Europe A La Carte Blog

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You can read the June 2008 edition of the Europe Travel Blog Carnival at Heather on her Travels. A big thank you to Heather for hosting the carnival. There were a couple of posts about Rome one of my favourite European capitals. Heather talks abut her two visits to Rome one as child with her family and then recently with her own son.

Rome Panorama by zaryila

Another post was about skiing in Scotland where I was happily surprised to read that someone had actually had a good experience skiing in my native Scotland as I usually you hear about negative experiences such as “Snow sports in Scotland - taking the piste“.

Skiing in Scotland, it’s so CR@P you would not believe it” by moron noodle

If you have any blog posts about travel in Europe please submit them by 30 June for the next edition published on Monday 7 July 2008.

If you’d like to host the Europe Travel Blog Carnival, which is published on the first Monday of each month, please contact me.

Welcome to the third Europe travel blog carnival! I think that the Carnival is going really well due to the number of quality submissions I’m receiving. I do believe that I’m fulfilling my aim of publishing a quality blog carnival which is a coherent presentation of informative and entertaining blog posts for readers who love travel in Europe.

Transport

Planes, Trains And Automobiles (Part 2) « Middle Man posted at Middle Man is a hilarious account of incidents, on the short flight from Belgium to Holland, peppered with confusion over political correctness. Middle Man laments the lack of pretty female cabin crew with the growing number of Julian Clary wannabes taking on the job. After sitting next to a couple who looked like a gangster and his moll, escorted on to the plane by a police officer, Middleman decided to let the train take the strain in future.

Accommodation

Kristie presents Rome, Italy: Our Accommodations and Our Arrival posted at Norway - An American In Oslo. Kristie was lucky to find a good hotel, The Giada at a bargain price for a very late booking in Rome We spent our 20th wedding anniversary in Rome and I found Rome to be a totally enchanting city.

Beautiful view of Rome by edwin.11

I must admit I like to book my accommodation in advance. I booked a hotel in Perugia for our trip to Italy at the end of this month in February and the rate has now increased by around 20%, yet I can still cancel with no penalty up to 48 hours before arrival.

The Happy Hotelier recommends the Pension Manfred Klaus, Weingartsgreuth Germany as a” good and cheap address”. He has stayed at the Pension on many occasions over the years. There are several Bed and Breakfast in Scotland that I stay in fairly regularly and it’s a lovely feeling to be welcomed back.

Destination

Owen Peery writes about Carcassonne, France posted at France Tales. I’ve visited Carcassonne a couple of times and although a bit touristy it is very well preserved and fairytale like.

Carscassonne Cite by lorentey

Davexplorer presents Five Most Unusual Buildings posted at 5 Most Unusual. I thought that couple of the buildings featured in the post were amazing, both the Dancing House in Prague and the HSB Turning Tower in Malmo, Sweden made me feel as though I was swaying.

Dancing House, Prague by namui

In Travel to Stonehenge and See the Rocks posted at Traveling Mamas, Shannon was rather disappointed when she finally visited Stonehenge. I’ve heard quite a few people saying that. Personally I think the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland are more atmospheric, partly because they’re not so overcrowded with tourists.

Callanish Central Circle by Hare_Guizer

A blog about executions carried out on specific dates sounds a bit of a gruesome topic for a blog. However there’s a lot of historical background in the post. 1796: Mastro Titta’s first execution of many posted at Executed Today which tells of the first execution carried out by Mastra Titta, one of Rome’s most prolific executioners. You can visit the Criminological Museum to find out more about 19th century public executions in the city.

Chris Christensen presents Video Episode 33 - Cinque Terra, Italy posted at The Amateur Traveler Podcast. The Cinque Terre is an area in Italy that I’d love to visit.

Cinque Terre by Stephanie_Costa

Christine’s descrubes The Ominous Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathedrale de Strasbourg) at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France. Strasbourg Cathedral was built on the site of a Roman Temple and was the tallest building in the world for around four centuries.

