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This week’s travel news: The world’s most expensive rice, trouble at Rome’s Trevi Fountain, and how the hotel bathroom door situation is getting out of hand.
Kinmemai Premium is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive rice on the planet, but what makes it so special?
Only 1,000 boxes of Japanese grain are produced each year, and each box sells for about $73. Top award-winning rice varieties are selected for flavor and texture before being tested for vitality and “vitality” enzyme levels, explains Keiji Saiga, 91, president of Toyo Rice Co., Ltd.
One chef told CNN that the grains of rice sparkled like “diamonds,” but he told CNN he had to read the article to find out how they tasted.
Another unusual menu can be found on the menu of the restaurant “Le Kanekiyo” in Hokkaido, Japan. Chef Kiyoshi Fujimoto opened a restaurant specializing in bear meat dishes as the number of fatal bears caused by bears became more and more serious in Japan. He told CNN that customers found the product to have “less odor than expected” and a “refreshing taste.” Look here.
There’s a new $2 fee to toss a coin at Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain, but not everyone was taking it well when the new system started on Monday. Some tourists stood behind the fence and threw coins from above, forcing paying tourists to take cover.
Located in a once sleepy village in Italy’s Dolomites, the Instagram-famous Church of Santa Maddalena attracts up to 600 visitors a day during high season. Now authorities are stepping in to slow the tide, introducing new regulations aimed at curbing day-trip tourism.
The Winter Olympics opened this week in the Dolomites and throughout northern Italy. One Italian ritual that is essential for visitors, whether athletes or tourists, to understand are the unspoken rules of Italian coffee. Here is the video guide.
CNN Sports features the latest conversations from inside the Winter Olympic Village and amazing stories of sports accomplishments. Click here to sign up for the Milano Memo newsletter – it’s free.
The latest in the new Great Escapes series tells the story of two American sisters trapped in a Scottish castle.
Niki Gofranian and Ritta Nielsen visited Dunstaffnage in 2019, but had no intention of testing the 14th-century building’s fortification skills. They were there past closing time, the gate was padlocked shut and one cell phone had a dead battery.
Gofranian climbed to the top of the castle wall and spotted a child running away from the nearby forest. “Please tell mother we are locked up in the castle,” she cried. “Go get your mom!”
Here’s what happened next:
The sisters’ story wasn’t the only dramatic rescue story covered by CNN recently.
A 13-year-old boy swam for hours to shore to get help from his mother and siblings after his family was swept out to sea last week. The group had been kayaking and paddleboarding while on holiday in Western Australia. Check out Austin Appelby’s story.
Finally, last month, a cruise ship became stuck in the ice in Antarctica and a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker had to come to rescue it from its freezing prison. Check out the mission here.
Jackie Kennedy once visited this Cambodian hotel. They’ve kept her cocktail glass for 50 years.
In 1967, four years after she became the world’s most famous widow, Jackie Kennedy visited Cambodia. Her lipstick cocktail glasses are just one of the items that continue to be displayed in her honor.
Meet the first baby elephant born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in nearly 25 years.
And these Wildlife Photographer of the Year images include even more baby creatures, including possums, crabs, kestrels, bear cubs, and more.
When did the Winter Olympics start? Who hosted the games most often? How many medals are up for grabs in total?
Test your Winter Olympics knowledge with this quiz.
The hotel bathroom door situation is completely out of control.
Travelers develop closer relationships than expected.
final destination.
Where deceased plane passengers go if they end their trip early.
