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'Happy barometer' offers worldwide mood updates
Costa Brava goes back to its roots
How to ride your own Tour de France

'Happy barometer' offers worldwide mood updates

Posted: 11 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT

Real-time, Internet happiness chart lets you know where people are feeling smiley, when

Having happy people around when you're feeling down is risky. It can either lift your mood by osmosis or make you feel even worse by comparison.

A new tool measuring happiness around the world is betting on the former effect. Travelers, take note: here's a potentially instant guide to where to go if you like your places emotionally sunny or, perhaps, with a dose of existential gloom.

Launched this month, the Happy Baromoter invites people to record their happiness level out of 10 on an hourly basis, as well as noting where in the world they are. Its aim, it says, is "to encourage people around the world to smile more and share good emoptions."

"There are a lot of worldwide happiness indexes but most are based on economic criteria," said Arturas Jonkus, co-founder of IQ Polls, which runs the software.

"But in reality, our mood changes daily, or even hourly. So in this interactive world, why not make it real-time?"

Now, to supplement longterm happiness studies like this one, you can compare how happy or miserable you are compared with the rest of the planet every hour.

Users can search their city on the Happy Barometer site and insert their mood level.

Unhappy country launches campaign

Vilnius mayor Arturas Zuokas just about manages a smirk as he launches the "Smile to Vilnius" campaign. The initiative kicked off in Vilnius, Lithuania, one of the world's unhappiest countries according to a recent happiness report.

At the time of writing, the city scores a contented seven out of 10.

The city's "Smile to Vilnius" campaign, a social initiative to increase happiness in the city, used outdoor digital displays to broadcast the real-time happiness level in the city.

In the first week the system collected more than 5,000 entries with an average happiness score of 6.1.

Some 50 other cities are included in the Happiness Barometer, but so far very few votes have been counted for places other than Vilnius

Jonkus hopes the barometer will work as more than a simple gauge of happiness.

"Our country [Lithuania] has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. We hope the Happy Barometer doesn't only measure but also shares smiles," he said.

It's not the first time a happiness scale has been used to try to influence national wellbeing.

Bhutan uses a measure called Gross National Happiness, in place of the more usual Gross National Product, to guide social and economic development in the country.

However, no one in Bhutan has measured their mood on the Happy Barometer yet.

Tell us: how happy are you right now? And why? Leave a comment

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Costa Brava goes back to its roots

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 11:00 PM PDT

Packed beaches and Brit pubs? Not necessarily. Here's what drew travelers to one of Spain's most beautiful regions in the first place

The medieval town of Begur sits on a hill dominated by the remains of a once-mighty 12th-century castle.

Winding roads leading to the old town below are strewn with ancient towers, hidden alleyways and fishermen's huts.

Tourists come primarily for the eight sand-and-pebble beaches, bordered by pine stands and cliffs and linked by unpaved roads.

Begur locals congregate at Sa Tuna, one of the smaller, more secluded pebble beaches. At mealtimes, banter in Catalan, the regional language, fills the surrounding restaurants.

Could this really be the Costa Brava? That's all heaving beaches and pubs serving pints of British beer and fish and chips for homesick expats, isn't it?

Insider Guide: Best of Madrid

In fact, you can find spots as serene and stereotype-defying as Begur throughout the Costa Brava -- from the whitewashed houses of surrealist master Salvador Dali's beloved town of Cadaqués, to the 575 BC ruins of the Greco-Roman town of Empúries, to historic coastal villages such as Pals and Peralada.

Mass tourism kicks off

Mass tourism kicked off in the Costa Brava in the 1950s, when Spain began to emerge from the isolation brought by civil war and the country searched for new sources of revenue.

Sharing a Mediterranean coastal location, similar landscape and temperate climate with the then more famous Côte d'Azur, the Costa Brava (which literally means -- as it then was -- "wild coast" in Catalan) was an obvious choice for tourist development.

Begur Medieval Begur defies all the flabby (and beer-soaked) cliches about the Costa Brava. It was soon a hit with travelers seeking a cheaper alternative to French resorts. Before long, multi-story hotels and beachfront apartments dominated once quiet towns along the coastline.

Mass -- and, it's fair to say, often crass -- tourism such as this is what many people have since come to recognize as the face of the Costa Brava.

Until recently, that is.

In the past decade or so, development has slowed down in favor of a focus on tradition and the region's natural resources -- the strengths that drew travelers to the region in the first place.

Great gastronomy

Gastronomy is one of those strengths. Decidedly Mediterranean, with an abundance of fresh seafood and olive oil, cuisine plays an important part in the region's identity.

Spanish cuisine: The best food in the world right now?

Tiny local eateries prepare their simple menus with the same meticulous care as fine-dining establishments. Tales of great-grandmother's special recipes or the disputed origins of traditional dishes are common discussions in both.

Celler de Can Roca Pricey restaurants and tiny eateries alike prepare their dishes with meticulous care. Costa Brava wine has also had a makeover. Until a decade ago, Empordà and other regional wines were produced mainly in bulk to cater to cost-conscious package tourists in larger resort towns.

