising ticket prices to $18 last year, the fest will settle for a slightly better $15 (and less). After spreading itself too thin, it will cluster most of its screenings in Tribeca and around Union Square. Most important, the bloated festival has once again trimmed its often-spotty lineup, from its peak of almost 200 features to a mere 120. But are they any good? Well, we’ve seen more than half of the festival’s films and found at least nine sure bets. Tickets go on sale April 19.

Well, I give it to you all, fashion, travel, fine dining, exclusives.  Here's a little more about Lauren Conrad's mixed attempts at a fashion line, more here via New York Magazine.

Attending last night’s Lauren Conrad Collection show at L.A.'s Fashion Week felt a lot like being dropped into the middle of an episode of The Hills — potentially juicy, questionably styled, ultimately a bit plotless, and yet strangely amusing.

Global meta search site Mobissimo is to relaunch this week with a major swing towards intuitive search and customisable content.

The US-based website will simultaneously unveil the overhauled new look and feel across its country sites – including the UK – as it looks to improve its presence in overseas markets.

The new offering will include what its founder Beatrice Tarka calls a “dramatic” new approach to meta search by allowing users to customise their homepage.

Users can create their own modules – featuring tools such as weather, currency or destination photos – which are then automatically populated with content on results pages depending on the search parameters.

Widgets from third part sites such as travel social network Dopplr can also be dropped into the user interface.

Tarka told Travolution: “We think we are taking meta search another step ahead. It is customisable travel search – Web 3.0.”

The takeover of meta rival Sidestep by market leader Kayak has put Mobissimo in a strong position to push forward in the US, Tarka said.

Mobissimo is expected to shortly launch country sites in Mexico, Poland and Spain.

View more the brand new industry leading look at Mobissimo.com.

We've had another incredible year thanks to the millions of users of Mobissimo.  We here at Mobissimo have a lot to be thankful for and we wish you all the best during the holiday season for you and your loved ones.  

Sometimes you just need the sugar and here's a trip to do it.

It was an incredibly busy (and rewarding) weekend for the Escapers.

Friday, Steph and I met at Sam’s Club around noon to buy some cookie dough. The 5lb tubs said they each made around 84 cookies, and since we figured we needed close to 2000 cookies, we loaded up our cart with 21 tubs of cookie dough. Needless to say, we got a few odd stares as we pushed our cart ‘o cookies through the store.

The MobiTeam would like to wish all of our beloved MobiTravelers a Happy Thanksgiving*  We hope you are traveling safe and in the destination of your choice with your loved ones.  All the best and enjoy the holiday.  - The MobiTeam

The Thanksgiving rush is on and President Bush has opened up military airspace to commercial flights.  Also, some carriers are offering solutions for weather and other problems that may arise.  Nice, for once the carriers are being pro-active instead of reactive.  Yay*

To improve the holiday travel experience, many airlines will hire more employees, expand online check-in capabilities, and add more self-check-in kiosks. Airlines are also being encouraged by the ATA to block out seats on popular routes to accommodate passengers whose flights are cancelled due to weather issues, and to waive change fees for passengers who need to change flights due to weather.

Well, it's official, all the fanfare, the delays, the headlines, but the Airbus A380 has taken to the skies.  The Singapore flight from Singapore to Sydney carried a little under 500 passengers, this is actually less than a 747.  Why then, does this airplane need to exist.   Anyway, read more here via the Guardian.

At a few minutes after eight on Thursday morning, aviation history will be made at Singapore's Changi International Airport. The world's largest, most luxurious passenger airliner - with a wingspan nearly the size of a football pitch and first-class 'suites' complete with double beds - will lift off for its maiden flight to Sydney.

The debut of the A380 'Superjumbo', nearly two years behind schedule and billions of pounds over budget, is the culmination of an audacious gamble by its creators, the European consortium Airbus, on the future of world air travel.

