Whether you're watching zebras frolic in an African plain while being served fresh-baked pastries or swimming with sea turtles right outside your private over-water bungalow in Bora Bora, world travelers know that a luxury hotel can easily make for a dream vacation.

We've created the ultimate list of the best hotels in the world by aggregating four notable hotel rankings made by elite travel publications and websites.

The rankings we used were Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotel Awards, Conde Nast Traveler's Top 100 Hotels & Resorts (part of its annual Reader's Choice Awards), TripAdvisor's Top 25 Hotels In The World (part of its annual Travelers' Choice Awards), and the Fodor's 100 Hotel Awards.

#25 Jumby Bay (Rosewood), Antigua

Score: 0.98

Location: Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda

Laying claim to its own private island and three white sand beaches, Jumby Bay is the ultimate escape from reality. Sweeping views of the Caribbean make this former sugar plantation a haven of relaxation and natural beauty.

It ranked #28 on Conde Nast's list and Fodor's named it a "Best All-Inclusive" hotel. 

Rooms start at about $1,000 per night.

To compile this list, we aggregated four notable hotel rankings: Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotel Awards, Conde Nast Traveler's Top 100 Hotels & Resorts, TripAdvisor's Top 25 Hotels In The World, and the Fodor's 100 Hotel Awards. We gave each hotel a numerical rating based on how many lists it appeared on and how high it appeared on the lists that were ranked. Hotels that appeared on all four lists ranked higher on our list, while hotels that ranked on only one of these lists ended up closer to the bottom.

#24 Casello di Casole

Score: 0.98

Location: Casole d'Elsa, Italy

Castello di Casole is a sprawling Tuscan estate dating back to the 10th century. Surrounded by vineyards and orchards, the getaway is a wine-lover's dream.

It ranked #2 on T+L's list. 

Rooms start at about $585 per night.

To compile this list, we aggregated four notable hotel rankings: Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotel Awards, Conde Nast Traveler's Top 100 Hotels & Resorts, TripAdvisor's Top 25 Hotels In The World, and the Fodor's 100 Hotel Awards. We gave each hotel a numerical rating based on how many lists it appeared on and how high it appeared on the lists that were ranked.

#23 Taj Exotica Resort and Spa

Score: 0.99

Location: Maldives, Maldives

Take a true blue lagoon vacation at Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, a collection of rustic villas running along the white sand beaches of the Maldives. Hammock lounging and dolphin watching are musts at this tropical paradise. 

It ranked #2 on Conde Nast's list. 

Rooms start at around $1,720 per night. 

To compile this list, we aggregated four notable hotel rankings: Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotel Awards, Conde Nast Traveler's Top 100 Hotels & Resorts, TripAdvisor's Top 25 Hotels In The World, and the Fodor's 100 Hotel Awards. We gave each hotel a numerical rating based on how many lists it appeared on and how high it appeared on the lists that were ranked.

Although having a million bucks isn’t as impressive as it once was, it’s still nothing to sneeze at.

In fact, Reuters reports that in 2009 there are 7.8 million millionaires in the United States. That’s a lot of people and the odds are one or two of them are living near you.

Heck, one of them might even be your neighbor.  In fact, the odds are very good that it is your neighbor.

But, Len, you don’t know my neighbor.  That guy doesn’t look anything like a millionaire.

Well, guess what? A millionaire who is truly financially savvy won't be easily recognizable. 

1. He always spends less than he earns.  In fact his mantra is, over the long run, you’re better off if you strive to be anonymously rich rather than deceptively poor.

2. He knows that patience is a virtue. The odds are you won’t become a millionaire overnight.  If you’re like him, your wealth will be accumulated gradually by diligently saving your money over multiple decades.

3.  When you go to his modest three-bed two-bath house, you’re going to be drinking Folgers instead of Starbucks.  And if you need a lift, well, you’re going to get a ride in his ten-year-old economy sedan.  And if you think that makes him cheap, ask him if he cares.  (He doesn’t.)

4. He pays off his credit cards in full every month.  He’s smart enough to understand that if he can’t afford to pay cash for something, then he can’t afford it.

5. He realized early on that money does not buy happiness.  If you’re looking for nirvana, you need to focus on attaining financial freedom.

6. He never forgets that financial freedom is a state of mind that comes from being debt free.  Best of all, it can be attained regardless of your income level.

