This blog is all about the world, what goes on, and the wonders of it. Anything global, worldwide, or international, you'll find here at The International Files. To follow, keep scrolling down until you see "Join this blog", and click on it!
The riddle below was voted the world's hardest riddle of all time. Being given the solution immediately by an annoying website, I don't think it is hard at all. The website says that 80% of young children knew the answer to this, and 5% of Harvard student worked this out. This statement is probably fake, as 80% and 5% are very common numbers... So here it is:
I turn polar bears white and I will make you cry. I make guys have to sing and girls comb their hair. I make celebrities look stupid and normal people look like celebrities. I turn pancakes brown and make your champane bubble. If you sqeeze me, I'll pop. If you look at me, you'll pop. Can you guess the riddle?
Comment below if you think you know the answer.Don't cheat and look it up!
I will post the answer in my next post. Until then, please vote on my poll if you think this riddle deserves to be the world's hardest riddle!
"Antilila" in Mumbai, India is the world's most expensive house, or rather mansion, costing $1 billion dollars! The house is owned by the Ambanin family who created the 27 storey 40, 000 square foot tower!
Fun facts: There are nine elevators 3 helipads 6 floors for parking (one is a car service station) Cinema for seating for 50 people
Ballroom
600 staff (they have a family of 6 so that means there is 100 staff for every family member!) Yoga studio Dance studio Ice cream shop Snow room (spits out manmade flakes of snow) Spa Health centre (two floors) Beauty salon 4 swimming pools Modern lounge
Traditional lounge
Room for the world's largest collection of antique sewing machines Hanging Gardens Roof (with a panoramic view of Mumbai's skyline AND the Arabian sea!) -and don't forget the Lobby!
Click below to see a video about Antilia...
Vote on my poll to answer an important question about Antilia!
Question: Would you rather live here in this house in India, or in your own home?
Above you can watch the trailer for Richard E Grant's Hotel Secrets. This program is all about the wonders of hotels in the world that have so many secrets hidden behind the doors of them, Richard E Grant just has to unveil them to the world.
This includes the hotel where Oscar Wilde died in, the famous and glamourous Beverly Hills Hotel and many more amazing hotels.
There are so many cool and fun hotels yet to be discovered, so join the famous actor, Richard E Grant as you travel the world with him on an exiting journey unfolding untold stories of the rich and famous, and even the poor.
Everything I have told you so far was just from the first episode so tune in to the next episode named, Scandals, this Sunday at 9pm!
This New York City hotel associates each floor with one of the major categories in the Dewey Decimal System. It doesn’t stop there though, each room is devoted to its own subtopic. Any book worms heading to New York? 9. The Boot Bed'n'Breakfast
Located in Tasman, New Zealand, this boot shaped "hotel" is said to be "a romantic and luxury stay". Outside is a grove of hazelnut trees, and inside, a warm fire for a "romantic evening in". 8. Giraffe Manor
What’s cooler than seeing a giraffe in Kenya? How about seeing a giraffe in Kenya take a bite out of your breakfast croissant? Originally Giraffe Manor was a sanctuary dedicated to preserving endangered Rothschild Giraffes and reintroducing them into the wild when, in 1984, a hotel was opened on the grounds. Today, it doubles as both. Try not to ride on them, though...
Who wants to stay here? These hotel rooms are in Slovenia, in a prison which used to be a jail. 6. The Balancing Barn
Does anyone have vertigo? This hotel is probably the closest to home, located in Suffolk, England. I have a terrible fear of heights so I would never be able to conquer my fears and stay here! Would you? 5. Capsule Hotel
This "hotel" or rather these capsules are in the Netherlands and are definitely not suitable for guests with claustrophobia. These orange capsules are built half underwater in a lake so that you can capture the life of what it is like to be a marine. 4. Dog Bark Park Inn
This hotel is DEFINITELY not like any other. I would only advise those who own a dog, otherwise it is a waste of money. Here you can take your dog (obviously) and let it be pampered while you relax in your room... inside a rather large dog.
There are so many questions to ask about this place. Can you open a window? Where is it? Is it really real? Well, it probably is real, as it has its own website and a professionally made video, which you can view by clicking here. It deserves to be number 3, but where is it?
Miss your flight? It may not be such a bad thing after all, if you're in Stockholm. Why don't you go and stay in one of the 27 rooms in this 1976 Boeing 747?
Here in Sweden, wearing flip flops is not the wisest decision! In the ICEHOTEL you can sleep on ice beds, as well as other ice furniture in your room. Don't worry- it doesn't melt that easily! Every November the ICEHOTEL staff replace the old ice with new ice. I think this definitely deserves to be number one!
Question: Which out of these hotels would you most prefer to stay in and which would you least prefer to stay in?
We went to Mauritius in October last year. It was a very pleasant stay, a good holiday to relax and be stress free. Beaches were surrounding you, and it had a very nice and chilled environment.
Taken by my brother's camera.
The plane journey was absolutely HORRIBLE! A passenger was so sick that the plane landed in Rome! Rome, out of all places! We waited for 20 hours in Rome and Rome Airport before we headed back on the plane to Mauritius. There was only one upside, and it was that we got to get a free hotel room, but the breakfast buffet was awful! I felt especially sorry for those travelling business or first class who paid for 'luxury'.
LHR to MRU lands in FCO.
