Destination: Italy
To Italy, for Family
by Valerie Conners | 05.04.09 | 10:33 AM ET
After unearthing her great-grandmother's bridal gown, Valerie Conners traveled to Puglia to grasp the story of its origins. She found much more.
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Yahoo! BuzzEight Great Travel Stories of Serendipity and Kindness
by World Hum | 04.29.09 | 6:09 PM ET
Photo illustration by Jim Benning To mark our eighth anniversary, we've collected eight favorite stories from our archives that show how one person, or one small act of kindness, can alter our sense of the world
Eight Great Travel Stories About Food
by World Hum | 04.28.09 | 4:06 PM ET
iStockphoto To mark World Hum's eighth anniversary, we've collected eight favorite stories from our archives that explore the sweet spot where taste meets travel
Where Will Dan Brown Go Next?
by Eva Holland | 04.22.09 | 12:11 PM ET
Publicity still from "Angels and Demons" (via IGN) Looks like the bestselling author has been keeping busy. While we’ve been pondering the “Angels and Demons” boycotts and bus tours, Brown has been hard at work on his next novel—and now, his publisher has finally announced its impending release.
“The Lost Symbol” will hit stores in September with a staggering first print run of 5 million copies, the largest in Random House history. Naturally, Columbia Pictures—the studio behind the first two Brown adaptations—wasted no time snapping up the film rights.
But with all the excitement, I’m left wondering: what, exactly, are we waiting for? Where will Robert Langdon (and the resulting hordes of movie tourists) go next?
Five Hostels I Have Loved
by Eva Holland | 04.20.09 | 4:22 PM ET
Photo of Lizard Point by Eva Holland These days, there are more accommodation options than ever for the budget traveler: everything from house swaps to pod hotels to rock-bottom recession-era deals at more traditional travel digs.
But even with that abundance of choices—most of which I’ve sampled, and enjoyed—I think my shoestringer’s heart will always belong to the youth hostel. I love the hosteling community, I (sometimes) love the fiesta atmosphere, and—of course—I love the price. From grungy party pads to serene dorm-room retreats, here are five hostels I have loved:
Is an ‘Angels and Demons’ Boycott in the Works?
by Eva Holland | 03.23.09 | 10:00 AM ET
Publicity still from "Angels and Demons" (via IGN) Get the Big Picture blogger Colin Boyd rounds up rumors from Reuters and Italy’s La Stampa newspaper about a possible Vatican-backed boycott of the upcoming Dan Brown adaptation. The movie—which has already spawned the inevitable bus tours—hits theaters in May, and Boyd is doubtful that a boycott would have much impact (or at least, not the sort of impact the Vatican is hoping for) on its potential success. He writes: “Perhaps there is no better, more effective form of advertising and buzz-building than a good ol’ fashioned protest. I can’t think of any product or service, actor or athlete who became less well known following a public ignoring session.”
The Forbidden Kebab in Tuscany
by David Farley | 03.16.09 | 1:33 PM ET
I once interviewed a chef whose Michelin-starred restaurant is tucked in the hills of eastern Lazio; when I asked what he thought of fusion cuisine, he said—without blinking an eye—that he liked it: using tomatoes from the Campagna region and basil from Genoa was great, he remarked. My question had broader ingredients in mind, but I got the point. Lucca, a walled medieval town in the northeastern part of Tuscany, made headlines a few months ago when the right-wing-leaning city banned ethnic foods from its historical center. The city claims it has since received mountains of letters from around the world supporting the ban.
Morning Links: Bible Park, Pizza Vending Machines and More
by Eva Holland | 03.16.09 | 9:03 AM ET
- The Wall Street Journal goes way beyond Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
- Planning for Lebanon, Tennessee’s Bible-themed amusement park, has been suspended indefinitely due to “political differences”; the park’s developers are eyeing Kentucky instead. (Via The Book Bench)
- Coney Island’s famed Totonno’s pizzeria has been devastated by a fire.
- The San Francisco Chronicle has the little-known story of Iceland’s pizza pioneer.
- And in more pie-related news, the New York Times dishes on Northern Italy’s pizza vending machines.
