Hemingway’s house and museum remains a cat haven: 60 cats can stay

by Jamie Rhein on

When Ernest Hemingway lived in his house in Key West, Florida, penning For Whom the Bell Tolls and To Have and Have Not, his cat Snowball must already have been busy procreating. Although Snowball is no longer with us–he was given to Hemingway in 1935–his six-toed offspring still live at the house, along with their other cat buds. In all, there are 60 or more.

The cats have been part of the house’s ambiance much to the dismay of folks who don’t appreciate a slew of cats wandering about Key West wherever they please. There was a move to have the cats removed.

According to this Jaunted post, the five-year negotiation about what should happen to the cats is over, and the cats can stay. A fence around the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum was found to be a solution.

Jaunted wondered why it took five-years to make a decision. I’d say perhaps there was a love-hate relationship with those cats.

The tourists who have visited the house seemed to enjoy the felines since they are a living connection to Hemingway. Plus, this literary cat haven helps take care of Key West’s cat population.

When I read about the cats, I was reminded about traveling in Venice, Italy one summer. I have never seen so many cats in one city in my life.

Here’s the link to the museum’s page on the cats. Browse through the names. I’m particularly fond of Spencer Tracy’s photo which you see here. He may look a bit like Snowball is my thinking–a slimmer version, perhaps.

Eiffel Tower fun facts in an Arby’s kid’s meal

by Jamie Rhein on

Sometimes travel facts come in the most unusual places. Yesterday at Arby’s my son received a fold out book on the Eiffel Tower in his kid’s meal. Very cool.

I learned a few things myself by folding the book out. Along with the standard info about the tower, such as when it was built (1889) and how tall it is (1063 feet), there are out of the ordinary details that people may not know.

Here are a few:

  • There are 18,000 pieces in the tower
  • Each year four tons of wipes, 10,000 doses of detergent, 25,000 garbage bags and 400 liters of metal cleaning solution are used to keep the tower clean.
  • It takes 50 tons of paint to repaint it about every five years.
  • When it was first built a lot of people thought it was ugly. This icon that now represents romance, at least I think it does, was to be torn down after 20 years.

Other Arby’s travel oriented books are:

  • Egyptian Pyramids
  • The Colosseum
  • The Statue of Liberty

The Eiffel Tower is book 4 of the 4.

Luxury train travel in the U.S. a bust? Train cars for sale

by Jamie Rhein on

Last month, GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, a luxury train company we’ve blogged about in the past stopped operations due to financial woes. It’s not that Americans aren’t interested in train travel, Amtrak’s business went up this summer, it just seems that fancy trains have a hard time making a go of it in the U.S.

Rachel Dunlap at Intelligent Travel stated her surprise that the GrandLuxe Rail wasn’t able to make a go of it. As she pointed out, it had met with great reviews.

Dunlap is stymied about the demise, particularly since luxury trains have been able to find a market outside the U.S. Just yesterday David posted about VIA Rail’s upcoming Concierge class for the discerning train traveler.

I’m thinking that one reason why luxury train travel hasn’t picked up in the U.S. is because train travel in many parts of the U.S. is not something people think about as an option. Train schedules on a day to day basis aren’t the most convenient. Although I took the train with my 6-year-old son from Cleveland to New York and loved it (see post), we took the bus back. The train would have put us into Cleveland at 4 or so in the morning, plus we don’t live in Cleveland. One trip there from Columbus was enough. The bus had several schedule options–none of them perfect, but doable.

Perhaps in the U.S., we are so attracted to the idea of speed that even if the train offers a luxurious way to go to a destination, we’re not hooked into the idea of the journey as being the pleasurable aspect. We want to be on that beach or at the tourist attraction–and quick.

Although, cruise ships have done a tidy job of making the journey the thing. Except ships are huge, and there is much to do to occupy a person’s time. Not that I’ve ever been on a cruise ship, but from what I’ve heard there are several options geared to keep people from thinking much. On trains, scenery gazing and letting one’s mind wander are the major highlights.

If the U.S. peps up train travel, and passengers get used to heading to destinations on the rails more and more, perhaps luxury train travel will have another go at it. Even without the luxury, I love a train.

As Dunlap mentioned in her post,the GrandLuxe train cars are for sale.

Where spices come from. A tour of a spice plantation in Goa

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’re in a region of the world where spices are grown, take in a tour of a spice plantation. On last Tuesday’s episode of Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern went to a one in Goa.

Here is a video of a tour of a spice plantation in Goa (there are several) that points out the highlights of the various spices and how they are grown. The text captions tell what you’re seeing. Along with the close-up shots, are views of the entire plants. In the mix, there is a demonstration of how to climb a tree, and the food shots will make you hungry.

Here is a link Goa’s spice plantations. Make sure that food is part of the bargain. You are guaranteed shopping time.

Amazing Race Season 13: Excitement begins and new destinations

by Jamie Rhein on

As much as I enjoyed watching I Survived a Japanese Game Show, there is no better way to vicariously travel than watching the Amazing Race when it comes to reality TV. It’s been months since T.J. and Rachel, our favorite hippie couple won the million in Season 12.

