Five crazy Parisians

by Tom Johansmeyer on

You never know what you’ll see when you hit the streets of Paris. From performers to beggars to local strange, there’s an endless supply of color. Everyone has a Paris story, I’m sure, involving the bizarre. So, definitely add yours to the comments below. I’ll kick the process off with five of my favorite crazy Parisians.

1. The “Bosnians”
If you’ve been to any major attractions in Paris, you’ve seen them. Clad in a flowing skirt and headscarf, the woman approaches you, asking, “Do you speak English?” Then, she unfolds an index card with a sob story about escaping from Bosnia. Reply to them in rapid French (even if your accent and vocabulary suck, as mine do), and they’ll give up easily. Early in the morning, you can see dozens of them gathered in front of Gare du Nord, as if there’s about to be a shift change. That’s the beauty of France: even the beggars seem to be unionized.

2. The Nursing Student and Bride
This is one person, actually. A young lady needed money for her upcoming honeymoon, so her fellow nursing students dressed her up and paraded her through the Latin Quarter. I just had to give her a few Euros, even if only for the performance. This was much more entertaining than the brides-to-be wearing sashes and giggling as they enter the porn shops on Eighth Ave in New York.

%Gallery-67868%

3. The Frightened American
When you’re lost, running late or have any other question, you rehearse in your head what you play to say – I do, at least – and unleash it on the most sympathetic-looking local while trying to sound like a pro. I found my target and cut loose. He looked scared and slowly pushed the cuff of his sleeve back to reveal his watch. The poor guy had hoped I was asking the time.

4. The Openly Intimate
Another young lady, to honor her favorite fairy tale writer, brought her bed onto Place des Abbesses in Montmartre. Like the writer, she wanted to “share her intimacy” (not in that way, sicko). You could kick off your shoes and hang out in bed with her for a while. Definitely strange, but it was an interesting concept.

5. The People Drawn to the Openly Intimate
Yeah, these drunks were real weirdoes. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Shared Intimacy packed up her bed and left by midnight.

Budget meets Boutique: The Jane in NYC

by Grant Martin on

At some point in our lives, hostelling begins to lose its appeal. Sure, it’s cheap, the community is great and often times the locations are unbeatable, but sooner or later the needs for some personal space and some quiet time begin to outweigh the need for low budget accommodation. But the desires to stay somewhere unique and somewhat social and maybe even save a few bucks are still there.

The Jane hotel in New York City mixes these two worlds perfectly. As a boutique hotel in Greenwich Village (lower west side,) the Jane offers the quiet and comfort of single, private rooms while mixing in a communal washroom, a jaw dropping bar and plenty of community activities. The result? A clean, chic hotel in one of the best corners of the city that you can book for under a hundred bucks a night.

So what’s it like? Is sharing a washroom that big of a deal when you’re paying half the rate of another Manhattan hotel? Does extra foot traffic in the hallway make the rooms noisier? Lets take a look around.

%Gallery-67612%

The Rooms

When you check into the Jane, you’re given a large, metal keyring with your magnetic door key and a long metal rod. As the elevator attendant will show you when you reach your room, you insert this rod into a slot in the room to turn on your electricity.

It’s just one way that the Jane conserves money and makes your stay less expensive. Among other efficiencies they’ve implemented are shared liquid soap in the showers and no desks or tables in the rooms.

Conversely, each room has a robe, towels, an iPod dock and a bottle of water for purchase.

Rooms are small and cozy. As a former sailor’s housing unit, much of the architecture and style have been historically preserved. Wood detailing surrounds each room, and with the bed built into the wall, the feeling of being in a ship’s cabin is strong. Each room is designed for one person with a single bed, though rooms with bunk beds and even rooms with queen beds and bathrooms are on tap for later this year.

Despite the heavier hall traffic, rooms are quiet and cozy, though if you’re particularly sensitive to this, ask for a room that isn’t near the hallway doors.

The Washrooms

Although it’s a little unnerving passing a stranger wearing a bath robe in the hall, community washrooms are a perfectly logical concept. Each is well maintained, with classic tiling on the walls and private stalls for toilets and showers. It’s true that you’ll have to (or you should) put pants on to walk to the end of the halls, but this shouldn’t bother most people. The fact of the matter is, much of your savings on this hotel booking are because of the shared washrooms, and if they’re an important part of your experience you should either book another hotel or wait for the larger rooms to open up.

Can we tell you about the bar?

One of the Jane’s biggest strengths is their amazing bar. Comprised of one main bar just outside of the lobby, an adjoining, high ceilinged lounge in the next room and a balcony above, the massive Jane Bar is a great place to sit back on a soft, comfortable couch, stare at your surroundings and drink in the opulence. Many people come to the bar whether or not they’re staying at the hotel, and if you come home late in the evening you’ll have tell the bouncer your room number.

