THEME park fans heading to Universal’s Orlando resorts should take note as some attractions will be closed depending on when they plan to head to the tourist hotspot.
Some rides will be off-limits for a short period of time, while others will be out of action for longer.
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Universal’s Volcano Bay will close in 2026Credit: Universal Parks USAThe popular Revenge of the Mummy Ride will be shut for a week in the New YearCredit: Universal Parks USA
Popular attractions set to be impacted include Revenge of the Mummy, and Jurassic Park River Adventure.
On Revenge of the Mummy, thrillseekers are plunged into darkness.
The ride will be closed between January 15 and 21, according to Inside the Magic.
The Hogwarts Express will fall silent between February 9-26 next year.
Universal’s Jurassic Park River Adventure sees riders plunge 85 feet in a thrilling drop.
But the ride will be closed from January 5, 2026 until November 20, as per the Orlando Informer.
Universal’s Volcano Bay water park will close temporarily from October 26, 2026.
It’s likely the attraction will reopen by the end of March 2027.
When visiting Volcano Bay, thrillseekers can enjoy a five-person attraction, Puihi of the Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides.
Or, those wanting a more relaxing experience can enjoy the winding river.
Volcano Bay is also home to shops, bars and restaurants.
Earlier this year, Universal’s Epic Universe opened, sparking an influx of tourists.
The park opened its doors on May 21 and is home to five themed lands.
Guests can immerse themselves in the Super Nintendo World and enjoy Mario Kart-themed attractions.
Epic Universe is home to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Dark Universe.
Harry Potter fans can enjoy a Butterbeer when visiting the Wizarding World.
Guests can immerse themselves in the Viking-themed village, which is inspired by How to Train Your Dragon.
Thrillseekers will have to wait a while before they can ride the Jurassic Park River Adventure when it shuts in JanuaryCredit: AlamyThe Hogwarts Express ride will be closing temporarilyCredit: AlamyUniversal Orlando’s Epic Universe park opened earlier this yearCredit: Universal Parks USA
ONE of the world’s most luxurious trains is set to return in 2027.
The Orient Express – often known for being the site of the Poirot’s most famous fictional case – went out of operation 16 years ago.
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The Orient Express is returning 16 years after it stopped runningCredit: Orient Express/ Alixe LayThe train features 17 original carriages that have been refurbishedCredit: Orient Express/ Alixe LayEach carriage still features an art deco design, just like the train from the 1920sCredit: Orient Express/ Alixe Lay
But now, it is set for a comeback.
The train will relaunch in 2027, using 17 original carriages from the 1920s which were previously lost before a team of historians tracked them down and refurbished them.
Inside each carriage, there will be the same Art Deco elements experienced in the 1920s.
As for the bedrooms, each will have a double bed and feature a Cartier clock.
In the Bar Car, passengers will have a vaulted ceiling with original pieces recovered from the Nostalgie-Istanbul Orient Express.
There are also large windows for passengers to watch the landscape whizz by.
In the Dining Car, there is a mirrored ceiling that features several arches.
Armchairs offer comfier spots to eat and watch chefs at work behind a large glass wall.
As for The Suites, guests can enjoy rail motifs and opulent features, such as dark wood and a leather wall.
In the daytime, there will be a sofa for guests to relax on, then there will be ‘the Great Transformation’ in the evening, which is when the cabin will be changed into the ‘night’ room configuration.
Each suite also has a bathroom with sliding doors and a dressing room.
For the ultimate luxury, passengers can book the Presidential Suite, which occupies an entire car with its own living room, bedroom and bathroom.
Ticket fares are yet to be announced, but it is more than likely it will be a small fortune.
On its website, The Orient Express states: “The Orient Express will invite travelers to relive the legend aboard 17 original Orient Express carsdating back to the 1920s and 1930s, adorned with exceptional décor – a set of cars formerly known as the ‘Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express’.”
The new service launching next year follows the relaunch of the Orient Express brand which saw its La Dolce Vita Orient Express train head off on its first journey this year.
In each cabin, there is a double bed and a Cartier clockCredit: Orient Express/ Alixe LayThe train has a dining car and a bar as wellCredit: Orient Express/ Alixe Lay
The brand is owned by Accor, Europe‘s largest hospitality company, and has also launched its first hotel called La Minerva, which can be found in Rome, Italy.
There are also plans to open a second site in Venice, in April 2026.
The Orient Express used to be loved and used by the upper classes and operated between Istanbul and Paris from 1883 to 2009.
A blowout quarter and a premium customer mix are forcing the market to revisit what this franchise is worth.
American Express(AXP 0.70%) is a global payments company with a different model from the card networks most investors know. Unlike Visa and Mastercard, which mainly run transaction networks and avoid lending, American Express issues cards, extends credit, and earns meaningful fee income from premium customers. That difference mattered on Friday, when shares jumped after the company posted strong third-quarter results and lifted its full-year outlook.
Is this move noise or the start of a repricing toward peer-like valuations? I think the latter. With spending and fee income looking good and credit holding steady, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the stock’s valuation multiple expand significantly over time, catching up with the valuation multiples of Visa and Mastercard.
Image source: Getty Images.
Impressive results
It wasn’t surprising to see shares jump following the release of the company’s latest financial results. Third-quarter revenue rose 11% year over year to $18.4 billion, and earnings per share increased 19% to $4.14. Card member spend growth accelerated to 9% (up from 7% growth in Q2). Management also raised full-year guidance, saying it expects 9% to 10% revenue growth and earnings per share of $15.20 to $15.50.
Driving the quarter, the company’s cardmember fee income climbed 18% year over year as more customers adopted its premium cards, which offer travel and lifestyle perks in exchange for annual fees. Additionally, net interest income rose 12%.
Credit metrics look good, too. American Express’s provision for credit losses declined year over year on a lower reserve build. And the company’s net write-off rate held at 1.9%, flat from a year ago and from the prior quarter. For a credit card issuer that keeps credit risk on its own balance sheet, steady write-offs and a lighter reserve build point to disciplined underwriting even as spend grows rapidly.