Heatheronhertravels presents A cycle in the Turia gardens - in Valencia posted at Heather on her travels, saying, “During their visit to Valencia, Heather and her family hired bikes and cycled along the boulevards of the Turia gardens, once the bed of the river that ran through the city, as far as the port and beach where they basked in the spring sunshine.” That sounds like the sort of cycling I prefer, no steep slopes and away from traffic.

Restaurants

Terry Dip presents Are Belgian waffles really that good? posted at Complete and Creative, saying, “Okay, so maybe a kiosk on the street isn’t really a restaurant, but it still offers pretty delicious food.” Sometimes a snack from a take away can be just what you want, if you are a bit peckish and don’t want to sit in a cafe or restaurant and yes, Belgian waffles are really good.

Waffle by Adactio

That concludes this months edition which I hope has informed, inspired and entertained you., The June edition of the Europe Travel Bllog Carnival with by hosted at Heather on her travels. Please submit your posts for the June Europe Travel Blog Carnival by Sunday 25 May.. Only one post per author will be published and your post should be specifically about travel in Europe. Unfortunately not all posts submitted can be included.

If you’d like to host a future edition of the Europe Travel Blog Carnival please contact me. However please be aware that you’ll have to spend some time selecting the posts for inclusion, adding some commentary and photos, its’s not just a quick copy and paste Carnival.

Welcome to the second Europe Travel Blog Carnival. I hope that you be entertained, informed and inspired by the following posts relating to travel in Europe.

Activities

Rouge-Bleu: A Newbie Vine Farmer in Provence posted at Diary of 1, recommends, “If traveling in the south of France, don’t miss Jean-Marc’s vineyard in Provence - he gives tours!” The blogs author, Jen, describes how she contacted Jean-Marc, to ask for advice in pursuance of her dream of one day owning a vineyard.

Christopher Cook presents Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp: taking time during your vacation to remember posted at -noambit -Travel Europe- where to go, what to see, and how to get there, saying, “Just outside Berlin in the small town of Oranienburg lies a concentration camp that was built as a model for all others to follow. This article provides a brief history as well as information on how to experience this free day trip from the capital of Germany.” I walked around the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe when I was in Berlin last month. It really started me thinking, First of all, how could this have happened and then would have had the courage to speak out against the atrocities if I’d lived during that era?

Jewish Memorial, Berlin

Destinations

Chris Christensen presents Episode 126 - Malta posted at The Amateur Traveler Podcast - travel for the love of it. It’s interesting to listen to an American interviewing an New Zealander, Linda of the Indie Travel Podcast who lived in Malta for a few months. Linda was most impressed by the history of Malta. I’ve never been to Malta and have heard very mixed reports about holiday experiences there.

Eddie Lake presents Edinburgh, Scotland - Feb 16 through Feb 18, 2008 posted at London and Beyond. Eddie rated Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill highly. I agree as they are two of my tips in Edinburgh off the beaten track.

View toward Scottish Parliament and Arthurs Seat from Calton Hill

Niharika presents Lost and Found: 12 Ancient Cities Rediscovered posted at Travelhacker. I’d never heard of the city of Veliky Novgorod in the north west of Russia, south east of St Petersburg. It looks beautiful.

Yaroslav’s Court and Ancient Torg, Veliky Novgorod by AndIfeelfine

In Lithuania - Vilnius posted at Norway - An American In Oslo Kristie gives us a lot of information about Vilnius, the capital of the Baltic state. Vilnius is known as the “city of churches” and has the largest old town in Europe.

paulmct presents Amsterdam In the Afternoon « Bloggin’ Off posted at Bloggin’ Off, He descrbes the Vondel Park as attractive escape from the city. Paul was born in Scotland but now lives in Vamcouver, Canada.

Julie’s view of Paris features in the whatIseeoutofmywindow blog where Tony aims to “connect the World one window at a time”. You can submit the view from your window to his blog, I’ve already submitted the view from my office window, pictured below.

The view from my office of the Royal Border railway bridge over River Tweed

Budget Tips

Christine describes Barcelona on the Cheap posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France. If you help with cleaning and serving breakfast it’s possible to stay free in the Sea Point hostel located right by the beach. It can be confusing to compare hostel prices because some prices are all inclusive and others charge extra for sheets, blankets, towels, linen and breakfast.

