The Daily Traveler by Condé Nast Traveler

Geeks in Spaaaaace!

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:00:00 -0400

Image: Microsoft Research * With Earth conquered, Microsoft follows Google into (virtual) space. * It's time you learned how to pack your own bag. * Don't know what they think about graffiti in Argentina, but this is cool. * Politicized...

Jolie-Pitts Descend on French Riviera

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:00 -0400

Brad and Angie. Photo: AP by Beata Loyfman The bad news: Poor Brad and Angie couldn't find a place to stay in the French Riviera, so they've settled for bunking with a friend. The good news: The friend happens to...

Italian Upstart to Offer Cheap Flights

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:44:27 -0400

If high prices are making you think twice about traveling to Europe this year, here’s one trick to ease the pain: Keep an eye out for airlines about to launch transatlantic service and grab one of their introductory fares before they vanish.

Renaissance Man: The Piano Teacher

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:43:41 -0400

Everybody, meet Albert Frantz. When Albert was in kindergarten, his mother went to pick him one day and the teacher asked, "Where did Albert learn to play piano?" It was a strange question, considering that Albert was five and the only thing in his life that he had truly mastered was using the potty. And yet, when the principle would play something on the school’s battered yellow upright piano, Albert would head on over, sit down at the bench and play back what she played.

No More Parabens!

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:00:00 -0400

The beauty products cluttering up my desk promise to clear my skin, smooth my wrinkles, erase my sun damage, quiet my mind, and tone my butt. (Nevermind that I never thought I had wrinkles until I started working at Condé Nast.) I find it all utterly baffling. Even more baffling, however, is that increasingly many of these very expensive, very packaged products bear cheery labels professing their all-natural, organic, and sustainable properties. With all the talk about toxic parabens and petrochemicals, I am slowly trading out my old-school products in favor of green alternatives. But it's not easy separating the good green stuff from the icky synthetic stuff--even Whole Foods beauty section can be a bit overwhelming.

Earthquake Update: Travel in China

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:00:00 -0400

With parts of Sichuan Province in southwest China in ruins following a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that is already blamed for 19,500 confirmed deaths, travel is discouraged. But for those who have no choice, travel service Abercrombie & Kent has this report.

Travel-Sized Nut Butters

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:00:00 -0400

Recently, while wandering through Whole Foods (my version of therapy), I ran across Justin's Nut Butters. Thinking outside the jar, the company sells squeeze packs, tidily packaged two-tablespoon packets of its most popular flavors, including honey peanut and maple almond.

Turn Up the Heat This Summer

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:00:00 -0400

Hotel & Spa Rosa Alpina opens this summer with a "Flavors of the Dolomites" cooking-class weekend featuring twice Michelin-starred Chef Norbert Niederkofler. From June 20-23, Chef Niederkofler will show you how to smoke, vacuum and low-temperature cook, as well as how to choose appropriate wines for sipping and serving.

Renaissance Man: Why the Piano Tops the Tapeworm

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:11:42 -0400

The truth about miracles is that they do happen, and they happen to those who are undeserving. As proof, take the example of me. Or, to be more precise, my physical mass. You would think that spending five days in Paris would lead to increase in said mass. After all, I ate something like one full lobe of foie gras, several fish, three to four steaks, a baker's dozen sausages, a pallet of eggs, three udders worth of full-fat cream, 20 pounds of butter, 50 crayfish, a whole lot of veal tripe, and two servings of head cheese.

The GreenSpot

Conde Nast Traveler — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:59:00 -0400

by Brook Wilkinson Some of you might have followed the most recent Where's Brook? Contest on our sister blog, the Perrin Post. I was on assignment in Costa Rica, on a trip planned for me by Richard and Irene Edwards...

The New South

Conde Nast Traveler — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:00:00 -0400

Savannah's still got plenty of smoke, butter, and cream--it's the home of Paula Deen, after all--but there's also a new generation of restaurants that mix locavore leanings with down-home Southern traditions.

Renaissance Man: How to Make Pain Perdu

Conde Nast Traveler — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:58:18 -0400

Conde Nast Traveler stuntman Mark Schatzker is on a mad quest to make himself into a modern-day Da Vinci during a month's stay in Europe. So far Mark has "mastered" golf in Scotland and "excelled" at gardening in England. His...

Sustainable Travel Meets Luxury (and Yoga) in India

Conde Nast Traveler — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:00:00 -0400

India is high on my wish list and I can't believe I still haven't made the trip. The colors, the landscape, the people have really come to life in the literature from there and now I need to see it myself. I have also been practicing yoga for years and want to see its birthplace; I actually got certified as a teacher so I could keep myself limber in the Italian countryside (when I can't get to my beloved studio in Manhattan, the Shala, that is). My teachers Barbara Verrochi and Kristin Leigh make frequent pilgrimages to see Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the guru for Ashtanga practitioners, in Mysore, India. (FYI: He will lead a series of classes on Islamorada in the Keys on May 23.)

The Grand (Theft Auto) Tour

Conde Nast Traveler — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 -0400

Here's a vacation suggestion for all those worried about gas prices: Liberty City, an East Coast metropolis with all the perks of New York City--architecture, culture, diversity--plus a little more. Never heard of it? Liberty City is the setting for the recently released video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Renaissance Man: A Dessert to Kill For

Conde Nast Traveler — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:43:56 -0400

My intensive course in fancy Parisian food learning has yielded stellar results in a mere two days. I now know, for example, that when you order a plate of raw oysters, you should eat them in ascending order of, as the French put it, "puissance." Start with the mild ones, end with the less mild ones, and sip plenty of white wine in between. And for goodness' sake, don't obscure that sea-fresh taste by piling on a mountain of grated horseradish, lemon zest and Jamaican hot pepper sauce.

