Gadling http://www.gadling.com Gadling http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.gadling.com/media/feedlogo.gif Gadling http://www.gadling.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Free beer and a behind the scenes tour at Jefferson's Monticello on President's Day]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/22/free-beer-and-a-behind-the-scenes-tour-at-jeffersons-monticello/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/22/free-beer-and-a-behind-the-scenes-tour-at-jeffersons-monticello/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/22/free-beer-and-a-behind-the-scenes-tour-at-jeffersons-monticello/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

President's Day technically marks the observance of George Washington's birthday, but the holiday is widely viewed as a catch-all day to reflect on the accomplishments of all the founding fathers. Historians can argue over which of our founding fathers was most instrumental in establishing American institutions, but it's hard to find anyone who lived a more eventful life than Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson was an architect, a statesman, a writer, a voracious reader, a linguist, a diplomat, a gardener, a meteorologist, a botanist, a foodie before the term existed, a vintner and a traveler, among other things. In an age when travel was an ordeal, Jefferson nourished his hungry intellect by traveling the world. He spoke six languages and used them on the road. In 1784, when he was named the U.S. Ambassador to France, he and his 12-year-old daughter, Martha, took a lengthy trip through 7 U.S. states before departing for Paris.

And during his five years in Paris, he traveled extensively on the continent. In 1787, he took a 3 &frac12; month trip around France and Italy on his own dime, and in 1791, as the U.S. Secretary of State, he took a month-long "botanizing excursion" through New England with James Madison.

Jefferson constructed his home at Monticello, which means "little mountain" in Italian, bit-by-bit over a forty year period (1768-1809) and his travels helped shape his vision for the grand estate. When Jefferson retired in 1809, at 66, he moved into Monticello and never left the state of Virginia again. But he continued to indulge passions and tastes he acquired overseas, including fine French wines and books in a variety of languages, which is probably why he spent most of his retirement deeply in debt.

I'd been to Monticello before and consider this remarkable place, which is dramatically situated high above the city of Charlottesville amidst a stunning landscape of rolling hills, horse farms and vineyards, an essential stop for any traveler with an interest in early American history. I returned to Monticello this year on President's Day in order to check out their new "behind the scenes tour." Last summer, the foundation that operates the site relocated some of their staff offices out of the second and third floors of the house in order to open up more of the site to visitors.

Continue reading Free beer and a behind the scenes tour at Jefferson's Monticello on President's Day

Free beer and a behind the scenes tour at Jefferson's Monticello on President's Day originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CharlottesvillemonticelloSally HemmingsSallyHemmingsthomas jeffersonThomasJeffersontouring MonticelloTouringMonticelloUniversity of VirginiaUniversityOfVirginiaWed, 22 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Traveler in the Foreign Service: go native or go postal]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/20/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-go-native-or-go-postal/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/20/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-go-native-or-go-postal/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/20/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-go-native-or-go-postal/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Have you ever seen an American walking through an airport in a flowing, beaded sari, a colorful African tribal dress, or Afghan shalwar kameez and wondered, what the hell are they thinking? Expatriates who "go native" while living overseas might seem a bit loopy, but "going native" is actually a fairly common way to cope with culture shock.

A traveler and an expat experience foreign cultures in completely different ways. What can appear novel to the traveler can simply be a nuisance to the expatriate.

After an expat has been in their new country for a while, they inevitably confront aspects of the local culture they dislike. Even in the best places, we Americans can find things to complain about. Some cope with culture shock by retreating into a bubble- surrounding themselves with other foreigners and doing their best to recreate the lives they had before they left home. Others go native- completely rejecting their home culture and everyone who isn't local. And of course, the majority are hybrids who fall somewhere in between.

Nearly every Foreign Service post has people in both extreme camps- let's call them cowboys and natives for simplicity's sake. We had one native in Skopje, whom I'll call Native Neil, whom I really liked, but he was considered highly eccentric for embracing the local culture a bit too warmly. For example, Neil took public buses to get around Skopje while virtually no other Americans did. At the time, one could take a taxi pretty much anywhere in the city for the equivalent of $1. A bus ride cost 20 cents but the buses were extremely crowded and had erratic schedules.

Occasionally my wife and I would see Native Neil waiting at a bus stop and offer him a ride, and I think it embarrassed him to be seen interacting with other Americans. Native Neil didn't need to save the 80 cents; he just wanted to completely immerse himself in the local culture, which is perfectly respectable. But for other Americans, that immersion made him a bit flaky.

Continue reading A Traveler in the Foreign Service: go native or go postal

A Traveler in the Foreign Service: go native or go postal originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>barking dogsBarkingDogsculture shockculture warsCultureShockCultureWarsgoing nativeGoingNativelight sleeperLightSleepersolutions for barking dogsSolutionsForBarkingDogsMon, 20 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Italy's Battle of the Oranges]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/19/italys-battle-of-the-oranges/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/19/italys-battle-of-the-oranges/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/19/italys-battle-of-the-oranges/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Even before Filippo Prior rides into the ancient piazza on the back of a horse-drawn carriage, he feels the giddy adrenalin rush of battle and the unnerving fear that comes with the knowledge that he and his teammates are about to get pelted with hundreds of cold, hard oranges.

"You hear the roar of the crowd, people screaming before you enter the piazza," says Prior, a 21-year old member of the Cavalry of the Tricolore, a carriage team which competes in Italy's annual Battle of the Oranges, a pre-Lenten carnival in Ivrea, near Turin. "It's scary. You have a helmet but you can't see anything because oranges are flying at you from all angles."

