Inside Traveler @ National Geographic Traveler

Web-Exclusive

WorldWise Trivia Quiz

Test your geography IQ with our interactive quiz. » Play Now
Paris Photo Gallery

View photos that capture the true Paris, from Notre Dame Cathedral to outdoor cafés. » Click Here

Marrakech Guide

Explore the Red City of Morocco with these blogs, podcasts, maps, and more. » Click Here

51 Ways to Cut Vacation Costs

Don't get caught in a tourist money trap. Learn how to avoid hidden charges, and get expert money-saving tips. » Click Here

The Little Book of Travel Wisdom

Don't leave home without these essential tips, resources, and websites. » Read More

IT—Inside Traveler
By Jessie Johnston and Emily King

August 10, 2006:

Armchair Adventurer

After her family's many adventures this summer, chief researcher Marilyn Terrell has settled down for a little vicarious literary travel, and sent us the following yellow-bordered recommendation:

"If you loved reading the adventures of intrepid explorers in the dusty pages of your grandparents' National Geographics, now you can enjoy these stories again without getting your hands dirty. Worlds to Explore: Classic Tales of Travel and Adventure from National Geographic skims the cream off the 210 volumes of the National Geographic magazine and brings you such gems as plant collector Joseph Rock caravanning through China (with his collapsible Abercrombie & Fitch bathtub) in 1925; Anne Morrow Lindbergh manning the radio for her husband as they circumnavigate the North Atlantic in 1933; Tolstoy's grandson, on a mission from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, meeting His Holiness the 7-year-old Dalai Lama in Tibet; Maynard Owen Williams waiting out the media frenzy at the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1923; sharp-eyed Eliza Scidmore reporting from earthquake-ravaged Japan in 1896 (she was the first woman to serve on the National Geographic Society board); 22-year-old Thor Heyerdahl searching for paradise in the South Pacific in 1937, and lots more goodies. Crisp black-and-white photos accompany the articles."

IT's only complaint? The book doesn't give off that well-loved National Geographic smell.

IT Travels with Mary Beth LaRue

During a quick weekend trip this spring to Portland, Oregon, Traveler's assistant online editor Mary Beth LaRue had some of her best meals not in four-star restaurants (although those weren't too shabby either) but in neighborhood Victorians with vintage charm. She reports:

"Several of this innovative city's most popular restaurants have taken a low-key approach, offering creative cuisine in the comfort of a home.

"Lovely Hula Hands, housed in a pink-stucco house, offered affordable courses like salt-and-pepper battered calamari and Cuban pumpkin rice with tomato coconut sauce and plantains. Both were delicious when paired with a glass of Oregonian Pinot Noir or one of the owner's concoctions. A personal favorite was the Bee's Knees, an enticing mix of rum, lemon juice and honey. Get there early for dinner because the restaurant doesn't take reservations. Take note: The restaurant plans to move from its home at 938 N. Cook Street to 4057 N. Mississippi Street sometime this fall, so keep your eyes peeled for more than pink paint.

"After dinner, have a nightcap at the Brazen Bean, a hip lounge in an Old Victorian on N.W. Glisan Street. The Bean offers 27 different kinds of martinis, from cucumber to sake to jasmine-infused. If you stop by during happy hour, you can save $2 a pop. Still hungry? Sample one of the Bean's upscale midnight snacks like the smoky roasted corn, cheddar and chicken quesadilla.

"Last but not least, a restaurant that serves some of the best dessert in Portland in more than modest surroundings. The Rimsky-Korsakoffee House doesn't advertise, has a tiny outdoor sign and is, like the other two, housed in an antique home. This late-night coffeehouse serves ice cream sundaes, cheesecakes, and pies, plus a variety of coffees and loose-leaf teas. Every night at 7 p.m. there is live classical music. The place holds lots of surprises, but you'll have to stop by to find out."

IT has just one question for Mary Beth: Did you do anything other than eat on your trip?

