This year, inspired by our ever-popular “I Heart My City” series on Intelligent Travel, we’re reveling in the holiday season by asking our readers to share their favorite ways to celebrate in their cities. Today’s city-lover is travel writer David Friesen , a local expert for Nileguide , giving us a glimpse of Beijing . What to share the things that make your city special
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My City Celebrates: David’s Beijing
This year, inspired by our ever-popular “I Heart My City” series on Intelligent Travel, we’re kicking off the holiday season by asking our readers to share their favorite ways to celebrate in their cities. Today’s city-lover is travel writer Abigail King of the Inside the Travel Lab blog, giving us a glimpse of Toulouse (which she reminds us is the fourth largest city in France). What to share the things that make your city special
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My City Celebrates: Abigail’s Toulouse
In our December Trip Lit column, Don George reviews Greg Mortenson’s new book, Stones Into Schools , the follow-up to his best-selling Three Cups of Tea . In it, Mortenson recounts his efforts to build schools, particularly girl’s schools, in the rural regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. ” Stones into Schools reminds us that every day in these fractured countries, people carry on their lives under unimaginably difficult circumstances with dignity, warmth, grace, faith, and hope,” George writes.
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Trip Lit: Stones Into Schools
Sabina Lohr took a break from touristy Cancún , Mexico, and learned that getting off the beaten path is only a few steps away. Just a short ferry hop from Cancún, Mexico, colorful Isla Mujeres is an spot where day-trippers commonly escape for a while from their all-inclusive hotel vacations in the mainland’s hotel zone. This tiny island boasts gorgeous beaches, friendly people, and great little Mexican restaurants.
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Mexico’s Garden of Art
Some Negril summer sunset photos is a post from: Jamaica Vacations Here are some photos of sunsets in Negril for Summer 2009. Negril sunsets are beautiful year round but something about summertime in Negril makes the sunsets more colorful and brilliant. Sunsets on the beach are nice but I prefer the West End Negril sunsets from great spots like Ricks Cafe and LTU Pub.
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Some Negril summer sunset photos
The third and last Friday the 13th of 2009 is upon us, so we thought we’d try to get to the bottom of why this day is feared by some 17-21 million Americans (as estimated by the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute ). Paraskevidekatriaphobia, the scientific term for fear of Friday the 13th, is an amalgam of superstition and old wives’ tales having to do with Friday–a day some claim Jesus was crucified as it was the Romans’ execution day, or when Eve ate that darn apple, when Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden or even the day that Noah’s Great Flood began (which is unlikely as Friday didn’t exist way back then)–and the number 13.
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The Origins of Friday the 13th
To many people, the old Route 66 represents the romance of the open road. Even though it was replaced with modern highways and officially decommissioned in 1985, this 2,400-mile stretch of road from Chicago to Los Angeles continues to have many of the one-of-a-kind motels, cafés, and other landmarks that sprung up during the Mother Road’s heyday. To help locate those attractions, the National Park Service has launched an online Discover Our Shared Heritage travel itinerary on Route 66
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A New Way to Get Your Kicks on Route 66
In celebration of Veteran’s Day, the National Park Service will offer free entry for all to any of its parks. Said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, “The Department of the Interior is honored to offer this fee free day to thank our nation’s service men and women.” [ Gadling ] Taipei 101 is on schedule to becoming the world’s tallest green building. The skyscraper is undergoing $1.8 million in green renovations, with the hope that these energy-efficient upgrades will save the building $20 million annually.
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Daily Radar: 11.11.09
Easton, Maryland –located just inland from the Chesapeake Bay–is hosting its 39th annual Waterfowl Festival this weekend. From Friday, November 13th to Sunday, November 15th, visitors can attend the festival, which pays tribute to the annual migrating of Canada geese over the area. This small-town festival is surprisingly full of things to do , here are a few: View wildlife paintings, sculptures, carvings, and photographs produced by local artisans in locations around the town and in the main festival area.
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Maryland’s Waterfowl Festival
Our adventurous friends down the hall at National Geographic Expeditions have a last-minute invitation to join them on a free webinar tonight exploring Costa Rica and the Panama Canal. Wildlife ecologist Taylor Edwards and veteran expedition leader Gustavo Abarco will host the session, taking you into the rain forests of Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Parks, where monkeys romp (I’ve seen ‘em!), sloths sleep, and a wide variety of colorful tropical birds flit through the trees. Enjoy a virtual horseback ride on a remote beach on the Pacific coast, a kayak excursion around the tiny islands in the Gulf of Panama, snorkeling in the pristine waters off Isla de Coiba, and swimming in waterfall pools on the Osa Peninsula (one of Traveler’s 2009 Places of a Lifetime ).
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Virtual Costa Rica Tonight!