The Battaglia delle Arance is a three-day orgy of orange-throwing insanity that is part of an ancient six-day carnival that attracts some 100,000 spectators and 4,000 participants to the small northern Italian city of Ivrea each February. The event, which begins today, appears to be unregulated mayhem but it's actually highly structured and has deep historical significance.

The carnival commemorates a 12th century rebellion that was sparked by Violletta, a commoner who cut off the head of a tyrannical lord who tried to enforce the custom of taking her virginity on her wedding night. For centuries, carnivals-goers in the town threw beans at each other because feudal lords used to bestow two pots of them per year on poor people in the town. The bean-throwing was meant to signify their disdain for the handouts, but was also good fun.

Gallery: Italy's Battle of the Oranges

SplatMembers of a carriage team return fireA foot team attacksProcession in the Piazza di CittaCarnival revelers


But in the mid-nineteenth century, the tradition gradually changed as young women adopted the custom of standing on balconies and pelting boys they fancied from above with oranges. If the boys liked their attacker, they returned fire. These days, the city trucks in 57,000 crates, or 400 tons worth of oranges from Southern Italy that would otherwise be thrown away for use in the battle.

Dozens of carriage teams on horse-drawn carts, signifying the tyrant's guards, compete against nine "foot" teams, representing the rebellious commoners. The carriage players are completely surrounded and outnumbered, so these participants have to be either very brave, or very pazo (crazy), preferably both.

"On the wagon, you have only eight people and you are throwing oranges against 400-500 people at a time- you are completely under siege," says Prior, an Ivrea native who has been competing in the battle since he was 12. "You get hit everywhere- on the helmet, the arms, the chest, your hands."

Continue reading Italy's Battle of the Oranges

Italy's Battle of the Oranges originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>carnivalfestivalsitalianitalian festivalItalian festivalsItalianFestivalItalianFestivalsitalyivrealentturinSun, 19 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Zimbabwe's last resort- an interview with bestselling author Douglas Rogers]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/19/zimbabwes-last-resort-an-interview-with-bestselling-author-dou/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/19/zimbabwes-last-resort-an-interview-with-bestselling-author-dou/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/19/zimbabwes-last-resort-an-interview-with-bestselling-author-dou/#commentsFiled under: , ,

After a decade of political unrest, seizures of white-owned farms and record hyperinflation that forced the government to print 100 billion dollar banknotes, Zimbabwe is finally starting to inch back onto the tourism radar, thanks to a power sharing agreement and a move to use U.S. dollars as the de-facto currency of the country.

But Zimbabwe's long-dormant tourism sector has also received a small boost from the popularity of The Last Resort, Zimbabwe native Douglas Rogers' bestselling account of life at Drifters, his parents' backpacker lodge turned brothel near Mutare, in eastern Zimbabwe. The book won the British Travel Writers' Guild Book of the year in 2010 and BBC recently bought the film rights. Gadling caught up with Rogers near his new home in Loudoun County, Virginia last week.

People loved this book so much that some decided to visit your parents' lodge in Zimbabwe?

The book came out at the end of 2009 and within a few months, people started turning up. The first visitor was the Swedish Ambassador. He hugged my mother and said he felt like he knew her. Now they keep coming, at least a few hundred so far. They bring books and want the staff to sign them.

This is very personal memoir where you talk about how your parents' lodge sort of morphed into a brothel and explain how your parents tried to grow marijuana in the yard as the tourists disappeared. Were you nervous about how your family or the staff at the lodge would perceive the book?

I was more nervous about the politics of it. That there would be negative repercussions for my family there, but so far there haven't been.

Has Mugabe's regime banned the book?

No, it's available in Harare but there are so few bookshops left it's hard to find. I wanted to change the names of people I wrote about in the book, but the staff at my parents' lodge were dead set against that. The 2008 election violence was terrifying and, at that point, the book was about to come out. But they wanted their named in the book- they're very proud and brave.

So many other white owned farms in Zimbabwe have been seized, and your parents had some close calls which you describe in the book, but how is it that they've been allowed to keep their property and the lodge?

Legally, they aren't supposed to lose the place, because it isn't an agricultural farm. But that doesn't really matter anymore; people can lose their land for any reason. Officially though, the government owns their property and someone could show up and take it at any time.

Continue reading Zimbabwe's last resort- an interview with bestselling author Douglas Rogers

Zimbabwe's last resort- an interview with bestselling author Douglas Rogers originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>africabackpackingdouglas rogersDouglasRogersdriftershostelMugabeThe Last ResortTheLastResortzimbabweSun, 19 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Welcome to the Hotel Californias]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/18/welcome-to-the-hotel-californias/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/18/welcome-to-the-hotel-californias/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/18/welcome-to-the-hotel-californias/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave."Hotel California," the 1977 hit single by the Eagles, started out as a demo tape number. No one knew it would one day rank as one of the greatest songs in rock 'n' roll history according to Rolling Stone and other publications.

You can hear the song, which is about a traveler who gets trapped in tacky luxury at a hotel-an allegory for the greed and excess of the record industry-any time of year from Indonesia to Iran and beyond. (see hilarious video below) And it has also inspired entrepreneurs the world over to name their hotels after the insidiously catchy tune.

