3 . The “Mona Lisa” may maintain her famously mysterious smile because she benefits from one of Paris’ best-kept secrets: An underground cooling system that’s helped the Louvre Museum cope with the unbearable heat that has broken temperature records across Europe.

With a depth of up to 98 feet and 55 miles of pipes, the little-known “urban cold” network snakes unknowing beneath Parisians’ feet, which uses electricity generated by renewable sources, is the largest in Europe and runs around the clock with a deafening noise totally inaudible above ground.

Paris City Hall has now signed an ambitious contract to triple the size of the network by 2042 to 157 miles. It would make it the largest urban cooling system in the world.

Three of the 10 high-tech cooling sites lie on the Seine river. When the Seine’s water is cold enough, a machine captures it and uses it to cool the system’s water. The heat created as a byproduct is sent back into the Seine where it is absorbed. The chilled water is then pumped through the system’s pipes to its 730 Parisian clients.

Paris’ cooling sites all use renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. French officials see this energy independence as particularly important given the threat of Russia cutting off energy supplies to Europe.

The merits of using a cooling system which uses renewable energy to operate are already being felt by sites that use them. The world’s most visited museum, the Louvre, has benefited from the network since the 1990s.

“It allows us to benefit from energy with a lower carbon footprint available all year round,” said Laurent Le Guedart, the Louvre’s Heritage Director. “The particularity of the Louvre Museum is that it needs to use iced-cold water to correctly conserve the artwork and to control the humidity.”

Le Guedart said that the system is a money-saver given the rising cost of energy linked to the Ukraine conflict. It operates notably in the State Room of the Pavillon Denon where the “Mona Lisa” lives. Perhaps it’s why beads of sweat have never trickled down the brow painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

5 . Tips for Traveling on a Low Budget

These days, a lot of people travel as a result of rising wealth.On social media,friends ,families, and complete strangers are sharing beautiful images of the places they’ve been Traveling can be a lot of fun, but it does take money to get on a plane and see the world.     1     Here are four expert tips.

Plan ahead. Planning is possibly the most important aspect of any trip. If you want to keep your costs down, you must make a plan. That will allow you to spend the least amount of money to meet your demands when traveling.    2    

    3    When you purchase tickets at least six months in advance, certain airlines offer discounted pricing on their flights. Discounts let you spend less money than you initially planned to, and preparing ahead will help you find the greatest discounts.

Prepare alternative destinations.    4     When visiting Thailand for instance, you can decide to visit Chiang Mai rather than Phuket or Bangkok.This is due to Chiang Mai’s affordability, cooler climate, and distinctive attractions.

Remember travel insurance. Consider travel insurance as an investment rather than an extra cost.     5    . Being insured allows you to avoid paying for lost or stolen luggage or medical expenses.

6 . Traveling means going from one place to another or from one country to another. It is immensely beneficial in many ways. From cutting down on stress to lowering your chances of developing heart disease, the health benefits of traveling are huge. Furthermore, traveling fosters understanding between nations. It is an important factor in establishing world peace.     1    

Traveling and education both are interrelated. During traveling, a traveler visits different places and comes into contact with people in different regions. Thus it provides the traveler with first-hand knowledge. The knowledge we acquire in schools and colleges is mainly bookish in nature.     2     Traveling can remove this gap because true education takes place outside the classroom. Bookish knowledge can be made perfect and meaningful only by traveling.

    3     The benefit of traveling to a new place is that it forces you to face the unknown and think differently. We have read the majesty of the Himalayas, the vastness of the ocean and the beauty of the Taj Mahal from books.     4     It impresses our mind with the vastness, and wonder of nature’s creation. Traveling helps the traveler to know how the wonderful earth is full of natural beauty.

In general, it can be said that traveling essentially has a great educative value. Traveling is adventurous, exciting, and a great stress buster. So, educational institutions of our country should give greater facilities to their students to undertake tours to various places of importance at home and abroad.     5     Seeing the world with your own very eyes will give you a better learning experience than any book can provide.

