Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:00PM: It's not every day that you bump into Queen Elizabeth II on your way to work.
Walking from my house to the Bodleian Library in Oxford to research my next book, I noticed a large crowd and dozens of cops outside Christ Church College. It turned out the Queen was coming to take part in an old English tradition – giving away Maundy Money.
Today is Maundy Thursday, the day before Good ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Easter posts
Bumping Into Queen Elizabeth II In Oxford
Mar 28th, 2013 at 3:00PM: It's not every day that you bump into Queen Elizabeth II on your way to work.
Walking from my house to the Bodleian Library in Oxford to research my next book, I noticed a large crowd and dozens of cops outside Christ Church College. It turned out the Queen was coming to take part in an old English tradition – giving away Maundy Money.
Today is Maundy Thursday, the day before Good ...Should Easter Be A Long Weekend In The US?
Mar 26th, 2013 at 11:00AM: At the stroke of midnight, fireworks lit up the night sky on the Greek island of Naxos. In a square outside a centuries old church, at least half the island's population gathered to celebrate the occasion. Children ran around and threw firecrackers, senior citizens occupied all the choice benches and everyone was dressed to the nines and holding lit candles. An hour or so after midnight, everyone ...Colorado Ski Resorts Offer Spring Break Deals, Special Events, Statewide
Mar 1st, 2013 at 2:00PM: Still mulling over where to spend spring break, be it solo, or with friends or family? Colorado Ski Country USA resorts make it easy, with a handy online guide promoting special deals and events statewide throughout March and part of April.
In addition to loads of concerts and fun and endurance ski races at most resorts, there's also the famed Elk Mountain Grand Traverse backcountry race from ...Photo Of The Day: Copan Carpet In Honduras
Apr 8th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
This Sunday marks the Easter Holiday in much of the world, and worshippers everywhere are marking the day with uniquely local traditions. As evidence check out this photo taken by Flickr user Aldaberto.H.Vega in Honduras. As part of Semana Santa locals lay out brilliant "carpets" on the streets composed of colorful sawdust and flowers documenting the Stations of the Cross. The Gadling team ...Want to get away for Easter weekend? These U.S. hotels are offering holiday specials
Mar 15th, 2012 at 2:00PM: Are you sick of doing the same thing every year for Easter? Why not make this holiday special and do a bit of traveling? These hotels are offering packages, parties, spa discounts, egg hunts, bountiful brunches, the chance to meet the Easter Bunny and more.
Sandestin Beach Hilton
Destin, Florida
The Sandestin Beach Hilton is a family friendly resort with an array of activities, like ...Photo of the day - Carpets of Copan, Honduras
May 19th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
If the street above looks a little more colorful than the average road, it's because the carpet has been rolled out for Semana Santa, or holy week leading up to Easter. The "carpets" are made from colored sawdust and flowers and illustrate the Stations of the Cross. There are many reasons to visit Copan in the western region of Honduras, but the procession that will march down this street on ...Hilarious wipeouts from "Bring your own Big Wheel" race in San Francisco
Apr 25th, 2011 at 4:30PM:
Last weekend, on Easter Sunday, San Franciscans took to the streets for the annual big wheel race. The BYOBW (Bring Your Own Big Wheel) race takes place annually on Easter at Potrero Hill in San Francisco. It is a hilariously splendid event. Full grown humans dress up as luchadors, superheros, chickens, and even Michael Jackson and take to the hill on a variety of wheeled contraptions, ...
Crucifixion nails found in Israel? Probably not.
Apr 16th, 2011 at 11:30AM: There's been a shocking archaeological discovery in Israel. Nails from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ have been found!
Well, no, probably not.
The claim comes from Israeli Canadian documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, the Washington Post reports. Jacobovici has done several documentaries on Christian subjects and came across an archaeological report from 1990 mentioning the discovery of ...Retail therapy: Istanbul ShoppingFest begins March 18
Mar 16th, 2011 at 3:30PM: Every year, many people visit Istanbul to shop in the historic Grand Bazaar to haggle over carpets, Turkish tea glasses, and souvenir t-shirts. But most locals do their shopping in Istanbul's many malls, markets, high streets like Istiklal near Taksim Square and Bağdat on the Asian side, and neighborhoods such as posh Nişantaşı and funky Çukurcuma. This year, from March 18 to April 26, ...Bizarre foods: European "delicacies," by country
Mar 16th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
What constitutes "food" is relative, depending upon what part of the world you call home. In Asia, pretty much anything on no (snakes), two, four, six, or eight legs is up for grabs. Europe, however, has its own culinary oddities, as detailed below. Got maggots?
