Have you ever wondered what country enjoys the beach most? Or what culture is most likely to sunbathe in the nude? To help unravel the mystery of beach behavior around the world, Expedia has shared the results of a global study that looked at 21 countries on five continents. Some areas the study examined include what things people look at when choosing a beach, preferred beach activities and what makes people most nervous about going to the beach. Some of the findings from the study include:
The average beach vacation lasts 7.7 days, although this is less true of Koreans, Japanese and Singaporeans, who seem to prefer beach weekends.
For Americans, one of the least important criteria when selecting a beach destination is a desire to find a new location. This is the opposite for Indians, who view finding a new location to be one of the highest priorities.
Germans are the most likely to sunbathe nude, and are also the most likely to spend time at the beach with a stranger.
Fifty percent of travelers keep the presence of sharks in mind when deciding on a beach location. Likewise, 68 percent of beach vacationers admit to not swimming at a beach due to the possibility of sharks.
Click here for the full report. If you’re having trouble viewing the infographic, click here for the interactive version.
Over the next two weeks, celebrities galore are flocking from Hollywood and New York to Cannes, where they’ll be celebrating the industry’s biggest film festival of the year. Don’t have the money to anchor your mega yacht in the southern French waters? Don’t worry, neither do we.
Instead, we’ve gotten the inside scoop from Hotels.com on where the celebs like to hang out in the states, so you can enjoy a little luxe pampering of your own – without the price tag of a transcontinental flight.
Chateau Marmont, Los Angeles
Built in 1927, generations of artists, novelists and screenwriters have produced work within the hotel’s walls including: Hunter S. Thompson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tim Burton and Sofia Coppola. More recently, Emma Roberts, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, and Kirsten Dunst have been spotted lounging on the overstuffed couches and sipping cocktails at Bar Marmont. It’s even where Ashton Kutcher had his rumored affair.
Metropolitan Hotel, London
Contemporary, chic, and with stunning views of Hyde Park and the London skyline, the Metropolitan Hotel has hosted A-listers such as Madonna, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Tom Hanks and Cameron Diaz. Enjoy dinner at the Japanese-Peruvian, Michelin-starred restaurant, Nobu, then retreat for post-dinner cocktails at the exclusive Met Bar, which is open to hotel guests and members only.Soho Grand Hotel, New York City
Celebrities are commonplace at this luxury hotel. Lindsay Lohan, Heidi Klum, Kevin Spacey and even local Manhattanite Sarah Jessica Parker have been spotted at this trendy hotspot. Guests enjoy complimentary iPad and MacBook Pro access, top-notch service at Prive Salon, and can even adopt a pet goldfish during a stay.
Geejam,Jamaica
The trendy, uber luxury Geejam Hotel draws a mix of celebrities from actresses like Sharon Stone and Grace Jones to artists like Gwen Stefani and Bjork. Guests can enjoy state-of-the-art technology, Apple TV and a private beach. Upon arrival, guests are provided a cellphone to use throughout their stay – a perk we’d love to see more of.
Bacara Resort & Spa, Santa Barbara
Perched on the beach just north of Santa Barbara, this Spanish-influenced luxury resort features direct beach access and world-class golf. Fergie, Josh Duhamel and Jennie Garth are a few of the Hollywood stars to have relaxed at this oceanfront property. The resort has an array of leisure and recreational activities to please guests including four lighted tennis courts, three zero-edge swimming pools, four restaurants including the four-star Miro restaurant, the Spa at Bacara and much more.
The Little Nell, Aspen
The Little Nell, one of the legendary star-studded hotels in this mountain town, is internationally renowned as a glamorous playground for the famous and wealthy. This resort has hosted Hollywood idols such as: Jack Nicholson, Mariah Carey and Kate Hudson. Enjoy a variety of adventurous pursuits such as the Audi Test Drive Program and heli-skiing.
As I sit in the cool open-air courtyard of our rented apartment, on a hard-to-find street behind Lecce’s Duomo, the sound of carefully spaced church bells punctuates the silence of the mid-day pausa – Italy’s siesta. Our American instinct is to get out and “do something” on this warm, sunny day. But our newfound Italian inclination is to laze about, digest lunch, and think about what we’ll have for dinner.
