Gadling + BootsnAll – Picks of the Week (3.13.09)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome back to Gadling’s weekly “Picks of the Week” from our friends over at travel site, BootsnAll. Every Friday we’ll be bringing you some of our favorite stories this week from the site. Take a look below and click on through if you find something that catches your interest:

  • Weird Philippines – the Philippines is already an “out there” destination for many travelers, so it goes without saying that those who visit are privileged with some amazing sights and strange local customs. Marseille Markham tells us about her Top 5 Weirdest Philipines sights. Remember that Filipino prison where they dance to Thriller? You can go see it LIVE. Get me a ticket to Cebu immediately…
  • Spanish Lessons in Central America – my first experience abroad was staying with a family in Costa Rica during High School. It was an amazing introduction to the culture and also a great way to wok on my Spanish. Rebecca Brych give us the lowdown on how to study Spanish in Central America for anyone who might be inerested. It’s very comprehensive guide of everything from finding a school to picking classes to figuring out where to stay.
  • High in the Sky – I always associate mountains with travel. But for many people, mountains mean they’re home. Julie Blakley takes a look at the Highest Cities in the World in her latest post. Let me tell you, I’m out of breath just looking the elevations for some of these places. Think Cusco is high? How about La Rinconada, Peru at over 16,000 feet!
  • Feisty Female Travelers – you might know Christine Amanpour, the Chief International Correspondent of CNN, as one woman that’s really set the bar high for solo female travelers, including trips to Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. This week Lucy Corne takes a look at six of history’s most famous and well-known female travelers, a tribute to all they’ve done to set a “traveling example” for women everywhere.
  • Gondola Gallery – you pretty much know if you visit Venice, one of Italy’s most famous cities, you’re going to see some gondolas. The iconic boats are pretty much the town’s unofficial symbol at this point. BootsnAll’s Italy blog features some of their favorite gondola photography in this week’s feature.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s Gadling and BootsnAll “Picks of the Week.” We’ll be back next Friday with another week’s worth of great content. Stay tuned.

Canadian gondola crash

by Annie Scott on

It’s that nightmare you have every time you ride a gondola. Not the one where your car falls, but the one where the tower goes down and all of the cars fall.

Yesterday at Whistler Blackcomb Resort, 177 km north of Vancouver, tragedy struck when a support tower for their gondola system snapped in half. Falling gondola cars hit a bus stop and a house, and another was suspended over an icy creek.

The good news is that all 53 passengers were successfully rescued, and while 5 required medical attention, no major injuries were reported.

Check out the story here on CNN for video footage.

Venice’s First Female Gondolier…Is A German Who Can’t Drive

by Willy Volk on

I’m all for non-discrimination in the workplace, but from where I’m sitting it sounds like, in the case of Alexandra Hai, the Italian courts made a fundamental mistake. Apparently, after a 10-year struggle, this German woman has breached one of Italy’s oldest male-only clubs to become Venice’s first female gondolier. Although she can’t sing and has yet to pass her gondola-steering exam, a regional court recently ruled that she can ferry guests along the city’s famous canals.

During her ordeal, Hai claims she faced rude gondoliers and discrimination on the part of the Italian Gondola Association, which she believes conspired to exclude her from the profession — males-only since 1094. However, Roberto Luppi, president of the IGA, dismisses this, claiming, “It is very important to be able to steer a gondola. That is why we have the exam.”

According to the exuberant Hai, “I am delighted. It has been my mission. I promise not to wear jeans and I have a beautiful gondola, clean and built according to tradition.” While I applaud Hai’s persistence, I’m curious to know if tourists will prefer a gondolier who can pass their “driver’s test.”

[Thanks, Karen!]