Archives for October, 2007
The Future of Travel
Posted by Crowd Favorite on October 31, 2007 Lately, it seems everyone has been thinking about what travel will be like in the future. The lovable blokes behind the book (and phenomenon) Freakonomics posed the question about how things would look ten years from now to a series of industry bigwigs on their New York Times blog, and got some interesting responses: Brookings…
Library Ghouls
Posted by it on October 31, 2007 In our continuing coverage of all things mystic, spooky, and supernatural, we wanted to share a finding from our all-star researcher Marilyn Terrell. She uncovered a list of international libraries where spooks can be found in between the stacks. Morelia Public Library, Michoacán, Mexico. Library staff say that a “nun in blue” has haunted the…
Striking “Gold” in the Cresent City
Posted by it on October 30, 2007 Today’s postcard from contributing editor Andrew Nelson leaves us longing for something shiny: New Orleans’ onetime U.S. Mint (400 Esplanade; 800 568 6968) has struck gold again, only this time it’s a special exhibit devoted to the precious metal. “Gold,” which opened this month, marks the Mint’s grand reopening, having been closed since Hurricane Katrina…
IT’s Directorial Debut
Posted by Crowd Favorite on October 30, 2007 Here at National Geographic Traveler, going to lunch at the cafeteria can mean sitting next to a filmmaker just back from the Serengeti who’s more than willing to regale us with their travel tales. But, while we’re always up for a good story, we can get a little bit jealous from time to time. That’s…
Tour Guide: Ghosts
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on October 30, 2007 Do you believe in ghosts? Whether you do or not, around this time of year we like to give ghosts the benefit of the doubt. Here are some tours that will leave the hair standing on your neck this Halloween. Alexandria, Virginia: Check out Old Town Alexandria to catch a glimpse of the spirit of…
VW Luxury
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on October 29, 2007 The Danbury family in the U.K. just can’t get out of the ‘70s. But we think that’s great, because they have taken regular VW campervans and turned them into something a bit more luxurious. Take the Danbury “Rio.” It has a modern water-cooled engine, full-length kitchen unit furniture, 40-liter fridge, table, wardrobe, double bed, and…
Bonaire’s Winds of Change
Posted by Katie Knorovsky on October 29, 2007 Oft-overlooked Bonaire, a tiny “flapjack flat” island ringed by coral reefs in the Dutch Caribbean, revealed plans earlier this year to climb aboard the eco-mania bandwagon and become a carbon-neutral island. And they’re not just blowing hot air: The substance behind Bonaire’s claims stem from a new wind/diesel project designed to provide the entire island…
Inside Lincoln’s Cottage
Posted by Crowd Favorite on October 29, 2007 Last week, IT got a sneak peek at the country’s newest National Monument, Lincoln’s Cottage, which is in the midst of a $15 million restoration funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Just three miles north of the White House, it was the summer residence for Lincoln and his family, and, historians surmise,…
Voodoo Music
Posted by it on October 26, 2007 If you’re in New Orleans this weekend, I’m jealous. The Voodoo Music Experience has taken over City Park, and this year’s offerings will definitely please NOLA’s music gods. The Voodoo concert centers around three themes. Big-name bands like Rage Against the Machine, Fall Out Boy, and Smashing Pumpkins pull in crowds at the stages dubbed…
New Orleans’ Haus Party
Posted by it on October 25, 2007 Perhaps we’ve got beer on the brain this week, but our ever-wandering contributing editor Andrew Nelson reports that one haven for stein-guzzlers in New Orleans may be in jeopardy: Hurricane Katrina destroyed many historic structures in New Orleans, but the latest storm brewing in the city is over a new hospital that’s threatening yet another…
Tour Cities With a Local, for Free
Posted by Emily Haile on October 25, 2007 IT was recently browsing National Geographic Traveler’s free cities index, with hundreds of listings on how to spend your down time without spending a dime. What we were surprised to discover, is that many cities—and the more expensive ones at that—offer free tours by local guides. Want to see Pacific Heights’ mansions? The Coit Tower…
Save the Turtles, Save the World
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on October 25, 2007 Become your own hero on your next Fijian vacation. Or become an artist. Or become both! (You don’t even have to drink any kava to do it.) Turtle Island, located in the Yasawa Group in Fiji (known for being the film location for Blue Lagoon), has a Turtle Release program, in which it buys green…
Blue-Collar Brunch
Posted by Katie Knorovsky on October 24, 2007 As a recently transplanted Iowan, I couldn’t help but get a bit homesick when I noticed my favorite greasy spoon was featured in the Washington Post’s “At the Diners” series, a part of their Campaign Trail blog. The Waveland Café, in Des Moines, Iowa, is a diner so unpretentiously authentic it can almost dare to…
