CNN
 — 

Bordered by China, Afghanistan, Iran and India – and with a population of more than 200 million people – it’s no surprise that Pakistan is a country of geographical and linguistic diversity.

However, there’s common ground to be found in Pakistan’s food.

Pakistanis are passionate about their cuisine, which is full of flavor and bursting with color. And they love to eat.

Here are some of the best dishes to try:

These easy-to-make crispy, fried fritters are a classic finger food served as a starter or a side dish.

Vegetables are thinly sliced before being soaked in a seasoned and spice gram flour batter and then fried for a few minutes.

Grab them while they are hot. If you prefer a meatier option, fish pakoras are also a favorite.

Served as a snack or appetizer, there are many types of kebabs in Pakistani cuisine.

There’s the popular seekh kebab, which is ground meat grilled on skewers.

We also recommend the chapli kebab – so called because it is thought to be shaped like a chappal (sandal) – and the shami kebab, which features small patties made with minced meat mixed with split chickpeas, finely chopped onion, mint, green chili and egg to hold it all together.

This popular street food was once sold by cart-pushing vendors who would sing out their presence while hawking their wares. While the advent of more snack food restaurants has made this less common, the popularity of the gol gappa has not waned.

The round shell is made with semolina and fried. Once it cools and becomes brittle, a hole is created and filled with a mixture of tamarind chutney, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is served with a bowl of spicy tamarind dip.

Thought to have developed in the royal kitchens of the 16th-19th century Mughal Empire, this rice dish is often served on special occasions.

It can be made with lamb or beef but chicken biryani is a favorite.

The meat and rice are cooked separately before being layered and cooked together with an assortment of spices.

Warm and comforting, this dish may look simple enough but a combination of lentils, wheat, barley and minced beef (or other preferred meat) is slow-cooked for hours in gentle spices.

The sticky consistency is achieved by constant stirring.

Paya literally translates to trotters and this warming goat curry, with a soup-like consistency, is often eaten on cold winter mornings.

Again, slow-cooking will ensure that all of the spices have been infused into the perfectly tender meat.

This Pakistani favorite, often served to guests on special occasions, consists of slow-cooked lamb shank – including the bone marrow.

It used to be left to simmer overnight to be served at sunrise.

These days, most people cook it for a few hours but the longer the better.

Pakistani cuisine may seem meat-heavy but there are plenty of great vegetarian options. The word “tarka” refers to the process used when finishing off a lentil dish, so in essence, tarka daal can be made with several different daals.

When the lentils are thoroughly cooked, the tarka is applied – onions, cumin seeds and crushed garlic cloves are fried until brown in a separate pan and added to the daal without stirring. It should make a sizzling sound as the tarka mixture hits the lentils.

Packed with protein and fiber, black-eyed peas curry – lobia daal – is a particularly healthy option as well as a tasty one.

Peas are soaked overnight for best results and the curry is made with a tomato base.

It’s best eaten with roti (flatbread), in which case the curry sauce should be kept a little thicker, or with rice.

Bitter melon is thought to have a range of health benefits including purifying the blood, lowering blood sugar and boosting the immune system, which is why most Pakistanis have childhood memories of being persuaded to eat it by their parents despite its sour taste.

In Pakistan, it’s cooked with onions, red chili powder, turmeric, salt, coriander powder and a pinch of cumin seeds.

Eggplant curry is so simple and quick to make.

A masala base is created by frying onions, garlic and ginger, mixing in chili powder, salt, turmeric and cumin seeds. Chopped eggplant is then added, potatoes too if wanted, and water before the concoction is left to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Roasting the eggplant in the oven beforehand gives the dish a smoky flavor.

Equally as simple and a Pakistani favorite, this potato and cauliflower curry is from Punjab province.

The trick is to make sure the potatoes and cauliflower florets cook at the right time.

Cutting the latter to a slightly bigger size than the potatoes ensures the florets don’t disintegrate before the potatoes are done.

Pakistanis make a range of perfect melt-in-your-mouth flatbreads including roti and naans but the paratha, made with clarified butter is a particularly delicious indulgence.

Eaten for breakfast, you can go for the plain option but there are also various fillings to choose from including mincemeat, potato or the mooli paratha – made with a radish filling.

Also known as gajar ka halwa, this dish is made using a combination of grated carrots, nuts, milk, sugar and clarified butter.

Best served with a scoop of ice cream on the side, this flavorful but light dessert often makes an appearance at weddings and parties.

Traditionally served on special occasions, this brightly colored sweet rice is a Pakistani favorite.

Made with sugar, milk and food coloring and flavored with cardamoms, raisins, pistachios and almonds, zarda is either yellow or made with various food colorings to give it a multicolor effect.

Keer is another dessert eaten at weddings or on celebratory occasions such as Eid al Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

This is a thick and creamy rice pudding-type dish that is slow-cooked using milk, rice and sugar and infused with cardamom.

It’s topped with crushed pistachios and tastes equally delicious whether eaten hot or cold.

Halwa poori and channa

A breakfast of champions, this combination of a poori (deep-fried bread), which is light and fluffy, is served with the rich-tasting halwa (made with wheat semolina, sugar and butter) and channa (a chickpea curry).

It’s often consumed on Eid morning but can also be found as a street food breakfast or brunch option.

In the intense heat of summer, this refreshing dessert is a popular choice. An unusual concoction made with an array of ingredients including milk, rose syrup, ice cream and jelly, it also contains vermicelli and basil seeds.

It’s believed the basil seeds have a cooling effect on the body.

Pink tea, also known as Kashmiri tea, is a traditional beverage made with tea leaves, salt, milk and a pinch of baking soda to give it its distinctive pastel color.

Often, it’s topped with crushed pistachios and served with nuts and dried fruit.

This dessert masquerading as a drink offers the perfect excuse to put several away during a meal.

Lassi is yogurt-based and can come in a variety of flavors, but there’s nothing quite as refreshing as a cold mango lassi on a hot day.

Editor’s Note: Sign up to CNN Travel’s Unlocking Italy newsletter for insider intel on Italy’s best loved destinations and lesser-known regions to plan your ultimate trip. Plus, we’ll get you in the mood before you go with movie suggestions, reading lists and recipes from Stanley Tucci.

CNN
 — 

Buyers from all over the world are snapping up charming old houses in isolated villages in Italy. They’re all motivated by different goals, but they have one thing in common: They all seek a retreat, somewhere they can escape to and live the rural idyll.

Chicago-based saxophonist Joshua Shapiro, 48, embarked on the quest for la dolce vita as the first step toward a change of life. His long-term goal is to move away from the United States, which he believes is taking a broad political shift that troubles him.

In 2022, he bought a small, abandoned apartment in the village of Latronico, deep in the southern region of Basilicata, for 22,000 euros (roughly $23,600), after reading CNN Travel’s article about the clever housing program launched to attract migrants and stop depopulation.

For now, he drops in and out as he finalizes his home’s makeover. In the future, he can see himself making the big leap to relocate permanently.

“I’m ready for the next chapter in my life. Being a freelance saxophonist, mainly playing jazz and commercial, is not without challenges, and as taste and demand for what I do is notably decreasing [in the US], it might be in much higher demand in Europe,” Shapiro tells CNN Travel.

For him, buying a dilapidated property in an unusual Italian spot is political, too.

“I don’t like the political situation in the US – the shift to the right. A huge swath of the electorate believes in another version of democracy, and how all this could pan out is a huge problem,” he says.

Shapiro visited Latronico on a trip to Italy after the pandemic – the third time he’d traveled to the country, and the first time in 20 years. He took along his saxophone, which he played from a house that he rented while his newly purchased home was being worked on. Villagers have fond memories of hearing jazz melodies in the winding alleys at night.

