Destination: Europe
Dollar Hits Record Low Against Euro
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.27.08 | 5:57 PM ET
The dollar ended trading at $1.51 to the euro today, sending me into official crazy-lady mode. Are the other American expats living in Europe on modest dollar salaries also crying with me, or have they resigned themselves to a 2008 of $8 cappuccinos, $20 blocks of feta and sharply curtailed travel plans in the rest of the hyper-expensive continent?
Related on World Hum:
* NYC Shops to Visitors: Give us Your Huddled Euros Yearning to be Free
* An Expat in Athens: Hitting the Polls in Greece
Photo by jopemoro via Flickr (Creative Commons).
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Yahoo! BuzzPizza and Intrigue in Naples: A Graphic Travel Story
by Eva Holland | 02.27.08 | 10:16 AM ET
Tom Downey, whose first ‘graphic travel story’ we blogged about awhile back, has put out another in this month’s Conde Nast Traveler. As in the first story, Naples: The Case of the Stolen Starter was created with artist Neil Gower and fuses techniques from graphic novels and detective fiction to create a unique piece of travel writing. From the piazza to the mercato to the trattoria, Downey encounters all kinds of compelling details of Neopolitan life while his illustrated hero attempts to save a pizzeria whose dough has been stolen.
2007 Travel Movie Awards: Entirely Arbitrary and Non-Comprehensive Picks
by Eva Holland | 02.22.08 | 12:00 PM ET
Dan Bilefsky: Telling Counterintuitive Stories From the Edge of Europe
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.21.08 | 12:05 PM ET
The International Herald Tribune's Central and Eastern Europe correspondent has developed a reputation as one of journalism's finest voices. Joanna Kakissis asks him about "Balkan idols" and unlocking cultures.
AVE High-Speed Train Links Barcelona, Madrid
by Michael Yessis | 02.21.08 | 10:31 AM ET
Service between two of Spain’s biggest and most-traveled cities opened yesterday, with the first train completing the 342-mile journey to Madrid in 2 hours, 35 minutes. The BBC and others have the story, and the Los Angeles Times Daily Travel & Deal blog breaks the train down by the numbers.
Memo to Travelers: Kosovo is Like a ‘Joyful Construction Site’
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.20.08 | 10:37 AM ET
This is a good thing, at least according to Balkan Travellers, an e-zine focused on travel in the volatile region. The world’s newest declared nation is tiny, landlocked, impoverished and a cauldron of tension, but it’s apparently also got lots of building projects (hence the “joyful noise”), good cafes and restaurants, a youthful population and even a tourism Web site.
CAMRA Names Britain’s Best Pub
by Eva Holland | 02.19.08 | 4:24 PM ET
Britain’s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has announced the results of its annual hunt for the best pub in Britain, and the winner, the Times of London notes dryly, came out on top “despite having no juke box, pool table, fruit machine or ‘theme.’”
Eric Weiner: On Following Your Bliss
by Julia Ross | 02.13.08 | 2:03 PM ET
Photo by Chuck Berman. What's the relationship between place and happiness? Julia Ross asks the author of "The Geography of Bliss" about happy nations, "hedonic refugees" and the benefits of ma?ana and mai pen lai.
An Expat in Athens: Hitting the Polls in Greece
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.12.08 | 1:37 PM ET
There was no way I was going to miss voting in the most exciting Democratic primary in my lifetime. The Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama race is making major headlines in Greece, even knocking a tedious government sex scandal from its nightly takeover of the news.
Paris: ‘A Delicate Pale Blue’ No Longer?
by Eva Holland | 02.12.08 | 11:11 AM ET
Photo by kla4067 via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Plenty of cities have imposed smoking bans in bars and restaurants by now, but it’s rare that they chip away at a world-renowned image in the process. In Paris, on the other hand, where the city’s identity seems more intimately connected with smoking, the ban that came into force Jan. 1 has the potential to alter more than just the air quality.
EU May Begin Fingerprinting Travelers to Europe
by Michael Yessis | 02.12.08 | 9:05 AM ET
Tomorrow the European Commission will propose fingerprinting all travelers to Europe, according to the Washington Post. The Post also reports that the EU wants to take facial scans of some travelers.
One Man’s Odyssey into ‘Eat, Pray, Love’
by Rolf Potts | 02.11.08 | 1:33 PM ET
Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling trans-global travel book is a fun read -- but don't expect Rolf Potts to embrace the fantasy
The Man Behind the Bells of Notre Dame
by Michael Yessis | 02.08.08 | 10:57 AM ET
A Sort-of Love Story, Uzbekistan Style*
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.05.08 | 5:00 PM ET
Uzbekistan has never been high on my must-see list, despite its Silk Road mystique and stunningly beautiful architecture. Maybe I’ve read too many dreary news reports about soldiers mowing down unarmed protesters and police boiling alive terrorism suspects. But a strange profile this weekend in The Washington Post made this hard-to-love land alluring in a flinty, James Bond-meets-Graham Greene sort of way.
Lisbon: ‘City of Breathtaking Light at Noon’
by Eva Holland | 02.04.08 | 1:06 PM ET
In a heartfelt story in the Globe and Mail, John Doyle describes how he first fell in love with Lisbon several years ago, and recalls taking his mother there for her 70th birthday to share the delights of the city with her. I’ve never been to Lisbon, but Doyle’s love letter to the “city of luscious pastries and ambrosial port wine” has bumped it up a few notches on my never-ending list of places to see.
Photo by Free-Secret-Life* via Flickr (Creative Commons)