EUROPE is home to a variety of cultural treasures. Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guide publisher, has offered pairs of cities for culture-hungry but time poor travelers.

    London and Paris

    It takes you about two hours to travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, a high-speed railway service. The two capital cities have been competing in fashion, art and nightlife for decades — but each secretly looks up to the other.

    No one can doubt the grand and impressive beauty of Paris' Louvre Museum, but if you want to save money, you cannot skip the British Museum free to visit. Compared with London, Paris has more outdoor attractions, such as the beautiful green walkway La Promenade Plantee.

    In Paris, you'll see diners linger(逗留) over red wine. While in London, you can try some afternoon tea, eat fish and chips or salted cake.

    Vienna and Bratislava

    Austrian capital Vienna and Slovakia city Bratislava are an hour apart by train. But since they are linked by the Danube River, the best way to travel is by ship. A tour of the two cities is the perfect way to experience everything from 17^th century's Habsburg dynast splendor to sci-fi restaurants.

    Vienna is famous for Mozart and imperial palaces. You can appreciate the perfect blending(融合) of architecture and nature in the grand Scholoss Schonbrunn Palace, and reward yourself with a cup of Vienna coffee, which has made its way to the world's cultural heritage.

    Bratislava is best known for its fine dining—the remarkable UFO restaurant. You can enjoy a meat-filled dinner here in an amazing setting.

    Welcome to Orlando! It has a host of attractions and activities. Ready to join the party and plan a visit to O-Town? Just print out our must-see list.

    Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure

    The addition of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is on the list of must-visits for theme park lovers. Each of the park's “islands”—Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, Marvel Super Hero Island, Seuss Landing and The Lost Continent—is unique!(407-363-8000)

    Gatorland

    It bills itself as “Orlando's best half-day attraction”, for in a city people are limited by their time and money. Catch Gatorland's animals and handler shows in the afternoon. There's a nighttime run as well. Other fun add-ons include the Gator Night Shine. Gatorland is known as a theme park bargain.(407-855-5496)

    Aquatica

    As one of the city's most unique water parks, Aquatica is a wonderful world of water rides and white sand beaches. And if you enjoy a side of fear with your water-park fun, be sure to check out Ihu's Breakaway Falls. This towering slide is not for the weak heart. The less adventurous will still find plenty of fun playing from one big wave pool to another or flowing down the lazy river through a world of unusual fish. You can also watch dolphins underwater. (407-351-3600)

    Warbird Adventures

    Warbird Adventures offers you the opportunity to fly like a hero in World War II in the North American Aviation T-6 Texan(also known as the Harvard). Flights last from 15 minutes to an hour. A visit to the nearby Kissimmee Air Museum is a wonderful way to round out the experience. (407-870-7366)

    The UK government has announced plans to tackle sources of air pollution, including popular wood-burning stoves, but its Clean Air Strategy, which was unveiled last week, fails to address the real problem.

    Although pollution from woodburning stoves is a relatively new problem for the UK, it has long been a major one in countries such as Canada and New Zealand. And the take-home message from them as to controlling the release of harmful particulates in the air is simple: ban wood burning.

    "There does not seem to be a limit below which there is no impact on health," says Gary Fuller at King's College London, whose team has shown that wood burning is now the source of a third of particulate pollution in UK cities.

    As New Scientist reported last year, families with wood burners are likely to be exposed to the highest levels of pollution and their neighbours are next in the firing line, given that the particulates produced can easily escape from homes. Despite this, the UK government isn't planning a ban. Instead, it wants "to prohibit the sale of the most polluting fuels", such as wet wood. What's more, lots of people with wood burners don't buy wood from shops. Instead, they scrounge it from wherever they can, with building waste one popular source. This is a disaster in pollution terms as treated or painted wood can release highly toxic chemicals when burned. The plan is also to "ensure that only the cleanest stoves are available for sale by 2022". But even the cleanest stove produces eight times as much pollution as a diesel truck, says Fuller.

    Some cities actually required old wood stoves to be replaced with cleaner new ones. That has helped, but wood burning remains a major source of pollution, says Fuller. In most cases, conventional gas central heating plus properly insulating (使隔热) your home is less harmful in global-warming terms than switching to a wood burner.

