One for the Road (01/18/06) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Jan 2006 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One for the Road (01/10/06) originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perspectives on Travel Writing originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 05 Jan 2006 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

La Sabranenque originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 04 Jan 2006 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One for the Road: Ski Snowboard Europe originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 24 Dec 2005 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Olivier Follmi's website introduces him as the Photographer of Mankind, and the photos and career history outlined on his website do appear to live up to that title. His latest book is a stunning portrait of India. It contains 200 full-color photographs and illustrations that depict the daily rituals of the beautiful people who live in and work this densely populated land. According to the NYT, it's a heavy one too, weighing in at 8 lbs, but worth every ounce and cent to be able to enjoy the stunning photos. If you are thinking of getting this as a gift for someone, you may also want to consider Indian Wisdom: 365 Days as well, the second book in Follmi's Offerings of Mandkind series. There is a meditation or thought included for each day that focuses on India or the Hindu culture, each one also accompanied by a majestic photograph of the land or people of India. Indian Wisdom is the work of Olivier Follmi and his wife Danielle, who have written 15 books on Buddhism and are the official photographers of the Dalai Lama.

One for the Road: INDIA originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's a great way to warm things up on a cold day - I happened upon this Travel Intelligence story by David Atkinson about hot nights in cold Helsinki. Tango is quite popular in Finland - there is a huge festival each July in Seinäjoki, called Tangomarkkinat, and even a Tango Museum too. This is the kind of thing I'd like to do if I visited the snowy north in winter. I'm partial to warm-weather activities, so I'd pick dancing lessons over snowshoes in the colder months for sure. And as Atkinson's piece explains, the Finnish winters are all about tango indoors - private parties and lessons - at places like Wanhan Tanssikellari. The Argentinian tradition of tango made its way to Finland after the ban on dancing was lifted after WWII. Over time it developed characteristics as a melancholic dance in Finland. According to Maarit Niiniluoto, a leading Finnish tango historian, "For Finns, tango is a three-minute dream with your eyes open - it's poetic and deeply symbolic."

Tango in Finland originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 09 Dec 2005 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier today in Rome, Stefano Baldini, the first torchbearer of the Olympic Relay, received the torch from Italian President Ciampi. The Flame now begins a 64-day journey through 600 towns, traveling over 7,000 miles, before reaching its destination in Torino on February 10, 2006, where it will light the Olympic Cauldron and officially open the Winter Games. Over the next two months, the torch will cross the country transported by 10,000 torch bearers, heading first this week to Rieti. The torch will visit Palermo for Christmas, spend New Years in Naples, take a gondola ride in Venice (Jan. 17), mark the 50th anniversary of the last Italian Winter Games in Cortina (Jan. 26) and climb up Monte Bianco (Feb. 7). The torch will also pass through sections of France, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia along the way, before arriving in Torino for opening ceremonies. Each week until then, I'll bring you periodic Torch Tour updates, which will highlight some of the towns along the route. Just look for this logo at least once each week for a Torch Tour Town profile, which might give you some ideas for where to head on your next Italian getaway!

Olympic Torch Tour of Italy Begins originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 08 Dec 2005 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How about a gift that you don't need to wrap? And one that will make Mother Earth very happy - Here's a way you can give back to your planet this holiday season: buy yourself or someone else a piece of the Costa Rican rainforest for $250. Vinzenz Schmak is president of the board of an organization that is working hard to protect precious flora and fauna in northern Costa Rica. For $250 you can own 1,000 square meters of prime rain forest, and help Schmak's La Laguna del Lagarto Lodge in their efforts to preserve this endangered area.

