Travel Mags - Jan 06

WORTH A TRIP: “With apologies to Keira Knightley, the real estate steals the show.” That’s Budget Travel’s take on the movie Pride & Prejudice, and they back it up with details on how you can visit the palatial English country estates that upstaged poor Keira. They’ve also got the scoop on nine other movie settings, including Brokeback Mountain (Alberta, Canada, subs for Wyoming), Memoirs of a Geisha (most locations are in California) and The Chronicles of Narnia, which was shot in filmdom’s favorite imaginary land, New Zealand. But don’t attempt to track down the Antarctic denizens from March of the Penguins. "Mating occurs in the most remote and inaccessible place on earth," a source cautions. And you thought singles bars were rough.

WORTH A FLIP: Surgeon & Safari? Nip and Tuck Journeys? Believe it or not, they’re actually the names of companies specializing in medical tourism. travelgirl says it’s easier than ever to arrange for “orthopedic surgery, heart surgery and even organ transplants in faraway locations.” The big motivation is price. One provider quotes an “eyelid cosmetic procedure” at $1,500, versus a $6,000 price tag in the U.S. But beware, physician references, proper patient screening and the skill of the anesthesia provider are all important factors. Some U.S. docs also mock the idea of “vacationing” post-surgery, since sun exposure and booze are no-nos. Bottom line, do your homework and consider all the angles before you nip off to have a tuck...

Turin isn’t typical, Travel+Leisure claims. “The city's Versace store had to close because locals wouldn't be caught dead in such ostentatious clothes, and Hermès has to stock plain white paper shopping bags so patrons can carry its understated luxury home without risking any fashion statements along the way.” Italy’s Motown (it’s home to Fiat) may be conservative, with Baroque-era arcades that lend a sense of mystery, but there’s plenty to see and taste when you get below the surface – much like a favorite local drink, the bicerin, that layers milk, chocolate and coffee…

You can go back, Gourmet says in their 65th anniversary issue. And they make amends for the lack of information provided back in the days when “you weren’t necessarily supposed to travel” but rather, “just read about other people who had.” Many places the magazine visited in the 1940s have been transformed by tourism – Napa, Mallorca, the Dalmatian coast. But following in the footsteps of M.F.K. Fisher, we revisit Auberge du Raisin, a Swiss inn that would still make the great food writer swoon, over 60 years after her original story...

The latest gazillionaire status symbol seems to be building an exotic resort. Outside Traveler reports on Kasbah Tamadot, Brit billionaire Richard Branson’s hideaway outside of Marrakesh, and Hosteria Rincon del Socorro, the wildlife refuge and “eco-retreat” in Argentina, created by Doug Tompkins, former owner of The North Face. For the less-flush among us, Tompkins’ offering is the more affordable, starting at $130 per person, including meals and wildlife safaris with local gauchos. Doubles at Branson’s Kasbah rise upwards from $378… More fascinated by the haunts of famous men from the past? German Life recommends you pay a visit to hotel and restaurant Zur Hohen Lilie, in Erfurt. King Gustavus Adolphus II of Sweden was a “longstanding guest” until he was killed in battle in 1632. A century or so earlier, Martin Luther (under an assumed name) enjoyed chatting about the Reformation with unsuspecting fellow lodgers…

“Vienna cool? Who knew?” R.W. Apple exclaims in Town & Country Travel. New, refurbished or reinvented museums deserve much of the credit. One, the Albertina, has “sparkling high-tech galleries for its hoard,” including “more than a million prints by Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Durer and Rubens, as well as Rauschenberg and other modernists.” The Viennese music scene is as vibrant as ever. And when it comes to food, in this land of pastries “forget what your mother said and eat and drink between meals”… If you’ve been flirting with making a hardbound printed photo album using your digital vacation shots, grab this month’s Money. They’ve sampled six popular providers and handed out grades based on image quality, tools, flexibility and price. Shutterfly earns top honors, though the author recommends taking several sites for a test drive before forking over $30-50 for a twenty-page book….

WORTH A CLIP: To see how far digital photography has come, page through National Geographic Traveler, which went all-digital for their December/January issue. Then yank out the centerfold packed with tips from pros like Bob Krist, who says he switched to digital because “the immediate feedback, sometimes called ‘chimping’ [the ooh-ooh, ah-ah response to seeing a good image come up on your camera] is intoxicating.”

WORTH A CLICK: House sitting may be a great way to take a bargain vacation, according to AARP The Magazine – although you could find yourself sautéing fresh steak for a French cat’s breakfast or discover your “island paradise” is more like a tropical work camp. AARP recommends these websites for brave cheapskates willing to take the plunge: http://www.caretaker.org/ ($29.95), http://www.housecarers.com/ ($32), http://www.housesitworld.com/ ($40) and http://www.sabaticalhomes.com/ (house sitters can post ads for free).

