After many years of international travel, I've learned that duty free isn't necessarily a deal. Unless you're a smoker or live in a country where alcohol is heavily taxed (like Turkey), you won't find much value among the jumbo-sized Toblerone bars or rows of designer perfumes. But I still enjoy the ritual of browsing through the shop, trying some free samples, and maybe taking home a tasty piece of whatever country I've just visited. Some airports really step up their sales technique, like a flash mob in Beirut, or this pair of Flamenco dancers in Madrid, Spain spotted by Flickr user TaylorMcConnell. Not sure what they are selling, but I hope it's a good bottle of Rioja.

See anything fun at an airport? Add your pix to the Gadling Flickr pool for a future Photo of the Day.

Just a couple weeks ago, American Airlines revealed its restructuring plan, proposing to lay off 13,000 employees, terminating pensions and shutting down its Alliance base in Dallas-Fort Worth. Worried about losing their jobs, American employees are protesting.

"I understand it somewhat," 24-year mechanic Greg Cooke, one of 300 American workers protesting at DFW this week told Star-Telegram. "But I don't want to have to move again just to put another four years in before I retire. I'm tired of them taking and asking off of the backs of the employees."

Protesters including pilots and members of other unions, showing their support, marched in front the DFW terminal holding signs saying "Blaming Labor AgAAin."

Workers believe the airline needs to pay its pensions and called for an end to the "corporate greed" of executive bonuses in previous years.

American, meeting now with union leaders, said that the restructuring process is difficult but necessary and will affect all employee groups, union and nonunion alike.

"We are meeting with representatives from each union to negotiate the changes needed to make us successful, and are focused on reaching consensual agreements in the next few weeks," spokesman Bruce Hicks said. "Our goal is to exit as a growing, profitable company that preserves tens of thousands of jobs."

Flickr photo by wbaiv

Travelers challenged with mobility issues often had to take a back seat to adventure travelers in the past, viewing dreams-of-a-lifetime from a distance. Now, dedicated companies and organizations are making destinations around the planet accessible to all, even in unlikely places.

Visiting Italy's iconic attractions can be a daunting task for the handicapped. Ancient ruins, preserved and protected to maintain their integrity, are far-removed from today's accessibility laws that bring ramps, assistance and modified facilities. In the past, challenged travelers would most commonly view popular sites such as the Roman Forum, Pompeii and Herculaneum from a distance. Now, a specially designed trekking-wheelchair makes destination immersion possible for many disabled travelers.

"It is our great pleasure to make all of Italy accessible to everyone who would like to visit. This chair is the first of its kind and opens doors to those challenged by walking on our country's ancient streets," says Program Director Stefano Sghinolfi of Rome and Italy Tourist Services.

Using a one-of-a-kind chair, every Italian archaeological site can be visited by those with mobility challenges, no matter what the ground surface might be. Using a seat and frame with only one wheel, two arms in the front and back to support the chair when not in motion and allow for movement up or down hills.

With the rise of Qatar Airways as a long-haul airline, Doha has become an increasingly easy short-term layover destination. The Qatari flag carrier boasts especially good links between Europe and Asia via Doha. Its route map include a whopping 12 cities in India, three in China, and four in Pakistan; notably, the airline also shuttles European tourists to the Indian Ocean holiday playgrounds of the Maldives and Seychelles. In 2012, Qatar Airways will introduce an additional slate of fascinating destinations, including Kiev, Kigali, Perth, and Zanzibar.

Doha's got plenty of tourism draws, including the renovated Souq Waqif, the Museum of Islamic Art, and its Corniche. Qatar is terribly rich, with the world's highest or second-highest GDP, depending on the evaluation matrix. As you might expect, Doha's infrastructure for visitors is undeniably impressive. The city is also in the midst of a major construction boom. The stadiums under construction for the 2022 World Cup alone will keep construction humming through the end of the decade.

Since the tail-end of 2010, Doha has been home to Mathaf, Qatar's Arab Museum of Modern Art. Mathaf's current show, Cai Guo-Qiang's Saraab, features 16 impressive commissioned pieces and scores of past works. Guo-Qiang is a major artist, famous for his large-scale projects involving gunpowder and fireworks. He is particularly well known for orchestrating the extraordinary fireworks displays at the 2008 Beijing Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies.

In Arabic, "saraab" means mirage. The exhibition endeavors to explore connections between Quanzhou, Guo-Qiang's hometown, and Doha, as well as between China and the Arab world more generally. Trade links between Quanzhou and the Arabian Peninsula are not difficult to trace--the former was once the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road--and Guo-Qiang makes the most of this connection. One particularly appealing piece, titled Endless, consists of three boats, one Chinese and two Qatari, sitting side-by-side in a shallow pool, shrouded in mist.