[Via Ecoclub]

Gadling Gift Guide: Costa Rican Rainforest originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 07 Dec 2005 17:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Our Divester friends are always writing about destinations around the world that are ideal for diving, and usually great places to visit whether you are into scuba or not. Willy Volk posted two items of interest in the past week that I thought might be particularly useful to Gadling readers. First, Willy provides an in-depth description of what to do when diving is not an option in Key West. From fruity drinks to fine dining, neighborhood walks, museum visits and ghost tours too, Willy gives great details about the pubs, restaurants, accommodations and attractions that he and his wife enjoyed on their southern Florida weekend getaway. In another post, Willy points us to a list that may interest those looking to plan vacations in the Caribbean this winter. Child Magazine's Ten Best Caribbean Resorts for Families is a helpful guide to kid-friendly hotels in Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Bahamas, to name a few.

Divester on Key West and the Caribbean originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How about heading to the South Pacific sometime in the next 30 days? Consider this our virtual December Destination suggestion of the day. All you have to do to be transported is read the recently released 30 Days in the South Pacific, published by our friends at Travelers Tales. This collection of True Stories of Escape to Paradise may inspire you to hop on a plane this month or just embark on some serious South Pacific daydreaming. Fiji, Moorea, Vanuatu, Tonga and Taveuni - just peek at the table of contents and read a sample chapter - do you feel the sand between your toes? I bet it won't even take all thirty stories to get you seriously thinking of a trip to one of these islands. If you can't get there in December, be sure to add this to the top of your New Year's resolution list: "Must spend at least 30 days on an island in the South Pacific sunshine."

This book is the first release in a new series of 30 Days titles from Travelers Tales. Future titles in the series will include Italy and Japan.

One for the Road: 30 Days in the South Pacific originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 30 Nov 2005 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While on the subject of responsible travel, I want to be sure to mention the fascinating report released this week by the Ethical Traveler. Executive Director Jeff Greenwald worked with Stanford University researchers to compile the World's Best Ethical Travel Destinations. The thirteen names that appear on the list ranked high in each of three categories reviewed by the team: ecotourism practices, environmental standards, and social development indicators.

The report starts off by clarifying its interpretation of the terms "ecotravel" versus "ethical travel", which is helpful to understand before diving into the details of their findings. Thankfully, the results are presented in clear and simple language, providing thoughtful reasons why they think these are the best places for Americans to visit. The big winner here was Latin America: eight developing countries from the region make the list. I was delighted to see two European nations - Croatia and Slovenia - mentioned too. I'm already excited about spending time visiting each of these countries next spring, and will now pay special attention to how I can best respect the natural habitat and people of these countries while traveling through them.

Best Ethical Travel Destinations originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 18 Nov 2005 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even if you are not a super foodie, you may enjoy reading the wonderful world of Clotilde Dusoulier, on her food blog Chocolate and Zucchini. All year long Clotilde serves up the tastiest recipes from her home in Paris. And because the source of where each ingredient comes from is so integral to her cooking descriptions, I often feel as if I'm reading a niche travel blog as well. She provides wonderful details about the origins and history of all sorts of edible goodies. The travel tone is especially strong this month, as Clotilde posts about her recent vacation to south-west France. For the past two weeks, she's been sharing fantastic travel/food tales each day about a particular variety of chocolat, pepper, or cheese tasted along the way. Her Travelling Gourmande archive is another great place to browse for wonderful travel food writing, and includes links to her trip to NYC earlier this year.

C&Z Traveling French Food Fest originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 15 Nov 2005 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I just had lunch with a colleague who was asking me to recommend a good locale for a short winter vacation in a warm, sunny place. With islands on my mind, I returned from lunch to find this great piece in the UK Sunday Times that profiles five Caribbean gems. These tiny islands don't get nearly as much fanfare as places like Aruba, Barbados or Jamaica, but they should not be overlooked when trying to choose the right warm weather escape. I've never even heard of Bequia before (it's part if the Grenadines) but I can vouch that Tobago is a beauty - my brother went there for his honeymoon earlier this year and had an amazing time snorkling, sleeping and sunning. The article includes nice pro/con reviews of each island, accomodation and tour suggestions for January, plus basic travel info to/from the UK. Should be useful to anyone looking to get away this winter.

Tiny Islands in the Sun originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like The Laughing Ass Brewing Company has the life: "Where we brew, drink, travel for and blog about beer." Can't get much better than that huh? For beer lovers at least...