What drew him to Italy was a “tenuous link” he wanted to revive – his grandfather had been stationed in Florence during World War II.

Latronico is hardly Florence, though – it’s a five-hour drive from Rome, and three from the nearest international airport, Bari. Shapiro admits the remote location “weighed heavily” on him as he journeyed to this pristine corner of Basilicata. He never expected it to be in such an out-of-the-way place, without any direct train connection.

“My goal was to look around, see what was affordable, and what was being offered in terms of properties. With the assistance of deputy mayor Vincenzo Castellano, who handles the housing program, I picked the easiest option for me,” he says.

Twists and turns

His second-floor apartment, which has its own external staircase and independent entrance, is 800 square feet, with two bedrooms and a panoramic balcony. It needed a thorough makeover, on which Shapiro has so far spent around 10,000 euros (roughly $10,730).

Despite the excitement of buying a cheap home, the adventure he embarked on had a series of unexpected twists.

He had to put in new windows, re-tile it, and patch cracks in the walls. It also had to be furnished – Shapiro says that there was initially “hassle” figuring out which furnishings were going to be included with the house sale.

Shapiro recalls initial “cultural clashes over the odd furniture” he found inside.

He expected the house to come with the furniture that was in the listing photos, to have one less thing to worry about at the start. But he says “there was either a miscommunication or misunderstanding about this issue” with the owners.

In the United States, he says, the purchase contract would have stipulated what furniture was included with the apartment, but in Latronico, it was never quite clear.

As it was, some furniture was left for him, but it was “worn out or not really usable,” so he ultimately had to get rid of most of it.

“I was not expecting some things I found, like the bed was so old and decrepit. This became a contentious issue at the time, but we have very amicably resolved this situation while learning valuable lessons along the way,” he says.

Many empty homes featured on the local website where owners meet buyers are sold or rented with furniture, but what eventually ends up being left inside is usually negotiated between parties.

Having viewed it briefly before buying, Shapiro expected the home to be in better shape.

“It needed a new roof, that was a big surprise. The kitchen was totally exposed to the sky, I had to add a downspout, and there was some junk inside the house which had to be thrown away.”

Shapiro also repainted and patched up some walls – and there was more work to do to make it fully habitable.

“There were a number of surprises and things I did not expect, like having to redo the bathroom, add a new hot water heater, and fix a moisture problem inside one bedroom.

“I was somewhat surprised at the work that needed to be done mostly due to the assumptions that I made about the condition simply due to the fact that it was being lived in prior to my purchase. I discovered later that the former occupants tolerated quite a bit of the deficiencies of the place.”

There was also a bizarre encounter when he first went to take a peek inside the house he had just bought.

Accompanied by Castellano, the deputy mayor, Shapiro says he was surprised to find it had tenants inside – a group of elderly nuns.

“There were these three nuns who had been living there for some time; they were tenants of the former owners. When I came, they wouldn’t let me in, shocked by the idea that an American guy could walk around their house.”

Luckily everything was solved. The nuns, reassured by Castellano that they wouldn’t end up homeless, eventually left. They were given alternative housing by the town council.

Despite these initial hurdles, Shapiro says he immediately fell in love with Latronico’s laid-back, slower-paced lifestyle – the opposite of what he was used to in the United States.

“The village is tiny, set in a remote mountainous area. I live in a big city of millions of people. Latronico is a place I can envision being very creative in, playing, writing music,” he says.

He says everyone has “bent over backwards to be nice” and been welcoming, bar “a few sideline stares at the stranger in our midst” – although he thinks that was mainly because of the language barrier. Not knowing Italian has not been easy for him, he says.

Shapiro, like all other foreign buyers in Latronico, is exempted from paying property and waste disposal taxes for five years, a measure recently introduced by the town hall to lure new buyers from abroad.

And despite the unexpected building costs he’s incurred, he is ecstatic to have had the opportunity to grab a home for what he considers a bargain price. In Chicago, he says, a condo costs $200,000 – plus property taxes.

CNN
 — 

When Giulia Manca traveled to Pianosa, a former Italian prison island, back in 2011, she was looking forward to a relaxing sunshine break before returning home.

But more than 12 years after checking into the beachfront Hotel Milena, which is staffed by supervised convicts on probation, Manca has remained on the island known as the Alcatraz of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Now the only woman living in the ghost village of Pianosa, part of Tuscany’s archipelago marine park, Manca serves as both the manager of the hotel and supervisor of the island’s rehabilitation program, run by Arnera, a nonprofit organization with the social mission of helping vulnerable people such as inmates get back into society, and Tuscany’s prison authorities.

“I stayed one week at the hotel and didn’t want to leave,” Manca tells CNN. “It was a unique holiday and the rehab project fascinated me, how these inmates were given a second chance in life.

“I fell in love with Pianosa. Its silence, the turquoise clear paradise-like sea, the peaceful starry nights.”

Once nicknamed the Devil’s Island, Pianosa, located between Corsica and the mainland, is now a blissful retreat beloved for its beautiful beaches and lush green vegetation.

One of just two of the island’s permanent residents, Manca lives and works alongside a jail guard, as well as 10 male convicts, who work as cooks, gardeners, waiters, beach cleaners and dishwashers at Hotel Milena, the only accommodation facility on the island.

Surrounded by pine trees, Hotel Milena features frescoed ceilings, and holds 11 rooms with wooden furniture and a stunning sea view, as well as a large patio, where inmates serve evening drinks to guests, a restaurant and a bar.

Manca had been a guest at the unique hotel, which is open year-round, for just a few days when the then-manager informed her that the establishment was struggling financially and at risk of closure.

If this were to happen, the detainees would have to be transferred back to jail, putting a swift end to their time on Pianosa.

“I felt I had to do something to help them or they would have gone back behind bars, inside tiny cells with no chance of a fresh start and of learning a job that can help them once they’re released,” adds Manca, who previously worked as a tourist agent.

Manca, who grew up in Tuscany, decided to stay on and take over as hotel manager. She says she initially worked for free, using her management skills to help to secure the hotel’s future.

In just a few years, Manca was able to turn things around significantly, and Hotel Milena has become a popular wedding and birthday party venue, with guests, partly lured by the hotel’s unconventional staff set up, flocking here.

Situated close to Gorgona, another Italian prison island, Pianosa was set up during the 1700s to confine outlaws, bandits and revolutionaries.

The island served as the base for a maximum security prison up until 1998, when the prison was shut down. Its few residents eventually departed and Pianosa was left deserted for many years.

Visitors were not permitted on the island until relatively recently, and those who do visit can only come as part of an organized boat tour that must be booked via specific tour operators.

In order to be admitted onto the rehabilitation program at Hotel Milena, applicants must have already served at least one-third of their sentence in jail and undergone a series of strict psychological and social evaluation tests.

Over the past 12 years, Manca has dealt with around a hundred offenders on probation for a multitude of crimes, including murder.

Although she notes that many of the inmates have been convicted for far more than “stealing daisies,” Manca has always felt comfortable on the island and considers it to be something of a safe harbor.

She also feels strongly that former offenders should be given the chance to contribute to society rather than spend more time behind bars.

“I believe in the power of redemption and that even offenders should be given a second chance, they shouldn’t rot behind bars but be actively involved in rehab tasks,” she says. “I like to see them return to life through work.”

Known as the “Queen of Pianosa,” Manca admits that her job has raised eyebrows among her friends and loved ones due to the perceived risks of being the only woman alongside a group of convicts.

“People kept saying I was mad to take on such a job,” says Manca, who is also a member of Arnera. “To be the only woman to work and live side-by-side with male offenders who haven’t been accused of light crimes.

