We've Got a Name - and a Winner!

In last month's newsletter we announced a contest to give our monthly newsletter a name. We received over 150 suggestions. What a creative and enterprising group Slow Travelers are - but we all knew that already!

The moderators went through two rounds of voting to arrive at our final choice. This was a difficult choice because so many great names were proposed. But we have agreed on a winner, and the new name Slow Tidings makes its debut with this issue.

Congratulations to member St. Monica who submitted the winning name. Your Gold Star membership will be continued for another year on us!

Our March Contest: Photos for Slow Tidings

We know most Slow Travelers really enjoy taking photos on their trips, so this month's contest should be a lot of fun. We're looking for 12 photos to use as the masthead for the next twelve issues. Each of the 12 winners will receive a one year Gold Star membership or a one year extension of an existing membership. Photos will be credited to the photographer.

Contest Rules:

Limit of two (2) entries per member. Only your first two entries will be considered.
Please consider photos that best reflect the concepts of "Slow Travel" and "Slow Tidings." Photos with a landscape (horizontal) orientation are preferred.
Photos should be resized to be no wider than 600 pixels before submission. Read about how to resize your photos here. Photos that have not already been resized will not be considered.
Winning photos may be edited and/or cropped to meet size requirements for the masthead. Photos may also be used on the Slow Travel website.
The moderators will serve as judges. Winners will be announced in the April issue of Slow Tidings and the first photo will be featured in that issue.
Entries should be submitted to slowtalk@slowtrav.com by Friday, April 3, 2009.

Speaking of Photos... We're Still PhotoHunting!

Boules of Cheese from SLJones

PhotoHunts continue to be one of Slow Travel's most popular features. Every week or so moderators post different themes on various forums. Slow Travelers hunt through their digital photo files and post photos that interpret that theme in some way. Here are the results of a few recent PhotoHunts that are still active. Maybe you've got a photo to add?

Wood on the Everything About Travel forum.
Overhead on the Italy forum.
Round on the France forum.

Slow Travelers Talk!

Here are a few of the most interesting discussions on the Slow Talk forums this past month. Feel free to participate in the conversations!

General Travel Topics

–interesting, fun, sometimes provocative travel discussions

It can be challenging to organize all the information for a trip. Some Slow Travelers can't live without their spreadsheets, as discussed in these two threads: Spreadsheet for trip to Rome (started by JMarie) and Do You Create a Travel Planning/Itinerary Spreadsheet for your trips? (started by TourMama).
We got a variety of opinions when profpeabody asked Big lunch or big dinner (both??!) when traveling?
New member TrojanEE (a recent USC grad) found his way to our site and asked for 3 week Europe trip recommendations. His initial plan was to visit 15 cities in 21 days. He knew his plan was "overambitious." See what Slow Travelers had to say.
Marta asked What is your favorite point and shoot travel camera?

Trip Planning

– requests for ideas, input or help on upcoming trips

Slow Travelers were busy this month planning a variety of trips in 2009. Some are even looking ahead to 2010. Most of these topics are still going on and we welcome more input on any of them.

New member T27 is planning a first trip to Italy, actually a Honeymoon in Italy. She came to the right place for advice!
CaWino asked for input on a 14-day Sicily itinerary.
Janet will be visiting Piedmonte in May and asked what they can expect. Piedmonte in May--any festivals? weather?
Perpetual Traveler is planning a trip to France in June and asked others to recommend their Favorite Gardens in the Loire/Loir/Cher Valleys.
Mbp43 wondered about the practicality of renting a Minivan in the Luberon for a family trip this summer. After getting a variety of inputs from Slow Travelers, the family made a decision.
Chachalaca is planning an unexpected trip to the south of France and asked for Suggestions for a Var rental.
Woodstock wants to see this summer's Tour de France AND Lavender (and Sunflowers...) and asked other Slow Travelers for advice.
On the UK/Ireland forum we've had several good discussions about long-distance walking trips: Which to hike? Dingle Way or Kerry Way?(started by dsj421), Cornwall, Northumberland or Hadrian's Wall?(started by Sharonov) and Self-guided walking trips in UK and what area to go to?(started by 6abc).
Janiceh is starting to plan her family's First trip to Ireland-Connemara and Doolin and needed help with their trip.
Letha wanted input for ideas about a trip from Nice to Barcelona with a car.
JDeQ won a cruise of the Greek Isles and will spend some extra time in Greece. He asked Is a week in Athens too long?
SLJones had several questions about Hvar, Croatia car rental.
SteveS is looking for ideas for a family Summer Road Trip to Northern California.
Happy in Paris is planning a leisurely nine days in Florida and wanted ideas for Idling in Key West.
Candi is planning a trip to Thailand and asked about hiring drivers in Thailand. She has received good information on drivers, guides, tours and places to trek in Thailand.
TimW is planning a trip to Capetown and asked What did you like as a tourist in Cape Town? He is still looking for some more suggestions.

Sharing Resources

– posting links, articles and information of interest to the community

Teaberry started a weekly post reporting on Travel TV in the coming week. Check each week for a new thread in the Everything about Travel forum to learn about upcoming shows and movies with a travel theme.
Slow Travelers often post about great deals on airfares and hotels. New York-Rome under $300 all-in Nov-Dec by Andrew may no longer be available, but worth checking and Kim posted about a Great rate at NYC hotel. (Posts like these are great reasons to check the forums on a regular basis.)

