Park Service predicts peak for Washington cherry blossoms

Those famous pink and white flowers in Washington are expected to bloom on schedule on trees around the nation’s capital as soon as the end of March, the National Park Service predicted Thursday.
Horticulturalist Rob DeFeo, who keeps a close eye on the city’s cherry blossom trees for the park service, said they likely will bloom [...]

Reining in Rio: Not everything goes at Carnival

The World’s Greatest Party opened Friday, but the everything-goes atmosphere of Carnival that turns Rio into a giant oceanside den of debauchery is under assault.
The mayor’s year-old, zero-tolerance campaign against petty crimes and disorder is on full display at the first Carnival since Rio won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
Those who drink too [...]

Some prices can be too good to be true

Royce Smith planned to visit Sydney, Australia during spring break to attend an arts festival and work on a book, when he found an unbelievably good fare on American Airlines’ Web site: A round-trip ticket from Wichita, Kansas, to Sydney for just $1,198.
In first class.
“I jumped on the deal,” said Smith, an assistant art professor [...]

Masked merrymakers cavort in Venice for Carnival

Masked merrymakers are cavorting in Venice to mark the start of Carnival, for the canal-laced city’s pre-Lenten festivities are Italy’s most popular.
Venetian souvenir shops are crammed year-round with colorful, delicate masks, but “Carnevale” is the time to put them on.
Other Italian cities celebrate, too, with Rome embracing the centuries-old tradition with gusto recently. In towns [...]

10 reasons to go to Easter Island this year

With a stunning new lodge and a once-in-a-millennium eclipse, Easter Island has never been more alluring — or comfortable.
1. Incredible history: More than 1,000 years ago, a group of Polynesians loaded into canoes and found their way across the South Pacific to one of the most remote islands in the world. They began to create [...]

Fantastic New Year’s Eve destinations

A couple million people will hit Brazil’s Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro as the final minutes of 2009 are counted down, ready for a mix of spiritual observances, fireworks and full-tilt partying.
Thousands of miles away, a much more low-key style of New Year’s revelry will be happening on a tiny island off the coast [...]

Tree-lightings, from Rock Center to The Grove

This season’s Christmas tree displays include trees made from feathers at a historic home in Indianapolis, a thank-you tree in Boston sent from Nova Scotia, and the Obamas’ first National Christmas Tree ceremony in Washington.
The National Christmas Tree is scheduled to be lit on Dec. 3. Details of this year’s ceremony have not been released [...]