A Zoo Hater Confronts The San Diego Zoo And The San Diego Safari Park

by Dave Seminara on

I do not like zoos. I have no ideological problem with them, but every time I bring my children to a zoo, I feel drained – financially, physically and mentally – by the time we’re ready to leave. When my wife and I had the first of our two children in 2007, I don’t think I’d been to a zoo in more than 20 years.
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But since then, I’ve been coerced into visiting zoos in Chicago, Brookfield, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Reston, VA, Zurich, Toronto, Baraboo, Wisconsin and a host of other places. And this week, I somehow got roped into taking my children to not one but two zoos: the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido.

These are reputed to be two of the best zoos in the world, but they’re also huge places that you can’t very well just duck into for a quick visit. Other than placating my sons, ages 3 and 5, my goal for the visits was to find out if these places were worthy of the hype and to determine if even a zoo-hater like me could be won over.


My first impression of the Safari Park was overwhelmingly positive. You walk into the place and there’s a beached old Land Rover parked on the side of a small hill, next to a rushing waterfall. Speakers pipe in cool, tribal African music and the lush, tropical surroundings make you feel like you’re in the Hollywood version of a jungle set.

I had a vague impression that we were going to have our butts carted all around the place in some sort of vehicle or cart, but that isn’t exactly how it works. With the regular general admission ticket ($44), you get a 25-minute ride on the Africa Tram Safari, but have to walk the rest of the place. But if you want to spend more, there is a dizzying array of more expensive safaris, ranging from the $84 cart safari to the $599 ultimate VIP safari. Only in America can you drop a few grand on a trip to the zoo, right?


We opted for the cheapest ticket and I thought the Africa tram ride was more than enough for our needs. It’s a narrated ride that is about as close to an African safari as you’ll get in the U.S. You can probably see many of the animals we saw – giraffes, lions, cheetahs, rhinos, antelope, zebras and others – in a lot of zoos, but here you’re seeing them in a huge open space that looks like a much more natural habitat. (But if you want to get very close to the animals, you need to go on one of the more expensive safaris.)

And what’s more, our guide, Doug, even took it upon himself to give us some tips on how to reduce our carbon footprint. (I’ll be sure to slow down on the highways, Doug, thanks for the suggestion.)

My favorite animal was Vila, a 55-year-old gorilla that’s a great, great, great grandma who is believed to be one of the oldest “known-age” gorillas in the world. My sons dragged us all over the 1,800-acre park in search of all their favorite animals too, and, while it was a bit exhausting, I loved the fact that there are a host of unpaved trails that make you feel as though you’re on a hike out in the woods.

It’s not a typical zoo vibe at all and I liked that. But you will definitely need to watch your wallet at the Safari Park. There are opportunities to blow cash everywhere – you can even pay $6 to cut the Africa Tram line. If you’re on a budget, definitely bring your own food and drinks. A fountain soda goes for $5.19, a cup of soup is more than $7 and all of the other food and beverage options are similarly overpriced.

The San Diego Zoo, located in beautiful Balboa Park, in the city of San Diego, is more of a typical zoo experience, only better. The grounds are lush and expansive and the variety of interesting animals from all over the world is pretty astonishing. Everyone loves the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., but there you can walk for miles and see only a handful of animals. At the San Diego Zoo, the variety of wildlife in a similar sized space is far more impressive but you don’t get the feeling that the animal enclosures are cramped either.

Like the Safari Park, there are a host of expensive tour options and expensive souvenirs and refreshments, but given the fact that it’s right in the city, as opposed to the Safari Park, which is in a much more quiet, somewhat remote area, there’s no reason why you can’t duck out to get a bite to eat or simply bring your own lunch.

The amazing thing about the San Diego Zoo is that it really is like a little trip around the world. We saw animals from all over the planet: komodo dragons from Indonesia, gorillas from Africa, pink flamingos from the Caribbean, an anaconda from South America, and crested porcupines from India to name just a handful. And I saw a whole host of animals I’d barely even heard of before: a mang mountain viper, a Bornea sun bear, a Manchurian brown bear, an Andean bear, a West African dwarf crocodile, an Andean Cock-of-the Rock birds, and assassin bugs to name just a few.

