Travel App: Rome For Foodies By Food Blogger Katie Parla

by Meg Nesterov on

If you are planning a trip to Rome this year and want to be sure to eat well, download food blogger Katie Parla’s Rome for Foodies app for iPhone and iPad. The Rome travel app features short and sweet reviews of everything delicious, from best bakeries for breakfast to wine bars. All of the app’s maps and features can be accessed offline, and you can filter by budget, category and distance. What sets Rome for Foodies apart from other travel apps is an insider’s guide to the city with thoughtfully chosen recommendations personally vetted by a food lover and city expert. You can also get an up-to-date stream of Katie’s latest blog posts about Rome if you are connected to the Internet, and see her favorites in Katie’s Picks.

If you are in New York City this weekend for the New York Times Travel Show, be sure to see Katie speak about Italian craft beer on the Europe stage, and participate in a seminar on the latest apps for travel, along with signing copies of her National Geographic book on walking in Rome.

Buy “Rome for Foodies” on iTunes or via ParlaFood.com.

[Photo credit: Katie Parla]

New Costa Concordia Video Released As Survivors Gather To Remember

by Chris Owen on

When the cruise ship Costa Concorida went aground off the coast of Italy last year on Friday, the 13th of January, 32 people on board lost their lives. Still under investigation in the tragedy, ten people including the ship’s captain Francesco Schettino and three senior executives from Costa Cruises. New video released by the Italian Coast Guard this weekend shows rescue operations on the night of the grounding, as survivors gather on the Italian island of Giglio to remember the event.


In the aftermath, cruise lines that had already focused on safety as a top priority, re-examined everything they do in reference to passenger, crew and ship safety. The result of that focus as brought a safer travel option and may very well have saved many more lives from being lost in the future.

Court proceedings began in Italy last October, based on evidence from the ship’s black box recordings, navigational details and conversations recorded on the bridge of the ship. Part of the 270 pages of documents before the court is Captain Francesco Schettino’s testimony that his ship was not too close to the island of Giglio. Schettino maintains that he was simply following company policy to “salute” the island.

On board Costa Concordia at the time captain Schettino allegedly went off course on a joy ride/salute with the 121,000-ton ship were 4,229 passengers from 70 countries.

Naughty Roman Frescoes Uncovered In Colosseum

by Sean McLachlan on


Archaeologists working on a conservation project at the Colosseum in Rome have discovered ancient frescoes of gladiators and erotic scenes, Agence France Press reports.

The brightly colored fragments were found on the walls of a corridor currently closed to the public for restoration. The scenes show gladiators being honored with laurels. There are also erotic scenes, although the researchers didn’t go into detail about what they showed.

The popularity of erotic art in the Roman Empire has led to the perception that it was a permissive society. Actually that was only half true. Many Romans were straight-laced and sexually conservative. A good parallel is the modern United States, where a large number of people frown on public displays of nudity or sexuality, while on the other hand Americans produce and consume vast amounts of pornography. Often these are the same Americans. A 2009 study found Utah has the highest per capita consumption of online porn.

Archaeologists are still working on uncovering the delicate pictures and hope to have them preserved and on view to the public by 2014.

Ancient, Renaissance, and early modern graffiti was also found, raising the question of how old graffiti has to be before it stops being vandalism and starts being of historic interest.

The Colosseum has been quickly decaying in recent years, with bits falling off and archaeologists discovering that the building is beginning to lean.

[Image of gladiator fresco from the Roman amphitheater in Mérida, Spain courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Costa Concordia, A Year Later

by Chris Owen on

Costa Concordia sailed aground off the coast of Italy one year ago this Sunday. Today, the ship sits off the coast of Italy where it ran aground on Friday, January 13, 2012, taking the lives of 32 passengers in the process. Ongoing work is underway to remove the grounded ship. Also ongoing is a renewed focus on safety that exceeds previous efforts, covers all major cruise lines and aims to convince many travelers that cruise travel is safe.

Those on board the Costa Concordia at the time initially said it was “like being on the Titanic.” The loss of life may not have been as great but parallels drawn between the Titanic and Concordia were undeniable.

Passengers in the wrong place at the wrong time were left without life jackets. Confusion about what to do and where to go reined over already-in-place safety procedures. Over-confident ship owners were forced to take another look at how they go about their business.

In the aftermath came rules requiring mandatory safety drills before ships leave port, including mandates that each ship carry extra life jackets and that crews practice loading lifeboats with people. New rules also call for cruise lines to file a voyage plan showing exactly where ships are going, much like a pilot’s flight plan.

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Still, questions remain about the role ship’s Captain Francesco Schettino had in the event. Also of concern: progress on the removal of Costa Concordia from the coast of Italy and enduring environmental risks to marine life.

Costa Cruises, along with its salvage company, has launched a website with detailed information, plans and images relating to the Costa Concordia wreck-removal project. See more on this extensive engineering task via this video:


A ceremony is set for the island of Giglio on Sunday where sirens will go off at 9:42 p.m, marking the one-year anniversary of the Costa Concordia grounding.

[Photo Credit- Flickr User EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection]

Global Giveaway Sends Students Traveling Worldwide

by Chris Owen on

In July 2012, People to People Ambassador Group sent students to Japan for the first time since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit in 2011. Partnering with MTV, People to People also ran an Act for Japan contest to give away one full tuition travel scholarship. Now the organization is partnering with actress Holly Robinson Peete to award five students with travel scholarships to participate on a People to People adventure.

Holly’s Global Giveaway will send the winners to a destination of their choice including a journey to Australia, England, France, Italy, India, China or even Antarctica.

This contest is still open, but not for long, as three out of five students have already been chosen. Submit your entry to tell People to People why you should join Holly’s Global Trekkers and see the world as a student ambassador by January 31, 2013.Peete, also a mother of four, experienced first-hand the positive impact global travel and study abroad can have on a student, and plans to send two of her own children on a People to People trip this summer.

“I had the opportunity to study abroad at a young age and I believe it is a critical component to ensuring our kids can compete in a globalized world,” said Holly Robinson Peete in a Marketwatch report. “I look forward to allowing my children the same life experience and working with People to People to send five deserving students on the trip of a lifetime.”

That’s why she’s partnered with People to People Student Ambassador Programs to give two lucky students an all-expenses paid international travel experience they’ll never forget.

Three of the five scholarships have already been awarded during Holly’s recent appearance on “The Wendy Williams Show.” These students were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Since Williams is from New Jersey, People to People wanted to help lift the spirits of these kids around the holidays.


[Photo Credit- Flickr user Satbir]