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Natalia Taylor posted a series of photos on her Instagram that made it seem like she had traveled to a far-off exotic destination. There she was lounging in a fancy bathtub. In another, she posed in front of a floral print mirror.”The queen has arrived,” she wrote in the caption. Her location: Bali, Indonesia.But in a video she later posted to YouTube, she revealed the photos were staged in an Ikea.The Instagram photos were all fictitious. And that, Taylor said, was the point. “Sometimes, people want to lie about who they are,” she said in the YouTube video. “It’s not hard to do.”Taylor and photographer Ally Amodeo held a photo shoot in different sections of the nearby Ikea.The first set of photos featured a flower print mirror — it sure looked like a fancy hotel room. The baby blue wall phone only helped set the scene. The next shots showed Taylor posed on a sun lounger and in a bathtub, dressed in a white robe with a towel wrapped around her head.At the same time, she also posted videos of Bali to her Instagram story. Some were sent from friends who had visited. Others she found online.Her fans, of which there are more than 300,000, lapped it up.”She really out here living her best life,” one observed. “Our Bali Princess,” said another.There was one who noticed something awry — an Ikea price tag on a chair in the mirror’s reflection. It didn’t matter. The photos got tens of thousands of likes.Bali, Taylor explained, was “the perfect place to fake an influencer vacation and lie to all of my followers.”But she wasn’t trying to hoodwink them and cash in. She wanted to make a point. “Today it is easier than ever to become anyone you want. That’s wonderful! But with great power comes great responsibility,” she told CNN. “As we all know, not everyone is transparent online.””We could all use a fun reminder to take social media less seriously,” she added. “And don’t believe everything you see online.”So be warned — that influencer you are jealously watching travel the world might not be telling you every piece of the story. There’s a chance they never even left home at all.

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(CNN) — The novel coronavirus may have originated in Wuhan, China, but it’s since spread to more than 30 countries across the world.During a press briefing on Monday, Angelo Borrelli, head of the country’s Civil Protection agency, confirmed that five people have died and at least 219 others have been infected with coronavirus in Italy.According to Borrelli, there are 167 cases in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.”We still cannot identify patient zero, so it’s difficult to forecast possible new cases,” Borrelli said at another news conference on Sunday.The Italian government has since taken “extraordinary measures” in a bid to control the outbreak, including a ban on public events in at least 10 municipalities and suspending the Venice Carnival.These recent developments have left travelers preparing to visit the country with many questions.So is it still safe for travelers to visit Italy?Government precautions Borrelli said at Monday’s press conference that it remains safe to travel to Italy, because the outbreak remains in a contained area and has not spread outside of it. However, the towns of Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano in Lombardy and Vo’ Euganeo in Veneto are under lockdown.This means around 10,000 people are banned from leaving or entering the affected areas without authorization. Meanwhile Italy’s Health Minister Roberto Speranza also announced the closure of public buildings and limited transport in these zones.”We are asking basically that everyone who has come from areas stricken by the epidemic to remain under a mandatory house stay,” Speranza said at a Saturday press conference.As a result, Italy’s top soccer league, Serie A, canceled at least three games scheduled to be played in Lombardy and Veneto regions.While areas outside of the “hotpots,” such as Florence and Milan, are deemed safe to visit, two of the Veneto region’s 25 cases occurred in the popular tourist destination of Venice. As a result, Venice Carnival has also been suspended, while museums and cinemas have been shut.Luca Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region, has also confirmed a ban on public and private meetings, along with the closure of schools, universities and museums in the region.”We ask for the cooperation of all citizens. It’s not an easy moment. But, with the data we have today, we can still hope to limit the contagion,” he said.What do the authorities say?The US State Department has urged its citizens to “follow Italian health official guidance and avoid government-designated affected areas,” while the UK Foreign Office has issued a similar warning.Any travelers who are currently in these particular areas of Lombardy and Veneto are urged to follow the instructions of local authorities.But while governments are “monitoring” the situation, travelers have not been advised against travel to Italy.The developments in Italy, along with South Korea, where cases have surged past 600 in the last few days, has increased fears of a spike outside mainland China.During a press conference last week, the organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that, while there’s still a chance of containing the virus outside China, “the window of opportunity is narrowing.””Although the total number of cases outside China remains relatively small, we are concerned about the number of cases with no clear epidemiological link, such as travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case,” he said.How is the virus being spread?While there’s so much that remains unclear about the outbreak, Dr. Yoko Furuya, associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, has indicated that air travel has played a part in the spread of coronavirus.”When it comes to the global spread of outbreaks, air travel is usually how things kind of spread quickly from country to country,” says Furuya.While face masks are often suggested as appropriate defenses to help avoid infections, experts say vigorous hand washing offers better protection. CNN’s James Griffiths, Marnie Hunter, Barbie Latza Nadeau, Livia Borghese and Tara John contributed to this report.