7 reasons to love train travel posted at Europe String certainly makes you consider travelling in Europe by rail. Having said that the train is a much more viable option if you live in mainland Europe or at least in the south east of England. Living in Scotland or the north of England, it can be a lot quicker and cheaper to fly.

Malta gets another mention in this carnival by Hilary in Baring My Budget: Malta « Less Than a Shoestring posted at Less Than a Shoestring, saying, “A three-night trip to Malta, including round-trip airfare, cost me a whopping 50 euros.”

Travel Tips

Sounds of the city - podcasts posted at Heather on her travels, saying, “This post looks at the podcasts available to give you a flavour of your destination or to guide you when sightseeing. The post reviews various sites where you can find podcasts, especially those for Rome and Valencia which Heather will be visiting in this month.” Now I was supposed to be starting weekly podcasts on the podcasting equipment I won in a competition. The plan was to talk about blog posts and travel news for the past week but I only managed a couple. Something else to add to the to-do list.

The next Europe Travel Blog Carnival will be posted on Monday 5 May 2008 with a closing date for submissions of 30 April. Please only submit articles about travel in Europe. If you submit more than one post, I’ll only be able to feature one post per author.

Welcome to the first Europe Travel Blog Carnival where the posts have been selected to inform, entertain and inspire readers who love travel in Europe. I been delighted with the number of great submissions received and I’m sure that you’ll find the posts enjoyable and informative.

Travel Tips

Rome’s Offbeat Archaeology posted at Escape From New York describes the casually strewn antiquities which can be encountered on your way see the well known sites of Rome, such as this giant foot pictured below. This is certainly the case in Rome, anywhere you wander you come across amazing history and why I call Rome a living museum.

copyright of Wendy EscapeNewYork

Wendy, the blog author, is New York City-based photographer and journalist, who travels the world to photograph the people, icons and celebrations that make each country unique.

A Report from Budapest posted at Bookstore Guide describes their recent visit to Hungary’s capital, Budapest. The Bookstore Guide blog aims to map all the European independent bookstores selling books in English.

Jul assesses Is a combination tourist pass for you? at Europe String a blog offering advice on travelling Europe on budget. It’s a good idea to work out if a tourist pass is really going to save you money, don’t just assume it will, think about how you’ll structure your days and do the sums.

Budget Travel

The European Exchange Rate and travel in Berlin, Germany posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France highlights the budget acommodation available at hostels in Berlin. This is a real coincidence as I leave for the Travel Bloggers Summit in Berlin tomorrow and will be staying at the Generator Hostel. The recent fall in the value of sterling to the euro is making travel from the UK to the EuroZone more expensive for me.

Poetloverrebelspy presents More No-Budget Tips for Stockholm and Nyköping posted at Less Than a Shoestring. I haven’t visited Stockholm but hope too as I really liked Gothenburg. This blog is great for travelling on a really low budget and one of the biggest money savers is free accommodation arranged through websites such as the HospitalityClub.

Destinations

Bright skies and blue seas in Cornwall posted at Heather on her travels has some beautiful photos of the Treyarnon area where she stayed at the very funky looking youth hostel recently.

Heather ponders if it is her imagination, or are the skies are brighter and the sea is bluer in Cornwall? No, Heather, I think it may be true. every time I’ve visited Cornwall I thought it was stunning and painters do talk of the wonderful light. Heather’s blog allows her to escape to far off places, collect beautiful objects and bask in the sunshine.

Travel Bloggers Hopping - Meet the Blogger posted at Happy Hotelier tells of the first foray to Paris made by Benji Lanyado, budget travel columnist at the Guardian, in his initiative to hook up with bloggers in a different city every month to be given the insider tour. I’ve already emailed Benji to invite him to Berwick upon Tweed and/or Edinburgh.

HairySwede writes about Stockholm to Helsinki. Welcome to Suomi. posted at A Swedish American in Sweden. The post describes the ups and downs encountered in a brief visit to Helsinki on a mini cruise from Sweden to Finland taken by a Swede who lived in the US for 17 years.