Unanswered questions

- these members haven't been answered... perhaps you can help!

Lauriec wants to know What to do in or near Fauglia (south of Pisa)?
Elizabeth718 is looking for bike tours to Versailles.
NormP is taking a group of high school Culinary Arts students to Paris and is looking for inexpensive half-day cooking seminars or tours.

Elsewhere on Slow Travel

(reviews, trip reports, photos and blogs)

Enjoy a sample of some of the new publications on the Slow Travel website:

Travel Articles

Predictable Unpredictability by Valerie Schneider
Valerie and Bryan settle into their temporary home in Costa del Cilento on the coast of southern Italy and experience the predictable unpredictability of living the Italian life.

In Love with Orvieto by Cheryl Alexander
Cheryl describes why she loves the Umbrian town of Orvieto.

Trip Reports

View from Florence's rooftop cafe, La Terrazza

Embracing Umbria by sandarac
"I spent two weeks traveling around Umbria, staying in Assisi, Bevagna and Perugia before I ended the trip with a few nights in Florence. For mid-September, the weather was surprising cold, but Umbria was as delightful as ever!

Forget the Bubble Wrap - We Need a Bigger Suitcase! by Bob from Boston
"We embark on the family trip to Italy that we had talked about for many years but did not believe would ever materialize. After all, it is not easy to organize eleven people to agree on the best time to go and what the destinations should be."

Reviews

Member reviews are extremely helpful to travelers when they're planning their trips. Please remember to submit your reviews! Enjoy a sample of reviews from the past month:

Vacation Rentals

Eliza3 gives us our second good review for DestinationBCN when she stayed in their Paso Doble apartment while Ann from HI seems to have found a gem for a town stay in Provence, at Bastide Marechal Denier Le Lieutenant, located in the town of Bonnieux.

Hotels

Maria I. shared her review of Hotel NH Amistad Córdoba in Cordoba, Spain, while Maryk really enjoyed her stay at Hotel Kindli in Zurich, Switzerland.

Restaurants

JessD reviewed two tapas bars in Madrid: Casa Labra and Cafe Melo's.

Photo Albums

Several Slow Travelers posted photos to this year's Savannah GTG photo album. There are some wonderful photos of Savannah - and of Slow Travelers having fun together.
TrekCapri updated the Spain Towns & Cities category with some great photos of Spain.

Blogs

We love reading blogs by Slow Travelers!

Our 27 February bloggers completed their month of blogging together. Congratulations to this group of dedicated bloggers. Most of the group is continuing to blog on a regular basis.
Maria I has been blogging some excellent information on Morocco. She has them tagged with Morocco and you can find a index of her Morocco posts here.
Girasoli has been blogging about the 10 things she loves about Bologna. There is also more great information to be found in the Emilia Romagna index.

Consider a Slow Travel Get-Together (GTG)

The Crowd at 2008 Slow Bowl

Many times each year - while traveling or at home - Slow Travelers meet for GTGs (get togethers). Most GTGs involve a lunch or dinner at a restaurant or private home. Sometimes GTGs last an entire weekend. A GTG can involve 30 or 40 people or even just two. All GTGs have two main things in common: friends and fun (and usually food and wine too!). GTGs provide a great opportunity to connect with fellow travelers who live in your area or who live or are traveling in an area where you're visiting.

One way to hook up with other travelers is to post your trip on the Trip Calendar. Check the calendar to see whose trip may coincide with yours. You can also post on the GTG Forum, suggesting a GTG. Or watch the GTG Forum for announcements about upcoming GTGs. If this is your first GTG, you won't be a stranger very long.

Since the first of the year there have been GTGs in Boston MA; Paso Robles, CA; Washington DC; Lerici, Italy; and Savannah, GA. Check out the fun in our GTG photo albums.

Plans are underway for several GTGs in Rome, the 4th Annual Bay Area Picnic GTG in early August, and a GTG in St. Louis at the end of August. See the GTG Forum for more information.

Another Great Slow Travel Gathering in 2010?

Almost 90 Slow Travelers and guests from all over North America attended our first "Great Slow Travel Gathering" in Savannah, Georgia in April 2008. Now we're discussing the possibility of another Gathering on the West Coast (San Diego) in March 2010.

If you have not already responded, please go to the Gathering poll and take a minute to let us know if you are interested in being part of this Gathering or if this is one you will not be able to attend. The responses will help us make a decision.

The potential plan for 2010, per Skipper extraordinaire Shannon, is to follow the Southern California vibe and keep it simple, laid-back and in keeping with the current economy, as low-cost as possible.

You can view our other newsletters: Newsletter Archive.

We hope you will forward this newsletter on to your friends. If you've received a forwarded copy and would like to subscribe, register on our forums: www.slowtalk.com.

Happy Travels!

The Slow Travel Team
www.slowtrav.com - Slow Travel
www.slowtalk.com – Slow Travel Forums
www.slowphotos.com – Slow Travel Photo Gallery

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