Escapism
EasyJet (easyjet.com) has launched a new twice-weekly flight from Luton to Olbia in Sardinia, this week, from £35 one-way, and a new daily route from Gatwick to Bergen, 'Gateway to the Fjords', in Norway, launches on Monday, from £43 one-way.
What's new
UK festival
The huge Festival of the North East (festivalne.com) runs throughout June, with arts events all over the north-east, including exhibitions, concerts, films, museum events and themed walking tours, such as one through Newcastle's underground tunnels.
Social websites
"Like AirB&B for tour guides", a new social media site, localguiding.com, puts travellers in touch with guides (professionals and enthusiastic locals) who will offer tailormade personal tours, or more organised visits, in destinations ranging from Austin to Zagreb, many for just a small fee. In a similar vein, VoulezVousDiner (voulezvousdiner.com) puts tourists in touch with locals who are putting on dinners, usually in their homes. Coming up are "Le Soleil dans l'Assiette" in Paris for £26pp, or a Sunday Night Dinner of comfort food classics in Toronto, also £26. Both websites are calling for people to sign up to offer services.
Family
At a family sculpture day at the Cass Sculpture Foundation (sculpture.org.uk, £10 adults, £5 kids) on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex next Saturday (25 May), kids can help make a huge installation using plastic tubing and elbow joints. Sculpture breaks at the Goodwood Hotel (goodwood.co.uk) cost from £170 a night B&B for two, including tickets to the sculpture garden, pictured above. Extra child bed £25.
Weird world
Book now for a gruesome open-air pool party on 25 and 26 May in east London. The swimming pool will be dyed red to look like blood, and full of floating eyeballs, bandages and human torsos, with lane markers resembling brains and intestines, and zombie lifeguards. It's to promote a new Resident Evil video game. Free tickets (100 available) can be booked from Monday.
• residentevil.eventbrite.co.uk
Glamp watch
In sheep-filled fields belonging to a 250-year-old thatched pub in Wimborne, Dorset, are two new shepherd's huts, sleeping two and boasting king-size beds and flushing loos. Drusilla's Inn Shepherd Huts can be booked through oneoffplaces.co.uk from £95 for one night, £165 for two.
Travel trash
A scale model of the original Barbie Dreamhouse has opened at the Sawgrass Mills retail outlet in Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 10,000 square-foot interactive Dreamhouse Experience has pink elevators, a walk-in "glitterizer" and other rooms to explore.
Tweet ur trip
Annoying things other travellers do
• Standing up as soon as the seat belt sign goes off, to wait 20 minutes for the doors to open @HelenaKBC
• Smoking a pipe. Every 5 mins. The whole way thru Egypt. Death on the Nile all over again @matthewteller
• Complaining when things aren't "just so". Want it all to be like home, why go on hols?! @What2WearHols
Tweet us @guardiantravel #TravelCorkboard
Where's hot now?
40C Hyderabad, India
33C Dubai, UAE
33C Phoenix, Arizona, US
32C Oaxaca, Mexico
28C Heraklion, Crete
