Dublin: calling the clan home — to a cemetery

Calling the clan home

Gear + Gadgets

Got (warm) milk?

Those little air-activated hand-warmer packets you stick in mittens to warm fingers in frigid weather have grown up and had kids — or rather they’ve morphed into a handy product for grown-ups with kids. The WarmZe Bottle Warmer is an air-activated heat wrap that, in about 30 minutes, heats and keeps bottles at a soothing 90 to 104 degrees for up to 8 hours, requiring no electricity or batteries. The heat wrap does not actually touch the bottle. The bottle is placed into an included “bottlesock,” the warming wrap is wound tightly around the base of the sock, and then the top of the sock is folded back down over the wrap. The air-activated pellets inside the wrap are bio-degradable. The disposable wraps are used up after 8 or so hours, and must be replaced, but no fear, refill wraps are available for purchase. The reusable bottlesock, which comes in a black and white cow pattern, is washable. The WarmZe Starter Kit, with one bottlesock and two heat wraps in a zippered pouch comes in two sizes; large fits most 8- to 11-ounce bottles; small fits 4- to 6-ounce bottles. Works with most liquids, including breast milk and formula. Great for warming bottles (or keeping bottles warm) on the go when cold comfort just won’t do.

Nevada: Sin City’s Neon Museum shows off its signs at night

The Neon Museum, where Sin City’s most iconic signs go to retire, has begun aiming more than 100 multicolored spotlights on its outdoor collection of 150 signs. The Las Vegas museum has fully restored a few signs, including new bulbs, and added nighttime tours so visitors could see the neon in all its luminescent glory.

Travel briefs

Busch Gardens Tampa is building a 335-foot drop tower, Falcon’s Fury, scheduled to open next spring. The ride, inspired by the hunting dive of a falcon, will pivot riders 90 degrees in midair to a face-down dive position, then send them plummeting at 60 mph.

France: the chateau gardens that inspired Versailles

No, that’s not Versailles shown here. It’s the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, completed in 1661 southeast of Paris, whose lavish gardens inspired the ones at Versailles. The current owners of this chateau are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of landscape architect André Le Nôtre, who designed the gardens. King Louis XIV was so taken with the grounds that he commissioned Le Nôtre for his palace at Versailles. The anniversary celebration includes a new exhibition at the chateau and two tours of the gardens.

Air travel

First flight of Airbus A350 reopens wide-body race

Airbus sent a new wide-body plane into the skies Friday that sets the stage for intensifying competition with U.S. rival Boeing – with consequences for jobs, airlines’ investments and the reputations of the powerful planemakers.

Southampton, England

Kate formally names Royal Princess cruise ship

A glowing Kate Middleton on Thursday made what was billed as her final solo appearance before giving birth when she christened a gigantic new cruise ship named the Royal Princess.

Carnival Triumph

Cruise ship that had engine fire returns to Texas cruising

A Carnival Cruise Lines ship that spent several days adrift in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine fire has been repaired and will resume cruises from Texas.

Tampa

New thrill ride at Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, which already has Florida’s biggest cluster of roller coasters, is adding a new thrill ride: Falcon’s Fury, a 335-foot drop tower that is scheduled to open next spring.

Europe

EU nations battle over air traffic control plans

A massive battle is taking place in the skies over Europe – and airplane passengers across the continent are feeling its effects.

Tennessee: Frist Center presents ‘Art Deco Automobiles’

The art of the wheels

Gear + Gadgets

New directions

Garmin’s newest GPS superstar, the nuvi 3597 LMTHD has a crisp hi-res color 5-inch display screen and is packed with neat features in a slimmed down, half-inch-thick, 7-ounce body. Like its nuvi predecessors, the 3597 attaches to the car windshield via a rubber suction cup and swivel ball system. But gone is the cumbersome bracket that the nuvi had to be clipped into for mounting onto the suction cup device. Instead, you get an unobtrusive little square mount with a back socket that pops onto the suction cup ball, and a powerful front magnet that firmly grabs the nuvi, but lets go with a pull. The 3597 adjusts automatically to landscape or portrait mode, has a multi touch pinch and zoom interactive screen, 3-D terrain and building-view options, and lifetime (the device’s, not yours) maps and traffic updates. You get cutting edge voice-activated navigation, traffic tracking and detour guidance, and Bluetooth wireless technology provides detailed weather updates, and access to many of the functions of a paired smartphone, including contact look-up and hands-free phone calls via the GPS’s integrated microphone and speaker. Be forewarned, that phone pairing means you’ll have to pay your phone service provider for any applicable use and/or data charges — even for such basic information as weather conditions. But that means Garmin won’t be milking you with subscription renewal fees for essential services. And this new nuvi really is a joy to use.

Michigan: Zhang Huan exhibit at Frederik Meijer Gardens

East meets West

Travel briefs

Disney’s Magic Kingdom guests will have to fork over a few extra dollars for single-day park admission. The tickets now cost $95 for adults and children 10 years old and up. For children ages 3 to 9, tickets cost $89. This $6 price hike makes Magic Kingdom the most expensive of the Disney theme parks. A one-day ticket for the other parks costs $90.

Security

Agency drops plan to allow small knives on planes

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is abandoning a plan to allow passengers to carry small knives, souvenir bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes in the face of fierce congressional and industry opposition, the head of the agency said Wednesday.

Spirit Airlines starts serving wine in cans

Spirit Airlines is thinking outside of the bottle.

Airlines group raises industry profit estimate

Packed planes should help the world’s airlines earn a $12.7 billion profit this year, as travel demand accelerates faster than the airlines add seats, according to a new prediction from a trade group.

France

Pyrenees slopes open for rare June ski weekend

The still-white slopes in the Pyrenees of southern France opened for business this past weekend and they are expected to open again next weekend, turning a cold wet spring into a rare opportunity for skiing in June.

Gear + Gadgets

Raining leader

Only a few things really matter with a travel umbrella — but they REALLY matter. (No, it’s not the cute design). It’s all about coverage, durability, size, weight and, for those of us who ambulate loaded down, a reliable auto-open mechanism and easy close. The new Blunt XS Metro umbrella is kind of a Humvee of travel umbrellas, armed with a tough radial tensioning system that keeps the 33-inch-diameter canopy from collapsing or flipping inside-out when challenged. Reinforced patching at the tips keeps them from poking through at pressure points, the nice big auto-on button is handily flush against the shaft, and the 2-stage collapse system is smooth and friendly. And, the XS Metro is cute to boot — with wavy curves along the edge, instead of sharp points. It comes in seven colors, including gumdrop blue, yellow, pink, bold red and — if you must — black. At a thickish 14 inches long when collapsed, and weighing 13 ounces, this isn’t the sveltest model around, but it wasn’t built for drizzles, and may more than earn its keep when the going gets wet.