GADLING TAKE 5: Week of 3-21-2008

by Catherine Bodry on

Did you have a happy St. Patrick’s Day? While I didn’t get in to any shenanigans (for once, it seems), I was able to have a few pints with friends up in Anchorage. Though they weren’t perfectly-poured Guinnesses, they were locally brewed and likely tasted as good as Guinness in Ireland tastes. But there’s plenty of non-St. Paddy’s Day news this week at Gadling:

And here are some more fun posts to set your weekend off right: Aaron’s post on headlines from North Korea still makes me laugh; I’m curiously following the fate of squat toilets in Beijing (because I love squat toilets and think everyone should try them — I know, I’m a freak); and an Australian put his entire life on eBay.

Byzantine style mosaic making: Bring out the artist within

by Jamie Rhein on

Not long ago, I posted about how you could learn how to make your very own Mozart Balls in Salzburg. That was a bring out the cook in you endeavor. Making tile mosaics in Venice is a way to bring out the artist within and enhance an Italian vacation.

The Orsoni Glass Foundry in Venice has been making glass smalti and 24K mosaic tiles since 1880. More than 100 years later the foundry’s great grandson, Maestro Lucio Orsoni is offering three-day, five-day, or ten-day mosaic tile workshops at the studio to teach people this art that has been passed down for generations. You’ll learn to pick out colors, cut the glass and make an art piece in the Byzantine tradition.

Because the class size is limited to six people, you’ll get the attention you need to succeed. The great thing about this workshop is that it can be connected to a stay at the Domus Orsoni, a bed and breakfast decorated with Orsoni mosaic tiles. Here’s to basking in inspiration the entire time. I can see how this would be a terrific thing to do for single folks, couples, or anyone wanting to do something unique with a traveling companion.

From the Web site, I noticed that if you take the longer one to two week classes, you get a certificate of completion and it’s possible to get CEU credits. Anyone who needs credits for teaching certification, this might be another idea. There are still workshop spots left for 2008. The Web site materialicious where I found this photo has reviews by folks who took the course.

Renting a villa in Tuscany: AAA travel show tidbit

by Jamie Rhein on

In the chat room lounge at the AAA travel show, “Europe is Closer than You Think,” questions and answers were batted between participants. Someone would post a question and eventually people responded. It was like listening to several conversations at once, but you could scroll back to see what was missed.

One person asked a question about traveling to Europe with her children ages 2, 4 and 7. She wanted to know if she should wait until they are in grade school. One of the travel agents suggested traveling in Ireland or renting a villa in Tuscany. Another suggested waiting until the kids are a bit older to take a river cruise with short shore excursions. The woman asking the question jumped on the villa in Tuscany idea, though and that sparked my interest as well.

Here is a Web site I found that lists villas to rent in Tuscany. I have never rented a villa in Tuscany. I have toured historic villas before near Padua, but stayed in a friend’s apartment. Friends of mine with small children have rented a villa in Tuscany and the experience actually made them want to buy a villa in Tuscany. They liked it that much.

Here is another villa I found. Advantages of renting a villa is that you could stay in one place, cook meals or eat out and children would have a place to play outside. What a wonderful home away from home. One way to have an even more relaxing, less expensive villa experience is to rent one in the fall. If any of you have a villa in Tuscany experience to share, do tell.

Mafia-free shopping in Palermo

by Anna Brones on

“Why did you go to the police? Why didn’t you come to me first?” the memorable line was said by one of Hollywood’s most famous Mafia men: Don Corleone of The Godfather. But in some places, people really do skip over the police and head directly to the boss. Take Palermo, Italy where shopkeepers have for years paid the “Pizzo;” 200 to 500 euros paid monthly to Sicily’s Costa Nostra in order to avoid pesky occurrences like smashed windows and mysterious car bombs under cars outside of shops.

That might all change with Punto Pizzofree, a new shop which promises that all products and staff are 100% Mafia-free. What can you get at a Mafia-free store? Everything from marmalade to produce grown on farms seized from jailed Mafia bosses. But Mafia-free Palermo businesses can’t take a rest just yet; one member of Adiopizzo, an organization that supports shops who don’t pay up the Pizzo, lost £3 million in goods when mobsters burned down his warehouse.

[Via World Hum]

Forget flying around Europe. Take the train

by Iva Skoch on

For the eco-sensitive traveler, there is no excuse now for not taking the more environmentally friendly route through Europe, writes The Independent, among others. Rail companies are starting to advertise to the eco-conscious traveler as well. Who knew they cared so much about the environment, wink wink.

The truth is, Europe has been pumping a lot of money into upgrading its railways and encouraging people to take the train, rather than flying, especially if traveling only a short distance. With the budget airlines making it affordable, it is not uncommon for Europeans to fly from place to place even if it is only as little as 150 miles away because it is cheaper than taking the train.

Some of these new upgrades, however, might really make it better to take the train:

  • High-speed link between Madrid and Barcelona now only takes 2 and a half hours
  • The new east-west, Paris-toward the Rhine TGV route cruises at over 200mph and offers WI-Fi from Paris-Frankfurt
  • The new Lotschberg Base Tunnel through the Alps cuts an hour off the time of Basel-Milan trains

More upgrades, such as the long awaited Moscow-St. Petersburg fast train should be done next year.