Archives for July 2011

London’s Cultural Olympiad

July 31, 2011 By Jillian

It turns out there is more to the 2012 Olympics than just sports. The 2012 Olympic games will be hosted in London, but Olympic rules dictate London must simultaneously host a cultural Olympiad as well. Like the sport Olympics, the cultural Olympiad will highlight different genres, or events if you will. Don’t worry, there are no medals. It’s been a four year project that culminates with, yes the Olympics. The goal is to bring arts and culture to the 2012 London experience, especially to those that cannot get to London for the games, so the events are all over the UK. The Cultural Olympiad includes everything from a Shakespeare Theatre festival to a River of Music festival along the Thames that will represent all 205 Olympic nations. Huge dance parties, live music festivals and the requisite art galleries, there are tons of genres of “culture” represented.

Here are some of my favorites:

Lakes Alive: June 21, 2012

I saw the word pyrotechnics and I was sold. A sound, light and fire show put together over music, and composed over a lake? What more could be better? Plus, it’s free. My recommendation? Spend the day hiking in the Lake District and the night watching a fireworks show across the lake. Bring a bottle of wine and get close enough to hear the percussion section.

World Shakespeare Festival April 23, 2012- September 2012

Three actors meet at a bar… just kidding. Every single one of Shakespeare’s play is going to be performed for the 2012 season. Over 37 international theatre troupes are scheduled to perform, and each play will be in a different language. The event is spread all over the UK for six weeks so it shouldn’t be hard to catch at least one! If you’re flying out from London be sure to book your Heathrow Airport Parking, Gatwick Airport Parking or Luton Airport Parking in advance and get out of the city for a few days!

River of Music Festival Jul 21-22, 2012

Live music along the Thames? Count me in. This series of concerts will highlight music and performance art from a different continent. Specially commissioned works, the concerts will include young people from all 205 Olympic and paralympic nations.

Tate Movie Project

A movie completely put together by children will be screened at the Tate Gallery during the Olympics. A rather sweet project, elementary school children from across the UK participated in the making of this animated film; they sent in storylines, animations, voted on voice actors and created the sound. A collaboration of workshops and online voting, the film will surely be imaginative. I wish I had the opportunity to do something like this as a kid!

Unlimited

I have to admit I didn’t realize there was a performing arts genre called disability arts. Unlimited, a UK program designed to encourage collaboration between disable performers and mainstream organizations was commissioned for 10 performances across the UK. Their mission of course, is commendable, but the ethics aside, I can only imagine the talent and dedication it must take to perform in a wheelchair, deaf or blind. I’d love to catch one of these performances.

IF YOU GO: The cultural Olympiad is spread throughout the UK, so if you can’t get tickets to a performance near London, it’s not a bad idea to look for other venues. While most of the events will culminate with the Olympics in July, there are some (like the Shakespeare Festival) that run through September. Discount airlines like RyanAir flight throughout the UK, so although the train from London to Scotland might be tempting, check on a flight deal first. Don’t forget to check the airports on the outskirts of London as well, as the discount carriers tend to stay away from the bigger airports. If you were planning to fly to any of these events be sure to book your Airport Parking in advance to save a few bucks!

Photo Credit: www.london2012.com

Photo: Ethiopian Monastery

July 29, 2011 By Jillian

The Ethiopian Christian Church is unlike any other in the world. A form of Christianity that largely developed without contact with the rest of the Christian world, the stories, art and churches are unlike anything else in the world. We went to Bahir Dar to explore the monasteries that cluster around the islands of the lake. Many of these churches have brightly colored religious murals, must as you see below. We were delighted to be shown 1,000 year old texts, but less thrilled when the caretaker offered to allow us to touch them for a price (the oil on our hands could dramatically increase the rate of deterioration).

What I found most interesting was the figures themselves. Take a close look at the figures, physically they don’t exactly appear African do they? Obviously there is some outside artistic influence in Ethiopian religious art, despite it’s respective separation. For me, traveling overland was fascinating in that it allowed us to see aspects of culture, art and religion as they slowly changed and pick up on significant differences that we likely would not have noticed had we just dropped in.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: Bahir Dar, in Western Ethiopia, is relatively easy to get to from Addis Ababa. It’s well trod on the tourist circuit, so expect to find tourist services and ensuing prices. We took a boat ride to the lake, and frankly although the monasteries were interesting, we didn’t need a full day. Do a little research before you go and decide which monasteries are important to you, as the boat rides are priced on which monasteries you want to go to.

Flashback: Colombia

July 28, 2011 By Jillian

I’m going to tell you a secret. I was scared to travel to Colombia. In fact, when we arrived at the airport in Bogota I was sure things were going to end badly. No matter how many people recounted their love for Colombia, I had a hard time getting over my stereotypes.

