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Tags: Australia Travel / Winter Travel / Gardens / Festival Travel / → All Tags

Flower-Spotting Down Under, Where Winter Is Spring

Winter in Western Australia isn't the cold and blustery season people in other parts of the world are accustomed to—in fact, it's more like spring. So it's little wonder that from June to September, tourists arrive by the plane-full to check out the state's famous wildflowers in bloom.

Western Australia's a pretty big place—think more than three times larger than Texas—and the tourism peeps there have designed a bunch of itineraries best suited to self-drive vacations.

With over 12,000 species of wildflowers to be spotted, we're talking more than just a quick trip to the florist. Cool ones include everlastings (they feel like paper and last, well, forever) and kangaroo paws, twisted red and green blooms which could belong on kangaroos if you use your imagination.

The season winds up with the Wildflower Festival in Kings Park, Perth, in September. As well as going haywire on the wildflowers, the park gets pumping with a music festival, cultural shows and related exhibitions. So if you're taking a Down Under winter vacation but want to skip the snow, start geeking up on your wildflower knowledge or at least getting your camera ready.

Related Stories:
· Wildflowers Western Australia [Official Site]
· Winter Down Under Starts Early at Mount Buller [Jaunted]
· Western Australia Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: vagawi]

Tags: Snow Days / Active Travel / City Parks / Winter Travel / → All Tags

Free Sledding And Cocoa In NYC Parks Till 3PM

Get your boots on! Whether you're stranded in New York City or are lucky enough to get the day off due to the snowstorm, head on out to five of the city's parks for winter fun sponsored by the Parks & Recreation Department.

Brooklyn's Prospect Park and Manhattan's Riverside Park are two of the spots where park employees will be providing sleds and hot chocolate. Toss snowballs, make a snow angel -- but you'll have to jockey with all the public school kids who got the day off for room on the hills. Reminds us of our pre-global-warming childhoods.

Related Stories:
· Parks Department Offering Free Hot Chocolate, Sledding Today! [Gothamist]
· Snow Day! [NYCGovParks.org]
· Snow Days coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: What Dave Sees]

Tags: Active Travel / Winter Travel / Action Sports / Snowboarding / Shaun White / → All Tags

NYC Gets Down with Winter

It's widely known that New Yorkers do not deal particularly well with winter (hence the existence of Florida). So as the snow falls heavily this week, we're pretty impressed that New York is putting on not one, but two big events that embrace the cold. We're guessing last year's Union Square Session was a sort of success.

First up, this Thursday in East River Park is the Red Bull Snowscrapers event, a mini-X-Games competition that brings in 17 of the world's best snowboarders (read: Shaun White and 16 guys you've never heard of), along with live music from Anthrax and other Xtreme-approved bands.

Those who get inspired can head back to East River Park on Saturday for the Winterjam, a city-sponsored winter sports playground that includes a snowboard rail jam, an ice climbing wall and a 70-foot snow flume for sledding.

· Red Bull Snowscrapers [Official Site]
· Winterjam [Official Site]
· Winter Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [Red Bull]

Tags: Healthy Travel / Winter Travel / Google / → All Tags

Don't Go Where They've Got The Flu

The flu is coming! The flu is coming! We hate to be the ones to break the bad news, but the first cases of that winter bug have started showing up all over the country. Actually this year hasn't been so bad, as we're already relatively late in winter for the flu to start breaking out.

What does this have to do with travel, you ask? Well this winter, for the first time, you can embrace your inner hypochondriac and base your travel plans around where people do and don't have the flu. How? Through Google of course, the same people who control every other aspect of our lives.

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Tags: Zip Lines / Ski Resorts / Active Travel / Winter Travel / → All Tags

Mont Tremblant's Aerial Obstacle Course

Juliana might not have done the zip line at Whistler, but it's hardly the only ski resort with aerial insanity begging us to risk our necks this winter. Along with Heavenly's Flyer, Mont-Tremblant, a Jaunted fave, has a treetop obstacle course connected by zip lines known as the Acrobranche.

