Winery in France mixes art with nature

by Jessica Festa on

The first thing you will notice when driving by Château la Coste winery in Provence, France, is a bright flash of light. At first, you may think you’ve encountered a UFO. Relax and catch your breath, because what you’re really seeing is winery owner Patrick McKillen’s artistic and cultural visions coming to life.

According to Lanie Goodman of the New York Time’s Style Magazine, some of the biggest names in architecture have helped to bring McKillen’s vision to life, including Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando, and Frank Gehry. Not only are they working as architects at Château la Coste, they’re working as artists. Some of the sites on the 600 acre, woodsy vineyard include:

  • a music pavilion
  • an art center
  • an ancient chapel surrounded by steel and glass
  • a reflective pool that is guarded by an enormous spider that is even bigger than the vineyard’s bookstore
  • a polished, aluminum winery
  • an array of outdoor sculptures, such as “Origami Benches” and “Four Cubes to Contemplate Our Environment”

And, much, much more. Click here to see a map of the entire art and architecture walk, which allows you to fully experience the culture of the land. And, there is still more to come, with more than 20 new projects currently being developed.

The winery is located at 2750 Route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy Sainte Rèparade. You can e-mail them at contact@ chateau-la-coste.com.

Destination spotlight: Chengyang Village in southern China

by Jessica Festa on

For those looking to get out of big cities of China and explore some of the smaller villages, the Chengyang Village in southern China should not be overlooked. This wooden village has a lot to offer visitors in terms of hiking, history, and culture.

Getting There

Located in the province of Guangxi, the village can be reached by bus from many of the bigger cities, including Longsheng (2-3 hours), Guilin (4-5 hours), and Liuzhou (5 hours). Many times you will need to change buses in Sanjiang. Once there, cross the river and go to the He Xi (West) station and catch a bus to Linxi (let the driver know you’re going to Chengyang).Accommodation

The most popular place to stay in Chengyang is Yang’s Guesthouse, which you can find by walking over the Wind-and-Rain Bridge. There are many amenities and features at the hotel, including Tai Chi classes, a bar/restaurant, tour guides, bicycle hire, and free internet. Credit cards are accepted, and visitors should expect to pay about Y50-Y60 per night. You can e-mail them at Yangsguesthouse@hotmail.com.

When I visited this village, I stayed at the Long Feng Hotel in the Bridge Scenic District (just tell your taxi driver the name of your hotel). This clean, wooden guesthouse includes free internet, television, guided tours, and a bar/restaurant that served the most delicious pancakes with honey. One thing people may not like is that there is a squat toilet and no sink, however, when staying in the more rural areas you shouldn’t expect for there to always be Western toilets available.

Things to Do

Unless you speak Chinese (and even then, the Chengyang villagers speak their own dialect), hire a guide. Not only will this relieve the stress of figuring out how to see all of the sites, it will also allow you to interact with locals, as the guide can act as a translator. The guide can also tell you the history of the sites you are looking at as well as give you more information on the culture of the area.

Walk through Chengyang (which is actually multiple villages in one), and take in the scenery, which includes serene streams, picturesque mountains, and ornate bridges. If you have a guide, hang out in the “Drum Room” where the men go to play games and smoke. Most of them will be excited to meet you and will ask you (via translator) about your home life as well as tell you what life was like growing up in China. You can also visit a tea house where you can see teas being made from scratch. The Oil Tea is a good choice and is made from peanuts, boiled tea leaves, puffed rice, and sugar. Along your walk, you can also see the women working to make indigo dye and sewing handicrafts. Because the village is surrounded by mountains, you can also add some difficulty to your walk by hiking up some of the nearby trails. This can also give you some great aerial views of the entire village.

Everyday at 10:30 and 3:30 in the center of the village in front of the outdoor stage, there is a Dong Minority Cultural Show. While you can expect to watch a lot of singing and dancing by villagers in traditional costumes, you should also expect for them to pull you up with them to sing and dance in the show yourself. Visitors should have no trouble catching on as long as they can do a conga line. One highlight act of the show includes a drinking song where the performers act out being drunk and onlookers take shots of rice wine.

Visiting the Wind-and-Rain-Bridge is also a must if you are in Chengyang. First of all, the architecture of the bridge is amazing, with 3 piers, 4 spans, 5 pavilions, 19 verandas, and 3 floors that include no nails. Wood, stone, and tile are all materials used in the bridges construction. It stretches across the Linxi River, and marketers sell handicrafts on the bridge. There are also small statues and pieces of art located along the sides of the bridge. If you would like to be a part of history, for Y10 you can actually have your name inscribed on the structure.

The Chocolate Show comes to New York

by Jessica Festa on

Did you know that the largest chocolate bar on record weighed 9,722.39 pounds and was created by JV “Grand Candy” Co Ltd., on September 10, 2010?

