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What You Missed This Week On Gadling: August 25 - 31

Lincoln Memorial HDR
Serge Melki, Flickr
We publish a lot of stories every week on Gadling. Sometimes, you might just miss one or two. Don't spend your entire weekend combing for the must-read stories. We've gathered everything that was popular from the last week. Here's your one-stop, weekly roundup.

Most Read
Most Thought-Provoking
Best Read, If You're Looking for a Career Change
Must-Read Before You Travel This Weekend
Most Popular on Social Media
Most Popular on AOL Travel

Photo Of The Day: Interstate Freedom

Interstate 81 freedom
Nicholas_T, Flickr
With this year's Labor Day Weekend predicted to be the busiest in five years for travelers, a highway view like this may be near impossible. Picking off-peak travel hours may help, in some cases. Where are you going this weekend, and when are you leaving?

We'd love to feature your photos and videos on Gadling, so please add them to our Flickr Pool (with Creative Commons licensing!), tag @GadlingTravel on Instagram or email us at OfTheDay@gadling.com.

Faux Cityscapes: 5 Fake Places to Snap a Tourist Photo

Steve Jurvetson, Flickr

What are the main reasons people travel? To see the world, gain new perspective, learn about other cultures, get a photo of themselves in front of a famous destination. Let's be honest, in the world of social media, the latter is of the utmost importance, so important that some people will take a fake background rather than the real thing.

Five places you can snap a fake tourist shot:

1. Hong Kong with a bright blue sky
When it's too smoggy in Hong Kong for a blue sky (and most of the time it is) you can still get your photo taken in front of the city's skyline, thanks to a fabric backdrop. Because nothing says "I've been there" than taking your photo in front of a colored sheet.

2. Paris... in China
Can't make it to the real Paris? There's always Vegas. Or in China, where a remade version of Paris outside of Hangzhou isn't the City of Light, it's more of a creepy deserted ghost town. There's even a 108-meter replica of the Eiffel Tower, which is perfect for when newlyweds want a romantic backdrop without traveling to Europe.

3. Afghanistan... in California
Given the US military's presence in the Middle East, it's no surprise that they would work hard to train soldiers on the ins and outs of where they will be based. And what better way than with a mock Afghan village? Actors on the Fort Irwin base in California create a fake Afghan village, selling plastic loaves of bread and fake meat to provide some sort of cultural context for military personnel soon to deploy. Even civilians can visit, checking out the village and chatting with soldiers afterwards. Obviously much more less complicated than traveling to Afghanistan.

4. The Taj Mahal... in Bangladesh
Local wealthy Bangladeshi filmmaker Asanullah Moni was apparently tired of traveling to India to see one of the new seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, so he built one himself. The structure cost $58 million to construct, and took only five years to build; lightspeed compared to the original building's construction, which was built over two decades in the 17th century. So thanks to Moni, Bangladeshis can snap their picture in front of the iconic architecture without ever leaving their home country.

5. The Titanic... in the Southern United States
Just because the real boat sank, doesn't mean you can't get your photo taken in front of it. Just plan a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee or Branson, Missouri where you'll find 30,000-square-foot replicas of the ship that sank in 1912. Welcome aboard.

Vermont Airport Introduces "Lactation Station" For Mothers

Mamava lactation station Burlington Airport
Courtesy Mamava
Traveling mothers have things a bit easier in Vermont at Burlington's airport after a "lactation station" was installed, allowing mothers to breastfeed or pump in a private booth post-security. The modular Mamava Lactation Station has room for luggage and a stroller, a fold-down table and power adapters, soft lighting, and antimicrobial surfaces. The station provides a clean and private alternative to using a bathroom or other public space during a layover or before a flight.

Burlington Airport was the site of a "nurse in" protest in 2006 after a breastfeeding mother was removed from a flight, and will be the first in the world to have the nursing kiosk. Burlington aviation director Gene Richards worked with Mamava directly, as part of making the airport experience "as relaxing as possible."

As a parent and frequent traveler, I'm happy to see a way to make travel a little easier, with or without a baby. While I have breastfed (discreetly) in public all over the world without anyone noticing or caring, pumping requires a certain amount of privacy. As this station will also benefit mothers traveling without babies who pump and want to take bottles through security, it's providing a solution to a problem. Moreover, it shows that airports can respond to passenger needs and add amenities, rather than take them away. We can all drink to that!

Instant Film Makes A Comeback

Instant film photography tool
Courtesy of Impossible Project
Mobile phone apps like Instagram have made it possible to make our digital images look "vintage" using filters and effects, but they can't quite capture the particular nostalgic quality of actual film. Photography lovers have mourned the loss of Polaroid instant film since it was discontinued in 2008. Several former employees teamed up to experiment with a new kind of instant film with the Impossible Project in 2010, allowing many owners of vintage cameras to keep taking pictures. The film is available at select camera stores around the world, but might be more for those who appreciate the art of film rather than speed: color pictures take up to a half-hour to develop.

