Top five weekend travel media stories

by Grant Martin on

Among the travel stories in this weekend’s newspaper travel sections, the following articles were especially inspirational.

1. Peter Frick-Wright writes a lip-smacking ode to the Cowboy Dinner Tree steakhouse in Silver Lake, Oregon in Portland’s Oregonian.

2. In an article in Melbourne’s The Age, Jewel Topsfield cruises down the Mekong, through Cambodia and Vietnam. She eats a tarantula, too.

3. In the Times of London, Tom Chesshyre lists the world’s 20 best art hotels. There are some remarkably inexpensive hotels among the lot, including Amsterdam’s Hotel Winston, with double rooms starting at €70 per night.

4. In the New Zealand Herald, Jim Eagles goes birdwatching in Miranda, in New Zealand’s Waikato Region. Miranda is an hour from Auckland by car.

5. In the Independent, David Leffman provides a great traveler’s Iceland primer. Full of good consumer information, it also provides a handy historical snapshot.

(Image: Flickr/Fredrik Thommesen)

Expedition school preps potential explorers

by Kraig Becker on

Are you an adventurous traveler who has ambitions of exploring the world, but you just aren’t sure how to put the unique expedition of your dreams together? If so, then perhaps Mark Kalch’s Expedition School is for you. This 3-day event is designed to give budding explorers all the skills they’ll need to embark on their own solo expedition, no matter what that adventure might be.

The Expedition School will take place August 20th-22nd in the Pyrenees of the south of France, near Bordeaux. The area is the perfect base of operations for the program due to the close proximity of mountains, forests, and rivers that will serve as the weekend’s adventure playground, where attendees will learn whitewater rafting, mountain trekking, and other outdoor skills.

Students at the Expedition School will also learn how to select the proper equipment for their journey, write sponsorship proposal letters, and more. There will be classes on how to document their adventure through the use of photography and video, as well as how to approach the logistics of planning and preparing for an extended expedition into remote places. Attendees will have the opportunity to share ideas and discuss their plans, while working in a team environment designed to simulate the dynamics of an expedition, including packing the van, sorting through the gear, and so on.

Explorer Mark Kalch has plenty of lessons to pass on to his students, most of which he learned on expeditions of his own. Back in 2007 and 2008, Kalch spent several months traveling the length of the Amazon River, from source to sea, across Peru and Brazil, and he recently completed a solo trek north to south across all of Iran.

Kalch is happy to impart his wisdom on potential explorers who attend his Expedition School for just £295 (about $440) for those who don’t mind camping, while the price jumps to £365 ($550) for a shared room. Seems like a small price to pay for the opportunity to network with other adventurers and learn some important skills that could make your expedition a reality.

[Photo credit: Mark Kalch]

Environmentalists protest BP art sponsorship

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re planning to see some art in the United Kingdom this summer, you might have to walk through a picket line.

Environmental groups are protesting BP’s sponsorship of exhibitions and galleries across the UK, saying the oil giant is trying to clean up its image despite being responsible for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

Protests have already taken place at the National Portrait Gallery in London, which receives large donations from BP. On Monday there will be protests at London’s Tate Britain as the museum hosts a special celebration of twenty years working with BP.

Other recipients of BP money read like a Who’s Who of prestigious museums, including the Tate Modern, Royal Opera House, and the British Museum, among others. With the disaster in the gulf showing no sign of abating, this summer is looking to be a hot one for some of the UK’s biggest museums.

Should museums be held accountable for the actions of their donors? Tell us what you think in the comments section.


Photos of oil-soaked pelicans courtesy International Bird Rescue research Center.

Flying above Madrid in a cable car

by Sean McLachlan on

Madrid’s museums and bars are a great place to spend a trip, but if you need a quick vacation from your vacation, check out the cable cars between two of Madrid’s best parks. Known as the Teleférico, they go from Parque del Oeste to Casa De Campo, Madrid’s largest park.

Built by a Swiss company and inaugerated in 1969, the system has two sets of cables, one set for going up and the other for going down. Eighty cabins hold five people each and the route goes for 2.5 km (1.6 miles) and gets up to 40 meters (131 feet) up in the air.

I rode this for the first time yesterday with my four year-old son and needless to say he loved it. We were attending a communal birthday party for a few of his friends so the little squeaky voices kept me from having a serene ride over the treetops, but I did get splendid views of the park, the river, the Royal Palace, and the cathedral.

On the Casa del Campo side is a kids’ indoor playground, a mediocre but not too overpriced restaurant, and an outside terrace for the adults to drink a beer and look out over the trees and skyline. So if you’re looking for a fun thing to do with your kids when you’re in Madrid, give the Teleférico a try. It makes for a good getaway from the big city. If you want something more substantial, try hiking in the community of Madrid.


Photo courtesy J.L. de Diego.

Daily Pampering: Soulful serenading in the Swiss Alps

by Melanie Nayer on

What’s more romantic than a hot summer evening and the smooth sounds of Foreigner? (Cue the high school flashbacks) Outdoor music fans (and children of the 1980s and 1990s) prepare to flock to the Swiss Alps for the “Live at Sunset” concert.

If your summer travels involves a trip to Europe, you might want to stopover in Zurich for this music event.

Nestled amongst the Swiss Alps and Lake Zurich, the city comes alive at the “Live at Sunset” concert from July 14 – 25, hosted at the Dolder Sports ice rink. Tori Amos, Foreigner, John Fogarty, A-Ha, and many more, will be on hand to serenade you amid the stunning landscape.

No concert package is complete without a place to stay. The historic Dolder Grand resort is the host of the Live at Sunset festival, and is offering a special package including a three-course pre-concert dinner and tickets to the concert of your choice, along with one night accommodation and breakfast at the Garden Restaurant from 980 CHF (approximately $837 USD).

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