Win A Trip To New Orleans With Sandeman’s Summer Sangria Challenge

by Laurel Miller on

Port enthusiasts will be familiar with the Sandeman brand, but this summer, the distinguished producer wants you to think of their fortified wine in a new light: as a mixer. For their Sandeman Summer Sangria Challenge, participants must submit a photo and original sangria recipe that incorporates a bottle of Sandeman Founders Reserve Porto.

Anything else goes ingredient-wise, but it’s helpful to remember that true sangria is a red wine punch from Rioja, Spain. Traditionally, it combines Rioja or another varietal of regional wine with Brandy and fresh fruit. It’s hard to improve upon a classic, but in my experience, Port makes everything better.

The winner will receive a trip for two to New Orleans to attend Tales of the Cocktail – the world’s premier cocktail festival – in July. To enter, visit www.facebook.com/SandemanPorto by June 1. Recipes should yield one pitcher of sangria.

[Photo credit: Flickr user divya_]

Video: New Orleans Time-Lapse

by Elizabeth Seward on

“Nola Time Lapse” from Jeremiah Fry on Vimeo.

Why do I like time-lapse videos so much? Because they give me an opportunity to watch life in fast-forward, which is something I regularly wish I could do. Usually I want to fast-forward the bland, boring parts of my life: filling out paperwork at the DMV, waiting at an insufferably long traffic light and watching a band play live that I wish wasn’t playing live while I’m trying to catch up with an old friend. So it seems odd, perhaps, that I enjoy watching fast-forwarded snippets of beautiful landscapes and other shots taken in destinations I’d like to visit and savor in slow motion. But I can’t go everywhere and neither can you. What we can do is absorb the beauty of places from around the globe in the amount of time it takes to inflate a bag of microwave popcorn. With all of that said, enjoy this New Orleans time-lapse video. It is hard to believe that this is Jeremiah Fry‘s first attempt at creating a time-lapse video.

Travel Expert Brings Local Flavor To Guidebooks, Video

by Chris Owen on

Known worldwide as travel editor for CBS News, Peter Greenberg has traveled the planet bringing far away places into living rooms for decades. Now, Greenberg shares his expertise on destinations around the globe in his new “Like a Local” series of guidebooks, videos and travel tips that go on sale April 16.

Teaming with Michelin, Greenberg is releasing the series of “Like a Local” travel guides to Buenos Aires, Cuba, the Caribbean, New Orleans, and Miami that have must-see sights and activities, but also reveal insider tips on how to navigate the process of travel to get the best experience.

“Learn tips like how to avoid the touristy tango clubs in Buenos Aires and dance with the locals in a milonga,” says a release touting Greenberg’s endeavour. Telling “where to find street food stalls serving locally sourced seafood in the Bahamas; how to spend a day with Cuban tobacco farmers in Pinar del Rio” and more, the series looks to be a winner.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Greenberg in Amsterdam and found him as colorful and descriptive about travel as one might expect. Speaking of his recent PBS special, “Mexico:The Royal Tour,” Greenberg was as passionate about experiencing the country with Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderón as his guide, undertaking whale watching in Baja California, rappelling down the Cave of Swallows in San Luis Potosi and zip-lining through the jungles of Puerto Vallarta.

Bringing that level of up-close and personal experience to us via guidebooks, videos and tips, the project promises to be far more than the sum of it’s parts.


[Image via Flickr user LollyKnit]

March Madness: Jetsetter offers luxury hotel packages and ticket offerings for NCAA tournament

by McLean Robbins on

Get excited, sports fans. Jetsetter has just launched a series of NCAA Men’s Basketball themed ticket and hotel packages for the 2012 “March Madness” championship series. The flash sale travel site often offers one-of-a-kind ticket and experience packages for events like the Superbowl and Kentucky Derby. This basketball offering is no exception, with deals including:

  • Packages to each of the Second, Third, Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds. Each package includes two game tickets and a two-night hotel stay in the city of play. Prices vary by city and date and range from $800-$1,350.
  • Four VIP Packs to the Final Four and Championship games, each of which includes two tickets to each of the games in New Orleans (total of three games), a four-night stay at The Ritz Carlton, dinners by acclaimed Chef John Besh and Iron Chef Marc Forgione, drinks from a top mixologist at Club 44, and a meal with a coaching legend. Package is $2,995.
  • Two Final Four Ultimate VIP Packs with lower, 100-level seating at the Tournament. Also includes a $100 Jetsetter credit. Package is $3,500.

Gilt is also offering 50% off the sale of a brand new 2013 Infinity JX, a sponsor of the tournament. They’ve partnered with the Coaches Vs. Cancer organization to donate both the full retail value of the car and 100% of the ticket price for all packages sold to the charitable organization.

Photo of the Day: Fasnacht characters

by Meg Nesterov on

Context accounts for so much. In the right context, even the most outlandish costume looks appropriate, and an everyday outfit can look out of place. Last month, much of the world celebrated Carnival or Mardi Gras, leading up to the Lenten period which marks the 40 days and nights before Easter. In Germany, they celebrate Fasnacht on the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins, with lots of parades, sugary treats, and silly costumes. Which is where today’s Photo of the Day comes in, captured by Flickr user Taylor McConnell. These gentlemen from Wiesbaden, southwest of Frankfurt, are wearing remnants from their Fasnacht costumes. Earlier, they were likely surrounded by other revelers in multicolored wigs and sparkly pasties, but sitting in a bar, they just look odd. On the same day in New Orleans or Rio, there were probably similar groups of oddly dressed characters relaxing after many days of all-night partying. Context can be everything, and what a difference a day makes.

Share your best travel shots with us in the Gadling Flickr pool and you might see one as a future Photo of the Day.