One for the Road: NYC Lonely Planet Guide

by Kelly Amabile on

The I Love NY tourism slogan turns thirty in 2007, so to honor this great state, I’ll be highlighting a variety of travel books related to New York all week. Since I currently live in New York State and work in New York City, I’ve managed to accumulate a rather unique collection of guidebooks. But to kick things off, I’ll begin with a basic no-brainer suggestion:

Whether your visiting New York for the first or the fifth time, Lonely Planet’s 2006 NYC City Guide will come in handy at some point during your Gotham travels. When I started working in Manhattan again last fall (after almost ten years away from the city), I turned to LP’s guide, and have kept it safely stashed in my desk at work. It has helped reacquaint me with the city’s neighborhoods and grid layout, and the condensed, easy-to-read pull-out map has been a useful resource to keep tucked in my purse.

Brooklyn definitely gets special play in this guide that’s primarily Manhattan focused. “Brooklyn and the Outer Boroughs” are grouped together in an introductory overview. But there is substantial content on the sites and sounds of Brooklyn throughout the book, including two walking tours among the 11 suggested. There are also sleek, glossy, full-color photo chapters on NYC architecture and Central Park. You can’t go wrong with this book if you’re a guidebook traveler, but I’d also suggest it as a decent gift for recent transplants to NYC, or folks returning home to the Big Apple who may be in need of a refresher course on this city of constant change.

One for the Road (04/29/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

Here’s one for the foodies: Everybody Eats There: Inside the World’s Legendary Restaurants dishes up the scoop on 100 of the world’s most exclusive dining establishments. Veteran journalist Bill Staidem teamed up with Mara Gibbs, of the Morton’s Restaurant family, to gather the goods (and gossip) on the top restaurants around the globe.

The result is a collection of backstories about chefs, owners and menus about well known high-profile places like Elaine’s (NY), Spago (L.A.), Stresa (Paris) and the River Cafe (London). I’m no eatery expert, but my guess is that those in the know about these “it” establishments may not be so interested in reading this book. (In fact, they might be mentioned in it!) But travelers with a soft spot for Hollywood stars and their dining habits may find this a particularly enjoyable read. Bon Appetit!

One for the Road (04/28/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

Many travelers, myself included, love the perks of traveling by train. Slow travel, lazy afternoons and wide windows that often offer up fantastic views. But for me, those warm memories of riding by rail are all from my many months of trail travel in Europe. Stateside, my Amtrak trips, while relatively comfortable, don’t conjure up the same remembrances of stunning landscapes on the way to exciting locals. Nope, in the US, I’m strictly a Northeast Corridor gal who won’t splurge for Acela and rarely forks over the funds for regional travel between NY and DC.

But here’s a book that may help provide some memorable US train travel in the future. The Tourist Trains Guidebook offers up suggestions on unique North American train travel options, including over 150 train rides to try and museums to visit. This US and Canadian directory includes listings of dinner trains, steam excursions and trolley rides as well as must-see sights and destinations for rail enthusiasts.


One for the Road (04/27/07)

by Kelly Amabile on
I’m dipping into the archives for this Friday afternoon book suggestion. Originally released in 2003, this fascinating look at the world of endangered languages introduces readers to just some of the over 6,000 languages that exist today. Unfortunately, author Mark Abley tells us, that number is dropping significantly — threatened tongues will continue to die off at a rate of about one every two weeks. Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages is an investigative look at why languages are disappearing.

Abley’s book introduces us to little-known tribes and their virtually unknown words, examining the forces at play that are driving these exotic languages into extinction. As Gadling’s own language diva Adrienne has shown us through her Word for the Travel Wise series, the beauty and cultural diversity of the spoken word keeps us all connected and communicating as we travel through this world. As languages like Murrinh-Patha (Australia), Mi’kmaq (eastern Canada and Maine) and Boro (India) disappear, will all we have left someday be English, and its butchered info-age dialects, email and texting? Take a trip through Abley’s world of troubled tongues and decide for yourself.

Charles Dickens Theme Park to Open

by Neil Woodburn on

It was the best of theme parks, it was the worst of theme parks. You be the judge.

The word from merry olde England is that a 70,000 square-foot warehouse has been transformed into a $125 million theme park celebrating the works of author Charles Dickens.

$25 will get literary tourists past the front doors and into a recreated Victorian England compete with pickpockets and ghosts of Christmas past. There will also be a water ride to whisk visitors through various plots and past various characters created by the British author.

Dickens World is located just outside of London and opens May 25.

Hmm… it makes me wonder what other authors can be tapped for similar projects. How about the Franz Kafka Amusement Park? Now that’s something I’d pay $25 to see.