When we finally arrived at our hotel, one whole day and a half late, the friendly staff greeted us with some refreshing hot towels and delicious mock-tails (non-alcoholic cocktails) while we took in the breath-taking view of the Indian Ocean. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel Mauritius and had a wonderful stay there. I really loved the gourmet buffet with inter national foods from around the world, and I particularly liked the infinity pool overlooking the beach leading onto the ocean with a milkshake bar in it.
I visited the Grand Canyon in the summer of 2011. It really is an amazing place to go, especially if you are visiting it for the first time. If you are wondering what the Grand Canyon is, it is a deep gorge formed by the Colorado River. We visited the Grand Canyon during our stay in Las Vegas, and traveled there by plane.
On the plane.
The view from the plane was spectacular. Especially because it was just my family and the pilot, we felt like it was just us in the air, and the beautiful surroundings. Be warned: because of the high temperature and the humid air the journey was extremely bumpy and we had a few minor turbulences on the way there, as the hottest hours are the afternoon, which was the time we set off. I really enjoyed the plane trip as we saw an unforgettable view from such a small plane.
The view from the plane.
We arrived at Grand Canyon West, where we then took in the amazing view. The gorge was carved by the erosion of the Colorado River nearly 2 billion years ago! We then headed onto a helicopter which took us through the gorge, and carefully landed near the Colorado River.
Click here to see an incredibly short video of the helicopter landing.
On the boat we had a relaxing journey through the river. We learnt some history about it, like the Red Indians did not want the Americans to destroy their home by creating a tourist attraction. The Grand Canyon was declared one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World in 1979.
The river has slowly decreased in height over the millions of years.
We then went on Skywalk, a half-moon shaped bridge that is supposed to make you feel like you are "flying like and eagle". I personally found it quite terrifying as I have (mentioned in the previous post) a terrible fear of heights. It stretched right across to the middle of the canyon and loops back around to the ground.
Overall view Hotel: Four Seasons Hotel, Las Vegas Rating: 10/10 Other info: The rooms were amazing, great views of the strip, and amazing attention to kids(including plates with our names on written in chocolate filled with smarties and a chocolate puzzle, and mine and my brother's names written out of sponges on our bath). Travel: Helicopter and Plane Rating: 10/10 Other info: Amazing views. Thanks for reading, and follow me!
The last time I visited Paris was earlier this Summer. Paris is very warm in early July (when we visited) and good for short weekend breaks to get away from home. It only takes half an hour by euro-tunnel and about 2 hours by euro-star.
There are many exciting things there, for example, the Arc De Triomphe has very fascinating history from the war. If you are claustrophobic, I would advise you not to go to the Arc De Triomphe as you can not access it from ground level; you go through a long winding tunnel underground. There you can buy tickets to visit the top of the structure, by stairs, or if you have a disabled person in your party, by lift. Did you know the Arc De Triomphe costed 9.3 millions of francs, a very large sum of money at that time (1806)?
Photo taken by my iPhone 4S
Another sight is the Louvre. As nearly everyone knows, in this museum stands the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. As there are many, many tourists visiting Paris, especially the Louvre, you can expect that there are a lot of tourists surrounding the Mona Lisa. Warning: it is extremely hard to take a picture without the odd nudging and pushing here and there. Under the Louvre is a large, spacious underground mall with an upstairs world cuisine food court offering 13 gourmet stands, including French, Morrocan, Japanese, and Mexican. Not forgetting the 32 shops such as Apple Store, Sephora, Virgin Megastore, and Swarovski. If you are looking for a day with shopping and art, the Louvre is bound to reach your expectations.
My one photo without a man's head in the way.
The Eiffel Tower has incredibly long 2 hour queues, just to line up for the 18, 242 steps and I think you can imagine how the queue was like for the one lift working out of three. Instead of queuing up you can still say "I was there" by just visiting the Eiffel Tower's legs. Yes, it's not as amazing as being all the way up at the top of the Eiffel Tower with a view of the whole of Paris but as someone with a big fear of heights, I enjoyed having a view of the River Seine. We went on a boat on the River, just like the thames clipper, but in France. It stops off at many different sights which is great to discover more of France.
Blue skies, Eiffel Tower, strange, silver construction object in the way.
The River Seine is truly beautiful. You can feel the fresh French air, the scent of a freshly baked pie from a patisserie, and nothing can bother you. On nearly all the bridges in Europe there are "lover's locks". These are locks engraved, or written on by couples who throw their locks in the river to show that their love is everlasting.
Cheesy, but true.
Overall view: Hotel:Mariott Rive Gauche Hotel Rating: 8/10 Other info: In some rooms you can get a view of the Eiffel Tower, which unfortunately we didn't. Service was great, including a restaurant for snacks, and a great breakfast buffet. Transport: Paris Metro Rating: 6/10 Other info: Didn't have the best hygiene, tickets were cheaper than the Tube in London, but they were a tiny bit small and easy to loose.
Restaurant: Any French or Italian restaurants are nice, especially ones which aren't chains.
Language help: Hello Bonjour bon-joor Do you know where... savez-vous ou savay-vew-oo Could I have... Je voudrais Je vew-dray The bill please L'addition, s'il vows plait la-disyuo see-vou-play Thank you Merci mer-see Restaurant: Any French or Italian restaurants are nice, especially ones which aren't chains. Question of the week: By reading this review, what would you rate Paris /10?