When the mood strikes us, we venture back into the web of streets in this sultry city between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, smack near the butt end of Italy’s heel. The streets of Lecce’s baroque centro storico were made for walking and the town’s well dressed residents are out in force, eating gelato, enjoying glasses of wine in sidewalk enotecas and stopping to greet one another, with an exchange of cheek kisses and a flurry of smiles. Overhead, crazy flocks of blackbirds, called rondini, in these parts, swirl and swoop in wild packs, making a racket and creating an eerie, tropical din I’ve never before encountered.
On our first passegiata in the city, we notice music and a crowd forming on Via Templari Street and follow our ears to see what’s going on. A street-side piano player is leading a group of middle aged Italians in a rousing version of what I later learned is a famous WWI era, Neapolitan love song, “‘O Surdato ‘Nnamurato” (The Soldier In Love). I’m not accustomed to seeing people set up pianos on the street, and I hadn’t seen people have so much fun in a very long time. I assumed it was some sort of special festa we were unaware of, but onlookers quickly disabused me of that notion.
“Nesuna festa,” the youngest member of the group told me. There was no festival.
“It’s drunk Naples people.”
But you don’t have to be drunk to want to break out in song on the streets of Lecce. Every evening, there’s a free show waiting to be experienced in the city’s atmospheric baroque piazzas and narrow cobbled streets. Life is lived on the streets here – the weather is warm, the wine is tasty and the Pugliese people are incredibly warm and welcoming.
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Lecce and the Salento peninsula, which makes up the south end of the heel, has long been a trendy place for Romans and Neapolitans to vacation, but it’s quickly finding its way onto the radar of stranieri (foreigners) as well, thanks to a stream of good press of late. In 2010, Lonely Planet named Lecce one of the top ten places to visit in the world, and just recently, Fodor’s named the greater Puglia region as one of four “undiscovered” Italian destinations to visit in 2012.
Fabio Leo, an engaging tour guide who works in Lecce’s tourism office, assured me that Lecce was poised to conquer the world.
“The last two summers we’ve had more tourists visit Salento than any other place in Italy,” he said.
“More than Rome, Florence or Venice?” I asked, not quite believing it.
“Assolutamente!” he said.
Mr. Leo’s numbers may be off by a few hundred thousand, but the point is clear – Lecce and Salento aren’t the far-flung backwaters they once were. Salento is prosperous enough that there’s a movement to secede from Puglia and become its own official province. Below you’ll find several reasons why Lecce and the Salento peninsula make up one of the most underrated regions in Italy.
Lecce. I was based in Lecce for 10 days and every time I thought I’d seen everything, I’d discover a new street or piazza that warranted exploration, an inexpensive restaurant so good that I wished I had time to become a regular or another baroque church I’d want to visit. The city has a relaxed vibe and a huge percentage of the town’s residents turn out for the evening passegiata.
Food and Wine. Every region in Italy has its specialties and Salento is no different. Try the orchiette, the minestrone di fave con cicoria, pasticiottos, and the Salice Salentino wine.
Great Beaches and a Terrific Climate. This is one of the warmest, sunniest corners of Italy and the beaches, on both the Ionian and Adriatic coasts are quite nice. One word of caution on this front – if you don’t have a car, it is very difficult to reach the best beaches in places like Porto Cesareo and the Ionian Coast between Gallipoli and Santa Maria de Leuca via public transportation, especially off-season or in the shoulder seasons.
Endless Day Trip Possibilities. If you have a car, make a circuit of the entire peninsula. If you don’t, your options will be more limited, but you can still get to historic towns like Gallipoli and Otranto on the FSE Regional train line from Lecce’s main train station, and you can also get within 5 miles of Santa Maria de Leuca, where the two seas meet. (Take a connecting bus to complete the trip.)
Incredibly Welcoming Locals. Italians are a friendly, gregarious lot in general but I found the people of Salento to be remarkably warm and welcoming. We had complete strangers offer to drive us to get pasticiottos, I was welcomed into a local soccer supporters club, and my two little boys, ages 2 and 4, were accorded cheek pinches and kisses everywhere they went.
