Luxury Lifestyle, Design & Architecture blog

The first day of summer 2013 in the United States, the longest day of the year, still has less sunlight than northern Norway right now. Territories in the arctic circle have, effectively, 60 first days of summer. The first day of summer 2013 is the year's longest day in terms of sunlight, but it still pales in comparison to the amount of sun in northern Norway. This photo was taken in North Cape at exactly midnight. Courtesy of Saleha Mohsin Today the sun will shine for 18 hours, 50 minutes and 1 second. Now I realize that in December, when the days are short and the imposing darkness begins to wear on me, I’ll regret having said this: I’m tired of the sun. My body needs the kind of peace that only a dark, starry night can provide. At first I was looking forward to being in Oslo on June 21, the longest day of the year. The best remedy for a grim Norwegian winter is the buildup to the summer solstice. But I went on a whirlwind trip with the Foreign Press Association into the Ar...

  Did you get a chance to see the supermoon? Don't worry if you didn't. In our gallery of supermoon photos (see below), you can page through scores and scores of spectacular images -- snapped by skywatchers around the world. Many were collected during our supermoon live blog, which has now concluded. But there's still time to submit any photos you might have snapped of the dazzling celestial phenomenon. You can tweet them to us using the #HPsupermoon hashtag, or submit them directly in the gallery. A supermoon is simply a new or full moon that coincides with what astronomers call "lunar perigee." That's the point at which the moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit around our planet. Of course, you don't have to be an astronomer to get excited about what a supermoon looks like:

Today Showtime announced the arrival of a special cupcake created in partnership with Magnolia Bakery. The red velvet Dexter cupcake is "spattered with caramel 'blood' and sugar 'glass' shards." I'm including an image, which looks both appetizing and disturbing. If this sounds like it's exactly what your season-premiere viewing party needs, note that you can purchase the cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery locations (in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) and on Sho.com. They're only available until June 30, so act fast. Dexter's new season premieres June 30 at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. Expect lots of blood — and not the caramel variety ...

The Catalan architect's iconic buildings have left an indelible mark on Barcelona as work continues on his masterpiece Antoni Gaudí's 161st birthday is celebrated with a Google doodle. Photograph: Other/Google Google's latest doodle celebrates the 161st birthday of Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect whose iconic buildings have left an indelible mark on Barcelona. Gaudí, who met his untimely death under the wheels of a city tram in 1926, took with him to the grave his vision for his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia church. Work continues on the vast Roman basilica and visitors flock to Barcelona every year to see it and his other works, including Park Guell, a steep garden complex with architectural elements and Casa Batllo, a mansion on the city's Passeig de Gracia. Research suggested in 2011 that Gaudí used the garden of a psychiatric hospital as a testing ground for his revolutionary designs, with the patients serving as his artisans. The grounds of the hospital...

Remember of The King Of Pop, 4 Years After His Untimely Death Four years have passed since Michael Jackson died, on June 25, 2009, from cardiac arrest caused by a lethal combination of prescription drugs. His death, later rumored to be a homicide, shocked fans and musicians across the world. Michael Jackson was famous since the year 1964, being the youngest member of the "Jackson 5", his family's Motown group. He continued to dominate the music industry with best-selling hits such as "Thriller," "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Dangerous", "They don't really care about us". Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael Jackson II, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson.

Trip Advisor has released its latest TripIndex Cities that ranks the cities on the basis of the expense a visitor would make. Oslo, the Norwegian capital tops the list as the most expensive amongst the world’s key cities. Visitors to Oslo would have to pay an average of $561.26 for a night out in town. The list is dominated by European cities with Sydney being the only exception in the top eight cities. According to the report a night out in Sydney would cost a visitor $445.64. TripAdvisor has calculated the cost for a couple staying one night in a four-star hotel, cocktails, a two-course dinner with a bottle of wine, and return taxi fare of 3.2 kilometers each way. Sofia, Warsaw and Budapest are the Most Affordable Cities in Europe Sofia, Bulgaria Europe as a continent is the most expensive, but the interesting part is that the least expensive city is also in Europe. The spot is occupied by Sofia in Bulgaria which was declared the cheapest city overall with the visitors e...

Calling a beach the most expensive sounds a little odd, particularly when you are not buying it outright. But in some cases the maintenance and expansion of a public beach requires huge investments making the beach rather expensive. According to this parameter the most expensive beach in America is the Rockaways. The beach has shrunk due to the havoc created by Sandy. The narrower beach will look more crowded this summer. Luckily the US Army Corps of Engineers have taken it upon themselves to replace the lost sand and restore the glory of the beach. The investment involved in the project will make the beach even more expensive. Army Corps Had Moved in Millions of Dollars Worth of Sand The old residents of the area remember both the erosion and the reconstruction of the beach. John Cori, 50, who is a resident of Rockaway remembers the grandeur of the beach when people had to get down 14 steps and jump another 4 feet to get to the beach. He also remembers the fate of the beach when th...