You can live it up at Hotel Californias in Panama, Portugal, England, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Uruguay, Turkey, Albania, Russia, Japan, Romania, Venezuela, East Timor, Bolivia, Paraguay, Croatia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, The Dominican Republic, near the end of a dark desert highway in Morocco and probably dozens of other places. And there's plenty of room at Italy's 18 Hotel Californias, where you're free to call up the captain and say, "please bring me my wine."

Continue reading Welcome to the Hotel Californias

Welcome to the Hotel Californias originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hotel californiaHotelCaliforniahotelsSat, 18 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Live like the 1% in Virginia's Hunt Country, where the dogs and horses have nicer sweaters than you do]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/16/live-like-the-1-in-virginias-hunt-country-where-the-dogs-and/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/16/live-like-the-1-in-virginias-hunt-country-where-the-dogs-and/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/16/live-like-the-1-in-virginias-hunt-country-where-the-dogs-and/#commentsTwo women emerge from the backseat of a Range Rover in full length mink coats. They stroll past a sign on a boutique window advertising pure bred Appalachian Great Pyrnees "rescue dogs." Up on Washington Street, shoppers consider $45 t-shirts, $132 cashmere sweaters, and $238 dresses, all in toddler sizing, at the Magic Wardrobe, a children's clothing boutique. Just outside of town, men play polo seven months out of the year.

Welcome to Middleburg, the heart of Virginia's Hunt Country, where even the apartment dwellers drive Audis and manage hedge funds. With the Occupy movement and election year politics putting the nation's ultra-rich in the spotlight, why not make a field trip out to the gorgeous Hunt Country to study the 1% in their natural habitat?

The Hunt Country includes the pastoral, hilly counties of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, about an hour west of Washington, D.C. Although there are some low-income residents in both counties, it's better known as an area of horse farms, fox hunts, fake accents, old estates, McMansions, and new money trying to be old money. Loudoun county now has the highest median household income of any county in the country at $119,540.

Middleburg is ground zero for upper crust leisure time pursuits in the area. Men in chunky, checked wool blazers and ascots share the streets with elegant looking women in riding boots and Burberry scarves. Dogs and horses in the area will be wearing nicer sweaters than you, but don't let the pretentious leanings of the town scare you away, as it's an undeniably charming, walkable small town.

The first thing you're likely to notice about Middleburg are all the hand painted signs for businesses like the Christmas Sleigh, which offers "fine European wares," Juliens, a "sandwicherie," The Fox's Den Tavern, and Les Jardins de Bagatelle, a French store where Callista Gingrich and her credit cards might feel right at home. The shops and oh-so-trendy eateries might be hard on your wallet, but it's hard to deny the fact that the place is an extremely pleasant spot to spend a day, or if you have beaucoup cash, a lifetime.

Gallery: Virginia's Hunt Country

MiddleburgUpscale MeatMiddleburg Horse FarmStone dwellingPolo time

Continue reading Live like the 1% in Virginia's Hunt Country, where the dogs and horses have nicer sweaters than you do

Live like the 1% in Virginia's Hunt Country, where the dogs and horses have nicer sweaters than you do originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>filthy richFilthyRichhunt countryHuntCountrymiddleburgrichvirginiawaterfordwealthwealthyThu, 16 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Daredevil gets clearance to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/15/daredevil-gets-clearance-to-cross-niagara-falls-on-a-tightrope/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/15/daredevil-gets-clearance-to-cross-niagara-falls-on-a-tightrope/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/15/daredevil-gets-clearance-to-cross-niagara-falls-on-a-tightrope/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Canadian officials gave final approval to daredevil Nik Wallenda's bid to tightrope across Niagara Falls on Wednesday. The Canadian Parks Commission decided to grant Wallenda a one-time exception to the longtime "stunting" ban which prohibits such activities at the Falls. Tourism officials on both sides of the border believe that Wallenda's crossing, which is likely to occur in mid-June and will be covered live on the Discovery Channel, is likely to boost tourism in the region.

In an extensive interview with Gadling in January, Wallenda said that if he didn't receive permission from Canadian officials, he'd cross the U.S. portion of the Falls, but maintained that crossing the international boundary was his dream. He said that he had his own rescue team and insisted that the event would be a win/win for the region.

View Poll

Daredevil gets clearance to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>niagaraniagara fallsNiagaraFallsNik WallendaNikWallendaWed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[London's worst rated hotels]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/14/londons-worst-rated-hotels/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/14/londons-worst-rated-hotels/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/14/londons-worst-rated-hotels/#commentsFiled under: ,

The bathroom was a biohazard. The sheets smelled like curry and body odor. Conditions you wouldn't find in the worst Compton crack house. I wanted to puke at the site of dirty water overflowing into the hallway onto the already moldy carpet. We did not have breakfast as we were afraid for our health.

These are a sampling of user-generated Trip Advisor reviews for five of the very worst rated hotels in London. Last month we brought you the lowlights from five maligned New York City hotels and if you thought those God-forsaken places were scary, wait till you read about the horrors travelers have experienced on the other side of the pond.

London is one of the most expensive cities in the world and it should be noted that these hotels are considered cheap, at least by London standards. But there's a difference between a cheap hotel and a bargain, and based on what we've read, you won't find us staying at these hotels anytime soon.

Corbigoe Hotel (above)

The website of this hotel, ranked #973 on Trip Advisor, features stock photos of London and none of the rooms, and, based upon the 161 1-star "terrible" reviews, it's easy to see why. A U.S. Marine wrote a page-turning, 2,907 word novella on the many shortcomings of the hotel which he titled "Heinous." He reportedly was roused from sleep at 7 A.M. by a man in a "brown leisure suite with a butterfly collar and gold rope necklace adorning his hairy chest," who told him that he'd have to change rooms because the one he was in was being "demolished" that day.

