Destination: Europe
Tourist Architecture: Kitsch Curios and Vainglorious Monstrosities
by Michael Yessis | 02.13.06 | 10:02 AM ET
I think the proposed Grand Canyon Skywalk is unnecessary. Jonathan Glancey thinks it’s a travesty. And his criticism extends to other questionable developments in well-traveled spots around the world. In Saturday’s paper, the Guardian’s architecture correspondent listed his picks for worst additions to natural landscapes around the world. He pulls no punches.
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Yahoo! BuzzTurin, Italy
by Ben Keene | 02.10.06 | 6:49 AM ET
Population: 867,857 (2004 est.)
Coordinates: 45 3 N 7 40 E
As host city for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Turin, Italy is now in the news, but as it happens, this riverine city in the Piedmont region has held positions of even greater importance in the past. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was the capital of the kingdom of Sardinia, which then included the island of the same name in the Mediterranean. Then in 1861, after several decades of warfare and diplomacy among powerful European empires and dynasties, Turin became the first capital of a unified Italian state. The seat of government was moved to Florence four years later where it remained until Rome ultimately became the capital of the modern republic.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: Suffering From “American Vertigo”
by Terry Ward | 02.10.06 | 12:38 AM ET
Photograph of Bernard-Henri Lévy by Thierry Dudoit/L'Express/Editing. Terry Ward asks France's rock star philosopher, BHL, about his journey in Tocqueville's footsteps and the value of traveling par hasard
Conan O’Brien: “Once I Conquer Finland, I’ll Head South Through the Baltics and On To Belarus”
by Michael Yessis | 02.09.06 | 11:45 AM ET
I’m betting that Conan O’Brien’s visit to Finland next week will prove to be some of the best travel television programming of the year. Or at least the most amusing. The host of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” will broadcast all week from the country and even meet with newly-elected president Tarja Halonen, whose candidacy O’Brien had endorsed based in large part on their resemblance.
Americans, Finns and Danes Have Most Freedom to Travel Visa-Free
by Jim Benning | 02.03.06 | 7:38 AM ET
I’ve been spending the week in Grand Cayman working on a story and chatting with travelers and ex-pats from around the world. Twice I’ve found myself struggling to explain the United States’ ban on travel to Cuba to people understandably baffled by it. When they ask what I think, I find myself saying that whatever you think of Fidel Castro’s government, and I’m not a fan, you should have the right to visit the country and make up your own mind. Besides, the policy has proved remarkably ineffective. The man is still in power. All this was on my mind when I came across this AP headline on CBC.com: Citizens of Denmark, Finland, U.S. have most freedom to travel without visas. It turns out that citizens of these countries can travel to 130 countries without having to get a visa, according to a landmark report. Germany, Ireland and Sweden tied for a close second place, with their citizens able to visit 129 countries without visas.
Oslo Tops List of World’s Most Expensive Cities
by Michael Yessis | 02.01.06 | 10:59 AM ET
Norway’s capital unseated Tokyo, Japan, which had been number one on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s biannual survey for 14 years. Reykjavik, Iceland ranked third on the list, with Osaka, Japan and Paris, France rounding out the top five. The AP has a report on the survey.
Photo by Sarah Schmelling.
The World’s Most Seductive Road Trip Routes
by Michael Yessis | 01.30.06 | 4:31 AM ET
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Paul Edwards lists 10, including Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Spain’s Las Alpujarras, South Africa’s Cape Peninsula Scenic Route and New Zealand’s Pacific Coast Highway.
Wandering “Lonely as a Cloud” in the Lakes District? Watch Your Step.
by Jim Benning | 01.29.06 | 12:51 PM ET
Bernard-Henri Lévy Fever: Catch It
by Jim Benning | 01.26.06 | 10:10 AM ET
What Country’s Citizens Take the Most Foreign Trips?
by Jim Benning | 01.24.06 | 12:38 PM ET
The answer is surprising. Germany is number one, and changes are coming to the number two and three slots. According to an interesting Reuters report on CNN, “Last year, Germans alone accounted for over 86.6 million trips abroad, with Britons in second place (65.3 million) and Americans trailing in third (58.3 million).”
The Whale Has Passed the Houses of Parliament*
by Jim Benning | 01.20.06 | 12:54 PM ET
A possibly ill northern bottle-nosed whale has swum up the River Thames in London, and CNN footage this morning showed people lining the river to see the whale, which recently passed the Houses of Parliament. It’s apparently the first sighting of this kind of whale in the river since records began in 1913. According to the CNN report, rescue efforts are in the works. * Update, Monday, Jan. 23: Sadly, after a rescue attempt over the weekend, the whale died. CNN reports that tests are underway.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: a Rock-Star Philosophe in the Footsteps of Tocqueville
by Jim Benning | 01.19.06 | 11:28 PM ET
Swedes Say “I Do” to Airport Weddings
by Michael Yessis | 01.17.06 | 5:40 AM ET
Last year 488 couples got married at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, and any traveler would have to admit the reasoning for doing so is sound: It allows the bride and groom to get on with their honeymoon faster. The AP reports: “The weddings took place in the airport chapel or, more commonly, in a VIP room, where the bride and groom can check in their luggage, order champagne and catering, and when the ceremony is over, be driven straight up to the aircraft.”
JT Leroy Unmasked: He’s a She
by Michael Yessis | 01.08.06 | 5:20 PM ET
He/she is Savannah Knoop, according to a story by Warren St. John posted this afternoon on The New York Times Web site. St. John reports that Knoop plays Leroy in public, but the author of the works attributed to him/her is still unknown. “A photograph of Ms. Knoop at a 2003 opening for a clothing store in San Francisco was discovered online,” St. John writes. “Five intimates of Mr. Leroy’s, including his literary agent, his business manager and the producer of a coming movie based on one of his books, were shown the photograph and identified Ms. Knoop as the person they have known as JT Leroy.”
Jeffrey Tayler: Facing Africa’s “Angry Wind”
by Jim Benning | 12.31.05 | 9:22 PM ET
Photo of Jeffrey Tayler by Tatyana Shchukina. Jim Benning asks The Atlantic's Moscow correspondent about travel writing, his latest book and the allure of the world's most remote regions