Contest Winner: Featured Photo for August
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 Jimmy Patterson. This month we are featuring Bob the Navigator's photo called, "The Magic of Lago Orta."
How Was Your Trip?
Instead of begging your relatives and friends to look at your photos and listen to you ramble on about that astonishing lunch on a Tuscan trattoria's terrace or the amazing afternoon wandering through an off-the-beaten path neighborhood in Paris, come back to SlowTrav! Our readers love when people who asked questions on the forums return to post about their trips. Start a new topic, revisit your original thread, submit a Trip Report, or post your photos in SlowPhotos! And please don't forget to submit your reviews, which make your recommendations or disappointments easier for others to find.
Show Us Your Trunks Contest! Extended Deadline!
As announced in our April Slow Tidings newsletter, with the 2009 travel season upon us, we thought it would help future travelers if we compiled a photo gallery of rental cars and their luggage capacities. We've extended the deadline to December 31. Post photos in this forum discussion of your luggage packed into the trunk (boot, if you prefer) of your rental car. Read about how to post a photo in a thread, here. We will enter all participants into a drawing for a yet to be determined prize, and will announce the winner in mid-January.
Along with your photo, please include the following information:
- the make/model of car
- size & quantity of luggage
- what the rental car site SAID would fit
- the rental agency used
- the country where you rented the car.
So get out your cameras, snap a couple of pictures while you are loading your car, and help us find out the truth about trunks!
The Passage du Grand Cerf
Photo taken May 2009 by
Defining You Home
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.
- Youthful on the Everything About Travel forum.
- Endings and New on the Italy forum.
- Lines 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- Kevin asked a Serious Sociological Travel-Related Question, and got amusing answers about why more men than women visit the boulangerie when traveling.
- Sheena asked How Do you Research Restaurants?
- We got some great replies to Your Favorite Travel Quotes. Peruse them and post your own!
- Traveling with a teen-ager? Read the teenage travel planning topic for some good tips.
- Kim heads to Paris with a picky eater and asks for help.
Trip Planning
– requests for ideas, input or help on upcoming trips- Piemonte got some well-deserved attention, as Rob H. looked for help with the overwhelming possibilities and Steve L. planned a last-minute trip focused on food and wine.
- Marcia was wondering Bologna or Parma? And got a lot of detailed opinions.
- JeanJo is deciding where to go for 2-3 nights from Switzerland - Burgundy or Val d'Aosta. Read where she decides and the villages our members recommend.
- There were many suggestions for nyahn220's question about spending a few days in Ireland.
- Patg wondered if it was possible to walk from the Holiday Inn to Gatwick Airport. Several Slow Travelers offered very helpful advice.
- Kimby is planning a trip to Australia and is getting excellent advice from our members down under.
- Doru has been updating us on his upcoming trip to his birthplace, Bucharest Romania, after 48 years.
- Cracker is planning a trip to Turkey, and received enthusiastic advice.
Sharing Resources
– posting links, articles and information of interest to others- Do you dream of buying a second home in France? Slow Travelers discuss the pro's and con's of this idea.
- We also love to hear information on phones, GPS, and internet you have used on your travels especially if it is new technology. Gaia and Michael Soriano posted great information on using iPhone in Italy.
- Shannon started us off with some recommendations on San Francisco-area wine tasting.
- Lesfaye posted the link to an article on "The Coast Italians Keep to themselves" which resulted in many posts about the Cilento.
Back From...
- Slowtravel members share their recent trip experiences- Enjoy the Turkey 2009 photo album by The Rhodes. We're talking about the album here.
Unanswered questions
- these members haven't received much response ... perhaps you can help!- Brutis905 is looking at Garmin GPS units and has some questions on using the units in pedestrian mode. Have you done this?
- Victoria is looking for information on getting from Buenos Aires to Futaleufu, Chile. Can you help?
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
Abruzzo, Strong and Gentile by Anne Robichaud
"This extraordinary mountainous region in the heart of Italy, recently flagellated by a devastating earthquake remains 'strong and gentle.'"
Monica's Paris Restaurant List
Monica has traveled to Paris many times and enjoys having the opportunity to try so many great restaurants.
Trip Reports
Parmigiano reggiano heaven!
Florence and Emilia Romagna: We Ate, We Cooked, We Drank (and Shopped) by Pokey
"I return to Florence and then embark on a Food Lover's Gastronomic Tour of Emilia Romagna with my friend ColleenK. We are foodies and love to eat, drink, shop, and mostly laugh!"
Four Weeks in Venice by Nancy McM
"For each of the past five years Ray and Nancy have rented an apartment for a month on the Grand Canal in Venice."
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
Italy Perfect, a SlowTrav favorite, has received several reviews recently, with this one for their Medici Apartment being the most recent. Remember, our most recent vacation rental reviews are always just a click away. Cookkie, from NY, sent in a review for two apartments from another SlowTrav favorite, Bed and Breakfast Association of Rome.
Hotels
- Patrick stayed in the heart of Greve-in-Chianti at Casa al Sole
- If you're visiting Naples, Ray out West recommends Chiaia Hotel de Charme
- Joe N. stayed at a good budget hotel in Torino.
Restaurants
Some Sicily reviews this month from SW, including Ummari and Baglio Nuovo.
Blogs
Sandra posted detailed follow-up entries about her trip to Emilia-Romagna, in her Journey of 1,000 Miles.... Kim blogged on her trip to Paris with two teens, What I Really Think and Candi caught us up on her fascinating recent trip to Thailand, Candi's Corner.
See our past 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. Registration is free and without obligation, just make sure you agree to "receive emails from administrators."
Happy Travels!
The Slow Travel Team
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