As part of our Gadling on the Road series, Kent Wien and his wife Linda are participating as Team Gadling in the first run of Competitours, an Amazing Race like competition taking place in three different countries in Europe. Race along as Kent documents their progress.
All eleven teams gathered at the train station in Brussels for our journey to our next destination, which had just been revealed before dinner. Sure enough, we were going to Paris.
I made it to Paris a few times last year but I didn’t feel like Linda and I had any advantage over any of the other teams, since the challenges were rather varied. And I was more interested in the challenges that I wasn’t familiar with, avoiding the Pont Neuf and Catacombs challenges in favor of the more out of the way tasks.
We poured over the 6 pages of options for Paris and the surrounding area. We knew we’d have to come up with either two 30-point and one 15-point challenge or better yet, a 60-point plus one 15-point challenge to reach our maximum limit of 75 points for the day.
The 60-point challenge was risky. A day trip to the Loire Valley to tour the
Lisbon gets all the attention in Portugal, but flickr user StrudelMonkey shows us a slice of Portugal’s lesser-known Second City of Porto. The town (pop. 240,000) is famous as the home of Port wine and the town’s center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site back in 1996– two more reasons Portugal is a can’t-miss destination for anyone traveling around Europe. Want your photo considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Upload your best shots here. The Hotel Jules has been refurbished, and its new owners, G.L.A. Hotels wants to give you a good reason to stop by. Through the end of May, you can book two nights at this unique property on Rue La Fayette and get the third night free. Longer stays are rewarded. Each additional night is also 33 percent off. With cheap flights to Paris right now, this deal rounds out the total bargain. The renovated property has a deliberate mix of styles reaching from the 1950s to the 1970s, thrashing the traditional concept of hotel design and creating a whimsical atmosphere for guests tired of the norm. The property is small, with 101 rooms on six floors. Four categories are available: standard, superior, deluxe and junior suite. So, you’ll have choices without having to sacrifice an intimate feel. %Gallery-27527% Modern transportation has made it extremely easy for travelers to get to just about any place in the world. Each day there are international flights that can take us to the four corners of the globe and modern roads and trains will deliver us to the best sights and monuments to be found at our destination, before whisking us back to a comfy hotel, complete with hot and cold running water, room service and a big comfy bed. But not all of the world’s great places are accessible by vehicle. There are still some amazing destinations that fall way off the beaten path, that will force us to work a little harder to take in their splendor. The Times Online has put together a collection of these places, which they’ve dubbed “Holidays you can’t reach by car“, with a variety of unique locations that you’ll have to trek, paddle, or both if you plan to ever see them in person. One of the more intriguing places to make their list is the Source of the Ganges River in India. The famous river which plays such an indelible part of Indian culture gets its humbles start at the foot of the Gangotri Glacier, located in the Himalaya at 12,600 feet in the Garhwal region. Anyone wanting to make the journey should be prepared for a ten day trek that will take them high into the mountains, past ancient caves where Hindu practitioners still meditate in their search for enlightenment. There are plenty more similar treks, climbs and other adventures on the list as well, offering up great destinations that don’t just fall off the beaten path, they leave that path far behind. But for the adventure traveler, there is plenty to like here, with some ideas for your next trip that you may not even have considered before. When most people go on vacation they like to visit someplace relaxing, maybe spend some time on the beach or hop a cruise ship and spend their days in a deck chair. Others prefer something a bit more active, preferring to hike, bike, and paddle their way across the destination of their choice. For those active travelers, Backpacker Magazine has put together a list of the best multisport destinations on the planet. This list of adventure getaways spans the globe from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Queenstown, New Zealand, with several points in between. Each of the places on the list excels in outdoor activities, offering up excellent opportunities for trekking, world class mountain biking trails, and the opportunity to put those kayaking skills to test in a variety of conditions ranging from whitewater to sea water. Take Vancouver Island for instance. Visitors have the option to sea kayak amongst dolphins and a variety of whale species, including the a pod of orcas that number more than 200. The unique environments of the region also allow hikers to explore rainforests and mountain tops alike, which also happen to offer some great rock climbing. And if that wasn’t enough, Vancouver is famous for its amazing mountain biking trails, with something to offer beginners and advanced riders alike. The other destinations that make the list are equally impressive, and each has their own special attractions to lure in the multisport adventure traveler. Just make sure you pack all the right gear, and don’t worry about getting any rest, you can do that when you get back home.Photo of the Day (3.27.09)
3 for 2 in Paris through end of May
Amazing Destinations That Can’t Be Reached By Car
The Omo River in Ethiopia is yet another interesting destination to appear on this list. The 470 mile long stretch of water drops more than 6000 feet over its length before emptying into Lake Turkana, while passing through rocky gorges and over beautiful water falls, offering up great whitewater in the process. The trip can only be made by raft or kayak, and along the way travelers will encounter crocodiles, hippos, and remote villages that still remain mostly untouched by the outside world. Multisport Adventure Destinations From Around the Globe
But amongst multisport fans, Vancouver Island is hardly a secret. For those looking to go someplace a little less well known, and more exotic as well, check out Darjeeling, India. Backpacker calls the region “one of the world’s great adventure hubs”, and with good reason. The place offers high altitude trekking and mountain biking, going up to altitudes as high as 12,000 feet, and whitewater rafting on the Teesta River, which boasts Class II-IV rapids. And when you’re done playing in the backcountry, you can take a jungle safari on the back of an elephant. Top that Canada!