Destination: Europe
‘The End of Food Tourism’ in Barcelona?
by Eva Holland | 08.05.10 | 11:34 AM ET
Food writer Sarah Elton went looking for local seafood and fresh seasonal produce in the Spanish city—and, as she writes in The Atlantic, she came up blank:
I traveled to Spain with my parents when I was 12 years old, and I had vivid memories of some of our meals. I ate green beans with olive oil for the first time on that trip, and I still remember the flavor of the warm oil with the just-picked beans. These days when I travel, I am interested in getting to know places through what I eat, which means choosing foods that capture the terroir and offer a taste of place.
But on this holiday, when I searched for local food, I found long-distance industrial instead. From the hole-in-the-wall joints to swish tapas bars near the Passeig de Gracia, imports ruled.
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Yahoo! Buzz‘No Character in a Movie Has Ever Welled Up and Sighed, ‘We’ll Always Have Stuttgart’’
by Michael Yessis | 08.04.10 | 11:42 AM ET
That line comes from a great story by David Segal that explores the pluses and minuses for Italy as it maintains tradition amid the rush of progress and globalization.
In the eternal contest between the meticulously honed and the nationally franchised, Italy knows where it stands. As a matter of profit and loss, it doesn’t make sense to store wool in a spa and let it convalesce for six months, but the methods of Luciano Barbera were never destined for a get-rich-quick guide to manufacturing. His business will make sense only to customers, and for them, quality has a logic of its own.
And of course, the worship of growth has its limitations. The American economy is vastly more robust, but instead of family-owned bakeries, which seem to dot every hectare of Italy, we’ve got Quiznos. And for all the efficiency and horsepower in Germany, no character in a movie has ever welled up and sighed, “We’ll always have Stuttgart.”
How Bad is the Traffic in Moscow?
by Jim Benning | 07.30.10 | 1:01 PM ET
It’s so bad, one traffic expert told The New Yorker, that the city is “on the brink of transportational collapse.”
The new issue has an in-depth look at Moscow’s traffic woes. The story is available only to subscribers, but here’s an accompanying video:
Video You Must See: ‘Newport (Ymerodraeth State of Mind)’
by Michael Yessis | 07.29.10 | 12:25 PM ET
In this Welsh town, "Chips, cheese, curry makes you feel brand new." Take that New York and Jay-Z.
Catalonia Votes to Ban Bullfights
by Jim Benning | 07.28.10 | 12:41 PM ET
Or as the Spanish newspaper El País proclaimed in its headline, Cataluña prohíbe los toros.
The historic vote marks the first time a Spanish region has moved to ban the pastime. Reports the New York Times:
In many ways, however, the ban reflected less on the animal rights than on a political debate over Catalan identity and a push by local parties for greater independence from the rest of Spain.
That hasn’t stopped animal rights groups from claiming a victory.
World Travel Watch: Dress Code in Vatican City, Taxi Kidnappings in Nicaragua and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.28.10 | 12:12 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Front Row at Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls
by Rick Steves | 07.27.10 | 2:09 PM ET
Photo courtesy of Rick Steves On watching the mad, red-and-white scramble at Spain's legendary Festival of San Fermín
Tragedy at Germany’s Love Parade
by Jim Benning | 07.26.10 | 1:44 PM ET
Horrible news from the Love Parade in Druisburg, Germany, on Saturday: 19 people were killed and hundreds were injured in a stampede near a tunnel. Organizers say it will be the last Love Parade.
Tourists in Heat
by Tom Swick | 07.22.10 | 9:54 AM ET
iStockPhoto Ten tips for how to stay cool while traveling in an increasingly hot planet. (#2: Choose countries with cold soup.)
World Travel Watch: Violence on Guatemala’s Buses, Tourist Police in the Philippines and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.21.10 | 12:35 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Stieg Larsson Tourism Hits Sweden
by Eva Holland | 07.14.10 | 2:20 PM ET
The AP has a rundown of the key Stockholm sites from Larsson’s monster bestseller, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” We’ve written before about traveling the world through crime fiction—I suppose this closes the circle? (Via The Book Bench)
Bullfighting, Hemingway and the ‘Seduction of Death’
by Jim Benning | 07.09.10 | 12:17 PM ET
Is bullfighting an important tradition that should be preserved? Is it so cruel it should be boycotted and banned? And why was Hemingway so taken with it?
In a fine TNR review of Bullfighting: A Troubled History, Ben Wallace-Wells offers a brief history of the sport and summarizes the perspective of author Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier.
She falls squarely in the reformist camp, and her history argues that the sport seduced artists, who glamorized and abstracted a cruel and ugly pursuit into something that bore little resemblance to bullfighting itself. On the matter of Hemingway she is not subtle. “Hemingway is an emblematic representative of the aficionados who were in love with death,” she writes.
As I’ve noted before, I’ve had my own brushes with death in the bullring. (Via AL Daily)
World Cup of Travel: Spain vs. The Netherlands
by Robert Reid | 07.09.10 | 11:58 AM ET
The FIFA World Cup will be settled Sunday. We'll settle which country in the final is the best travel destination right now. Let's go to Robert Reid's chart.
Commie Kitsch in Budapest’s ‘Ruin Pubs’
by Rick Steves | 07.07.10 | 11:54 AM ET
Hungary's hottest nightclubs evoke the last days of communism
World Travel Watch: Violence in Guadalajara, Dengue Fever in Puerto Rico and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.07.10 | 11:48 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news