Photo of the day – St. Peter’s and a puddle

by Meg Nesterov on

When taking travel photos, we spend a lot of time looking for the right background. Whether it’s capturing a candid portrait or framing the perfect landscape, it’s not always easy to convey a beautiful scene in a photograph. Flickr user John Overmeyer used a humble puddle of rain to elevate this night shot of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Of course, flawless composition, lighting, and luck didn’t hurt, but it all comes together for a beautifully romantic shot that makes the puddle look like a grand river.

Show off your perfect travel shots by adding them to the Gadling Flickr pool. We may choose yours for a future Photo of the Day.

Video: surfer rides 90 foot wave in Portugal, breaks world record

by Elizabeth Seward on

It’s one thing to go to the beach to catch some waves in Portugal, but it’s an entirely different thing to catch a 90 foot wave successfully, breaking a world record. And that’s just what surfer, Garrett McNamara, did. McNamara broke the world record for the longest wave ever surfed when he caught this 90 foot wave off the coast of Portugal. The largest wave claimed to have been surfed before this one was 80 feet, and there’s no solid documentation to back up that the 80 foot surf actually happened. Although little documentation, other than this video above, has been released regarding McNamara’s feat, as far as I’m concerned, this little video clip above is pretty decent documentation. Watch this video if you’d like to sit in awe for a minute or if you’re simply interested in scoping just how big some of those waves off of Portugal’s coast can get.

Amsterdam’s Maritime Museum

by Sean McLachlan on

Amsterdam owes its wealth to the sea. In the Golden Age of the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch sailed around the world looking for rare products to bring back to Europe. They were one of the great maritime powers and are still important in shipping today.

Amsterdam is a city made for the sea. Its canals are laid out like a spider’s web, where every family that could afford it built a narrow house on one of the canals, complete with a private warehouse and crane on the upper floor. This maximization of seafront property allowed a large section of society to share in the nation’s wealth.

To really understand Amsterdam and The Netherlands, you need to visit the National Maritime Museum, called Het Scheepvaartmuseum in Dutch. This museum, reopened earlier this year after a major remodel, offers a history of Holland’s maritime adventures from the past 500 years.

Just a short walk from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station, the museum is housed in a large 17th century arsenal. Inside are modern interactive displays explaining how early mariners found their way by the stars, how ships were built, and where and for what they traded.

One of my favorite displays is a set of reproductions of sailors’ photo albums from the past century. You sit in an easy chair flipping through the pages while listening to an audio commentary explaining the photos. It was like sitting with some old Jack Tar as he spun tales of the sea. There’s also a large collection of ship’s ornaments, nautical equipment, and an art gallery of maritime paintings.

%Gallery-139729%Another big draw is the Amsterdam, a beautiful full-sized replica of an East Indiaman from the Age of Sail. This is a big hit with Dutch kids, if the squealing school groups crawling all over it were anything to judge by.

Some locals have complained that the remodeled museum has been “dumbed down”, and while I applaud the many exhibitions specifically directed at children, I have to agree the museum lacks a certain something. There’s a large amount of wasted space and as I finished every floor I was left with the feeling “that’s it?” Yes, the displays are artistically lit and well labeled, and the whole execution is well conceived, yet I was left feeling I’d missed out on something.

Another problem is the price–a tooth-grinding 15 euros ($20.23) for adults and 7.50 ($10.12) for kids and seniors. Thankfully I had the I amsterdam City Card, which got me in for free. If you don’t have the card, I’m sad to say that unless you’re a serious history or nautical buff, the price simply isn’t worth it. It’s a shame the high entrance fee will drive people away, because there are some really beautiful artifacts and works of art here.

Don’t miss the rest of my series: Lowdown on the Low Countries.

Coming up next: Tasting gourmet Dutch cheese in Amsterdam!

This trip was partially funded by Amsterdam’s Tourism and Congress Bureau and Cool Capitals. All opinions, however, are my own.

Gift cards can stretch travel funds

by Chris Owen on

Gift cards often come with bonus offers and special deals that bump up the value and make a whole lot of sense for travelers. It’s like cutting expenses by 10% or more when we cash in on some great offers being made for the holidays.

