The Café Savoy, a throwback to an earlier era in Prague. By EVAN RAIL, The New York Times FORGET all thoughts of Kafka, post-communist grit and writers trying to craft the Great American Novel, as most of the old ideas about Prague are now very far off the mark. Instead, expect a modern, extremely liveable city that is among the most Western (both literally and figuratively) of all the former Communist-bloc capitals, where long-held myths about Eastern Europe are exploded on a daily basis... Read Full Story
A doorman at Le Baron in Tokyo, which is harder to find than its parent club in Paris. Ko Sasaki for The New York Times It was the middle of the night as a Japanese skateboarder and concert promoter named Chris led me through Tokyo 's Shibuya district — a sort of futuristic Times Square — with its hyper-commercial vertical sprawl of glass office towers and flashing neon billboards advertising the latest cellphones and pop stars. We threaded past the sleeping shopping malls and shiny... Read Full Story
By DEVLIN BARRETT WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses. By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling... Read Full Story
This picture is the lasting memory I will always have of Brussels. I was there with my friend for only about a day and a half. Brussels was our layover on the way to Amsterdam. I don't even know how we decided to see this monstrosity, but we took a really really long train ride because we wanted to see what it was all about. It wasn't really worth the trip. There were all these funky rooms inside the atom, built for the World's Fair. It might have been cool when it was first built, but now... Read Full Story
It was Valentine's weekend and my friend Nicole and I didn't really want to sit in London and watch all our friends go out with their dates. What was the other last minute option? Go on our school sponsored trip to Liverpool, England and see the Beatles museum. Sure, why not? After a train, a bus, and a very long walk, we arrived at the Holiday Inn. We were crabby, but we got a free dinner, which is a VERY big plus, almost worth the trip if you've been living in London with a very strong... Read Full Story
Rome, ahh Rome. One of my favorite cities. Charming, old, romantic, lovely. Gelatto, the Vatican, Trevi fountain, and the Spanish steps. Amazing. The language is beautiful and the people are very friendly. I think all I did the whole time I was there was eat. Pizza, gelato, linguini and clams... yum. I had the best meals of my life in Italy. A week and so many things to do. Walk everywhere... mass at the Vatican, the Coliseum, there is charm everywhere you go in Rome. The only thing I didn't... Read Full Story
Wow. That's all I could muster up and think when I stepped off the subway right in downtown Manhattan, on the 44th St. subway stop. Wow. Pictures really can't do New York City any kind of justice. My friends, who are native New Yorkers, of course thought my reaction was halarious, but their Midwestern friend did NOT grow up in the Big Apple. New York City is overwhelming and fascinating. I loved exploring the city for the week I was there, but don't know if I could ever live there. I do know... Read Full Story
Venice Emily Carlson also traveled to Venice, Italy on her study abroad program. She loved the city of canals, even though she was there in February, one of the coldest months! In fact, I was there on Valentines Day, which should have been really romantic with all the gondolas and the Italian men, right?:) Nope! My friends and I had fun there, though. We had really nice, cheap accomidations (even though we totally got lost and walked around Venice in the middle of the night for hours) We had... Read Full Story
Take me to the Plaza anyday. Yes, it's no Paris, and it's certainly not like Rome, but don't knock it till you've been there... Kansas City is charming and unique. The city of fountains, you can find a bubbly delight on almost any block on any street. Kansas City is not just in Kansas, but in Missouri too. That's where you can find the best outdoor shopping mall around (this is coming from an expert... I live right by the Mall of America!) The Plaza has everything you could ever want, with... Read Full Story
San Francisco is definetly Emily Carlson's favorite U.S. city. I was there just a few weeks ago, visiting my cousin. There is so much to do, you just can't see all of San Fran in a week! The Golden Gate bridge just takes my breath away. My cousin laughed at me because she drives over it every day, and doesn't even look at the spectacular view anymore, but I couldn't get enough. The massiveness, the structual beauty of the bridge is unbelievable. I would have loved to walk the bridge, but... Read Full Story
