Destination: Washington, D.C.

Dan Brown Tourism Hits D.C.

That was quick. Two weeks after the release of his latest, “The Lost Symbol,” and the Dan Brown-themed travel stories about the city where it’s set—Washington, D.C.—are already piling up.


Judging India

Delhi rail lines Photo by The Wandering Angel via Flickr, (Creative Commons)

In New Delhi, JD Roberto deemed much of what he encountered backward and barbaric. But his moral compass was about to be reset.

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Moon-Gazing Around the Globe

Full moon over London Photos by cybea via Flickr (Creative Commons)

From Puebla to Paris, 12 photos by moonstruck world travelers

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Pet Airways Begins Flights for Pampered Animals; Humans Still Out of Luck

Beginning today, Florida-based Pet Airways will fly your critters to and from New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. The new airline promises that pets will be constantly attended to and treated as first-class “pawsengers,” with rates for one-way flights—for Fido only; you’ll have to book on a regular carrier—starting at $149. Representatives are confident that the high prices are well worth it, offering peace of mind against the “severe emotional and physical harm, even death” that can befall your pet traveling in the cargo hold on human-centric flights.

The airline has even started a blog featuring everything from the latest in-flight pet news to expert tips on keeping fit with your dog on the road.


Finding Hawaii on the Mainland

Aloha Tavern by Nerd’s Eye View

I’m not sure why I’m surprised when, on the mainland in the middle of rural territory, I find a town named “Aloha,” or when a festival in Seattle brings thousands of Hawaiians out to listen to traditional music and see hula. The Hawaiian diaspora is extensive—hey, it reaches all the way to the White House these days.

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Signs of Shrinking Vacation Syndrome on Capitol Hill

Even our elected representatives aren’t immune—and at least one of them isn’t happy about it. Senator Chuck Grassley told President Obama how he feels in a colorful tweet on Sunday:

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Samurais and Maharajas: It’s an Asian Art Summer

I’m fortunate to live in a city that’s home to one of the best Asian art museums in the world—the Smithsonian’s Freer-Sackler Gallery—but I’m not averse to traveling to see a really great museum or exhibit elsewhere. In fact, on a trip to Dublin last fall, I spent an entire afternoon immersed in the wonderful Chester Beatty Library, gazing at Persian paintings and Islamic manuscripts. I know, I know—I was supposed to be out drinking Guinness, but I couldn’t help myself.

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Eight Great Travel Stories of Serendipity and Kindness

Eight Great Travel Stories of Serendipity and Kindness 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

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A Vertical Tour of Hong Kong

A Vertical Tour of Hong Kong Photo by travlinman43 via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by travlinman43 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

I read the current New Yorker profile of urban climber Alain Robert—aka “Spiderman”—expecting to learn the whys and wherefores of the Frenchman’s quirky obsession with scaling the world’s skyscrapers. There was plenty of that, but what surprised me was the extensive description of Hong Kong’s built environment, a kind of vertical canvas for Robert’s peculiar talent.

Writer Lauren Collins does a wonderful job describing how Hong Kong’s residents interact with their surroundings:

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Wine and Dumplings: An Overlooked Match?

Wine and Dumplings: An Overlooked Match? Photo by Bernt Rostad via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by Bernt Rostad via Flickr (Creative Commons)

When I’m out for Chinese food, I don’t think twice about my drink order: it’s almost always a Tsingtao. But cooking school owner/author Jen Lin-Liu says beer doesn’t have to be the default accompaniment every time you pick up chopsticks.

For a piece in the New York Times, she recently convened a group of Chinese tasters and found that semisweet Rieslings were the best all-around choice for spicy dishes with strong flavors, while a Pinot noir paired well with twice-cooked pork.

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Manga Madness

For all you manga fans out there, here’s a round-up of breaking news from both coasts. A San Francisco-based publisher recently released seven translated volumes of the classic Oishinbo series, which follows the adventures of a young food journalist as he searches for the “ultimate menu.” (Tintin meets sashimi?) The New York-based Japan Society is running an exhibit called “Krazy! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games” through June 14. And in Washington, D.C., the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is showing “The Tale of Shuten Doji,” an exhibit of scrolls and screens depicting the popular Japanese folk tale as action thriller—an Edo period art form considered a forerunner to manga

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Five Best Mood-Matching Museums

Five Best Mood-Matching Museums (c) Sam Buxton, courtesy Kinetica

What kind of art do you feel like today? Hayden Foreman-Smith knows where to go to match any mood.

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Washington, D.C.

washington dc REUTERS/Larry Downing

A tourist walks under cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in Washington.

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A Global Rite of Spring

Ah, springtime in the nation’s capital.  I saw my first cherry blossom of the season near the Washington National Cathedral a couple weeks ago, and it immediately lifted my will-winter-never-end mood.  The blossoms are right on schedule here—peak period is expected to be April 1-4—but over in Tokyo, the much admired sakura are early for the fourth year in a row, prompting hand-wringing about the effects of global warming.  According to the Telegraph, Japan’s national “blossoming line”—the latitude at which the trees start to flower—has shifted 125 miles north over the last 40 years. Kind of alarming.

If you missed the window in Tokyo, I’d recommend a visit to Washington’s National Arboretum instead of the Tidal Basin (way too crowded) or a virtual viewing via this web cam.  Of course, there are plenty of pink wonderlands unfolding beyond the Beltway.  Check out the cherry blossom festivals in San Francisco, Philadelphia or Brooklyn.  And don’t forget the sake.


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