Destination: Europe
The Art of Writing a Story About Walking Across Andorra
by Rolf Potts | 12.30.05 | 1:56 PM ET
Art by Jeff Wilson. He traversed an entire nation in a long weekend. Now Rolf Potts shows how you can impress members of the opposite sex and write a textbook-perfect travel article in eight easy steps.
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Yahoo! BuzzEating Fajitas in the Land of Snails
by Jim Benning | 12.19.05 | 1:37 PM ET
I was powerless in the face of my addiction. The moment I saw the Mexican restaurant in Lyon, France, I knew I had to eat there. I also knew the food would be awful. My story about it, Worlds Collide, appears in Sunday’s South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Which is Larger: Greenland or Africa?
by Michael Yessis | 12.18.05 | 9:59 PM ET
The San Francisco Chronicle published its annual geography test today, or as its creator John Flinn calls it, a “geography / travel / interesting factoids-I-found-on-the-Internet quiz.” It’s 50 questions long, including the one in the headline above, and it’s quite challenging. If you’re stumped, the answers are here.
Ernest Hemingway Sofas, Frida Kahlo Tequila, Renoir Mineral Water, and Now Lady Chatterley Thongs?
by Jim Benning | 12.16.05 | 12:35 PM ET
Oh yes, and those are just the beginning. There’s also Jane Austen writing paper and the Virginia Woolf Burger bar. The Times of London today offers an amusing overview of the products bearing the names of artists and novels of yore, as well as the controversies that surround them.
Incident in a Spanish Church
by Catherine Watson | 12.15.05 | 7:28 PM ET
Photo from Spanish Tourism. She never spoke to the boy in the red windbreaker. But Catherine Watson's encounter with her fellow pilgrim along the road to Santiago de Compostela transformed her in an unexpected way.
A Rick Steves Christmas
by Jim Benning | 12.13.05 | 11:55 PM ET
All the big stars have done at least one TV Christmas special: Jackie Gleason, Charlie Brown, Nick and Jessica. This year, finally, a travel writer has gotten into the act. PBS Europe travel guru Rick Steves has produced Rick Steves’ European Christmas, and it’s airing this month on PBS stations around the United States. The show features Steves taking in holiday celebrations in seven locales, from Italy to Norway. He and his family play in the snow and sit down to delicious dinners, and watching it makes you wish the dollar wasn’t in the tank and that you, too, could afford a winter jaunt to Europe.
Russia: ‘Cold, Dark, Drowning in Vodka, and Ruled by the KGB’
by Michael Yessis | 12.12.05 | 6:37 AM ET
The land of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky has an image problem. In brief, it is this: When people in the West think about Russia, rarely do Tolstoy or Tchaikovsky come to mind. According to a terrific article by Julian Evans in Foreign Policy, a poll commissioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government revealed just how deep the problem goes.
British Tabloid Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Santa Claus in Travel Ban’
by Michael Yessis | 12.07.05 | 12:32 PM ET
The Sun reports that Santa Claus lookalike David Powney had his passport application rejected because of his bushy white beard.
“Merci Pour Cette Belle Matinee Du Foot”
by Michael Yessis | 12.07.05 | 1:42 AM ET
As people around the globe come together this month in Japan and Korea for the World Cup, the Boston Globe’s Tom Haines has taken the opportunity to look back at his own soccer-related travels. The beautiful game, he believes, has connected him in a special way with the people and places he’s visited. “Through a traveler’s serendipity, like walking into a London pub to find a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd watching the first England-Scotland match in nine years, or determined planning, like the detailed reading of French league statistics, an outsider can begin to know and even feel the power of the world’s game,” he writes. “Travel, across borders and into the action, provides the ticket.”
“Far & Wide: The Golden Age of Travel Posters”
by Michael Yessis | 12.06.05 | 4:16 PM ET
That’s the name of the current exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Getty Gallery. I spent some time there yesterday afternoon, checking out the more than 60 promotional posters from the 1920s to the 1940s. They’re gorgeous artifacts of the Art Deco era, though the curators point out that the posters weren’t intended to be artistic. They were made for short-term commercial purposes, printed on cheap paper with a life expectancy of only eight weeks.
Paul Theroux and the “Demon Eel”
by Jim Benning | 12.06.05 | 12:29 AM ET
Our own Frank Bures wasn’t the only one to take issue with some of the erotic writing in Paul Theroux’s latest novel, “Blinding Light.” Theroux’s prose also came up in a recent Los Angeles Times piece about the “Bad Sex in Fiction Awards” held in London last week. Started by the eldest son of Evelyn Waugh, the awards “lampoon dysfunctional literature,” explains Stephen Bayley.
Porto, Portugal
by Ben Keene | 12.02.05 | 12:06 PM ET
Jessica Smith of MTV’s “Laguna Beach” Named Let’s Go Spokesperson*
by Michael Yessis | 12.02.05 | 11:59 AM ET
It’s a sweet gig for the reality TV star. Smith will take trips to locales of her choosing, blog about her experiences and make personal appearances for Let’s Go. According to a Brandweek report (scroll to bottom), “Smith was seen as a good fit for the young-skewing budget-travel guides because, unlike some of the party-oriented and privileged Paris Hilton types chronicled on the series, she’s a more down-to-earth student.”
Italy Ranked Number One “Country Brand”
by Michael Yessis | 12.02.05 | 11:56 AM ET
Australia took the runner-up spot, and the United States rounded out the top three in a recent global survey conducted by FutureBrand and its sister company, public relations firm Weber Shandwick. It also named China as the “most improved” country brand.
Stowaway Cat Upgraded to Business Class
by Michael Yessis | 12.01.05 | 10:48 AM ET
A family cat from Wisconsin that somehow ended up in Paris, France several weeks ago will return home today—in a business class seat.