What makes American Express different
Of course, American Express doesn’t differentiate itself from Visa and Mastercard just by extending credit and charging substantial card fees across its flagship products. The company’s value proposition in the premium space is perhaps the company’s greatest edge. This is fresh on investors’ minds because American Express recently refreshed its U.S. consumer and business Platinum products — and it’s working; new U.S. Platinum account acquisitions in the three weeks following the refresh doubled versus pre-refresh levels, management said in its third-quarter update. Considering that the refresh came with a substantially higher annual fee, that kind of customer response suggests pricing power with the customers who spend the most, use travel benefits, and stay loyal.
Driving home just how premium American Express’s cardmembers are, they spend an average of three times more on their cards than the average spend per card on other networks.
Valuation still trails far behind Visa and Mastercard
Even after the rally, American Express trades at a lower price-to-earnings multiple than the pure networks Visa and Mastercard. The two peers earn higher valuations for their capital-light models, which carry less credit risk and produce steady cash flow. That premium makes sense.
Depending on how you look at it, however, there are also reasons that American Express may deserve a premium. Visa and Mastercard may take on less risk, but American Express participates in more of the profit pool per dollar of spend and has more control over the customer’s overall experience — an advantage that is likely key to helping the company cater to higher spenders.
Ultimately, if American Express can show that its approach is leading to a better customer experience, including higher engagement and greater lifetime customer spend while maintaining good credit metrics, investors may be willing to narrow the gap between American Express’s valuation multiple and its pure network peers.
Of course, being an integrated payments company requires carefully balancing underwriting and incentives to bolster cardmember spending. A surprise rise in delinquencies would pressure earnings. Likewise, a slowdown in the macroeconomic environment could hit discount revenue, customer acquisition trends, and even lending. These factors could keep the valuation discount in place longer than bulls expect.
Still, there’s a lot to like — especially given the stock’s fair price-to-earnings multiple of about 23. This compares to Visa and Mastercard’s price-to-earnings ratios of 34 and 38, respectively. With strong financials in the context of its valuation, American Express stock looks compelling. Revenue is growing at double-digit rates, spend is accelerating, and fee income tied to its premium cards is doing the heavy lifting. Management’s playbook of regularly refreshing its products and deepening engagement while broadening acceptance shows up in the numbers and in guidance.
If American Express’s momentum persists, a narrower valuation gap with Visa and Mastercard makes sense. Friday’s surge looks less like a spike and more like the start of a reset in how investors price this franchise. After years of consistent growth and strong credit metrics, investors might start seeing the company’s integrated payment model as a key competitive advantage worthy of a significantly higher premium.
American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Sparks and his clients have positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Mastercard and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SHOPPERS are set for a major boost as a supermarket giant launches its first ever Express store in the UK.
It marks the start of a huge national rollout that’ll see up to 20 new stores open before the end of the year.
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A supermarket giant is rolling out Express stores across the ukCredit: asda
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Asda opened the doors to its brand-new Express location in West YorkshireCredit: asda
The retail titan, Asda, has opened the doors to its brand-new Express in Castleford, West Yorkshire,
It’s the first time Asda has taken its famous yellow and green brand into the world of small-format convenience stores, as it looks to take on Tesco Express and Sainsbury’s Local head-on.
The new shop, built on the site of a former pub on Holywell Lane, has been completely transformed into a slick, modern mini-market packed with more than 3,000 products.
From meal deals and snacks to fresh fruit, booze and ready meals, locals can now grab all their essentials in one quick stop.
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The new Express store will be kitted out with over 3,000 productsCredit: asda
It’s open every day from 6am to 11pm, making it perfect for early risers, night owls, and anyone in desperate need of milk after hours.
The store also comes kitted out with handy extras, including a Costa Coffee machine, ATM, and Amazon collection point, plus, you can get your shopping delivered via Uber Eats, Just Eat or Deliveroo.
Shopping bargains
Asda says the new Express format is designed to bring its trademark low prices and big-brand bargains to places where it’s not always had a strong presence.
New locations will pop up in busy city centres, transport hubs and even residential areas.
It’s all part of the supermarket’s mission to “bring unbeatable value to even more communities” across the UK, according to bosses.
Joseph Sutton, Asda’s Vice President for Express, Foodservice and Fuel, said:
“We’re delighted to have opened the doors today in Castleford, marking the start of our Express store rollout as we bring Asda’s unbeatable value to new communities across the UK.”
He added: “From top-up essentials to convenient food-on-the-go options, we’re excited to welcome new customers and offer outstanding value.”
Rapid growth
Asda first dipped its toe into the convenience market in 2022, and things have moved fast.
The supermarket now plans to have around 500 Express stores open by the end of the year, with even more coming in 2026.
Each store will also feature electronic shelf-edge labels (a fancy way of saying digital price tags), designed to make life easier for staff and keep prices crystal clear for shoppers.
So whether you’re nipping in for bread and milk or a cheeky lunchtime sandwich, chances are you’ll soon be doing it in an Asda Express near you.
The reductions will be available both in-store and online and will include massive discounts on cupboard staples such as pasta,cookingsauces and tea andcoffee.
Meanwhile, Asda is following three other major supermarkets in introducing a big change to aisles across 186 stores from October.
The supermarket chain has introduced dedicated menopause aisles as has online grocery store Ocado.
This roll-out hopes to “raise awareness and understanding of the menopause experience,” said Matt Pryde, Senior Buying Manager forAsdaToiletries.
She said: “Asda often has an alcohol offer on: buy six bottles and save 25%.
“The offer includes selected bottles with red, white and rose options, as well as prosecco. There are usually lots of popular bottles included, for example, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot, Oyster Bay Hawkes Bay Merlot and Freixenet Prosecco D.O.C.
“Obviously, the more expensive the bottles you choose, the more you save.”
Join Facebook groups
The savvy saver also recommends that fans of Asda join Facebook groups to keep in the know about the latest bargains in-store.
