Travel briefs
BURBANK, Calif. -- Tourists overwhelmed by the mind-boggling size of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., will now be able to plan their tour with the help of a 3D Google Earth map created by the Walt Disney Co.
The map of the four theme parks and 22 hotels at Disney World shows souvenir shacks, merry-go-round horses and even benches for resting.
Google Earth, an interactive 3D mapping program, allows users to create travelogues by embedding photos, videos and commentary about locations they highlight. Disney called its entry the largest corporate initiative on Google Earth.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Impressionist paintings by four women will be the focus of a summer exhibition at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.
The new exhibition, "Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzales, Marie Bracquemond," will run through Sept. 21.
The museum says that in the 19th century, these painters were ''marginalized because of strict social rules and the artists' gender" and that they were "treated with critical ambivalence.'' All four women were born in the 1840s, lived in Paris and were members of Impressionist circles; www.legionofhonor.org.
BEIJING -- There are still plenty of hotel rooms available for the Beijing Olympics.
Tourism officials said the crunch that was predicted doesn't seem to be happening. About 500,000 foreigners were expected for the games, a figure Beijing officials have long been predicting. But only 77 percent of capacity at Beijing's five-star hotels have been booked during the Aug. 8-24 Olympic Games, and the four-star hotel rate is only 44 percent. And it's even lower for three- and two-stars.
One reason could be China's crack down on visa procedures, targeting students and others on short-term stays who might be activists intent on protesting during the Olympics.
PORTLAND, Maine -- The high-speed ferry called The Cat has arrived for the first time at its new home on the Portland waterfront.
The 320-foot catamaran arrived at the city's $21 million Ocean Gateway terminal, which will serve The Cat as well as cruise ships.
Service between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine, began at the end of May. Eventually, the city plans to build another $7 million berth at the terminal to accommodate the world's largest cruise ships.
ASPEN, Colo. -- In the winter, head north to ski. In the summer, head south to the slopes of Argentina and Chile.
The best-known South American resorts are Bariloche, Argentina, http://bariloche.ski. com/, Portillo, Chile, http://po rtillo.ski.com/, and Termas de Chillan, Chile, http://terma sdechillan.ski.com/, where a new casino and volcano-heated spa opened last year.
Ski.com is offering an escorted trip this year to Bariloche for individual travelers wanting to take advantage of group discounts. Details at www.ski.com/clubski/escorted tours.aspx (click on the ''Argentina-Peru'' link).
Ski.com can also customize trips to include cultural tours, from wine tastings to city tours and side trips to other regional destinations like Easter Island.
AP