A woman from Plymouth, U.K. wrote that the smell of "damp, rotting curry" hit her as soon as she walked in the hotel and reported that she slept with all her clothes on because of the "chillingly horrid" squalor. A British woman wrote that she knocked on the door marked "Reception" in order to check out and was greeted by a shirtless employee, dressed only in boxer shorts.

And another British reviewer remarked that the hotel was so dirty that they felt compelled to wash even the unworn clothing that was in their suitcase. A traveler from Brighton in the U.K. reported that the place was suitable only for "pigs or dogs," and made them "think of their own grave." A Swedish female reported that a hotel employee "pinned her against the wall," and made an unwanted sexual advance.

Continue reading London's worst rated hotels

London's worst rated hotels originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>londonlondon hotelsLondonHotelsworst london hotelsWorstLondonHotelsTue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Talking your way into or out of a speeding ticket]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/13/talking-your-way-into-or-out-of-a-speeding-ticket/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/13/talking-your-way-into-or-out-of-a-speeding-ticket/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/13/talking-your-way-into-or-out-of-a-speeding-ticket/#commentsFiled under: ,

Do you know why I pulled you over? It's the question you hate to hear on a road trip and there is no right answer. In most cases, you know very well why you've been pulled over: you were driving too fast. But is it best to immediately admit it and apologize; play dumb and say something like, 'I'm not sure, was I going to fast?', make an excuse for why you were speeding, or go the denial route and tell the officer you have no idea why you were pulled over?

On a recent family road trip, I was pulled over just fifteen minutes away from my destination, after a seven hour drive with two toddlers raising hell in the backseat. I was frazzled and just couldn't wait to get there. The officer asked me the obligatory question that all highway patrolmen in the U.S. seem to ask and I froze. My mind processed his query as though it were rhetorical and didn't require a response.

"Do YOU know why I pulled you over," he repeated.

I took stock of the situation and blurted out a response.

Continue reading Talking your way into or out of a speeding ticket

Talking your way into or out of a speeding ticket originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>road tripRoadTripspeeding ticketSpeedingTicketMon, 13 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Traveler in the Foreign Service: where paid time off is taken seriously]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/13/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-where-paid-time-off-is-given/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/13/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-where-paid-time-off-is-given/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/13/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-where-paid-time-off-is-given/#commentsFiled under: , ,

After a long weekend, have you ever thought- 'if only every work week lasted only four days?' Flex time and four 10-hour day work weeks are becoming more common, but most of us are still stuck working at least five days a week.

I wouldn't advise joining the Foreign Service solely because you want more vacation time and travel opportunities, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that these are two of the biggest perks of this career choice. Consider the benefits.

I'm talking long weekends, baby

Most Foreign Service Officers (FSO's) serve between 50-75% of their careers at embassies and consulates overseas where both local and U.S. holidays are observed. This means double the long weekends, or more in some festive locales. There are 10 U.S. federal holidays this year and some countries have even more. For example, the U.S. embassies in Sarajevo, Port of Spain and Port Louis will be closed for a total of 22 holidays in 2012. Bangkok has 21, and in Athens, Lisbon, Colombo, Berlin, Rome and New Delhi there are 20.

The Christmas season is a joy to behold in Orthodox countries thanks to the fact that the Orthodox, bless them, celebrate Christmas in early January. During the five weekend stretch between Christmas and MLK day, embassy employees this year had 4 long weekends.

Obviously many other posts have fewer holidays and in some of the more holiday-crazy countries, the embassy doesn't actually close for every holiday due to U.S. government restrictions, which are intended to ensure that FSO's spent at least some time at work each year.

In some fun-loving countries, the government will declare holidays as a spur-of-the-moment treat to boost their popularity. The pretext can sometimes be flimsy- the national handball team placed third in an obscure competition, or perhaps the country's second favorite poet just croaked and everyone needs an enjoyable long weekend at the beach to grieve. In some developing countries, there may be no pretext at all, just, 'screw it, we're not working on Monday.' But only a truly skillful U.S. Ambassador will find a way to close the embassy for spontaneously declared holidays.

Continue reading A Traveler in the Foreign Service: where paid time off is taken seriously

A Traveler in the Foreign Service: where paid time off is taken seriously originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>A Traveler in the Foreign ServiceATravelerInTheForeignServicecomparison of paid vacation around the worldComparisonOfPaidVacationAroundTheWorldforeign serviceForeignServiceholiday timeholiday time around the worldholidaysHolidayTimeHolidayTimeAroundTheWorldpaid vacationPaidVacationvacationvacation timeVacationTimeMon, 13 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The battle of leaning towers: Germany wins]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/10/the-battle-of-leaning-towers-germany-wins/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/10/the-battle-of-leaning-towers-germany-wins/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/10/the-battle-of-leaning-towers-germany-wins/#commentsFiled under: , ,






Germany and Switzerland have long been known as bastions of cool efficiency, where the trains run on time, locals scold visitors for jaywalking and everything works. But travelers might be surprised to know that these countries are also home to four of the world's most crooked towers, all of which lean more dramatically than the much more famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Since the completion of a decade-long restoration project reduced the angle of the Pisa tower's tilt from 5.5 to just 3.99 degrees, a host of other towns have stepped forward to proclaim that their towers are the world's biggest leaners, in the hopes that tourists will follow. In 2007, Reverend Frank Wessels, the pastor of a leaning church in the northwest German village of Suurhusen, contacted Guinness World Records, which confirmed the church as the world's "Farthest Leaning Tower." (see image above)

Wessels recently told Der Spiegel that the church now receives about 10,000 visitors per year. Not bad, but still quite modest compared to the 426,000 tourists who visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa last year, according to a tourism official quoted in The New York Times. But a number of other leaning towers have emerged in the wake of Suurhusen's crooked anointment.

