Destination: North America
From Beijing to Vancouver: A Very Different Olympics
by Eva Holland | 02.22.10 | 2:22 PM ET
REUTERS/Shaun Best It’s been nearly two years since I blogged from the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and—as I thought I might—I now find myself on the Olympic travel trail again, in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games. I’ll be honest: The two host cities couldn’t feel more different.
I stepped off the train from the airport and surfaced in downtown Vancouver this weekend, expecting, perhaps, to feel some uniquely Olympic vibe in the air, familiar to me from my brief time in Beijing. But the scene on Vancouver’s streets has almost nothing in common with the one I encountered two years ago. My memories of Beijing are all broad boulevards, empty except for uniformed Chinese volunteers offering directions to clusters of wandering foreigners, and subdued subway cars full of commuters. Vancouver, in contrast, is a non-stop maple-leaf-painted street party—flag-draped young people careen through the streets, impromptu break dancing circles pop up on corners, and buskers work the crowds. The brightly-dressed foreigners that I remember from Beijing are here, too, but they’re wildly outnumbered by the revelers in red and white.
I suppose there are plenty of economic reasons for the contrast. The 2008 Games probably weren’t as accessible to the average Chinese citizen as these Games are to most Vancouverites, while the expense and difficulty of visiting China could explain why the many young Olympics visitors here were absent in Beijing. (The local high school students I rode the bus home with last night, for instance, weren’t likely to make a transcontinental Olympic trek.) But economics aside, I still feel like there’s a fundamental difference at work: Beijing’s Games, to me, were clearly aimed outward, at the world, while Vancouver’s, so far, feel more like an essentially Canadian party to which everyone else has also been invited.
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzNew National Monuments in the Works
by Eva Holland | 02.22.10 | 11:53 AM ET
The federal government has drawn up a list of potential new national monuments, mostly in the southwestern states—and this New York Times story explains why some local politicians see the move as “a land-grab device for East Coast politicians.” Regional politics aside, shouldn’t “Lesser Prairie Chicken National Monument” be something we can all get behind?
San Miguel de Allende: ‘The Loser Now Will be Later to Win’
by Peter Ferry | 02.19.10 | 10:34 AM ET
iStockPhoto Peter Ferry celebrates a beloved Mexican city where you might not get all the avocados you want
Five Photos: The Painted Walls of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
by World Hum | 02.19.10 | 10:23 AM ET
iStockPhoto The historic Mexican city -- a haven for artists, writers and expats -- is as colorful as they come
Photo You Must See: Shaun White Flying Over Vancouver
by World Hum | 02.18.10 | 12:59 PM ET
REUTERS/Mark Blinch Before winning the gold, Shaun White competes in the men's halfpipe qualifying on Cypress Mountain at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
76-Second Travel Show: A Very Presidential Sandwich
by Robert Reid | 02.17.10 | 5:24 PM ET
Robert Reid celebrates President's Day by chowing down in Chester A. Arthur's one-time bedroom
World Travel Watch: Strikes in Belgium and Greece, Bombing in India and More
by Larry Habegger | 02.17.10 | 11:38 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
New Orleans: It’s About to Get Weirder
by Adam Karlin | 02.16.10 | 5:13 PM ET
REUTERS/Sean Gardner After a landmark mayoral election and the Saints' Super Bowl win, Adam Karlin believes the spirit of NOLA is undergoing a tectonic shift.
Forests to Burn
by Joshua Berman | 02.12.10 | 10:56 AM ET
Photo by Joshua Berman Joshua Berman spent a glorious summer exploring some of America's most beautiful wilderness areas -- with a drip torch in hand
Video You Must See: Vancouver City Lights
by Eva Holland | 02.10.10 | 12:46 PM ET
Time-lapse scenes of the Olympic host city
11 Things You Must Know About Canada
by Frank Bures | 02.10.10 | 11:35 AM ET
Frank Bures offers a primer for anyone headed to Vancouver for the Olympics. It's mordant!
Facebook and America’s Social Geography
by Eva Holland | 02.09.10 | 12:45 PM ET
Here’s a fascinating map put together by PeteSearch, showing the regional connections between America’s Facebook users. The data creates some unexpected clusters and movement patterns: For instance, users in the northeastern states—dubbed “Stayathomia”—tend to have more local and fewer long-range connections, while users in the “Nomadic West” generally have more far-flung friendship networks. (Via Kottke)
Video: Saints Super Bowl Victory Party in New Orleans
by Eva Holland | 02.08.10 | 3:06 PM ET
I’m not much of a football fan, but as a traveler who got hooked on the Crescent City awhile back I can’t get enough of this video. From the music to the Magazine St. bars to the Mardi Gras-bead-wearing beat cops, it’s all NOLA.
(Via Ta-Nehisi Coates)
The Elusiveness of the Northern Lights
by Dario DiBattista | 02.08.10 | 10:20 AM ET
Photo by Dario DiBattista After returning from the war in Iraq, Dario DiBattista road-tripped from Alaska to Maryland in search of peace -- and a way back into the civilian world
76-Second Travel Show: Black History Month in Bed-Stuy
by Robert Reid | 02.03.10 | 11:41 AM ET
Robert Reid heads to the historic Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant