iPod Listening When U Travel

by Erik Olsen on

Like a lot of people, I have fallen so in love with my ipod that, after my wallet, it’s the one thing I HAVE to carry with me when I leave the house. And before I go, I always make sure that it is loaded up with the most recent podcasts from NPR, as well as my Charlie Rose subscription on Audible.com AND many audio books from audible. I was happy to see Iva blog about audible’s content, especially about Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between, which I actually have in its atom-based, tree-pulp form and am enjoying immensely.

But for those who travel and are looking for walking tours and such to put on their ipods and other listening devices, here are a couple of ideas.

A company called AudioSteps offers audio walking tours of various cities around the country including New Orleans, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For the internationally-inclined, especially those traveling to London, a company called BlueBrolly has a fine selection of audio walks for areas including Westminster, Soho, Chinatown, Greenwich, Covent Garden, St Paul’s and other spots around the English capital. Finally, PodGuides takes a step further and offers digital maps and small pictures, along with the audio tracks. A fine idea, and one I’m sure we’ll be seeing a LOT more of.

LP’s Middle of Nowhere

by Erik Olsen on

Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but over the last few years, Lonely Planet has seriously diversified it’s portfolio beyond guide books. I recently reviewed the superb Blue List 2007, and have been very much enjoying their newest New York City Guide, which came out in September. (I’ve only browsed it so far, but it is a SEROUS upgrade from their previous NYC edition). I plan to put it to use and review it in the near future.

But in the meantime, consider taking a look at The Lonely Planet Guide to the Middle of Nowhere. The good folks at LP have assembled 55 varieties of “nowhere”, broadening the concept to make nowhere a bit of a state of mind as well as place. The “nowheres” range from The Loneliest National Park in America (that is, Nevada’s Great Basin National Park) to the more obvious: i.e. the North Pole (a place where you can be “the only human being in an area 1 1/2 times the size of North America”) which appeals, I’m sure to the Ted Kazinski in everyone. The book is lavishly illustrated with photos and feels good to the touch, being hardback and perfect for the coffee table. The kind of book that friends will pick up and thumb through as they’re waiting for you to get ready, get dressed or do whatever you do wen people are waiting for you.

Wistful Wishes of Whiskey-filled Weekends

by Iva Skoch on

UK’s The Independent had a good bunch of suggestions for folks who love the sweet, hot, aromatic burning sensation of the world’s greatest whiskeys. Now, distilled spirits may have originated in the Middle East, but the British Isles are the home of fine scotch. And what better for a connoisseur than to stay at or near a fine distillery?

The article lists examples of five lodges where you can stay, close to some of the world’s best distilleries. For example, you can rent small cottages at Scotland’s the Glenmorangie House for as little as 160 pounds ($313 USD) per night, full board.

“Within easy staggering distance” of the Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland is the Drum Lodge, a 200+ year old drum-shaped, gothic-styled lodge. (Yes, yes, it’s Irish whiskey, but it sounds cool anyway.)

Or try the island distillery of Bowmore, on Islay, where you can bring up to 11 of your friends to rent a cottage for as little as 440 pounds ($860 USD) per week. And there are seven more distilleries on the 25-mile-long Scottish island. It’s a mere four-hour, car-plus-ferry trip west of Glasgow.

Scotch fanatics may recognize the names here, but I can tell you, from the pictures I’ve seen of these places, they look beautiful and worth the trip…even if whiskey’s not your bag, baby.

What We Didn’t Know We Didn’t Know

by Erik Olsen on

Let me quote…or rather paraphrase…the now-retired Donald Rumsfeld on how he might have described this site.

There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.

Breath-taking, is it not? The delicate flourish of these words. The chilling subtext about unknown unknowns? The man was a true poet.

Looking back on 2006, what do we know that we didn’t know? Why didn’t we know it, and how could we have not known that we knew what we didn’t know? Do you know? I know one thing. This list from the BBC of the unknown knowns…or would that be the known unknowns? Anyway, this list is superb and great for a few laughs. A sample herewith: Did you know (which we do now) that (number 5) Standard-sized condoms are too big for most Indian men? Or that (number ) Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight? Who knew?

There’s a whole bunch of other gems here, and I urge you to check them out.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of December 24

by Adrienne Wilson on

Before you start rattling off with excuses about how the family was visiting from Buffalo or how you got tied up under the mistletoe, please do me one small favor. Spare the sob story. I don’t care why you couldn’t get here or what could have been more important than getting your travel fix, but you’re lucky that I’m nice and feeling the holiday spirit for I’m giving you the gift of checking out what you missed!

5. Would You Like Polonium With That?:
Folks following the case of the Russian spy that was poisoned might be interested in filling their mouths with the very same cuisine the spy was noshing on when things went awry and sour in his stomach. Iva informs us that the Itsu in London isn’t doing so well at the moment and one can understand why, but the newest location in NYC is thriving. Someone daring enough to try the hamachi?

4. He’s BaaaaaacK! Michael Jackson in Vegas:
I’m not going to say a whole lot here. Erik already did a fine job of that, but in short the King of Pop shall be performing in Vegas. C’mon you know and I know you’re dying to see Mike!

3. Emirates Airlines to Allow Cell Phone Talk on Flights:
Starting in January 2007, Emirates Airlines will be the first to allow cell phones use during flights. If you’re not a fan of cell phones in general or someone babbling in your ear it may be time to invest in some ear plugs.

2. Expense Reports: The Bane of Travel Writers:
Okay, this is funny because if you’ve ever needed a receipt for any job, not just travel writing you can relate. Expense reports are just not fun, but such is what must be done when traveling on the company’s dollar.

1. Not Taking Vacation! Shame on You!:
This is too hard to believe. There are people (American people) who actually don’t take their vacation days off. It is just jaw-dropping. We’re not saying take the one or two weeks and go to Tonga, but geez, give yourself the opportunity to kick back at home and watch the Discovery Channel for crying out loud. Take a break!