Gallery: Battle of the Leaning Towers

Leaning church tower in Bad Frankenhausen, GermanySt. Mauritius in St. Moritz, SwitzerlandThe Leaning Tower of PisaCrooked church tower in Midlum, GermanyCrooked church in Suurhusen, Germany


A medieval defense tower in Dausenau, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, claimed a slightly greater tilt at 5.24 degrees, compared to 5.19 for Suurhusen, but Guinness rejected the bid because the tower is a crumbling ruin, not a functional, freestanding structure. A 12th century tower in St. Moritz, the tony Swiss ski resort, might have laid claim to the record, but a recent stabilization project reduced St. Mauritius' slant from 5.4 degrees to 5.08.

Meanwhile, a 174 foot tall church bell tower in Bad Frankenhausen, a spa town in the eastern German state of Thuringia, has its own claim. The degree measurement of its slant is more modest than that of Suurhusen's, but because its tower is nearly twice as tall, its total margin of deviation makes it appear even more crooked.

Continue reading The battle of leaning towers: Germany wins

The battle of leaning towers: Germany wins originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>architectureCrookedIgerman churchesGermanChurchesgermanyleaning tower of pisaLeaningTowerOfPisapreservationswiss churchesSwissChurchesswitzerlandFri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[NYC hotel housekeepers earn big raises, panic buttons]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/09/nyc-hotel-housekeepers-earn-big-raises-panic-buttons/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/09/nyc-hotel-housekeepers-earn-big-raises-panic-buttons/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/09/nyc-hotel-housekeepers-earn-big-raises-panic-buttons/#commentsFiled under: ,

According to a story in Wednesday's New York Times, New York City's largest union representing hotel workers has reached a long term contract with major hotel operators in the city which will give housekeepers and other employees big raises and will provide panic buttons for some hotel staff. Officials said that housekeepers, room service waiters and minibar attendants will receive electronic devices that will allow them to call for help.

Sources quoted in the story refused to confirm if the measure was in response to the Stauss-Khan affair of 2011, in which a housekeeper accused the then director of the IMF of sexual assault. The deal will also give hotel housekeepers and other workers health and pension benefits and raises of 29% over the life of the new seven year contract.

Union spokesperson John Turchiano provided the following details to Gadling regarding pay increases for hotel employees at most of New York's largest hotels. The first figure represents current pay and the second represents what their pay will be by the end of the new 7 year contract.

Front desk representatives: $46,644-$60,208
Electricians- $49,140- $63,440
Bellpersons- $24,187- $31,231
Housekeepers- $46,337-$59,823

Turchiano said that "tipped" workers like bellpersons made less because it is assumed that they will receive tips. Housekeepers, however, aren't considered "tipped" workers. According to The New York Times, per capita income in New York City was $52,375 as of 2009. Would this increased pay impact how you tip a NYC hotel housekeeper?

View Poll

NYC hotel housekeepers earn big raises, panic buttons originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hotelshousekeepingnew york cityNewYorkCitystrauss khanStraussKhanThu, 09 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[How to game Priceline to get the best deal on a hotel room]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/09/how-to-game-priceline-to-get-the-best-deal-on-a-hotel-room/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/09/how-to-game-priceline-to-get-the-best-deal-on-a-hotel-room/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/09/how-to-game-priceline-to-get-the-best-deal-on-a-hotel-room/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If you like to stay in nice hotels but hate paying full price for them, you've probably tried to bid for a room on Priceline at some point. But are you sure you got the lowest possible price? I've been using Priceline to bid on hotel rooms for years and I think I have the experience down to a science. Here's how I use the site.

Map out a bidding strategy using free re-bids

If you're familiar with Priceline, you know that if you're opening bid is rejected, you need to alter either the star level, dates of travel, or geographic zones in order to bid again. Otherwise you have to wait a full 24 hours before submitting the same request, even if you're willing to increase your bid.

A good way to circumvent this rule when bidding on hotel rooms in large cities is to determine what level of accommodation Priceline offers within each geographic zone. All you have to do is click each zone, one-by-one and see what star levels below gray out. For example, Atlanta has 21 zones. If you click into each, you'll discover that only 6 of those zones have 4 star hotels; 3 other zones have nothing better than 3.5 star hotels; 7 zones max out at 3 stars; 3 offer only 2.5 or 2 star hotels, and 2 allow bids only on 2 star hotels.

So if you want to bid on a four star hotel in Buckhead, you actually have 15 free re-bids in the zones with no 4 star offerings, at no risk. If you're willing to pay up to $90, for example, start out with a $45 low-ball offer, and then move up in $3 increments each time your bid is rejected, adding a "safe" zone each time.