As anyone who follows my articles here on Gadling knows by now, I don’t travel to relax poolside at a resort or sip a fancy drink with coconut oil. I travel because this world is a fascinating place.
While everyone has their own travel philosophy and reasons for wanting to get away, I know that for many travelers, one of the greatest joys of travel is experiencing other cultures and peeking into corners of the world, which are far removed from our own. This could range from immersing yourself in a culture with a different religion, cuisine, or something as simple as driving on the other side of the road.
More often than not, however, one of the largest indicators that we “aren’t in Kansas anymore” is traveling to a place with a language that is different from our own. With linguists estimating there are over 7,000 languages spread across the globe, there is little to no chance of any traveler ever having the opportunity to properly experience them all. Furthermore, as Gadling blogger Kraig Becker points out, there are still uncontacted tribes in parts of the Amazon where we don’t even know what language they speak yet.
Though situations like these are encouraging, the sad reality is that the majority of indigenous languages is critically endangered and will most likely not survive the next generation. According to the United Nations and UNESCO, not only does an indigenous language go extinct every two weeks, but up to 90% of the world’s languages are likely to disappear in the next century if current trends continue.
While the Economist reports that recent advances in technology may actually be able to aid in the rescue and rebirth of languages, the fact of the matter remains that thousands of global languages are dying at a terrifying rate.
So, in a nod to the fascinating beauty of global tongues, here is a rundown of eight languages that you’ve probably never heard of, and are lucky if you ever hear.
More than just a single language, Sámi forms an entire family of languages, which are spoken in the northern reaches of Scandinavia and northwestern Russia. While neighboring groups of Sámi speaking peoples may be able to understand the sub-family spoken next door, Sámi speakers separated by hundreds of miles are considered to be mutually unintelligible. That being said, nearly all Sámi speakers are fluent in their native tongue as well as the national tongue of their home country, i.e., Norwegian. Once referred to as Lapp, the name is now considered to carry derogatory connotations.
As can be expected from a language rooted in northern Scandinavia, the Sámi language reputedly has over 300 words for snow. Though there is a movement to rejuvenate the language amongst the Sámi youth, some of the Sámi dialects such as Southern Sámi are feared to be on the verge of extinction.
Xhosa
Where it’s spoken:South Africa Approximate number of speakers: 7.9 million
Ok, I’ll admit it. If you’ve traveled to South Africa then you’ve probably heard of this language. You’ve probably even heard it spoken. As one of the major languages of South Africa, Xhosa has been spoken by such recognized dignitaries as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Nevertheless, what makes Xhosa such a fascinating language is the inclusion of pronounced clicks, which seem to emerge effortlessly from the mouths of those who are speaking. Even though Xhosa speakers appear to be in the midst of rapid-fire dialogue, they simultaneously are able to create a sound birthed somewhere between the throat and the tongue, which is impossible to get tired of witnessing.
Melpa
Where it’s spoken:Papua New Guinea Approximate number of speakers: 130,000
With over 800 languages, Papua New Guinea is officially regarded as being the most linguistically diverse country found anywhere in the world. Out of the 800-plus languages in the country, Melba is a tongue that is spoken in the western highlands and centered around the town of Mount Hagen. One of the most widely spoken languages in the tribal highlands, less than 100 years have passed since the Melpa and their fellow highland people first came into contact with Western outsiders.
Plus they have an unbelievable YouTube video that makes me want to buy Jams pants.
Ket
Where it’s spoken:Russia (Siberia) Approximate number of speakers: 600
An isolate language which, like the Basque language in Spain, is unrelated to any neighboring language, the Ket are such an obscure and unfathomably isolated group of former hunter-gatherers that many Russian people don’t even know they exist.
Located in south-central Siberia, just north of the border with Mongolia, Ket has begun being taught at the lower grade levels in the handful of villages that still host native Ket populations. With the Russian language infiltrating all forms of daily life, however, many fear that the Ket language is on a clear-cut path for extinction.
Anus
Where it’s spoken: Irian Jaya, Indonesia Approximate number of speakers: 70
Yes, I’ve included this here for no other reason than its wildly sophomoric name. All joking aside, however, the Anus language is spoken by the Anus people, indigenous residents of an island off the coast of Irian Jaya, Indonesia. As classless linguists like myself will point out, the Anus language is not to be confused with the Anal language spoken by the Anal people of India. A language with roughly 14,000 native speakers, Anal is spoken in portions of India and Myanmar.