7. He knows that getting a second job not only increases the size of your bank account quicker but it also keeps you busy – and being busy makes it difficult to spend what you already have.

8. He understands that money is like a toddler; it is incapable of managing itself.  After all, you can’t expect your money to grow and mature as it should without some form of credible money management.

9. He’s a big believer in paying yourself first. Paying yourself first is an essential tenet of personal finance and a great way to build your savings and instill financial discipline.

10. Although it’s possible to get rich if you spend your life making a living doing something you don’t enjoy, he wonders why you do.  Life is too short.

11.  He knows that failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.  He also knows that the few millionaires that reached that milestone without a plan got there only because of dumb luck.   It’s not enough to simply declare that you want to be financially free.

12. When it came time to set his savings goals, he wasn’t afraid to think big.  Financial success demands that you have a vision that is significantly larger than you can currently deliver upon.

13. Over time, he found out that hard work can often help make up for a lot of financial mistakes – and you will make financial mistakes.

14. He realizes that stuff happens, that’s why you’re a fool if you don’t insure yourself against risk. Remember that the potential for bankruptcy is always just around the corner and can be triggered from multiple sources: the death of the family’s key bread winner, divorce, or disability that leads to a loss of work.

15. He understands that time is an ally of the young.  He was fortunate enough to begin saving in his twenties so he could take maximum advantage of the power of compounding interest on his nest egg.

16. He knows that you can’t spend what you don’t see.  You should use automatic paycheck deductions to build up your retirement and other savings accounts.  As your salary increases you can painlessly increase the size of those deductions.

17. Even though he has a job that he loves, he doesn’t have to work anymore because everything he owns is paid for – and has been for years.

18. He’s not impressed that you drive an over-priced luxury car and live in a McMansion that’s two sizes too big for your family of four.

19. After six months of asking, he finally quit waiting for you to return his pruning shears.  He broke down and bought himself a new pair last month.  There’s no hard feelings though; he can afford it.

So that’s it.  Now you know what your millionaire neighbor won’t tell you.

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Each year, home goods giant Bed, Bath & Beyond releases its "Campus Checklist," sending soon-to-be college freshmen and their parents into a frenzy of overspending. 

In the worried haze of preparing for the first year of college, it's easy to forget that some of the items on the list are not only unnecessary; they are a downright waste of money.

This year's Campus Checklist has an astounding 92 items, many of which will just take up space in a tiny dorm room: Consider the "laptop desk," which, as it turns out, is just a tiny rolling desk that BB&B wants you to spend $80 on.

We polled recent college grads and current students at Business Insider, and came up with a few items college shoppers should definitely pass on:

• Alarm clocks: It's 2013. Use your smartphone.

• Lap desks: If you think you're going to get any work done while reclining on your bed, think again.

• Laptop locks: It's hard to remember to bring them with you everywhere you go. An easier solution is to just not leave your laptop unattended. 

• Ethernet cables: The vast majority of universities have WiFi these days, and if a particular building doesn't, the school will often provide an Ethernet cable.

• Back rests: These are nothing more than overpriced pillows.

• Room fragrances: They run out almost immediately and aren't very effective.

• Bean bag chairs: A fantasy. Most freshman dorm rooms are barely big enough to hold the furniture they come with, let alone a big, sprawling bean bag chair.

• Area rugs: Usually make it through one semester before they have to be thrown away.

• Body pillows: Twin extra long beds are narrow enough as it is, without a pillow the size of a human taking up space.

• Ironing boards: Invest in a (much cheaper and less space-hogging) ironing blanket, or layer two towels on top of your desk and iron there.

• Extension cords: Likely to be confiscated and thrown away. Most schools don't allow them anymore and encourage you to bring a power strip with surge protection instead.

• Laundry Basket & Laundry Hamper: You do not need both! Get a flexible mesh hamper that you can carry down to the laundry room when necessary.

BB&B does have a helpful tool on their site that allows students to view a comprehensive list of what's included in the freshman dorm rooms at thousands of colleges around the U.S., so look to see what your particular dorm requires before you go crazy at the store.

Remember: in the unlikely event that you forget something really indispensable, you can always buy it later.

SEE ALSO: 13 Items College Students ACTUALLY Need

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After selling her gorgeous townhouse in Park Slope, Brooklyn, back in March 2012, the fashion world was eagerly waiting to see where J. Crew's president and creative director Jenna Lyons would live next.