Eilish said: “I recommend joining the Latest Deals Facebook Group to find out about the latest deals and new launches in store.
“Every day, more than 250,000 deal hunters share their latest bargain finds and new releases.
“For example, recently a member shared a picture of Asda’s new Barbie range spotted in store.
“Another member shared the bargain outdoor plants she picked up, including roses for 47p, blackcurrant bushes for 14p and topiary trees for 14p.”
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Shoppers can enjoy on-the-go food optionsCredit: asda
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Asda expects to roll out 500 express stores by the end of the yearCredit: asda
American Express is testing Web3 without shouting about it. The feature is pitched as valueless keepsakes, not tradable NFTs.
Financial services giant American Express (AXP 1.47%) is dipping its toes into digital waters. I mean next-generation digital stuff, adding blockchain tokens and Web3 features to its new app for high-end travel experiences.
But the company isn’t leaning into that detail. The marketing around the just-released AmEx Travel App is all about convenience and simplicity. The specific feature that relies on the Ethereum(ETH) is called AmEx Passport, designed to preserve memories for easy access after the trip. Most travelers miss getting stamps in their physical passport books these days, according to the press materials — so here are some digital stamps from AmEx instead.
And you’ll barely notice if you skim through the press release. The presence of blockchain tokens is easy to miss entirely when you use the app.
Is American Express approaching the newfangled blockchain and Web3 stuff in exactly the right way? I think so, and here’s why.
Inside the digital stamp
To find out exactly what’s happening in those digital Amex Passport stamps, I had to look at other sources. Crypto news site CoinDesk got some more detail directly from American Express.
Amex Digital Labs VP Colin Marlowe explained that the stamps are technically non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain. They don’t hold any value and can’t be traded or transferred. They add some keepsake details every time you use your Amex card while traveling, creating an everlasting memory collection on the public blockchain. That’s all. But again, American Express isn’t pushing the crypto connection in your face.
“We wanted to speak to it in a way that was natural for the travel experience itself, and so we talk about these things as stamps, and they’re represented as tokens,” Marlowe told CoinDesk. “We weren’t trying to sell these or sort of generate any like short term revenue. The angle is to make a travel experience with Amex feel really rich, really different, and kind of set it apart.”
How Amex keeps travelers happy (and still pays the bills)
That tracks. I’ve been an American Express cardholder since 2000 (yeah, I’m old) and the company always bends over backward to keep traveling cardholders happy. The company makes plenty of money. It charges above-average transaction fees from retailers, which is why some shops refuse to support these cards in favor of lower-cost Visa(V -1.22%) or Mastercard (MA -1.28%) options. High-end cards like The Platinum Card and Blue Cash Preferred come with beefy annual fees, too. But the customer can still come out ahead by taking advantage of generous American Express features like the rewards program, airport lounges, and included rental car insurance.
I’m not trying to sell American Express cards here. This is just how the company tends to work. Using American Express isn’t supposed to feel cheap or complicated. It’s meant to be a rewarding premium experience. The blockchain-based memory-making tools fit snugly in that broader approach to the credit card business.
Base, ERC‑721, and the nerdy bits you can skip
And it’s also a perfect fit for early Web3 apps.
The AmEx Travel App hides its crypto-ness under a warm blanket, easy to miss or ignore. As long as the memory-keeping features work, nobody really cares where the digital passport stamps and personal notes are stored. It’s a valueless ERC-721 NFT, but you shouldn’t really care about that geekery.
The trick is that the tokens really work for this purpose. Diving one more layer into the nerdy depths, Ethereum tokens can hold all sorts of data, making that stuff available worldwide, for as long as Ethereum exists.
Access and ownership are managed by Ethereum itself, by way of the Base network. Sorry for bringing in another technical quirk that won’t matter to most app users or Amex investors, but there’s a point to this connection. Working with Base makes an Amex partner out of its creator, crypto giant Coinbase Global(COIN 8.85%), while speeding up the Amex app’s Ethereum access.
All in all, that’s a professional crypto package — not too shabby for an early swing by an old-school financial giant.
Image source: Getty Images.
The quiet way to test Web3 at scale
I don’t know about you, but I think American Express is checking all the right boxes on the Web3 checklist.
The new app meshes nicely with the card issuer’s brand, offers simple data storage functions to its users, and lets you forget how the whole thing works. I can talk until I’m blue in the face about Web3 ideals like personalization, decentralized networks, and direct money flows from consumers to creators — but Amex can get your attention without saying a word.
It’s showing how Web3 should work, in a very simple format. The Passport could evolve into a customer loyalty program later on, but it’s a bare-bones memory helper for now.
Great job, American Express. Years from now, I just might remember this app as the start of mass-market Web3 launches.
American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Anders Bylund has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A major update to the Platinum card franchise should enhance an already robust bull case for the premium credit card and integrated payments company.
American Express(AXP -1.15%) has quietly strung together a run of steady results while the company readies a sizable update to its flagship Platinum card in the U.S. The global payments company, which leans heavily on high-spending cardmembers, fee income, and a closed-loop network, continues to post healthy top-line growth and best-in-class credit performance. Shares have also marched higher in 2025 as investors reward that consistency.
There is no way to know how the stock will react to the Platinum card overhaul in the near term. But the underlying business numbers already point in the right direction, and a well-executed refresh could extend a multiyear trend of rising card fees and engagement. That combination makes the stock look attractive for investors with a longer horizon.
Image source: Getty Images.
Resilient growth backed by premium engagement
Recent results reinforce the strength of the business. In the second quarter of 2025, revenue rose 9% year over year to a record $17.9 billion, and earnings per share were $4.08. On an adjusted basis that excludes last year’s gain from the sale of Accertify, earnings per share increased 17% year over year.
Management also highlighted record cardmember spending and reaffirmed full-year 2025 guidance for revenue growth of 8% to 10% and earnings between $15.00 and $15.50 per share.