Next month, the Impossible Project will take digital old-school when it introduces the Instant Lab, an app and tool that will allow you to print analog instant photos right from your iPhone. The device will be exhibited at Photoville, a pop-up photography "destination" in Brooklyn September 19 to 29, and available for purchase soon. The Instant Lab could be perfect for travelers who want to travel light with a camera phone but keep their trip photos from collecting dust on a hard drive.

10 Ways To Be A Terrible Airbnb Guest



Most people by now have heard of Airbnb and as the awareness of the site spreads, so does the use of it. Airbnb provides affordable and interesting accommodations that are a nice alternative to hotels when traveling, especially if you like to meet locals when you're in a new city. But Airbnb guests are sometimes a nightmare for Airbnb hosts, as is documented on AirbnbHell.

Here are 10 ways you can be a terrible Airbnb guest (Of course, avoid doing these things to be a good guest).

1. Use the site to commit a crime
This might seem like it goes without saying, but it doesn't. When a host opens up their home to a complete stranger, no amount of verifications Airbnb gives a host to make them feel safe changes the fact that the host is putting him or herself, family and personal possessions in a vulnerable position. Airbnb had to change their entire approach to host safety after a woman had her apartment ransacked in San Francisco when she rented it out via the site. Other hosts have had to deal with identity theft, drug addicts, prostitution and ruined personal possessions, among other things. Dear criminals, Airbnb is not the best outlet for your intended crime. You will be tracked, you will be caught and you will receive the most terrible karma ever for taking advantage of someone who gave you the benefit of the doubt.

Gummy Bear Art Car Takes Grand Tour

gummy bear car in New York
Courtesy of Alex Leuchte
Sometimes an "only in New York" moment has a more global story. On a rainy afternoon this week in Manhattan, my friend visiting from Germany was excited to spot a Mercedes with Munich plates. The car had a distinctive pattern covering its exterior, we debated whether it was metal, fabric or beads, but the actual decoration is much sweeter: gummy bears.

The back window detailed the "grand tour" of this visionary art, starting in Munich, traveling to Paris and London, and finally New York. The project is the third installment of artist Guenther Siraky's Mercedes Trilogy, which also took him and the car through Europe in 2007. The plan was to take the gummy bear car to each of the city's major art museums, including the Louvre, Tate and Guggenheim, exhibiting the work of art in front of each museum. Over a million people have seen the car, and reactions range from disbelief and amazement to tears of joy. NYPD officers have even allowed him to park in forbidden places to display his work. While the car should be covered in rain and extreme heat, the slightly melted gummy bears just add to the vehicle's charm. Siraky intended to sell the vehicle once he completed his tour last month, but he has extended his time in New York, and can be found driving it all over the five boroughs through the end of September.

See a slideshow of the gummy bear car in NYC below, and check in with the art car's adventures through the artist's Facebook page.


#BPTravel 2013: Thoughts On Travel Writing And The Journey Of Life

Don George BPTravel
Candace Rose Rardon
Two weeks ago, one of the most intense and invigorating periods of my year occurred: the annual Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference. For four days, some 90 students and 25 faculty members met in an intimate bookstore in Northern California for workshops, panels, and evening events that celebrated travel writing, travel photography, and much more.

Over the four days of the conference, as every year, unanticipated insights took seed and risks took flight, and some profoundly important lessons and dreams were conceived. Usually I write a piece summarizing the conference for Gadling, but this year an excellent summary has already been posted. And somehow, what I want to say about the conference, or about the thoughts that emerged from the conference, all seemed to come together in my concluding speech.

Travel Back Thursday: Broadway, From Broome Street

Broadway New York 1855
J. Paul Getty Museum
Thursdays mark a new rendition of our Photo of the Day on Gadling. We'll be traveling back in time to feature interesting memories of years past. We're reaching far back in the archives this week. Countless people have walked down, driven on, or worked near Broadway in New York City. Ever stop to think what Broadway looked like, over 150 years ago? Now you don't have to. Enjoy this photograph from (roughly) 1855.

We'd love to feature your photos and videos on Gadling, so please add them to our Flickr Pool (with Creative Commons licensing!), tag @GadlingTravel on Instagram or email us at OfTheDay@gadling.com.

Go Outside: Here's Why You Need To Leave The House



Travel is all about leaving your comfort zone. Even to travel locally, you need to go outside.

But with the masses becoming exponentially more sedentary and with staycations on the rise, we're collectively becoming a culture of people who just don't get out enough. This isn't good for our minds –- seeing new places and people and trying new things is integral to a developing mind. But this isn't good for our physical health, either. AsapScience put this video together in an effort to explain what would happen to you if you stopped going outside entirely.

Spoiler alert: you're going to want to go outside after watching this video.

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