Hiking The Rivals, North Wales features beautiful photos taken during a hike of three peaks in North Wales, posted at LightningSmokestacks where the blog author GW showcases his photographic work during his 25 year career. I’m not into hill walking so have missed some of the wonderful elevated views perhaps the highest I’ve been is the cable car at Butlins in Pwllheli.

Accommodation

Raymond writes about Hotel Loyalty Reward Programs in his Money Blue Book, He lists various schemes and the benefits such as free upgrades, free stays and the option of earning Air Miles. Of course frequent travellers stand to gain most from reward schemes.

Well I hope that the proof of the pudding has been in the (r)eating and concur that the first Europe Travel Blog Carnival has been a success. Please submit your posts to the next Carnival by 09.00GMT on 31 March 2008, which will go live on Monday 7 April.

I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a monthly Europe Travel Blog Carnival. I’ve been submitting posts to travel blog carnivals for the last couple of months. I think that blog carnivals are a great idea to help you promote your blog to new readers and to build up links and increase your Technorati ranking.

However I would prefer the carnivals to cover more specific topics. Some carnivals are more like a mere list of links, lacking in coherence. I think this represents a missed opportunity to build up a regular following of readers interested in topic.

In the Europe Travel Carnival I aim to collate the best posts with brief summaries in categories such as destinations, accommodation, travel tips, transport and activities. I’d like the Carnival to inform, entertain and inspire anyone who loves travel in Europe.

The first Travel in Europe Blog Carnival will blast into the blogosphere on Monday 3 March 2008 and appear on the first Monday of every month. The submission deadline is Friday 29 February at 09.00 GMT. Please submit your blog post here.

I’m delighted to be the host for the first Carnival of Cities of 2008. I only had one submission in my chosen theme of cities “off the beaten track”.

Berkley and Oakland in California are highlighted as Local Favorites for Kids in the East Bay by Patricia Jenkins of the Kango Blog who believes that they are not fully appreciated by locals who automatically head south to San Francisco. It can a problem living in the shadow of an illustrious neighbour.

Gatlinburg Tennessee - Gateway to the Smokies posted at GoGirlfriend is the antithesis of my “off the beaten track” theme. With the hordes of visitors, traffic jams and 450 gift stores, my personal preference would be to get through the gateway of Gatlinburg as quickly as possible to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Entertainment, whether that be food, drink, music, museums, galleries, festivals or movies is a hot topic with this weeks bloggers. I’m not surprised as vast array of all types of entertainment is a feature of most cities.

Naomi Stevens writes about Liverpool Hottest Travel Destination posted at Diary From England. Liverpool is getting a lot of publicity these days as it’s the European City of Culture 2008.

Chicago has some New Restaurant Openings highlighted by Go Chicago Card to tempt your tastebuds.

Tip Diva offer Top Ten Tips - Eat Chinese Food Like A Pro posted at Tip Diva. I certainly subscribe to tip 3 to eat at a Chinese Buffet. It’s great to be able to try several different dishes.

The Seattle Traveler tells you where can Create Your Own Home Brew in a microbrewery but you’ll be staggering out with your 12 and a half gallons when you return two weeks later to pick up your fermented brew.

In the Washington DC Traveller the amazing array of musical talent appearing at at just one venue is listed with video clips and links to purchase tickets in Birchmere January Highlights.

If you’re in the New York area on Saturday nights during January and a lover of indie films you’re in a for a treat in January with Reel 13 showcasing underexposed indie films. The Production Blog gives details of the weekly triple bill line up consisting of a classic film, a short “Viewers Choice” indie film concluding with an underexposed indie film.

Oslo, Norway was the location for New Year celebrations for Kristie Dugan of An American in Oslo. In her post Happy 2008 she relates how her group of friends and co-workers were (thankfully temporarily) left out in the cold when the office key was broken opening some champagne to bring in the New Year while watching a firework display at the harbour.