“We saw record Card Member spending in the quarter, demand for our premium products was strong, and our credit performance remained best in class,” said Chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri in the company’s earnings release. He also pointed to the upcoming Platinum refresh this fall as a driver to “sustain our leadership in the premium space, drawing on our competitive strengths.”
Under the hood, the company’s revenue mix continues to shift toward high-margin revenue. Net card fees — a key proxy for the strength of premium value propositions — climbed 20% year over year to about $2.48 billion in the quarter. That stream has compounded at roughly 17% annually since 2019, supported by strong acquisition, elevated renewals, and ongoing product updates.
Meanwhile, discount revenue (the fee American Express earns from merchants when a cardmember uses an Amex card to make a purchase) increased 6% and net interest income rose 12% as revolving balances grew, underscoring American Express’s broad-based growth drivers.
Importantly, credit metrics remain solid as well: Cardmember loan net write-offs held near 2% to 2.4% across recent quarters, and past-due rates stayed low, supporting the company’s confidence in its full-year outlook.
Why the Platinum refresh enhances the bull case
American Express all but confirmed this week on social media that the new U.S. consumer and business Platinum cards will debut this week, on Sep. 18.
The company’s playbook for card refreshes is well-rehearsed from previous refreshes: Add or tune benefits, boost the value for the cardmember, and attract new customers or upgrades from lower-fee products. Historically, this has translated into higher engagement and steadily rising fee revenue — exactly the trend visible in recent quarters. A fresh Platinum lineup may accelerate that trajectory by giving existing members reasons to stay and new prospects reasons to join while reinforcing the brand’s travel and lifestyle positioning.
Even before management has data on the overhauled card’s performance, the company is upbeat. Guidance implies another year of healthy growth, and the franchise has room to keep compounding via several levers: premium customer acquisition (including younger cohorts), resilient spend among affluent consumers, continued build-out of travel experiences and dining (including Centurion Lounges and restaurant initiatives), and disciplined risk management.
On valuation, shares at around $325 trade at roughly 21 times the midpoint of 2025 earnings guidance. That’s a reasonable price-to-earnings ratio for a payments and premium lifestyle platform with double-digit card-fee growth, record spend, and a long runway to add value to membership.
Of course, there are some risks to bear in mind. A slower macro backdrop could temper spending growth, and a poorly received value and pricing change for the U.S. consumer and business Platinum card could spur churn. But taken together — reaffirmed guidance, strong fee momentum, stable credit, and a clear catalyst in the Platinum rollout — the return profile looks compelling.
There is no guarantee that the stock will react positively on launch day. Over a multiyear horizon, though, this looks like a great entry point for investors seeking a high-quality compounding business at a reasonable price.
American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Sparks and his clients have positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
WIN a pair of tickets to see the iconic musical, Starlight Express! We have ten pairs up for grabs.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express is now playing in the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.
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Win a pair of tickets to the Starlight Express musical with Sun Club
Audiences will be immersed inside a world of speed, song and storytelling as an incredible cast of 40 whizz around and above, performing some of musical theatre’s most beloved songs.
The theatre production setlist includes the classics AC/DC, Make Up My Heart, Light at the End of the Tunnel and of course Starlight Express.
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Join Sun Club for just £1.99 a month to enter and enjoy many other competitions and offers
The songs are all played out as a child’s train set magically comes to life and the engines race to become the fastest in the world.
Rusty the steam train has little hope of winning until he is inspired by the legend of the ‘Starlight Express’.
How to enter with Sun Club
Sun Club Membership Programme
Step 1: To enter our competition to win a pair of tickets to Starlight Express tickets join Sun Club now for just £1.99 a month for your first year.
Or £12 for an annual subscription for the first 12 months, then £49.99 a year thereafter.
Step 2: Then head to the Offers Hub, select the ‘Starlight Express’ page, click ‘Enter competition’ and you be see a yellow box with a tick saying ‘entered’.
Winners will be selected at random and notified by email, so please ensure your email address is correct and has been verified.
Seen around the world by over 30 million people, Starlight Express is an electrifying experience for all ages.
The kids will love it and so will parents – we can guarantee an amazing time with all the family.
Competition is open to UK (exc NI) residents aged 18+ only. Competition ends at 23:59pm on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Winners will be notified within 28 days. Full T&Cs apply, see Sun Club.
‘If anyone mysteriously vanishes, I can be Poirot,” said the passenger from India, twirling his moustache. It felt as though the spirit of Agatha Christie’s most famous character – best known for solving the Murder on the Orient Express – was lingering in the breeze at Palermo’s sublime botanical garden, which had been transformed into a makeshift waiting room for the 40 or so travellers about to board an Italian replica of the fabled train.
Sipping espresso and sampling cannoli, the classic Sicilian pastry, the curiosity and suspicion for which Poirot is famous was palpable as the passengers subtly sized each other up. But the only mystery waiting to be unravelled over the next couple of days was whether their Rome-bound journey on La Dolce Vita Orient Express would live up to their dreamy expectations.
The sleeper rolled into service in April with the aim of reviving the glamour of the original train, as well as the romanticised notion of Italy’s dolce vita, or “sweet life”, not to mention tapping into the resurgence in demand for slow luxury travel.
Comprising refurbished carriages formerly in service on Italy’s railway in the 1960s, the train has spent the last few months taking passengers on various journeys: through Tuscany’s wine region, to Venice and along the Ligurian coast – all of them sold out.
Now the Dolce Vita has ventured south, and the Guardian was invited to experience its debut voyage from Palermo, Sicily, to the Italian capital.
Christ the Redeemer statue in the town of Maratea on the Tyrrhenian coast. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images
The original Orient Express made its initial journey in 1883, and crossed much of Europe on long-distance itineraries stretching from Paris to Istanbul, before reaching the end of the line in 2009, the victim of both high-speed rail and low-cost flights.
But various offspring kept its legacy alive, with passengers still hungry for high-end nostalgic escapades far from the chaos of airports and overcrowded tourist hotspots.