The full course will take you 2.5 hours to navigate and the resort sums it up best:

Fly from tree to tree using logs, barrels, bridges, trapezes and zip lines and more. Also try a rock wall followed by a succession of wild zip lines. Harnessed onto a steel cable, fly away for a series of breathtaking zip-line glides.

We'd pay C$39 ($31) for that for sure. If the ice, snow and cold doesn't make it edgy enough for you, try the night trip for C$10 more; après-zip line hot chocolate included!

Related Stories:
· Winter Activities at Tremblant [Official Site]
· Ski Resorts in Summer: Actually Worth Visiting? [Jaunted]

Tags: Sundance / Film Festivals / Winter Travel / Baya Voce / → All Tags

Real World Brooklyn Kicking Off Sundance Early

Sundance 2009 doesn't officially start until Thursday, but at least one always-hungry-for-publicity "Real World: Brooklyn" cast member is already in festival mode.

Baya Voce, who like another cast member realized she liked DJing while filming a reality show for a cable channel that used to play music videos, will be hosting the fun tonight at The Star Bar in Park City. As it turns out, the Salt Lake City native has been to Sundance before but never to its exclusive parties, she tells The Salt Lake Tribune:

I was always the person standing outside in the snow, not getting in.

God, we know the feeling! During Sundance, The Star Bar competes with Harry O's for who can bring the most celebrity wattage while simultaneously causing blackouts on Main Street thanks to excessive sound and light equipment. (Seriously.) This Thursday, Star Bar hosts the Slamdance Opening Party while Paul Oakenfold and Mark Lewis will drop in on January 20. Harry O's meanwhile brings T.I. to town on Saturday. But who booked Chet Cannon?

Related Stories:
· The Star Bar [MySpace]
· Harry O's [MySpace]
· Cast Member Getting Real in Park City [SLT]
· Six Tips for Surviving Sundance 2009 [Jaunted]

Tags: Ski Resorts / Skiing / Active Travel / Winter Travel / → All Tags

Austrian Slopes Have Us Forgetting About Switzerland

Over Switzerland? We reckon skiing in Austria is just as good, and often not as pricey. Sure, there's a bit less Swiss chocolate but the Austrians still know how to give you a good time going down a mountain.

The Arlberg region in the southwest is one of the most well-known resort areas with half a dozen choices for skiers including St. Anton and St. Cristoph--perfect spots if you feel you need some saintly blessing. If you get there before January 30, low season prices let you ski for three full days for €110 ($147).

Closer to Salzburg in central Austria, Krippenstein is not for beginners but we love the name too much not to recommend it. It's famous for some spectacular off-piste possibilities with huge vertical drops and is home to the Freesports Arena. Three days here run just €86.20 ($115).

If snowboarding is the way you prefer to glide then Hippach is a good spot for you. Close to Innsbruck in the south, Hippach has 45 ski lifts and reliable snow cover--and quite a bit of local fame among snowboarders. A part of the massive Zillertal ski area, you can shred Hippach as well as many other peaks in the region on a Zillertal SuperSkiPass; four full days are €133 ($177).

And before you waste pre-trip time worrying about global warming, don't forget that Austria has put giant blankets on some of its peaks to prevent premature melting.

Related Stories:
· Ski Arlberg [Official Site]
· Krippenstein Skiing [Official Site]
· Zillertal, including Hippach [Official Site]
· Austria's Melting Peaks [Jaunted]

[Photo: rossjamesparker]

Tags: Sundance / Film Festivals / Winter Travel / → All Tags

Six Tips For Surviving Sundance 2009

Once was enough. We're skipping Sundance this year, but for those of you first timers hoping to enjoy the Park City insanity, here are six ways to make your film fest fun.

Don't Drive: We know: It seems impossible to give up your wheels, particularly if you're coming from LA. But trust us, they don't say Sundance traffic's a bitch for nothing. The streets are backed up from dawn until well after sundown, and you're not going to find a parking spot anyway. Just take the bus.

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Tags: Healthy Travel / Winter Travel / Skiing / Adventure Sports / Winter Festivals / → All Tags

Penguin Plunges Keep Burlington Fit

Don't know about you all, but we've spent the past week in heavy denial that the holidays are over. It's just so depressing--not only the whole back-to-work thing, but transitioning from two weeks of festive eating and drinking into a time when we're all supposed to be dieting and getting fit. Ugh.

