It's that time of year again, when thousands of dancers prepare to don feathers, beads, and sequins and parade down the streets to mark Carnival. And while big Carnival (or Mardi Gras, as it's also known) celebrations such as the one in Rio de Janiero get plenty of ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Belgium
Bizarre Carnival Celebrations You Haven't Heard Of
It's that time of year again, when thousands of dancers prepare to don feathers, beads, and sequins and parade down the streets to mark Carnival. And while big Carnival (or Mardi Gras, as it's also known) celebrations such as the one in Rio de Janiero get plenty of ...Massive New Penguin Colony Discovered In Antarctica
In December, a massive new colony of emperor penguins was discovered in Antarctica when humans visited a remote location on the eastern coast of the continent for the very first time. Scientists estimate that the colony is home to more than 9000 individual birds, which is ...Airline Gives Away Surprise Christmas Presents In Baggage Claim
Airport baggage claims are very strange places. Industrial, drab, and rarely decorated, they are metal cauldrons of human emotion.
One the one hand, you have happy families reuniting with each other where shrieks, hugs, and the occasional "I'm going to briefly ...
Would You Sleep In A Converted Shipping Container?
Beginning in September, travelers visiting France will be able to book a hotel room in a converted shipping container (pictured above).
Located near the France-Belgian border, Deûle Insolite is featuring 20-foot-long steel boxes with amenities like a ...Sick Of The Heat? 40 Places Where You Can Cool Off
Most people look for warm places to visit. I look for cold ones. I live near Washington, D.C., and by mid-July, I've had it with the suffocating heat and humidity. I've taken escape-the-heat trips almost every summer over the last five years to places like Newfoundland, Nova ...I Miss The 'Crap' English Weather
I've just returned from a five-day trip to England, in which we saw the sun for an aggregate of about 15 minutes, but I miss the English weather already. It's supposed to be 102 today in Washington, D.C., and 104 tomorrow. Factoring in the heat index, it will feel like a ...Torture Museums Look At The Dark Side Of History
Ah, the Good Old Days, when everyone lived in a perpetual Renaissance Festival quaffing ale and shouting "Huzzah!" It must have been wonderful.
Not!
People died young, the cities were filled with rats and open sewers, and God help you if you ever got arrested. You'd ...Five Alcohol Factories To Kick Off Spring Travel
Spring is in the air, which means that most of us will be swapping our mulled wine and spiked apple cider for beer gardens and rooftop bars. Behind every good brew, though, is a distillery that made your buzz possible. And many of those outlets have turned into touristic ...Belgian TV Station Launches With 'Dramatic' Viral Campaign
Want to make a splash? Belgian TV station TNT wanted to launch with a bang, and so they set up a "push for drama" button in the middle of a quiet town square.
Watch what happens when someone asks for drama. We wish all launches would be this creative. ...
Top ten things to do in Brussels, Belgium
A couple of weeks ago I was chatting with some fellow travel writers and the conversation turned to Brussels. The general consensus seemed to be that Belgium's capital isn't worth visiting.
I disagree. While it can't compete with London or Paris, it has its own charm and ...Let's get it on: travel in the footsteps of Marvin Gaye with this new app
In 1980, famous singer Marvin Gaye's life was as at an all-time low. He was depressed, in the midst of a divorce, and even attempted suicide. He owned the IRS millions in back taxes, was having difficulties with Motown Records and was in the throes of a drug addiction.
...Photo of the Day: Sunset over Bruges
The Belgian city of Bruges is famous for its stunning medieval architecture - it's a fact made all the more apparent by today's photo, taken by Flickr user clee130. Taken at sunset, the city's gothic cathedral spires (that's the Church of Our Lady on the left, and St. ...Video of the Day: Brussels to Bruges in two minutes
Road trips seem to be a very American activity. Driving cross-country, family vacations to national parks and the like. However, road trips are popular around the world. Caravanning (what we would call RVing) is quite popular in the UK. Also, because European countries ...
The perils of solo travel, or, how to sexually harass someone without even trying
Here at Gadling we've talked a lot about the perils of solo travel, from how it can break up relationships to creating feelings of loneliness. On a recent trip to Antwerp I discovered a danger to solo travel I never thought of--people look upon you with suspicion.
I was ...Collect virtual passport stamps with VisaStamper
It's a favorite ritual for many travelers to leaf through their passport (often while waiting in an immigration line), reminiscing on each stamp and the destination it represents. When a passport is lost or expired, losing all those hard-earned stamps can be tragic. ...Remembering the fallen
Today is Veterans Day, also known as Remembrance Day and Armistice Day because in 1918, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, World War One ended.
For four years the nations of the world had torn each other apart. The Austro-Hungarian Empire ...Hagelslag: Belgian chocolate for breakfast
Chocolate. You gotta love it. You can eat it, cook with it, even snort it. It's good at every meal. Even breakfast, as I discovered on a recent trip to Antwerp.
The Belgians enjoy a special breakfast treat called Hagelslag. These are basically chocolate sprinkles put on ...The oldest printing press in the world
Antwerp has been an important port and center of commerce for centuries. Because of this it has a long history of printing and the elegant mansion/workshop of one of its early printing companies has been turned into a museum
The Museum Plantin-Moretus houses a huge ...Luxury accommodation in the heart of Antwerp
Antwerp is a compact city with bad weather, so while it's walkable, it pays to be in the center of town. During my visit I stayed at the Hotel Julien, a recently renovated and expanded hotel within sight of the cathedral. In fact, I could see it from my bathroom window!
...Masterpieces of silver in Antwerp
Belgium is famous for its silver. Belgian silversmiths have a history stretching back hundreds of years. Their work has always been sought after for its high degree of craftsmanship and so it's no surprise there's a Silver Museum in Antwerp dedicated to the craftsmen that ...
