Damien, Allison, and Kat all were correct in last week’s travel trivia. It’s true that Vincent Van Gogh found inspiration in the city of Arles, France. Not sure if that was before or after he decided it would be romantic to slice off his ear and send it to his crush. Regardless, the city in this week’s trivia is home to a famous royal seat.

Q: What is the name of this ocean side European city?

Good Luck!

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If you have ever thought that the electric car wouldn’t catch on, because the engines were not powerful enough, or charging was not convenient, think again. Students at MIT recently have developed an electric car using the body of a Mercury Milan, that can go from 0-60 in 9 seconds, has a top speed of 100 mph, can travel 200 miles on a single charge that only takes 10 minutes!

It sounds too good to be true, and in a way, it kind of is. There are a couple of problems with this design, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed were this model to actually catch on.  The fast charge is due to the fact that the car has nearly 8,000 lithium iron-phosphate batteries that are charged. The major problem is that in order to charge these batteries at max speed, you need a 350 kW outlet to plug into. To give you an idea of how much electricity that is, 350 kW is enough to trip the fuses in 8 houses. However, the car can take a charge overnight with a standard house hold plug, so it has that going for it.

There are currently 40 charging stations in America, none of which have the capacity to provide that kind of power. That being said, it’s exciting that the young minds of today are way ahead of the curve when it comes to forward thinking. Lets hope these green minds can continue to innovate and inspire some of the major corporations that produce cars to take a closer look.

Do you think that this has the potential to catch on? Would you consider driving an electric car? how do you think electric cars would affect the rental industry? Would you rent an electric car on your vacation?

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We have been receiving updates from many of our suppliers of rental car shortages at various locations throughout Europe. The most sensitive locations are Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Croatia. Automatic vehicles and vans are always in high demand, so if you are going to be in need of one in August or September, now would be the time to confirm your rental. Even manual vehicles are being booked up in some locations. There are upgrade specials and discount promotions with Auto Europe that expire on July 31st, making now the best time to guarantee your vehicle at the best possible rate.

Just so you know, with Auto Europe there are no penalties for cancellation or change of reservations.

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Congratulations to Tara and Allison who knew the image in last weeks trivia was in fact the famous Athens University Museum in Greece! Now for this week:

Q: Vincent Van Gogh was often inspired by locations in this city. What is its name?

Good luck!

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The other day I was lucky enough to re-discover a long lost love. It’s a game I once thought was only reserved for Italian retirement centers, and southern California beach bums. I’m talking of course about the game of boccee.

Boccee (pronounced botch-ee) is a precision game involving a varying number of players. Each player gets between 2-4 boccee balls, which are pretty heavy and big. A smaller ball (the jack) is then thrown somewhere onto the court (which can be a park, or back yard and varies in size) and the goal of the game is to launch or roll your ball closest to it. It’s very easy to understand in theory, but application of the knowledge revolves around how well you can throw the balls.

Boccee sets are usually 8 balls with different patterns or colors, one jack, and a tape measure. After having forgotten about it for over a year, I decided to dust off the set and head down to Payson Park, here in Portland Maine. The sun was out, and we had some bottles of ice cold water for hydration. It made for a perfect afternoon. Now if only I could get over to Italy for some lessons!

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The Tour de France is currently underway, and it looks like it could be a close finish. In it’s 96th year, this year features the return of American Lance Armstrong, who is currently in second place overall. Many of this year’s racers are being subjected to daily drug tests to ensure there is no cheating going on. This has created some controversy, but the bikers themselves don’t actually seem to mind.

The current leader, Alberto Contador of Spain, is looking very strong according to Armstrong, who currently trails Contador by just under 2 minutes. With more mountain stages, most people say it’s still anyone’s race. Tour de France ends on Sunday, July 26th- who do you think will take this years top spot on the podium? Leave a comment with your prediction!

