Désolé, je suis American...please cook my steak again

I love the Eurostar. Whoever decided to build a tunnel under the English Channel is brilliant, and I shall a raise a pint in their honor next time I'm at the Anchor. I love the thought that I can take the RV1 bus from Bankside to Waterloo train station, hop on the Eurostar, and arrive in Brussels or Paris within 2:30 hours.

In January I took the Eurostar to Paris and a few days ago I took it to Brussels. Moira and I left London around 8am and got into Brussels before noon. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went to Grand Place, which is the main square of Brussels. Absolutely beautiful and, of course, full of tourists.

Our first task was to find an ATM that would give us Euros (seeing as Britain has stuck firmly to the pound sterling, our currency with the Queen's portrait was useless). Now, you would think that this would be an easy task, right? Well, it wasn't. NONE of the ATMs within walking distance of Grand Place had money. Let me repeat, THERE WERE NO EUROS IN BRUSSELS, THE CAPITAL OF EUROPE. We decided to check out the EU area, where all the EU government buildings are, and perhaps find an ATM that would dispense Euros so that we could purchase waffles and Belgian fries.

Luckily, we managed to find a working ATM in the EU area, and then went off in search of the seat of European power. We stopped in front of the European Commission:

and then headed to the European Parliament, which is home to this funny looking statue:

We also walked through a huge park, which has, among other things, a street named "Avenue John F. Kennedy." How cool is that?

After touring the EU area, which was really not that impressive, because, well, I don't know, modern glass buildings just don't scream powerful like the Capitol or Kremlin, we headed back to Grand Place for dinner. Now, this is where the trip takes a turn for the worse, because it was then that the Belgians tried to kill me. You may recall that when I was in Paris, the French tried to kill me with bad cheese. Well, the same thing (food poisoning) happened in Belgium, which makes me suspect that the French speaking countries of the world have some vendetta against me. You see, this time, I decided that it would be ideal to order a traditional Belgian dish, moules et frites (mussels and fries). BAD IDEA. I love mussels, but these mussels did not return my love. I ended up puking my guts out throughout the city of Brussels, starting at the Grand Place and eventually ending up in front of some official consulate type building that belongs to the French government (Fitting, no?), in full view of four CCTV cameras. So, watch for footage of me on "Belgium's Funniest CCTV Videos."

When I woke up the next morning, though, I felt absolutely fine, so we headed off to Bruges, a city that is a one hour train ride away. It's cute...sickeningly cute, actually...see for yourself:

Canals, old buildings, boat rides...absolutely beautiful. The city seemed like a Disney theme park, it was that perfect. And, to prove how good I felt the day after my food poisoning episode, I had a belgian waffle covered in cherries and whip cream for breakfast, a portion of fries drenched in mayonnaise, gnochi gorgonzola, and numerous Belgian beers. A little food poisoning won't stop me from enjoying Belgian food (OK, granted the gnochi isn't Belgian, but whatever). And for those of you who think "fries with mayonnaise? gross!" then I urge you to try it. The mayonnaise won me over in December, after a trip to the Lowlander in Covent Garden. Ketchup? No thanks, bring me they mayonnaise!

Oh, and the citizens of Bruges love their bikes:

Some other random stuff about Brussels...

They have a huge atom statue:

Random...

But, the most well known Brussels feature is apparently this fountain, which is called Mannekin Pis:

I kid you not, every souvenir shop has tons of products with this fountain on them (mugs, bottle openers, shirts, whatever). In Paris, all the stores have mini Eiffel Towers. In Brussels, they have mini Mannekin Pis statues. So weird. And has anyone else noticed that all the souvenir stores in Western Europe are the same? You can walk into a store in London, Paris, or Brussels, and no matter what, they will all have the same Brazil soccer scarves and 2Pac and Che flags. It's quite annoying, actually. Why would I want to buy a 2Pac flag in France???