And now, nearly two years after first listing the home, Lyons has won a bidding war on a 3,500-square-foot loft in Manhattan's trendy SoHo neighborhood, according to Curbed.

Real estate listing website StreetEasy says that the fashion designer paid $500,000 over the asking price. And judging by the property photos, she'll probably spend even more renovating the space to attain her former Park Slope townhouse's splendor.

But Lyons — one of the most influential people in America— won't be hemorrhaging money, especially because monthly maintenance for the home is only $200, which the listing says is due to income from the building's ground floor retail space (which is sadly not a J. Crew store).

Jenna Lyons's new $6 million loft is in this co-op building in SoHo.

Source: StreetEasy

It's on quiet Mercer Street in the trendy downtown Manhattan neighborhood.

Source: StreetEasy

The co-op has been owned by the same family for the past 36 years.

Source: StreetEasy

You don't have to travel to a foreign country to find some seriously strange snacks.

There are actually a number of bizarre culinary creations right here in New York, as our friends at Zagat well know. They came up with a list of the nine weirdest foods you can find in the city.

Some are completely novel ideas while others are new spins on old favorites, but all of them are mouthwateringly delicious.

Cricket Tacos

50 Spring Street

Insect aficionados can now enjoy their bugs Mexican-style. Antojeria La Popular opened in January, and already their cricket taco is making a splash in the New York food scene.

There's no pretense at all—you'll know you're eating bugs—but they're satisfyingly crunchy among the smooth guacamole and, just as an added perk, a great source of protein.

Candy Goblet Drinks

46 Gansevoort Street

Having one of Sugar Factory's candy goblets is like getting a sugar rush in a boozy, bottomless glass. Name a candy, and it's more likely than not that Sugar Factory has made a 60-ounce drink out of it.

Favorites include the Lollipop Passion, a tropical concoction with twisted lollies in it, and the Energy Bear, decked out in gummi bears and spiked with Red Bull.

Frozen S'mores

189 Spring Street

Dominique Ansel may still be getting most of his traffic from cronut-crazed fans, but we tried his newest creation, the frozen s'more, and it's even better.

The $7 snack is a hybrid of vanilla custard ice cream and a caramelized marshmallow which is made to order, with a blowtorch, by Ansel himself.

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk just announced the design behind his new Hyperloop proposal. 

The Hyperloop is Musk's plan for a new transportation that is much faster and cheaper than a high-speed train. 

It relies on pressurized tubes to send passenger cars hurtling at near-supersonic speeds.

You can read the full details here. 

Here's a diagram of the Hyperloop alpha version.

Conceptually, here's how the Hyperloop will work. It will take you at lightning speeds between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The Hyperloop's tube stretches from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Humans have been having sex without the help of technology for ages.

But there are still plenty of startups aiming to harness the power of technology to make it even easier to have sex.

As of February 2013, four companies controlled 77% of the $1.22 billion online dating market. They were IAC (owners of Match.com and OkCupid), eHarmony, Zoosk, and Spark Networks. 

In addition to those, there are a handful of other startups trying to make it easier to find love. 

Tinder is one of the hottest apps out there for dating.

Even though Tinder doesn't peg itself as a dating app, it has generated over 75 million hook-ups and at least 50 engagements. 

Tinder shows you pictures of people nearby with similar interests. You simply swipe right if you like what you see, or swipe left if you don't. Tinder will notify you if there's a mutual match. If there is, you can start chatting right away. 

iOS: Free

Android: Free

Let's Date helps you find people with similar interests nearby.

Unlike Tinder, Let's Date features full-fledged profiles.

Everyone on Let's Date has a dater card, which features basic information like age, sex, and interest. It also has more interesting information, like your "kink factor," and willingness to have sex on a first date.

Once you're in the app, you swipe through dating cards and if you like what you see, you can click "Let's Date." If that person hits "Let's Date" on your profile, the two of you will be able to chat and plan your first date.

iOS: Free

OkCupid's CrazyBlindDate sets you up on blind dates.

OkCupid's Crazy Blind Date completely masks who you're going on a date with. 

To use it, all you have to do is sign up, create a basic profile, select places you'd like to meet, set which nights you're free, and upload a photo. CBD will find a match for you, but only show a scrambled version of that person's photo.