“The ultra-high-end market is constantly growing and demand for rail experiences is developing in a significant way,” said Dario Minutella, a luxury and fashion sector analyst at the management consultancy firm Kearney. “But it’s not just the preserve of millionaires or billionaires. There are many people with the time and resources seeking an experience, and Italy, with its long coastline and beautiful landscapes beyond the big cities, provides the perfect package.”
At Palermo station, we were greeted by Stefano Sgambellone, the Dolce Vita’s train manager, and his team of impeccably dressed staff.
“In 1883, the Orient Express became the first way to travel slowly, in luxury,” said Sgambellone, who for years worked for Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE), a luxury rail service with a range of European routes. “Today, slow travel is even more popular than it was then.”
While the focus of VSOE is primarily the onboard experience, the Dolce Vita itinerary also includes off-board jaunts and experiences across its 10 Italy-only itineraries, such as learning to cook a local dish, exploring off-the-beaten-track medieval towns and dining in a private Venetian home.
“People are choosing the Dolce Vita not only for the train itself, which is beautiful, but because it’s the best way to discover Italy,” said Sgambellone.
A deluxe train cabin designed by Milan-based Dimorestudio
The train’s whistle blew at 10.30am, and we departed Palermo. It then glided along Sicily’s sparkling northern coastline, passing the town of Cefalù and the city of Messina, offering distant views of Salina, one of the Aeolian islands, along the way.
Lunch has been curated by Heinz Beck, owner of the three-Michelin-starred La Pergola restaurant in Rome. In the afternoon, the train stopped in the Sicilian hilltop town of Taormina, where passengers had the opportunity to explore its ancient Greek theatre.
The Dolce Vita initiative, with plans for a fleet of six trains, is a collaboration between Orient Express, the brand part-owned by the French hospitality group Accor; Arsenale, an Italian luxury hospitality company; and the heritage arm of Italy’s state railway, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.
Itineraries are between one and three nights onboard, and needless to say, they do not come cheap,starting at €3,060 per person for a two-day/one-night trip into the heart of Tuscany’s wine region, to more than double that for the three-day/two-night trips.
The luxury train is not the only service that has benefited from FS Italiane’s project to revive abandoned rail tracks. A network of historic routes has opened up under its Timeless Tracks initiative, offering a cheap way to explore Italy’s less visited areas, such as the highlands and hidden hamlets of Abruzzo or the mountains of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, while promoting sustainable tourism. Tickets for these shorter trips start at just €5. There has also been a renewed focus on sleeper train services.
The passengers on this trip had come from all over the world. There was the family from India seeking a once-in-a-lifetime experience; another, from Scotland, celebrating a milestone birthday. There was the US author, the Italian ambassador and the Parisian couple who are seasoned long-distance train travellers.
La Dolce Vita Lounge at Roma station
It was also the first time that Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, the architects from the Milan-based Dimorestudio who designed Dolce’s 1960s-inspired cabins, restaurant and bar, had travelled on the train.
“Obviously we had seen it before,” said Moran, “but in terms of the whole experience: wow, this is so nice!”
After a night onboard in Sicily, the carriages were loaded on to a privately chartered ferry for the 30-minute crossing to the mainland. From there, the train headed up the coast of Calabria and towards Maratea, where it made another afternoon stop, before departing for Rome in the evening.
When the Dolce Vita arrived at Ostiense station the next morning, all the passengers appeared to be satisfied. While they boarded the train as strangers, running the risk of animosity in such a confined space for two days, they disembarked as friends.
The trip was provided by La Dolce Vita Orient Express; the three-day/two-night From Sicily to Rome trip starts at €11,280 per person (From Rome to Sicily starts at €9,440)
Toasted ham baguettes in hand, we cheered as the new-generation Nightjet drew into Vienna Hauptbahnhof. It was a little before 7pm, and as the carriages hummed past I felt a rush of joy, like celebrity trainspotter Francis Bourgeois, but without the GoPro on my forehead. For more than three years I’ve been documenting the renaissance of sleeper trains, and I’d wondered if I might one day tire of them. But the thrill seems only to intensify each time I embark on another nocturnal adventure, this time with my two daughters – aged eight and five – who were already arguing over the top berth. The first four carriages were designated for travellers to the Italian port city of La Spezia, the other seven carrying on to Roma Tiburtina, where we would alight at 10am. Once in Rome we had 24 hours to eat classic carbonara, dark chocolate gelato, and bike around the Villa Borghese before taking a train to Florence.
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has played the lead role in resuscitating Europe’s night trains. Towards the end of 2016, ÖBB launched its Nightjet network on 14 routes, using old rolling stock it bought from Deutsche Bahn. Then, to the delight of train nerds like me, it launched a brand-new fleet at the end of 2023, and now operates 20 routes across Europe. We were now on board this high-spec service, which smelled of freshly unpacked furniture, the carpets soft underfoot, the lighting adjustable to disco hues of neon blue and punk pink.
We were booked into a couchette carriage, which mostly comprisesd mini cabins designed for solo travellers preferring privacy. Placing shoes and small bags in lockers, passengers can open a metal door with a keycard and crawl into their single berth, drawing the door closed around them, and not have to look at another human until morning. Last year I had trialled the mini cabins from Vienna to Hamburg alongside a tall friend who had likened the experience to sleeping inside a bread bin, though I hadn’t found it as claustrophobic as I’d feared, just a bit hard, chilly, and with a pillow as flat as a postage stamp. So I was curious to see how the carriage’s four-person private compartments, for families and groups, would differ.
New generation Nightjet train in Austria. Photograph: Christian Blumenstein
Normally happy to share with strangers, I’d booked a whole compartment for the three of us: more to protect other hapless travellers from my children, who were now swinging off the berths like members of Cirque du Soleil, their sweaty socks strewn under the seats. With raised sides, the upper berths were safe for the girls to sleep in without rolling out, and I set about tucking in their sheets while they settled down to finish their baguettes. There is no dining car on the Nightjet, so we’d bought food from the station, which was now moving backwards as the train sailed out of the Austrian capital in silence, smoothly curving south-west.