Best Western Hotels has an offer where buying a $100 Best Western Travel Card online gets a $10 bonus gift card free. With this offer, we can get a $10 Best Western Travel Card or choose from a variety of restaurant cards. This one is especially good for international travelers as it can be loaded and reloaded with the currency of the country they will be traveling to.

“Whether gifting a Best Western travel card to friends and family or gifting one to yourself for travel in the new year, this limited-time promotion offers the perfect opportunity to rack-up cash at popular retailers,” said Dorothy Dowling, Best Western’s senior vice president of marketing and sales. “With this special holiday deal, it’s more rewarding than ever before to give the gift of travel – and get $10 back in your pocket.”

Another offer that can stretch travel funds is Mastercard’s $20 gift card offer. On this one, Mastercard will send us a $20 gift card with any $200 spent online using a Mastercard. To be eligible to receive the MasterCard gift card, enroll a MasterCard card here. They need a card number to qualify online spending, and an email address to alert buyers when they have earned their gift card.

Looking to make a difference in a really easy way? We can take care of that when we fly with an offer from American Airlines. This one earns travelers a donation of $5 for every $50 travel card purchased to either Susan G. Komen for the Cure® or the USO.

10% might not seem like much but these things can really add up.

Reloadable gift cards often carry bonus offers to encourage their use. Using them on the road eliminates some of the need for cash and often translates to bonus value as well.

Starbucks reloadable gift cards are a good example. Once registered, the holders online account can also be accessed by iPhone or Android app and bonus offers are given as usage increases. Subway Restaurants has a similar program, giving a free sub with every time users add $25 back on the card.

These and many other cards make great gifts for travelers that are easy, safe and fun to use.

Photo: Chris Owen


Lille: Five day trip tips

by Alex Robertson Textor on

The northeastern, traditionally working-class French city of Lille is known for its rustic cuisine and its position as the capital of the region known as French Flanders. And ever since the TGV and Eurostar high-speed trains began calling at Lille, in 1993 and 1994, respectively, the city has also gotten more attention as a day trip destination. By high-speed train, Lille is 80 minutes from London, 60 minutes from Paris, and just 40 minutes from Brussels.

Lille has a really charming old town (Vieux Lille) with an architectural base quite reminiscent of Flanders proper. With ample pedestrian zoning and lots of little specialty shops, the city is good for walking and for shopping. Here are five tips for making a Lille day trip extra special.

1. Waffles at Meert. There are several outposts of this super fancy bakery and confectionary chain; the grand flagship, at 27 rue Esquermoise, is the one to visit for atmospherics. There is a tearoom for lingering, and anyone in a rush can grab a small waffle to go: €2.50 for a vanilla version and €2.80 for fancier versions, including a spectacular spéculoos brown sugar variety. The waffles here are small and compact, like pockets, with a sweet filling.

2. The Transpole transit pass. A bargain at €4, this pass makes travel from the center of Lille to LAM and back (see below) easy as pie, and allows for unlimited further use as well. Lille’s transit system features two tram metro lines and a network of buses.

3. Art at LAM. The Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary, and Outsider Art (1 allée du Musée, Villeneuve d’Ascq) is worth a visit for its free sculpture garden alone. The most exciting part of the museum, architecturally speaking, is the 2010 extension by Manuelle Gautrand. Most interesting is the museum’s integration of art brut into a collection otherwise dominated by the modern and the contemporary. Combined admission to the permanent collection and the exhibition is €10.

4. Local culinary items. You can’t really move through central Lille without hitting cute shops selling bread, regional cheeses, meats, jams, and other hyperlocal food products. (For high-end items not limited to the region, there’s also a local branch of the Comtesse du Barry gourmet food chain.) Even the tourist office sells delicious little souvenir-sized items. I picked up a small jar of hazelnut caramel produced in a neighboring town for €4. Ridiculously delicious, in a forget-the-utensils sort of way.

5. Lunch at Le Barbue d’Anvers. A mid-scale restaurant designed to showcase old French Flanders–even the plates on the bathroom doors designating gender are in Flemish, not French–Le Barbue d’Anvers (1 bis rue St Etienne) is a good place to sample the rustic traditional cuisine of the region. This ain’t heart smart grub. There are enormous portions of bone marrow, thick slices of potjevleesch (potted meat), and cones of frites. Also, note that the first page of the “wine” menu is devoted to beer. Two courses for €21.