Destination: Europe
Through Amsterdam with Seth Stevenson
by Michael Yessis | 08.29.05 | 7:26 AM ET
Slate ran another five-part Well-Traveled series last week, Should I Move to Amsterdam? by Seth Stevenson. It’s insightful and quite funny, a mix that also helped one of his previous efforts for Slate, Trying Really Hard to Like India, make the pages of the upcoming 2005 Best American Travel Writing anthology. It gets a big shout out from editor Jamaica Kincaid in her foreward: “It is essays like Stevenson’s that keep me reading through pile after pile of mediocre travel writing.” Stevenson’s Amsterdam stories are also available via podcast.
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Yahoo! BuzzTravel Summit in Iceland
by Jim Benning | 08.20.05 | 2:44 PM ET
While we’re on the subject of travel writing and photography conferences, the Icelandic Geographic Travel Summit, which takes place Sept. 8-10 in Reykjavik and bills itself as the “coolest travel summit on the planet,” has assembled plenty of star power. Among those scheduled to speak: Bill Bryson, Tim Cahill, Lonely Planet’s Tony and Maureen Wheeler, and Keith Bellows of National Geographic Traveler.
When Tourists Attack
by Jim Benning | 08.11.05 | 12:00 PM ET
One fall night a couple of years ago, I found myself on a tiny island in the middle of Lake Patzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michaoacan. I’d come to see the traditional Day of the Dead celebration, when families hold vigils at the graves of their ancestors, decorating them with flickering candles and bright orange marigolds to welcome the ancestors’ souls back for a visit. It’s a beautiful tradition I’d witnessed in other areas. There was just one problem on this night: The island’s small cemetery was being overrun by so many visitors that one couldn’t begin to appreciate the occasion. People were shuffling through the cemetery cheek by jowl, elbowing one another, tripping over tombstones. There was little room to walk or even breathe.
“Terrorists are giving backpacks a bad name”
by Jim Benning | 08.04.05 | 5:11 PM ET
The backpack—the ultra-utilitarian bag of choice for hip travelers and students everywhere—is under attack. According to a report in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune, since the recent London bombings, transporation and stadium officials in the United States are more likely to view backpacks as potential carrying cases for weapons of terror. “Transit officials in New York are randomly inspecting backpacks on subway platforms,” the article states. “A frightened Manhattan tour bus operator recently called police with a report of five swarthy men with overstuffed backpacks.”
Andy and Alex in Italy
by Jim Benning | 08.02.05 | 12:16 PM ET
Ever since I interviewed Rick Steves’ 18-year-old son, Andy, before he left on his first parent-free trip to Europe, I’ve been reading the travel weblog he keeps with his buddy, Alex. It’s a good weblog, and reading it reminds me of the giddy sense of discovery I felt on my first solo trip to Europe. It’s a nostalgic, vicarious thrill. Yesterday, Alex broached a subject they hadn’t addressed much: girls. You have to appreciate his honesty.
The Critics: “No Reservations”
by Jim Benning | 08.01.05 | 1:43 PM ET
New York Times critic Virginia Heffernan likes chef Anthony Bourdain’s new travel show, No Reservations, which debuts tonight on the Travel Channel. The show features the author of “Kitchen Confidential” traveling the globe, from Iceland to New Jersey, eating. (The travel show is not to be confused with a new sitcom in the works for Fox this fall based on “Kitchen Confidential.”)
The Politics of Travel Warnings
by Jim Benning | 08.01.05 | 11:38 AM ET
The Seattle Times’ Carol Pucci asks a great question: Why did the recent London bombings result in only a “brief and restrained” travel advisory from the U.S. State Department, while the terrorist attack in Egypt prompted a much more strongly worded advisory? Could it be—gasp—that politics are involved? It’s not a new question, but it’s as relevant as ever. Any traveler who has spent more than a few minutes studying State Department pronouncements for various countries could come up with numerous perplexing inconsistencies.
For Sale: Private Island. Electricity Not Included. $350,000.
by Jim Benning | 07.28.05 | 1:28 PM ET
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of living on a paradisiacal private island—the kind of place where you can relax under a shady palm with a frosty margarita and forget about deadlines and bills and the “global struggle against violent extremism”? For those with the cash and the nerve, Islands magazine has just identified the go-to guy. His name is Farhad Vladi, and he is an impeccably dressed, German-raised private island broker who has sold more than 1,500 islands around the globe over the last 30 years.
“Let Your Passions Guide You. They Are Unique…Let Them Subsume You.”
by Jim Benning | 07.27.05 | 11:38 AM ET
That was the message that writer Jeffrey Tayler delivered to students enrolled in Rolf Potts’ writing course in Paris earlier this month. His lecture has been published on Potts’ weblog, and aspiring writers and fans of Tayler’s work will find it both inspiring and instructive.
In addition to offering advice, Tayler recounts his own path to the writing life, emphasizing the importance that passions played along the way. “I mean passions for subjects that fascinate and thrill you the way a good novel or poem or even movie does,” he told them. “These passions drove me to acquire knowledge and accomplish the things I would write about. Most of all, they focused my energy.” Tayler, of course, is an Atlantic Monthly correspondent and the author of a number of books, including “Facing the Congo” and his latest, Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat and Camel.
Planet Theme Park Takes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
by Michael Yessis | 07.20.05 | 9:52 PM ET
Lots of news in our ongoing effort to chronicle the world’s transformation into a giant theme park. Boing Boing reports that a Michigan man named Wally Wallington is reconstructing Stonehenge in his backyard. Discovery Channel Canada has the video. Across the Atlantic in Kent, England, the BBC has word that work has begun on Dickens World, a theme park based on the “life, times and books” of novelist Charles Dickens. The park is scheduled to open in April 2007. No word on whether the laborers are exploited children.
“WE SAW LANCE!!!!! WHOOOOO!”
by Jim Benning | 07.14.05 | 12:50 PM ET
Anyone even vaguely familiar with competitive cyling can appreciate yesterday’s weblog post from Rick Steves’ son, Andrew, who is on his first parent-free trip to Europe and watching the Tour de France. His entire post: “WE SAW LANCE!!!!! WHOOOOO! Pictures coming in a couple days, check em out!!!”
An Unhappy Anniversary at the Running of the Bulls
by Jim Benning | 07.14.05 | 12:32 PM ET
The annual Running of the Bulls wrapped up today in Pamplona, Spain. For most participants, it’s a quick, adrenaline-filled sprint that ends safely. But not for everyone. This year’s event marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Matthew Tassio, a 22-year-old Illinois native who was the last person killed in the running. Writer Andrew Walker was watching from the sides that day. In an unusual story in the BBC, Walker recalls the chaotic scene and remembers the fallen traveler. “From time to time, my mind strays back to that cool, sunny morning in 1995, and I think of Matthew, his parents and friends,” Walker writes. “I haven’t been back to Pamplona.”
Letter From London
by Jim Benning | 07.08.05 | 11:20 AM ET
Just posted on World Hum: one traveler’s e-mail home from London after the bombings.
Bombings in London
by Jim Benning | 07.07.05 | 10:14 AM ET
More bad news. The BBC has a detailed report: At least 33 people are dead.
Andrew Steves: Travels in Dad’s Footsteps
by Jim Benning | 06.21.05 | 1:19 PM ET
For young Americans, the first solo trip to Europe is a rite of passage. But what's in store if your father is the king of Europe guidebook writers? Jim Benning finds out.