Abbey Road
The history of music is replete with places that have a mythical aura, that have earned a privileged position in every travel guide . In the majority of cases, these are not museums or big events or historical monuments but simple urban areas that have achieved a legendary status in the world of popular culture.
As with any list, there is an “unwritten” order that ranks the importance of each of these places and the most famous is, without a doubt, Abbey Road. A zebra crossing in a residential district of London that owes its international fame to a photo of the Beatles taken in 1969 and that became the iconic cover of their album recorded that same year at the Abbey Road studios (just across the street).
This zebra crossing has become a place of pilgrimage for every fan of the Beatles and people from all over the world usually cross it posing just like the Liverpool group to immortalise their visit to the UK capital. However the most fascinating thing is seeing how the sign displaying the name of the street has been transformed into a huge book of dedications of love and passion to the rock band, with texts written in every language imaginable. Also, there is a webcam on the flat roof of the studios that transmits 24 hours a day everything that is going on in the small section of such a famous street, thus further adding to its legendary status in this digital era.
Because London is not just Big Ben, Buckingham Palace or Piccadilly Circus, but also the history of pop music (thanks to its true legends).
Address: 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood London NW8 9AY
Live webcam: http://www.abbeyroad.com/crossing
We’re going so if you want to come along have a look at our flights here.
By David Moreu
Culture and cars
It is easy to dream all four wheels in a city where worldwide fame cars are made. The car culture is very important in Stuttgart, more than anywhere else. Here began their unique trajectories Daimler-Benz and Porsche. We can find two spectacular museums in honor of these brands.
On one side, the ultramodern Mercedes-Benz Museum, which tells the car’s complete history from the beginning without skipping any of the stages. In his futuristic building, you’ll find over 1,500 pieces spread over nine floors documenting its history.
On the other hand, it is located the Porche Museum, in the town of Zuffenhausen. The building causes great admiration because of its architecture, and the fact that it is supported by only three points. It seems to float in the air. Inside, all white, we find rare vehicles and a variety of historical mode.
Also, if your visit to Stuttgart is in March, during the month Retro Classics is celebrated, one of the most beautiful car fair of all Germany, where classic car collectors worldwide met together.
But not only the automotive industry city lives, Ballet, Opera and Theatre are worldwide known. The Great Orchestra of Stuttgart, jazz clubs or two musical theaters in the SI-Centrum Stuttgart provide musical delights to all visitors. In the streets Calwer and Königstrasse will enjoy a mile of world-class stores where to shop. And save your time for another of the great attractions that Stuttgart offers: Wilhelma Park, one of the most beautiful botanical gardens and zoos in Europe.
Image: RudolfSimon
A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.
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In Ferrari Heaven
In the Emilia-Romagna region, only about 50 km from Bologna, are the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello and the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, both genuine paradises for people who love fast and beautiful cars.
The Galleria Ferrari is in Maranello because that’s the city in which Ferraris have been made since 1943. “Live the dream” is the slogan welcoming the visitor, and if Ferraris figure in his dreams, here he will find Ferraris of the past, present, and future, including the current Formula 1 racing car. Other museum pieces are the car that won the first Grand Prix in Rome, 1947, and the one in which Michael Schumacher won six Formula 1 titles, and the latest Ferraris to hit the track. Other attractions include Formula 1 simulators, two for adults and two for children, where visitors can learn how it feels to sit behind the wheel of one of these powerful machines on the racecourses of Monza, Silverstone, Iola, Nürburgring, and Mugello.
But true devotees will not want the miss the Enzo Ferrari Museum about 20 km distant in Modena, housed since last year in the building in which the Ferrari patriarch was born in 1898. Aside from the marvellous collection of cars, an outstanding feature of the museum is the adjacent building designed by the Czech architect Jan Kaplicky. In it you can watch a spectacular audiovisual show about the life and times of one of motor sport’s most celebrated figures.
You can buy a ticket giving admission to both museums, which are linked by a railroad and bus service.
And while you’re in Modena, you should consider trying one of the magnificent restaurants in a city famous the world over for its cuisine.
The fastest way to get there? Book your Vueling ticket today!
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Stockholm: city open to the sea
The Stockholm Vasa Museum could be a good metaphor of what has happened today in Spain: a country that is sinking as a result of having failed to take care of what matters, how to sustain itself. The Vasa warship did not even manage to make it out of port. Loaded with 700 sculptures, 64 canons, 300 soldiers and 130 sailors prepared for their first voyage to dominate the Baltic Sea on 10 August, 1628. And it wasn’t even necessary to fire one shot at them, not even cross paths. The wind battered its sails just a few metres from the port and it slowly began to sink in full sight of the people and King Gustavus Adolphus II who had commissioned its construction. 333 years later, she was found intact submerged in the mud, still blushing from the insults of all the enemies of Sweden and the anger it arose in the Royal Family. She now rests in the same place as from where she started out, in the port of Smörland, and is the only conserved warship from the 17th Century and the perfect excuse to get to know the Scandinavian capital. In Piedra de Toque we take a trip to Stockholm to discover the other face of different European capitals with My Vueling City.
Stockholm is a city divided into thirds: one third fresh-water, one third sea and another third city. Made up of 14 islands it has more than 100 museums and among these is the highlight, the Vasa: constructed to dominate the Baltic and sunk beneath its own weight the same day as its launch.
Image: Holger.Ellgaard
By Iñaki Makazaga from Piedra de Toque
So you feel like visiting Stockholm, do you? Book your flights here!