Ancient Egypt Arrives in London
Posted by Beth Lizardo on October 24, 2007 The city of London was met with an unusual sight a few weeks ago when a 25-foot statue of Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead, made a trip down the Thames on the back of a cargo ship. The fiberglass statue’s journey ended in Trafalgar Square, where it rested for three days before being…
Microbrew Pilgrimage
Posted by marilyn terrell on October 23, 2007 And now a word from Traveler‘s production manager and resident beer connoisseur, David Burneston, who’s just back from the 16th annual Great Eastern Invitational Microbrewery Festival, hosted by Stoudts Brewing Company in Adamstown, Pennsylvania: “Every year Stoudts invites a dozen or so other microbreweries to come together and show off their craft beers to a…
A Nightclub with a Worldview
Posted by it on October 23, 2007 Our intrepid contributing editor Andrew Nelson is just back from a trip to Turkey, and he sends us this report from the 360 Istanbul Restaurant, a nightclub with its own worldview. With jaw-dropping vistas of two continents, the Golden Horn and enormous, illuminated mosques, the club/restaurant 360 Istanbul (Istiklal Caddesi Misir Apt. No. 311 K.…
No Farang, No Job
Posted by Emily Haile on October 23, 2007 This homemade sign on one of the ubiquitous tuk-tuks in Thailand says it all: Farang (foreigners) are a precious commodity in traffic-choked Bangkok and throughout the land of smiles. Tuk-tuk drivers depend on tourism for their livelihoods—sightseers willing to shell out a relative fortune for the ride of a lifetime. But with more than 11…
Introducing: Tour Guide
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on October 23, 2007 Introducing “Tour Guide”: IT’s picks for great ways to get away. Check back in every Tuesday for new posts! We here at Traveler love to go off the beaten track to obtain a true sense of place, but we also know that traveling can take its toll on the environment. So of course we’re thrilled…
A Vegetarian in Paris
Posted by Katie Knorovsky on October 22, 2007 Ahh, the sweet luxury of traipsing around Paris on holiday. Hobbling along lovely cobblestone roads, gaping at Gothic cathedrals, taking romantic strolls along the Seine … and indulging in famously divine Parisian cuisine is reason enough to go, n’est-ce pas? Perhaps — unless, of course, you’re a vegetarian, considered by many the lowliest target of…
Eco-Libya?
Posted by Katie Knorovsky on October 19, 2007 Last month, officials in Cyrene, Libya, unveiled a surprise PR blitz riddled with buzzwords like “sustainable” and “eco-tourism,” declaring the dawn of a new age for the formerly reclusive Mediterranean nation—one that’s apparently swathed in green. The $3 billion project, dubbed the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area, is an effort to “show the world that…
Sustainable Chefs
Posted by Beth Lizardo on October 19, 2007 It used to be that eating organic was the ticket to healthy living. But chemical-free doesn’t necessarily connote freshness and quality, and there is an increasing demand to both purchase and consume produce that are not only organic but has also been carefully tended to. As Jen L. Karetnick points out in an article she…
Home (Away From) Home on the Range
Posted by it on October 19, 2007 A beach-and-theme-park vacation is much too tame for resident family travel expert Norie Quintos. This year, for part of her summer vacation with her two sons, she headed out to Wyoming: What parent hasn’t read the Dangerous Book for Boys? Okay, I haven’t, but I’ve read all about it. Here’s the gist: What our overprotected,…
Tour of Tours: Volunteering Abroad
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on October 18, 2007 Ever wanted to give back to the places you visit? Global Vision International, a U.K.-based volunteer group, organizes volunteer projects and expeditions that allow travel do-gooders to do just that. Volunteers can work with velvet monkeys or needy children, research endangered species in Ecuador, or scuba dive in the Seychelles. With over 150 projects to…
New Orleans’ Culinary Comeback
Posted by Emily Haile on October 18, 2007 Here at IT we like to talk about food, about places that are up and coming, long established, or are just hitting their stride. But what about restaurants that get knocked off their feet suddenly — what does it take for them to rebuild and what is the impact on the community? We’re thinking about…
Green Lessons in Higher Education
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on October 18, 2007 It’s that time of year again – when thousands of high school seniors around the country are frantically trying to decide which university they’d like to attend as they start the long, daunting college application process. And now, thanks to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, we’d like to recommend a…
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