Archives for December, 2007
Tour Guide: Canada’s North
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 26, 2007 Frontiers North Adventures offers guided tours to the most remote destinations in Canada. At the Elu Inlet Lodge, located just south of Victoria Island in Nunavut, Canada, a knowledgable guide takes guests in a five-passenger skiff to explore islands in the Elu Inlet, and on nature hikes to see archaeological sites of ancient tent rings,…
Sinterklaas and Santa Claus: An Ocean Apart
Posted by it on December 24, 2007 Contributing writer Cathy Healy was in Amsterdam this year to see some of the festivities that surround the arrival of Sinterklaas – or the Dutch Santa Claus. If you’re naughty, not nice in the Netherlands, Santa’s helpers will stuff you in a sack and take you back to Spain. This is a threat? A free…
A French Christmas Recipe
Posted by Emily Haile on December 21, 2007 I learned at a young age that starting international or multicultural holiday traditions can be fun (and delicious). Every Christmas, my Russian great-aunt, who taught high school French in New York City for years, used to bake a bûche de Noël, the traditional French “Yule log” cake. Starting back in the 12th century, the French…
Going Dutch
Posted by marilyn terrell on December 21, 2007 Cathy Healy’s post on her favorite Amsterdam hotel reminded me of my favorite Dutch photographer, Jurjen Drenth, whose work has appeared in the Dutch edition of Traveler. I discovered him while fact-checking a story about Delft a while back. When he’s not doing his commercial photography, Drenth hunts down the locations of famous paintings of…
Baltimore’s Miracle on 34th Street
Posted by Emily Haile on December 21, 2007 I grew up in Charm City, the town in which many of director John Waters’ ingenious films are based. Anyone that’s ever visited Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood (the self-proclaimed “home of big hair”) will tell you the area’s brimming with characters. Never is this more evident than during the holiday season. For as long as I…
The Rose of New England
Posted by Emily Haile on December 20, 2007 I spent last week in Norwich, Connecticut visiting my sister, niece, and nephew. I soon learned that Norwich often lives in the shadow of its more glamorous neighbor, Mystic, about 30 minutes to the south. And though my two-year-old niece adores the belugas at the Mystic Aquarium, my sister and I were hoping for activities…
Tour Guide: UN Guide to Guides
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 20, 2007 Here’s a useful tool: Friends of World Heritage has a list of community tour operators in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America that have been approved by the UN World Heritage Foundation. Tour operators include the Shampole Community Trust in Kenya (offering eco-friendly, luxury accommodations which we wrote about here), the Talamanca Initiative in…
Japanese Temples Glow Green
Posted by Crowd Favorite on December 20, 2007 The Japanese temples in Kyoto are holy places, so it makes sense that they try to “illuminate” us with a “higher power.” OK, forgive the puns for a moment to appreciate the fact that the Japanese, recognizing that their temples are major tourist attractions, have begun replacing lightbulbs, both inside the temples and outside for…
Hotel Confidential: Sustainable Eats on Vail’s Slopes
Posted by it on December 19, 2007 Traveler’s Hotel Central editor Susan O’Keefe whets our appetite for some new meal options at Vail Resorts. The next time you pull off the slopes for a juicy hamburger served at one of Vail Resorts 40 mountain dining venues, it will feature all natural hormone- and antibiotic-free beef. Rob Katz, chief executive officer of Vail…
Skating Rinks Around Europe
Posted by Crowd Favorite on December 19, 2007 The City Park Ice Rink in Budapest Nothing gets us IT staffers in the holiday spirit like a few spins around the ice rink. And while I’m certainly no Michelle Kwan, skating is one of those seasonal sports that always brings back a sense of childhood. I used to go with my grandfather when I…
No Country for Cold Men
Posted by it on December 18, 2007 Traveler Contributing Editor Andrew Nelson is home in Texas for the holidays, and offers up a round of new restaurants for those of you planning to visit the area (or him) this season. In the Big Bend of Texas winter clarifies the night sky, turning the stars to blazing diamonds. To keep warm, residents gather…
Tour Guide: A Presidential Christmas
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 18, 2007 Since it’s increasingly hard to step inside the White House for a tour, we offer up two presidential homes just outside Washington, D.C. that have festive holiday tours every year. Visit Monticello, Thomas Jefferson‘s home in Charlottesville, Virginia, just two hours south of the District. The guided Holiday Signature Tour will take guests through the…
All Aboard!