Before the date, you'll be able to chat and learn more about each other. 

iOS: Free

Android: Free

Everyone's heard of startups being "run out of a garage"— from Apple's original home to Facebook's early residence in Palo Alto, working out of a house has been point of pride for tech entrepreneurs.

Click here to go straight to the photos of the house Enplug works out of >>

It's not often that we get to take a look inside one of these startups while they're still at this point. Usually, office walkthroughs only happen once a company has moved into a slick HQ that comes complete with a gym and game room.

That's why we were thrilled when Los Angeles-based Enplug, a one-year-old startup that makes interactive displays for bars and restaurants in Southern California, decided to give us an inside look at the home that serves as the main office and residence for the company's team of coders and designers.

By removing the difference between home and office, developers are free to work at any time of day or night. This setup seems equal parts "cultish" (in Enplug CEO and co-founder Nanxi Liu's words) and fun — there's less pressure to work all day when things can be done at night, but it also makes it harder to define when "down time" really is.

Employees I've spoken to have told me that the setup makes working feel like spending time with family. In fact, some of the employees are family: two of the company's developers got married before moving in with Enplug. For their part, they say the free food and rent is worth "the lack of privacy."

The garage serves as a quiet place to work (when laundry isn't being done) and also a place to store displays that aren't in use yet.

It may not be a luxurious, but Nanxi tells me her employees say it feels like home.

Like many coders, the Enplug team has a few coffee snobs (I'm half-kidding). Here they are making espresso.

There's always room on the A-list for the right kind of young talent.

Spotting that young talent is the tricky part.

Looking at reputation, connections, future projects, and our own editorial gut instincts, we've rounded up 25 up-and-comers on the verge of breaking out in a big way.

From movies to music to TV, these are the stars you should be paying attention to.

1. Imogen Poots, Actress

Hometown: London, England

2. Ed Sheeran, Singer

Hometown: Halifax, England

3. AnnaSophia Robb, Actress

Hometown: Denver, Colorado

Real estate blog Redfin has just released a ranking that says that San Jose, CA, is pricier than New York City during the first year of parenthood.

In the U.S., raising a kid is more expensive than ever before. The typical cost of an American baby's first year averages roughly $26,000, according to Redfin.

To find out how much new parents are spending in the first year around the country, Redfin calculated the cost of upgrading your home from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom, typical childcare costs, healthcare, energy, and the cost of baby items/accessories based on region.

They found that the cost of a baby's first year was the most expensive for parents living in San Jose, CA , at a whopping $41,600. Housing ($19,900) and childcare ($12,600) propelled San Jose to the top of the list of most expensive cities for parents.

In Santa Cruz, CA, the second most expensive city on the list, parents shelled out $38,800 during their child's first year. New York City came in as the third most expensive city for new parents at $36,700.

Here's the full top 40 ranking of the cost of a baby's first year in different cities around the U.S. (from most affordable to least affordable):

SEE ALSO: Send Your Kid To One Of These Crazy Expensive Summer Camps

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Tyrann Mathieu's NFL draft stock plummeted after he got kicked off of LSU's football team for multiple positive marijuana tests.

Now, he's reportedly dominating in training camp for the Arizona Cardinals.

He's just the latest reminder that giving up on talented players because of weed-related issues places NFL teams at a huge competitive disadvantage.

Throughout the years some truly great players have gotten nabbed with weed, only to perform better than ever on the field.

Randy Moss became one of the best receivers of all-time after getting kicked out of Florida State for smoking marijuana while on probation

Source: SI

Percy Harvin signed a $67 million this summer. He tested positive for marijuana at the 2009 NFL Draft Combine

Source: ESPN

Ricky Williams had four 1,000-yard seasons despite testing positive for marijuana four times in his career

Source: ESPN

Finding a great barber can be an anxiety-inducing ordeal, especially in a big, expensive city like New York. There's the cost to worry about, as well as the traumatic experience of a botched haircut.

Luckily, the folks over at Yelp helped us put together a list of the best barber shops in Manhattan.

Yelp reviewers deemed 3 Aces Barber Shop their top pick for a precise and affordable cut, but Yelp users had nothing but praise for all the shops that made the cut.

#10 Fifth Ave Barber Shop

1 West 35 Street 
Midtown West

While Fifth Avenue Barber Shop is still relatively new to the neighborhood, it's managed to build a strong rapport with customers, who rave about the barbers' attention to detail and happiness to engage in a friendly conversation.