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The site of the first gay ‘sit in’; a rich man’s apartment turned police station turned cocktail room; a spot with a working dumbwaiter – these are a few of New York City’s oldest bars that continue to thrive.

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A high-speed rail network that carves through the Swiss Alps and features the world’s longest rail tunnel is set for completion in 2020.

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Non-alcoholic cocktails aren’t new. But with increasing alternatives to spirits, wine and beer, bartenders like Will Meredith at Lyaness bar in London see the trend only growing.

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(CNN) — When travelers think of Georgia, its ancient winemaking tradition, epic cheesy breads and trendy nightclub scene usually come to mind.But the country’s greatest asset is actually its snow-capped mountains.Spanning 1,200 kilometers, the Caucasus Mountains cover approximately 60% of the country’s surface area, making the Alps look like child’s play. So why haven’t more people cottoned on to Georgia’s magnificent skiing possibilities?For starters, most travelers have only recently warmed up to the small country that borders Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey as a viable vacation spot.Then there’s Georgia’s remoteness — it’s a five-hour flight from Western Europe. Those plugged-in travelers who do make the trip over tend to visit in summer, when hiking, off-roading, and winery-hopping are key attractions. Skiers paradiseSwitched on skiiers head to the Caucasus Mountains in the winter to take advantage of the crowd-free runs.Mountain Resorts of GeorgiaThis suits in-the-know skiers and snowboarders, who’d rather keep the pillowy powder, non-existent lift lines and dazzling mountain scenery to themselves come winter.And who can blame them? For the paltry price of around $15, the cost of an average lift ticket (compare that to $61 at Chamonix in the French Alps,) you might get a whole mountainside to yourself. Georgia’s cheap lift tickets used to be a drop in the bucket compared to the airfare it took to actually get to the Caucasus.But in November 2019, Ryanair launched in Georgia with routes starting at $20 from Bologna to Kutaisi, Marseille to Kutaisi, and Milan to Tbilisi (Cologne to Tbilisi will kick off in April). As a result, the country has become a realistic add-on to any European trip — winter ones included — virtually overnight.The insanely economical flights and ski passes — paired with the fact that you can eat and sleep like a Bagratid monarch here for about $10 and $50, respectively — make it an unequivocal bargain for ski travel. And it seems word is traveling fast — five times more skiers took to the slopes in the 2018 to 2019 season than five years prior. Further sweetening the pot are new designer lodges, off-piste experiences, and après-ski perks including fireside khinkali (soup dumplings) and gut-warming chacha (Georgian brandy). Now all you have to do is decide on a mountain. Here are our top resort picks, plus hotel recommendations for when the boots come off. GudauriPositioned around 120 kilometers from capital Tbilisi, Gudauri is Georgia’s most popular skiing resort.Mountain Resorts of GeorgiaFar and away Georgia’s most popular resort, Gudauri is a 90-minute near-vertical drive north from the capital city of Tbilisi. Even the parking lot here clocks in at 7,200 feet, higher than the summits of most slopes in the Alps (squint and you can barely make out the treeline below you). The 56 kilometers of skiable terrain, culminating at an ear-popping 10,750 feet, take in everything from long, moseying cruises apt for snowplowing beginners, to bomb-able black runs prized by speed demons. There are English-language lessons (book via Vagabond Ski & Snowboard School) available for beginners, and adrenaline junkies shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to heli-ski down virgin slopes with Heliksir, an adventure company with a decade’s experience under its belt. A new ski lift connects Gudauri to Kobi, beyond the Jvari Pass, making the resort far more accessible from Stepantsminda, the tourist-frequented town known for its proximity to Mount Kazbek and the hilltop Gergeti Trinity Church. Where to stay: A far cry from the dime a dozen apartment rentals at the base of the mountain, Gudauri Lodge, opened in December, is a shiny ski-in/ski-out retreat where the food — think lamb and tarragon soup (chakapuli) and vegetable walnut pâtés (pkhali) — is almost as sigh-worthy as the mountain views. You’d expect nothing less of culinary firebrand Tekuna Gachechiladze, who runs the hotel’s restaurant and is widely regarded as one of the country’s top chefs. Gudauri Lodge, 4702, Gudauri St, Gudauri, Georgia; +995 557 10 58 58BakurianiThe former training ground for the Soviet Olympic Alpine ski team is very popular with families.Mountain Resorts of GeorgiaYou’ll find a mostly Georgian crowd at this low key resort situated two and a half hours west of Tbilisi in the heart of the Lower Caucasus range. Once a training ground for the Soviet Olympic Alpine ski team, Bakuriani remains a popular hideaway for professional skiers looking to get away from the crowds, especially on weekdays, when the pristine corduroyed trails are virtually empty. There are three interconnected ski areas spanning 18 kilometers of downhill slopes — Didveli, Kokhta and Mitarbi. The latter two are smaller and more rugged than Didveli, which is popular among families and offers ample lodging and dining options, along with night skiing and an alpine rollercoaster. Mitarbi, by contrast, has no accommodations and just one bare-bones café.Bakuriani will host the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Championship 2023, a major feather in Georgia’s cap when it comes to winter sports; new trails and ski lifts are being added as we speak. Ski in and ski out, and in-between, unwind in minimalist digs appointed with king-sized beds, vintage chairs, and wooden and clay furnishings made by local artisans. Mestia Mestia lacks the many amenities of the likes of Gudauri and Bakuriani, but its runs are far quieter.Mountain Resorts of Georgia Only those with a taste for adventure should strike out for Mestia, a tiny village in the far-flung region of Svaneti, known for its millennium-old tower houses and ancient, pagan-influenced mountain culture. Post up here and you can choose between two small ski areas, Hatsvali and Tetnuldi, both situated less than 30 minutes from the village center by 4×4. But don’t expect the creature comforts of large resorts like mountainside lodging, English language signs and full service restaurants, Mestia is Georgia’s wild west when it comes to skiing.The perks to this come in the form of quiet, crowd-free runs (Tetnuldi has five, Hatsvali has four) blanketed with powder. A ski lift installed in 2018 connects Hatsvali to the outskirts of Mestia, so ask for directions at the tourist office on Seti Square and double check that it’s operating (weather-related hiatuses are common). Where to stay: You’ll be treated like family, and fed like a favorite grandchild, at Kristina Guesthouse, a no-frills B&B that will renew your faith in humanity with its gregarious, open-armed staff and soul-satisfying Svan comfort food. Kubdari, the dribbly meat-stuffed flatbread enlivened with coriander, chiles and blue fenugreek, is a menu staple.Flash a smile at Vakhe, the owner, and you may find yourself being handed chacha shots, a high-octane amenity you won’t soon forget. Kristina Guesthouse, Kakhiani Street 33, Mestia, +995 598 799 705Benjamin Kemper followed the siren song of jamón ibérico from Brooklyn to Madrid, where he’s been writing about the places that make him hungriest since 2014.

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