Destination: Europe
Foodie Alert: ‘Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris’
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.29.08 | 10:01 AM ET
Clotilde Dusoulier, the popular food blogger from France, has written a new guidebook that features her favorite restaurants, markets and shops in Paris. The 28-year-old former software engineer’s book gives tips not only on where to find the best Tarte-Gateau Poire Chocolat (pear and chocolate cake-tart) but on how to mind your manners when it comes to dining and food-shopping with the French. (Hint: Don’t dis the food.)
Photo by grahamandsheila via Flickr (Creative Commons).
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Yahoo! BuzzIn Sicily, Bypassing the Mafia Through ‘Pizzo-Free’ Travel
by Eva Holland | 05.27.08 | 10:43 AM ET
The Guardian’s Stephanie Rafanelli recently took a “pizzo-free” tour of Palermo—that is, she frequented only those businesses that refuse to pay protection money to the powerful local mafia. It’s a growing movement in Sicily, driven by young people who are tired of violence, intimidation and extortion. From Rafanelli’s compelling story: “Addiopizzo, literally Goodbye Pizzo, is an association that fights the mafia through ethical consumerism asking locals—and tourists—to support businesses that refuse to pay.” The group now has more than 300 members throughout Palermo, including restaurants and bars, B&Bs, markets and shops.
Vandals Chip Away at Stonehenge
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.08 | 11:54 AM ET
The at-large suspects used a hammer and a screwdriver to remove a coin-sized piece of the 5,000-year-old monument. The BBC notes that in the 19th century, such an act wouldn’t be uncommon. From its story: “At one time, chisels would be handed to people visiting Stonehenge, so they could chip away at the ancient monument to get their own souvenirs.”
Related on World Hum:
* The Great Wall, Siem Reap, Stonehenge Getting Too Much Love
The (Frugal) Grand Tour
by Michael Yessis | 05.22.08 | 2:39 PM ET
Another year, another epic trip for New York Times Frugal Traveler Matt Gross. He just kicked off a modern version of the Grand Tour of Europe—on a budget. He’ll be filing blog posts, videos and stories for the next 12 weeks, more time away from home for the man with an intriguing outlook on home.
Visiting Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul
by Jim Benning | 05.21.08 | 11:05 AM ET
Nobel Prize-winning writer Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories and the City is “the perfect literary companion” for a visit to Istanbul, Ben Quinn observes in the Guardian. The memoir evokes 1950s and ‘60s Istanbul. Writes Quinn: “[F]or those seeking to avoid the tourism trail—revolving around the “old” city and the undoubted beauties of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque—Pamuk reserves a special fondness for Istanbul’s lesser known quarters.”
Inside Nicosia, ‘the Last Divided Capital in Europe’
by Michael Yessis | 05.19.08 | 2:03 PM ET
World Hum contributor Joanna Kakissis went to the capital of Cyprus and visited with a few ethnic Greeks and Turks who live in the divided city. One needs “a little magic” to see Nicosia as one city, she writes in a story for the New York Times. “We’re not the Israelis and Palestinians,” one Greek Cypriot tells Kakissis. “We don’t have to love the Turks, and they don’t have to love us. We just have to tolerate each other.”
France Mulls Breathalyzers at Late-Night Bars
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.16.08 | 3:30 AM ET
Interesting move in France. The government may require thousands of clubs, cafes and bars open after 2 a.m. to install Breathalyzers by Jan. 1. Taking the Breathalyzer test would not be mandatory, but politicians are hoping patrons who may have had one too many drinks will voluntarily check their alcohol levels before driving home. The proposal was floated after a rash of drunk-driving accidents. Not everyone is cheering: Some are still reeling from a new smoking ban, and others in the hospitality industry complain Breathalyzers are too expensive.
Related on World Hum:
* France’s Smoking Ban Chokes its Hookah Bars
Photo: Reebok Embraces Bollywood
by Jim Benning | 05.14.08 | 1:42 PM ET
Perhaps it’s due to jet lag—I just arrived in London and have been forcing myself to stay awake to adjust to the time change. Or maybe it’s because I was reading The Post-American World on the flight over and had just come across this line: “The biggest movie industry, in terms of both movies made and tickets sold, is Bollywood, not Hollywood.” Whatever the reason, I was taken with this shrinking-planet shop-window display I just passed in Soho:
New Travel Book: ‘No-Man’s Lands’
by Frank Bures | 05.13.08 | 9:33 AM ET
Full title: “No-Man’s Lands: One Man’s Odyssey Through The Odyssey” (Hardcover)
Author: Scott Huler
Released: March 11, 2008
Travel genre: Travels with classics
Territory covered: Mediterranean
Paris Is ‘Still Paris’
by Eva Holland | 05.09.08 | 9:24 AM ET
We noted recently that, given the weak dollar, American travelers are looking beyond the usual Western Europe destinations. That’s fine, but it’s nice to hear about one traveler who’s holding firm. In a letter from Paris posted on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel travel blog, sports writer Charles Bricker writes: “Damn the exchange rate ... It’s still Paris. The parks and the sidewalks are free, the weather is in the 80s and where else would you rather be?” Good point.
Photo by pedrosimoes7 via Flickr (Creative Commons).
The Oreo Goes Global
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.07.08 | 9:26 AM ET
Kraft Foods is pushing the all-American cookie on Great Britain this month, hoping to convince the finicky biscuit eaters that two crisp chocolate wafers sandwiched with “creme” trumps a digestive any old day. The Oreo is already the top-selling cookie in China, though it’s been modified to suit Chinese tastes (less sugar, wafers instead of cookies and oblong instead of round). The Chinese are also dunking their Oreos in milk, the ever-perfect combo for this resilient cookie.
The ‘Cuisses de Grenouille’ on that French Guy’s Plate Might be From Indonesia
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.02.08 | 11:29 AM ET
Venice Bans Feeding Pigeons in St. Mark’s Square
by Michael Yessis | 05.02.08 | 10:33 AM ET
The birds are “eating away at the city’s marble statues and buildings by pecking at small gaps in the facades to reach for scraps of food that were blown inside,” according to Reuters. In the list of dangers facing Venice, I’d rank the pigeons below this, but above this.
France’s Smoking Ban Chokes its Hookah Bars
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.01.08 | 12:08 PM ET
The president of the Hookah Professionals’ Union—yes, there is such a thing—told the International Herald Tribune that about a third of France’s 800 hookah bars have closed since a ban on indoor smoking took effect Jan. 2.
‘Lesbian’ Fight Heats up on Lesbos
by Jim Benning | 05.01.08 | 10:49 AM ET
Yes, some on the Greek island of Lesbos have filed court papers demanding that a gay rights organization in the country stop using the word “lesbian” in its name. Their argument? As summarized by the BBC: “that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violates the human rights of the islanders, and disgraces them around the world.” Ridiculous. The word, of course, dates back to the ancient poet Sappho, who lived on Lesbos.