In last night’s episode, the first of the season, a different cast of characters headed off from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a pell mell dash for LAX airport and the first leg of their journey to a fortune. And if not a fortune, a heck of an adventure. The teams ranged from a separated middle-aged couple looking to see if they can salvage their marriage, to an older hippie bee-keeping older couple wanting to love the world, to divorcee women friends who think their bad marriages have honed them for the challenges of travel.

True to real life, the airport proved to be one of the biggest hurdles as some of the teams tried to find the right ticket counters and delt with overbooked flights as a result of standing in the wrong line.

First destination: Salvador, Brazil

Recap and impressions and cultural sites:

In the midst of gearing up for completion, there were friendly hellos and glad to meet yous when there wasn’t much else to do but wait for a plane to board.

Although Salvador, the first colonial capital of Brazil, is known as being a fun and easy going place, our eleven new couple friends didn’t have much time for frolic. From the minute they scrambled out of their American Airlines and United Airlines flights after a plane change in Rio de Janeiro came the unnerving task of making it around a bustling city they didn’t know. That was after the stress of delayed and over-booked flights.

Salvador looked like a stroll-worthy city with it’s gorgeous architecture and narrow streets that meander through markets. Instead of strolling through the bounty, the teams first headed to a O Rei Do Pernil sandwich shop where they learned they were to push a loaded vendor’s cart to Praca Da Se, a popular square where they would find the next clue.

The carts were piled with snack food candy that dropped off with the tiniest bump on the cobblestone. That was no wonder. From what I could tell, the carts weren’t much bigger than a balance beam, probably so that they could be maneuvered through crowds.

The candy with the most camera time was Blong (the pink and blue boxes in the picture). I have no idea what it tastes like, but I’m curious. If I’m ever in Brazil, I’m trying some.

Although candies fell off the cart like rain at times, the couples kept their cool for the most part–everyone’s still in that “I’m a good little traveler mode.”

Traffic didn’t present too much trouble as heavy as it was, and no one went the wrong way despite language barriers with the taxi drivers once the cabs were found. At least, I didn’t pick up on unbearable tension.

Once the teams delivered their carts, they were off to a military base to spend the night in the jungle with mosquito nets protecting them from attack. I assume there were mosquitoes, but no one talked about them. The jungle stay did point out that this part of Brazil is lush with rain forest.

On the second day out, the first stop was Pelourinho, the historic center that is the original town. Dating back to the mid 1500s or so, it is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first details of the day’s task was found at a gorgeous church.

There were two tasks to choose from: “Hard Way Up” or “Soft Way Down.” Everyone but Andrew and Dan chose Soft Way Down.

Soft Way Down meant scaling a rope webbing down the 236 feet of Elevador Lacerda, a building with an elevator that connects the upper and lower sections of Salvador.

The view from the top was stunning, but like one of the blonds said, “I cant’ even enjoy the view because I’m about to pee in my pants.” Once the height factor was dealt with, scaling down wasn’t too difficult. They were strapped into a safety harness so no one would go splat and ruin the show.

The Hard Way Up involved climbing a serious off weathered stone stairs leading to the cathedral Escadaria do Passo on hands and knees. Devotees do this, we were told. Although not exactly fun, the task wasn’t particularly difficult except for the samba drummer who stood at the top playing loudly the whole time. Once at the top, Mark & Bill were asked the question, “How many stairs?” Since they weren’t into stair counting the first time up, back they went to do it again. Number of stairs? 53

From the Elevador Lacerda, the next stop was the Pit Stop at Forte Sao Marcelo, a floating battlement off the shore. accessible by boat. From the elevator, it’s quicker to walk then take a taxi as brother/sister team Nick and Starr found out. They arrived at the Pit Stop first due to their quick thinking.

For their first place standing, they won a five-day trip to Belize.

Eliminated: Anita and Arthur, the hippie bee keepers/blueberry farmers came slightly loping in last, but seemed okay with the elimination. How many people can say they scaled down a 236-feet building in Brazil?

The moral is, if you don’t want to come in last, you have to hustle. Anita and Arthur’s speed never revved up. The heat held them back, they said. Being from Oregon proved to be a liability for this gentle team.

Their words of travel wisdom: You can be assertive, but treat people well.

Travel Tips pointed out in 1st episode:

  • When driving in Los Angeles, use the commuter lane on the left. It will save you loads of time.
  • If you ever have to wind a vendors cart, or any kind of cart and things keep spilling off, wrap your jacked around the loot. It works wonders as Mark and Bill discovered.
  • When in Portugal, it helps to know some Portuguese like Sarah does and helped put Terence and her in the front of the pack.
  • Ask for help from local people. One woman helped one of the teams push their candy cart and because Starr and Nick asked
  • Spend time in Pelourinho if you’re in Salvador. An important detail, not mentioned on the show, this area was central to the slave trade. For its counterpart in Senegal, head to Goree Island.

Who I am rooting for: It’s too soon to tell. No one popped out as a total idiot, or root-for worthy yet. I did like that Andrew and Dan were the only two to climb the stairs. I’d have felt bad if the drummers were all set to play and no one showed up.

Why to stay tuned: Which teams lose their cool first? Plus, new destinations where the show has not been filmed in the past are on the horizon. The teams also go to India, one of my favorite countries.

((Photos from Amazing Race Web site.)