Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) southeast of the state capital, Hobart. The site forms part of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips. Collectively, these sites, including Port Arthur, are described by UNESCO as “… the best surviving examples of large-scale convicttransportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts.” Port Arthur is located about 97 km (60 mi) southeast of the state capital, Hobart, on the Tasman Peninsula. The scenic drive from Hobart, via the Tasman Highway to Sorell and the Arthur Highway to Port Arthur, takes around 90 minutes. Transport from Hobart to the site is also available via bus or ferry, and various companies offer day tours from Hobart. At the 2016 census, Port Arthur had a population of 251. This was down from 499 in 2006. Port Arthur was named after George Arthur, the lieutenant governor of Van Diemen’s Land. The settlement started as a timber station in 1830, but it is best known for being a penal colony. read more…
The Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. The palace’s name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the Mons Citatorius, the hill created in the process of clearing the Campus Martius in Roman times. read more…
National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum devoted to bobblehead dolls. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The museum claims to have 10,000 different bobbleheads from around the world, including a life-size bobblehead. It is the only bobblehead-specific museum in the world. read more…
Diamond Princess is a British-registered cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Asia during the northern hemisphere summer and Australia during the southern hemisphere summer. She is a subclassed Grand-class ship, which is also known as a Gem-class ship. Diamond Princess and her sister ship, Sapphire Princess, are the widest subclass of Grand-class ships, as they have a 37.5-metre (123 ft 0 in) beam, while all other Grand-class ships have a beam of 36 metres (118 ft 1 in). Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess were both built in Nagasaki, Japan, by Mitsubishi Industries. read more…
The Seilbahn Zugspitze is an aerial tramway running from the Eibsee Lake to the top of Zugspitze in Bavaria, Germany. It currently holds the world record for the longest freespan in a cable car at 3,213 metres (10,541 ft) as well as the tallest lattice steel aerial tramway support tower in the world at 127 metres (417 ft). Construction of the system began in 2015 and it opened on 22 December 2017. read more…