Now quality is the watchword of a burgeoning number of artisan winemakers throughout the region.

Here's the best of the new -- or, rather, old -- Costa Brava.

Attractions

Nearly 50 museums and galleries are scattered throughout the Costa Brava.

One of the most popular is the Dalí Theatre-Museum, in Figueres (5 Gala-Salvador Dalí Square; +34 972 677 500), one of several attractions in the region devoted to the native-born surrealist artist.

You can make a Dalí day of it with lunch in his favorite fishing village, Cadaqués, and in the afternoon pay a visit to the former residence (Calle Port Lligat; +34 972 251 015), with its bizarre interior, he shared with his wife and muse Gala in the lovely village of Port Lligat.

Well preserved towns and other historic sights exist throughout the Costa Brava.

Tossa de Mar is the only surviving fortified city on the Catalonian coast; Peratallada is a good example of a medieval village; and Perelada Castle (Plaza del Carmen 1; +34 972 538 125) has been producing wine since the 13th century.

How Spain is saving its tourism industry

Activities

There's great scuba-diving in the super-clear water around the uninhabited Medes Islands.

They're just offshore -- you can easily paddle out to them from the seaside town of L'Estartit.

Equipment and training are available from Les Illes Diving Center (Carrer Illes 55; +34 972 751 239).

Meet the locals ... scuba-diving off the Medes Islands. On dry land, the flora and fauna of these wild former penal islands are another attraction.

Nearby L'Estartit, there's a fantastic view from the 14th-century hilltop Montgri Castle (Passeig Catalunya 84) in the town of Torroella de Montgri.

Kayaking is popular off the historic port town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, with 10 kilometers of surrounding beaches and bays. For kayak rental and information, try Kayak Center Guixols (Passeig del Fortin; +34 667 76 91 80).

Cycling is a great way to get from village to village. It's particularly lovely at dusk, when the sky turns shades of pink and blue.

Inland, former train tracks have been converted into paved routes for cyclists and walkers as part of the Vias Verdes ("Green Ways") Project.

Insider guide: What to do in Barcelona

Restaurants

The celebrated Girona temple to experimental cooking, El Bulli, closed in 2011 but, only 50 kilometers away, the self-proclaimed "avant-garde" restaurant El Celler de Can Roca (C/de Can Sunyer, 48, Girona; +34 972 22 21 57) won top spot in the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurants awards this year.

Highlights are a Zen garden terrace, an 11-course "festival menu" (think food as science) and a selection of more than 60,000 wines.

Prawn 'n' powder: Celler de Can Roca's experimental approach won it top slot in a prestigious global restaurant cook-off. In April, El Bulli's former head chefs, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateo Casañas, opened their own unpretentious eatery in Cadaqués, which has since become a foodie favorite.

Compartir (Riera Sant Vicenç; +34 972 25 84 82) means "to share," which is precisely the concept -- guests are advised to share dishes to experience the symphony of flavors on offer. Rooms are also available.

A drive through the forest of Lloret de Mar brings you to Sant Pere del Bosc (Paratge de Sant Pere del Bosc; +34 972 36 16 36), a family-owned restaurant and hotel on a hilltop overlooking the sea.

Seafood and local meat combine in a praised seven-course tasting menu, but the secluded location and site -- a beautifully restored former monastery -- are as much of a draw.

World's coolest nationalities: Where do the Spanish rank?

Hotels

You'll find hotels in all categories but the many renovated residences and other buildings offering accommodation along the Costa Brava offer a great opportunity to soak up the local vibe.

Located in the heart of Begur, Hotel Aiguaclara (St Miquel 2; +34 972 622 905) is a 19th-century colonial mansion-turned-boutique hotel with retro-chic interior and first-rate hospitality.

Modernist-styled Hotel Diana (Plaza de Espana 6; +34 972 341 103) is a 21-room beachside hotel in the historic town of Tossa de Mar with magnificent views of the sea and fortified old town.

Sun and surrealism: Cadaqués, Salvador Dalí's favorite fishing village. In the whitewashed fishing village of Cadaqués, the recently renovated Hotel Playa Sol (Platja Pianc 3; +34 972 258 810) has gorgeous views of the Cap de Creus.

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How to ride your own Tour de France

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT

You don't need huge thighs and a bag of drugs to see France from a saddle

Were it not for the doping accusations, the risk of crashing and the sheer bloody agony, riding the Tour de France would be a great way to see Western Europe's largest country.

Who hasn't watched the peloton of oaken-thighed riders slide past a field of sunflowers and dreamed they were freewheeling under Gallic blue skies?

With this centenary-year Tour passing through some of France's most spectacular scenery -- from Corsica to the Champs Elysées via the Pyrenees and the Alps -- the dream is even more vivid.

But it needn't be just a dream.

You too can ride in your very own Tour de France -- here's how.