Outside of drinking hours, the Jane Bar also hosts movie nights, private parties and other fun activities. You can check the local schedule when you arrive.

In Summary,

The Jane Hotel fits into the perfect niche between hostel and hotel, giving residents a taste of both worlds at a damn good price. If you’re all about being pampered, numerous amenities and vast personal space, this place isn’t for you — but for those of you who are looking for a clean, chic place to stay with a bumping nightlife, you can’t go wrong.

10 things to do on Jost Van Dyke, the “New York of the Virgin Islands”

by Willy Volk on

Only five miles from Tortola, the main commercial center of the British Virgin Islands, minuscule Jost (rhymes with “toast”) Van Dyke is a little island with a big reputation. The scant 8-square-mile island — dubbed the “New York of the Virgin Islands” because it offers so much nightlife — probably packs more fun per square inch than any other island in the BVIs.

Most of the action occurs on the south side of the M-shaped island, in either White Bay (to the west) or Great Harbour (in the south-central area), though rugged Little Harbour, way to the east, is making a play for adventure- and fun-seekers, as well. Moving roughly west to east, what follows are some of Jost Van Dyke‘s brightest, shiniest hot spots.

One Love Bar and Grill
This ramshackle restaurant (left) seems like it must’ve been cobbled together from junk that floated up on the beach, but the fact is: this place serves painfully cold Carib beers and heaping, open-faced lobster rolls ($20).

The dining area — if you can call it that — is the part of the beach under a sprawling sea grape shading scattered plastic chairs and tables. If you plan to visit, don’t worry about your outfit: you really can’t be dressed too casually for this dive.

Soggy Dollar Bar
If you’ve been to this place (large image, above), you know how fanfreakingtastic it is. If you’ve only heard tales about it, let me break it to you gently: it’s seriously more fun than your friends told you. If you’ve never heard of it, well … you lead a sad, sad life.

%Gallery-66602%
Named for a patron who reportedly anchored his boat, swam to shore for a drink, and paid for it with wet cash, the Soggy Dollar is probably most famous as being the birthplace of the potent yet refreshing cocktail known as the Painkiller.

If you’ve only heard tales about the Soggy Dollar, let me break it to you gently: it’s seriously more fun than your friends told you.

Shaded by massive sea grapes and cardamom trees, this nautically-themed open-aired bar boasts one of the finest, whitest beaches in the Virgin Islands. It offers ample space to relax — both actual chairs (if you can manage to hit the seat) and hammocks (if you just need to collapse). The bar has several ring-toss games set up, and the competition gets fierce as the rum flows. Alternatively, the property’s scattered tiki huts offer plenty of space for private chats, and there’s food grilling in back if you’re feeling peckish. Mercifully, if you’re just too tired (read: too drunk) to make it back to your boat, the adjacent Sandcastle Hotel offers delightful cottages ($190-$295/double, depending on the room and the season).

Don’t think the Soggy Dollar could really be this wonderful? Check their beach cam and get back to me.

Ivan’s Stress-Free Bar
Owned by Ivan Chinnery, the Stress-Free Bar (left) ranks several notches lower on the “Wild Scale” than the Soggy Dollar (most of the time). From the water’s edge, Ivan’s is nearly obscured by clumps of puffy sea grape bushes. However, as you approach the building, you quickly realize it’s really a giant piece of folk art. Decorated with hundreds of thousands of shells, Ivan’s is a sprawling, cozy, covered bar that offers a BBQ (on Thursdays, in season) and both campsites ($20-40, depending on season and amenities) and very basic cabins ($45-75).

What makes this place stress-free? Chinnery keeps the vibe mellow, but Ivan’s also boasts an “honor bar.” Feelin’ thirsty? Head behind the bar, mix your cocktail, and leave some money in a jar. No lines, no dealing with snotty bartenders, no watered-down drinks. If you time it right, Chinnery may even play some tunes. He’s no slouch, either — he’s played with Kenny Chesney, who filmed his video for No Shirts, No Shoes, No Problem here.

Foxy’s Tamarind Bar
Over in Great Harbour, situated at the base of the tallest hill on Jost Van Dyke and hidden by a thick mask of coconut palms, sits this shanty institution. Foxy (Philiciano) Callwood is the unofficial mayor of Jost Van Dyke (population 180), largely because of the interstellar success of this bar.

Decorated with dangling t-shirts, bandanas, hats, and underwear, Foxy’s (right) has an on-site brewery; mixes wickedly strong cocktails (a single $6 “Wrecked on the Rocks” will send you reeling); boasts live music on the weekends; and offers the islands’ best “all you can eat” ribs, chicken and fish on Saturday nights ($28/person). Be on the lookout for Taboo, Foxy’s adorable black lab, who doesn’t have time for head-scratches … though he’s always got time for a rib bone.