Yoron
Where it’s spoken:Japan Approximate number of speakers: 950
If you, like me, thought that only Japanese was spoken in Japan, then allow me to introduce you to Yoronjima, a tiny island in the Ryukyu island chain in the waters of southern Japan. A subtropical island that looks more akin to Fiji than Japan, Yoronjima is a haven for vacationing Japanese who flock to the island to scuba dive the turquoise waters and bake on the white sand beaches. Although mainstream Japanese is the de facto language of commerce on Yoronjima, about 950 of the island’s 6,000 residents still speak the native tongue of Yoron while privately gathered or while in the home.
Silbo Gomero
Where it’s spoken: Canary Islands, Spain Approximate number of speakers: 22,000
Spoken on the rugged and mountainous island of La Gomera in Spain’s Canary Islands, Silbo Gomero is officially known as the world’s only language consisting entirely of whistling. Derived as a means of communicating across the island’s steep and precipitous ravines, Silbo Gomero uses whistles meant to mimic the sounds of four vowels and four consonants, which, when used in conjunction, are able to create a vocabulary of over 4,000 intelligible words. Though linguists debate over the exact root of the language, some theorize that it may derive from the Berber languages found in nearby Morocco.
Able to be understood at a distance of up to two miles, the advent of mobile phones has created a sharp drop off in the necessity of Silbo Gomero. Nevertheless, in an effort to retain the island’s culture, Silbo Gomero is now taught in state run schools at the elementary level in an effort is foster its use amongst the island’s youth.
Taushiro
Where it’s spoken: Peru Approximate Number of Speakers: 1
Amadeo Garcia is the last person in the world who speaks Taushiro. A native tribesman of the Peruvian Amazon who also speaks Spanish, Amadeo realizes that as soon as he dies, the language will forever too die with him. As of this writing, Amadeo is 57 years old.
Imagine being able to speak a language that no one else on Earth understands. At first I’m sure there would be some novelty, but after time that novelty would simply turn to loneliness. While the above video is entirely in Spanish, it explains that Amadeo speaks Taushiro only to himself. Around his village, a remote town where he lives in a one-room, wooden shack, Amadeo speaks Spanish with his fellow villagers. In the jungles, however, when paddling his dugout canoe or hunting for birds with his traditional blow dart gun, he will occasionally break into song or speak to himself in Taushiro.
A sad reality to be sure, Amadeo personifies the plight of indigenous peoples and native languages in every corner of the world. From Native Americans in North America to ethnic minorities of the high Tibetan plateau, how many more people like Amadeo are out there, mumbling to themselves in the jungle in a language the world will never hear again?
It’s ten o’clock on a Saturday night and for Italian children, the night is still young. In the small, seaside town of Polignano a Mare, in Puglia, children of all ages convene in the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuelle to play soccer and tag, fill balloons with water in an ancient fountain and have the time of their lives under the not-very-watchful glances of their parents, who may or may not be very nearby.
Oh to be a small child growing up in Italy, or any number of other Mediterranean countries where the parents couldn’t possibly be more different from the hyper-cautious American super-parent. On Saturday night in Polignano, we let our boys, ages 2 and 4, play in the piazza until 10 p.m. and couldn’t help but feel as though we were doing something illicit.
“We could probably get in trouble for keeping our kids out this late at home,” my wife remarked.
But in Italy, especially on weekends, the night is just getting started around 10. Many restaurants don’t open until 8 – my children’s bed time in the U.S. – and you wouldn’t be a very nice parent if you didn’t let your kids have some gelato afterwards, right? Then it’s time to burn off that sugar in the piazza. In Polignano on a Saturday night, it’s not unusual to see toddlers strolling the streets and playing in the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuelle close to Midnight.Italians love to indulge their children. We were recently on an Italian cruise line, Costa, and were amazed by the protocols in their children’s club. First, it’s open until 1:30 a.m. Perhaps even more remarkably, the night owl kids are given sugary snacks at, get this, 11:30 p.m. each night! This isn’t a dirty little secret – the plan is printed right on their schedule. You could seriously be arrested in the U.S. for that.