Myanmar: An Update and a Call for Help

Conde Nast Traveler — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:34:39 -0400

Simon Laxton, luxury travel service Abercrombie & Kent’s Executive Vice President, Destination Management, was in Myanmar when the recent cyclone hit. Below, he shares first-hand experiences directly from the Delta region and discusses the actions A&K is taking to provide direct aid, people to people.

Renaissance Man: Learning to Eat

Conde Nast Traveler — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:06:11 -0400

About an hour later, Christophe Raoux arrived. Christophe is a chef with L'école de Cuisine d'Alain Ducasse, and he has been charged with teaching me how to cook. Christophe handed me a sheaf of papers. In typical French style, it opened by laying out some principles. The second one read, "To learn how to cook is to learn how to eat." Over the next three hours, Christophe was going to teach me how to eat.

Eating and Beaching in Pa'ia

Conde Nast Traveler — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:00:00 -0400

About four miles from Maui's Kahului airport, the laid-back surfer town of Pa'ia is best known for its gas stations (it's the last pitstop before the famously twisty, gorgeous Road to Hana). A few weeks ago, my sister and I made the trek to Hana, Annie handling Hana Highway's sharp turns like a small, very cute racecar driver, and had a lovely spa- and smoothie-filled weekend. But the best part of the trip might have been Pa'ia, where we stopped for a few hours of eating and beaching. Some highlights: The iced coffee from Ha Beanz, served with coffee ice cubes, was so good we went back for seconds. Newcomer Ono Gelato makes all its gelatos on site and has traditional flavors plus homegrown ones like organic Ono Farms Apple Banana and Maui Gold Pineapple. Hana Bay Juice Company's picnic lunches are perfect for taking to nearby Hookipa Beach, which is famous for its windsurfing and kitesurfing. (Keep an eye out for the boogie-boarding dog.) Annie had to physically pry me out of Mana Foods, an overstuffed natural foods market--but not before I snagged a bottle of lilikoi-flavored Maui Kombucha and a bag of Barbara's Snackimals. I've heard that they have great sandwiches, too.

Renaissance Man: Photos from the Garden

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:11:39 -0400

Conde Nast Traveler stuntman Mark Schatzker is on a mad quest to make himself into a modern-day Da Vinci during a month's stay in Europe. Last week, Mark "mastered golf in Scotland." This week, Mark tended a very special English garden. To go along with this most recent feat, we've posted a photo tour of Mark's jour au jardin.

Adios, Jet Lag, Hello...Yikes!

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:00:00 -0400

Reduces jet lag, but there's one interesting side effect.

Miami Vice

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:15:00 -0400

What do Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Jim Carrey, and Lenny Kravitz have in common (besides long lists of celebrity exes)? They're all fans of Miami (the beach, not the football team).

Renaissance Man: Ode to Taxonomists

Conde Nast Traveler — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:39:48 -0400

The second greatest irony of running a 300-plus-year-old botanical garden with more than 5,000 individual plants is that you tend to lose track of a few of them. In a garden dedicated to the ordering and preservation of the plant kingdom, gardeners occasionally happen upon a shrub, flower, or blade of grass that causes them to ask the very same question you or I might: "What on Earth is this?"

Do-Gooders 'Round the Globe

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:00:00 -0400

Last Friday I attended the mid-year meeting for the Clinton Global Initiative, a nonpartisan organization under the William J. Clinton Foundation. In just two hours, Slick Willie brought members up to speed with CGI goings-on and discussed outstanding so-called Commitments to Action. (To be a member, you must make one of these pledges, which in turn must be a new, specific and measurable way to address global challenges. Think health, climate change, education, poverty alleviation.) Politics aside, people had a lot to say.

Under the Stars in Margaritaville

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:00 -0400

Well, spirits lovers, it's May 7, which means it's two days after Cinqo de Mayo, which means margaritaphiles (that's you) all over the globe have been in a celebratory haze for 48 hours. Where can you shake off the tequila in favor of something brighter and lighter? Rooftop bars are opening all over the country just in time for summer.

Renaissance Man: Galapagos Tomatoes

Conde Nast Traveler — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:56:57 -0400

A curious thing happened while I was transplanting my cannabis yesterday. I was standing in the potting shed, packing a clay pot full of soil when a woman entered the room looking for someone. We got to talking. The woman was a scientist with the Natural History Museum and University College London, and she had undertaken a research project in conjunction with the Chelsea Physic Garden on Galapagos tomatoes.

Fly Jet Azul, David Neeleman's Brazilian Clone

Conde Nast Traveler — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:30:00 -0400

JetBlue founder David Neeleman today revealed the name for his new Brazilian airline: "Azul." You can understand why he liked it, since that's Portuguese for blue. But the name was supposed to have been chosen by a democratic process, a la American idol, where people could have proposed names and then voted on the finalists. As a gimmick, it apparently succeeded: some 108,000 people submitted entries, Neeleman said. But it appeared “Azul” didn't win the popular vote--more people voted for the other finalist, “Samba.” So why rig the results? “Azul is a metaphor for security, serenity, loyalty, and quality--as well as connoting flight, as the color of the sky,” Neeleman gushed. But he also hastened to add, “We want our company to define the name, not have the name define our company,” which will begin flying 118-seat Embraer jets (with JetBlue touches like leather seats and live TV) between major Brazilian cities in January.