I also liked the descriptions and the attempts to humanize the animals. We sat and watched the six gorillas for some time and I though the descriptions of their personalities was spot on: Paul “The Player” was indeed “handsome, charismatic and playful,” as he laid on his back, spread eagle with his hands covering his eyes, Ndjia, “The Thinker” sat in Rodin’s “The Thinker” pose, and Frank “The Tank” was every bit the “strong, independent, playful” lad he was made out to be.

A few words of advice if you are going to be pushing children around this zoo at least part of the time. Go down Center Street and Park Way first toward the Pandas and Polar Bears because it’s a very long, steep hill. We did this part of the zoo last, when my kids were too tired to walk at all and I was exhausted pushing them in a stroller back up the hill to cap the day. And if your kids are as inquisitive as mine, don’t hand them the colorful map showing all the animals until you’re in the car ride going home.

My 5-year-old would see an image of an animal he liked -Porcupine! Zebra! Parrot! Bug house!- and then insist that we charge off to find that animal immediately, leaving me feeling a bit like Magellan looking for a spice route to the West Indies.


If you only have time to visit one zoo in the San Diego area, where you go depends on your preferences and where you’re staying. If you don’t want to stray outside the city limits, the zoo is the obvious choice. Those who want a more atypical experience and like the idea of seeing animals in a more natural habitat along hiking trails, trams or safaris should consider the Safari Park.

For sheer variety of animals, I’d go with the zoo – there are some 3,700 animals representing approximately 660 species in a 100-acre space, compared to about 2,600 animals representing about 300 species in an 1,800 acre space at the safari park. And the zoo has the advantage of free parking, though both of these places are worth visiting. Even if you hate zoos, like me.

[Photo and video credits: Dave Seminara]

Moments Of Serendipity: Daily Life In Afghanistan

by Anna Brones on

Good travel pushes you to let go of control, and Afghanistan is certainly one of those places. Here, daily life is dictated by security decisions, which roads are safe to travel on and which ones are not, and if you are trying to stick to a concrete plan, something will surely get in the way. Afghanistan is the place for serendipity, a place that when you come to understand that you have absolutely no control, you can give in to be open to the many things that can happen all around you.

There is a constant balance between fear and awareness of your surroundings and being open and receptive to the unknown. In the midst of conflict there is beauty; the call to prayer in the dark of the early morning, a stranger offering you a glass of tea, a young woman smiling because you asked her how she was doing. If there were a definition of daily life in Afghanistan for a traveler, it would go something along the lines of: constant change peppered with frequent tea breaks.

Traveling as a woman, I was at all times aware of my surroundings and my own presence in relation to the people around me. My headscarf always seemed to be falling off. Warm in the midday heat I would go to push up my sleeves, and then remember that they had to stay covered. Men were everywhere. There were stares, a lot of them, but a few moments into a personal exchange and those stares often turned to smiles.On an afternoon in Babur Gardens, an historic enclosed park that is a popular place of respite from the dust, diesel and general chaos that defines everyday Kabul life, my friend Tony and I walked down a gravel, tree-lined path. It was the second day of Eid, a Muslim holiday, and families were out in abundance, picnicking and taking a moment to enjoy the trees and flowers.

As we walked, an old man stood up, a glass of tea in his hand. He motioned to us to come towards him. Traveling in a conflict zone makes you constantly alert to your surroundings, accepting that you must respect local customs at all times and that you should never become complacent. You have to trust your gut. Had a stranger motioned to me on a street corner, I may have turned in the other direction, but here in the privacy of an enclosed garden space, filled with happy families celebrating a holiday, I felt a certain level of calmness and security.

“I think we have to go over there,” I said to Tony.


We crossed the path and joined the family. The older man invited us to sit down on a blanket and he handed us both glasses of tea. We exchanged the series of salutations and “happy Eid,” an exchange that I had gotten comfortable doing in Dari. The man and his family smiled.