Two days earlier we’d arrived in Vienna by train from London, via Paris, and had checked into the Superbude Wien Prater, a curious hotel that appeared part art-installation, part hostel, with gen Zs slouched around worn leather sofas on MacBooks. With four-bed family cabins overlooking the Prater amusement park, it was a great location from which to explore the city, then finish the evening with a terrifying rollercoaster and a spicy Bitzinger wurst. A friend had described Vienna to me as a grand and beautiful “retirement village”, but, on the contrary, its green spaces, playgrounds and museums made it an easy stop for 48 hours with kids.
Hopping off the Nightjet from Paris, we’d gone straight to my favourite restaurant, Edelgreisslerei Opocensky – an unassuming nook serving homely dishes such as stuffed gnocchi, and goulash with dumplings – before whiling away an afternoon at the Children’s Museum at Schönbrunn Palace.
Dressing up like young Habsburgs, the girls had swanned around in wigs and musty gowns, laying tables for banquets and begging not to leave – a far cry from our usual museum experiences. Before boarding this train we’d had one last run around the interactive Technical Museum, where the human-sized hamster wheels, peg games and slides had so worn out the children that my five-year-old was asleep as the train plunged into the Semmering mountain pass.
It was still light as we swept around the Alps, my eight-year-old kneeling at the window and asking where local people shopped, so few and far between were signs of human life. Horses grazed in paddocks, cows nuzzled, and the occasional hamlet emerged from round a bend as though the chalets were shaken like dice and tossed into the slopes. In the blue-grey twilight we watched streams gleam like strips of metal, and spotted a single stag poised at the edge of a wood, before the train made a long stop at the Styrian city of Leoben, at which point we turned in.
Monisha Rajesh and her daughters disembark the night train. Photograph: Monisha Rajesh
Like the mini cabins, the compartment was still too cold, the pillow still too flat, but the berths were wider and the huge window a blessing compared with the single berths’ portholes – this one allowed for wistful gazing.
Shoving a rolled-up jumper under my head, I fell asleep, waking at 7am to rumpled clouds and a golden flare on the horizon. Most night trains terminate soon after passengers have woken up, but this one was perfect, allowing us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast of hot chocolate and jam rolls while watching the Tuscan dawn breaking into song, and Umbrian lakes and cornfields running parallel before we finally drew into Rome – on time.
When travelling alone I relish arriving with the entire day at my disposal, but with children it’s hard work waiting until 3pm to check in to accommodation, so I default to staying at a Hoxton hotel if one is available. Its Flexy Time policy allows guests to choose what time they check in and out for free, and by 11am we had checked in, showered and set off to toss coins in the Trevi fountain, finding thick whorls of eggy carbonara at nearby trattoria Maccheroni, and gelato at Don Nino. To avoid the crowds and heat, we waited until 6pm to hire an electric pedal car from Bici Pincio at the Villa Borghese and drove around the landscaped, leafy grounds, relishing the quietness of the evening ride. Excited about the next adventure in Florence, the girls had only one complaint: that they couldn’t ride there on the night train.
Monisha Rajesh is the author of Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train (Bloomsbury, £22), published on 28 August and available on pre-order at guardianbookshop.com
Omio provided travel in a four-person private compartment in a couchette carriage from Vienna to Rome (from £357). Accommodation was provided by Superbude Wien Prater in Vienna (doubles from €89 room-only); and The Hoxton in Rome (doubles from €189 room-only)
July 8 (UPI) — The Japanese government announced Tuesday it plans to negotiate with the Trump administration over a planned increase in the tariff rate placed on it, even if it was painful news to receive.
After President Donald Trump informed 14 nations Monday with a mostly form letter, including Japan, that new tariffs of at least 25% will be imposed starting Aug. 1 on most of the goods sent to the United States, Japan’s Minister of Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa contacted U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to express Japan’s dissatisfaction.
Akazawa also said via a social media post Monday that tariffs between the United States and Japan had not changed much because “there is a certain degree of trust” between the two countries.
“The real climax and critical moment are the three weeks until Aug. 1,” he concluded. “We would like to support the government’s negotiations more firmly than ever before.”
“Towards the new deadline of Aug. 1, the government will act with unity to engage in Japan-U.S. consultations and aim for an agreement that will benefit both countries while protecting our national interests to ensure that we pursue what should be pursued, and protect what should be protected by refraining from making hasty decisions,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishibasaid during a meeting with Japan’s Comprehensive Response Headquarters for U.S. Tariff Measures Tuesday.
“It is deeply regrettable that the U.S. government has not only imposed additional tariffs but has now also announced a further increase in tariff rates,” he also said. “The two sides have continued sincere and earnest discussions, but as of now, there are still issues that both Japan and the United States cannot resolve.”
It was announced yesterday that only British Airways Premium Plus American Express cardholders — not those using the free British Airways American Express card — can now earn up to 2,500 tier points per year when using their card for everyday spending
The update will impact those seeking BA tier status(Image: Getty Images)
A major update on British Airways’ tier points scheme has been announced.
Following the airline’s recent overhaul of its loyalty scheme, British Airways and American Express customers have been eager to find out how many tier points they can now earn with the British Airways Premium Plus Amex card.
It was announced yesterday that only British Airways Premium Plus American Express cardholders — not those using the free British Airways American Express card — can now earn up to 2,500 tier points per year when using their card for everyday spending.
The number of tier points you earn annually determines your membership level: blue, bronze, silver, or gold. Everyone starts at bronze, and can progress through the tiers based on how much they spend.
Higher-tier statuses unlock perks such as complimentary seat selection, priority check-in, additional baggage allowance, and access to British Airways’ airport lounges.
Here’s how many Tier Points are required for each level:
Bronze – 3,500 Tier Points
Silver – 7,500 Tier Points
Gold – 20,000 Tier Points
To reach silver, you could spend £5,000 on British Airways flights and holiday packages — each pound spent earns one tier point. The rest of the required points could be earned through spending on the British Airways Premium Plus Amex card, if you have one.