“But I’ve never felt scared nor worried. I’ve never given it a second thought. I feel safer with them here than back in the city with all those crazy people running around, you never know who you might bump into.”

While being in charge of a group of offenders has its challenges, Manca says she does her best to create clear boundaries to ensure that the rehabilitation program is effective.

She explains that her relationship with her staff is one of reciprocal respect, and she’s been able to strike a balance by keeping her distance, and being authoritative yet open, in order to support them.

Each week, Manca hops on the ferry for a three-hour sea journey to mainland Tuscany to run errands and bureaucratic affairs, leaving at dawn and returning to Pianosa at night.

Manca points out that, unlike nearby Gorgona, where convicts must return to their cells after they clock off , those on Pianosa are allowed to roam free.

The inmates here are paid a monthly salary for their hotel jobs, and stay in the former old jail quarters, which have been restyled into cozy studios, with a gym, a TV, a kitchen and private rooms with bathrooms.

They are also given mobile phones so that they can keep in touch with their families.

Italian jails are considered to be among the most inhumane and overcrowded in Europe, with 120 inmates for every 100 beds, according to a 2020 report by the Council of Europe, while in-jail suicide up 300% since 1960, with a 75% relapse into crime.

Therefore, Pianosa is undoubtedly a far more attractive alternative for those nearing the end of their sentence.

Manca is proud of the success of the “Pianosa model,” explaining that the rate of those who’ve spent time on the island returning to crime has reduced to 0.01%.

“In the evenings they’re free to go down to the beach and take a dip,” explains Manca.

“However, they must leave their lodgings early in the morning and return at a specific time in the evening, they’re still under supervision and there is the guard who keeps an eye on them.

Offenders can serve the remainder of their sentence working at the hotel if they behave well, and some have spent five to ten years here.

But those who do not demonstrate a willingness to change risk being sent back to prison to complete the rest of their sentence.

“They have all served at least one-third of their sentence in jail and undergone strict psychological and social evaluation tests to determine they’re no longer dangerous and fit for the rehab program, [and] that they truly regret what they did,” adds Manca.

“They must demonstrate each day their willingness to work and prepare for a better life. I accept no slips.”

Manca likes to keep in touch with those who have left Pianosa to start a new life, putting to use the skills they learned on the isle, via social media.

She explains that a few have gone on to become councilors for prisoners in other jails after working at the hotel.

Manca is hugely proud of her role in the process and says that those who were initially dubious about her decision to remain in Pianosa all those years ago have now come around.

“Even my daughter Yolanda, who as a kid was a bit skeptical of my job, has come to appreciate the isle and understand the importance of what I do, and now tells me I’m a lucky person,” says Manca.

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CNN
 — 

It was “Rail Force One” – the overnight train that took US President Biden on a diplomatic odyssey from Przemyśl Główny in Poland to Kyiv for his historic visit to Ukraine, just before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.

The 10-hour overnight journey was a top secret, high security challenge for Ukrzaliznytsia, or Ukrainian Railways – the state-owned operator of Ukraine’s rail network. But it was hardly their first.

With commercial air links into Ukraine canceled, and the skies too dangerous to fly politicians in and out of the country, Ukraine’s rail network has become the country’s diplomatic highway. Over 200 foreign diplomatic missions have arrived in the country by train so far.

World leaders including Canada’s Justin Trudeau, the UK’s Rishi Sunak, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni have all taken the train to Kyiv. In fact, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is the only G7 leader yet to visit the country by train.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is a regular user of the railway network on his diplomatic missions abroad.

But there’s more to the railways than “Rail Force One,” as Biden’s train was dubbed.

The US president’s high profile journey has shone a spotlight on Ukraine’s vast rail network which, at nearly 15,000 miles, is the 12th largest in the world.

Ukrzaliznytsia is the sixth largest rail passenger transporter in the world, and seventh for freight.

First constructed in pre-Soviet times, its network is predominantly a broad gauge railway – different to the standard gauge, which most of Europe uses.

And while Ukraine forces have destroyed the cross-border links to Russia, the rail network still connects with other countries – although the differing gauges mean trains can’t generally cross the border. To deal with this, over the past year they have rebuilt sections of previously defunct lines to neighboring countries including Moldova, Poland and Romania. Infrastructure has been repaired at 11 border crossings.

This isn’t just about making passenger journeys easier. It’s crucial for freight – and for much of the world, which relies on Ukrainian produce, including grain. In 2022, 28.9 million tons of grain were transported via the railways, most of which was exported. In total, just under 60 million tons of goods were exported from Ukraine, according to Ukrzaliznytsia.

And in total, the company transported 17.1 million passengers via long-distance trains during 2022. These are predominantly sleeper services.

“Before the war, we had planes, cars, buses and trains,” Ukrzaliznytsia’s CEO Alexander Kamyshin told CNN Travel. “Now we’ve got trains and cars, no airplanes. And we’re a large country. So to get from Kyiv to west, south or east Ukraine, sleeper trains are the best way to do it. You go to the train in the late evening, travel the whole night, and in the morning you are in the city you need to be. So you don’t waste time.

“It was comfortable before the war, and now it’s comfortable and safe. Trains are very important.”

Of course, most of the pictures we have seen in the past year of Ukrainian Railways are ones of refugees. Ukrzaliznytsia says it helped four million to safety in 2022, a quarter of whom were children.

Some trains were also reconfigured as medical facilities. Around 2,500 civilians were evacuated for medical treatment via rail last year. The network also transported nearly 336,000 tons of humanitarian aid.

It’s an immense responsibility for Kamyshin, who started with the company just six months before Russia invaded. “I joined with the problem to develop the company, green-light new projects, renew the fleet and it was all about building and construction, and procuring new stuff. But a year ago we had to change to war time, and war rails,” he says.

Perhaps the most extraordinary part of Biden’s journey to Ukraine was the light that it shed on just how smoothly Ukrzaliznytsia operates.

Kamyshin apologized in a tweet that, because of Biden’s complex journey, “only 90% of our trains ran on time yesterday.”

That caused hollow laughter in Biden’s America, where Amtrak is infamous for its late-running passenger trains.

Amtrak’s latest on-time performance figures, looking at June 2022, show that on average, just over 22% of trains ran on time across the US. Some areas have reversed Ukraine’s statistics, with more than 90% of trains arriving late.

In the UK – which has sent two prime ministers to Ukraine by train – just 67.7% of trains run on time, according to the latest data.

That’s no surprise to Ukrainians. The train services have always been excellent, says Kyiv resident Alla Penalba.

“I’ve always taken the train when traveling around Ukraine,” she says. She’s a particular fan of sleeper services. “It’s convenient – you board in the evening and in the morning you’re on the opposite of the country. Even before 2014 [when Russia invaded Crimea] the journey to Crimea from Kyiv was more convenient by train. It took 20 hours, but you sat down, then went to sleep – it was pretty comfy.”

Penalba says that because low-cost airlines entered Ukraine later than in the rest of Europe, the country retained its network of night trains, with limited domestic flights.

Even when the budget airlines did arrive – she reckons that from 2016 there were more viable options to fly cross-country – she didn’t bite.

“I could fly to Odesa from Kyiv but still I’d think, OK, I need to go to the airport two hours in advance, if you live on the opposite side of Kyiv it can take an hour to get there – so that’s three hours plus the flight. Ultimately it’s more convenient to take the train at 11 p.m., sleep, and arrive at 7 a.m.”

Penalba left Kyiv with her family on the second day of the 2022 invasion, driving to France, where her husband is from. But she returned alone in the summer to take care of personal business, and to see if it felt safe to move back.

