Destination: New York
Video: Improv Everywhere’s ‘Frozen Grand Central’
by Jim Benning | 02.04.08 | 4:42 PM ET
The New York City-based group pulled a cool stunt in Grand Central Station recently that had travelers baffled. Video:
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Yahoo! BuzzMarilyn Monroe, Same-Sex Marriage and the Meaning of Niagara Falls
by Michael Yessis | 01.09.08 | 4:48 PM ET
A recent international incident notwithstanding, Niagara Falls’ moment in the sun has long passed. Yet, as a story in the latest Believer says, it still packs a hell of a symbolic wallop.
U.S. to Cap Flights at JFK, Newark Liberty Airports
by Michael Yessis | 12.20.07 | 12:53 PM ET
Airline carriers and the United States government have agreed to limit the amount of peak-hour flights at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International, two airports where extreme congestion has caused ripples of flight delays and cancellations across the country. At JFK, only “82 or 83” landings or takeoffs will be allowed per peak-hour, down from as many as 90 according to USA Today; the limit hasn’t been set for Newark. Both limits are expected to be finalized by the time the caps take effect on March 15, 2008.
Related on World Hum:
* New York’s JFK vs. Frankfurt Airport
* JetBlue Apologizes for Stranding Passengers on Planes at JFK
‘Beatles’ Ashram’ in India to Become Eco-Hotel, School
by Michael Yessis | 12.19.07 | 10:32 AM ET
Travelers have been making pilgrimages to Rishikesh, India to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram, aka the “Beatles’ ashram,” ever since the Fab Four landed there in the late ‘60s to study Transcendental Meditation and write some songs, including “Revolution” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Soon, though, the rundown 15-acre campus may become a home and school for street children, as well as a 10-room “eco hotel” where visitors “could volunteer to work with the children or simply relax in the same ashram where John Lennon searched for the meaning of life and George Harrison worked to perfect his sitar playing,” according to the Washington Post.
Big City, Bright Lights, Shady Bars
by Eva Holland | 12.14.07 | 11:17 AM ET
Something unexpected happened this week: my grown-up, travel writing present and my teenage, trashy-movie-going past collided. It turns out that the film adaptation of “Eat, Pray, Love” won’t be Elizabeth Gilbert’s first brush with Hollywood. Long before she wrote her seemingly unstoppable bestseller, she wrote a shorter piece for GQ about her early days bartending in New York City. That piece became the movie Coyote Ugly. Now, this may sound shallow to people who take their travel inspiration from Thoreau or Mark Twain or Christopher McCandless. But Coyote Ugly, silly and smutty though it may be, was still the first movie I can remember seeing that made me realize there was a wide, wild world out there, and that I needed to experience it.
Confessions of a Cross-Border Shopper
by Eva Holland | 12.12.07 | 1:13 PM ET
What's the thrill of buying socks and parmesan-flavored Goldfish crackers in Syracuse, New York? Eva Holland took advantage of the surging Canadian dollar and hit the road to find out.
Reflections of Home
by World Hum | 11.18.07 | 12:12 PM ET
Photo by Rolf Potts. Rolf Potts returned to the Kansas prairie. Matt Gross landed in Brooklyn -- for now. The two travel writers reveal where they live, and how travel has influenced how they look at home.
See the full audio slideshow: »
No Direction Home
by Matt Gross | 11.18.07 | 11:39 AM ET
Photo by Matt Gross. During the past three years, Matt Gross hasn't spent more than six weeks in one place. This Thanksgiving, he'll be on the road again. Recently, he asked himself: What does home mean when he feels perfectly at home in a distant land?
Can’t Afford Europe? Take the A Train Instead.
by Julia Ross | 11.12.07 | 4:42 PM ET
If you’re a New Yorker pining for a week in Tuscany or Paris—but can’t face the prospect of an $8 soda—don’t despair: Cara O’Flynn has some tips for getting your Euro fix at home, all within steps of your nearest subway stop. While waiting for the dollar to rebound against the Euro, O’Flynn, a World Hum contributor writing in the New York Post, advises checking out the Alliance Francaise’s Cinema Tuesday series or the weekly flamenco theater Alegrias en la Nacional.
