Latest news with #NorthernEuropeans
Extra.ie
10-07-2025
- Climate
- Extra.ie
The rain in Spain falls mainly in Majorca
Anyone who is currently on holiday in the Balearic Islands of Majorca and Menorca will probably be wishing they had saved their money and stayed at home. The islands were battered by a massive storm today, causing major flooding and damage to property as well as flight delays. Huge thunderclouds rolled in over the islands this morning (Thursday) and the Spanish weather advisory service AEMET has warned of more to come. A cold spell is expected to arrive in the area by Saturday potentially bringing more showers, thunder and lightning and floods to northern parts of Majorca and Menorca. Majorca – Pic: MIQUEL A BORRAS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Despite the dark skies and rain, the temperatures are still hovering in and around 32 degrees, making the humidity difficult to deal with. Meanwhile other parts of Spain are suffering from a different complaint, with unusually high temperatures all over the country, especially in inland cities like Seville, Madrid and Granada where temperatures have been above 45 degrees celcius. A man cools off by a fountain water in Seville. Pic: Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images The heatwave shows no signs of abating as yet, with scorching temperatures forecast for all parts of the Meditteranean and we are not yet in PEAK season for heat, late July and August. Meanwhile Ireland and the UK are basking in a manageable 27 degrees, parts of the South of England has seen temperatures rise into the 30s, but that is an enjoyable change for most of us Northern Europeans. Pic: Getty Images So fire up the BBQ's, dust off the garden furniture and paddling pools because the sun is here to stay. At least until Monday.
Extra.ie
05-07-2025
- Extra.ie
Popular holiday spot for Irish tourists at risk from soaring heat and wildfires
Irish holidaymakers who are travelling to popular Meditteranean destinations may find their summer escapes are under threat from extreme heat and wildfires. Officials have warned tourists to be aware of the dangers before travelling, as a number of prime holiday hot spots are facing abnormal weather conditions. Turkey is the latest destination to come under a red alert warning due to extreme temperatures and the threat of wildfires, with 47 degree heat ensuring that Northern Europeans will be confined indoors. Irish holidaymakers who are travelling to popular Meditteranean destinations may find their summer escapes are under threat from extreme heat and wildfires. Pic: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images That kind of extreme heat is a threat to human and animal life and is not to be taken lightly according to weather experts in Turkey, and though many Irish tourists may have holidays booked to the region, they will need to take precautions before travelling to the area. A viral video on TikTok has seen a restaurant employee at Shadows restaurant in Marmaris cook an egg on the street. The employee declared it was 42C and insisted there was 'no oil' in the pan, with onlookers going wild. Turkey has been ravaged by wildfires over the last few days following intense heat across its western coast. Officials have warned tourists to be aware of the dangers before travelling, as a number of prime holiday hot spots are facing abnormal weather conditions. Pic: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images In just one week, more than 250 fires have broken out across the country. Though many are now under control, fire crews have been struggling to contain the outbreak due to 75mph winds. Wildfires have been reported in Kahramanmaraş, Bursa, Sakarya, Bilecik, Gaziantep, Bolu and Manisa. Places beyond these impacted area, including key tourist destinations such as Istanbul, Dalaman and Antalya, remain safe to visit. Turkey is the latest destination to come under a red alert warning due to extreme temperatures and the threat of wildfires, with 47 degree heat ensuring that Northern Europeans will be confined indoors. Pic: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images Meanwhile the Spanish state meteorological agency, Aemet, said in a social media update that 'June 2025 smashed records' when it came to high temperatures, with an increase of 0.8 Celsius above the previous hottest June in 2017. The agency's comments come just days after Spain's highest ever June temperature of 46 Celsius was recorded in the Huelva province of Andalucía. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that 'The planet is getting hotter and more dangerous, and no country is immune' He added that 'Extreme heat is no longer a rare event , it has become the new normal'
New York Post
10-06-2025
- New York Post
Iconic Italian luxury hotel Il San Pietro di Positano celebrates 55 years
Don't walk through Positano with Carlo Cinque if you're in a rush. Every few feet, shop keepers and hoteliers stop him to chat. Some are his friends, some are his relatives, all of them suggest the tight ties that bind Carlo's family — and its storied hotel, Il San Pietro di Positano — to this idyllic Amalfi Coast town. Just a few weeks shy of its 55th birthday on June 29, Il San Pietro remains possibly the best place to reenact a Slim Aarons photograph, to embrace the fantasy of living Italian life at its most stylish. Advertisement 6 Living is easy at Il San Pietro di Positano, 55 years into the hotel's storied history. Courtesy of Il San Pietro di Positano Hotel 'We are always at our guests' disposal. For us, it's a pleasure to provide everything they need to enjoy their stay,' says Cinque, 60. Named for his late great uncle, founder of the iconic luxury property, Cinque co-owns the hotel with his brother, Vito, 57. Their mother Virginia, 90, still lives on property, greeting guests during her daily garden walks. Carved into a rocky promontory, the hotel remains an essential stop on the Amalfi Coast. Guests stroll through terraced gardens, fragrant with jasmine and rosemary and abundant with citrus fruit, tomatoes, salad greens, herbs and eggplants. They can take a speedy elevator down to the vermillion-upholstered chaises longues arranged just over the crystalline ocean, and swim or sail in one of the hotel's two custom-built yachts. Exercise options include beachside Pilates, yoga and tennis; overlooking it all is an outdoor gym nestled under a copious lemon arbor and a pool reflecting the azure sky. Among the many delicious lunch options: homemade linguine studded with local lobster and the organic tomatoes grown onsite. Advertisement 6 Positano is now an iconic destination for luxury travel, but this hasn't always been the case. Courtesy of II San Pietro di Positano The Cinque family seems like such obvious arbiters of luxury travel now, but their path was initially seen as a folly. In 1934, 23 year-old Carlino Cinque convinced his dubious father to help him buy land that had been abandoned by locals emigrating to the United States and Argentina. At the time, Positano was a quiet fishing village. 'Everyone said Uncle Carlino was crazy. Why would you start a hotel in a town with no tourism?,' Cinque says. An autodidact who only completed third grade, Carlino Cinque opened the Hotel Miramare in 1934, catering to the fortunate Northern Europeans who wintered in Positano. During World War II, the Miramare housed British generals. Post-war, many of them returned, creating a market for Anglo visitors. Advertisement 6 A Michelin-starred restaurant is among the attractions of the sprawling resort. Stefano Scatà Cinque aspired to greater elegance, and began buying land two kilometers from the town center, on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Salerno. Undeterred by the austere conditions, Cinque envisioned a luxurious resort, a sophisticated getaway that he opened in 1970. In the intervening years, his family added a Michelin-starred restaurant, a seaside tennis court, and a boutique with the silkiest caftans and expertly constructed, hand lined tote bags. 6 Exercise by the ocean is on offer at the hotel's seaside tennis court. Stefano Scatà Advertisement 'Uncle Carlino did all of this without an architect. He had an artist's vision, and he really respected the natural environment. When he built something, he'd go out on the boat and look at it from the water. If it offended the landscape, he would tear it down and rebuild,' Carlo Cinque says. 'It's the complete opposite approach of what anyone else would do to build a new hotel.' Carlino's dreamy nature, his great nephew says, found the perfect foil in his nephew Salvatore and his niece Virginia, both of whom had more pragmatic approaches. Natural hosts and savvy marketers, they excelled in welcoming a-listers like Franco Zefferelli, Brooke Shields, Julia Roberts and Dustin Hoffman, who was so enamored of the vegetable gardens that he took to harvesting his own produce, and joining the kitchen staff for their meals. The Cinques also gave back to the town, creating Positano's annual Sun, Sea and Culture festival in 1992. 6 Il San Pietro Positano says it boasts a 50% return rate among its enchanted guests. Courtesy of Il San Pietro di Positano Hotel Still, they sometimes grapple with being the town being a victim of its success. Positano, with fewer than 4,000 residents, struggles with the mass tourism plaguing so many other stunning Italian towns. A single road connects the town to the rest of the Amalfi coast, with large busses sometimes causing huge delays for motorists, and visitors clogging the picturesque but narrow streets. Guests at Il San Pietro can simply take the 5-minute boat shuttle from the hotel beach to Positano's harbor, avoiding the road traffic, and some opt not to leave at all. With just 55 rooms and suites and 200 staff, the resort feels like a private club, and has a return rate of 50 percent. Ambitious hosts, the Cinques are hardly resting on their considerable laurels: In the past year, they've added the Palazzo Santa Croce, a meticulously restored five-bedroom Baroque Palace, and the two-bedroom Casa Sunrise. They're also planning an indoor pool and an expanded spa at Il San Pietro. 6 The hotel's founder, Carlino Cinque, designed the hotel's additions to complement the area's natural landscape. Courtesy of Il San Pietro di Positano Hotel Advertisement Throughout, the family ethos is central, even defiant in an era when so many luxury properties are part of large international conglomerates. The Cinques are rumored to have rejected repeated offers from Bernard Arnault, a frequent guest. It is difficult to imagine they would ever cede their beloved hotel, so deeply entwined in their identity, or that they would stop being perfectionists. 'When we close for the season, we always work on improving the hotel. We tell our long-term clients that we're going to renovate their rooms, and they say, 'no, for heaven's sake, don't touch my room, it is so beautiful,'' Cinque says. 'Then when they return, they congratulate us, and say, 'but it's much more beautiful than before.''
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Is It Colonialism When Europeans Retire in Cheaper Countries?
I see many older Northern Europeans retiring to countries like Portugal or Morocco. And I know that some Americans are doing the same in Latin America. Is it fair to enjoy a different country's sun and cheaper living in retirement, or is this a new, sweet form of colonialism? — Taimaz Szirniks From the Ethicist: 'Colonialism,' historically, happened when a state took over another territory, typically by force or fiat. It's a story about domination backed by state power. When individuals retire abroad, though, they settle with the host government's consent, not a cannon. Societies have the right to decide whom they admit, within moral and legal bounds. International law protects refugees fleeing persecution, and decent nations avoid unfair discrimination or the splitting up of families. Beyond that, controlling residency and citizenship is a core piece of national sovereignty. What these Northern Europeans are doing isn't colonialism; it's migration with permission. Retirees chasing a lower cost of living are simply doing transnationally what many do locally — moving where their resources stretch further, like Bostonians heading to Florida for sun and savings.