Posted by Katie Knorovsky on December 17, 2007 In all honesty, more often than not it’s the trivial details that impress us most here at IT. So when we heard about the Grand Canyon Railway’s giddiness-inducing plan to host a pajama-wearing, hot-cocoa-drinking trip with its Polar Express train rides, it was almost more than our inner kids could handle. Based on the popular…
Hopped Up in Chicago
Posted by Emily Haile on December 17, 2007 Chicago was recently named the most caffeinated city in the country. In light of this, we figured they must know a thing or two about coffee. Plus, why should Seattle get all the props? We conferred with the Traveler staff and scoured Citysearch and Urbanspoon for some of the best java joints in the windy…
Tourists Riot! “We Were Forced to Shop!”
Posted by it on December 13, 2007 There’s nothing worse than discovering your tour is just a series of pit stops on the Souvenir Express. But unfortunately your options are primarily limited to staying on board until journey’s end, or forfeiting your cash and detaching yourself, unsure of how exactly you’ll get home. But some Chinese tourists have had enough. Traveler columnist…
Climb Inside Amsterdam
Posted by it on December 12, 2007 When Intelligent Travel contributing writer Cathy Healy decided it was time to divulge her favorite hotel—and hotelier—in Amsterdam, we leaped at hearing the scoop… Long, lanky Mark Bakker is dangling out of the window of my room, helping hang the repainted Hotel Prinsenhof sign. I’m in the south-facing breakfast room with its wall of windows…
What a Stud!
Posted by Katie Knorovsky on December 12, 2007 The latest in Britain’s ever-greening roadways: Astucia SolarLite “smart” road studs, in-road lights outfitted with a tiny solar panel, an LED light, and reflective surface said to improve visibility tenfold after-hours. Eco-friendly and safer? We’re in. Dotting U.K. roadways in Scotland, Wales, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, and Oxfordshire, the studs store solar energy during the day and…
Green Skiing
Posted by Crowd Favorite on December 10, 2007 This year’s ski season isn’t as focused on the white stuff, as it seems everyone on the slopes is now thinking green. The New York Times reports that “snow guns are using oil-free air compressors, mountaintop restaurants are being powered by solar panels, and carbon offsets can be purchased as part of your lift ticket.”…
Mexico Works to Protect Monarch Migration
Posted by it on December 7, 2007 Every year like clockwork, monarch butterflies in Canada pack their bags in September and head to Mexico for their winter break. The annual migration is a huge tourist attraction, and Mexico is working to further support it by expanding their nesting areas and curbing illegal logging in the region. The AP reported: President Felipe Calderón…
Green Sporting Goods to Go
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 7, 2007 We applaud those who choose to walk or ride bikes over driving emissions-emitting cars, but no one can argue that riding sustainable bikes is even better. Recently the Washington Post reported more and more sports equipment companies are experimenting with sustainable material—from bamboo to organic cotton to hemp fiberglass—often making balls, boards, and bikes more…
Tangled Up in Blue
Posted by Crowd Favorite on December 7, 2007 Perhaps you’re gearing up to watch Todd Haynes’ biopic “I’m Not There,” which portrays the life of Bob Dylan with a varied cast of actors (male and female) all playing his role. Or maybe you’ve considered buying the soundtrack to the film, which pulls together various artists performing Dylan’s iconic songs. It seems like every…
Marilyn’s Miscellany
Posted by marilyn terrell on December 7, 2007 If you aren’t already familiar, please give us the chance to introduce Marilyn Terrell, Traveler Chief Researcher, whom we like to call our “human blog.” Since it’s almost physically impossible for us to get all of Marilyn’s suggestions up online, we’ve asked her to pen a new column, highlighting some fun stuff found on the…
Tour Guide: San Fran’s Chinatown
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 6, 2007 In many major U.S. cities, you’ll find a cultural hub we all know as Chinatown (unless you’re in Seattle, where it’s the politically-correct “International District“). As many people flock to Chinatown for its cheap eats, the history and cultural aspects of these places often get forgotten. That’s why the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco…
Pop Art in Florida
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 6, 2007 Look out, Florida. Iconic pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) is coming your way. Beginning December 8, the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, Florida; +1 305 667 1651) will host ten of Lichtenstein’s 8- to 30-foot-tall sculptures on the garden’s grounds. The exhibit, titled Lichtenstien at Fairchild, will be the world’s…
When In Utah, Do As Olympians Do
Posted by Jeannette Kimmel on December 5, 2007 Ever wonder what happens to Olympic parks once the medal ceremonies have ended and the Olympic flame goes out? Salt Lake City (home of the 2002 Winter Games) has turned its snow-covered Olympic Park into a tourist attraction, and the park has some cool features we just had to tell you about. Admission to the…
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