The World’s Most Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotels: From the Amsterdam Hilton to the Chateau Marmont
by Michael Yessis | 11.09.07 | 11:23 AM ET
The Guardian’s Sean Dodson picks 10 sleeping giants of rock, including the spot where John Lennon and Yoko One had their “Bed-in for Peace” (Amsterdam Hilton), the hotel where Led Zeppelin chucked TVs out windows (the now de-balconied Hyatt Riot House, pictured, on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip) and the place where David Bowie lived in Berlin while recording “Low” and “Heroes” (Hotel Ellington). One obvious clunker: The Hotel Rival in Sweden, which is owned by Benny Anderson of ABBA fame. I’ve heard “Dancing Queen.” I’ve seen “Mamma Mia.” ABBA ain’t rock.
Cancun to Times Square: How to Spot a Tourist Trap
by Julia Ross | 10.23.07 | 3:00 PM ET
How do you know a tourist trap when you see one? Aside from the double-decker buses and fanny packs, I’m usually alerted by a feeling I get: an overwhelming desire to flee mixed with befuddlement. The first time I visited San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, I remember thinking: I don’t get it. Choosing the world’s top tourist traps is sure to elicit heated debate, but ForbesTraveler.com has weighed in with its own list, nicely illustrated with a slide show and story offering tips for alternative experiences. Skip Times Square in favor of Central Park’s Strawberry Fields, writer Chris Colin recommends, or try the Valley of the Kings instead of the Pyramids at Giza.
Guardian Picks Top 10 Hostels in the World
by Jim Benning | 09.11.07 | 11:30 AM ET
Making writer Benji Lanyado’s list of the top hostels around the globe: Art Hostel in Sofia, Bulgaria (“The Bulgarian avant garde is still in its infancy, and it’s mainly in this hostel”); the Gershwin in New York City (pictured)—yes, a hotel (“Just off 5th Avenue, the building is a 13-storey homage to Andy Warhol and all things pop art”); and Hostel Celica, Ljubjana, Slovenia (at the former prison, “People turn up for tours of the Celica even if they aren’t staying”).
Kerouac! Kerouac! Kerouac!
by Matt Villano | 09.05.07 | 3:12 PM ET
Matt Villano grew up wanting to be a writer, but he lived in a town where Jack Kerouac once resided. The incessant references to the Beat legend pushed him to the edge. Then he read "On the Road."
New York’s JFK vs. Frankfurt Airport
by Jim Benning | 08.17.07 | 8:29 AM ET
Thomas Swick recently flew home from Europe, passing through Frankfurt airport and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International. According to Swick, they couldn’t have been more different. In Frankfurt’s airport, he encountered an inviting rustic tavern, walked among large windows looking out onto sun-lit planes and watched an international crowd of travelers passing Hermes, Boss and Swarovski and chatting in the Goethe Bar, near a statue of the writer. And it was only 7 a.m. “I had never seen such a wide-awake airport at such an early hour,” he writes. “It felt as if the world had left home.” And what of JFK, where Swick landed nine hours later?
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Less Money, More Adventure
by Michael Yessis | 08.10.07 | 2:54 PM ET
Lisbon, Portugal (pictured) and the rest of Europe are top of mind this week—particularly Europe on the cheap. The Big Apple, the debut of Virgin America and the Island of Tiki round out the Zeitgiest. Have a look.
“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Lisbon, Portugal
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
10 Ways to Keep Europe Within Reach
* We’ve unearthed some fine tips, too.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
10 Ways to Keep Europe Within Reach
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Beautiful Places with Tony Farley
* This week: North Dome
Most Read Feature
World Hum (posted this week)
James Teitelbaum: Escape to the Isle of Tiki
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph UK (current)
New York Shopping: The Best of the Big Apple
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
How I Scored a New U.S. Passport in One Day
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Virgin America Returns the Frills to Flying