On her way into Ukraine, she took a flight to Poland and then a bus to Kyiv: “A terrible experience, I hate long bus journeys.”

On the way back, she took the overnight train to Poland: “It was the best experience out of two days of travel.”

When the family moved back to Kyiv, in August 2022, they again took the train from Poland, getting a second class, four-berth compartment for her, her husband and their two kids. Their only stress? The Polish train was delayed by three hours. Unlike the Ukrainian one.

“I was amazed and pretty proud,” says Penalba.

Visitors to the country are equally amazed – starting with Penalba’s husband, who moved from France in 2015.

“He’s always saying that Ukrainian trains are pretty great compared to the ones in France,” she says. “He didn’t use trains there because they were too expensive. Here they are accessible for everyone.”

A cross-border train to Poland costs around 50 euros (about $53) for a lie-flat bed in a four-person, second class berth, and Penalba says that domestic routes are even cheaper – around 15-30 euros. “First class would be around 40 euros,” she says.

Koen Berghuis, editor-in-chief of train specialist travel website, Paliparan, is another fan. Based in Romania, the Dutch national takes around half a dozen long distance or overnight trains per month, and before the war, traveled to Ukraine over 10 times.

For him, if you’re comparing punctuality, Ukraine’s railway system is “better than Germany’s.”

“They’re doing a remarkable job – even now, trains are running more or less on time,” he says.

Astonishingly, Penalba reckons the system has got “more efficient” since the Russian invasion.

In August 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia launched an app, and started taking online bookings. “I can buy tickets in a few clicks now,” she says.

Kamyshin says that the only real change to the service in the past year is that trains run at slightly reduced speeds now. “It’s not much slower, but we slowed them down deliberately to make it safer in case of something [happening].”

Of course, politicians don’t travel in third class. Kamyshin won’t reveal details of the service they do get, but he says that “guests of iron diplomacy,” as he calls them, “usually spend more time on the train than in the city.”

“That’s why the way we treat them is really important, he says.”

But it’s not just about treating them right. The trains also convey “the messages that we would like to send them,” he says.

“We are delicate and we’ll always treat all of our guests properly, but these things help them understand what we expect from them – like iris flowers or leopard print clothes.”

A vase of irises was put in the train for the visit of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country agreed to supply an air defense system called Iris-T. For another politician, staff wore leopard print accessories, in a nod to the Leopard-2 tanks Ukraine was requesting from the country in question. Kamyshin won’t say who that was, but Poland and Germany have also donated Leopard-2 tanks, with Germany pledging more on the first anniversary of the invasion.

Rail travel in Europe has always been popular, of course, and the climate crisis is making it increasingly so. Berghuis thinks that Ukraine can teach other rail networks a thing or two.

“The main difference to other European countries is the sheer scale of Ukraine as a country,” he says.

At the start of last year, he took the Rakhiv-Mariupol sleeper train – Ukraine’s longest passenger train route before Russia’s invasion. At 1,806 kilometers, or 1,118 miles, it took just under 29 hours, crossing 12 “oblasts” (regions).

“It was basically the same as Amsterdam to Lisbon or Athens, or New York to Kansas City,” he says. Except passengers on those type of routes would, of course, usually fly.

Ukraine’s size means that its “huge” rail network has “always been a lifeline to Ukrainians – it’s a very important piece of infrastructure,” he says.

That’s why the Ukrainians are leaping into action if any of the line is damaged during the fighting. When the southern city of Kherson was liberated, the trains were running into the city again just eight days later.

“It’s incredible,” says Berghuis.

“It’s hugely important for them, for keeping the country united, ensuring people can visit families and friends, for freight and for the postal network. They use trains to deliver some pensions.

“It’s also for PR, because everything is PR in a war – they’re showing Russia, ‘Hey, even in these circumstances we manage to run trains. Even if there’s no electricity, it doesn’t matter, we can use diesel or steam locomotives.’ But the rail network is also a lifeline in many more ways than we can imagine.”

And while Europe is going through a sleeper train “renaissance” at the moment, Berghuis says that Ukraine is a great example of how to run a night train network.

There are generally three classes to a sleeper, he says, with each carriage having its own attendant. They’re there to give passengers their bedding, take orders for snacks and tea, and make sure passengers get on and off at the right stations. But they’re also there for security – especially important when you’re sleeping in an open cabin of 50-odd berths.

Yes, 50-odd – that’s what you get in the third class carriages, which are essentially wagons of bunkbeds which double as seats during the daytime part of the trip.

“The attendants keep an eye out for everyone in their wagon – they’re proud of what they do,” says Berghuis. Not that they really need to. He says that third class carriages are “part of the fun, with people happy to share their food, stories, try and talk – even if it’s with hand gestures.”

Second class gets you a space in a four-berth couchette, while first class is fancier.

The stations are also worth visiting, says Berghuis, who singles out Kyiv and Lviv as two of the most beautiful historical stations in Europe, and loves Odesa for its “seaside, holiday vibe.”

So what’s the future for Ukrainian Railways? This is a company that hasn’t just kept going during the invasion – it has made improvements, too.

In 2022, the country took possession of 65 new passenger rail carriages, bought two new diesel trains, and even found time to refurbish other trains in the network. They constructed new freight cars, and repaired others.

They launched six new international rail routes, to destinations in Poland and Moldova, and seven domestic routes. The company also electrified more track than they had done in the past decade.

The company even debuted a new onboard menu. Passengers can now enjoy “designer teas” and “natural ground coffee.”

Tragically, 319 railway workers died in 2022, and 703 were injured. The company has launched an “Iron Family” program to support their families.

For 2023, the company predicts a loss of 20.2 billion hryvnia – or $549 million. Yet it is looking to the future. In May 2022, “Children’s Railways” – where kids can learn about locomotives – opened in Kyiv and Rivne. Around 1,300 children are already studying at the two centers.

With the climate crisis intensifying, Kamyshin thinks Ukrainian Railways can teach other countries’ rail networks a few things. “The whole world should pay more attention to overnight sleepers,” he says.

“It’s a really efficient, comfortable way of transportation. And governments should review their relationships to railways. Railways are important, especially in a big crisis.”

In fact, Penalba said she was “shocked” to see people flying than taking the train when she first started traveling around the rest of Europe.

“There’s a lot of talk around ecology, but planes are cheaper and night trains are especially expensive, so it’s cheaper to fly,” she says.

“I’m used to [shorthaul European flights] now, but it’s still shocking. It’d be much more convenient if trains in the rest of Europe were as affordable and easy as in Ukraine.”

(CNN) — It isn’t every day that you spot a motorcyclist riding along the road with a German shepherd dog on the back of their bike.

So it’s not surprising that the sight of content creator Jess Stone and her beloved dog Moxie cruising along together usually has onlookers doing double takes.

“Every car that rides up beside us, they [the people inside] take out their phones, almost causing accidents because they’re trying to get the shot,” she tells CNN Travel. “It’s hilarious.”

Stone and Moxie, who weighs around 34 kilograms, are currently 10 months into an epic bike trip that will see them travel across around 90 countries throughout Central America, North and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

The pair have been on the road since last March, when they set off, along with Stone’s husband Greg, who rides behind them.

“I am always in the front,” explains Stone. “I want to go through the obstacles first.”

Riding challenge

Originally from Canada, Stone first learned to ride a motorbike on the side streets of Liberia, where she and Greg were living at the time, over a decade ago and admits that it was far from an easy process.

“Having your partner teach you how to ride is not the best thing,” she adds. “He wasn’t very patient with me.”

Once she finally felt at ease on a motorbike, the couple, who have been married for eight years, went on an eight-month long motorcycle trip together from North to South America. A few years after they returned, they moved to Guatemala, and Moxie came into their lives.