Bid 1: 4 star, Buckhead- $45
Bid 2: 4 star, Buckhead, Druid Hills, $48
Bid 3: 4 star, Buckhead, Druid Hills, Forest Park, $51

And so on. If you strike out getting the 4 star hotel and are willing to move down to 3.5 stars, you start all over again, and, based on this example have 12 free re-bids on "safe" zones that have no 4 star or 3.5 star hotels. This can be time consuming, but I've gotten some incredible deals using this method, which has been explained on other sites as well, including the Westin Atlanta North at Perimeter Center for $55, the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing for $45, and the Marriott Toronto Airport for $48, to name just a few.

Continue reading How to game Priceline to get the best deal on a hotel room

How to game Priceline to get the best deal on a hotel room originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biddingbidding for travelbidding on hotelsBiddingForTravelBiddingOnHotelscheap hotelsCheapHotelshotel dealsHotelDealshotelspricelineThu, 09 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Busójárás: Hungary's version of Whacking Day]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/08/busojaras-hungarys-version-of-whacking-day/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/08/busojaras-hungarys-version-of-whacking-day/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/08/busojaras-hungarys-version-of-whacking-day/#commentsFiled under: , ,
























The blow nearly knocked me off my feet. I was crouching down to take a photo and WHACK! I felt and heard some blunt instrument smack me right on the top of my head. I was momentarily dazed by the force of the blow and by the time I gathered myself, my assailant, a boy of about 12 dressed up in a wooly suit and wooden mask, was already halfway down the block.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked an amused group of bystanders.

"It's Busójárás, so the young little devils like to run around and whack people," said a young man who spoke English.

Welcome to Busójárás, Hungary's version of Whacking Day. I'd heard about the colorful pre-Lenten carnival held in Mohacs each year but no one had warned me about the devlish little busós who run around whacking people.

Busójárás (pronounced Boo-show-yar-us) is a six-day festival that runs from February 16-21 this year. On the final day, always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, locals burn a coffin in the town square to symbolize the death of winter. The festival's highlight, however, occurs on Sunday when the carnival march of the busós starts. Busós are the scary, wooly-cloaked men with wooden masks you see in the accompanying photos, who arrive in a convoy of rowboats on the Danube River.

Gallery: Busójárás

Busó

The busós march all around the town in their home-made vehicles, while they attempt to frighten onlookers with cow-bells, clappers, and sticks, all the while courting women with symbolic erotic play and offering the audience wine, pálinka (a spirit) and doughnuts.

The festival was first celebrated about 300 years ago by the local Croatian Sokác minority. Depending on which version of history you subscribe to, the busós were originally supposed to scare off either the Turks or winter itself. These days, the occasion is celebrated by a broad spectrum of the local population, not just ethnic Croats. According to UNESCO, which recognized the carnival as a part of the region's cultural heritage which was in "urgent need of safeguarding" in 2009, some 500-600 busós from about 20 different organized groups participate each year.

Continue reading Busójárás: Hungary's version of Whacking Day

Busójárás: Hungary's version of Whacking Day originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>busobusojarasbusojaras festivalBusojarasFestivalfestivalsHungarymohacsWed, 08 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Jeffersonian dorm rooms in Charlottesville]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/07/jeffersonian-dorm-rooms-in-charlottesville/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/07/jeffersonian-dorm-rooms-in-charlottesville/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/07/jeffersonian-dorm-rooms-in-charlottesville/#commentsFiled under:

What's the hardest part about living in a dorm room designed by one America's founding fathers in the early part of the 19th century? Braving the elements when nature calls in the middle of the night.

"But guys have it easier," says Anne Allen, a fourth year student at the University of Virginia (UVA), who lives on The Lawn in Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village at the University of Virginia, along with 53 other students and several faculty members, in a dorm room with a sink but no toilet or shower. "They just pee in the sink."

Allen and her neighbors are the only college students in the country whose dormitory rooms are a tourist attraction. I met her and several other "lawnies" recently and our conversation was interrupted three times by groups of tourists who saw that her door was half open and asked to come inside for a look around. Why the fascination surrounding some 12 * 13 dorm rooms?

The village retains its allure largely because it remains true to the ideals Jefferson had in mind when he designed it in the 1820's. Each year hundreds of third-year students apply for the honor of securing one of 54 lawn rooms, which feature a fireplace, a rocking chair and a framed list of the room's inhabitants over the last century but no A/C, and no nearby parking.

Students are given bathrobes and have to brave the elements to get to the showers and toilets. Interspersed among the 54 dorm rooms are nine beautifully appointed "pavilions," which serve as the homes for deans and professors. According to Allen, there is never a dull moment living on the Lawn. Streaking across the Lawn stark naked is a UVA tradition, and "lawnies" have front row seats for the action.

The construction of the University was Jefferson's obsession in his twilight years and most of the architectural flourishes, including Doric-style columns, triple-sash walkout windows, and Chinese trellis railings, were his ideas. "Lawnies" are extremely proud of this rich architectural heritage and some go to great lengths to make smart use of their small but unique spaces in this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Charlottesville is one of the best college towns in the country and the grounds at UVA are stunning. And if you walk the Lawn, Anne or one of her neighbors will be glad to show you around. Provided you have some clothes on.

Jeffersonian dorm rooms in Charlottesville originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Charlottesvillecollegecollege lifeCollegeLifeUniversity of VirginiaUniversityOfVirginiavirginiaTue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Traveler in the Foreign Service: A birthday that went up in smoke in Belgrade]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/06/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-a-birthday-that-went-up-in-sm/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/06/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-a-birthday-that-went-up-in-sm/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/06/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-a-birthday-that-went-up-in-sm/#commentsFiled under: , ,

There's nothing like having a sealed train compartment full of Serbian farmers blowing smoke in your face on your 30th birthday. One of the strangest elements of expatriate life is that you sometimes find yourself celebrating major occasions with people you just met, rather than friends and family.