So while we're certainly not about to stop writing about chili half smokes and 22,000-pound cakes, we'll at least make an effort to cover some healthy places too.

So where are these healthy destinations? According to the CDC, Burlington, Vermont is the healthiest city in America. Despite its proximity to the Ben and Jerry's factory, a full 92 percent of Burlingtonians are supposedly in good health. So what are all these hippies doing to stay so healthy, and how can we get in on it?

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Tags: Architecture Travel / Art Deco / Architecture / Winter Travel / Restaurants / → All Tags

Miami's Ultimate Art Deco Weekend, Courtesy Of Buenos Aires

In our minds, any time's a good time to obsess over the art deco explosion that is Miami. But toss in horrible weather in the Northeast right now and a special event, and the city looks even hotter than usual.

Despite the name, Art Deco Weekend 2009 starts Tuesday, January 13 and continues all the way through Sunday. This year's theme is Down Argentine Way, leading to a focus on the architectural ties Miami has to Buenos Aires. (There's nothing that can generate more buzz than name checking 2005's hottest destination!)

Along with lectures, tango shows, films, street performances and a parade, the Miami Design Preservation League will host a gaggle of walking tours of the city's art deco district. If you need even more architecture, an exhibit at the historic City Hall on Washington Avenue will also run all weekend. Most everything is free, though the tours will cost you $20.

To refuel between events, we'd recommend stopping by the Fontainebleau Hotel for the all-you-can-drink-and-eat Sunday brunch at Scarpetta. Fear not, weak mimosa-phobics: Thrillist reports a menu including truffled mushroom fricassee, scrambled eggs with pancetta, beer-braised short ribs and bottomless Bellinis.

Related Stories:
· Art Deco Weekend [Official Site]
· All-You-Can-Eat Scarpetta Sunday Brunch [Thrillist]
· Miami's Five New Must-Try Restaurants [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bill McIntyre]

Tags: Winter Travel / Festivals / Global Warming / → All Tags

Ridiculous Harbin Ice Festival Officially Open

In December, we were a bit worried that the Harbin Ice Festival would fall victim to global warming and be a bit smaller of a spectacle. How little faith we have in China: This year's 25th anniversary event even features an enormous Disney Land replica to go along with various snow-centric competitions and rides.

In addition to ice slides, mouse ear-shaped igloos, swims in a frigid river and skiing, fireworks light up the snow sculptures and ice pagodas that should be on view for the next month, as long as the winter weather holds. More than 800,000 visitors are expected.

As for those worries about global warming hurting the frost, it seems Harbin's still a few tons of CO2 short of a crisis: Wednesday's forecast high is 16 degrees, dropping to minus 6 tomorrow night.

Related Stories:
· China Builds Icey Disneyland [BBC]
· Ice Santa 1, Global Warming 0 [Jaunted]

[Photo: China.org.cn]

Tags: Ski Travel / Skiing / Winter Travel / Switzerland Travel / → All Tags

Switzerland Skiing Has A Sell-Out Season

Skiing in Switzerland has usually struck us as a bit stereotypical--not to mention expensive--but if the statistics are right, well, we might be wrong.

Apparently this winter, the economic meltdown has not managed to melt the Swiss snow at all. Quite the opposite, in fact: There have been unusually heavy snow falls across the Swiss Alps, and they've produced the best skiing conditions in a long time. And despite the credit crunch, bookings are just as high as last year, and many thousands of skiers are headed to Switzerland for their winter vacation.

But not wanting to sound too cheerful, the Swiss Tourism Board has a gloomy explanation: A spokesperson said she thought tourists were still flocking in because they have "a greater need now to escape from everyday life." Or it could just be that plenty of people love skiing, right?

Related Stories:
· Snowfall Buries Skiers' Credit Crunch Fears [Reuters]
· Easy-to-Reach Skiing: Elm, Switzerland [Jaunted]
· Switzerland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Kecko]