"There is definitely a focus on those little details that make the difference,"wrote Scott S. "The whole team is young, focused, proud of what they do, [and] totally professional."

Note: Yelp's search results are based on an algorithm that is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviews. Because several factors are taken into account, this is why you may see a 3.5-star restaurant with 500 reviews showing above a 4-star one with 15 reviews.

#9 Sharps Barber & Shop

119 West 56th Street
Midtown West

Nestled in the chic lobby of Le Parker Meridien, Sharps provides cuts and shaves using their own products. Let them pamper you while enjoying a cold Coke—in a glass bottle, no less.

"I took my fiance to Sharps for a cut and straight razor shave as a gift,"Prudence T. wrote. "He said, and I quote, 'this might be one of the best things that's ever happened to me.'"

Note: Yelp's search results are based on an algorithm that is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviews. Because several factors are taken into account, this is why you may see a 3.5-star restaurant with 500 reviews showing above a 4-star one with 15 reviews.

#8 Dickson Hairshop

137 Allen Street
Lower East Side

Dickson is known for its badass barbers and punkish style. Customers relax in an unpretentious atmosphere where they can chat with the stylists, who are more than happy to provide free trims between cuts.

"For a LONG time, I would bounce around from shop to shop, trying to find 'my' place. Now, Dickson is the only place I'll go,"Brett O. said.

Note: Yelp's search results are based on an algorithm that is designed to provide the best results based on a number of different factors including review text, ratings, and number of reviews. Because several factors are taken into account, this is why you may see a 3.5-star restaurant with 500 reviews showing above a 4-star one with 15 reviews.

During the last few weeks of summer, it can be fun to indulge in a happily lazy routine, perhaps lounging poolside with a cold drink in hand.

But as appealing as that may sound, don't let that carefree attitude extend to any of your shopping excursions; there are still clear lines in the sand about what you should, and should not, buy this month.

For example, this month grills and patio sets will see red-hot discounts, but it would be smart to avoid buying a new tablet.

And while we'll see great back-to-school sales in the coming weeks, don't even think of wasting your money on these eight items that your matriculating student may demand. For even more money-saving tips, here's our analysis of what you can expect from deals in August.

BUY: Clothing and furniture

According to our deals from the past two years, August is the best summer month to get discounts on back-to-school items. While a number of sales that began in July will continue into August, expect more stores to cut prices even further. For example, apparel retailers like American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch slashed an extra 30% to 50% off sale items last year, and we anticipate seeing similar trends in 2013. That said, keep in mind that last year the best time to buy jeans was July through mid-August; after that, discounts from popular jeans brands dropped off.

Also keep an eye out for cheap dorm furniture from retailers like Walmart — which offered futons for as little as $89 last year, as well as computer desks for $29 — and special sales on backpacks and computer cases for as little as $10. As for back-to-school laptops, consider taking advantage of special promotions that bundle your purchase with gift cards, gaming consoles, and printers.

BUY: Summer apparel on clearance

As we near the end of the summer season, even retailers who don't cater to back-to-school crowds will begin to get even more aggressive with their clothing discounts, as they try to make room for autumn apparel. In fact, in the final days of July, we saw numerous Editors' Choice deals trickle in that offered enormous stacking coupons, and we expect to see much of the same in August. Look for base sales that take 40% to 70% off.

BUY: Swimwear

Although swimwear falls into a general summer apparel category, it's important to note that after August, you'll be hard-pressed to find any swimwear deals. For the past three years, swim sales have significantly decreased come September, suggesting that most stores clear their inventory in August. As such, now's a great time to look for sales that take up to 60% off or more from department stores and retailers like Victoria's Secret.

Fernando Sosa has a custom 3-D printing business, in which he offers to make models, prototypes and replicas of new products. He has a few spectacular samples for sale on his website, nuPROTO.com, including a cyborg spider and a pair of Death Star Christmas tree ornaments.

But his most famous product is a Game of Thrones iPhone dock, which allows you to perch your phone on the Iron Throne, the show's infamous seat of kings, which is made entirely from the swords of vanquished enemies.

You can't buy one, though.

HBO sent Sosa a cease-and-desist letter, saying that the throne was its intellectual property and that nuPROTO did not have a license to sell it. Sosa has attempted to find out who does have the license, or to obtain one for himself, but without luck.

