Photo of the Day (7.13.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on
The Pantheon in Rome is an unmistakable icon and marvel of engineering, construction, and design. Almost two thousand years after being built, it is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. The name “Pantheon” is speculated to originate from the many statues of gods placed in the building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens.

Today’s Photo of the Day, from Flickr user tysonwilliams really puts the overwhelming geometry and scale of the dome’s ceiling into perspective – thanks to good use of light, shadow, and a little creative post-processing.

This week, Travel Talk is headed to Rome – and we’ll be sharing all of our favorites in Italy’s capital. Tune in to see all of the ancient Roman attractions as well as a few lesser known spots & surprises…

Finding the expat community and what travelers can learn from them

by Meg Nesterov on

No matter how well-traveled you are, moving to a foreign country and living as an expat is a whole new ballgame. Your priorities and standards change, and hours that you may have spent as a traveler in a museum or wandering a beach are now spent in as an expat search of an alarm clock or trying to distinguish between eight types of yogurt. You become like a child again: unable to speak in complete sentences, easily confused and lost, and constantly asking questions.

Enter the experienced expats who can help navigate visa issues, teach you dirty words in foreign languages, and tell you where to buy pork in a Muslim country. Finding the local expat community is not about refusing to integrate or assimilate in your new country, but rather meeting a group of like-minded people who understand what you are going through and can provide a bridge to the local community and culture.

So what can the traveler learn from an expat? How about where to buy souvenirs that are actually made nearby and well priced, restaurants not mentioned in any guidebooks, bizarre-but-true stories behind local places and rituals, and inside perspectives on community news and events? And those are just the Istanbul bloggers.

Read on for tips on finding the blogs and a few of the must-reads for travelers.Where to find the expats:

  • Expat forums such as ExpatFocus, InterNations, and Expat Blog are good starting points for finding and connecting with expats, though some forums may be more active than others.
  • Local English-language publications: Many big cities have a Time Out magazine in English and local language, often with frequently-updated blogs or links to other sites. In Istanbul, the newspaper Today’s Zaman has an “expat zone” full of useful articles.
  • Guidebook writers are often current or former expats, so if you read a helpful guide or travel article, it’s worth a Google search to find if they have a blog or Twitter account.

Some stellar expat bloggers around the globe:

  • Carpetblogger: sarcastic, insightful blogger based in Istanbul but with lots of coverage on Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Indonesia. Stand-out post: expat guide to duty free shopping.
  • Miss Expatria: prolific writer and instantly-loveable American in Rome, a joy to read even if you have no plans to visit Italy, but you might find yourself buying tickets after reading about her life. Stand-out post: Italian idioms.
  • CNNGo: great round-up of finds in Asia from Bangkok to Tokyo with everything from restaurant reviews to a look at Tokyo’s elevator ladies. Stand-out post: Japan’s oddest vending machines, a favorite topic of Mike Barish, who has chronicled some of the vending machine beverages for your reading pleasure..
  • Bermuda Shorts: Enviable (and crushworthy, too) travel writer David LaHuta covers all the goings-on in Bermuda and all things Dark n Stormy-related. Stand-out post: name suggestions for new Indiana Jones movie set in Bermuda Triangle.
  • Fly Brother: Series of funny and poignant misadventures in Brazil and around the world from the African American perspective. Stand-out post: how an afternoon of seemingly simple errands can take up to seven hours.

The next time you plan a trip abroad, consider reaching out to a fellow American (or Canadian, Brit, etc.) for some advice or even a coffee meeting (assuming you aren’t a total psycho). I, for one, am happy to offer Istanbul tips and tricks, and I’d be even more amenable to helping a traveler who comes bearing Boar’s Head bacon.

Any expat blogs you follow or travel tips you’ve learned from them? Expat bloggers want to share your websites and your insights for travelers? Leave a note in the comments below.

New hotel in Rome made of garbage from Europe’s beaches

by Melanie Nayer on

That’s right – this hotel is, quite literally, garbage.

In an effort to raise awareness about the trashy state of Europe’s beaches, Rome erected a hotel covered with over 26,000 pounds of debris. The building, located on Capocotta Beach, is aptly named “Save the Beach Hotel” and is spear-headed by Corona. According to the website, the Save the Beach Hotel is a reminder to people about how filthy their beaches have become.

The website states:

“Our Corona Save the Beach campaign builds on the project by launching its own initiative to help preserve Europe’s beaches. Teaming up with environmental artist HA Schult, best known for his extraordinary ‘Trash Men’, we have created a pop-up hotel in the centre of Rome made almost entirely from rubbish collected from beaches across Europe. Our first visitor at the hotel was supermodel and eco-warrior Helena Christensen, as well as competition winners from Italy, Spain and the UK staying the night.”

It’s fascinating the amount of filth that can be discovered on a beach, and turned into a standing hotel. Corona plans to make this impression on other coastal cities around the world, and you can vote for the next endangered beach that the organization will clean up by clicking here.

Ok, Florida… how about it? While BP works to stop the oil spill, maybe we can build the world’s first crude oil hotel?

Modern art gallery opens in Rome

by Sean McLachlan on

The ancient monuments of Rome have a trendy new neighbor.

The National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, popularly known as the Maxxi, has finally opened after a controversial five-year delay and ballooning construction costs that eventually topped $200 million.

Award-winning Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid is responsible for the funky building design, which houses 27,000 sq/m (291,000 sq ft.) of exhibition space, offices, workshops, and lecture halls. In keeping with Rome’s legacy of fine buildings, the museum gives equal space to both art and architecture.

Current exhibitions include a survey of Italian contemporary architecture, a retrospective of the varied work of Gino De Dominicis (whose media ranged from video installations to sculpture), and a selection from Maxxi’s permanent collection.

Image courtesy MAXXI.

Colosseum to open underground tunnels

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists have almost completed a $28 million project to preserve the basement of the Colosseum so it can be opened to the public.

Underneath the famous building is an underground network of cells and corridors that housed gladiators, wild animals, and prisoners as they waited for their turn to go out on the sands and offer a day’s entertainment to 50,000 screaming fans.

The Colosseum is already an atmospheric place, but when these chambers open to the public it will be even more so. Imagine what it must have been like to be a gladiator looking up at the stone vaults, hearing the distant roar of the crowds, and wondering if you’d ever stand under another roof again.

Archaeologists have shored up the walls and are adding walkways so that the millions of tourists who visit Rome’s iconic building won’t damage the remains. It’s not clear exactly when it will open, but the archaeologists have said their work is nearly done. Stay tuned.

BBC news cameras got a sneak peak at what’s sure to be a prime stop on any tour of Rome. You can see the clip here.

Image courtesy Dilif via Wikimedia Commons.