Here’s how the new tier point earning system works for cardholders:
750 tier P=points are awarded when you spend £15,000 after enrolling in the offer.
An additional 750 tier points are awarded after spending a further £5,000 (total: £20,000).
A final 1,000 tier points are awarded after spending another £5,000 (total: £25,000).
This brings the maximum total to 2,500 tier points earned via everyday spending. If this sounds confusing, there’s more: the tier points system is separate from Avios points.
Tier points determine your membership level and associated airport perks. Avios points, on the other hand, are used to claim rewards such as free flights.
Travellers flying with British Airways or its Oneworld partners earn Avios to use toward future flights. Amex cardholders have long earned Avios on their spending. However, prior to the changes in April, cardholders could not earn tier points through everyday spending.
Here’s how Avios earning works:
The free British Airways American Express card earns 1 Avios per £1 spent.
The Premium Plus card earns 1.5 Avios per £1 spent, but has a £300 annual fee.
It’s important to note that the 2,500 tier point offer is not available to holders of the fee-free British Airways Amex Card.
If you do have the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card, make sure to enroll in the Tier Point scheme through the American Express app or website to begin collecting points.
The Dodger Stadium Express is scheduled to operate normally this weekend, even as the bus departs from and arrives at an area subject to curfew restrictions.
The service, which provides fans a free ride between Union Station and Dodger Stadium, “will be running per usual,” Metro senior director of communications Missy Colman said Thursday.
Dodger Stadium is outside the curfew zone, but Union Station is within it. The Dodgers’ games against the rival San Francisco Giants are scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 4:10 p.m. on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Metro posted that “normal bus and rail service” would continue in the downtown area. Colman said Metro would provide fans with any updates at alerts.metro.net or via X at @metrolaalerts.
The Dodgers did not respond to a message asking whether the team would make any changes that might affect how fans arrive at and depart from games this weekend.
Per 100g: calories, 308 fat, 10.2g sugar, 4g salt 1.09g
8
Aldi’s pizza cooked in 12 minutes
It cooked nicely in 12 minutes and was big enough to feed four people.
The base was deliciously crispy and the cheese and tomato topping tasted authentically Italian.
I haven’t tried this flavour from Aldi before, but absolutely will in the future – my winner – and less than half the price of Pizza Express, that’s dinner sorted.
Taste: 10/10 Value: 10/10 Overall rating: 10/10 Out of 30: 30
Per 100g: calories, 238 fat, 7.7g sugar, 3.9g salt 1.09g
8
Asda’a pizza offered good value for money
It cooked well in just over 12 minutes and the generous size means it would satisfy four people, especially if you add a couple of sides.
The topping was plentiful and the fact that you’re getting a lot of pizza for your money means that this is a good staple for a family if you’re unsure what to serve up for dinner.
Taste: 9/10 Value: 7/10 Overall rating: 8/10 Out of 30: 24
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
The Cannes Film Festival is winding down, with the awards ceremony happening on Saturday. Amy Nicholson and Joshua Rothkopf have been there, watching as many films as they can. In a notebook dispatch from the fest’s first week, Amy covered many early titles, including Harris Dickinson’s directing debut, “Urchin,” Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” Dominik Moll’s “Dossier 137,” Sergei Loznitsa’s “Two Prosecuters” and Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât.” A second diary is live now, covering several films including Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” and the directorial debut of Kristen Stewart, “The Chronology of Water.”
Josh spoke to filmmaker Lynne Ramsay about her long-awaited return with “Die, My Love,” a tale of the struggles of motherhood, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. So far the film has become the festival’s biggest acquisition, picked up by “The Substance’s” distributor Mubi for a reported $24 million.
Director Lynne Ramsay on the set of the movie “Die, My Love.”
(Kimberly French)
Ramsay spoke about working with Lawrence and Pattinson, who, besides being big stars, are committed performers as well.
“I think they were very willing participants,” said Ramsay. “There was a lot of trust. I try and create an atmosphere of trust and I just threw them into the fire. I did the sex scene on the first day. I thought it’s a risk. It’s either going to work or it’s going to be a disaster. But I could see there was chemistry. And when they arrived, I was getting them dancing. They were dancing together, synchronized. And it was fun. And then I think Robert was a little nervous, but then something just kind of broke the ice.”
Josh also spoke to director Ari Aster about “Eddington” and whether he set out to make his most overtly politically charged film to date with the story of a small town’s sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparring during the early days of the pandemic.
“I am just following my impulses, so I’m not thinking in that way,” said Aster. “There’s very little strategy going on. It’s just: What am I interested in? And when I started writing, because I was in a real state of fear and anxiety about what was happening in the country and what was happening in the world, and I wanted to make a film about what it was feeling like.”
‘The Sugarland Express’ and our Spielberg Summer
Michael Sacks, left, William Atherton and Goldie Hawn in the 1974 movie “The Sugarland Express.”
We seem to be on the verge of a summer of Spielberg. After last week’s screening of 2002’s “Minority Report,” this Thursday brings a showing of Spielberg’s 1974 “The Sugarland Express” at the Academy Museum with a conversation with the film’s star, Goldie Hawn.
There are also multiple opportunities to see “Jaws” this Memorial Day weekend in celebration of the film’s 50th anniversary, including presentations at the Egyptian, the New Beverly,Vidiots and the Frida Cinema. The film will also play at the Hollywood Bowl on July 5, with a live performance of John Williams’ score by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
“The Sugarland Express,” screening in a 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative, was Spielberg’s theatrical feature debut. As tempting as it is to view it for the seeds of what was still to come, the movie is a fully formed charmer all on its own.
Lou Jean Poplin (Hawn) convinces her husband (William Atherton) to escape from prison just a few months from being released because their son is about to be placed for adoption. When the pair wind up taking a police officer hostage, their journey across Texas becomes an unlikely pursuit involving the authorities and the media.
In an April 1974 review, Kevin Thomas called the film “dazzling, funny, exciting and finally poignant. … An increasingly disenchanted portrait of contemporary America.”