Coqui presents San Sebastián Street Festival Honors Ricky Martin posted at Visit The Coqui. The San Sebastián Street Festival, taking place 18 - 21 January 2008, is one of the biggest festivals in Puerto Rico. By day the street is filled with local artists and artisans and at night the street turns into a massive street party filled with a carnival atmosphere.

Alex G presents Who says Brisbane has no cultural events? posted at Life in Brisbane - Queensland - Australia. If you thought Brisbane was bereft of interesting museums and galleries, have a look at this list.

On a more practical note, the Seattle Team Reba Real Estate blog touches on the subject of how uncared for properties in a street can depress the price of adjacent homes and how the local authority is poised to enforce neglectful householder to clean up their act in It looks like Lakeland has it’s New Year’s resolution in place.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Money, Dot-Com Bubbles, Startups: The Business Of Silicon Valley (Here Comes Another Bubble) posted at The Digerati Life describes life in the modern gold rush. Living expenses are high, fortunes are made and/or lost but hope springs eternal.

Grace writes about the World’s richest marathon to take place in Dubai posted at Sandier Pastures.  If you’re superfit and can get to Dubai for January 18 2008, you could share in the one million dollar prize fund.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed your whirlwind tour of cities and continents. Remember to keep your submissions coming in for the weekly Carnival of Cities and if you’d like to host the carnival please contact Jon Symons.

The next Carnival of Cities is hosted by Mexican Pop Spot on 14 January 2008.

If you’d like to read some interesting blog posts about cities all over the world, including my post about my revaluation of my birthplace of Dundee then take a look at the Special Holiday Edition of the Carnival of Cities.

I’ll be hosting the next Carnival of Cities on the theme of “off the beaten track” cities on 7 January 2008 so please submit any posts here.

Let’s get the New Year off to a great start with the first Travel Blog Carnival. The organiser, Darren of Travel Rants, wants to showcase posts about travel that are inspiring, interesting and informational. Bearing this in mind I was also influenced by my desire to highlight the benefits of getting off the beaten track to get a more authentic experience during your travels and taking time to properly see fewer things, as opposed to a quick whizz around loads of places.

Ely, MN - Pristine Wilderness on the YourDailyVacation blog is about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with its 1500 miles of canoe routes. My husband would love to paddle along there. Logging and mining and most vehicular traffic is banned as the area is home to moose and bear. The author Nate wants to give a daily dose of a travel destination to assuage the desire to travel curtailed by time and money constraints.

Dusseldorf: Museum Kunst Palast on High Culture on a Low Budget describes the Kunst and its current exhibition of the best from Russian Museums in St Petersburg and Moscow. I don’t think most people appreciate how much there is to see and do in Germany and probably never even consider a trip there. In her blog the author Olivia Giovetti gives tips on how to save on the standard admission fee of 10 euros, in keeping with her aim of highlighting that you can have your fill of culture without spending a fortune.

4 Ways to be a Traveller not a Tourist on the Vagabondish blog advises on how to ditch your worst tourist traits and don the mantle of the more acceptable traveller.  My solution is to become a touraveller.  I wholeheartedly agree with tip 2: not being in a continual rush and taking time to soak up the local atmosphere. This approach is described by travel writer Jan Morris: “The best way to find out about a place is wander around. Wander around, alone, with all your antennae out thinking about what’s happening and what you see and what you feel.” Vagabondish is a multi author blog with features about offbeat backpacking, and news, advice, tips and tales about travel.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my selection of posts and are in training to become cultured, off the beaten track, value seeking, unhurried travellers seeking an authentic experience during your subsequent trips.

If you’d like to take part in the Travel Blog Carnival you can submit any travel related posts which you’ve written in the last 7 days to travelblog.carnival(at)gmail.com.

I’ve gone into blog carnival overdrive and will be hosting the Carnival of Cities on Monday 7 January 2008. My theme is “off the beaten track” cities, less well known cities that still have a lot to offer but are overlooked in favour of the tourist magnets. So if you’d like to let us know about some hidden gem please submit your posts here.

However you if there’s some other aspect of a city that you’d like to write about, please feel free to make a submission.