I had just started a tour as an American Foreign Service Officer in Macedonia right before my 30th birthday and my wife, who was completing a graduate degree in Chicago, hadn't yet arrived at post. So my options were to spend the auspicious occasion with people whom I barely knew, or spend it alone. I told Marija, one of my Macedonian colleagues, that I planned to take the train up to Belgrade, but didn't mention that the trip would take place on my 30th.

"Nobody takes the train," she said. "They gas the compartments and then rob everyone."

I ignored her and turned up at Skopje's forlorn train station on Saturday morning November 9, for my birthday trip to Belgrade. I love train travel and thought that it would be a pleasant way to spend the day. I had a compartment all to myself for the first hour of the trip, but shortly after we crossed the Serbian border, a group of four boisterous Serbs barged into the compartment.

There was a teenager named Ivan, two haggard, middle aged women whose names I didn't catch, and a middle aged man named Slavica who wore a garish jacked with the words CHICAGO HAPPY MEMBER CLUB emblazoned in a huge font across his back. I couldn't help but note the irony: I was spending my 30th birthday with a member of the Chicago Happy Member Club, rather than with my wife in Chicago.

Immediately after sitting down, Slavica slid the compartment door shut, lit up a cigarette, and blew the smoke right in my face. I pointed to the no-smoking sticker on the door. He gave me a puzzled look and a shrug and kept smoking, so I opened our window. In the Balkans, and in other parts of the world, fresh air is seen as a dangerous thing- perhaps akin to spending a holiday at a leper colony or having unprotected sex with an H.I.V. positive prostitute-which causes all sorts of illnesses.

Continue reading A Traveler in the Foreign Service: A birthday that went up in smoke in Belgrade

A Traveler in the Foreign Service: A birthday that went up in smoke in Belgrade originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>A Traveler in the Foreign ServiceATravelerInTheForeignServicebelgradeeuropemacedoniaSerbiasmokingsmoking banSmokingBanThe Foreign ServiceTheForeignServicetraintrain travelTrainTravelMon, 06 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Gangi: The Italian hill town the guidebooks forgot to mention]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/02/gangi-the-italian-hill-town-the-guidebooks-forgot-to-mention/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/02/gangi-the-italian-hill-town-the-guidebooks-forgot-to-mention/http://www.gadling.com/2012/02/02/gangi-the-italian-hill-town-the-guidebooks-forgot-to-mention/#commentsFiled under: ,

Have you ever fallen in love with a place that doesn't merit a mention in most guidebooks and felt conflicted about the its obscurity? On the one hand, you don't want it to be "discovered," but on the other, the snub feels like a bit of an insult, even for you, the newcomer who just fell for the place. This is how I feel about Gangi, an obscure, remote 12th century hill town tucked away near Sicily's Madonie Mountains.

Gangi is well off the tourism trail, and only 24 people have bothered to "like it" on Facebook. But in my family, it is our Jerusalem, Mecca, and Athens. My grandfather, Carmelo Seminara, was born in the town in 1880 and lived there until emigrating to the U.S. in the early part of the 20th century. My father talked about Gangi so much during my childhood, that by the time I visited Gangi myself for the first time, I felt like I already knew the place.

Gangi's old town hasn't changed much since my grandfather left almost a century ago. You can see the town's pyramid of stone buildings, newer ones on the bottom, older on top from miles away as you approach. The road that leads up into the ancient center is so steep, narrow and intimidating that only those who live in town, have raced the LeMans course before, or who have a death wish should consider driving up to the very top of the town. Want to walk up? Better have a damn good pair of shoes, strong calves and a clean pair of lungs. You'd have to be on crack to even try to read a street map of the place- just keep going up, up, up until you reach the town's heart, the Piazza del Popolo, or collapse in exhaustion trying.

The first time I tried to drive up the center, I made it about half way and then chickened out. Even when you have the road to yourself, a simple trip is harrowing. When a car tries to come at you going in the opposite direction, one party needs to back up and come to some kind of agreement regarding how the situation will proceed. I would pay good money to see someone try to drive an Escalade up into the Piazza.

The modern traveler cannot help but notice what isn't in the old town of Gangi- no restaurants, no internet cafes, art galleries, hotels, wine shops, tourist information offices, souvenir stands, or any other business that caters to those who don't live in the immediate area. What Gangi does have is a tangle of ancient streets and narrow dwellings populated by proud people that all know each other and still buy their bread, milk and veggies from men who drive by in trucks and hawk their wares by broadcasting over makeshift bullhorns.

Continue reading Gangi: The Italian hill town the guidebooks forgot to mention

Gangi: The Italian hill town the guidebooks forgot to mention originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gangihill townsHillTownsitalian hill townsItalianHillTownsmadoniesicilian hill townsSicilianHillTownssicilyThu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Traveler in the Foreign Service: (Not so) sexy time]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/30/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-not-so-sexy-time/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/30/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-not-so-sexy-time/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/30/a-traveler-in-the-foreign-service-not-so-sexy-time/#commentsFiled under:

Hugh Hefner wouldn't make a very good Foreign Service Officer (FSO). FSO's serving overseas need to disclose information about their lovers to the embassy's Regional Security Officer (RSO), who in turn conduct investigations on foreign-born romantic partners to ensure that they aren't likely to blackmail or manipulate them. There are no secrets and playboys tend to crash and burn before their careers can take off.