(For more National Geographic Traveler-vetted Oregon picks, check out Andrew Nelson's "New Oregon Trail" article in the September 2006 print issue, and our online "Oregon Shopping Guide," which will go live on August 18, 2006.)

From August 8, 2006:

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Next time you're in D.C., you may notice an extra spring in your step. That's because we're getting some rubber sidewalks in our fair city. The Washington, D.C., government has contracted with Rubbersidewalks Inc. to install sidewalks made of shredded, recycled tires instead of unforgiving concrete on some city blocks. The benefits: Your bones are less likely to break if you fall, reducing the number of lawsuits the city must deal with; and Washington's magnificent street trees won't have to shove their roots to the surface in order to get air and water, reducing the number of cracked and buckled sidewalks (which are also more likely to cause pedestrians to trip and fall). Rubber sidewalks last longer, require less maintenance, and keep tires out of landfills—in 2003, the EPA reported some 290 million tires are discarded every year. Street trees will live longer, sucking up that climate-altering carbon dioxide. Plus, D.C.'s double Dutch skippers will be able to jump that much longer without knee replacements.

IT Travels with Norie Quintos

Has Costa Rica lost some of its nature- and eco-destination clout to up-and-comers Nicaragua and Panama? Senior editor Norie Quintos, accompanied by her two sons, headed south to find out:

"There's a disturbing rise in 'Land for Sale' signs along the coastal and mountain roads, along with ads in tourist magazines for resort condo developments. That unfortunately is a consequence of this Central American country's stability, relative prosperity, and increasing tourist arrivals (which interestingly have upticked as a result of the Lebanon crisis, as travelers head for places considered 'safe').

"Still, if you're looking for monkeys, sloths, sea turtles, crocs , birds, frogs, and bugs, this West Virginia-size country has them in abundance—if you know where to look. The popular North Pacific beaches are stunners, but can disappoint in the wildlife department. Better to tack on the beach at the end of your trip.

"In the tree-forest canopies of the Monteverde Cloud Forest in the central highlands, we found the resplendent quetzal, a green bird with an impossibly long tail and a spiky, punk-rocker mane of feathers on its head. At Tortuguero National Park on the Caribbean coast, we caught a 300-pound Atlantic green sea turtle in the act of laying ping-pong ball-size eggs and watched it waddle back to the sea. In the Osa Peninsula, spider monkeys bombarded us with leaves and sticks just outside the grounds of our sumptuous ecolodge, Lapa Rios.

"Despite the number of poisonous snake species in the country (17), the only thing you really need worry about is getting into a car accident. Roads, though well marked, can be rutted and pot-holed; mountain roads and many bridges over streams lack guardrails. We left the driving and logistical worries to Costa Rica Expeditions, a longtime local tour operator known for its excellent guides and its adherence to sustainable tourism practices.

"Bottom line: At this time, the increase in mainstream tourism to Costa Rica doesn't prevent travelers with a nature or eco bent from finding their bliss."

Look for Norie's story on Costa Rican nature lodges in an upcoming issue.

E-mail your feedback and tips to InsideTraveler@ngs.org.

Bookmark IT! www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/blog/blog.html

While Traveler researcher Jessie Johnston has spent the past weeks sweating in the 110 degree Northwest Washington (D.C.) heat, Emily King, assistant to the editor, has been frollicking in the 70-degree mountain air of the Northwest, in Washington State.

Center for Sustainable Destinations

Learn how to preserve the authenticity of the places you love.

� Click Here

National Geographic Traveler Places of a Lifetime
Our guides lead you to the best in ten world-class cities with photo galleries, walking tours, and what to know before you go.

� Click Here

The National Geographic Traveler Reader Panel

Are you a real traveler? Someone who cares about authenticity? Who has a point of view about where we should travel—and how? Then tell us what you think and be eligible to win a trip to almost anywhere in the United States.

� Click Here