Rick Steve's Free Paris Podcast

by Erik Olsen on

If you don’t already have your fill of
itinerant travel writer Rick Steves through his multitudinous books, TV shows,
etc., you might be interested that he is also doing audio
tours now, available from his site and/or through itunes. And if you act now…well, and/or later as well…you can
download a free copy of Steve’s walking tour of Paris.

Steve’s audio
tour includes tours of the Louvre and Orsay Museums, Versailles Palace, and a walk through historic Paris. Now, do you
want Steve’s dulcet voice coming into your head as you walk the Louvre? That’s a question you’ll have answer for
yourself. We are but mere messengers here. We merely want you to know you have the option.

Papua New Guinea

by Erik Olsen on

It’s one of the
most exotic places on earth. Some day there are still head-hunting tribes there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this
was true. I mean, collecting heads, that’s fun. But to be honest, I’ve always wanted to travel to Papua New Guinea and I keep my eyes open for any
stories about the place that seem intriguing. And so we have this nice little piece on PNG from the Independent.

Turns out, says Jessica Morris,
that travel companies are beginning to organize tours to PNG, and she explains why this makes sense and why PNG is
really the new frontier for adventure travel. She heads there and finds "banks thick with mangroves" where
villages are built on stilts to built to withstand floodwaters (a not uncommon mode of architecture in this part of the
world). She encounters fisherfolk in their canoes catching dinner and where home-dried tobacco leaves are used as a sort
of primitive Off to deter mosquitoes. Does this sound like fun to you? Well, at the very least it’s adventuresome. Maybe
give the idea a try if you’re up for something on the exotic side.

Turks & Caicos' Amanyara Resort

by Karen Walrond on

Even though I’m from the Caribbean, I’ve been to woefully few of the islands.  One of the places I’ve always
wanted to visit, however, is Turks & Caicos.  I’ve heard the diving is phenomenal, and my impression is that,
unlike many of the other Caribbean islands, it’s not so consumed with tourism that it is at risk of losing its own
culture.

Another temptation has come in the form of Travel
& Leisure’s review of the new Amanyara Resort in Provinciales, Turks & Caicos, and one of the jewels of the
Aman resort chain.  Besides having what appears to be pretty impressive architecture, it’s on a relatively
undeveloped beach, with some beautiful views — and I’ve always been about unpopulated beaches and beautiful views.

Of course, on visiting the resort’s website, I learned that the cheapest rooms go for US$ 1,350.00 a
night.  In the off-season.

So much for temptation!

Food and Wine's Go List

by Erik Olsen on

For some people the purpose of travel is all about food.
Honestly, I know several couples, friends of ours, who think only with their stomachs when they plan their trips.
Understanding the world through your palate, is what makes life worth living. Well, I can’t say that I agree with them
totally, but yes, there is something to be said for sitting in an outdoor cafe in Madrid, enjoying a plate of freshly
made tapas and sipping a deep, red, almost bloody wine.

So how about it? How many traveling foodies do we
have out there? Raise your hands. OK, on, two, three…lots of you. Well, I’ve got a surprise for you. Turns out that
you don’t have to do a great deal of research for your next trip. Why? Because the good folks at Food and Wine have done it for you. Yes, F&W turns to its 50 or so
correspondents in cities around the world and came up with a list of 376 best restaurants to help you decide where to
satisfy your gustatory needs. Called the "Go List" the site
here could be a nice thing to bookmark if you’ve got a summer trip ocming up and don’t yet know where to stay or what
you’ll eat. 

Seattle is Smartest

by Erik Olsen on

Sorry, just got to throw this out
there…an interesting little piece about my old town, Seattle. Turns out, just like we all thought, Seattle is the smartest place around. Or at
least the best educated. According to a recent analysis by The Associated Press, Seattle was the best-educated city in
2004 with just over half the adults having bachelor’s degrees. Yeah! Then, limping along behind, were San Francisco,
Raleigh, N.C., Washington and Austin, Texas. Of course, it’s easy to stay indoors and read and drink coffee all day
when it’s raining outside.