Trying really hard to like Disney World

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Over at Slate, Seth Stevenson becomes most likely the world’s first childless, non-pedophiliac adult to spend five days at Disney World by himself. The reason? He’s on a quest to figure out why, exactly, more than 100,000 people visit the place every day.

On just Day 1 of the five-parter, Seth is already underwhelmed by Epcot. He finds that its “World Showcase,” an arrangement of eleven pavilions each dedicated to a different country, mostly depicts the rest of the world as the worst tourists probably see it.

“Half the pavilions have no cultural content at all. The Morocco complex is just souvenir stores selling carpets and fezzes. The ride meant to encapsulate Mexico is a collection of slapstick Donald Duck skits. (Donald loses his bathing suit while parasailing in Acapulco, Donald flirts with some caliente señoritas, etc.) I guess none of this should surprise me. Lots of tourists view travel abroad as basically a chance to shop for regionally themed trinkets.”

If this series is half as good as Seth’s 2004 travel series, “Trying Really Hard to Like India,” we’re in for a treat.

Part 1 of “Five days of Disney” here.

What David Letterman wants to know about Anthony Bourdain and weird food

by Jamie Rhein on

As soon as Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations” sat down on David Letterman’s TV show couch, I perked up wondering what Letterman would dish out about the food Bourdain eats on his travels since Justin asked Bourdain some questions last June in a Talking Travel interview. Here are highlights of Letterman’s banter.

“Do you get sick? Get hepatitis? Throw up?” asked Letterman.

“Only twice,” said Bourdain. “I got sick in France from too much of a good thing. . . and from the business end of a warthog.” The warthog was a food he chewed on in the Kalahari. He said any other sickness that led to an up close and personal experience with a bathroom’s cold tile floor has come from imbibing on too much alcohol.

“Humans can eat about anything?” Letterman leaned in for a response.

“I don’t recommend chicken nuggets,” quipped Bourdain and went on to say that when traveling, he’s found that whenever someone says, “We have something very special for you,” be wary. Such was the case when he downed the still beating heart of a cobra, an event Letterman asked him about. A delicacy in Vietnam, the cobra’s heart is supposed to be a real libido boost.

“It’s like eating an angry athletic oyster,” said Bourdain after describing how it’s removed from the cobra right in front of the person who will be dining on it. In this case, him. Hint: swallow it whole.

As for how to avoid raising a picky eater, Bourdain said that there will be no grilled cheese sandwich with the crusts cut off for his daughter. She’s already eating prosciutto flavored baby food and from what he said, she’ll be on a first name basis with the best sushi chefs. Bourdain, at age 51, is a fairly recent first time father. I wonder if this means the cobra thing works? Actually, Bourdain is a very charming, funny guy so I’d say that has something to do with it.

“No Reservations” is on the Travel Channel and Gadling is going to be there watching Boudain in his travels and taking notes.

Everywhere Magazine: Because travel is all around you (win a free subscription!)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Here, in no particular order, is what I love about the new Everywhere Magazine:

  • It’s created almost exclusively by its readers, who submit their best travel photographs, stories, and articles to the magazine’s website.
  • Contributors who are published in the magazine receive $100 and a free one-year subscription.
  • Just like the title says, the magazine realizes that everywhere is a travel destination— not just Paris, Buenos Aires, and Tokyo, but Kentucky, Iran, and Latvia. Their stated goal is to help you “discover great new places– in places you didn’t even know had places.”
  • Back issues are available to download for free here.
  • The magazine itself is beautifully put together and features stunning photographs, well-written articles, and a whole section on postcards. The only thing the glossy mag lacks is an ad every other page.

The featured places for the magazine’s fourth issue are Barcelona and the Jersey Shore, and the featured themes are national parks and festivals. If you’d like your own content to be considered for the magazine, sign up to be a part of their online community, and read this post on their blog to learn more about submitting.

Thinking of subscribing? Of course you are. If you follow this link, you can get $5 off a subscription — a special deal for Gadling readers!

We’re giving away FREE subscriptions to the new magazine as well. All you need to do is leave a comment in the post below, and we’ll randomly select you. Here are the juicy details:

  • To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us about a great new place — in a place most people don’t even know had a place!
  • The comment must be left before Friday, March 28 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Five winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Five winners will receive a 1-year (6 issues) subscription to Everywhere magazine (valued at $24.99)
  • Click Here for complete Official Rules.
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

Eiffel Tower will get an upgrade next year

by Justin Glow on

Next year, in celebration of the Eiffel Tower’s 120-year birthday, the iconic structure will get a temporary, upgraded observation deck made of carbon kevlar.

“Our project will extend the top floor plate of the tower by grafting a high performance carbon Kevlar structure on it. The structure will be temporarily bolted to the slab without requiring any modification of the existing structure. It will expand the usable floor area from 280 m2 to 580m2. The extension is composed of 2 slabs connected to the third floor deck as well as the upper level used as an apartment of Mister Eiffel (a space provided for temporary resting of Gustave Eiffel).”

This is pretty cool, I guess. And what I mean by that is I can’t think of anything snarky to say about it. You win this time, Paris.

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[Via Neatorama]

Pillow library, librarian offer dreamy experience

by Catherine Bodry on

I consider myself a sleep connoisseur. Though it’s super frustrating, I require a minimum of 9 hours of sleep per night, and I usually squeeze in 10 hours on the weekends. At one time I even owned 15 pairs of pajamas. It’s hard to imagine how much work I could get done if I only needed 7 or 8 hours, so I don’t. Instead, I embrace sleep as one of my favorite activities. That’s why I’d probably embrace Kimpton’s 70 Park Avenue Hotel’s new pillow service.

I suppose it’s not surprising that a hotel touting its Romance Sommelier and complimentary yoga baskets would have special pillows to sleep on — but 70 Park Avenue goes beyond lavender eye pillows. They’ve recently begun offering a pillow library with — you guessed it — a pillow librarian to help you choose the perfect pillow. Samples on offer include anti-snore pillows, body pillows, and “eye delight” acupressure pillows. Guests can email the pillow librarian ahead of time to let the librarian know about any sleep needs and to select the perfect pillow.

To “gently ease” you into sleep, the hotel also offers an oddly-named but blissful-sounding nightcap called Dreamerz “Chocolate S’nores,” described as an “all-natural, chocolate milk drink that helps you sleep.” I think the chocolate might give me an anti-sleep sugar buzz, but perhaps the tonic effects of my personally-selected pillow will cancel those out.