Today's Top Headlines: May 21, 2012

The Olympic torch made its way to London over the weekend, while Jaunted encouraged the rest of us to steer clear; Tokyo gets a new, crazy tall landmark tomorrow; the pop-up hotel trend keeps growing, this time during NYC's Pride Week; and the ill-fated wreckage of the Costa Concordia is finally getting cleaned up. Here's what we're reading now.

Olympic torch takes British Airways flight to London.

Greece handed the (lit) Olympic torch off to the U.K. on Friday, when it took a flight from Athens to London. The Guardian reported that the (still lit) torch occupied "business class seats 1A and 1B on flight 2012" with a Metropolitan Police officer seated next to it in 1C. {Huffington Post}

New Tokyo landmark to open tomorrow.

It's not every day that a city gets to unveil a new landmark. But tomorrow (May 22), Tokyo's 2,100-foot-tall SkyTree tower will officially open. The first observation deck sits on the 445th floor (1,148 feet in the air) offering views of up to 43 miles out on a clear day. There will be a café and restaurant up another 5 floors, as well. {Budget Travel}

NYC hotel transforms into pop-up gay hotel.

New York City's Hotel on Rivington will become a pop-up spinoff of Miami's Lords South Beach Hotel, called Lords New York, for a week next month. During Pride Week (June 18-24), the Rivington will be taken over by the self-billed gay resort, complete with "a nine-foot, inflatable polar bear" in the lobby (an homage to the one in Miami). Check out more on the pop-up hotel trend. {NY Times}

Salvage plan for Costa Concordia revealed.

The wreckage of the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground killing 30 people, will be removed from its resting place off the coast of Giglio in a finally revealed plan. It will take an unprecedented system of pulling machines connected to a custom platform, put together by a firm who won the contract after months of bidding. {MSNBC}

Avoid these cities at these times, or pay the price in crowds, high prices, and probably stress ulcers.

Jaunted put together a short list of cities to avoid at certain times, inspired by the NATO Summit clogging things up in Chicago and probably also the inevitable backlash of the London Olympics. The list includes Italy in late August (due to Ferragosto; i.e. no Italians to be found), major holidays in New York City, London during the Olympics, and Singapore during the Chinese New Year. {Jaunted}

Photo credits: Chinese New Year in Shanghai via Shutterstock; Costa Concordia via Shutterstock