What We Loved This Week: ‘Louisiana 1927,’ Mississippi Drift and Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

Travel Blog  •  World Hum  •  03.14.08 | 4:33 PM ET

imageWorld Hum contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Eva Holland
“Loved” might be overstating the case a little, but I was pleasantly surprised by Graceland‘s famous “fried peanut butter and banana sandwich” (pictured)—reportedly the King’s favorite snack. I tried it out of a strange sense of obligation (plus, it was the cheapest thing on the menu) but it really wasn’t bad at all. Peanut butter and banana go great together—the same effect could be achieved, though, by using two slices of toasted bread.

Michael Yessis
The opening conversation between Henry Jenkins and Steven Johnson at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin was a terrific, an eye-opening discussion of collective intelligence vs. the wisdom of crowds, new media literacy and how Harry Potter is encouraging political engagement. YouTube has a couple clips, and here’s a recounting of the talk in graphic form. 

Jim Benning
I booked a flight to New Orleans this week and it got me thinking about all the great songs about the city. One of my favorites is Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927,” about the big flood of that year. I really dug this performance of it on YouTube:

Frank Bures
I loved Matthew Power‘s piece in the March issue of Harper’s, Mississippi Drift: River Vagrants in the Age of Wal-Mart (subscribers only), about floating down the Mississippi on a raft with some dumpster diving anarcho-punks. A fantastic story on its own, but I also loved it because I grew up on that river right in the area he writes about.

Joanna Kakissis
Nettle pie—yes, a savory pie made out of nettles and feta cheese—is my new favorite lunch to go in Athens. I had this week at Lena’s, an organic cafe on Nikis Street near Syntagma square in the city center. Lena’s has delicious Greek dishes with a vegetarian edge (think cabbage rolls stuffed with wild mushrooms or my little nettle pie) as well as Near Eastern pilafs with pine nuts, apricots, sultanas and basmati rice. I’m desperately missing the Whole Foods cafes here in Athens, but Lena’s helps ease my cravings. Plus, it’s an ideal place to observe the paradox of the modern Athenian: Eat healthy food and chain-smoke too.