What We’re Reading: World’s Best New Landmarks, Weird February Festivals, and More

While surfing the Web this week, we came across the following interesting travel stories that just begged to be shared. Warning: Reading the following articles may cause you to plan trips to Victorian London and the World Shovel Race Championships. Take a gander, and we’ll see you at the shovel races!

In View of Winter

Pour yourself a mug of hot chocolate, pull on a sweater, and peer at these gorgeous winter photos. Lonely Planet collected an eye-popping series of reader-submitted winter landscapes, as seen from the windows of their readers. Most of the shots feature frosty ice-tipped trees and peaceful fields of snow in cold-weather destinations, while one errant photo shows a less-typical winter image: the beach. You just had to brag, didn’t you, Erin M. from Thailand.

A Landmark Slideshow

Tired of looking at Eiffel Tower pictures? Check out Travel + Leisure‘s slideshow of brand-new landmarks around the world. You’ll get a before-they-were-famous look at the world’s latest and greatest landmarks, including insanely tall, twisty skyscrapers and mind-bending bridges. A caveat: A few of the spots on this list aren’t so new. Millennium Park? Really?

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Travel Back in Time (Sort of)

Tuesday was Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday, so we took a virtual visit to Dickens World via The New York Times. The theme park, located in Kent, dazzles with manufactured rotting cabbage smells, Victorian accents, and animatronic characters. There is also a Pizza Hut and a Subway at the park, so the orphans, we assume, are well fed. The place sounds fantastical and surreal—Dickensian London brought to life as a campy, 3-D attraction. We can’t wait to go.

Put the ‘Fun’ Back in February

Looking to pack in a last-minute trip this month? Don’t miss the Jetpacker’s list of the world’s best festivals and events taking place in February. We’re already more than a week in, so scroll past Groundhog Day, Candalmas, and the Super Bowl, and you’ll see some interesting happenings going on in the coming weeks—some of which involve fun activities like shovel racing, naked combat, and the burning of effigies. (The latter, mind you, has nothing to do with the outcome of the Super Bowl.)