Ice Hotel starts selling tickets for space trips

March 29, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

STOCKHOLM — You can sleep in eight degrees below zero, try dogsledding or go on a whale safari. Not exotic enough? Try a space trip to see the aurora borealis.

Sweden’s famous Ice Hotel says it will start including tickets for Virgin Galactic’s space trips in its offerings to tourists. The trips, from nearby Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden, will start in 2012 if tests with Virgin’s spaceships go according to plan.

Ice Hotel spokesman Roland Sand said tourists will be able to choose a trip in winter, when the aurora borealis is visible, or during the midnight sun of Swedish summer.

According to Virgin’s Web site, tickets for its first trips will start at $200,000.

Virgin is also planning space trips from New Mexico.

Celebrity chef Cat Cora partners with Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Disney World has a new cat in town. Celebrity chef Cat Cora is partnering with the Orlando area theme park to open a new Mediterranean-style restaurant.

Kouzzina, to be owned and operated by Disney, is scheduled to open by fall on Disney’s BoardWalk in the space currently occupied by Spoodles.

Cora, who is the only female Iron Chef on Food Network’s hit show “Iron Chef America,” grew up in a family of Greek restaurateurs.

She says the new restaurant will feature “time-honored recipes passed down from my ancestors, as well as my favorite Greek and Mediterranean dishes that my family loves.”

Chicago museum reopens green home

CHICAGO — Visitors will again be able to stroll through the Museum of Science and Industry’s environmentally friendly home exhibit after a brief closure and renovation.

The Smart Home exhibit closed Jan. 4 but reopened March 19. The home is on museum grounds and originally opened in May 2008. More than 100,000 people toured the original exhibit. The new display runs through Jan. 3.

The goal of the Chicago exhibit is to show visitors that saving energy and conserving resources are within reach of everyone. The redesign updates the 2,500-square-foot home with the latest in green technology, including an eco-friendly baby nursery and a garage workshop.

Thomas Jefferson’s retreat reopens April 1

LYNCHBURG, Va. — It’s a dream many Americans can relate to: You retire after years of hard work and move to a small, secluded retreat in the woods.

That’s exactly what our third president, Thomas Jefferson, did in 1809, when he left public office and took his first extended stay at Poplar Forest, a plantation retreat near Lynchburg, Va. He made his last visit in 1823 at age 81.

The home he designed there was the first octagonal house in America. It’s considered an architectural masterpiece and is a National Historic Landmark. It has just been restored and reopens to the public April 1, with ceremonies including a speech by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

The property’s 200th anniversary is also being observed this year with a variety of events.

Poplar Forest will remain open through November, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except for Tuesdays, when it is closed. Adult admission is $10.

Visitors will be able to tour the house as well as the smokehouse, cold storage areas and kitchen, and they will also be able to walk out on the wing’s unique roof.

Details at www.poplarforest.org or by calling (434) 525-1806.

Streetcar shuttling tourists in Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Tourists visiting Savannah’s historic riverfront can now take a free 1930s streetcar.

The shuttle began running in February, covering 10 blocks along the cobblestone promenade of shops and restaurants facing the Savannah River.

The city spent about $1 million to buy the tracks used by the streetcar and to restore its vintage look. But the streetcar also has a 21st-century hybrid engine that runs on electricity and biodiesel fuel.

Associated Press