French affair

French cheeses French cheese is the source of easy cliches ... and excellent cycling fuel. Like cheese and general insousiance, cycling is a way of life in France and there's no better way to appreciate the country's bucolic landscape than from the saddle of a bicycle.

Nor is there a better way to work up an appetite for cheese and … well, let's just leave it at cheese.

Freewheeling round Europe's best cycling cities

In the weeks after the Tour de France (running from June 29 to July 21 this year), the whole country basks in a cycling afterglow.

Towns that briefly hosted the riders proudly display race regalia and locals treat anyone on two wheels with a level of respect usually only accorded to Belgian crooners.

France might not normally be as cycle-friendly as other European nations, such as the Netherlands or Denmark, but its drivers generally respect two-wheeled road users, giving them plenty of space.

And it has better weather than the Netherlands and Denmark.

And better restaurants.

Picking your route

There are benefits to choosing a ride that follows a Tour de France stage.

You get a pre-planned route on smooth roads that are often still marked with the Tour's directional arrows. You get convenient start and finish points in towns now obsessed with cycling.

You also get bragging rights.

Barry Neild in France Beware that the French, a nation of philosophers, believe you don't need a map for where you are. But wouldn't you need those wooden thighs to do it?

In fact, the ride needn't be too arduous if you pick and mix your stages.

In 2008, I cycled stage 18 of the Tour, beginning with a long downhill from the Alpine town of Bourg-d'Oisans which meant I barely had to move a muscle for the first 70 kilometers.

I should have called it a day at that point because, after completing the rest of the ride, I couldn't move a muscle for another 70 hours.

Breathtaking cycling routes worldwide

This year's Tour offers several relatively flat outings, the most level being stage 12 from Fougères to Tours.

And there's nothing to stop you tackling stage 8 backwards -- if you clip off the first 30 kilometers and start atop the Col de Pailhères, the next 100 kilometers is nearly all downhill.

If recreating the precise Tour isn't your thing, there are gentler options.

Consider trying the permanent cycling trails on the breezy Atlantic island of Ile de Ré, the preposterously well-organized route along the Loire Valley, which offers bike rentals, accommodation and luggage transfers, or the extensive network in pancake-flat Normandy.

For the highly unmotivated, there's also Vélib, the pioneering Paris bike hire scheme.

What you need

Tour de France cyclist You might be cycling the Tour, but you don't need a $10,000 machine to do it. You'll need a bike. France has plenty of rental outlets if you don't want the hassle of taking your own.

You won't find the $20,000 machines used by Tour riders, but as Germany's Jens Voigt showed when he finished a 2010 stage on a budget racer borrowed from a child, it's not the bike, it's the rider.

You need a little fitness.

Obviously if you're breaking your tour up into 10 or 20 kilometer sections, you won't need much. But if you're planning stage 18's double assault on the Alpe d'Huez, then you'll need legs like pistons, lungs the size of airships and a bellyful of determination -- or steroids.

How to prepare for a 10,000-kilometer cycle ride

It's a good idea to buy maps beforehand.

Rest stops in France seem to relish stocking random charts detailing anywhere but their own surroundings. One store clerk explained to me the logic behind this: "If you are here, then you do not need a map because you are not lost."

And, yes, he did that French shrug thing while explaining it.

If you are following a stage of the Tour and you're short on maps, good news: cycling fans have waymarked the route by defacing the road surface with words of encouragement to their favorite riders -- and, for some reason, crude cartoons depicting male genitalia.

It's a good idea to get someone to support you. Bulging cycle panniers are tough to haul over the smallest hills, so try to persuade a more sedentary friend or partner to transport your luggage to your next destination.

Some companies will arrange transport, but usually only on set routes.

Where to stay

Mr Bed poster And so to Mr. Bed. Chain hotels along the Tour route are ubiquitous and cheap but tend to be miles from restaurants. Most French towns have a good selection of hotels ranging from luxurious to dirt cheap, often with the emphasis on dirt.

Outside of peak periods, you can generally pitch up anywhere and find a room. Most hotels will have secure bike storage or turn a blind eye to you sharing a room with your ride.

You can usually find low-cost, clean rooms in cinderblock stopovers that loiter near main highways.

But while chains such as Fasthotel or Mister Bed (links in French) might offer you the opportunity to marvel at a bathroom molded entirely from one piece of plastic, they can be miles from any restaurants.

A sometimes better option is the network of independent hotels assembled under the Logis de France umbrella. These offer both rooms and restaurants, which can be unexpectedly delightful or downright bizarre.

Either way, they love cyclists and cycles -- and at least you'll get a meal.

Bumps in the road

The weeks following the Tour de France are a great time to go as peak summer temperatures begin to ease while cycling passions remain high, but main roads can be choked during the last weekend in July when half of France is heading out on vacation and the other half heading back home.

It's also worth putting a bit of planning into lunch and dinner stops.

French eateries are hopelessly rigid when it comes to opening hours and if you miss their brief midday or evening windows, you could end up too hungry to finish your own tour.

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