Not everything on Jost Van Dyke revolves around drinking and eating, however. Other things to do on the island include:

  • Jost Van Dyke Scuba offers both scuba diving trips and eco-excursions around the island.
  • Stroll barefoot through Jost Van Dyke’s “city center” (though this’ll probably only take you 20 minutes, even with a strong headwind).
  • Head to the far east end of the island to slip into the “Bubbly Pool,” a naturally-formed tidal pool.
  • Just east of the Bubbly Pool is a small, uninhabited island, Sandy Spit, perfect for picnics and snorkeling — the shallow waters surrounding the island literally boil with small bait-fish.
  • Tame the winds and the waves on a windsurfing kit.
  • Explore the island on ATV.
  • Why do anything at all? Just Sit and soak up all the beauty from the room of your villa.

Learn more:

Only in Alaska: Celebrating solstice

by Catherine Bodry on

Before I moved to Alaska, I assumed that solstice celebrations were for druids and/or hippies, and imagined long-haired folks with crowns of leaves preforming incantations and ceremonies on both the longest and shortest days of the year. While there are no doubt spiritual observances of the elliptical path of the sun going on in Alaska, up here you’re just as likely to have a grocery store clerk wish you a “happy solstice.” Daylight here is more than passive background lighting; it dictates our moods, energy, and productivity, to say the least. Even travelers here for less than a week find themselves affected, if only because they can’t sleep at night for all the sunshine.

With nearly 24 hours of daylight in the summer, and nearly 24 hours of darkness in the winter, many Alaskans intently observe solstices. In summer, the day is both a celebration of all that fabulous daylight (better than any serotonin-enhancing drug, I assure you) and a bit of mourning for the fact that the day also marks the beginning of the sun’s retreat. In winter, we wholeheartedly celebrate the days getting longer, even though we won’t see normal daylight hours for months after either holiday.

A common way to ring in the longest day of the year is to climb a mountain and watch the sun circle the horizon rather than dip below it. If you’re looking for something more formal, plenty of organized, non-Druid celebrations are held across the state for summer solstice; following are a few ways you can honor the longest day of the year.

Moose Pass Solstice Festival: Only 25 miles from my home, the Moose Pass festival is where I’ll be shaking my booty when the sun finally sets at 11:45 p.m. (and quite possibly when it rises again a few short hours later). A tiny little celebration, the Moose Pass festival showcases local artists, and rain or shine, there’s sure to be some local bluegrass band playing next to a small beer garden.

Seldovia Summer Solstice Music Festival: Also in my region of the state, the Seldovia festival is all about the music. Because the town is off the road system, visitors will be treated to a show on the “trusty Tusty” (the ferry Tustemena) the Thursday before the festival.

Fairbanks Midnight Sun Festival: An entire weekend lined with events, the Midnight Sun festival includes a midnight baseball game (with no artificial lighting, of course), a 10k fun run (it begins at 10 p.m., so you can still watch the sunset – even if you have to walk it), and a street fair.

21st Annual AWAIC Summer Solstice Festival: Held by the Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, this weekend-long street fair in Anchorage is likely one of the biggest in the state. With a line-up of musicians from the Lower 48, Anchorage’s streets will certainly be packed with both locals and tourists.

If you’re in a place where there’s no celebration, worry not. My favorite way to observe the day/night is to simply slap on some mosquito repellent, take a short hike, and watch the sun set, keeping an eye on the glowing horizon, waiting for the sun to rise again in the middle of the night.

Old San Juan – Beautiful Views and What to Do

by Annie Scott on

Old San Juan is a must-see on a trip to Puerto Rico. Even if you’re on a budget, you can get there from anywhere along the resort area of San Juan by taking the A-5 bus (75 cents), and you can get around on foot or take the free trolleys.

Old San Juan was permanently etched into my brain at age 13 when, shortly after a trip there, I saw Van Gogh’s Cafe Terrace at Night.

Now, the Van Gogh painting was painted in Arles, France in 1888, and I was in Puerto Rico in the 1990’s, but the young teen mind does not need your logic. The young teen mind makes whatever associations it likes. And, the young teen mind hates you. (just kidding)

I recently returned to the city which had so misinformed my artistic perception, and was delighted to see how little had changed — Old San Juan is still one of the very most beautiful and well-preserved cities in the world. I brought along artist Tony J. Riley to take some photographs. Click through the gallery for some beautiful views and some fun places to visit like Don Q’s (Puerto Rican rum and a free alternative to the Bacardi Factory tour — thanks VirtualTourist for the tip!) and Raices, where they serve the very best traditional Puerto Rican dishes in tin pans and cups!

Old San Juan, now I understand what you tried to say to me …
%Gallery-66054%