Cycling French Life French Provinces Paris Podcasts: Cycling French Living French Provinces Paris Podcasts
by maribeth
Comments Off on Listen to Graham Watson Talk the Tour
Listen to Graham Watson Talk the Tour
2010 Tour de France Route
The 2010 Tour de France route was posted just over a month ago which means that hotels along the course are booking up fast. There’s still time, however, to plan a trip to take in some of this renowned bike race next July. Renowned Tour photographer, Graham Watson, will tell you how. Read about what I wrote about Graham and his book, “Graham Watson’s Tour de France Travel Guide,” here. You can also listen to Graham speak about the Tour and more by clicking on the play button here:
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Art & Culture Being Green Four Corners Podcasts Telluride The Rockies Travel: Art & Culture Being Green Four Corners Podcasts Telluride The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on The National Trust and Us
The National Trust and Us
Richard Moe: Our Nation's Top Preservationist Enjoying the Great American West
People don’t want to go to a place that has lost its soul.
—Arthur Frommer
Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, shared the above quote with me in a recent Travel Fun interview. As our nation’s leading historic preservation organization, the Trust has saved the soul and character of countless places in its sixty years of existence. From main streets to historic sites, this bipartisan organization works tirelessly toward preserving our country’s heritage.
As a part-time resident of Telluride, I’ve had the privilege of chatting with Dick Moe about historic preservation and some of his favorite destinations several times. He loves his time in the West and makes Telluride his base every summer for visiting some of the most significant cultural sites in the United States including Canyon of the Ancients in southwestern Colorado. In our interview, he also talks about other exciting locales in the region such as Durango, Silverton, Chimney Rock and the Rio Grande Gorge in Del Norte.
As for Telluride, it’s clear that it stands a cut above all other Rocky Mountain destinations. “Telluride has done a better job of preserving its historic character than any other mountain town,” says Dick. He also shares his thoughts on the Telluride Valley Floor, a 500-acre parcel of open space that he fought hard to preserve.
The Trust’s programs on sustainability and historic preservation are also discussed in our interview. Currently the organization is committed to a sustainability program that focuses on the environmental value of “recylcing” older buildings for new uses and retrofitting them for greater energy efficiency.
Heritage tourism is the fastest growing part of tourism, already a huge industry in our country. The National Trust has offered tours all over the world for quite some time but they’re expanding their reach with Gozaic, a one-stop shopping portal for heritage travel. You can hear what Dick has to say about this in our chat as well.
Listen to the entire half-hour interview I conducted with Richard Moe by clicking on the play button here:
People want to experience what’s real and genuine in communities.
—Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Note that at the same time of this story posting, Richard Moe announced his retirement from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has been the longest serving president in the sixty-year history of the Trust. He plans to continue to hold that position until a replacement is found, likely in the spring of 2010.
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 202-588-6000 and 800-944-6847, www.preservationnation.org; you may become a member of the Trust and receive their award-winning magazine six times a year for as little as $20.
Four Corners Podcasts Telluride The Rockies Travel: Four Corners Ken Burns Podcasts Telluride Telluride Festivals The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Ken Burns on America’s National Parks and Telluride
Ken Burns on America’s National Parks and Telluride
Ken Burns and “National Parks” Producer Dayton Duncan
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been moved to tears every night this week watching Ken Burns’s six-part series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” on PBS. This work was a labor of love for this master documentarian for some ten years and I think most of America is grateful for it finally being available for all to see. “It is the history of the ideas and the individuals that made this uniquely American thing happen,” Ken told me in a Travel Fun interview I conducted with him early September. “For the first time in history, land was set aside for the people,” he continued.
You may listen to the entire forty-minute interview I conducted with Ken by clicking on the play button here:
Ken also chats about his twenty-year relationship with Telluride. “It’s my lover,” he says. Listen to the podcast to find out why. You’ll also learn more about Ken’s two-decade long relationship with the Telluride Film Festival and why he calls it “the best festival on the planet.”
I was lucky enough to see one of Ken’s films on our National Parks on the big screen at Telluride’s Mountain Film Festival last May. Read about that experience here.
Book Picks
“Ken Burns: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” at www.shoppbs.org/home. You can buy this must-have tome and the DVD and receive the CD soundtrack for free.
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French Life Paris Podcasts Travel: French Life Paris Podcasts Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Paris and Marrakech in the Springtime
Paris and Marrakech in the Springtime
La Tour Eiffel Bien Sur!
Anyone that possesses even a vague interest in France, can’t help thinking about Paris in the springtime. I’ve made it a tradition on Travel Fun to do an April (or Springtime, if I’m a little behind schedule) in Paris program every year.
This year I whisked my listeners off to the French capital with the help of author, Diane Johnson. I’ll confess right off that I’m a huge fan of Diane’s novels, particularly “Le Divorce,” “Le Mariage” and “L’Affaire,” all intricately woven works that explore the cultural differences between Americans and the French with keen insight. A two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a three-time finalist for the National Book Award, Diane is the best-selling author of fifteen books including her newly released “Lulu in Marrakech.” She divides her time between San Francisco and Paris, a city that has taken center stage in her most recent books.
“Many wonderful books have been written about France,” Diane explained in our interview. “My publisher is always sending me books about France and the French,” she continues. “I’ve noticed a constant theme that involves people dreaming about France as the ideal place.” I’ve found that to be true with so many people over the years as well. Most seem to embrace a romantic vision of France, especially when it comes to Paris. And it seems as though that image is rarely shattered.
To understand this more, I suggest you read Diane’s above mentioned books!
As for “Lulu,” Diane once again shines at spinning a tale that holds you in rapt attention with its people, place and story. She delightfully captures the sights, sounds and smells of this exotic Moroccan land in this novel about a California blond that finds herself living all kinds of adventures—romantic and otherwise—as a spy in an Islamic country. Diane beautifully describes all the subtleties of ex-pats abroad set against a colorful backdrop painted with vivid images of mosques, minarets, souks and the call to prayer.
L’Exotisme du Maroc
Diane lived within this culture for quite some time with her husband, a prominent doctor specializing in tuberculosis research, many years ago. She wrote about many of these experiences in her book, “Natural Opium,” a compilation of travel stores. Diane’s current project delves into even more adventures she had while traveling the world with her husband to faraway lands including Japan and China. Can’t wait to see what that will bring!
When asked about her thoughts on Americans abroad, Diane sounded insightful about her compatriots behavior outside of the U.S. “Americans are more polished and culturally sensitive than they once were,” she said.
I’m sure Diane is partly responsible for this—at least when it comes to France and now in terms of Islam, I thought. She is extraordinarily gifted at helping us understand other cultures, especially the French. And, of course, there’s always that je ne sais quoi, that inexplicable something, that makes many Americans so charmed by France. Especially Paris in the springtime.
Diane Johnson’s Advice to the Traveler to France
“Read a few good books on how to negotiate the trains and other necessary matters in France.”
“Don’t be the loud American. Don’t try to speak French by speaking English louder.”
Click Here to Listen to the Podcast of My Spring 2009 Interview with Diane.
Last Words from Diane
“The mood is good in Paris these days. The restaurants are still full.” We both agreed that food is an essential part of life in Paris.
Book Picks
“Le Divorce”
“Le Mariage”
“L’Affaire”
“Into a Paris Quartier”
“Natural Opium”
and many more by Diane Johnson!
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