Mount Everest to be temporarily closed

Today, Queen Elizabeth opened T5, the new airport terminal at London's Heathrow airport. It cost $9 billion to build. British Airways is the main tenant. T5 opens for flights on March 27. It's expected to serve about 30 million passengers a year. Hopefully, the fancy new terminal will resolve the problems with lost-luggage and flight delays that plagued Heathrow last year. See the airport and the Queen's tour, here:

A CIA/spy theme defines Donovan House, an 198-room hotel that opens March 28. Among the hotel's gimmicks: staff will be equipped with wristwatch communication devices. We're eager to take a peek at the promised perks in its guest rooms, such as a "cocoon spiral shower"— whatever that might be. The hotel is named after the World War II general William "Wild Bill" Donovan, who headed up covert operations by the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the CIA. (Fun fact: A fictionalized version of Donovan was played by Robert DeNiro in The Good Shepard.) The hotel is at 1155 14th St. NW, on Thomas Circle, on the site of a former Holiday Inn, and is several blocks from D.C.'s sidewalk cafes and nightlife attractions. But it's only a fifteen minute walk to the White House and the National Mall. While aiming for an upscale crowd, introductory rates start at $153 a night at Quikbook.com. The hotel is part of the Thompson boutique chain, which has been rigorously covered by HotelChatter. EARLIER New attraction in D.C.: Lincoln's summer cottage. Art Hotels for Under $200: A slide show Spyland: A new amusement park in the works in Europe.

We asked you to share stories of your most memorable vacation involving tea, and we were wowed by the response. We received 68 stories, including three poems. Here's our favorite: I took my teenaged daughter to Istanbul for Christmas last year. We arrived in the city after a very long series of flights from Washington, DC. It was early evening so we headed to the nearest cafe. My daughter wanted to eat and I wanted to slurp tea. Since neither of us speaks Turkish, we were given an English-language menu. I gazed with longing at all the Turks sipping steaming tea from petite glasses and could smell the mint-like fragrance wafting to our table. I ordered tea from the waiter and then sat back in eager anticipation. He returned with my daughter's hamburger and a large mug of tea for me. The horror! No minty fresh fragrance, no little glass. And worst of all—a Lipton tea bag dangling into the cup. In his best accented English, the waiter gushed, "Special tea just for you!!!"—Posted by: Tamar Abrams And these are the runner-ups: I always carry my loose green tea with me when I travel and usually stick it in my carry on for a cup on the plane. Going through security was a little dicey once when they searched my bag and held up the little baggie that contained my tea. Puzzled, I asked what was wrong and much to my dismay, they thought it was marijuana! It took me a while to persuade them that it was tea and not grass.—Posted by: Susan Poirier The Balmoral Hotel Undeniably swell high tea, the full spread Darjeeling and shortbread I would gladly stay longer if the dollar were stronger. —Posted by: Felice Piggott Several years ago I taught in China for the summer. I am a complete tea addict and was looking forward to drinking lots of Chinese tea, thinking about all the varieties of tea that I had bought at Ten-Ren Tea Shop in New York's Chinatown over the years. I couldn't wait! Alas, I found only green tea on my journey in China, and missed all the tea-drinking experiences that my mind had imagined. Every day, everywhere, always - only green tea. Before I left China, I checked into a fancy Shanghai hotel in Pudong for a few days and never expected to find my dream come true: the most gorgeous French pastries available from room service along with an assortment of White tea! Oolong tea! Assam tea! Suchong tea! Black tea! I was in heaven, finally! I sat and gorged myself and drank myself into a frenzy while watching Chinese soap operas on TV. I finally had my Chinese tea experience, albeit slightly altered that what I had imagined.—Posted by: Kirk As an undergrad, I studied abroad for a semester in Moscow. Our most elaborate group activity was a week-long trip to Sochi, 36 hours away by train on the Black Sea. One of our daily excursions was to a tea plantation and a hike in the nearby Somsheetovaya Rosha. After a walk through the plantings, with an explanation of how they grow, pick and prepare tea at the northernmost plantation in the world, we were invited to the lodge to sample some of their product with cakes and other treats. All I have to say is...there's a reason tea is grown further south. This tea, as if influenced by the nearby forest, indeed tasted like "som sheet"!—Posted by: poetloverrebelspy The entries were so good, we decided to award more than one prize. One reader will receive the tea basket (which we previously described). Four others will receive copies of The Smart Travelers Passport: 399 Tips From Seasoned Travelers. See the full list of reader submissions. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL The ABCs of Tea: Aficionados explain how to buy it, brew it, and slurp it.

Air Greenland just announced that it's discontinuing service between Baltimore and Greenland. The service made news when it was begun last year because it was the first time U.S travelers could reach Greenland on a nonstop flight. Passengers who booked flights for the 2008 summer season (the airline was only flying June through August) can get refunds. To reach Greenland, you have to fly via Reykjavik, Iceland (from New York-JFK) or via Copenhagen.