You might not want to take a completely go-native approach to parenting while in Italy, but here are some tips for helping your kids enjoy themselves while visiting.
Take the train. Long bus and car rides are more confining than taking the train. On the train, your kids can walk around and on some of the regional train lines, the drivers will let your kids come into the driver’s car to blow the whistle if you ask (see photo). On Italian trains, children 4 and under are generally free, though in practice, I’ve noticed that most Italians don’t pay for kids who look even older. My older son is 4 and no conductor has ever asked us how old he is. The downside of train travel with kids is lugging your baggage. Larger train stations have elevators, which make it easier, ask for the ascensori (ah-shen-sore-ee).
Rent an apartment. Even in the U.S., sharing one hotel room with small children can be a tribulation, but quarters are even tighter in Italy, so if you want to preserve your sanity, look for an apartment. You’ll have the added benefit of a washing machine and a kitchen, which come in very handy when you’re traveling with kids.
Mangia. You can get plain pasta and pizza everywhere and there are McDonald’s locations in most larger towns and cities. Places that serve paninis, can make you something that approximates a grilled cheese sandwich. Nutella and gelato are available everywhere. Many restaurants don’t charge the coperto, or cover charge for small children. In practice, this is negotiable and if you balk at paying it for small kids, they’ll usually take it off the bill. Make sure you have snacks as restaurants open later in the evening.
La Pausa. Day trips are tricky to navigate in Italy, thanks to La Pausa – the siesta – when most sites, shops and many restaurants, especially in smaller towns and cities, close from about 1 or 2 p.m. until 4, 5 or 6, depending on the place. It might take some adjustment, but if you can get your kids to nap, or at least rest, during this time of day, you won’t feel so bad about letting them stay up late.
Set a Modest Itinerary. The American mentality is to try to run around and see the whole country in a week. Make peace with the fact that you aren’t going to see everything and go slow. There are pros and cons to using the home base/day trip approach to travel in Italy. If you choose the home base option and plan to make day trips, you won’t have to pack and unpack, a big plus if you’re traveling with a lot of baggage, but the downside is that day trips can be hard to manage in many parts of Italy where La Pausa is observed.
If you sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and catch a late morning train to your destination. You’ll arrive just in time for the whole place to shut down for several hours. Depending on the transportation options, you might consider traveling during La Pausa – and arriving at your destination in the late afternoon, and then stay until dinnertime, enjoy the evening passegiata (stroll) – and then catch the train back to your base.
Playgrounds. Trying to find playgrounds, called gioca per bambini, near touristic centro storicos is tricky, but if you ask around you can usually find one in the vicinity. Many Italian towns also have pay-per-ride midway rides. Toy stores are also nice for the kids but note that many store owners aren’t wild about letting kids touch things. We’ve had some instances where we were followed around the store as though we were shoplifters.
Bath time. Space is always at a premium in Italy, and many hotels and apartments have showers rather than baths. If your kids are used to taking baths and don’t like the shower, let them handle the showerhead themselves to make it more fun for them.
Strollers. Navigating strollers in Italian towns and cities can be tough. The general rule of thumb is that you want to bring a compact, very lightweight stroller with you but understand that in some places, like hill towns, they’ll be essentially useless. Depending on the size and weight of your children, think about bringing some type of carrier. I don’t envy anyone who tries to navigate a double stroller in Italy.
Fun in the piazza. Find the liveliest piazza in whatever town you’re in and there’s instant entertainment for your kids, especially in the evening.
Italian TV. Let your kids watch some of their favorite cartoons in Italian. They’ll pick up some of the language and they won’t mind the fact that they don’t understand what’s being said.
Go with the flow. Italy’s a great country to travel in with small children but you need to have patience and a sense of humor. You won’t be able to stick to an American schedule and your kids won’t get everything they want, but if you go native while in the country, at least to a degree, you’ll have a better time.
Useful Terms.
diapers- pannolini
wipes- salviettine detergenti
playground- gioca per bambini or terreno di gioco
beach- spiaggia
plain- semplice
merry-go-round- giostra