Then we launched into the get-know-you-without-speaking-your-language game, and entertaining combination of hand motions, my mediocre Dari vocabulary, and the family’s limited grasp of English phrases.

In Dari, the man asks if I am Tony’s wife.

“Balay” we both nod. Yes. This “wedding of convenience” as we later called it is easier than the truth.

The man motions to the smiling baby in his lap, whose eyes are outlined in kohl (a sign of prosperity I later learn) and points to me. “Shomaa?”

Do we have a child?

Tony has a son, so he nods. I realize this has now made me not only a wife of convenience but a mother of convenience as well.

“Balay.” Yes.

The man says a long sentence, of which I recognize the words for “where” and “America.” He is asking where the child is.

“In America,” says Tony.

The family smiles. I am hoping that they assume we have left the child with the grandparents and I am not being seen as an infidel mother who leaves her child behind.

To change the subject, I turn to one of the teenage daughters.

“Maqbulas,” I say to her, pointing to her headscarf, a striking purple color with beaded tassels, indicating that it’s pretty. As it’s Eid, she’s wearing her finest.

She laughs in a shy manner, and then moves from her blanket to sit next to me. She has noticed the assortment of bracelets on my wrist. She pulls a bracelet of plastic heart beads from her purse and puts it on my wrist.

“Tashakur,” I repeat several times. “Besyaar maqbul.” It’s very beautiful. She and her sisters smiled.

We learn from the younger boys in the group that can speak a bit of English that the older woman sitting behind the girls is the girls’ mother. Her face is tan and wrinkled, framed tightly by her black headscarf. “Their father and her husband died,” he says matter of factly. My Dari and his English aren’t good enough for me to figure out how the entire family fits together, but I assume that the older man is an uncle of some sort. So much pain and love in one family history.

We amuse them; this odd American couple that leaves their baby back in their home country, with a wife that knows a few Dari words. They in turn enthrall me, taking us into their family moment. Pouring tea for strangers.

Eventually we excuse ourselves, thanking them profusely for the tea. I leave feeling honored, like I was just given the kind of moment that will forever change your perspective. A moment that can’t be replicated. A moment that will later bring tears to my eyes because it’s representative of a shared humanity we so rarely see in the mass media. A moment that only happens because you let go of control.

We return to the rest of our group. It’s time for another glass of tea.

At the end of October, Anna Brones spent two weeks in Afghanistan with nonprofit Mountain2Mountain working to produce several Streets of Afghanistan public photo exhibits. This series chronicles the work on that trip and what it’s like to travel in Afghanistan. Follow along here.

[Photo Credits: Anna Brones]

Hotel Food & Beverage Trends: What’s Hot, What’s Not And What’s Coming

by McLean Robbins on

As part of the “Birth of a Hotel” series, we’re exploring these major trends in hospitality food and beverage concepts. From small plates to seasonal cuisine, we look at what’s driving guests – and locals – to visit their local hotel for dinner, drinks, and every meal in-between.

“Today, everyone is a little bit more educated about food,” says Jeff McInnis, the James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Miami’s Yardbird restaurant. “I think that’s a good thing … America is definitely stepping in the right direction.”

As home pantries evolve, so must hotel restaurants. No longer are guests satisfied with a standard dining room. The restaurant must be a reflection of the hotel’s location, ambiance, and, ideally, have unique selling points all its own to draw in local guests.

“We are 100% targeting the local market,” says Guy Rigby, vice president of food and beverage for Four Seasons, Americas. “If we get the local market, the hotel guests dine there.”

Satisfying the “Foodie” Palate without Pretension

But just what lures in the local guest? A great meal … but what makes a “great meal” is inherently subjective and constantly evolving.

One thing’s for sure: easier access to what would formerly be restaurant-only foods means that hotels are required to cater to a savvier consumer.

“You can eat caviar on the couch in your underwear watching football if you want to … and that’s great,” says Jacqueline Sainsbury, managing editor of Food Arts magazine.

