Exploring the "Turkish Maldives"
(CNN) — In our roundup of travel stories this week: why mosquitoes are getting better at outsmarting humans, the sun-kissed island known as the “Turkish Maldives,” plus the mysterious case of the missing Korean trash cans.
Culinary battlefield
Tacos or tarte tatin? Burritos or boeuf Bourguignon? Choose your fighter as we’re going all in on a battle of national fare.
France has the haute cuisine, the Michelin pedigree and the UNESCO-recognized bread.
Mexico has the confluence of Indigenous and European influences, the slow-cooked meat, and the pre-Hispanic corn processes.
We’ve put together a roundup of 20 classic French dishes everyone needs to try and, because we were feeling generous, 23 Mexican dishes that ought to be on your table ASAP.
Following up with the cheese course, we have cancoillotte, a 2,000-year-old low-fat, high-protein cheese currently taking over French dairy aisles.
For US-based subscribers, we also have a two-tier dessert: The full CNN Original series of Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico and Eva Longoria: Searching for France are available to stream right now.
Wild world
Stay safe out there this summer. Video captured recently in Botswana shows the terrifying moment a tourist boat had to outpace a charging hippo. Take a look: Its butterfly stroke is Olympic level.
On the smaller end of the scale, scientists are discovering mosquitoes are smarter than we thought. The blood-besotted blighters are the world’s deadliest animal, and they’ve developed plenty of tricks to tap our veins, including remembering people who’ve tried to swat them.
And now we go tinier again, with a warning about microscopic pathogens. Louisiana health officials are urging Gulf Coast beachgoers to take precautions amid a surge in infections caused by a flesh-eating bacteria found in coastal waters. Vibrio vulnificus thrive in heat and this past July was the hottest month in the US since records began.
Pennsylvania’s holiday hub
Continuing our countdown of America’s Best Towns to Visit in 2026, we have Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at No. 4.
August is here, the days are getting shorter — shouldn’t you be thinking of getting the Christmas tree down from the attic? Or better yet, take a trip to Bethlehem, a former American steel town with serious holiday spirit.
“The festivities begin early here,” the manager of one of two Christmas-themed stores open year-round on Main Street tells CNN. “It’s like living in a snow globe or a Hallmark movie.”
Bethlehem’s rich legacy as a historic 18th-century Moravian settlement has also earned recognition as one of the United States’ newest UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Take a look, too, at the rest of our list so far: Roanoke, Virginia, at No. 10, Lawrence, Kansas, at No. 9, Iowa City, Iowa at No. 8, Juneau, Alaska, at No. 7, Burlington, Vermont, at No. 6 and Fort Collins, Colorado, at No. 5.
Paradise islands
It’s never too early to start planning your 2027 vacation.
Less than an hour off the coast of the Turkish Riviera lies Suluada –- a remote island so strikingly white and blue it’s earned the nickname “the Turkish Maldives.” Accessible only by boat and completely untouched, CNN’s Leroy Ah Ben explores this gem known mostly to locals.
Uganda’s Ssese Islands are one of the few places in the world where a tropical archipelago sits inside a landlocked country. In the middle of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, the islands are a magical landscape where locals and pilgrims connect with ancient spirits at a sacred waterfall.
Korean trash cans
Seoul is a city of nearly 10 million people, but there are just 7,000 public trash cans on its streets. CNN’s Yoonjung Seo went on a mission to find the nearest receptacle.
Tourists visiting Japan also struggle to find trash cans but the reasons behind that are very different.
In case you missed it
A stellar spectacle. A White House shakeup. A massive jackpot.
What do you remember from the week that was?
Meet the corgis leading hiking groups.
Their legs may be short, but their strength is mighty. Watch here.
Communist scientists built a Cold War cola to beat Coke.
It’s still a hit — along with these seven other global rivals.
This chef has 18 Michelin stars.
Yet he’s barely known outside France.
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