Oh, and another weird thing about Brussels is the metro. They play Britney Spears and Mariah Carey over the loudspeakers in the metro...swear to God, "Hit me baby one more time" was playing while we were waiting for a train. I quite liked it, too. Also, you can basically ride the metro for free - there are many stations with no staff, and there are no gates to stop you from entering the metro without a ticket. It is the oddest thing I have seen in terms of public transportation. (Of course, being good Americans, we actually purchased a metro pass).

The rest of my Belgium photos are here. Nothing too exciting, though.

Brussels is a great city to visit, especially if you like chocolate, waffles, fries, and beer (Belgian beer = best beer ever? Yes, I think so!). Just be sure to stay away from the mussels. Ugh.

Author URL: http://www.lindsayfincher.com/

Seeing Alaska by Ferry - The Alaska Marine Highway

The Alaska Marine Highway is without doubt the most unique highway in the world. Its scenery is certainly mesmerizing.

How many other highways can you drive along and see, often at the same moment, snowcapped mountain peaks, ice-age glaciers, hillsides blanketed with spruce and hemlock, tranquil fjords, beaches and streams?

Where else could you see otters feeding on kelp beds, fur seals, killer whales breaching almost within touching distance, sea birds and bald eagles perched on their nests gazing into the distance?

The Alaska Marine Highway System has ferried cars and passengers to some 32 communities in Alaska, British Columbia and the state of Washington for nigh on 50 years. The 11 ferries are a lifeline for the isolated fishing and logging communities along the south-eastern Alaskan shoreline. Other popular destinations visited by many Alaska Marine Highway travelers include Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks, and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

But the route is more than that. It is a cheaper alternative to the expensive cruises in these waters. The ferry service gives passengers greater freedom than they would have on a cruise ship. The Matanuska carries 499 passengers, and provides 4 four-berth, 21 three-berth, and 80 two-berth cabins. The cabins may not be as luxurious as a cruise liner's, but it's a lot cheaper, although meals are extra.

The ferry car deck holds about 88 vehicles (these numbers vary from ferry to ferry). Drivers can plan their own itinerary and connect with other ferries to explore off the beaten track. Take your car to Skagway, Alaska, for example, and drive home via the Alaska Highway.

So come aboard the "Matanuska", named for an Alaskan glacier, at Bellingham, Washington State, about 80 kilometers south of Vancouver, British Columbia, for the eight-day return trip along the Inside Passage, stretching 1,700 kilometers and wending its way along the coast through more than 1,000 islands.

The first voyage of discovery is the ferry itself: a cocktail lounge, a gift shop, a cafeteria, and a huge forward observation lounge.

The upper deck has a glassed solarium and a lounge with reclining seats used by travelers who don't want to spend their money on a cabin, or by those doing a short hop. The airline-style chairs are comfortable enough for a night's sleep. and there are showers in the washrooms. (Public showers are available on all vessels except the Lituya, Chenega and Fairweather.) In summer, campers even pitch their tents on the upper deck.

The Matanuska does not have dining room service but the self-service lineup in the cafeteria moves quickly (the M/Vs Columbia and Tustumena have full-service dining rooms). The menu is vast and reasonably priced; portions are also large (for size, try the omelettes for breakfast). There are at least three main dishes every lunch and dinner, often the freshest of locally caught salmon, halibut or red snapper, as well as fresh salads, sandwiches, soup and fast-food orders such as burgers and French fries.

We're at sea for 36 hours before touching on the first port of call - Ketchikan, Alaska's southernmost city. It is strung out for kilometers along a waterfront, most of it supported on pilings above Tongass Narrows. The cross streets are often simply wooden steps climbing the steep hillside.

If the ferries are running a bit late, you might not have more than an hour or two ar each stop. Keep this in mind. The ferry does not wait on slowpoke passengers.

Ketchikan tourist sights include wonderful shopping, Dolly's house on Creek street, the home and working place of the town's last "madam" and a museum. Along the waterfront are seaplanes and boats serving the logging camps and other settlements.

Most of Sunday is spent at sea relaxing and sightseeing - often with calls from the bridge to alert you to the occasional killer whale or other sights.