    Finally, there are separate but related EU laws that set limits on the maximum allowable concentrations of specific pollutants in the air at individual locations. The UK frequently breaches these: London's Oxford Street often hits its annual limit within the first weeks of each year. As a result, the UK government has lost a series of court cases brought by the environmental organization ClientEarth. Separately, on 17 May, the UK and five other countries were referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union for their repeated failures to keep to these limits. If the government really wants to clean up the UK's air, it has a lot more work to do.

    The Spanish sculptor Isaac Cordal sees the city as his playground. He specializes in miniature, a street art often representing a social commentary as a critical observation on capitalism, power and so on.

    Cordal first models the sculptures in clay then reproduces them in cement(水泥)about 15cm in height.

    “As a material, cement seems very symbolic because it is one of our most recognizable footprints against nature.” he says. “Today we have been too used to cement city habitat.”

    For several years he's been working on the project, Cement Eclipses, referring to the state when a building covers the sun: “It's a critical reflection on the idea of progress.”

    These tiny cement figures have appeared in cities across Europe, found sitting on top of bus shelters or drowning in the grass land of the big city. “The street became a perfect setting in which I could find enough landscapes for them. Due to their small size and color, they go really well into the urban environment. They even normally go unseen by passersby. I'm very interested in that moment of surprise when someone accidentally discovers them.” he says.

    “Nowadays there is a fear of not being seen in the public area, so everything is always big and bold. We become a product of this and do not focus in as much. I think it is good to pay attention to small details. My work is a reward for those who do and it allows us to understand and change the world we have created in a different angle.”Cordal says.

    A small robot may help children who are recovering from long-term illnesses in the hospital or at home. These children may feel isolated from their friends and classmates. The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They also can take part in class from wherever they are recovering.

    Anyone who has a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be lonely. This can be especially true for children. They may feel left out. Now, these children may have a high-tech friend to help feel less lonely. That friend is a robot. The robot is called AV1. AV1 goes to school for a child who is homebound while recovering from a long-term illness. And the child's school friends must help. They carry the robot between classes and place the robot on the child's desk.

    A Norwegian company called No Isolation created the robot. The co-founders of No Isolation are Karen Dolva and Marius Aabel. Dolva explains how the robot AV1 works. She says, from home, the child uses an iPad or a phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device to control the robot's movements. At school, the robot becomes the eyes, ears and voice of the child.

    So, it sits at the child's desk in the classroom and the child uses an iPad or a phone to start it, control its movement with touch, and talk through it.

    The student can take part in classroom activities from wherever they are recovering — whether at home or from a hospital bed. The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communication easy.

    Believe it or not, we all have an inner-child living inside of us. One of the greatest problems is people's desire to silence the inner-child. Instead, welcoming this voice to the conversation can be very beneficial and help you in many areas of your life.

    Why is it so important to listen to your inner child?

    Do you remember you wanted to be an adult more than anything else when you were young? But now you're an adult, and do you ever find yourself thinking, "I wish I were a kid again?" That's where your inner-child comes in. That's the voice inside of you telling you to have fun, be silly and let loose. Adult life is full of important responsibilities, but once in a while you just have to let go and have fun like a child. It's healthy and good for the soul to not take things so seriously all the time.

    We can tell bad choices and mistakes of the past, but unless you help your inner-child heal and recover, planning for the future will always be difficult. The inner-child will relive these painful experiences until you learn to accept them, forgive and let go. We must show love and acceptance to our inner-child, as this is the only way to heal, move on and not continue to suffer from the pain of these unpleasant times. This is the opportunity to go back in time and let you know just how wonderful, beautiful and special you truly are.

    One of the most common times your inner-child is likely to appear is when you're facing a decision you are unsure about. Naturally, when we were children, doubt and uncertainty scared many of us. So, it's no surprise that when faced with these moments as adults, the inner-child decides to show up. Don't let this scare you; instead, listen to that voice as it is trying to guide you in the decision-making process. Ask it questions, speak with it.

    When you can start to see your inner-child as your partner who helps guide you through this crazy life, it's amazing what can happen. Don't fight it. Go with it and see how it changes your life for the better.