Gadling + BootsnAll – Picks of the Week (4.24.09)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome to Friday and another installment of our weekly content picks from travel partners BootsnAll. We reach into our “Gadling hat” and pick out 5 of the week’s best travel stories at BootsnAll, covering topics ranging from religious monuments to food to old travel standbys like Paris. Got it? Good. Let’s see what we pulled up this week:

  • Twitter x Travel – all you Twitterers out there probably already know about Gadling’s own account on the increasingly popular microblogging service. But not everyone is a fan – travel expert Rolf Potts had his followers “tweeting” mad recently when he expressed his dislike for those that used the service the way it was used while traveling. Jessica Spiegel takes a closer look at the potential pros and cons of using Twitter on the road.
  • Hostel Hiring – ever have one of those trips where you just didn’t want to return home but ran out of money? Kathleen Schmidt suggests you consider working at a hostel as a way to earn some extra cash. The prospect of long-term sleeping arrangements in a shared dorm might be a turn-off for some (read: ME) but it’s also a great way meet new friends from all over and also save some money without going home – have a look.
  • Food Freakout – if you’ve traveled enough, you’ve probably come across a “local specialty” food somewhere that made you squirm. Lucy Corne lists out Eight Traditional Foods you are obligated to try but probably won’t be asking for seconds. You know what though? I think Haggis gets a bad rap!
  • Markets in Provence – Provence is known as one of France’s most beautiful and picturesque regions. But it’s not just the crazy beautiful scenery that’s making visitors jump on a plane – it’s also the amazing markets, chock full of fresh baguettes and straight from the farmer produce. One of Provence’s best markets is the one featured in this article on Isle sur la Sorgue. If you go, bring me back some olives, will you?
  • Angels & Demons – next month will see the release of Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons, the movie sequel to 2006’s The Da Vinci Code. Considering both films were filmed in Rome, there’s increased interest in the locations where the films were made. Find out how to take your own self-guided Angels & Demons tour of Rome with this article from BootsnAll Italy blog “WhyGo Italy.”

And with that, we conclude another installment of the Gadling + BootsnAll Picks of the Week. Stay tuned for more great travel links next Friday.

Top 10 wine spots, none in U.S.

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I realize that, on the world stage, our homeland isn’t exactly the most popular place right now. Part of it stems from eight years of political buffoonery, and a healthy dose comes from traditional “old world” bias against the United States. Like most of us, I’ve learned to adjust for a touch of this when I read international news coverage. To a certain extent, I understand it … we’re more like France than we realize. But, it’s tough when our country doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

This is especially the case for wine.

In an article detailing the top 10 wine spots in the world, Forbes deemed none in the United States worthy of the list.

1. Castello Banfi, Tuscany, Italy: not an adventurous pick for the top spot
2. Montes, Colchagua Valley, Chile: trying to seem enlightened, succeeds
3. Ken Forrester, Stellenbosch, South Africa: see #2, with the same results
4. Fournier, Mendoza, Argentina: doubling up on South America in the top five? Trying too hard …
5. Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, Australia: could call for the middle of the pack
6. Felton Road, Central Otago, New Zealand: again with the doubling up …
7. Bodegas Ysios, Rioja, Spain: classic location, should probably be higher
8. Quinta do Portal, Douro Valley, Portugal: this would have been more exciting at #3 or #4
9. Chateau Lynch-Bages, Bordeaux, France: obligatory, but at #9?
10. Peter Jakob Kuhn Oestrich, Rhein/Mosel, Germany: obviously added to the list out of a sense of obligation

And, where are we? No Sonoma? No Napa? Or, a break from the norm with Oregon?

The collection of wine destinations seems to a certain extent like a Little League awards banquet. No country is on the list twice, giving the impression that the reporter sought to dish out as many trophies as possible. The wide reach, of course, makes those absent even more evident.

As you can see, the list is more likely the result of a careful analysis of balancing out different regions and meeting reader expectations than it is a genuine reflection on the most interesting wine destinations in the world.

This is why I hate “listicles”: they have less to do with the content than they do with managing perception. Blech.

Free entry to state museums during Italy’s Culture Week, April 18-26

by Alison Brick on

Talk about a place rich in culture and Italy will likely come to mind. There’s a reason why so many people are drawn there, like bees to honey: art, architecture, fashion, design, food, just to name a few.

If you’re an Italophile, you might want to make the trip over from April 18-26 during Italy’s Culture Week. Over the course of the week, you’ll be able to catch special events and get free entry to sites normally closed to visitors–including state museums and other artistic and historic sites.

For example, Rome’s Palazzo Mattei di Giove–a late-16th-century noble palace–will open specifically for the week-long event.

Check out the full list of Culture Week events (in Italian) at beniculturali.it.

[Thanks, LA Times]

Travel poem of Tuscany

by Jamie Rhein on

This is National Poetry Month. With that in mind, here’s an idea for combining visual images gathered from a travel experience with poetry and music. The female narrator, I’m assuming, is the person who took the photos and wrote the poem. According to the description, this video was inspired by the writer’s recent trip to Tuscany.

The words reflect the images of this region of Italy, and the music helps capture the mood of the traveler’s experiences. The result is a sensory experience for the viewer. I particularly liked the contrasting textures in the blend of architecture, scenery and food. Very cool idea.

Tunisian pilot who prayed while crash landing a plane gets 10 years in jail

by Jamie Rhein on

If I were a pilot landing a plane after the engines had conked out on me, I might pray. That doesn’t mean I’d take my hands off the controls and stop doing my part to aim for a safe landing, but perhaps there would be words beseeching a power bigger than myself for a dose of divine intervention. It couldn’t hurt. Right?

For the Tunisian pilot I read about in the guardian.co.uk, uttering a prayer out loud got him in hot water when his case went to court. Back in 2005, he crash-landed a Franco-Italian ATR 72 charter plane into the Mediterranean off the coast of Sicily after the engine stopped working because the wrong fuel gauge had been mistakenly installed by a mechanic. The fuel gauge was too small, thus the plane didn’t have enough fuel. As a piece of information to keep in mind, the smaller gauge looked the same as the larger gauge.

At the time of the crash, the pilot was considered a hero since everyone on board didn’t die. Twenty-three people survived. After the investigation and trial, the tides have turned. The Italian court has decided that the pilot should have tried to glide the plane to Palermo. The court thinks that if he had done this, the 16 who died would not have. His prayers meant that he stopped doing his job correctly.

I guess these people didn’t hear about the US Airways plane crash landing on the Hudson River after the pilot was told to try to make it to an airport. What’s intriguing about this latest case is that the Tunisian pilot is Muslim. Calling out to Allah doesn’t seem to translate all that well in Italian court.

The co-pilot, mechanic and other airline executives are also going to jail. The charges include manslaughter.

These women were NOT praying — though they did cause problems in the air. Click the images to find out what they did.