“She picked me 100%,” Stone says, recounting the moment she first laid eyes on the canine while viewing a litter of German shepherd puppies in one of the neighboring towns.

“She was there at my heels just waiting for me to love her.”

While both Stone and her husband were determined to include Moxie in their travels, she explains that she “didn’t want to have a sidecar or a trailer or something that was going to really change the dynamic of riding,” now that she was finally comfortable on a motorcycle.

They quickly began designing what would later become the K9 Moto Cockpit, a motorcycle dog carrier they manufacture in Guatemala, along with a range of outdoor dog gear, through their company Ruffly.

“Everybody always asks how long it takes to teach your dog how to ride,” says Stone. “Honestly, it took Moxie the weekend.

“It took me a lot longer to feel comfortable having that much weight on the back, because I’d never rode with a passenger.”

“Obviously I wanted to travel the world,” says Stone, who aims to raise $100,000 for Girl Up’s global empowerment projects. “But I also wanted to show people that you can do it with a big dog.”

Being able to take Moxie on this particular trip has made it that much more special for Stone.

Constant companion

“It’s like you get to experience the adventure twice,” she explains. “You experience it for yourself. And then you experience it from her perspective, because she’s right behind me.

“I see her [Moxie] in my mirror all the time. Her head is right up against my side. Sometimes she even rests her big snout on my shoulder with her chin up there.

“It makes me feel so happy that she’s really experiencing everything. It’s always new sights, sounds and smells that she’s looking at and experiencing.”

Of course, traveling with a dog has its disadvantages. They are largely limited to dog friendly places and rely on wild camping, and occasional Airbnbs, while on the road so that Moxie can roam free.

“You have to be the type of person who enjoys natural places and outdoors,” adds Stone.

“Because they are the places where we can bring her. If you’re looking to be in the city and go to all these fancy restaurants, traveling with a dog does make it a bit more challenging.”

While they’d originally planned to ride from Guatemala up to the Arctic Ocean, and across to Canada, before flying to Spain and heading to Africa, the significant cost increase due to a number of issues, including rising oil prices and supply shortages, forced them to change their route.

Stone points out that Moxie needs to be shipped in a giant sized crate as unaccompanied cargo due to her size.

This meant that the total cost for her alone would have been around $6,500, including vet fees, cargo shipment and international pet exporter fees from Toronto to Spain, if they’d stuck to their original plan.

The price of shipping their motorcycles had also risen significantly by the time they began the trip.

They ultimately chose to travel “tip to tip and top to bottom,” making their way from Guatemala to Mexico, the US, Canada and on to the Arctic Ocean.

From here, they began riding to the top of North America, before turning around and heading back towards South America.

Challenging route

Before setting off, Stone booked in some private off-road training lessons to ensure that she had the skills required to navigate some of the trickier sections of the route.

“Obviously, I’ve ridden off road many times, but I never really felt comfortable,” she says. “And I wanted to feel really good about it because I have my Moxie on the back.”

She admits to being particularly anxious about riding along the remote Dempster Highway, a long gravel road in Canada that leads up to the Arctic Ocean.

“I was concerned that I was going to crash and hurt my bike,” she says. “It’s funny, I never really think about hurting myself. My bike is what I’m most concerned with.”

Thankfully they were able to pass through without incident, but Stone says she’s often plagued by thoughts of something going wrong during the journey.

“My biggest fear is not being able to continue the trip and having something happen with the bike on the off road stretches,” she says. “Luckily, nothing like that happened.”

While Stone stresses that her riding skills are developing all the time, that hasn’t stopped her from doubting herself regularly.

“Do I still worry about the dirt roads that come up? Yes. Do I worry that we’re going to go down and I’m going to break my bike? Yes.

“But I can’t stress enough how important it is to practice those skills. It really makes a difference. It makes the experience that much more positive.”

Although things have gone relatively smoothly so far, Stone has occasionally lost her balance while riding, causing her and Moxie to “plop over.”

Having her husband, who she describes as the “gear mule,” behind her has no doubt been a great source of comfort.

“I carry the shepherd, he carries the camping equipment,” she adds, before explaining that they don’t necessarily ride together continuously and sometimes take different routes.

“Sometimes he wants to try a different road or I want to go a different way and then we meet up with each other after that. But I’m self-sufficient the way I am.”

So far, their biggest hurdle has been having to replace her bike in May. After experiencing various “oil leak issues,” Stone learned that her 2013 BMW G650GS would require a hugely expensive engine rebuild.

She ended up buying a newer second hand model of the bike for roughly the same price as the rebuild.

“That was an unexpected expense,” she says. “But that [new] bike is going to take me the rest of the way.”

Main attraction

Among the many highlights for her so far has been being able to stop off at Girl Up clubs and sharing stories, along with camping at the Arctic Ocean, where they marveled at the sight of moose crossing the road, and also spotted a grizzly bear.

“Moxie shakes with anticipation when she sees these creatures on the side of the road,” she adds. “She’s just so excited. We did some fishing along the way, which was really, really spectacular.”

Currently in Los Angeles, Stone is preparing for the next stage of the trip, which will involve taking a ferry over to Baja, Mexico, and then riding down to Guatemala, and on to Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.

From Panama, they plan to fly to Colombia, where they’ll ride to the “tip” of Argentina, and then fly over to South Africa.

Once they reach South Africa, they’ll travel up the east coast of Africa to Egypt and then Greece, before “looping around Europe” and riding through Turkey and Central Asia.

The next leg will see them ride from India to Malaysia, where they’ll ship their bikes, and Moxie, to North America and then head back to their first and final destination Guatemala, which Stone describes as her “adopted home.”

Stone estimates that they’ll be on the road for at least another two and a half years. But for the time being, she’s focused on making it to the next stage of the journey, and constantly building on her riding skills.

Her four-legged companion continues to be a source of inspiration, and Stone never gets tired of seeing the way others react to Moxie, joking that every gas station visit is like “a selfie palooza.”

“People just get out of their cars,” she adds. “And the first thing everyone says is, ‘Oh my God, she’s wearing goggles.'”

“It brings a smile to everyone’s face. And that’s what I love. She just makes everybody have a good day.”

(CNN) — Andye was only in Paris for three days. On day one, she jumped aboard the Metro train that would change her life forever.

It was September 2016. Andye, born in Haiti and brought up in the US, was 25 and finishing up a Master’s degree in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.

She was in that in-between phase of a degree when studies are over, but graduation is still to come.

Andye planned a month’s adventure exploring Italy, Greece, Egypt and India. On her way back, she returned via Paris to visit a close friend, Seyna, who lived in the French capital and was looking after some of Andye’s belongings.

“I got on the Metro to head back to my friend’s house where I’d dropped off my suitcases,” Andye recalls to CNN Travel. “And that’s where he got on.”

“He” was Steven, a 26-year-old Master’s student originally from the Central African Republic studying in Paris and working part-time in a school. (Andye and Steven have asked that only their first names be used for privacy reasons.)

When Steven boarded the train, the carriage was already full of travelers. He was one of several passengers standing.

Meanwhile, Andye was sitting, her traveling backpack on her knee and her headphones on. Steven noticed her right away.

“I found her really beautiful,” Steven tells CNN Travel.

A few stops went by, the carriage emptied out, seats freed up and Steven ended up sitting opposite Andye. He kept glancing her way. She seemed to be looking at him too. Their eyes kept meeting.

Andye also noticed Steven amid the crowds of travelers.

“We just kept looking at each other,” she recalls. “He would turn around to look at me, and I would look away, and we just kept on doing that for like a good 15 minutes, just staring at each other and looking away.”

