Contest Winner: Featured Photo for July
In March we had a contest to select photos to feature in the next 12 issues of Slow Tidings. Last month's featured winner was mckenna. This month we are featuring Jimmy Patterson's photo of a tree-lined road leading to La Amorosa near Sinalunga in Tuscany.
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'Balloon Dog' sculpture on the Grand Canal
in Venice, photo by JDeQ
PhotoHunting!
Come see the photos that have been posted in this month's PhotoHunts, where Slow Travelers hunt through their photo files and post photos that interpret the various themes.
- Road and Funny on the Everything About Travel forum.
- Passeggiata and Purple on the Italy forum.
- Transportation on the France forum.
- Stone on the Spain & Portugal 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- Kathryn was looking for ideas for cooking in vacation rentals.
- Willtravel was wondering if she's missing out by not renting a car in Europe.
- Linda wondered Am I "American"?
- Drjacobs asked about using a GPS in Europe and got a lot of advice and Patrick was thinking about how to use one in England.
Trip Planning
– requests for ideas, input or help on upcoming trips- Flennie will be visiting New York City, and many members suggested interesting things to do.
- Tessmar is planning on driving to Venice, and wanted to know where to park the car.
- Sharon J was wondering about visiting Basilica San Paolo Outside the Walls in Rome.
- Bill1000 got lots of feedback when he asked about different SIM card options for Italy and Cristina reported on her experience with the Internet Key from TIM while Tessmar was looking for advice on unlocking his cellphone.
- In the France forum JacquiQ's discussion the Luberon was the topic with many excellent suggestions, also when Beachbound was looking for ways to entertain her two boys.
- Maeby was looking for ideas for things to do in Paris for returning travelers, and got wonderful responses.
- Back in April, Amy W was asking about safety in Barcelona, and recently returned to share her experiences.
Sharing Resources
– posting links, articles and information of interest to others- Checking the forums regularly is a great way to catch airfare deals, find out about upcoming events, or be notified about a strike. Last month, several members including Shannon notified others about airfare cuts, Gloria told us about July closings in Florence, Barb let Italy travelers know about a gas station strike and JhdFlyer posted about a Fall Caravaggio Exhibit at the Borghese in Rome.
- Don't miss your train in Italy because you're looking for "Florence" instead of "Firenze!" on the track board. Slowtravelers help come up with a list of Italian place names and their English translations.
- Sandra and Andrea posted the news that Venice now has WiFi.
Back From...
- Slowtravel members share their recent trip experiences- Gede first asked about things to do in Normandy a year ago, and has now reported back on the myriad of suggestions.
- Texastrips had a wonderful family trip to Campania.
- AppalAnnie returned from Eastern Europe, and shared photographs taken while she explored and investigated her family's Jewish roots.
Unanswered questions
- these members haven't received much response ... perhaps you can help!- Bob from Cincinnati is looking for a rental in Varenna for next year.
- Bani is looking for help with Snorkeling in Sardinia - any ideas?
Elsewhere on Slow Travel
(reviews, trip reports, photos and blogs)Here is a sampling of some of the new publications on the Slow Travel website:
Travel Notes
A Special Friend in Florence: Church of San Miniato Al Monte by Margaret Cowan
"Ever since I first experienced Florence as a backpacker in 1972, I've visited the 11th century church, San Miniato Al Monte, a few steps along the road from Piazzale Michelangelo."
Recommended Books Set in Paris
Paula V. was looking for books set in Paris in a thread on the message board, and Marta turned the recommendations into an article.
Shopping in Paris with Teens
Kim was looking for advice on taking teens shopping in Paris, and formatted the responses into an article.
Trip Reports
Beach - just north of Tiuccia on the road to Sagone
La Corse - L'Ile de Beauté by Kevin Widrow
"We'd been to Corsica five years ago for a wedding and then a few extra days and saw enough to know it was a place to which we would surely return. And when the opportunity arose to spend a few weeks in February ... we jumped at the chance.."
Our First Ever Trip to Italy! Roaming in Rome and Climbing in Positano by JMarie
"My husband and I took our first trip to Italy. It was perfect, thanks to SlowTrav advice. Rome for five nights and Positano for six nights."
Reviews
Lots of people are getting ready to travel, so please remember to take a few notes and submit your reviews when you return! Here is a small sampling of reviews from the past month:
Vacation Rentals
Frequent contributor and SlowTrav blogger Doug Phillips spent some time in Provence in June and sent us this review for Chez Westfield, a five bed, four and half bathroom house while Rome is Home, another SlowTrav favorite, received another great review from Peggy McE. Remember, our most recent vacation rental reviews are always just a click away.
Hotels
If you're looking for a hotel 15 minutes from Malpensa, Janet can recommend one, Ramada Malpensa. Jeff H, who recently participated in the Great Wall Marathon, submitted hotel reviews for Beijing and Hong Kong.
Restaurants
In addition to his vacation rental review, Doug sent us some restaurant reviews too. He enjoyed this restaurant in Cocuron (Provence): Restaurant de l'Horloge. Janet had some great meals on her recent Piedmont trip and sent in a review for Il Vicoletto in Stresa.
Blogs
Marcia of Happy Trails for Us, blogged during her Alaska cruise. Girasoli managed to blog with her iPhone during her trip to Italy, shave ice and gelato. And Palma blogged almost every single day on her recent trip to Italy, Palmabella's Passion.
See our past newsletters: Newsletter Archive.
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Happy Travels!
The Slow Travel Team
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