The museum, located in a former school building, was revamped smartly by the French architect Jean-François Bodin. Other notable features of the museum include a library with a great magazine selection and a cute café.

Mathaf is a good 14 kilometers (about eight miles) from central Doha. The going rate for a taxi from a hotel is 60 riyal ($16.50). Admission to exhibitions costs 25 riyal (just shy of $7) per person. The museum is closed on Monday. Saraab runs through May 26.

NASA's Airborne Science Program and Earth system science research has a fleet of highly modified aircraft that can be deployed all over the world for Earth science missions. Operating in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, researchers use these aircraft to improve our understanding of the planet. This Summer, thirty-two undergraduate and graduate students from across the United States will participate in the Student Airborne Research Program aimed at measuring pollution in California.

Using NASA's P-3B airborne laboratory, students will measure pollution in the Los Angeles basin and California's Central Valley and study ocean biology along the California coast. In addition to airborne data collection, students will take measurements at field sites.

Its just one part of an ongoing program that combines global satellite observations and ground sampling to better model and understand the complete Earth system, continuing NASA's mission even at a time when manned space flight has all but come to a stop.

"NASA's Airborne Science support of the Earth system science community will be exceptional in 2012," Randy Albertson, NASA Airborne Science deputy program director told SpaceDaily. "The program on track to exceed the 2011 record of 2,600 hours flying science missions."

In addition to the Student Airborne program, NASA has projects scheduled this year that include measuring snowfall from space (critically important to freshwater resources, atmospheric water and energy cycles), collecting detailed measurements of important greenhouse gases and studying the processes that form hurricanes.

Not only student's are engaged with NASA either. More than 70 teachers had an opportunity to experience what it feels like to float in space as they participated in the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston last week.

The teachers flew aboard NASA aircraft designed to fly parabolic flight paths, which create brief periods of weightlessness used in NASA's astronaut training.

NASA Associate Administrator for Education and two-time space shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin also participated in some of the flights and shared first-hand with the participants his experiences in astronaut training.

"The enthusiasm among our teachers participating in the reduced gravity flights is contagious," Melvin said in a statement. "I know it will add a new dimension to their teaching as they engage their students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies."

NASA photo

If you pass through Grand Central in New York today, you might catch a little piece of Bermuda during what's being called "Experience Bermuda" day. The Bermuda Department of Tourism will be offering commuters samples of Bermudian cuisine and tropical beverages, chances to win giveaways, and live performances--including Bermudian musicians and the H&H Gombeys Cultural Dance Troupe.

Stop by to win one of 50 round-trip airline tickets to Bermuda in a dance contest that will place participants "virtually" on the island, or get a picture next to one of the pink Vespa scooters that can be seen on the island. The day will end in a Bermuda shorts runway contest on a pink runway, where one lucky winner will walk away with a trip for two to the island.

It's all taking place in Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall (just off the main concourse) from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you can't make it to the terminal, WCBS-FM will be broadcasting the event live from 6 to 10 a.m. on the "Dan Taylor Morning Show," and will be giving away vacations for two to Bermuda from February 13 through February 17.

Photo of H&H Gombeys Cultural Dance Troupe by GoToBermuda / Flickr.

Singapore is an island-nation in Southeast Asia that has a rich culture, especially when it comes to food. Their unique street food culture can be experienced in the numerous hawker centres: open-air food courts housing authentic, carefully prepared cuisine for a budget-friendly price. Sample delicious options like the local favorite Hainanese Chicken Rice (shown right), peanut sauce-ladden satay skewers, mildy-spicy Laksa soup, and the rainbow-colored desert, Ais kacang, made with ice and topped with beans, corn, fruit, and other delights.

International food expert Anthony Bourdain, the host of the Travel Channel's No Reservations and The Layover, is a huge fan of Singaporean street food. At a recent event held at LAUT in New York, Bourdain described Singapore as one of the most "foodie destinations" in the world and explained how the culture is comprised of "incredible foods with individual personalities".

He continued, saying, "I kind of lost my mind in Singapore. It ruined me from my previous life. When you've had Laksa for breakfast there's no going back. You'll never eat Cheerios again. You can't go back to the way you were before."

For a better idea of Singapore street food culture, check out the gallery below.

Gallery: Street food in Sinapore

Want to spend next summer excavating the lost ruins of Atlantis? Well, you can! There are only two catches--it may not be Atlantis, and you won't get to ride in a UFO.

Wide-eyed crystal clutchers need not apply. This is real science and is far more interesting than New Age fantasy.

Archaeologists excavating the once-lost ancient city of Helike in Greece, are looking for volunteers this summer. The city is located in the Peloponnese, the peninsula in southwestern Greece that's home to Corinth and Sparta. Inhabited from the Bronze Age onwards, it was thought lost after a massive earthquake in the winter of 373/372 B.C. supposedly sloughed it into the sea. All that was left were a few vague stories and the occasional statue trawled up in fishermen's nets.

