Life imitates art at Mardi Gras

by Jeremy Kressmann on

We’ve been taking a look recently at some of the fun that went down this past week in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and many of our fellow travel bloggers have been doing the same. National Geographic’s Janelle Nanos found herself in New Orleans for the festivities, and in the midst of all the good times stumbled upon some partiers who just might be her magazine’s biggest fans.

As Janelle tells it on her personal blog, she was enjoying the parade when she came upon Danielle King, a fellow reveler who had chosen to dress up as an “Irrational Geographic” photographer in honor of Mardi Gras. How does one accomplish such a costume? Danielle and friend had dressed themselves up in full expedition gear, complete with pith helmets, exploration vests and SLR cameras and were making their way through the crowd, snapping pictures of the local “menagerie” using National Geographic’s iconic yellow framed border as a photo prop.

Not only is Danielle’s idea quite clever, she also took some amazing portraits. They are at once warm and friendly, filled with the vibrant colors and fun energy you would expect from a Mardi Gras celebration. I think this guy is perhaps my favorite. Make sure to click on the gallery above to play the full slideshow of all the local “party animals” as framed by the famous National Geographic cover. And head over to Janelle’s blog and Intelligent Travel for the full story.

Hangover helpers by country

by Grant Martin on

National Geographic has a nifty little chart showing traditional hangover cures by country.

You may have known, for example, that many Americans use tomato juice and eggs to cure the aftermath of a long night out on the town. But did you know that in Romania they use tripe soup? As in cow’s stomach tripe? I don’t know about you, but nothing makes my upset tequila bowels go away better than some cow’s stomach.

Browsing around through the other hangover cures, you can see the stories behind each by hovering your cursor over any of the images. Coffee and green tea, to me, seem to be the only palatable items on the menu. But I guess I’ve always had a pretty weak stomach.

For now though, I’ll leave the fish, pickles and tripe soup go, to the foodies.

Think that’s crazy? Check out our list of the 10 stupidest laws you may encounter abroad!


Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Nov. 1–Nov. 7

by Jamie Rhein on

With Obama’s win has come a round of election related posts this week. There’s an Obama musical planned in Kenya, bling to be had with inaugeration hotel packages and Obama-themed safaris.

In other travel related avenues that had nothing to do with the election, here are five other reads that range from the serious to the silly.

But, of all the posts this week that should not be missed, it’s Abha’s Stand By Me. No matter what people’s politics, the video she highlights is one with a message that is worth holding dear. Take time to watch it. The music is wonderful.

National Geographic takes you behind the scenes of One Bryant Park

by Scott Carmichael on

Here at Gadling we have a thing for Skyscrapers from around the world. We’ve posted about mega tall structures in Dubai, Mexico City and even shown how bamboo helps make tall buildings in Hong Kong.

It’s time to bring things closer to home, thanks to National Geographic. This Thursday (November 6th) at 9PM ET/PT, you’ll be able to watch the world premiere of their newest show; Man-Made: Ultimate Skyscraper.

Of course, this is not your average skyscraper. National Geographic is giving you a behind the scenes look at One Bryant Park, which is set to become the second tallest building in New York City, and one of the world’s most energy efficient skyscrapers.

This 1200ft skyscraper is due to open later this year, at a total cost of over $1 Billion. Once completed, it will become the new home for Bank of America.

National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel grows up

by Grant Martin on

Over at National Geographic, the young Intelligent Travel blog is taking over the world — wandering around The Explorer Cruise Ship, hobknobbing with bands, winning awards and raising eyebrows. It seems like just a few months ago that they were getting on their feet, and now they’ve taken the step forward into fully integrating with National Geographic Traveler.

Now, instead of wandering over to the old typepad website, one can link into the IT blog straight from the Traveler homepage — just like all of the site’s other blogs. This is a big step for IT, their editors (who I hear are pretty rad) and everything that they have worked so hard on up until now — so congratulations, everyone.

Now. Can we talk about the color scheme a bit? What happened to the glorious, pretty background and styling? I know that you’re fitting into the template that Traveler has laid out for you, but this is pretty minimalist.

Needless to say, I see only fantastic things happening in the future for IT, one of the few travel blogs that have maintained a high standard, excellent writing and a focused editorial throughout their life. Good luck out there in DC.