That was until we met our couchsurfing hosts. They immediately welcomed us into their home with such warmth and hospitality, I was completely blown away. They turned out to be only the tip of the iceberg, everyone we met in Colombia was overwhelmingly friendly, hospitable and genuinely kind. People went out of their way to speak with us on buses and even on the commuter train in Bogota, a place where in the US you don’t speak to anyone! We received countless offers to come for coffee, of assistance and even offers to stay in people’s homes. These were genuine offers, offers that I wish we could have accepted.

When we arrived in Bogota I felt like I had been pushed into the decision to come to Colombia. Buyers remorse I guess, but I seriously questioned whether we had gone too far in our attempt to get off the beaten path. As our taxi weaved through the streets, I was sure we were about to be kidnapped, I had read every horror story on the web, I knew how these cons worked. We weren’t kidnapped, we weren’t robbed by a gun toting drug cartel, in fact we weren’t even hassled by street vendors. It wasn’t the drug cartel run country I was expecting.

Colombia, was for me, not only an amazing travel experience, but also the country that single handedly taught me what off the beaten track could be. It doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable living on the edge experience. I went paragliding for the first time (and learned a new Spanish word -acro- in the process), swam in the coldest waterfall I’ve ever experienced, biked 40 miles in the hot tropical sun and saw what is still today the most breathtaking museum in the world (Museo de Oro). Locals sang Happy Birthday to me in San Gil, I drank chicha and I learned that cheese and hot chocolate really aren’t a bad combination.

Colombia shattered my stereotypes. That’s not to say its a secure paradise. It is not for sure, but for all my fear, it was nothing like the wild west I was expecting. Although we’ve had friends who have been robbed in Colombia, I stand resolute in saying that it’s no more dangerous than anywhere else in South America. Colombians constantly offered safety advice on travel routes and I was duly impressed by their determination to push past their recent experience.

To be truly humbled in your life is an experience you’ll never forget. For me, the Colombian people did more than break down my stereotypes; they fundamentally changed the way I think about places, people and things. Colombia so fundamentally changed my way of thinking that the next time an opportunity arose at going to a “dangerous” country, I weighed the risks quite differently than I had before. Some of those “dangerous” countries we went to, others we skipped, but I took the time to really assess the information not just go with my prejudice. Those were some of our favorite countries of the trip, and as we flashback to them I hope I can do them justice.

Photo: Is there anything better than a hammock?

July 28, 2011 By Jillian

There’s one thing Utila is known for – scuba diving. We went there to find a scuba diving school and get our PADI certification. At the time Utila was the cheapest place to get PADI certified in the world, so how could we not?

We spent five days learning how to dive, reading our dive books and literally living the life on a tropical island. Not bad considering we were less than three months into our trip. We met people who had arrived with the goal of getting their basic PADI certification- 6 months later they were completing divemaster certification and planning to be dive instructors. Perhaps a tropical island just does that to you?

The whale sharks, which live in the Bay Islands (Utila and it’s larger sister Roatan) for most of the year, decided to head up to Belize the week before. Go figure, and so began our dissapointing experience always “just missing” the whale sharks around the world. One day!

This photo was taken between dive trips. Our diving school (Underwater Vision) had hammocks scattered around the property, Danny was lucky enough to snag this one in the shade for a mid-afternoon nap.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: We chose Utila for scuba lessons over Roatan because it fit our personality a bit better. There are good dive shops on both, Roatan is much larger, with more to do. Utila is pretty much a one horse town, although it’s got plenty of restaurants, shops and bars. We liked the vibe on Utila, but watch out for the sand flies if they’re in season. PADI certifications are accessible all over the caribbean, and there are plenty of dive spots all over the area. Do a search for Dominican Republic holidays or scuba lessons in the caribbean to see the plethora that’s on offer.

Photo: Ancient Temple at Night

July 27, 2011 By Jillian

Sometimes visiting the big tourist attraction is worth it, no matter how cheesy or over the top it may be. After two weeks traveling in the Sahara Desert of Sudan, we were happy when the ferry docked in Aswan. The very first thing we bought were doritos and coke zero, hold your judgement until you spend two weeks in a very hot, very dry and very sandy country.

Besides the junk food, we also splashed out on some cliche tourist attractions in Aswan, like visiting the Temple of Isis at Philae at night. Say what you will about the ridiculous laser light show that night, but the experience was worth it just to see the ancient temple in the dark. The lighting was fantastic and I think we took several hundred photos that night alone.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: Most tourists don’t get to Southern Egypt, also called Upper Egypt, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. There are plenty of nile cruises between Luxor and Aswan, of varying levels of comfort, which make for a relaxing and scenic trip between the two. Otherwise you can take the train, although at the time of our visit it was rumored tourists were only being sold tickets on certain trains and for certain cars, limiting your travel options. Check out our Country Guide: Egypt for more advice and tips.

London’s Cultural Olympiad

Photo: Ethiopian Monastery

Flashback: Colombia

Photo: Is there anything better than a hammock?

Photo: Ancient Temple at Night

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