He's had to refund money to all the customers who bought one before HBO contacted him.

“That throne, it took me months to make,” Sosa told Wired. “I modeled every sword, it was really a lot of work.”

Here are a few images of the not-to-be-sold Iron iPhone throne.

Before Sosa can print the model, he had to create a schematic diagram:

The throne is then printed as a 3-D, solid plastic object:

The model is then meticulously painted:

Here's how the finished product looks when it's in use:

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Adtech CEO Gurbaksh Chahal showed off his gilded San Francisco penthouse in a 2008 episode of the reality TV show "The Secret Millionaire."

(He was also once on Oprah, when the talk show queen raved about the then-eligible bachelor.)

The Rincon Hill luxury high rise, which cost a reported $6.9 million and then another $1 million in upgrades, is now a crime scene.

Chahal was arrested last week and released on $1 million bail on 47 criminal assault charges against his girlfriend. 

He allegedly beat and kicked her 117 times in a half hour and smothered her with a pillow, which accounts for the assault with a deadly weapon charge. The attack was reportedly caught on surveillance footage in Chahal's bedroom

The lavish apartment, decorated with his favorite letter and nickname "G," served as an example of a showy attitude maligned by many in the adtech space

Gurbaksh Chahal purchased the SF penthouse in Rincon Hill for a reported $6.9 million.

Read more here>

The self proclaimed "$300 Million Man" spent $1 million in upgrades, including $250,000 for flooring alone.

Read more here>

It's 3,500 square feet.

For most of us, coffee is that one thing we simply can’t live without.

But when we’re on the road, nothing brings us that sense of comfort, that kick that gets us going, and that rush that keeps us smiling, quite like a good cup of coffee.

We’ve rounded up a few ambrosial stories about some of the best coffee shops in the world.

Brooklyn, New York

We had heard through the grapevine that there was a coffee shop in Brooklyn that was using mysterious bulb-like bottles to brew potently good coffee.

The roots of this strange, but delectably innovative coffee shop were tethered to its first (and very humble) stand at farmers’ markets in California. Catching the eye of bohemian hipsters, the simple kiosk became too popular to support all its coffee groupies and was (happily) forced to open its first shop in San Francisco.

Since then, the lines have continued to grow at Blue Bottle Coffee, yet that doesn’t seem to deter its loyal customers from waiting a few extra minutes for their morning jump-start. In fact, it appeared that most people were intrigued by the neat line of  individual drip-filters depositing a steamy stream of aromatic blends.

Read more about Blue Bottle Coffee here.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Few things in the world are as versatile and ubiquitous as a cup of coffee that lends itself perfectly to be enjoyed in a multitude of settings.

In Copenhagen, the variety of cafés and coffee bars rival those in Palermo or Paris. As the weather gets even nippier, here are three locales that each offer a different experience while sipping on a cozy brew.

Check out the best Copenhagen coffee shops here.

Manhattan, New York

Don’t be fooled by the clichés, New Yorkers love to relax, preferably with a cup of snobbishly good coffee and some kind of Apple device within the confines of a low-key hipster spot . The city is ridden with coffee shops that will most likely disappoint, but it also offers some of the most innovative cafés that rival Seattle’s best.

If you’re new to the city, or just haven’t gotten around to seeking out those neighborhood gems, you may want to take a moment to kick back at some (or all) of these saporous spots and dismiss that New York-minute-mentality to sip the day away.

See the best NYC coffee shops here.

Once upon a time, air travel was exciting. 

Transatlantic flights were novel, and passengers often dressed to the nines -—a far cry from the sweatpants-and-flip-flops travel wardrobes of today. Aviators like Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and Howard Hughes were national heroes, and airline stewardesses were considered to have some of the most glamorous jobs in the world. 

Air travel today has its benefits. Flights are faster and more frequent, go to more places, and we're able to dress more casually. But many people feel a certain nostalgia for the days when all air travel was considered luxury travel and people behaved as such. 

We rounded up 25 great photos that exemplify the glamour and excitement of early air travel. 

December 17, 1903 - Orville Wright maneuvers the Wright Flyer as it makes its first flight ever over Kitty Hawk, NC. The plane, made of wood, wire, and cloth, traveled 120 feet and flew for 12 seconds.