Some scholars theorize Helike's demise may have led to the legend of Atlantis, the famous lost kingdom that also sank into the sea. Others claim a more likely inspiration for Atlantis was Thera, also known as Santorini, an Aegean island that experienced a massive volcanic explosion in the mid second millennium BC that blew away most of its land and may have disrupted the nearby Minoan civilization.

In 2000 and 2001, a Greek team found Helike and discovered that it hadn't sunk into the sea, but rather got submerged under an inland lagoon that later silted over. Not nearly as romantic, but nostalgia's loss is our gain. Evidence of over three thousand years of habitation have been found. Intriguingly, excavators found a settlement dating to c.2600-2300 BC that may also have been submerged after an earthquake.

The city was dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios, god of the sea and the earthquakes. The citizens even put the god on their coinage. Considering that their entire city was destroyed by an earthquake and water, it appears their faith was misplaced.

Volunteers are needed for this summer's excavations. You don't need any prior experience and you'll be trained in archaeological tasks like excavation, mapping, and lab work. If you'd rather dig somewhere else, there are hundreds of archaeological excavations around the world needing your help this summer. This list of links will get your started in your search.

Photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Check the Helike Project website for more photos of this amazing site.

Two women emerge from the backseat of a Range Rover in full length mink coats. They stroll past a sign on a boutique window advertising pure bred Appalachian Great Pyrnees "rescue dogs." Up on Washington Street, shoppers consider $45 t-shirts, $132 cashmere sweaters, and $238 dresses, all in toddler sizing, at the Magic Wardrobe, a children's clothing boutique. Just outside of town, men play polo seven months out of the year.

Welcome to Middleburg, the heart of Virginia's Hunt Country, where even the apartment dwellers drive Audis and manage hedge funds. With the Occupy movement and election year politics putting the nation's ultra-rich in the spotlight, why not make a field trip out to the gorgeous Hunt Country to study the 1% in their natural habitat?

The Hunt Country includes the pastoral, hilly counties of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Although there are some low-income residents in both counties, it's better known as an area of horse farms, fox hunts, fake accents, old estates, McMansions, and new money trying to be old money.

Middleburg is ground zero for upper crust leisure time pursuits in the area. Men in chunky, checked wool blazers and ascots share the streets with elegant looking women in riding boots and Burberry scarves. Dogs and horses in the area will be wearing nicer sweaters than you, but don't let the pretentious leanings of the town scare you away, as it's an undeniably charming, walkable small town.

The first thing you're likely to notice about Middleburg are all the hand painted signs for businesses like the Christmas Sleigh, which offers "fine European wares," Juliens, a "sandwicherie," The Fox's Den Tavern, and Les Jardins de Bagatelle, a French store where Callista Gingrich and her credit cards might feel right at home. The shops and oh-so-trendy eateries might be hard on your wallet, but it's hard to deny the fact that the place is an extremely pleasant spot to spend a day, or if you have beaucoup cash, a lifetime.

Gallery: Virginia's Hunt Country

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've made the full jump to the roller bag. It's what I pack now, unless I'm traveling super light, and then I just take a little day pack. The perfect bag remains just out of reach, though I've noticed some real improvements since I got my Costco standard sized carry on a few years back. Luggage is lighter and more versatile these days, and generally more thoughtfully designed.

The Traverse Pro is a combination bag -- a day pack and suitcase in one. There's a TSA friendly zip-off backpack and a standard roller bag. The bag is overhead bin sized even with the day pack on it, though if you've really stuffed it tight and you're on a smaller plane, you may find you can't stow the whole thing in the bin. To test the bag, I packed for a short weekend away, I flew to my destination --that's how I know about the overhead bin issue.

I wasn't thrilled with packing the Traverse, though it's easier to manage with the auxiliary backpack zipped off. The bag zips most of the way open with a large flap; I wanted it it to open all the way and to lay flat and it doesn't quite do that. It's not a dealbreaker, it's just a minor detail that could be improved.

The bag has your standard "keep your stuff in place" straps and the inside of the lid is a full zippered pocket for your lose items. There are two outside pockets on the front, one big sleeve, one smaller. You have to keep in mind that they're not easy to get to if you've got the day pack zipped on, so don't put your boarding pass in there.

The bag was easy to wheel around -- I liked the locking handle and the maneuverability of the wheels -- those things can be clunky sometimes, the handle sticks or the wheels just aren't smooth. This bag has nice base hardware and is easy to move around. Plus, it's light compared to anything else I've tested in this category. The zipper pulls are nice -- they have those round, finger tip shaped things that make the bag easy to open and close, but the zippers themselves were a little resistant when going around the corners on the bag.