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         xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss"><docs>This is a RSS file. Copy the URL into your aggregator of choice. If you don't know what this means and want to learn more, please see: <span>http://platial.typepad.com/news/2006/04/really_simple_t.html</span> for more info.</docs>
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<link>http://www.platial.comhttp://www.platial.com/map/Cool-Places-I-ve-Been/6041</link>
<title>Cool Places I've Been</title>
<description>these are very cool places I've been able to visit and experience</description>
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<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85119"/>
<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85127"/>
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<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85088"/>
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<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85092"/>
<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85094"/>
<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85103"/>
<rdf:li resource="http://www.platial.com/post/85115"/>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85119">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85119</link>
<title>Hafjell Alpinsenter</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        As the venue for the slalom and giant slalom events at the 1994 Games, Hafjell has some wonderfully long, fast and thrilling runs. It also has delightfully gentle but scenic slopes - and everything in-between.

All runs converge at the bottom of the mountain, making it easy for families or groups of mixed ability to keep in touch. For snowboarders as well as skiers there's a 600-metre terrain park, including three big jumps, a super big jump, and a half-pipe, as well as the most extensive floodlit skiing in the country (not to mention 300km of cross-country trails).

I got to ski here in about a foot of the freshest powder ever to touch my skin, circa December 1993.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85119">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 12:49:24.187405+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85127">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85127</link>
<title>Niagara Falls</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        Although the Falls at Niagara are about 12,000 years old, the story of their formation can be traced back hundreds of millions of years into the past.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85127">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 13:04:36.704211+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/95400">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/95400</link>
<title>Limelight Nightclub</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        "This disco used to be a cute cathedral..." is the opening line to one of my favorite Christian rock anthems, LIMELIGHT, by Steve Taylor.  That about describes it.  I visited late one weeknight in the late 80's.

Now operating at CLUB AVALON<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/95400">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-06-23 12:46:58.707506+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85077">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85077</link>
<title>Country of Curaçao</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        This is the place where<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85077">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 10:04:33.94572+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85088">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85088</link>
<title>Ski Dubai</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        Ski Dubai has 5 runs that vary in difficulty, height and steepness, the longest run being 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters. Test your skills on the world’s first indoor black run or practice your turns on the gentle beginner slopes. Skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels will enjoy these various slopes and snowboarders can also practice their stunts on the 90-metre long quarter pipe. Kids and parents alike will have fun in the huge interactive Snow Park, which at 3000 square meters is the largest indoor snow park in the world.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85088">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 10:25:07.886568+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85089">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85089</link>
<title>Ephesus, Turkey</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city on the Mediterranean,and perhaps the best place in the world to get the feeling for what life was like in Roman times.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85089">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 10:43:34.956413+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85091">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85091</link>
<title>Cliff Diving</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        For many people the name Acapulco conjures up images of the clavadistas, or cliff-divers, brave local men who make their living by tempting death. The spectacle of these men swan-diving some 130 feet into La Quebrada, literally "gorge," and then splashing into 12 feet of rough surf is a sight not to be missed.

The practice of cliff diving began with local fishermen, who were known to dive from high up on the rocky cliffs in order to propel themselves deep enough into the water to free snagged lines. With the advent of tourism in the 1930s, however, the divers soon discovered that their sensational diving could earn them tips. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85091">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 10:54:49.672606+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85092">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85092</link>
<title>Las Brisas Hotel</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        A stay at this luxury resort with 263 charming casitas (bungalow style rooms) which have either a private or shared pool and the best views of Acapulco, is a one-of-a-kind experience. Pink and white jeeps will whisk you away to your casita, to the private La Concha Beach Club and to all other resort facilities<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85092">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 10:59:29.019518+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85094">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85094</link>
<title>Pergamon-Museum</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        This museum houses a vast collection of artefacts from the ancient world, the crowning glory being the altar from the Zeus Tempel in Pergamon (180-160 BC), one of the world's most significant archaeological finds. The museum is also home to parts of the magnificent Antique Collection, the East Asian Collection, the Near Eastern Museum and the Islamic Museum. The electronic guides for visitors are very informative and are available in several languages for a small fee. Admission EUR2; concessions EUR1; first Sunday of the month free.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85094">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 11:07:27.679425+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85103">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85103</link>
<title>Topkapi Palace</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        Topkapi Palace was home to all the Ottoman sultans until the reign of Abdulmecid I (1839-1860), a period of nearly four centuries. The order for the construction of the Topkapi Palace on the  Seraglio Point  overlooking both Marmara and Bosphorus was given by Mehmed II  after the conquest of Constantinapolis in 1453. The place was then an ancient olive grove. The final form of  the first palace  covered an area 700m², and was enclosed with fortified walls 1400 meters in length. The walls were pierced by a number of gates, namely the Otluk gate, the Demir gate and the  Imperial gate (Bab-i Humayun), and a number of minor angled gates between them. After the reign of Mehmed II the Conqueror, the palace grew steadily to form a city like complex of buildings and annexes, including a shore palace known as the Topkapi shore palace, as it was situated near the cannon gate -Topkapi- of the ancient walls of Istanbul. When the shore palace was burned down in 1863, it lent its name to the great complex we now know as Topkapi Palace.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85103">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 11:12:04.605414+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85115">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85115</link>
<title>Stonehenge</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        The great and ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is one of the wonders of the world. What visitors see today are the substantial remnants of the last in a sequence of such monuments erected between circa 3000BC and 1600BC.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85115">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 12:21:42.351677+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85118">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85118</link>
<title>Gjovik Olympic Cavern Hall</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        The Cavern Hall is an enormous project that would have completely destroyed the proportions of the little town of Gjøvik if it had been built above ground. Norway has a long tradidion of rock tunelling and the Cavern Hall is the most advanced construction of its kind. The unsupported 60-metre roof span was the largest in the world at the time of consruction.

The interior subdivision into geometric shapes of varying sizes provides interesting visual impressions of space. The rock walls are reinforced for greater safety with steel nets sprayed with concrete and painted dark grey. They are covered with crushed glass, to provide a surface that heightens the impression of a fairytale underworld. This is enhanced by the halogen lighting effects, interspersed with brilliant sun spots. The Cavern Hall is a good exemple of energy conservation, since, once it has been warmed up, the temperature inside the mountain will remain at a stable 8 degrees Celsius all year round. Minimal maintenance in required because the building is protected from the elements.

Website link goes to a QuicktimeVR of the interior of this building.  I had the honor of being there at the official opening of the venue in December 1993, only a couple of months before the Winter Olympics<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85118">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 12:43:09.778338+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.platial.com/post/85125">
<link>http://www.platial.com/post/85125</link>
<title>Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague</title>
<description>
        <![CDATA[
        Founded in 1478, it is Europe's oldest surviving Jewish cemetery. People had to be buried on top of each other because of lack of space. There are about 12 layer and over 12,000 gravestones. 100,000 people are thought to have been buried here, the last one was Moses Beck in 1787.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.platial.com/post/85125">Map this on Platial</a><br /> 
        ]]>
        </description>
<georss:point> </georss:point>
<dc:creator></dc:creator>
<dc:date>2006-05-22 12:57:33.308929+00:00</dc:date>
</item>
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