Jaunted

Competitours / Competitours-Contest / Interviews / Steve Belkin / → All Tags

Wannabe Amazing Racers Listen Up: Competitours Explained

Do you know someone that's tried out for Amazing Race and didn't make it? Of course you do. The show has a rabid following of fans that say, "We can do that!" Only actually getting on the show is near impossible.

We personally know three "teams" of people who've tried out, creating quirky audition videos to showcase their love of travel, sense of adventure, willingness to accept tough challenges and in some cases, a totally dysfunctional relationship.

But they never made it on the show, despite repeated submissions.

Fortunately for them, there's Competitours, a travel outfit that sends folks on adventures throughout European cities. Much like Amazing Race, Competitours are asked to complete different challenges and activities each day, depending on the city they are in. But unlike the travel tours your grandparents favor, there's no walking tours involved, no one's sitting through a boring bus tour and there's no rigid 8am to 8pm itinerary of things to do.

"This is for people who like sight-doing and not sight-seeing," said Steve Belkin, founder and president of Competitours.

And for those who love the competitive edge of Amazing Race, the Competitours trips allow teams to compete against one another for a grand prize that includes at least 25 nights in a Starwood hotel, airfare, and up to $3,500 in spending money.

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Music Travel / The Roots / Public Enemy / Music Festivals / Jimmy Fallon / Questlove / Interviews / → All Tags

Questlove Swears He Won't Become a New Yorker

Now that Philly music icons the Roots have a full-time gig in Manhattan (as the house band for Jimmy Fallon's new late night show), we had to wonder, are the sixth borough's favorite hip-hoppers feeling a pull towards the first borough?

Not quite, says drummer Questlove. Despite the five-nights-a-week gig at NBC Studios, along with a running DJ night at Le Poisson Rouge, Quest still considers himself a Philly resident through-and-through.

"Right now I'm basically living in the dressing room of 30 Rockefeller Center, but I still get my mail in Philly," says Questlove. "I love my house there, so I'm holding out on getting a New York mortgage."

Questlove's greatest travel wish? Fans of the obsessive Twitter addict know he's stoked about Obama's recent train construction announcements, and he's hoping for some super-high-speed trains connecting his two towns. (Questlove, who can be found tweeting dozens of times a day with semi-celebs like Samantha Ronson, Solange Knowles and Khloe Kardashian, says he keeps his computer by the stage during the Fallon show just in case he feels an urgent need to Tweet during breaks.)

The whole band will return to Philly June 6 for the second annual Roots Picnic, when they'll bring along Santogold, the Black Keys and TV on the Radio, as well as Public Enemy, who will perform the entirety off their seminal 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, with the Roots playing backup.

"I'll be scalping tickets on Twitter," jokes Questlove.

Related Stories:
· Jaunted Does Lunch with Questlove of the Roots [Jaunted]
· Rocking out at the Roots Picnic in Philly [Jaunted]
· Twitter coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted]

Bridget Marquardt / Interviews / Bridget's Sexiest Beaches / Television Travel / Travel Videos / → All Tags

Jaunted's Seven Minutes in Heaven with Bridget Marquardt

Ok, so technically it wasn't the Seven Minutes in Heaven game that you started playing with all your friends after watching "Teen Wolf," but Jaunted did get about seven minutes yesterday to talk with Bridget Marquardt about her Travel Channel show, "Bridget's Sexiest Beaches."

We've been doing weekly recaps of the show here every Friday (check out our take on Bridget's trip to Spain here) and we know that you have been dying to hear what Bridget had to say about filming her time on the sand.

Here's what Bridget told us about how the show came about, her traveling experience, her love of the beach and what happened behind the scenes. And if you're hoping to find Bridget on your next trip to Santa Monica, listen carefully around the 5:40 mark.

Best Job in the World / Interviews / Angelene Orth / Hamilton Island / Tourism Queensland / Travel Contests / → All Tags

A 'Best Job in the World' Candidate Sets Her Eyes on the Prize

We spent some time the other day talking with Angelene Orth, a candidate for the Tourism Queenland's "Best Job in the World" contest in which hopefuls are vying for the chance to work on an island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months.

The responsibilities of the Island Caretaker/Travel Correspondent job (salary: $150,000 AUD plus living and transportation costs) include "taking care" of the Great Barrier Reef, exploring the area and reporting back to the world wide web via video, photos, blogs and other "media commitments."

Orth, 27, and already employed by public relations firm Weber Shandwick, told Jaunted that she's got what it takes to leave the New York behind and settle down for six months Down Under.

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