The 2012 edition of the French Michelin guide has provided France with another rare three-star ranking for one of its Southern restaurants.

Flocons de Sel in Megève South-eastern France is tucked away into the mountains of the Rhône Alps, and has now been named by the Michelin Inspectors as a secret well worth discovering.

The restaurant, which can be translated as “salt flakes”, is owned by Emmanuel Renaut who is known for his innovative and modern cuisine.  Renaut acquired the site of the restaurant in 1998, taking over from a pizzeria that previously occupied the space.

Flocons de Sel came about after Renaut had finished a stint of running a 20-man team at the luxurious Claridges Hotel in London. He has since transformed it into an ultra modern eatery, with a light-flooded dining room that leads onto a vast terrace, revealing a breathtaking view over the hills.

The restaurant is also part of a small resort that has its own spa and a handful of luxury rooms.

The menu at Flocons de sel is based on traditional Savoyard cuisine that originates from the mountainous regions of South-eastern France.

The current winter menu boasts dishes like Jerusalem artichoke in butter noisette  sauce, and local fish from Lac Leman with leeks and a lemon paté. It also features a smoked chocolate dessert which is served with wood ice cream – infused with wood instead of the traditional vanilla flavouring.

It becomes the 26^th restaurant in France to receive the prestigious three-star status, and now joins the ranks of Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée and Guy Savoy. France is still closely behind Japan, who has 32 three-starred establishments and is currently in the lead around the world.

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Carry round a credit card you can be really proud of with the JP Morgan Palladium credit card.

The most affluent of society can enjoy the benefits of this exquisitely designed credit card made out of solid palladium and 23k gold and laser engraved with the cardholder’s information.

Designed like no other credit card in circulation, Palladium card customers have to be a private banker of JP Morgan Private Bank, Commercial Bank, Investment Bank or Treasury Services in order to apply. Well that’s easy isn’t it? Not quite!

The average Private Bank client has a $30 million balance. As a consequence of their multi-million bank balances, the J.P Morgan Palladium Card’s annual fee is a comparatively modest $595, which, compared to the physical value of the card and that the credit card bears no limit, is a snippet.

Prices of gold today are soaring, with palladium hovering at around $800 or more, an ounce. Given the escalating worth of gold and palladium, the card itself is worth more than $1,000.

Apart from possessing such a high-value and tastefully designed credit card, ultra high worth individuals can enjoy a whole host of benefits was they are approved for the Palladium Credit Card.

Unlike ‘conventional’ credit cards, in which the benefit guide leaflet is just a few pages thick, the benefits ‘book’ accompanying the Palladium Credit Card is a whopping 57 pages long, listing all the wondrous benefits holders will be entitled to.

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A trip to the moon is becoming within reach for everyday people, with a space tourism study suggesting that 140 private citizens could reach orbit by 2020.

A Virginia-based firm, Space Adventures, is promoting a 17-day excursion that includes orbiting the moon. There is just one seat left on this trip around the moon and back, but it will cost you $150 million.

The voyage is due to take place in 2015, and includes a stop at the International Space Station, before orbiting the moon and then travelling back to Earth. Space Adventures has emerged as the world’s first true space-travel agency and has been working with Russia’s Space Agency to devise this once in a life time opportunity.

The trip is an example of how Space Adventures expects space tourism to take off (literally!) in the next 10 years.

It’s been a decade since investment manager Dennis Tito travelled to the International Space Station in April 2001 for $20 million. Only 8 private citizens have made this trip before, but the firm expects that number to significantly increase by 2020.

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Just when you though the Virgin empire couldn’t grow further, it prepares to reach the depths of the ocean.

Sir Richard Branson has built an ever-expanding empire with Virgin, spanning airlines, mobile phones, music, and now water expeditions. Less than 3% of the world’s oceans have been explored, but Branson plans to change this with the latest string to the Virgin bow.

These voyages have been backed by research teams from Virgin as well as teams from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Exploration companies such as Maersk, Poseidon and Helly Hansen have also partnered with the project and agreed to fund parts of the mission.

Two vehicles will be used for the expedition; a submarine and a catamaran. The submarine has been designed to withstand the 1000 atmospheres pressure that will be expected at the very bottom of the ocean, and will also use wings to enable it to fly back to the surface.

While the submarine will do most of the exploring, the catamaran will make a journey of 25,000 miles over 2 years. It will also act as a support vessel and a form of “space station” for the submarine and its pilot.

The submarine will take a one-man journey to the deepest part of each of the Earth’s oceans over the course of 2011 and 2012. The first dive will be to the deepest place on the planet – the bottom of the Marina Trench.

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