GadlingTV’s Travel Talk 011: Eyjafjallajökull, Club Obama, immigration law, barbecuing & cliff jumping!

by Stephen Greenwood on

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk, episode 11 – Click above to watch video after the jump
Ready to fire up the barbecue? It’s just about that time of year and we’re taking full advantage of the good weather to get you started on travel ideas for Spring.

This week we’ll take a closer look at Eyjafjallajökull (and even try to pronounce it), show you new camera technology that is changing the way we look at the world, discuss the benefits of masking your ‘Americanness’ abroad, break down the controversy of Arizona’s new immigration law, and reveal the latest Chinese enterprise to profit from Barack Obama.

Aaron brings us an amazing home-cooked Tasteful Destination with a special drink recipe & Bruce! is back for an essential Travel Tip. So kick back relax and enjoy!

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Links
Check out Immersive Media’s 360° videos of Haiti.
Seth Stevenson: How to become invisible abroad.
Reserve your VIP table at the Obama Shanghai now.
Get the lowdown on Arizona’s new immigration law.
Learn how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull in a song!

Hosts: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special Guest: Bruce!
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
%Poll-45328%

All music used in partnership with nonstopmusic.com

The Berlin Love Parade

by Gadling Staff on

Each week, Gadling is taking a look at our favorite festivals around the world. From music festivals to cultural showcases to the just plain bizarre, we hope to inspire you to do some festival exploring of your own. Come back each Wednesday for our picks or find them all HERE.

The Berlin Love Parade has been described as the Mardi Gras of Germany. It is a festival that started in 1989, four months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The first year’s theme, “Peace, Joy and Pancakes” echoed a time of intense change and excitement, with hope for a bright future.

Though many have looked at the Love Parade in recent years as a massive rave party with scantily-clad dancers lining the streets, it was really started as more than that – a political movement to bring a sense of unity to a divided country that was about to rise up again in the western world.

As 150 people gathered in Wittenbergplatz, the parade began in West Berlin and became a celebration of cross-cultural unity, while maintaining individual identity. Twenty-one years later, it is a mega-event that brings nearly 2 million participants. The individual identities they sought to preserve remain strong as visitors walk down the streets of the Kurfuerstendamm and hear musical genres from every walk of life, each one louder and more exciting than the one before.

Dancers and visitors to the Love Parade can dress however they like; lavish costumes add to the exhilaration and ambiance. Germans and visitors alike of all ages come and, though it’s more racy than some traditional German festivities, its exciting for the whole family with floats and decorations and, of course, good ol’ German Beer.

Although it was briefly canceled in 2003 due to the lack of sponsors, it was brought back by popular demand in 2006 and has now developed into a huge “the world’s largest dance festival” with many different themes co-existing. Although it is no longer held in Berlin, it is now known simply as “Love Parade” and is held in different regions each year throughout Germany. Parties are even held in cities across the globe to celebrate Love Parade’s theme and message of love, joy and hope, from Tel Aviv to San Francisco.

The 2010 Love Parade is scheduled to be held in Duisberg, Germany, on July 24th. Fans from every corner of the world will be packing their neon leggings as they anxiously await the start of the “World’s Largest Dance Festival” to kick off once again this Summer.

Travel Trends: Orlando, Las Vegas top summer destinations for 2010

by Gadling Staff on

Perhaps fueled by a sense that the economy is improving, millions of Americans are gearing up to travel this summer. And when it comes to summer travel, Americans are nothing if not decisive about where we want to go.

This summer’s top two destinations – hands down – are Orlando and Las Vegas, according to a recent survey conducted with members of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA).

Orlando ranks highest among the trips that agents are booking – 17.7% say the theme-park capital is this summer’s Number One destination. No doubt, that’s due in some part to the buzz building over the June 18 opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort.

Las Vegas is Number Two at 16.2%.

“There are a lot of discounts and deals right now for those cities,” explains Melissa Teates, director of research at ASTA in Alexandria, Va. “But, generally, most people just know they’ll have a good time in these cities. Orlando and Vegas really exist as vacation destinations.”Also among the top 10 major destinations this summer are San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.

Another hot spot, New York City, is hotter than it’s been in some time.

It zoomed up the chart from Number Ten in 2009 — with 1.4% of ASTA members saying it was their top booking — to Number Six this year at 2.8%.

Teates says people are eager to travel after having put it off during the recession. But, she notes, many travelers are still holding down expenses. One way to do that is by staying relatively close to home.

“People want to travel more, but they’re being careful with costs,” she says. “A city like New York looks good. If you live on the East Coast, you can take a train. If you’re in the Midwest, it’s a short flight.”

[Data source: ASTA]

See more Travel Trends.

Photo of the Day (4.27.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on

Today’s Photo of the Day is a little different from my usual selections, but it caught my eye because of a video I watched on Gadling last week. The shot is of Southwest’s ‘Florida One’, which was unveiled in Tampa on Friday. The aircraft will be joining the fleet on May 23 as Southwest’s 13th themed plane.

If you didn’t catch the video, you can see it after the jump – I was mesmerized to see the amount of detail that went into a paint job of this scale. Nicely shot Flying_photog!

If you have an aviation frame you’d like to share, head on over to Flickr and submit it to our group – it might just be the next Photo of the Day!

Inside the Hotel Palomar Chicago

by Melanie Nayer on

Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Chicago opened its 261-room art-themed hotel in March and we’ve been eager to take a look inside. My food-and-lifestyle writing friend Johnica Reed was recently in Chicago and I sent her on assignment to check out the new digs in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Here’s what she found:

Guest rooms

The king-sized rooms are pleasantly decorated in blue and brown hues, complimented with bright accents in the carpet’s floral motifs. Each room has a classic Chicago picture on the wall, and comes complete with WiFi access, iHome docking stations, flat-screen TVs and honor bar service.

Living Room

The Palomar Chicago’s living room hosts its nightly wine service as way to help guests wind down from a windy day along Michigan Avenue. The hotel’s living room space is decorated in the same gold and brown hues used in the guest rooms. In addition to the wine service, the living room comes complete with a fireplace and library, and makes great use of space with its white chandeliers.


The Roof

The talking point of the hotel is the green roof, which helps promote Chicago’s city-wide eco-friendly initiative. The rooftop garden (said to be covered with grass and vegetation) wasn’t open last week but the deck and pool space was available to guests and we got a great look at the view.


A few steps from the pool and the entire skyline is at your fingertips. The view is quintessential Chicago, and looks to be a lovely spot for sipping cocktails on a hot summer night. Right now, the hotel is hosting a cocktail or continental breakfast promotion for $1 more on your room charge. Choose this promotion and you will receive:

  • Deluxe accommodations
  • A complimentary continental breakfast – or – a cocktail in the restaurant for each registered guest up to 2 room occupants per day.
  • Room rate is the Best Available Rate plus $1.00.

Not a bad way to spend a night (or next morning) in Chicago.