Managing relationships in the Foreign Service can be a travail, even for the monogamous. I was (and still am) happily married during my tenure in the service, but I have second-hand experience with this topic, vis-à-vis single and divorced former colleagues.

The expatriate experience tends to test marriages in a way that everyday life in the U.S. might not, and weak relationships don't last long. My wife and I arrived at our first post as newlyweds and found that we needed to rely on each other more so than at home. When you arrive in a new country with no friends or relatives to fall back on, you spend an inordinate amount of time with your spouse and don't have the same support network you would at home. In our case, and for many other couples, the experience brought us close together, cementing our bond. But that is not always the case.

I've heard people say that divorce rates in the Foreign Service are high, but I'm not sure they're any higher than they are in the general population. But in the fishbowl world of the Foreign Service, where the line between one's personal and work life is often blurred, divorce can take a toll on careers.

A former colleague told me that after he separated from his wife and arrived at a new post single, everyone seemed to already know his story. He said he was "the object of huge curiosity and scrutiny."

Continue reading A Traveler in the Foreign Service: (Not so) sexy time

A Traveler in the Foreign Service: (Not so) sexy time originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>A Traveler in the Foreign ServiceATravelerInTheForeignServiceexpatriateExpatriateLifestylesexpatriatesforeign serviceForeignServicelovelove and sexLoveAndSexrelationshipssexMon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New York City's worst rated hotels]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/25/new-york-citys-worst-rated-hotels/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/25/new-york-citys-worst-rated-hotels/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/25/new-york-citys-worst-rated-hotels/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Stunning Cockroaches. Dodgy brown stains. When we got to the room, all I could do was cry. Moldy swamp pit. Dried boogers on the wall. Cheap porn set. We met mice in the corridor. Smelled like murder and hookers. I thought we were going to be raped or murdered.

These are excerpts from user generated Trip Advisor reviews of five of New York's most maligned hotels and hostels, the New World Hotel, ranked the 393rd "best" hotel on the site, Hotel Riverside Studios, ranked #395, La Semana Hotel, ranked #400, the Sun Bright Hotel, ranked #403, and the West Side Inn, ranked #405. Another poorly rated hotel in Trip Advisor, the Aladdin, has actually been converted into a homeless shelter.

There are literally hundreds of scathing reviews for these grim hotels but in order to find them, travelers need to click through fourteen pages of higher rated hotels on the site. Travel publications devote a huge amount of space to celebrating the world's best hotels, but virtually none to condemning the worst ones, so it's easy to see how inexperienced travelers could be disappointed in New York, America's most expensive city, where $100 a night doesn't buy much.

I've spent a good deal of time traveling on a budget in the developing world and consider myself to be something of a cheap hotel aficionado. I've stayed in hotels frequented by drunks, prostitutes and outright criminals, places with no running water, pit toilets with no doors, filthy mattresses tossed on the floor- places squalid enough to occasionally inhabit my nightmares to this day. But I haven't stayed in any of these hotels, so please note that these reflections are those of travelers writing on Trip Advisor. And even the worst reviewed places have some defenders. But not many. Per the Trip Advisor ratings, here are the worst among the worst:

Continue reading New York City's worst rated hotels

New York City's worst rated hotels originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>budget hotelsBudgetHotelsnew york citynew york city hotelsNewYorkCityNewYorkCityHotelsworst hotels in new york cityWorstHotelsInNewYorkCityWed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Richmond: America's most underrated city?]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/24/richmond-americas-most-underrated-city/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/24/richmond-americas-most-underrated-city/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/24/richmond-americas-most-underrated-city/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

As the former capitol of the Confederacy, Richmond has long been one of the premier destinations in the country for Civil War geeks. But as I discovered on two recent visits, it's also a young, vibrant city with architecture treasures, stunning parks, walkable neighborhoods, great food and perhaps the most elegant vintage cinema in the country.

For Yanks looking for a quick taste of old Dixie, it's also the northernmost Southern city, making it an easy weekend getaway for Northerners in search of some Southern hospitality. I live in Northern Virginia, which is technically part of the South, but in reality, Southern accents and good biscuits are a two hour drive south in Richmond, which is on my short list for most underrated historic cities in America. Below are my suggestions for how to spend a memorable weekend in Virginia's capital.

Sites
Maymont- The hilly grounds of this 100 acre estate built by Confederate tycoon, Major James Dooley, offer panoramic views of the James River and feature lush gardens, a children's farm, and a nature center. There is a small admission fee to visit the mansion and nature center but you can explore the beautiful grounds and visit the farm for free.

St. John's Episcopal Church- Built in 1741, this handsome wooden church, located in Richmond's historic Church Hill neighborhood, is where Patrick Henry delivered his famous "Give me liberty, or give me death," speech to George Washington.

The Fan- If you like Victorian architecture, this alluring neighborhood just west of downtown is a must see. Easily one of my favorite walkable neighborhoods in the country.

The Byrd Theatre- Built in 1928, this may be the most beautiful old time cinema in the country. Even if you don't plan to take in a $1.99 movie, stop in to take a look at this masterpiece theater, which is located in Carytown, a neighborhood with great shops and restaurants.

Continue reading Richmond: America's most underrated city?

Richmond: America's most underrated city? originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dixierichmondsouthern statesSouthernStatesthe american southTheAmericanSouthunderratedvirginiaTue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST