Seattle’s Travel Blog
Lots of new editions arriving this week. The 2007 edition of Greek Island Hopping is here and for the first time in many years we have a new edition of Lonely Planet’s guide to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Mediterranean junkies rejoice!
We had a packed house for last night’s presentation on Croatia by Matthew Brumley of Earthbound Expeditions. Everyone always loves Matthew’s enthusiasm and we appreciate his well-rounded knowledge of the destination. Simone was interested in Matthew’s recommendation that travelers consider using Croatia’s coastal ferry system instead of a traditional cruise ship. The ferries put in at a number of ports and offer a variety of accomodations at different price levels. Holly picked up on Matthew’s reports that Croatia is developing fast and prices are on their way up. He suggests that if you’re interested in Croatia you should go now before things change completely. Alternately, he says you should consider Montenegro as a more off-the-beaten-path, more budget destination.
We’ve just brought in a few more of Rick’s items for the practical traveler:
The Avanti Flight Bag is designed to be your in-flight bag that fits under the seat, with a rear strap to slide it over the handle of your wheeled bag when navigating the cobbled streets to your pensione. A roomy main compartment, handy pockets, and a padded shoulder strap complete the design, available in Rick’s signature 5 colors: black, spruce, merlot, evergreen, and navy. ($59.95)
Need a simple bag for your guidebook, phrasebook, journal, and a few small essentials? The Guidebook Organizer is for you. At 9.5 x 6.5 x 2 inches, it fits Rick’s and many other guidebooks. The zipper goes around 3 sides so it can lay flat open while you reference your guide (where were we going? Ah yes, Berthillon for ice cream) and the clip-on shoulder strap can be adjusted to reeeeaally looong for even taller or wider folks to wear bandolier style. Available in 5 colors. ($24.95)
Lastly, the Travel Sleep Mask. Weighs almost nothing, scrunches to almost nothing. With its squared outline, formed nose bridge, and slightly domed eye shape, it vaguely reminds me of a sleeping Zorro mask. Just wake me for meals, please. ($9.99)
By the bye, we’ve just gotten previews of tweaks to various Rick Steves luggage and accessories. This spring we’ll see the same great pieces, but with improved zippers, better shoulder straps, color blocking, and sundry improvements to make this line even more user-friendly.
Sandy Braun of Adventure Associates (www.AdventureAssociates.net) treated us to a colorful and informative slide show and talk about traveling in Bhutan. The kingdom is welcoming increasing numbers of visitors, and is trying to responsibly manage tourism and its impacts (the Bhutanese government bases its GNP in part on Gross National Happiness–how great is that?). The images of lively festivals (Sandy recommends the smaller ones to get more personal interaction) and a cuisine based largely on chili peppers caught my interest. And what a gorgeous landscape and people. Sign me up.
For us book folk, Sandy also mentioned that Bhutan is the subject of the world’s largest book: it measures 5×7 feet when open! It is the photo project of MIT-affiliated Friendly Planet (www.friendlyplanet.org) and is available for a modest $100,000 donation…but not through us, unfortunately. (Personally, I’ll be visiting the UW’s copy on display.) On a more pocket-friendly scale, we are anticipating the new edition of Lonely Planet Bhutan next month, adding to our collection of Bhutan/Himalaya books and maps.
Spring blooms and a special deal from Baggallini have inspired us to bring in a few of our best-sellers in Crystal Blue and Quartz Pink at a fab 20% off. Featured styles are the Expandable Tote, Flip Phone Case, Messenger Bagg, Only Bagg, Teenee, and Urban Backpack, all in crinkle nylon–durable and attractive. Think Mother’s Day, April in Paris…or just brightening any day here in Seattle!
The sale applies only to the two featured colors and is limited to stock on hand, so drop on by or give us a call!
Tonight’s in-store program featured not only photos, but also short movies and sound clips of Peru, with its diverse landscapes, loads of wildlife–tapirs, jaguars, macaws, and “peanut head” beetles–and more varieties of potatoes than you can shake a quipu* at. Emily especially enjoyed Kurt Kutay’s description of a 3-day festival of wild revelry under the gaze of the Virgin Mary. Holly appreciated the candid insights about the people. And did you know that the Canon de Colca is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon??
*A quipu, by the way, was the Incas’ accounting system of goods on knotted, colored strings carries all over the empire by runners.
March 6th Tuesday 7 PM
Peru: The Land of the Inca with Kurt Kutay and Wildland Adventures
Most people visualize Peru as mountainous and know about the great Inca relics, but many are unaware of the splendor of the immense desert coastline and the vast tracts of tropical rainforest. Dividing these contrasting environments in chain after chain of breathtaking peaks, the Andes ripple the entire length of the nation. Tonight Wildland Adventures‘ South American experts will share how to explore this diverse landscape along with the magnificent ancient Inca historical sites and fascinating current-day native culture. We’ll trek the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, hike across the Island of the Sun on Lake Titicaca, cross over the Andes and canoe into the most biologically diverse rain forests on Earth. Come with us!
March 13th Tuesday 7 PM
The Dragon Kingdom of Bhutan with Sandy Braun of Adventures Associates
Join Sandra Braun, travel guide and founder of Adventure Associates, for a special slide presentation on one of the world’s smallest and most extraordinary countries…the Dragon Kingdom of Bhutan in the great Himalayas. Explore breathtaking countryside full of thick pine forests, raging wild rivers, and mosaics of rich cultivated fields. See traditionally crafted Bhutanese style farm houses and prayer flags, monasteries and fortress-like Dzongs. Imagine the sounds as dance rituals are performed in colorful traditional dress and masks. Sandy will also offer tips on when to travel, festival schedules, and trekking opportunities.
March 17th Saturday 9 AM
Gusty Women Travelers
This month we’ll have a special edition of our popular women’s travel roundtable with guest host, Carol Pucci, travel writer for the Seattle Times. Carol has recently returned from a trip to Paris and will be sharing stories from her adventures and answering questions about being a travel writer. Bring your coffee and your questions.
March 20th Tuesday 7 PM
Croatia with Matthew Brumley of Earthbound Expeditions
Tonight we welcome one of our most popular presenters, Matthew Brumley of Earthbound Expeditions, as he leads us on a journey through Croatia, the jewel of the Adriatic. From the grand seaside resort of Opatija to the stunning lakes of Plitvice to historic Split and beautiful Dubrovnik, we’ll see the wonderful range of travel choices in Croatia. Whether you’re interested in sailing trips along the coast, sampling vintages from the wine country of Hvar in the Dalmatian Islands, or exploring the Roman history of the region, Matthew can be your guide to this popular destination. He’ll also offer tips on when to travel, where to stay and how to get around.
March 27th Tuesday 7 PM
Travel Tales from Spain and Portugal with author Mark Pearson and Guests
We’re celebrating the recent release of two new travel essay books, Italy from a Backpack and Spain from a Backpack with a reading by local editors and authors Mark Pearson and Martin Westerman along with a few of their contributors. The stories in the “from a Backpack” series are all written by young travelers and cover a wide range of topics: changing one’s life on the 600-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, throwing 90,000 pounds of tomatoes at Buñol in Europe’s biggest food fight, meeting the forebears at their luxury hotel in Sicily. Their common thread is that they celebrate the joy of travel. Support this new generation of travelers by coming to enjoy their tales from a backpack.
