Visit the Other Jersey

by Adrienne Wilson on

Show of hands for those who can honestly tell me where Jersey is located. I’m not talking about
our beloved New Jersey presently suffering from identity issues as
Kelly kindly put it yesterday. The Jersey I’m speaking of
is the tiny nine by five mile island situated in the English Channel, northwest of France. It truly felt
as if I had made this huge discovery finding the detailed tourism website devoted entirely to the
island. And perhaps I just need to peel my own eyes open a bit more, but why is it I never read about this other
Jersey with incredible day walks,
cycling, and
fishing in mags or newspapers? Obviously someone is aware of the
tremendous amount of history, activity, and culinary delights to be found in Jersey.  Who are they? Where do they
come from? Where do they go?

 

For those of you (like myself) just tuning into the island, I point you to La Fete de Noue
Christmas Festival running from November 26 – December 11, 2005. There are several other events listed on the
festival page, but this one sounds best for the holidays. The streets of St. Helier become illuminated with white
lights, paving an almost magical path for late night shoppers searching for  perfect holiday gifts.
During this time visitors can also take guided walking tours to learn about the history and natural landscape of
Jersey. The walk includes stops at historic castles, old graveyards, and dark country lanes. Sounds a little spooky,
but for the most part I imagine it to be quite dreamy.

Sounds for Sights

by Erik Olsen on

Over the last year, we’ve reviewed a couple of audio walking tour programs and downloads that you can put on your
ipod and learn about the towering building that rises above you, or hear about how Bob Dylan once played at such and
such street corner.

These can really be a great way to get to know a place, and to do so on your own time without having to follow around
some guy with a sign around your neck that screams TOURIST! I have listened to several SoundWalk tours and whle they
are pretty good, they’re a wee bit uber hip for my taste. I learned some good things about the
Meat Packing District where I live, but there was a
lot I wanted to know that wasn’t on the recording. And some of the stuff was just kind of lame. Well, here’s another
addition to the walking tour family. Sounds for Sights (clever name). I
haven’t tried them yet, but they offer tours across Manhattan including
Lower Manhattan and the Financial
District, and the South Street
Seaport. I’ll try to get my hands (ears?) on a coy and will dutifully report back how it goes.

Related link: walking tours

Mongolia: A Last Place?

by Erik Olsen on

There really aren’t too many great last places left. Maybe steamy chunks of the Amazon. Or
swaths of Siberia. Perhaps a deserted island here or there. Well, MSNBC will have you beleive that one of the
last great places is Mongolia. And I tend to believe them.
Mongolia conjures up images of Ghengis Khan ravaging villages
and breeding like King Rabbit. But of course, you must
also think of the tribes of nomadic herders who trundle across the steppe, lashing their stubborn livestock
about the buttocks. I confess I also think of golf, because since I read the story, I’ve never been able to get
out of my mind the story of Andre Tolme who did Mongolia as a par 11,880.
That was fricken brilliant.

Sydney: On the Rocks

by Kelly Amabile on

I wish I could say I frequented a few pubs when I visited
The Rocks in Sydney two years ago. But unfortunately all I had time for in this
historic harbor neighborhood was dinner at Caminetto on Playfair Street. The
Italian food was excellent, and we ate outside as musicians serenaded us, but after reading
The Economist’s
suggestion on how to best tour this part of town, it appears I must make a return visit for a more authentic Rocks
experience — a classic pub tour.

Visitors can opt to take a guided 90-minute tour (which
includes three drinks) but The Economist prefers a solo pub jaunt through this area that once crawled with
“vagabonds, prostitutes and thieves.” This
tourist hot spot is no longer a haven
for scoundrels, but there are at least seven old
hotel pubs along the
Circular Quay where guests can taste the grog and get a feel of how things used to be. All this, and amazing views of
the water too. I’d give anything to be on The Rocks right now.

Jersey Needs a New Slogan Too

by Kelly Amabile on

First Baltimore, now
Jersey. Why do
the places I love most dearly have identity issues? I’m surprised I didn’t hear about this one sooner — the State of
New Jersey actually created a Call to Action contest to get folks to submit
their slogan suggestions online. Over 6,000 suggestions were received; now the results will be reviewed and
finalists selected in the next few weeks.

I can only imagine some of those entries — this contest pushed the door wide-open for more Jersey bashing, of
course. But this is a last resort effort for the state, after they decided at the 11th hour to pull the plug on
adopting “New Jersey: We’ll win you over.” Branding firm Lippincott Mercer was paid $260,000 for that winner slogan,
and it was killed right before it went public.

Personally, I think the already retired “NJ & You: Perfect Together” was just that — a familiar phrase that
worked fine for years. And Garden State too, regardless of the “lack of green” everyone jokes about, causes no real
damage, does it? Laugh all you want — Jersey is used to the ridicule by now. It will be interesting to see if these
branding antics actually generate a decent slogan or just another round of jokes.