I'm sure you've been to the Prado in Madrid, seen the Las Meninas, portrait of Charles V, Goya, Murillo, Zubaron, Velazquez, etc.  One of the most amazing collections in the world is getting a renewal.

The 167,023-square-foot wing, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, incorporates the cloister of the 17th century monastery of San Jerónimo el Real. It's the first expansion for the museum in 200 years. To show off its modern space, the museum is opening a temporary exhibit in the new wing; "The Rediscovery of a Collection: The 19th Century at the Prado" will feature 100 paintings and sculptures, including works by Francisco Goya, from Oct. 30 to April 24.

Ahh, Madrid, so much city, so little time.   Enjoy, I will be there as well.

If you saw the blockbuster last summer, Snakes on a Plane, you were one of 300 people who watched that cinematic Hindenburg. A real event involved a scorpion on a plane.

MONTPELIER, Vt. - A scorpion stung David Sullivan on the back of his right leg, just below the knee, then continued up that leg and down the other, he believes, before getting him again in the shin.

It wasn't what he was expecting on a flight from Chicago to Vermont.

Sullivan, a 46-year-old builder from Stowe, was aboard the United Airlines flight on the second leg of his trip home from San Francisco, where he and his wife Helena had been visiting their sons. He awoke from a nap shortly before landing and noticed something strange.

There you go. You can't have more than 3oz. of liquid, but you can carry onboard a scorpion.

Well, first we have to get in the poll, so get on there and suggest us as a site. By some strange oversight, Mobissimo was not included. How dare they forget us. Follow this link and enter Mobissimo in the Travel Planning category. Then keep checking back here to vote. Tell them how much you love our international coverage, award winning writing, and witty, witty newsletter.

Power to the MobiPeople!

A travel guide from an unexpected source.  Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin has taken on the challenge of writing a travel book upon his retirement.

His travel book, "For a Better World: Jiang Zemin's Overseas Visits," includes 167 pictures of Jiang with leaders ranging from former President Bill Clinton to South Africa's Nelson Mandela. It describes Jiang's campaign in the early 1990s to thaw ties with the United States and the West and end the diplomatic isolation imposed on Beijing after it crushed pro-democracy protests in 1989 — an incident that the book avoids discussing.

What better world traveler than a diplomat?  Considering there are almost 2billion people in China, I think it's safe to say this will be a best seller.

Many of you already know that Mobissimo has just launched the India site, Mobissimo.in.  The press is already flying about this industry leading launch - online, television, print, the media coverage for this is well ... overwhelming, we could not be more pleased.  Mobissimo's CEO sat down with Eye for Travel's Ritesh Gupta to discuss the significance of Mobissimo.in's launch.

 In an exclusive interview with EyeforTravel.com’s Ritesh Gupta, Beatrice Tarka, chief executive officer, Mobissimo, shared information about timing of the launch, plans for India and other Asian markets. Excerpts:

How do you assess the timing of Mobissimo’s entry into India? How do you assess India as a market for online travel?

At Mobissimo ...

You can read more about the interview here.  At Mobissimo we are committed to offering the best travel tools available, whether national launches like Mobissimo.in or even MobiDeals, Mobissimo is always leading the travel industry with prescient travel tools and relevant and hyper-useful search tools.

You've seen it in the news and yes it's true, Mobissimo now searches over 150 travel sites, 157 to be exact - which is around 155 more than our nearest competitor.  Read more here.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2006--Mobissimo, Inc. (www.mobissimo.com), the world's most comprehensive travel search engine, today announced that it now searches over 150 travel sites in real time, giving travellers direct access to the best prices and more options through the largest selection of airfares, hotel rooms and car rentals in the travel-search market.

As you already know, Mobissimo is the most comprehensive travel search engine online, Mobissimo searches sites that others cannot - region specific low cost carriers, region specific hotel providers, international online travel agencies, and more importantly - every single airline in India.  To all our MobiUsers, a big thanks, we will continue to provide the best search tools possible, and to those just using us for the first time, welcome, you'll never go anywhere else to search for travel.