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Congratulations to last week’s winners of the Travel Trivia challenge! Damien and Alison both knew the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy was the image featured. Now this week’s photo:

Q. In what ancient European city would you find this university?
Good luck!

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History
There is ancient history and culture everywhere you look in Italy. From the Colosseum  to St. Peter’s Square, history is found around every turn. Museums in Italy are home to some of the worlds greatest works of art, by the world’s best artists. The cities themselves are also beautiful. Florence syndrome is an illness that occurs in some people when they are exposed to a large amount of beautiful art in the same place!

Food
Italians make some pretty decent food. Fans of pasta are happy when roaming the streets of cities, as there are fresh markets and local villas around every turn. Many have said that parmesan cheese is terrible until you’ve had it fresh in Italy. Of course, who could forget about delicious truffles found in the northern Mountains. Wherever you are, you are sure to find a healthy mix of local products and traditional Italian dishes cooked to perfection!

Wine
Italy produces almost as much wine as France, but if you ask any Italian you may hear differently.  The wine in Italy is delicately balanced to go perfectly with the food. Just one sip and you may never want to leave. For more on Italian wine, check out this previous post!
Landscape
The whole country is a peninsula so there are lots of them to be explored. Also, don’t forget about the mountains! The northern part of Italy borders Austria, France and Switzerland via the majestic Alps!  Cruising the Almafi Coast with a rental car in Italy is just one of the great thrills of the countryside!

One thing is for sure, next time you travel to Italy, with a little research, there won’t be a dull moment!

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Today’s post comes from the archives of  Paul Dodson, a travel writer who claims to have successfully ordered chicken in over 80 countries and knows the pronunciation of ‘crazy’ in eight different languages.

When you think of cheese, do you visualize a stringy piece of mozzarella stretching from your lips to a freshly baked slice of pizza. Perhaps you picture a big fat block of Stilton, some water crackers and a bottle of your favourite red. Or maybe, just maybe you see yourself rolling headlong down 300 yards of Gloucestershire countryside in pursuit of a seven lb. chunk of Gloucester’s finest. If you find yourself falling into the last category, read on.

Cheese rolling’s origins are hazy to say the least. A common presumption is that the masochistic frolic began as a pagan festival hundreds of years ago – a celebration of the onset of summer. Other theories have it relating to age-old fertility rights, the hope of a successful harvest and even as a safeguard of the Commoner’s rights for the people of Cooper’s Hill.

Wherever it’s origins it’s hard to argue that cheese rolling is a sport for the outrageously courageous or at least the dangerously demented. Contestants in the Cooper’s Hill event (between Gloucester, Stroud and Cheltenham in the Cotswolds) on the last Monday in May, stand precipitously at the top of a 300 yard hill, that maintains a gradient of two in one for the most part whilst a Master of Ceremonies counts them down.

‘One to be ready
Two to be steady
Three to prepare’, at which time an invited guest launches the chunk of cheese on its downward pilgrimage, then
‘Four to be off.’

What follows can only be described as dairy based carnage. Broken bones are a given and sprains and bruises are numerous, as up to twenty contestants in any given race tumble and roll their way headlong down the slope in pursuit of the elusive chunk of Double Gloucester. Keeping your feet is rarely an option, contestants just seem to go with the flow, tumbling out of control like rag dolls with a death wish. Inevitably the cheese wins.

Four races are held on the day, including an event for the ladies. Of the 50 odd contestants – and I do mean odd – 18 injuries were reported from last years event. Not great odds in anyone’s books. And casualties are not limited to contestants. At least one of the estimated 4,000 strong crowd was treated for head injuries after tumbling 30 yards down the course whilst attempting to evade a wayward clump of cheese.

Oh, and the prize for winning, you get to keep the cheese. Food for thought that.

Check out Paul’s article at 2Camels.com to see photos and video of the event! Also, check out some more of his work at http://www.unimportant-man.co.uk

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Congratulations go out to Allison who had the only correct guess in last weeks trivia! The church was in fact St. Mark’s Church in Zagreb, Croatia. This week’s trivia is going to be one of those you either know it or you don’t kind of images! Take a look below:

Recognize this bridge? Q. What is it’s name, and where is it located?

Good Luck!

Hans

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