7 . In 2008, I traveled to a remote region in southwest China to tell the story about the Nu River. The word “Nu” means “angry” in Chinese. Here many ________ lived in the mountains along the narrow river. There were ________ bridges over the river and most people from the villages had to ________ it by zip lines (滑索).

I went to a place closest to a town on a market day. When I got there, a stream of people was already crossing over the ________ waters of the river. They did it ________ or in pairs. Some of them even went with ________ in their arms, such as chickens and pigs. I even saw a goat.

With a camera around my neck, I hooked onto the return line and moved forward until I ________ midway above the river. The waters did look angry below me.

Hanging over the river, I ________ people crossing until those waiting to return home became very ________ . I pulled myself back to the roadside to let them pass, and then hooked onto the line again for another try. Suddenly, I saw a group of people were heading toward the zip lines with a ________!

“What’s the angle? “I asked myself, as I ________ my position. I wanted the river waters in the picture but that was not easy to do. Before I could check all the ________ they tied a rope around the cow, hooked it on the line, and gave it a push. Kicking its legs in the air, the cow ________ the steep line above the angry river.

I reached the line’s end just as the cow closed in. For a second, my camera was in the cow’s face. The view was ________ —completed by the angry river below.

Nowadays, these zip lines have been ________ by modern bridges and government housing projects have been designed to encourage the people to move down to the riversides.

8 . Planning a family trip? Let the professionals handle it.

In the ever-evolving world of travel, using a travel professional to decode your family vacation options can really pay off. Here are several things to bear in mind:

Before the pandemic, planning a vacation took time, knowledge, patience and perseverance. While the pace of change has slowed, keeping track of the global landscape can still be incredible.     1     He or she uses his or her experience and skills to make even the most complicated travel schedule a reality.

    2     Some get paid by travel suppliers such as a hotel or restaurant. Others charge consulting fees sometimes determined by the number of people traveling and the complexity of the trip. Still, others rely on a combination of both. Families also benefit from top agents’ access to upgrades and value-added options. Should your trip take an unwelcome turn, a good agent will have your back to help with canceled flights, health challenges or the need for a last-minute shift in the travel schedule.

If you are eager to visit a Disney resort; understand the evolving nature of the cruise world; visit a ski resort or explore a specific city, region or country, using an agent with that specialty can give you a bonus.     4     They’ll know how to book the best cabins, sort through meal and activity options and provide insight into how each member of the family might make the most of the sailing.

Whether you’re traveling with the kids or with the extended family for a milestone birthday or anniversary celebration, you no doubt hope to return with treasured memories rather than tales of a trip gone wrong.     5    

With more families learning and working from home, a good agent can help zero in on destinations and lodging options that can maximize your current lifestyle.

10 . From grand museum openings to music, art and theatre, these are the coolest new things happening anywhere this year.

This townhouse, where the controversial French singer Serge Gainsbourg spent the last 20 years of his life, has been completely closed off to the public since Gainsbourg's death in 1991, but next spring it'll finally open as a museum. The main attraction will be Serge's famously odd living area, with its huge collection of sculptures.

Just 90 minutes by train from Copenhagen, Odense is best known as the birthplace of Christian Andersen, and it's now home to the new HCA Museum. With its biographical exhibits and inanimate projects that come alive, this thoroughly fun museum would have delighted the “Little Mermaid” and “Snow Queen” author himself.

When it finally opens in November 2022, the Grand Egypt Museum will be the biggest museum in the world for a single civilization. Costing $1 billion, this museum will be about the size of the Louvre in Paris. Most importantly, this will be the first time that all 5,000 pieces of King Tut's treasure will be displayed in the same place.

Serbia's second-largest city will wear the crown of European Capital of Culture for the year. Ever fancied checking out of an exhibition in an abandoned pasta factory? The Mlin Cultural Station awaits. Novi Sad's unique architecture and history have long made it a major destination.