But that doesn’t mean that great food needs to be haute cuisine. The great escoffiers and high dining concepts of the 1960s aren’t currently en vogue.

Playing with “street food” or “comfort food” and elevating it to a higher level is currently in favor at both hotel restaurants and the food industry in general, with chefs like José Andrés launching a food truck in addition to fine dining restaurants like The Bazaar in Los Angeles and Miami’s SLS hotels.

“We’re not trying to elevate [your food],” says Top Chef Season 5 contestant McInnis, who has worked for Orient Express’ Keswick Hall as well as Ritz-Carlton resorts around the globe.

“We’re trying to do the best damn fried chicken you’ve ever had.”Celebrity Street Cred

Of course, it’s easier to sell a simple concept like fried chicken when you have a James Beard award or a “Top Chef” credit to your name. Hotels, particularly in the luxury market, have capitalized on this trend of drawing in celebrity chefs.

Yvon Ross, director of special events for the James Beard Foundation, says that in recent years she’s seen an explosion of interest from the “non-industry” community in these acclaimed chefs and their cooking – whether they’re making fried chicken, simple meatballs, or working with molecular gastronomy to prepare a fine dining meal.

But how does this trend translate to the hotel restaurant? Rigby says that many of his hotels have celebrity chefs, including Daniel Boulud in the new Four Seasons Toronto and Michael Mina in D.C. and Baltimore. Rigby isn’t sure that star power will be the norm, but rather a strategic decision when the partnership makes sense both for location and for the hotel’s ownership group.

Still, hotels are pushing hard to differentiate their food and beverage outlets from the property themselves, often utilizing separate design teams to create unique concepts and utilizing exterior entrances to make restaurants more accessible to the public.

Locavore Dining
In recent years, drawing on the “local” angle has become increasingly important for all restaurants, including those in the hospitality space.

Hotels like the “Birth of a Hotel” feature property Capella Washington, D.C., Georgetown are attempting to source as many items as possible from local farms, as well as to engage craft breweries, distilleries, bakers, coffee roasters and more to partner with the hotel to enhance food and beverage options.

Still other hotels have turned to apiaries, beehives and on-site herb gardens to grow their own ingredients, and many resorts are even “catering” to guests by offering cooking classes to help teach them how to prepare restaurant-quality food at home. Capella Washington’s sister property, Capella Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas, offers such classes in a restaurant-quality kitchen for day-long or multi-day cooking class series.

Ingredient-Driven Conscious Consumption
As America develops an increasing pre-occupation with dietary restrictions like gluten-free, and low-carb diets as a way to combat expanding waistlines, so too must dining out evolve. No longer are hotel restaurant menus always full of “splurge items” for that special occasion visitor.

In addition to more careful food sourcing, in part inspired by the local food movement, hotels are also introducing menus that cater to both the calorie and the ingredient conscious. Sofitel Hotels and Resorts in North America have done this through the introduction of their De-Light Program, which offers low-calorie but high-nutrient menu items prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Gabriela Navejas, vice president of marketing and communications for Sofitel, says that the menus, launched in early 2012, were originally supposed to be a one-time event but have become an ongoing offer due to their overwhelming popularity. Today, the De-Light program is offered in all North American restaurants and in-room dining menus, as well as extended to become “Delight Breaks” for meeting groups as part of the hotels’ catering programs.
Wherever possible, hotels use herbs and vegetables grown onsite for added local flavor. Sofitel is currently working to roll this program out to all of their properties worldwide.

“It’s about health,” says Navejas. “With people having more access to information, it’s really about a lifestyle. [Guests are] more demanding, they have more knowledge [about food] but they want to enjoy their meals and the experience.”

Grab n’ Go Goes Social

Hotels have worked to craft that “experience” in all aspects of dining, from sit-down restaurants to coffee shops and in-lobby bars and social spaces.

Hospitality brokerage owner Steven Kamali of Steven Kamali Hospitality says that the hotel lobby “has become the epicenter of our social world,” a social space where guests and local business people, traditionally in big cities, can gather for meetings that bleed into play when work extends well beyond the typical 9 to 5.