As the train sped underground the Parisian streets, Steven tried to think of a polite way to broach conversation with the girl with the backpack. He wanted to speak to her, but he was also conscious of respecting her space and privacy.

Meanwhile, Andye was silently fantasizing about the stranger opposite her.

She recalls being struck by his “calming energy.”

“He had really nice, muscular arms. I was like, ‘Wow, he looks like someone I could really get a nice hug from.'”

As these thoughts flashed through Andye’s mind, they were followed by another, sinking realization.

“I was like, ‘What if he’s my husband, but I’ll never know? Because I’m going to get off this train without ever speaking to him.'”

“Then, at some point — when our eyes finally caught each other, and neither of us turned back — I saw his lips move. So I removed one of my headphones.”

Metro meet-cute

In French, Steven was suggesting Andye could move her heavy-looking backpack onto the now vacant seat next to her.

Andye, who is fluent in French, replied that it wasn’t necessary — the bag wasn’t heavy.

“Then, somehow, I just did not put on my headphones back, because I kind of was hoping that we would keep on talking,” says Andye. “And then the conversation continued.”

Steven asked if Andye was a student — because of the backpack — and she told him about her studies. Steven explained he was also working towards a Master’s degree.

“At some point, I had to get off the train to transfer, and he asked if he could get off with me. And I said, ‘You can do as you please.'”

As they got off the train together, Steven offered to help carry her backpack.

“I felt a bit nervous because I didn’t know him and I thought about how he could probably run away with my bag,” says Andye. “But my gut felt comfortable enough to allow him to take it.”

The two waited for the next subway station together, Steven holding the backpack. Then they got on the next train together and sat next to one another.

“We just kept on talking,” says Andye. “That’s when we realized that we actually were doing our Master’s in the same field of study. We were both studying sustainable development, and we started talking about that a bit.”

When the train arrived at Andye’s stop, Steven got off with her, handed her the backpack. They exchanged numbers, then Steven asked if he could give her a hug goodbye. Andye agreed.

“I thought that was so weird, because in France people just do the kisses on the cheek, they don’t hug,” recalls Andye.

“I was like, ‘Wow, what if this guy is a mind reader? Because earlier I was just thinking I could get a really nice hug from him.'”

After their hug, the two went their separate ways. Steven, glancing at his phone, realized his Metro detour had made him late for work.

Meanwhile, Andye reunited with her friend Seyna and immediately shared details of her Metro meet-cute.

Later that evening, Steven messaged Andye and nervously waited for a reply.

“When she responded, I screamed and ran to my cousin,” says Steven, recalling announcing that Andye was the woman he would marry.

Andye and Steven messaged back and forth all evening, trying to figure out if they could meet up again before Andye returned to Amsterdam. She had a tight schedule, and at first suggested it would be easier to meet in a few weeks — after graduation she planned to return to Paris for a week before she headed home to the US.

“Even if we see each other for just a quick second, I really want to see you before you leave,” wrote Steven in response.

Eventually, the two settled on meeting for a quick dinner on Andye’s last evening. Steven wanted to impress Andye and take her to a swanky restaurant, but Andye wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be late home, given she was traveling the next day.

They settled on a casual fast food spot, right next to the Metro stop where they’d parted the first time.

As Andye was getting ready for the date, Seyna teased her about her romantic Metro meeting and the subsequent date plans.

“She was really giddy about me going on the date,” Andye laughs.

When they saw one another again, both Andye and Steven felt excited.

“I felt butterflies in my stomach,” says Steven.

“We did the usual French greeting with one kiss on each cheek AKA ‘la bise,'” recalls Andye, who remembers trying to temper her excitement, given her imminent return to the US.

Inside the restaurant, the two settled into conversation quickly.

“We started talking and getting to know each other a bit,” recalls Andye.

Steven was straightforward with Andye, explaining he was looking for a relationship.

“I thought that was like, ‘Whoa, first date, like you’re doing too much for me.’ But I appreciated his sincerity,” says Andye. “We kept on talking and I got, again, that kind of like, calm feeling being around him.”

Andye’s original plan to keep the evening short no longer seemed so important. She suggested they go into the center of Paris to a bar.

Later, Steven accompanied Andye back to her friend’s apartment. Outside the door, they kissed. Then Steven returned to where he lived, further into the suburbs of Paris.

It was later than he’d realized, and trains had stopped running, so he walked most of the way. Steven says he didn’t mind, he was just caught up in the excitement and romance of the evening.

Meanwhile, Andye excitedly told Seyna about the date and how well it went.

“Then the next day I left to go to Amsterdam, but we kept in touch. He was messaging me the whole time I was in Amsterdam,” recalls Andye.

Long distance

After graduation, Andye returned to Paris for a brief stopover before her return to the US. Once again, she arranged to meet Steven at the Metro stop by Seyna’s apartment.

The two hopped on the train together and went for a stroll along the Champs Élysées, through the Trocadéro area and towards the Eiffel Tower.

Andye and Steven tried to see each other as much as they could during those few days, often riding the Metro together. On one of these journeys, Steven turned to Andye and said he didn’t want her to return to the US.

“Why?” asked Andye.

“Because I love you,” said Steven.

“How can you love me? You don’t even know me!” said Andye.

Andye boarded her flight to the US at the end of September, with no imminent plans to return to Europe.

“We didn’t make plans to meet up, we kind of held hope that we were gonna see each other again, at some point,” says Andye.

“We decided that we’re going to keep in touch, and just keep writing to each other and talking,” says Steven.

Three months later, Andye started working with an international organization based in Washington DC. She soon learned the role involved business travel, mostly to Guinea. Serendipitously, flights often included a layover in Paris.

In March 2017, six months after their first Metro encounter, Steven and Andye reunited at Charles de Gaulle airport for Andye’s 24-hour stopover.

In the intervening months, the two had been in constant communication. But it wasn’t the same as finally seeing one another in person again.

“Wow, this person actually exists,” Andye remembers thinking.

“We talked a lot, we hugged a lot,” says Steven of their reunion.

But before long they were saying goodbye again.

Andye’s role involved traveling to West Africa every three months or so. She figured that each time, she would try to incorporate a Paris layover.

But Steven felt guilty that Andye was the one always traveling — he didn’t have a visa to travel to the US, so he couldn’t reciprocate the trips.

“It was getting complicated,” he says. “Because it was always Andye who would have had to travel, I thought it would have been even more complicated later on in the process.”

Steven didn’t communicate these worries to Andye. But she sensed something was up.

“I just remember him being less attentive, really distant. And I said, ‘Look, if you’re not into this, let’s just end it. I am not going to chase you. I love you. But I don’t like one-sided relationships. I would like for this to be reciprocal. And since it’s not, I’m kind of removing myself out of the equation.'”

Reunited in Paris

A couple of months passed. Andye and Steven didn’t talk during this period, but they both thought about one another often. Meanwhile, Andye planned a trip to Paris to visit Seyna.

“I’m usually the kind of person, like once it’s over, it’s over. But with him I felt like this was more kind of a break than a breakup,” says Andye.

“I had my friend Seyna kind of reach out to him to see if he was okay, since I hadn’t heard from him, and tell him that I was coming to France for a week for vacation.”

Steven and Andye arranged to meet up during Andye’s trip.

“We talked a lot. We went out dancing, and then we kind of got back to how things were before,” she says. “I was in Paris for at least four to five days and we spent most of the time together.”

Steven says seeing Andye again after the months of silence “reignited a fire” inside him.

“At that moment I thought to myself, ‘If I don’t make it work, I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life,'” he says.

The two were able to talk candidly about the situation, with Andye explaining she didn’t mind that she was always the one traveling, given she could incorporate visits into work trips.