1927 - A young Charles Lindbergh stands next to the Spirit of St. Louis, which he famously flew from Roosevelt Island all the way to Paris.

June 26, 1928 - "Aviatrix" Amelia Earhart arrives in Southampton, England after flying the "Friendship" from Burry Point, Wales.

If these 25 astounding vistas tell us anything, it's that America's beauty is a fierce kind. There are the alien landscapes of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and the trickling glacial promontories of Denali and Glacier National Park.

Legends, too, inform these lands, from Dead Horse Point's cowboy past to the cliff-side Puebloan abodes of Mesa Verde. That's to say nothing of the swooping peregrine falcons, majestic moose, and gigantic Californian redwoods that call these parks home.

Check out our picks for the 25 most stunning vistas in America's National Parks—but these are merely a sliver of the wonders you'll find when you actually visit.

Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona

The Grand Canyon astounds with its statistics—clocking at an average width of 10 miles and depth of 1 mile, coupled with a length of 277 river miles—but nothing compares to the view itself. Year-round outdoor adventures beckon, like biking, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, mule riding, white-water rafting, cross-country skiing, and more. But stand still to take in the surreal vistas including the awesome sunsets and sunrises at Point Sublime and Yavapai Point; waterfalls, streams, and rivers; and sandstone canyon walls juxtaposed with velvet green forests and jutting mesas, plateaus, and volcanic features.

Insider Tip: To truly commune with nature, make sure to consult our tips for avoiding the crowds.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Tennessee/North Carolina

With miles of mountains and verdant wilderness, it's no wonder this ranks as the most-visited national park in the U.S. Explore the many historic buildings in Cades Cove, whose history is as rich as the Smokies' abundance of wildlife. For lunch, picnic atChimneys while the kids wade in the rocky streams.

Insider Tip: "Bald" mountains lack trees on top, making for spectacular unobstructed views in the midst of a high-elevation meadow—Great Smoky Mountains National Park has plenty.

Olympic National Park - Washington

Circling the snow-capped Olympic Mountainsis this remote, enchanted gem of Pacific Northwestern beauty. Coastal boulders sculpted by waves top hot springs and tidal pools teeming with sea life, while pine trees crown foggy sea stacks. Get a panoramic view of it all from the 5,200-foot-highHurricane Ridge, which encompasses the Olympic range, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Vancouver Island.

Insider Tip: Bring a raincoat: the region gets 140 inches or more per year. Enjoy the precipitation in the lush Hoh River Rain Forest, where elk peer from beneath mossy maples upwards of 200 feet high.

Chinese economic data has been better than expected in July. During the month, industrial production rising 9.7% year over year, exceeding economists' forecasts. 

But positive July figures have not fully allayed investor fears that the Chinese economy will continue to decelerate.

Brazil's growth will be pushed lower

"Brazil’s investment cycle has been closely linked to the positive terms of trade it faced. Weak terms of trade will hurt investment and consumption, pushing growth lower. A silver lining of the unwind of the terms of trade shock could be a more competitive manufacturing sector, but the exchange rate and real wages have to weaken a lot for that to happen."

Brazil's domestic bond market has so much foreign ownership that it also leaves the country exposed to external shocks.

Source: Morgan Stanley

Chile will see a trade shock

India stands to benefit

"A net beneficiary of a China slowdown due to low exposure via exports and a large net import position for fuels and hard commodities that could benefit from better terms of trade."

The 34th America's Cup will be held next month in San Francisco and based on the ongoing Louis Vuitton Cup, this year's competition is going to be nothing like we have ever seen before.

For the first time, this year's races will feature the AC72, a special class of wing-sail catamarans that look nothing like the single-hull sailboats from the days of Dennis Conner and American glory in the sport or even the catamarans of recent America's Cups.

The AC72s can reach speeds of 50 miles per hour. This is done with the help of hydrofoils, that will actually create lift like an airplane wing, and raises the hulls of the boats out of the water reducing the amount of drag.

On the next few pages we'll take a closer look at the AC72s competing in the Louis Vuitton Cup, a race currently being held in San Francisco to determine the challenger for this year's America's Cup.

From a distance, one of the AC72s can look like any other catamaran, albeit with a much taller sail

But once you get closer, you can start to see the technology at work and why they can travel at such high speeds

The boats are powered by a single sail that is more than 12 stories high (130 feet)