Thomas added, “Spielberg and his associates are trying for entertainment rather than profundity, and ‘The Sugarland Express’ is anything but heavy. But it is incisive as it is rapid, like the more optimistic vintage Capra films it brings to mind. … When all things are considered, however, one realizes it is Goldie Hawn who gives the film its focus and dimension, making Lou Jean at once very funny and very sad, quite real, and for all her intransigence, most appealing.”
In a March 1973 report from the set, Hawn spoke to reporter Jeff Millar. She said it took a year after the film “Butterflies Are Free” to find another project that excited her as much. “I flipped when I saw this one,” Hawn said. “It’s a different kind of role for me. She’s aggressive. She’s a leader, she’s comical. But she’s still a plain country girl.
“I guess the most exciting thing is the director,” Hawn continued. “I’d never met him, but everybody knew about him, you know? ‘Oh yeah, you’re going to do a picture with Steve Spielberg. The bright young guy who’s coming up…’”
In comments that bring to mind his recent film “The Fabelmans,” Spielberg, 25 at the time, told Millar, “I’ve been making pictures in 8mm, 16mm and 35mm since I was 15. This is the fourth year I’ve had that Directors Guild of America card. I’ve been directing in television since I was 21.”
Of the movie, he added, “I wanted to shoot in Texas because it’s so big. I’m very into Americana — and Texas is a lot more Americana to me than, well, Kansas or Andrew Wyeth.”
Points of interest
Susan Sontag’s ‘Duet for Cannibals’
Adriana Asti, left, and Susan Sontag making their 1969 film “Duet for Cannibals.”
(Susan Wood / Getty Images)
In 1968, Susan Sontag, already a well-known and deeply influential writer and critic, was invited to Stockholm to make her first movie. The result was “Duet for Cannibals,” a darkly comedic satire of bourgeois values focused on two couples. The film plays at Vidiots on Wednesday.
In May 1973, Kevin Thomas wrote about the film when it had a few screenings at an art gallery and restaurant near LACMA, noting that it “demonstrates Susan Sontag is as gifted a filmmaker as she is a critic and philosopher.”
Thomas concluded, “Sontag illuminates human potential, with emphasis on its bent for destruction yet capacity to endure to a breathtaking fullness. In this bravura example of a work of art that achieves maximum of means, Susan Sontag proves she is a critic who can practice what she preaches.”
‘How to Get Ahead in Advertising’
Richard E. Grant in the movie “How to Get Ahead in Advertising.”
(Janus Films)
Writer-director Bruce Robinson followed up his cult hit “Withnail & I” with 1989’s “How To Get Ahead in Advertising,” a bitter satire of commercialization and the media. Richard E. Grant plays rising advertising executive Denis Dimbleby Bagley, who, while suffering an ethical crisis over the impact of his work, develops a boil on his neck that begins talking to him. The film will play in a new restoration at the Los Feliz 3 on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday.
In a May 1989 review, Sheila Benson called the movie “a strange piece, to be sure. It’s cruel, funny, knowing, never less than biting and occasionally brilliant. Pure fury seems to have driven Robinson to it. … There are problems in creating something as simultaneously funny and unlovely as a talking boil. It’s possible that some audiences will lose interest once they learn that the effects are good but minor; the boil, even when grown to full manhood (boilhood?) isn’t a patch on ‘The Fly.’ But then, this isn’t that sort of movie. This is a blistering broadside, a warning for the safety of our souls.”
In a set visit by Bart Mills published around the film’s release, Robinson, then 43, did an interview from his office at Shepperton Studios outside London.
He said it was his own disillusionment at “the constant stream of disinformation the media and the politicians give us” that inspired the story. “This is the kind of anger I feel all the time. All the time. It’s intolerable. The only thing that saves me, that keeps the electrodes off my head, is that, thank God, I’m allowed to make a movie about it.”
Yet, Robinson added, “I don’t believe the cinema can change anything. It’s not a teacher, it’s an entertainer. I enjoy finding a comedic way to exploit my burning rage.”
The short films of Charles and Ray Eames
The title frame for Charles and Ray Eames’ 1955 short film “House: After Five Years of Living.”
(Eames Office, LLC.)
On Wednesday, the Philosophical Research Society and the Charles and Ray Eames Foundation will host an evening celebrating the famous creative duo. There will be a program of seven of the Eames’ shorts, including 1955’s “House: After Five Years of Living,” 1964’s “Think” and likely their best-known film, 1977’s “Powers of Ten.”
The event will also include a panel discussion moderated by programmer Alex McDonald including the Eames’ grandson Eames Demetrios, art director Jeannine Oppewall and the creative pair of Adi Goodrich and Sean Pecknold, known as Sing-Sing.
Writing about the enduring influence of the Eames in 2012, David L. Ulin said, “In our age of constant contact, it’s almost impossible to step away from the workplace even when we’re off the clock. And yet, if the Eameses have anything to tell us, it’s that we can — must — aspire to a higher integration, in which work should not only feed our stomach but also, and more importantly, our souls.”
In other news
Rolf Saxon accepts another ‘Mission’
Actor Rolf Saxon, photographed at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York.
(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)
Fans of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise are in for a real surprise when they see the new sequel “The Final Reckoning,” which opens this weekend. Actor Rolf Saxon, who had a memorable turn in the first film in 1996, is back with a surprisingly large role in the new film.
Saxon’s character of CIA analyst William Donloe was sent to a radar station in Alaska after his computer station got hacked by Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in one of the series’ signature set pieces. In the new film, it turns out Donloe has been in Alaska the entire time and now may have vital information for the Impossible Mission Force.
The new film brought Saxon to caves in the English midlands and, most spectacularly, Svalbard, an archipelago off the northern coast of Norway.
“This was in many ways a dream job,” says Saxon. “The people I’m working with, the thing I’m working on and the places I got to go to work — it’s just like, what would you really like to do? Here it is.”
My extended feature with Saxon goes live a little later this afternoon. Stay tuned.