Iceland
Hákarl: Fermented, dried Greenland or basking shark. This tasty treat is prepared by burying the beheaded and ...Baby jumping at Spain's oddest Corpus Christi Festival
Apr 7th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Each week, Gadling is taking a look at our favorite festivals around the world. From music festivals to cultural showcases to the just plain bizarre, we hope to inspire you to do some festival exploring of your own. Come back each Wednesday for our picks or find them all HERE.
Every year Catholic observers around the world celebrate the holiday of Corpus Christi. The festivities represent a ...Find a golden Easter egg, win a luxe trip to The Joule
Mar 29th, 2010 at 5:30PM: If you live in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Washington DC or Dallas, your Tuesday just turned awesome.
Tomorrow, Today, March 30, in the selected cities above, Dallas' The Joule, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel in a fabulous 1920s neo-gothic building, is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt! To play, follow @thejoule, watch for #JouleHunt hashtags and ...Foreign visits to the U.S. show signs of life
Jan 13th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Travel to the United States finally grew in October! After six months of declines, thanks to an Easter bump in April, foreign visitation finally ticked higher, an increase of 1 percent year-over-year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. If you take the holiday factor out of the equation, the last year-over-year increase came in August 2008. It's difficult to tell whether the ...Peeps contests: The world through marshmallow bunnies and chicks
Apr 12th, 2009 at 9:30AM: Perhaps you've browsed through the "Peeps in Places" photo contest entries at Intelligent Travel. People have been snapping pictures of marsmallow chicks and bunnies in a variety of spots for a chance to win a Lenox China Peep or other Peeps related prizes. [Click here for larger view of Caesar Peep by citizenkafka.]
Along with being a cool idea--wish we'd thought of it--watching the slide show ...Photo of the Day (4.11.09)
Apr 11th, 2009 at 4:00PM: For the past two years I've been in Latin America on the days leading up to Semana Santa (or Holy Week), and I've been completely astounded by the Colombian and Cuban people's devotion to their faith. By way of contrast, here in Honolulu, I didn't even get a day off yesterday (Good Friday), though most state businesses did. My students tell me that in Europe they observe a 4-day weekend during ...Spring deals for indoor waterpark lodges
Apr 11th, 2009 at 12:15PM: With warm weather barely hovering, the idea of finding a place where temperatures feel more tropical is appealing. You don't have to head south to find it. Several indoor waterpark resorts are offering spring deals to entice travelers. I'm heading to one of them myself.
Cherry Valley Lodge in Ohio is a deal-making expert. Tomorrow, for example, by ordering two adult entrees at the lodge's ...Mascots needed for Miami Seaquarium Easter celebration
Mar 31st, 2009 at 9:00AM: If your parents told you your career at Chuck E. Cheese was a dead end, you can finally flaunt your possibilities. The Miami Seaquarium is ready to make your dreams come true. Its annual Easter Egg Hunt Celebration starts Friday, April 10, 2009 and runs through Sunday, April 12. To make the event come to life, the Seaquarium needs mascots, and that's where you get involved. You can bring your own ...No Wrong Turns: Easter in Mexico....No Mini Eggs Here
Mar 24th, 2008 at 9:40AM: You won't find any pastel colored eggs, chocolates or fuzzy white rabbits in Mexico during Easter. In fact, there isn't a speck of the materialistic, Cadbury-bunny-laced Easter we have come to know and love at home. And, believe me, I looked for those addictive Mini Eggs everywhere. Mexicans are predominantly Catholic and Holy Week, or "Semana Santa" as it is known here, is the most important ...Drive-thru Easter story (and more about Easter in Ohio)
Mar 23rd, 2008 at 11:20AM: So I actually made it to Cleveland for Easter. It was not exactly easy, but I guess Easter is all about suffering so I am not complaining. The flight from Prague to New York was delayed and the flight from New York to Cleveland was three hours more delayed because Ohio got hit with 8 inches of snow. Yes, snow on Easter. Long story short, I made it here in time to find what the Easter bunny left ...Holy Week in Poland - Part 2: Krakow
Apr 8th, 2007 at 9:15PM: The respect and love felt for "hometown hero" Pope John Paul II is evident throughout Krakow. The 1st anniversary of his death fell during the Easter season in 2006, inspiring an additional layer of reverence and special tributes throughout the city. Despite threatening clouds and intermittent rain, an outdoor photo montage of his life was displayed along the planty that circles Old Town. Inside ...
