I’ve attached specific details from our recent press release below for those interested in specific information.

Photo credit: lumachrome

In a groundbreaking move, Travelfusion announces its recent partnership with VIA Rail Canada (www.viarail.ca).  This agreement makes Travelfusion the first travel distributor in the world to offer both airline and rail data in a single application programming interface (API) call.

Clearly the start of a trend in growing rail coverage in all parts of the world, Travelfusion is especially excited to partner with VIA Rail. An environmentally responsible way to travel, rail has become a preferred transportation option for many travellers worldwide.

Moshe Rafiah, Travelfusion’s founder and CEO states, “We are delighted to work with VIA Rail for the Direct Connect distribution of their Canadian rail content to our worldwide agency customer base. Our model offers VIA Rail a cost-effective way to sell their content and provides our customers with the first solution of its kind that combines in a single XML API call, fares from airlines and rail with full comparison on time, cost and locations for travel.”

VIA Rail’s Chief Marketing & Sales Officer Steve Del Bosco comments, “We are confident that this partnership with Travelfusion to harness innovation in the use of distribution technology will facilitate multi-modal air-rail journeys by International visitors to Canada.”

What if You Could Travel the World by Subway – Jaunted

Photo credit: felipe_gabaldon

What if you could travel around the world by subway?  That’s the question asked by Mark Ovendon who worked with the London Transport Museum and an illustrator to create a fascinating global tube map.  Want to go from London to Los Angeles?  That’s easy – take the brown line from London, change to the pink line at the Rhine, Germany and then change again to the blue line in Valencia, Spain!  Be sure to follow the above link to see the map for yourself. Very cool!

Use Award Wallet to Keep Track of All Your Frequent Flyer Miles – foXnoMad

Photo credit: kalleboo

Do you sometimes forget which frequent flyer mile programs you’ve signed up for?  Are you missing vital opportunities to gain more miles and cash them in for free travel and upgrades? Anil at foXnoMad has reviewed a very interesting website called Award Wallet that offers a free service that will help you keep track of your travel awards accounts and learn to get the most out of these accounts.  What a great way to organise your trips, check your balances and really benefit from all these awards programs have to offer!  I’ll be signing up for sure as I know I don’t do a good job of earning miles – hopefully a free trip is in my future!

Yotel Pods coming to New York – Gadling

Photo credit: Effervescing Elephant

Are you a frequent traveller tired of the same newsstands and fast food shops you see in every airport?  Do you have a long layover and a wicked case of jet lag?  Yotel might be the solution for you.  A mini-hotel located inside airports, Yotel offers weary travellers the opportunity to rest and refresh, and a pretty funky place to lay their heads.  Bookable by four-hour blocks, Yotels offer 24 hour food and drink, beds with premium linens, WiFi access and television, along with fun mood lighting as seen above.  Yotels are currently located in London and Amsterdam airports but as Melanie Nayer reports on Gadling, they’re coming soon to New York City!  I’ll definitely try one out on my next long layover.

Finger Lakes – New York, United States

The finger lakes are a chain of lakes in Upstate New York on the east coast of the United States.  This area is known not only for its beauty but is also New York’s largest wine producing region.

Photo credit: Lida Rose

Danau Batur – Bali, Indonesia

A Balinese crater lake located just south of the Gunung Catur mountains/volcano range, this gorgeous lake is the largest in Bali.

Photo credit: tropicaliving

Como Lake – Lombardy, Italy

A glacial lake in northern Italy, Como Lake has been a playground for the wealthy and connected since Roman times and continues to be so today with celebrities like Madonna, George Clooney and Gianni Versace snapping up homes along what is considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful lakes.

Photo credit: ezioman

Tsivlos Lake – Akrata, Greece

Located in this sparsely populated region of the same name in Greece, Tsivlos Lake’s unspoilt beauty is a nice surprise nestled amongst thick forests and grasslands in the area.

Photo credit: Leonidas Tsementzis

Peyto Lake – Rockies, Canada

A glacier lake high in the Canadian Rocky Mountain range, Peyto Lake has a unique bright turquoise colour that attracts attention and helps it to stand out from the many other lakes in the region and makes it a popular tourist attraction.

Photo credit: papalars

Killarney Lakes – County Kerry, Ireland

A renowned attraction in southwestern Ireland, the Lakes of Killarney include many scenic stopping points worth exploring on your next trip to Ireland.

Photo credit: mozzercork

Mono Lake – California, United States

A hypersaline lake in northern California, Mono Lake is an extremely important geological and ecological site, as well as a very unique lake.  With 280 million tons of dissolved salts, and the resulting tufa towers, Mono Lake almost looks other-worldly.

Photo credit: Alaskan Dude

Lake Pukaki – Canterbury, New Zealand

Located on New Zealand’s South Island, Lake Pukaki is a glacial lake dwarfed by the Aoraki/Mount Cook which is the highest mountain in New Zealand.  A turquoise colour due to the glacial flour and sediment, this lake provides over half of New Zealand’s hydroelectric storage capacity.

Photo credit: geoftheref

I’d love to hear from you – what are the best lakes you’re visited?  Did your favourite make our list?