Patrick Childress travels the world in search of good beer, and blogs about it when he's not throwing them back. He's been to the 24 Hours of Beer Festival and the Belgian Beer Fest, as well as parts of Germany and the Czech Republic. He is currently traveling through northern Belgium and just recently visited Dublin too. Follow along at his Laughing Ass blog - there are photos and brewers notes too.

Laughing Ass Brewery originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 12 Nov 2005 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm especially excited about visiting Slovenia next year when I'm backpacking through Europe. For some unexplainable reason I'm really drawn to this tiny European nation. Maybe because it borders Italy, where all my ancestors are from? Or because I just keep reading such great things about it. So I've started to gather bookmarks, links and blogs to learn more. My favorite resource so far is Michael Manske's blog, The Glory of Carniola. Michael has lived in Slovenia since 2001 and provides daily glimpses of life in Slovenia on his blog. He just wrote a short piece for the San Diego Reader that tells more about his background, plus sheds light on the never-ending confusion between Slovenia and Slovakia. Great place to learn more and fun to read along.

The Glory of Carniola originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 11 Nov 2005 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The latest travel book by Philip Marsden was released this week. The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance, is an account of Marsden's second journey to Ethiopia, over twenty years after his first. The book chronicles his travels through remote landscapes and his interactions with the varied people he encounters, including monks, hermits, farmers and other travelers. Read reviews out this week in the UK by Rory Maclean for the Times and Will Cohu for the Telegraph.

One for the Road: The Chains of Heaven originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last night over dinner a friend and I discussed which types of travel adventure trips we would and would not do. He mentioned that he had just read about a group who did a 19-day cycling trip through northwest Laos. We both agreed that this might not be the adventure we'd choose (having limited biking experience), but it sure is fascinating to read about others who have done it. The craziest thing is that one of the four men who went on this tour with Virginia-based Far And Away Cycling only bought a bike two weeks before the trip! But all ten participants biked the 500 total miles, and seemed to have a ball while doing it. The company's Lost in Time tour of Laos runs again in December 2005 and February 2006. Price is about $1,000, not including airfare. They also run cycling tours in Spain, Slovenia and Corsica.

Cycling Laos originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 03 Nov 2005 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For the first time ever, the company will introduce a single-country pass, the Eurail National Rail Pass. Travelers can choose to explore one country from three to 10 travel days (within one month or two) for these nine countries: Finland, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain or Sweden.

Another expanded offering is for the existing Eurail Regional Pass, with seven new combinations to choose from: Austria-Czech Republic, Austria-Switzerland, France-Benelux, France-Germany, France-Switzerland, Germany-Austria and Germany-Switzerland.

Finally, the Eurailpass will now be valid in 18 countries with the addition of Romania in 2006. The complete list includes: Austria (including Liechtenstein), Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France (including Monaco), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. (The Eurail Selectpass is also valid in Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro and Slovenia.)

As a reminder, don't forget to check out the bonuses available to rail riders, including discounts on boat crossings, rental cars and a free map when you buy tickets. All these new options will be available for purchase beginning January 1, 2006.

Eurail Announces New Options for 2006 originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Quad biking the sand dunes of Namibia - what a cool way to explore the land! Writer Marie Javins recently shared her African adventure biking tale, which sounds like loads of fun. I'm not sure which company Marie used for her excursion, but I did find this one operating in Swakopmund and it could very well be the one she went with.

Marie does mention that she realizes that quad biking might not be the best eco-friendly sport for the Namib dunes to endure. I did find this dated article about a proposed green tax for adventure companies using the bikes, but could not confirm if it is in place. These are also efforts underway to create an eco-park encompassing the coastal dunes. In many cases, there are specific areas designated for these bikes, which some say are far less damaging to the terrain than most off-road vehicles.

I still think this is a neat way to get around, but I do try to be informed about the environmental impact of activities like this before I decide to hop on board. In this case, I'd probably still do it if given the chance in my travels. Would you?

Quad Biking in Africa originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 12 Oct 2005 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.