They parted on stronger terms.

“I was really easy and confident in our relationship after that visit, but I do think that it took a while for me to warm back up into it,” says Andye.

The relationship did have another wobble when Andye was back in DC. When they came back together again, Andye was firm: She told Steven they both had to be all in.

“I was like, ‘Look, I don’t have time to play games. If this is what you want to do, it’s not for me, I was very strict on my boundaries. I told him, ‘Look, if you’re really serious about this, here’s my mom’s number. You let her know that you’re serious about her daughter.'”

Within a week, Steven had sent a long paragraph to Andye’s mother.

“I tried to tell her a bit about myself,” Steven explains. “I said I was serious about Andye.”

Steven’s message had the effect of taking Andye and Steven’s relationship to the next level. They started talking about what country they might live in the future, and plans for marriage.

The next time they reunited in France, in November 2017, Andye built a week’s vacation into her stopover.

“He came to pick me up and brought my favorite chocolate croissants to the airport,” she recalls. “He knows I’m addicted.”

It was during this trip that Steven proposed.

“When I met Andye, I felt at peace, in sync with all of nature’s elements,” says Steven. “But when I wanted to propose to her, I felt a wave of different feelings. I was asking myself what I would do if she said no and at the same time, I was excited at the idea that she would accept to be my wife. I was nervous and shaking internally.”

Andye accepted Steven’s proposal.

“I got that same calm feeling that I had that first day that I met him,” says Andye of the moment she said yes.

The couple kept the news to themselves for a short while, first telling Seyna, Andye’s Paris-based friend, and later Steven’s best friend.

The two decided to enjoy the engagement for a little while, and not rush into marriage They continued their long-distance romance and the following summer Andye spent four months in France with Steven. She’d quit her job and was in the middle of a short break, reconvening and figuring out her next steps career-wise.

“It was a really wonderful summer,” says Andye, recalling quality time spent with Steven, his family and friends.

While she was in France, Andye also looked into applying for jobs in Paris. But this proved trickier than she expected

Andye and Steven had previously figured it made most sense for Andye to move to France — Andye was fluent in French, after all. But after she struggled to find a France-based job, the couple started discussing the possibility of living together in the US instead.

Almost a year later, in July 2019, Steven’s fiance visa was approved. To celebrate, Andye and Steven went to Haiti. While there, they were inspired to plan their own Haiti-based wedding celebration.

Move to the US

Steven and Andye started their American life together in a tiny studio apartment in DC. They had a small wedding at a court office on September 16, 2019 — the three year anniversary of their Metro meeting — while anticipating a larger celebration in Haiti the following year.

Both Andye and Steven were thrilled to be living together after years of long distance. The two started a company together, Afrayiti, creating handmade apparel using African fabric.

Not long afterwards, Covid-19 hit the US. Steven lost his job, and early on, Andye caught the virus and was hospitalized.

She recovered physically, but struggled with anxiety for some time afterward.

“I became really anxious to the point where I didn’t leave my place for three months,” Andye recalls. “I didn’t even step outside of the door of our apartment.”

During this time, Andye says Steven was a huge support.

“I wouldn’t have survived this pandemic, if it wasn’t for him.”

Steven says there is no one but Andye who he’d want to spend lockdown with.

The Haiti wedding celebration canceled, the couple instead spent their time cooking, sewing and designing together.

As the pandemic waned, Steven encouraged Andye to reenter the world. She’s grateful for his patience during this period.

“I was so scared to go outside and he kind of really pushed me into taking just small steps,” says Andye.

In summer 2021, the couple relocated to Florida, enticed by the idea of more space, warm weather and proximity to the beach. They feel, says Andye, “at peace” in Florida.

A real life romantic comedy

Today, Andye and Steven are still Florida-based, planning future adventures together. Since the world opened up, they’ve visited Tanzania, Zanzibar and Costa Rica together.

When their Haiti wedding celebration was canceled, the couple decided to start a tradition where they plan a vacation to coincide with their anniversary. Right now, they’re in Mexico celebrating six years since their Metro meeting and three years since their courthouse wedding.

“One of the things that is symbolic — and I don’t think he notices — is when we’re traveling, he likes to ask me [if he can] carry my backpack,” says Andye.

Steven’s been carrying her bag, “since day one,” says Andye, laughing.

While Andye and Steven think they were fated to meet Steven on the Metro that day, they both have moments when they marvel at what happened.

“There are days where I say to him, “God, I’m married to a stranger that I met on the train in Paris,'” she says.

“What if I was late to take the train, what would have happened?” says Steven. “It’s destiny that brought us together.”

When Steven and Andye tell others how they met, they’re often told their story resembles a romantic comedy.

“Honestly, I feel like I am living a rom-com with him,” says Andye. “Especially as a Black woman, you don’t often see international love stories with Black women or Black men in them.

And I think for me, just sometimes when I think about it, I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m living my own rom-com.’ I don’t need to see it on TV, this is it.”

(CNN) — Ritz-Carlton’s highly-anticipated superyacht cruise has finally made its debut, three and a half years after its maiden voyage was originally scheduled to begin.

The 190-meter vessel, which can accommodate 298 passengers, is made up of 149 suites with a private terrace, as well as floor to ceiling windows, and features an infinity pool, a wine vault, a Ritz-Carlton Spa, a nightclub and its very own “marina.”

Rates for a one-week stay start at $6,400 per person for Mediterranean voyages, while Caribbean voyages begin at $5,100 per person, with accommodation options ranging from standard cabins, to two-story “loft-style” apartments, and a sprawling 1,091- square-foot “owner’s suite” with a private hot tub.

Hotels at sea

Those who splash out of these luxury cruises can expect “service at a gold standard” — the yacht claims one of the highest staff and space to guest ratios at sea — as well as fine dining experiences, complimentary water sports, and on-board entertainment.

There’s also a dedicated on-board children’s facility with a jam-packed program for those aged from four to 12.

Evrima, which means discovery in Greek, will sail to a range of destinations throughout the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, as well as Central America and South America, with most cruise durations ranging from seven to 10 nights.

The luxury yacht is to be followed by two others, Ilma and Luminara, currently under construction at Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Ritz-Carlton first announced plans to move into the luxury yachting world back in 2017, describing the venture as “a hybrid between luxury cruising and yachting.”

“The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is revolutionizing the luxury cruising industry, creating an entirely unique category designed for those in search of unmatched getaways, highly curated itineraries, insider access and a level of personalization previously unseen in the space,” Douglas Prothero, chief executive officer for the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection said in a statement.

Future of cruising?

“Every element of the luxury yachting experience was considered when designing and creating Evrima, and we are excited to deliver unforgettable journeys for both longtime cruisers and those who are new to the industry.”

All three of the superyachts will be available for private charter. While Ritz-Carlton have not revealed the charter price, it’s safe to assume that those who opt to hire the vessels out will need pretty deep pockets.

“We are thrilled to introduce The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and usher in an exciting new chapter for this beloved brand,” says Chris Gabaldon, senior vice president for luxury brands at Marriott International.

The launch of Evrima has been rescheduled several times due to supply chain issues and the global pandemic.

(CNN) — It’s a place of terraced lemon groves, a paradoxically warm mountain breeze, and a powerful fat-killing gene carried by a few lucky residents.

Limone sul Garda, a picturesque fishing village set on the shores of Lake Garda in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, is an unusual destination of barely 1,000 residents.

It is the most northern spot in the entire world where lemons are naturally grown and has an exceptionally mild climate, considering its location at the feet of the Alps.

Perhaps this mix of factors is what has led to the village’s claims of a secret “elixir” to a healthy, long life.