For the past month, 10 slabs of the Berlin Wall have been installed outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). According to thelocal.de , “The 2.6-tonne slabs have been made available to artists, who have been given free rein to make their own statements on each block of concrete.” The wall will be on display until November 8, “being symbolically toppled.” [ thelocal.de ] Through November 5, Omni Hotels is offering 40 percent off select stays in Austin, Chicago, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Diego, New Orleans, San Antonio, Houston, and Tucson. Reservations must be made for travel between Dec
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Daily Radar: 11.04.09
SeaSide Hotel in Myrtle Beach South Carolina is a post from: Jamaica Vacations Seaside is an condominium resort and oceanfront hotel in Myrtle Beach South Carolina offering luxury accommodations and services. As a premiere boutique resort this Myrtle Beach hotel takes pride in their spacious 4 star rooms and the professional services their staff provides. Myrtle Beach is a wonderful vacation location for those of us on the East Coast and within driving distance who are in search of a nice family vacation experience without all of the hassle of airlines and long distance travels.
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SeaSide Hotel in Myrtle Beach South Carolina
Bali beaches has several characteristics, northern beach is full of pebbles with black sand beach, southern beach is limestone cliff, Nusa Dua, Kuta and Sanur are white sand beach, in the east mostly black sand and stone came from the volcano eruption long time ago, while close to the airport, mangrove grows along the coast as a shelter of marine animal and a protection of sea abration. Nowadays, the mangrove attracts visitor to come enjoying the scenery, studying about the mangrove or taking pre wedding picture.
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Bali Mangrove
Many tropical fruits grow in Bali as the climate support it. Like other Asian country, Durian is considered as the king of the fruit while Mangosteen is the queen, both has a season and the most typical Bali fruit is snake skin fruit called Salak, in fruit world Salak equal to Bali, others like mandarin orange, java plum, jack fruit, grape, mango, guava, watermelon etc. Rujak in Bali is also a favourite one to try, it consists of raw fruits preferably mango cut in small slice eaten with the sauce made of salt, shrimp paste, brown coconut sugar and chilli, most Balinese love it
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Bali Fruits
Review of Thursday Dancehall Night at Reggae Sumfest 2009 is a post from: Jamaica Vacations I was fortunate enough to make it to Reggae Sumfest again this year for the third year in row and it was an awesome event with three nights of simply the best in Jamaican musicians as well as top International performers who made this the best Sumfest I have been to yet. Here is my review of Reggae Sumfest 2009 for Thursday night.
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Review of Thursday Dancehall Night at Reggae Sumfest 2009
Former Traveler Photo Intern Jenn Blatty files this report for IT from northern Sweden: The Swedes are ahead of the game when it comes to exploring the outdoors and taking advantage of their natural surroundings. In the northern city of Sundsvall where I’ve been staying the past few weeks, I have yet to meet locals who don’t know how to pick their own berries and mushrooms from the surrounding forests to prepare into jams, wines, or butters in their own homes. And when I say everyone, I mean even the city-dwellers (although the younger generation may not admit it)
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Enter the Cloudberry Zone
IT contributing writer Andrew Evans sends along this interview with his 97-year-old grandfather who vividly recalls his first transatlantic flight in 1949. Not to boast, but in the last year I’ve crossed the Atlantic twelve times. In fact, I’ve done the 8-hour trip so many times, it’s become rather routine: I doze during taxi and take-off, read until dinner, watch some movie I didn’t want to pay for at home, then fall into fitful sleep before Greenland.
Mention Japan and you’ll more often than not evoke glittering clusters of skyscrapers, exquisite plates of sushi, and a massive serving of pop music, electronics, and all things modern. But in celebration of my grandfather’s 80 th birthday, my entire extended family explored this country’s beautiful landscape. The most civilized stops on this merry gathering included two short stays at the peaceful seaport village of Yokohama and the glitzier shrine-town-turned-industrial city of Nagoya
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My Five Best Sights in Honshu, Japan
In conjunction with his upcoming book, Here Is Where: In Search of America’s Great Forgotten History, we’re following historian and Legacy Project founder Andrew Carroll as he drives, flies, walks, boats, buses, bikes, and hikes to seek out little-known historic sites in all 50 states. Bookmark all of his posts here . After leaving Palestine, Texas, to pursue an extraordinary story I’d heard concerning the Columbia Space Shuttle explosion in 2003, I needed to photograph a site in Dallas related to one of the nation’s greatest Blues singers
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Here Is Where: Street Talk in Dallas
Friend of Intelligent Travel , Molly Feltner , shares this story of sitting face-to-face with a silverback in Congo as one of the first tourists to visit Virunga National Park since tourism reopened in May. For the first time in nearly two years–following the massacre of seven endangered mountain gorillas and months of occupation by rebel forces– Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is welcoming back tourists for gorilla trekking. Up until a few months ago, Virunga National Park sat in the eye of a perfect storm of man-made calamities.
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Gorilla Tourism Reopens in Congo