A Sailboat Race Around the Globe

by Dave (Blogsmith Old) on

It is one of the most grueling solo sailing races on the globe. The Vendee Globe, which began Nov. 7, pits 20 top men and women against each other, their boats and the forces of Mother Nature. The sailors depart from the Bay of Biscay in France, head south around the Cape of Good Hope on the tip of Africa, past Australia’s Cape Leeuwin, under South America’s Cape Horn and back to France. The route is full of peril with high seas, ungodly storms and the knowledge that, for the most part, you are on your own.

The Vendee Globe website is following the race for readers with dispatches from the sailors (including video) and sophisticated GPS tracking.

[link via Yahoo! Picks]

Da Vinci Tourists

by Erik Olsen on

Come on, you’ve read it. You know you have.

We’ll it should come as no surprise that there is a new breed of tourists out there called “Da Vinci Code Tourists“. Who are they? Well, as you might imagine, these are the folks who are flocking to Paris to uncover all the hidden little secrets so expertly written about in the bestselling Dan Brown book. Ranging from $3,000 trans-Atlantic tours, to the $400-a-day that a woman named Jean Traimond charges in Paris, for a tour debunking “The Da Vinci Code”, these tours are all the rage among the pulparati. Bring along your designer cilice for self-flagellation (I think Sharper Image makes one) and tuck the dog-eared copy of the book under your arm, and you’re all set.

But seriously. It makes perfect sense that the popularity of the book would lead to a tour in Paris. And I salute the folks who are going to Paris in the face of all the France dissing. And I know people get attached to things and want to learn more. I mean, right outside my apartment there are hordes of Carrie-ga-ga women striding around in newly-bought Prada as they take the Sex in the City tour. In fact, I wrote about the Apocalpyse Now tours happening in Asia now. But it seems sad to me in a way that we decide to educate ourselves only when motivated by this pulpy stuff (and the Da Vinci Code IS pulpy…this is not history, folks). I mean, didn’t you want to see the Louvre BEFORE you read the book?

I guess I’ll shut up. It just seems contrived is all. Crass and commercial and lame.

More Damon Trivia

by Erik Olsen on

While we’re on the subject of Matt Damon (and this is just coincidence, I promise), it turns out that his uncle just became the oldest person ever to swim the English Channel. The 70 year-old George Brunstad (known affectionately as “Uncle Brun” and/or “the Brunster”) completed the 21-mile swim from Dover, England to Sangatte, France in 15 hours 59 minutes. Why is this important, you ask? It’s not. It’s meaningless trivia, but you can now entertain your friends with all that you know about Matt Damon.

Paris Trip: Since We’re Tallking About France

by Erik Olsen on

Well, since France is on the editorial agenda due to their pronounced, shall we say, friskiness, I thought it appropriate to post this review of Paris by The New York Times’ Elaine Sciolino. One highlight of the peice is mention of the “Turner-Whistler-Monet” exhibition at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, down the Champs-Elysées in the Eighth Arrondissement (say that three times fast…in Latin). The engaged traveler most certainly finds art and culture a fulfilling part of any expedition, so if your expedition happens to take you to Paris, this is certainly something to consider. A must see part of this package by the Times is the multimedia Insider’s Guide, which I think is becoming a big part of the whole travel article portfolio. How wonderful to have enriching and interesting sound, pictures and video when you’re learning about a place?