WORTH A GAWK: Now you’ve got an excuse. Outside says “scientists have traced ‘fear response’ (your tendency to avoid things that might kill you) to a gene called neuroD2.” Some people may have smaller amounts of the protein the gene produces, which means they have less fear than the rest of us about scaling treacherous mountains, tackling class VI rapids or tasting that odd-looking item on the cruise ship buffet table…

Travel Mags - Dec 05

WORTH A TRIP: You’ve heard of fusion food – but fusion vacations? In Outside, Nick Heil tracks a heady mix of altruism and adventure on the Sight-to-Summit Expedition in Nepal, which brought together “thoroughbred” mountain climbers and eye surgeons to help restore sight to hundreds of elderly blinded by cataracts. After performing operations in improvised field hospitals, the gang headed off to tackle one of the Himalayas’ “celebrity” summits. But it soon becomes clear that the real peak experience was witnessing patients at the moment their bandages came off. “As the eye patches fell to the grass, one man leaped up and started dancing,” Heil reports, while an ecstatic woman exclaimed “‘It is like seven suns.’” Reader beware: you may find yourself rethinking that nice, margarita-soaked beach holiday you’ve been planning…

WORTH A FLIP: American Legacy (“The magazine of African-American History & Culture”) visits Salvador, Brazil, with “the largest concentration of people of African descent in the Western Hemisphere,” taking us from a church built by slaves where African drums replace the usual organ, to a Candomble temple where ancient African religion is practiced, to a poor district where the spirit of Malcolm X and samba swirl together…Fond of things that go bump in the night? Check into Baskerville Hall Hotel in Wales, The Sunday Times Travel recommends. Site of a famous Sherlock Holmes mystery, it also hosts “Haunting Breaks,” where guests might snap photos revealing “ectoplasm” or hold séances to summon a dead relative. At the least, the daunting gothic façade will send shivers down your spine…While Carmen Electra frolics on Aspen Mountain’s manicured Colorado slopes, not far away, intrepid adventurers are belly-flopping down treacherous tracks on souped-up air mattresses. Known as airboarding, the sport is relatively new in the U.S., Esquire says. It’s like “riding an Olympic luge, except headfirst and rudderless, with trees and boulders scattered across the track and medical help hours away by snowshoe.” Hooked yet? How about ripping down the mountain at speeds that would get you pulled over on the freeway? Fortunately, a guide explains, “‘Airboards double as air bags’”…If you’d prefer to chip away at mountains rather than hurtle down them, give opal mining a try. Fork over $90 a day, Country Discoveries reports, and you can search for rare black opals at the Royal Peacock Opal Mine in Nevada’s Virgin Valley – finders, keepers…

For those who remember Moscow’s food scene being glum as a guard at Lenin’s tomb, you’re in for a surprise. Gourmet claims “deciding among the many restaurants, cafes, and coffeehouse that have replaced the grim establishments of the past can be bewildering.” At a seafood spot, the “glass floor reveals huge sturgeon and carp swimming beneath your feet,” while a Ukrainian-style tavern “offers one dish more fabulous than the last” as you gaze on a grandmotherly figure tending “real farm animals” in a courtyard. Or get a taste of the lifestyle that sparked a revolution at Café Pushkin, “where the glories of 19th-century Russian dining are re-created”…It’s not your granddad’s trailer: “Far from a retirement den outfitted with La-Z-Boys, BaseCamp is a mobile outpost for adventurers,” Suface says of the latest silver bullet from Airstream. The new sleeper/trailer comes with a kitchen, two bunks, its own attachable tent and “a ramp to roll on off-road toys” – yet it’s compact enough be towed by almost any car…

To score a ticket for the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament in Germany, you practically have to offer up your firstborn. Budget Travel walks you through the labyrinthine lottery process, and also provides alternatives, including brokers who will merely demand thousands of dollars…travelgirl bares all to take in France’s “nude city” of Cap d’Agde, which numbers 40,000 naturists during peak season, complete with nude supermarkets, nude Internet cafes, even a nude post office. We especially like the hilarious nude Barbie dolls that illustrate the story (photos of real patrons are forbidden)...

WORTH A CLICK: For a more classic French experience, follow the lavender road, France Magazine advises. With the right information, furnished by Association Routes de la Lavande (www.routes-lavande.com), you’ll be able to track down hidden trails and villages “not even mentioned in the usual maps,” where waves of fragrant blooms intoxicate travelers.

WORTH A CLIP: Don’t know Jin Shin Jyutsu from Mandi Lulur? Nope, they’re not the latest Kung Fu stars, but spa treatments. Tear out SpaFinder’s “Asian primer” for explanations of all the trendy new treatments drifting over from the East. (FYI, those named above are a type of Japanese acupressure and a cleansing “body ritual” performed on Javanese brides.)

WORTH A GAWK: EEEUW! On January 26, Brisbane, Australia holds its Cockroach Festival, described as “the greatest gathering of thoroughbred cockroaches in the known universe,” according to Travel Savvy. In true Aussie style, “the winning cockroach is fed a glass of beer.” No word on whether tourists visiting for the big event stay in roach motels…