Islands
Cardenas
Found lashed to an inner tube off the Florida coast after the November 1999 shipwreck that killed his mother and 10 others, Elin Gonzlez triggered a seven-month custody fight that Cuban leader Fidel Castro called "the greatest battle that our people ever fought." A year after U.S. authorities, who had granted temporary custody of the "miracle child" to his Miami relatives, allowed Juan Miguel Gonzlez to return to Cuba with his son, Castro has opened an exhibition dedicated to the Communist government's fight for Elin. The display, at the Oscar Maria Rojas Museum in Elin's hometown, Crdenas, includes photographs, newspaper clippings and a statue of a boy clad in a Young Pioneers uniform and tossing away a Superman doll.
South America
Lima
While many museum visitors glance through what's on show before heading for the souvenir shop or the caf, a sharp-eyed sightseer has revealed that all that glitters at Lima's famed Museo de Oro may not be gold. When the man wrote to Peru's consumer protection agency questioning the authenticity of some of the pieces he'd seen, the agency ordered an inquiry into the museum's extensive array of gold, silver and bronze items, jewels, pre-Incan mummies, weapons and textiles. Up to 85% of the museum's 20,000 artifacts, said to have been found in pre-Columbian excavation sites, are now thought to be fakes.
North America
Los Angeles
When Ike Turner penned Rocket 88, his 1951 ode to an Oldsmobile, he jump-started rock 'n' roll and launched a love affair between tunesmiths and their cars that has yet to fade. To commemorate that relationship, Petersen Automotive Museum and Guitar Center has brought together an offbeat collection of vehicles owned by musicians ranging from Janis Joplin to Madonna. Highlights of "Cars and Guitars of Rock 'n' Roll" include Jeff Beck's "hand-built" 1932 Ford Roadster, the Monkee Mobile used in the 1960s TV series and a rosewood Fender Stratocaster made for Jimi Hendrix. Through Dec. 31.
Europe
Balmoral
Queen Victoria loved the seclusion and tranquility of the Scottish highlands castle Prince Albert bought for her in 1852. But, in a break with tradition, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are prepared to share the Balmoral estate with commoners-even when the royal couple are in residence in the late summer. For the first time, six cottages and lodges, once reserved for royal guests, can be rented by members of the public. The houses sleep up to 12 people and cost from $550 to $1,650 a week. See .