He points to Starwood’s W Hotels as well as boutique properties like New York City’s Ace and Marc hotels for their success in this “lobby as a social space” concept. Here, you’ll see a typical hotel bar transformed into a destination for locals and guests alike, a place where one can grab more than a sub-par sandwich and instead enjoy a gourmet burger or an organic chicken breast and craft cocktail.

Hyatt brand Andaz brings the social lobby concept to a new level, offering communal tables where guests can relax and unwind, and front desk staff that offer wine, tea, coffee or soda upon check-in.

Kimpton Hotels embraces this trend as well, offering nightly “Wine Down” happy hours with complimentary beverages at many of their properties.

Capella offers a similar concept, with daily snack and soft drinks available in the hotel’s lobby “Living Room,” a guest-only space where the hotel’s on-staff personal assistants wait on attending guests.

Better Beverages

Speaking of bars, the beverage movement has certainly evolved past the perfect dirty martini or great glass of wine. Hotels are rivaling with the industry’s best restaurants to produce creative cocktail and beverage menus.

“There’s a huge trend towards mixology,” says Rigby, who speaks of the farm-to-table concept as it makes it way towards farm-to-bar, with chefs and cocktail specialists whipping up house-made juices and sodas.

Restaurants are also looking beyond wine, although the concept of having a well-educated sommelier and robust wine list won’t be leaving anytime soon.

“Beer is having an enormous resurgence,” Ribgy says, musing that hotels and resorts are seeking out craft beers to both round out a locally focused set of beverage offerings and to make menus more accessible to guests.

Similarly, many properties have focused their menu around specific spirits, pairing menus with cocktails rather than the more traditional beer and wine.

Beyond The Trends
But which of these trends will stay and which are simply a flash in the pain? Sainsbury points to a time last year when she found all restaurants suddenly obsessed with Neopolitan pizzas, and many can recall the nation’s current obsession with cupcakes.

“People do want to feel challenged [by new cooking techniques and cuisines], but a lot of times they just want to feel comfortable and know they’re being fed extremely well,” says Rigby. “I don’t mind [embracing trends], I just want to make sure we do them exceptionally well and that we also have the service component right.”

Experts seem to believe that while no one food or restaurant concept will reign supreme in years to come, concepts like farm-to-fork cuisine and the use of high-quality ingredients will only continue to grow in popularity, exceeding “trend” status and becoming an expectation, if they haven’t already.

And, in the words of Ross: “I just hope people will enjoy the food and stop Twittering about it as they’re eating.”

Amen.

[Image Credit: The Bazaar Miami]

Roman Coppola And W Hotels Release Four Travel-Inspired Films

by Libby Zay on

With the help of filmmaker Roman Coppola, son of director Francis Ford Coppola, W Hotels and Intel recently held a travel-inspired screenplay competition. Out of more than 1,000 online entries, four scripts were chosen by Coppola, who then used his production company, The Directors Bureau, to match the winning scripts with emerging directors and actors.

The result are the short films below, each of which takes place at a W Hotel around the world: in Doha, Qatar; Mexico City, Mexico; Washington, DC; and the Maldives. The only other stipulation for screenwriters was that the films had to feature an Intel Ultrabook – kind of like the secret ingredient in an Iron Chef competition. The results are quirky, touching, and sometimes eerie, but most of all great ways to inspire travel and help emerging talent get their feet off the ground.


