Need New Year’s Eve ideas? Crash some plates!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I assure you that when the ball drops on the last day of 2008, I will not be in Times Square. I will be nowhere near Times Square. So, unless you like the thought of being shoulder-to-shoulder with people you’ve never met while freezing and lamenting the lack of public bathrooms in that part of town, take a look at some of the choices you have this year.

Chomp twelve grapes in Spain
Think of it as a drinking game without the fermentation. Every time the bells toll-12 times in total-eat a grape. This should ensure a sweet year. But, if you cram into Madrid‘s Puerta del Sol (see my thoughts on Times Square), listen carefully for your cue to chew.

Slam china in Denmark
Wait for the queen to finish her annual 6 PM New Year’s Eve address to the Danes. Then, join the locals in a big meal. On a full stomach, throw plates at people’s houses (typically, this is done to friends). The thrown plates are expressions of friendship. I have to assume that a direct hit on a window or expensive glass door is not. Again, just guessing.

Wait for Pinocchio in Ecuador
Ecuadorians burn effigies to prevent their real-life counterparts from stopping by, and people run around the block 12 times while wearing yellow, which they say is lucky. I do hope that they aren’t wearing only yellow … that would look funny.

Mexico: Another place to run around the block
Wear yellow if you choose (and only if you choose) while carrying your luggage around the block in Mexico. But, only do this if you want the year to bring you many travels. Investment bankers, management consultants and attorneys: don’t bother trying to resist it. You’ll be on the road anyway.

[Thanks, IgoUgo]

Let’s Party Like It’s 1999

by Brett Atkinson on

Well, the year 2000 actually if you’re a Coptic Christian living in Ethiopia. According to the calendar of the ancient Coptic Church, September 12 2007 is actually New Year’s Eve 1999. Based on the ancient Egyptian calendar the Coptic Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar (the one we now use) in 1582. The Coptic Church ignored Pope Gregory XIII’s unilateral decree and maintained their own timetable. More than four centuries later the gap between the two systems is now seven years.

Despite it being the end of the millennium, the residents of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have been surprised at the lower than expected number of visitors. Only 25,000 tourists are reckoned to have made the trip to one of Africa’s oldest cultures. A proposed food fair and a run by the great Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrelassie had to be cancelled because of the threat of terrorism. In the absence of tasty street food and jogging, the biggest gig in town has been a concert featuring the Black Eyed Peas.

Now if only they’d managed to get Prince…

Thanks to Rudy Neeser on Flickr for the pic of downtown Addis.

Via The Independent

Traveling Coincidences: Who Else Have You Seen?

by Jamie Rhein on

Brett’s post on famous people you’ve come across in your travels reminded me of other traveling coincidences. It’s neat to see famous people for sure, but what about the people who aren’t so famous? What about the people from other parts of your life who show up in places where you least expect to see them? This is another aspect about travel that facinates me. Does the universe just put us at the same time on the same corner of the world with someone from another part of our life far from where we normally reside for a reason–or is this just luck? Some people say it’s just luck. Others say there is some greater purpose at work. Regardless, I’ve run into people where I didn’t expect to see them for perhaps no other reason than it gives me a thrill. Often I didn’t find out the connection without a conversation between us first.

Here are my stories: One New Year’s Eve I was shivering in the cold at Times Square waiting for the ball to drop. I heard “Jamie!” called out in a loud voice. It was one of my close high school friends who I hadn’t seen for a few years. We just happened to be on the same block.

Years later when I was crossing the street at Grand Central Station, also in New York, I heard, “Ms. Rhein!!” When I turned around to see who called my name, I saw one of my former 11th grade American Lit. students who I taught when I lived in Singapore.

Another time when I was on a ferry going from Le Havre, France to Ireland I saw a young woman wearing a Penn State sweatshirt. I asked her if she went to Penn State. She said she was from State College. After I told her I had lived in State College when I was in the 4th and 5th grade we found out that we had gone to the same elementary school. Turns out her brother was the cutest boy in my class.

When I was trekking in Nepal there was a woman at one of our stops who looked familiar for some reason. It turns out she was also teaching internationally. After a few more conversation details, I remembered talking with her in a hotel bathroom in San Diego at a teachers’ hiring fair. She was in the bathroom to change out of her interview garb into more comfortable clothing.

And once when I was traveling from Albuquerque to Cincinnati on my way to a family gathering at a horserace at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky, I changed planes in St. Louis. As I was traveling on the moving sidewalk, I heard some call my name. It was my cousin who lived in Pennsylvania at the time. He was heading to Texas, but had plans to be in Kentucky later that week.

I’m not sure if the universe is any better because of these happenstance meetings, but they do make me smile when I think of them. If you run across someone who looks familiar, it never hurts to start asking questions. (This photo, thanks to phototo penguin on Flickr is of the corner where the ball drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.)

Chi-Town New Year’s Eve Recommendations

by Adrienne Wilson on

Earlier this year when I cried for travel help while venturing through the areas of Olney and Salem, Illinois I received few responses. As a matter of fact I think there was only one reader that offered any suggestions. Tomorrow I’m heading back to the fine Mid-West state where I will spend New Years in Chicago and hang around two weeks for work. My past travels through Chicagoland have always been brief and I’ve never been a big run all over on NYE type of person, but this year I’m turning the beat around. I’ve surfed the web and seen several almost enticing opportunities (CenterStage features several goodies) to while the last night of 2006 away, but I’m not sold on any yet. So I’m crying out again and I’m expecting a whole lot of help this time! AND just so I’m not left hanging out bare-naked in the cold I’m going to offer a few clues to what I’m looking for. Those who wish to persuade otherwise are welcome to join in too.

For starters a simple ball drop type of deal will do. Is there some place Chicago natives go (perhaps families) to count the clock’s tick-tock to midnight that doesn’t cost an arm-and-a-leg? I’m going to be flexible here and allow good lounge rec’s as well, but I’m looking for simple, slightly dressy, and cheap. So what’s the word?

Plans for New Year’s Eve

by Adrienne Wilson on

Like many I am still searching for the perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve. I’ve never been huge NYE celebrating type of person so it’s no biggie if I don’t find some spectacular fireworks display, but at the same time it’s always kind of nice. Last year I stayed nestled inside my apartment and the previous year I believe I was sitting on a beach in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica wishing I were somewhere else (long story). Well the Miami Herald offers a small sampling of what’s available across the states and even as far down and out as Australia, Italy and Costa Rica. Go figure. Nothing listed for Chicago so I’ll be moving onto the next list, but for those partying domestically in Key West, NYC, ATL or even Alabama check out their notes.