The 14th annual Chocolate Show will be held in New York from November 10-12, 2011, at the Metropolitan Pavilion. This show is the largest event in the world dedicated to chocolate, featuring more than 65 fine chocolate companies who will present an array of various chocolates and chocolate-inspired products. There will also be book signings by award-winning authors, workshops, cooking demonstrations, lectures, and fun chocolate-related activities for children, such as cupcake decorating, chocolate art & drawing, and creating delicious chocolate pasta.

A few of the many chocolate exhibitors you can expect to see include:

And, many more. Tickets are $30-$35 and can be purchased by clicking here.

Inside Virgin Galactic’s Gateway to Space (VIDEO)

by Stephen Greenwood on

Yesterday morning, Governor of New Mexico Susana Martinez, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides, and Richard Branson welcomed guests inside Spaceport America to commemorate and christen the spaceport’s main terminal hangar facility as the ‘Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space’.

Our team on the ground was on hand to capture the festivities, from the opening press conference to the Champagne toast to a spaceport tour. Check out our exclusive video for the details.

A profile of travel writing school Matador U

by Jessica Festa on

As someone who has been traveling around the globe since before I can remember, I have always dreamed of being a travel writer. While I would often blog about my trips to my friends and family, write about my trips for school papers, and create websites and content for (unpaid) internships, I never realized that travel writing was something that normal people could actually make a living out of.

Matador has always been one of my favorite travel websites, so when I saw that they were offering a MatadorU travel writing course, I became interested. I did a bit of research, read reviews and feedback from other students, contacted the instructors, and, after deciding it sounded worthwhile, signed up. Plus, I liked the fact that they allow you to try the course for a week for $10 to see if you like it, risk free.The total for the course is $350 which gives students access to various lessons, resources, and support forums. With all the course offers, I can honestly say it is the cheapest yet most worthwhile course I have ever taken. Before even get started, there is a pre-course that helps you setup your blog and learn what steps to take to get the most out of the course. After that, there are 12 weekly chapters (although, you are allowed to take as much time as you need to complete them), each with key terms, lessons, examples to make the lessons clear, and assignments that are critiqued. Unlike many of the assignments that I completed in school, what is great about MatadorU’s assignments is that each one becomes content to help build your blog. There are also assignments that help you create photo essays, podcasts, portfolios, and advertising pages to help monetize your site. Some other important lessons learned from MatadorU include:

  • creating successful pitches
  • finding and approaching editors
  • crafting compelling beginnings, middles, and ends to your story
  • creating characters and dialogue
  • writing in different tenses and using all of the five senses
  • writing different types of articles, for example, destination pieces vs. reviews
  • crafting a successful bio
  • how to apply for press trips and etiquette to abide by if you are chosen
  • tips for successful freelancing
  • tips for travel writing full time (for example, how to get insurance)
  • how to successfully use social media as a travel writer
  • how to work on the road

And much more (seriously, that isn’t even half of what they cover). Really, though, if there isn’t something covered, you are free to seek help by contacting the instructors or posting in the community forums where your peers, as well as staff, comment. The forums are not only a great place to learn and get advice about travel writing, but are also helpful in creating contacts, finding potential project leads, finding out about writing contests and jobs, and allowing you to talk to like-minded people in your niche.

By the time I had reached Chapter 3, I had not only begun contacting editors and sending pitches, I had started making money. My first article that I successfully pitched and sold was for an online adventure travel magazine about hiking in New York. While they normally didn’t pay for articles, they liked my idea so much they gave me $50 to create a mini-hiking guide for them. While this isn’t a ton of money, just starting out, I was pretty excited, especially since for years I had been writing for websites that didn’t pay me a dime. It also gave me the drive to really put all of my efforts into the MatadorU course and get the most out of it, giving me the confidence to pursue higher paying avenues (many times, successfully!).

Aside for the immense amount of information they give you and the feeling of a strong support system, there were two things about this course that really made me feel like it was worthwhile. The instructor in charge of the course, Julie, is the most helpful teacher I have ever had. I was always amazed at how much thought she put into giving me feedback on my assignments and my endless questions and e-mails. She has taken the time to Skype with me about future steps in my travel writing career and has even set me up with some networking projects. I am not sure how she finds the time to give each student so much attention, especially since she is a travel writer herself, but she does.

The other factor that has really made me a fan of MatadorU is all of the resources that I have, and always will have, access to. Just the Magazine List alone, with publication information, submission guidelines, and editor contacts for over 100 travel-related magazines, was worth the cost of the class. There are also pro-modules that are helpful to alumni, as well as a Market Blog that posts press trips, job leads (I have actually gotten paying assignments and jobs from this), and a weekly Writing Lab where you can have any piece of writing you wish to submit critiqued.

So what did I get out of the course? A lot. By taking this course I have not only helped enhance my writing, researching, note-taking, social media, and blogging skills, but have also seen that it’s actually possible to be paid to do what I love most, travel.