The next stop is Wrangell, the only community to have the flag of three nations flying over it. Wrangell began as a stockade built by the Russians in 1834, was leased six years later to the British Hudson's Bay Company, and finally bought by the US in 1867. Gold miners headed from there for the Klondike and Cassiars. One stop worth making is at the beach to see the petroglyphs carved by prehistoric Indians.

Later the ferry stops at Petersburg, home of the largest halibut fleet in Alaska and proud of its Scandinavian heritage. Early next day it's Juneau, capital of Alaska - and you can see the Mendenhall glacier as the ferry approaches the terminal.

The terminal is 22 kilometers north of Juneau, but there is a good minibus and taxi service to town, a bustling community long before gold was discovered in 1881. A walking tour will take you past many historic sites; you can stock up on gold nuggets and fossilized walrus tusk jewelry. The world's largest concentration of brown bear lives on Admiralty Island, located just 10 minutes from Juneau.

Later in the morning the ferry heads to Haines, originally a trading post. From here, it's only an hour to Skagway which, wonderfully preserved and restored, today still resembles the gold-rush town it was at the turn of the century - the main gateway to the Klondike, 800 kilometers to the north.

From Skagway, the ferry retraces its route to Haines and Juneau, then detours to Sitka, once the Russian capital of Alaska. Mount Edgecombe, an extinct volcano, towers in the background. The Russian influence can be seen everywhere in Sitka: Visit the onion-domed St. Michael's Cathedral, for instance, a fine example of rural Russian church architecture.

Many of the Alaska Marine Highway's ferries have theater areas that show films of general interest and documentaries on Alaska and the outdoors and often provide special educational and entertainment programs.

As though there isn't enough to see and do on the way.

By Eldrid Retief

Ecotourism Vacations - The Heart Of The Matter?

For many committed ecotourists, it is not enough to simply take part in low-impact, educational vacations to unique locations. Some are interested in going further, to get at the heart of what ecotourism really is. Total immersion in the concept is certainly one way to understand this growing industry and how it affects everything on the planet.

Ecotourism may be new to many in the general public, but the concept has been around for a number of years. In the 1980s, some enterprising travelers with an environmental consciousness began to develop projects that would take travelers to remote places on the globe or to locations where the natural or cultural resources were particularly threatened.

Sometimes these locations were in or near cities, but for the most part the destinations were natural resource treasures abroad that were threatened by development of commercial entities or mass tourism. One goal of these early ecotourists was a wider understanding of just what ecotourism involves. Some were looking for a definition of the term, so that they could explain it to others. In any case, knowing about this important segment of the travel industry is necessary, whether the individual takes part in ecotourism trips or not.

For many, the idea behind ecotourism is simple: human beings should give up mass/recreation tourism and participate in activities that help preserve natural resources and unique cultures around the world. The primary goal is to learn about these cultures and the way wildlife survives, so that trips and projects can be devised along those guidelines.

Ecotourism, as defined above, includes some of the following items:

Eco-lodges - Areas of land, with or without structures, that are purchased or leased then opened to ecotourists for lodging near natural habitats of interest. These sites provide accommodations that more closely resemble camping than a night in a lodge, however. They have become quite popular for ecotourism proponents, even to the point of being essential factors in a true ecotourism experience.

Preservation - This concept is certainly at the heart of ecotourism, whether the impetus comes from a company or individual operating an eco-lodge or from the travelers themselves. Preserving natural resources, in the form of animals, plants and open land is a key tenet of ecotourism (some would say the primary tenet of the industry). This concept is truly a two-way street. If there was no preservation, there could be no ecotourism. If there were no ecotourists, there could be no preservation.

Distant Lands - Many consider the distant locations and their unspoiled natural resources to be at the heart of ecotourism. Many of these sites have become preferred destinations for ecotourism trips, though a few years ago they were considered unreachable, even with modern transportation. Communities in the area of these sites have taken up the ecotourism banner, in many cases. Local leaders have found methods of providing economic stability to native populations through careful use of ecotourism.

With all of this in mind, ecotourism remains to be discovered by each individual really. Ecotourism, after al, is what the conscientious traveler makes of it.

By Peter S. Mason