Modern/Love: Two 20-somethings take the next step in their long-distance cyber romance, meeting in person for the first time during an exotic vacation in Doha, Qatar. Will their tech-enabled feelings hold true in real life?
Screenplay by Amy Jacobowitz
Directed by Lee Toland Krieger
Featuring Robert Schwartzman and Naomi Scott

¡El Tonto!: A socially challenged vacationer in Mexico City, Mexico, strikes up an unlikely friendship with one of the country’s best-known luchadores.
Screenplay by Ben Sayeg
Directed by Lake Bell
Featuring Kyle Mooney and Kyle Mooney


Eugene: A traveler in Washington, DC, gets a mysterious gift: an Ultrabook that grants all his wishes. How will he wield his unexpected powers?
Screenplay by Adam Blampied
Directed by Spencer Susser
Featuring Michael Govier and Karolina Wydra


The Mirror Between Us: Two young women embark on a dream-like adventure through the islands of the Maldives after an event turned both their worlds upside down.
Screenplay by Nicole Beharie
Directed by Kahlil Joseph
Featuring Dan’ee Doty

Gadling Gear Review: SYSTM iPhone Cases

by Kraig Becker on

The iPhone is beyond a doubt a beautiful piece of technology. Over the past few years, Apple’s iconic device has set the standard by which all other smartphones are compared. But that beauty comes with a price, as anyone who has ever dropped their iPhone onto a hard surface can attest. A good case can alleviate that heartbreak, however, providing extra protection when you need it most.

Some of the best cases available today are designed and built by a company called SYSTM. They are durable, rugged and provide more protection than just about any other case I’ve found. Better yet, they’re attractive, thin and don’t detract from the look of the iPhone in any way. Here are two unique options that will ensconce your iPhone 4/4S or 5 in a protective shell that will keep it safe from just about any kind of danger.

SYSTM Vise ($49.95)
If you’re looking for the ultimate in iPhone protection then the SYSTM Vise is the case for you. It provides three distinct layers of padding by first wrapping the phone in a soft rubber sheath, which is then covered in two pieces of outer armor that lock tightly into place around the device. This hard external shell is smooth, yet easy to grip, and features access points for the volume buttons and mute switch without obstructing the camera lens in anyway.

The Vise provides a fantastic level of shock absorption, which protects both the front and back of the iPhone, keeping it safe and secure when accidentally dropped, even from a substantial height. The corner and side pads are also reinforced to keep the fragile edge of the smartphone from suffering damage as well. Those areas can be especially susceptible to damage.Considering the level of protection the Vise delivers, the case is actually smaller and lighter than you would expect. It does, however, add a measure of thickness and weight to the iPhone that is undeniable. Still, frequent travelers will probably be willing to give up a bit of size and weight in order to keep their device secure while on the road. This is the kind of case that is equally useful in an urban environment as it is on a backpacking trip into the wilderness, and unlike a lot of other cases, it is easy to remove when you don’t feel it is needed.

It should be noted that the Vise comes with a detachable belt clip, which I’m sure some people will appreciate. While it does do a good job of holding the phone in place, I found it to be a bit larger than I would have liked and didn’t use it much after initial testing.

SYSTM Hammer ($29.95)
There is no denying that the Vise provides unprecedented levels of protection for our favorite smartphone, but not everyone is willing to sacrifice weight and thickness for that level of security. SYSTM has those users covered too however as they offer a thinner, lighter case in the form of the Hammer.

This case consists of a form-fitting, soft rubber sleeve that closely resembles the inner lining that comes with the Vise. Unlike that case however, the Hammer consists of just this single layer of protection and doesn’t include the hard outer shell that makes the Vise so unique. The Hammer does have reinforced corners and is made of shock absorbing materials, which combine to provide an overall excellent level of protection without adding any undue bulk.

Much like the Vise, the Hammer is incredibly easy to add or remove from the iPhone as needed. But unlike its bulkier counterpart, you probably won’t feel the need to take the Hammer off your phone quite so often. Since it is so much thinner, and does an excellent job of enhancing our grip while protecting the device, you’ll probably just want to leave it in place at all times. After a day or two, you’ll come to appreciate the qualities that it delivers and will likely forget that you even have it on the phone anyway.

Both the Vise and Hammer are great products and would make excellent holiday gifts. The Vise provides a high level of protection for those who take their tech toys to demanding environments or are just simply hard on their phones. The Hammer, on the other hand, isn’t quite so rugged and durable, but it still provides plenty of protection in a thinner and lighter package. Either one will keep your smartphone safe from harm and just as beautiful as it was the day it came out of the box.