Many locals are apparently blessed with great digestive abilities that allow them to stuff themselves with cream-filled cakes and greasy cold cuts without worrying about expanding waistlines or heart problems.

These residents have what they call the “Limone gene,” which contains a special protein that destroys lipids and keeps blood fluid.

Super humans

For 40 years, the people of Limone sul Garda have been under scientific observation, with gene-carrying villagers tested as lab rats.

Of the 1,000 residents, half are Limone born and bred; and of those 500, 60 have the gene.

“The gene runs in my family,” says shopkeeper Gianni Segala, who jokes that the villagers are used as “blood bags” for scientists.

“My brothers and I, my mother — who’s 96 and still very bright — and all my children carry it.

“Since the 1980s we’ve been giving away our blood for recurrent tests, we’ve almost been bled out entirely,” he adds wryly.

He recalls the first time the doctors had him swallow a sugary dose of whipped cream every two hours to monitor his bloods.

“They took my blood after each bite, it was so sweet and greasy I felt nauseous, but even though I ate a lot of it my blood instantly destroyed the fats without assimilating them. By nightfall I almost fainted [due to blood loss],” he says.

However, even though people like Segala may never have to fret about clogged veins and blood clots, he says he leads a very normal life and is “no Superman.”

Cesare Sirtori, professor of clinical pharmacology at the Università degli Studi di Milano, leads the team that first identified what Limone locals dub the “elixir” protein, calling it A-1 Milano. He says the people of Limone have exceptionally low HDL cholesterol levels (in a 7-15 range when normally it should be 40-60) which appears to be the result of a genetic mutation within the protein carrier.

“Having low HDL cholesterol — given that it is classed as ‘good’ cholesterol — is bad for you and leads to heart problems such as potential strokes, but in these locals it has an inverse positive effect,” he says.

“And while 99% of protein genetic mutations trigger diseases and pathologies, this one has determined the absence of vascular diseases in carriers.” Sirtori is now studying the Limone gene to see how it could further the fight against atherosclerosis.

He discovered that in Limone it is a dominant gene, found in the DNA of five-year olds, youths and elderly alike.

‘Free to eat whatever I want’

The gene was first identified in the blood of a Limone train driver, an ancestor of Segala, who had been involved in an accident in Milan (hence the protein name A-1 Milano) and was taken to the hospital. Doctors who cured him were baffled by his astounding blood results, and kickstarted a massive screening campaign in the village.

“I was just a kid when my blood was first tested, and the doctors come regularly to monitor how our gene is behaving,” says Giuliano Segala, Gianni’s son.

“The fact that I carry [the gene] gives me a sort of life insurance — I feel more shielded health-wise and confident I won’t have clogged arteries or die of a heart attack when I grow old.”

Even though he does occasionally feel like a guinea pig, Giuliano, who’s slim and fit, admits to happily indulging in greasy cured meats including mortadella, salami and even lard — just like his grandmother, who looks after herself and cooks for the whole family. The younger Segalas inherited the gene from her.

“I never get stomach ache and I eat whatever I feel like. I love cotolette (breaded and fried veal cutlets), fried foods, salamis, and I also love to drink. I sleep like a baby,” says Giuliano. But just because he’s a carrier of this superb gene doesn’t mean he always over-eats. He also exercises regularly, hiking with his father up mountain peaks to enjoy the spectacular views of nearby Lake Garda.

Sirtori is still hoping to analyze what happens if two carriers conceive a child. So far it’s been either the father or mother of a carrier to pass on the gene.

A powerful mix of factors

Sirtori says that this genetic mutation, and its associated health benefits, is unique to Limone — and can’t even be found in nearby villages. However, he isn’t interested in digging into why that is.

But others have. Antonio Girardi, a local hotelier who has traced back the entire family tree of the Limone gene transmission to the 18th century, believes the surroundings, climate and natural produce play a key role.

“It can be this warm climate year-round — we never have snow or ice, which is also why lemons have been growing in this northern area here for centuries,” he says.

“Or perhaps it’s thanks to the extraordinary extra virgin olive oil we’re all weaned on, and the fresh lake fish we eat.”

Ever since the Renaissance, wealthy families have flocked to Limone’s shores for vacations, breathing in the sweet Alpine air mixed with citrus fragrances, and benefiting from the climate.

Girardi keeps a phone book with the contacts of all 60-something gene carriers. The other residents are split between those born in Limone and those from from neighboring towns or abroad, lured by the paradisaical setting and sleepy vibe of Limone’s maze of cobbled alleys, and white passageways and dwellings.

In the past villagers were either fishermen or mountain woodcutters who transported logs on donkey to be sold to the ships at the harbor. Today they all work in the tourist sector which draws big money.

Families stroll along the picturesque harbor and tourists visit the fishing museum. The cozy beaches lure sunbathers and sailing amateurs in summer while hikers explore the ragged tall cliffs looming over the lake.

“These mountains act as natural shields protecting us from cold winds and capturing the sun, keeping temperatures constantly warmish,” says Girardi.

“We must thank this very pleasant, extraordinary micro-climate which has gifted our people with such a natural elixir.”

(CNN) — At the far southwestern tip of England, dangling into the Atlantic, the remote region of Cornwall rarely feels like the center of the world.

But recently locals have been feeling tantalizingly close as they’ve watched a very special plane fly low overhead, taking off from the runway at little Newquay Airport — the 29th biggest airport in the UK — and circling the skies above the coast before touching back down.

This isn’t just any plane. Nor is it a normal Boeing 747, as it appears from the ground. In fact, it’s the “Queen of the Skies” repurposed for the space race, making trial flights before it takes part in the United Kingdom’s first orbital space launch next month. And it’ll be taking off from Spaceport Cornwall, which shares the airport’s 1.7-mile regular runway.

Marc Andrew, from nearby Newquay, traveled to the spaceport after work to see the aircraft land this week.

“It was amazing to watch, and will be a nice bit of history to tell my little boy when he’s older,” he told CNN. He is now preparing to return for the November launch.

Cosmic Girl, as the plane has been named, is the vessel for Virgin Orbit’s bid to launch seven satellites into space.

A former passenger jumbo jet in service with Virgin Atlantic until 2015, it has been modified to carry LauncherOne, a California-made rocket which will go into the Earth’s orbit.

Next month, Cosmic Girl will take off from Newquay’s clifftop runway with LauncherOne under its wing — and once the 747 hits 34,000 feet, it’ll release the rocket.

Inside will be seven payloads, or satellites, which will start circling the planet in low Earth orbit.

A test flight for locals

Using a 747 for a horizontal launch enables a “broader range of orbits than would be possible from a traditional ground-launched system,” Virgin Orbit wrote in a statement.

The event will be the first orbital space launch for the UK and the first international launch for Virgin Orbit, according to the company. It’ll also be Europe’s first satellite launch, according to Ian Annett, deputy CEO at the UK Space Agency.

LauncherOne completed its first full launch rehearsal in Long Beach, California, on October 2, before being flown to the UK last Friday to meet Cosmic Girl, which arrived in Cornwall on October 11.

Cosmic Girl completed a nearly three-hour test flight around Cornwall and Southwest England on October 14, with Cornwall locals noting it flying low over their gardens.

Virgin Orbit’s chief pilot, Matthew Stannard, who will fly the 747 for the launch, said: “It feels amazing to bring Cosmic Girl home to the UK We are weeks away now from the first UK launch at Spaceport Cornwall so it’s all very real.”

Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said: “Seeing the infrastructure in place makes our launch ambitions a reality.”

Hoping to see more Cosmic Girls? Virgin Orbit is planning to bring horizontal launches to Australia, Brazil, Japan, Poland and the Republic of Korea.