- World Hum contributor Jenna Schnuer gets the local scoop on Houston’s finest cuisine, culture and more.
- New York City’s High Line may not be quite ready for visitors, but it is in bloom.
- Audrey and Daniel from Uncornered Market have just headed out on the road again; they reflect on five things they’ll miss about America.
- In the Huffington Post, Alison Stein Wellner goes looking for Jewish Barbados.
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Best Cities to Drink Coffee
by Terry Ward | 03.12.09 | 10:33 AM ET
REUTERS Terry Ward takes a look at seven of the best cities in the world to sit and sip
The Angelina Jolie of Olive Trees
by David Farley | 03.04.09 | 2:24 PM ET
If you have an extra $90 sitting around and a long-standing desire to tell people at cocktail parties that you own an olive tree in the Italian countryside (and, really, who doesn’t these days?) then this site is for you. For just under a hundred bucks per year, you can adopt an olive tree in Italy. There’s no word if the tree will send you letters telling you about its progress, but you will get some of its goods—two liters’ worth.
Morning Links: War Hotels, the Solas Awards and More
by Michael Yessis | 03.02.09 | 9:06 AM ET
- A major snowstorm in the eastern U.S. has disrupted travel throughout the country.
- GlobalPost began a five-part series about the favorite hotels of war correspondents.
- NPR says the “stimulus puts high-speed rail on the fast track.”
- Rome’s mayor announced an unorthodox way to fight “violence and thuggery” in the city. (via @theroadto)
- What can modern cities learn from slums?
- World Hum contributor Eric Lucas is dumbfounded that nobody tells the truth about Las Vegas.
- Some travelers are feeling guilty about traveling at all in this economic climate.
- Thailand thinks you’ll want to visit the country more if it has a signature cocktail. So it created the “Siam Sunrays.”
- Congrats to the winners of this year’s Solas Awards. David Torrey Peters took the grand prize for best travel story of the year.
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Morning Links: Walking on Broadway, Fees for Airline Toilets and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.27.09 | 9:43 AM ET
- New York City plans to turn parts of Broadway into pedestrian malls.
- The inevitable Coldplay reference comes only four seconds into this video about that ice music festival in northern Italy.
- Are the “taste police” out to get German bakers?
- The literature of men in boats vs. women in houses. (via Arts & Letters Daily)
- Here’s the latest Carnival of Cities.
- Happy belated 90th birthday, Grand Canyon National Park. (thanks for the reminder @evaholland and @AlisonSWellner)
- The economic downturn has boosted Peace Corps applications and the number of financial types snowboarding the Alps.
- Mule drivers in period costumes need TSA security clearance, too! So Boing Boing started a contest to create mule-driver TSA IDs.
- Will passengers soon need to pay to use the toilet on Ryanair? Just how ridiculous can the carrier get?
- Finally, this is fun to say: Sassy the Sustainable Sasquatch.
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Val Senales, Italy
by World Hum | 02.26.09 | 10:53 AM ET
REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi Norwegian musician Terje Isungset plays an ice instrument during a concert at the Ice Music Festival, in the valley of Val Senales in northern Italy.
Morning Links: Venice Cokes Up, an Epic (Paper) Plane Video and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.25.09 | 9:44 AM ET
Morning Links: A Hard-to-Find French Town, Photos of Carnival and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.24.09 | 8:55 AM ET
- Video: The Battle of the Oranges.
- A French town wants a new name that’s easier to find via search. It’s current name? Eu.
- Blog to watch: World Hum contributor Daisann McLane has launched a companion blog to her National Geographic Traveler column.
- Florida bans fish pedicures. What’s a fish pedicure? Here’s some video of McLane getting one in Malaysia.
- Photos: The Big Picture goes to Carnival.
- $28,067.31 for a “wireless session” on a cruise ship? Here’s the tale. (via Cruise Log)
- Some compelling photos of 19th- and 20th-century railway lines by Mark Ruwedel.
- Love this graphic: The most-used subway systems in the U.S and around the world.
- My obsession with travel typos continues: Here’s a look at NYC Transit’s Top Typos!
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