With only one more weekend of Olympic games left, I would imagine that the city of Vancouver must be getting ready for a nice quiet spring. What does the future hold for the sites of the Vancouver games? As long as they can get a little more snow, I would guess that the city will continue to thrive, attracting all kinds of visitors, many for the outdoor adventure opportunities. Let’s take a look at how some other cities have fared after hosting the Olympic Games.

Barcelona, Spain- Summer 1992
After hosting the Summer Games in 1992, Barcelona showed the world why it’s been considered one of the top travel destinations for Europeans for years. Viewers were impressed by the beauty of Spain’s Mediterranean coastline, and have been flocking to beach side cities like Valencia and Tarragona ever since. Spanish tourism was the big winner, as more and more people travel to Spain each year.

Albertville, France- Winter 1992
The story of Albertvile is interesting. After winning the Olympic bid against Sofia, Bulgaria, Albertville met the challenge of hosting the Games. It was the last Olympic Games where speed skating events were held outdoors. While many of the areas that were dedicated to sports remain active, several locations have transformed back into more industrial zones. Would you like to travel to France, do you think this would be on your list of places to visit?

Lillehammer, Norway- Winter 1994
With skis being practically issued to each citizen at birth, Norway embraced the Olympic spirit like no other had done before, prompting the current IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch to say that he felt that it had been the best winter games ever. The host nation won more medals than any other country that year. Nowadays, the areas where these events took place are major attractions, like the ski jump at Lysgårdsbakkene.

Of all the cities that have hosted the games, where would you want to travel to? Athens? Sydney? Los Angeles? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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It’s hard to believe we’re over half way through the Vancouver Olympic Games!

It’s been exciting to say the least. The medal count is still very close, but our athletes are making us proud! Bode Miller finally secured his Olympic legacy as he won the gold in the men’s super combined. So far in Vancouver, he has won a bronze, silver, and gold. With two more events for him there’s a chance for more. Lindsey Vonn has delivered gold and bronze medals, while the unstoppable Shaun White proved he was the best. Not only did Shaun secure gold with his first run in the half pipe, he then beat his own score by delivering one of the most spectacular performances of these Olympic Games. The drama on the ice continued as Evan Lysacek won gold in the free skating event. Also on the ice, Shani Davis took home a gold in the 1000 meter and silver in the 1500 meter, while Apolo Ohno inched closer to becoming the most decorated Olympian in history, by winning silver and bronze medals. For more coverage, check out the official Olympic website.

With major events still left to come, what are your predictions? Which hockey teams do you see rising to the top this year?

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Looks like no one got the correct answer last week. The location featured was Salamanca, Spain! Hopefully this week someone can guess correctly!

You might get all dolled up for a night out waltzing in this German city.
Q: In what city would you find this fountain?
Good luck!

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The 2010 Olympic Games are in full swing and so far it has been exciting to say the least! Today is another big day in Vancouver. Curling and hockey matches have mostly been close so far, and the men’s 1000 meter and ladies’ 500 meter speed skating should be exciting. On the slopes, all eyes will be on two big events: The ladies’ downhill and the men’s snowboard half-pipe. These events feature two of America’s most famous Olympians: Shaun White in the half pipe, and Lindsey Vonn in the downhill. Should be an exciting day of coverage!

As of this morning, Germany has won the most medals with three gold, four silver, and two bronze for a total of nine. The United States has eight and France has seven, while host nation Canada is in 4th with five. It’s not surprising Germany always does well in the Olympic Games. They have some of the finest training facilities available at some of the most beautiful locations.

The mountains at Garmisch-Partenkirchen are legendary. They hosted the Olympics in 1936, and have been used as a training grounds for German athletes ever since. Just a few kilometers from the Austrian border, the Bavarian village is stunning to the senses, and can only be described as “postcard-esque.” It’s definitely worth a visit if you want to experience the true Bavarian landscape and culture the next time you travel to Germany.

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The 2010 Olympic Games are officially underway, and so far it’s been filled with the kinds of inspiration and drama that you can only get from the Olympics. As of right now, the US leads the medal count with six, but the French have more gold medals with two. The international event brings together competitors from countries all over the world, and is a celebration of athleticism and dedication to sports and country.

The most pronounced x-factor in this year’s Olympic Games has been the weather. Vancouver is known for having excellent conditions, but this year has been marked by uncanny warm temperatures. Snow has been shipped in from other resorts, and even with snow guns cranking, many of the ski and snowboard events have had to be moved to later in the week. While there has been some natural snowfall, most are hoping for temperatures to drop just a bit so more snow can be made.

Last Wednesday, I mentioned that Canada had not won any Gold medals the two previous times they had hosted the games. It didn’t take long to end that jinx! Canada’s Alexandre Bilodeau won the men’s moguls freestyle skiing event on Sunday. Oddly enough the silver medal went to Dale Begg-Smith, who was born in Canada, but is racing for Australia. The US got its first taste of gold in the women’s moguls freestyle event thanks to Hannah Kearney, who won the event.

With many events still to come, what are you most looking forward to watching?

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Congratulations to Allison and Gray for knowing that the city featured in last week’s trivia was in fact Venice, and the celebration was for Venice Carnival! For this week, the photo below features a building nearly 500 years old.

Can you tell me where this building is?
Good Luck!

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This Friday, the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremonies will take place. If you’re on the west coast, you can watch most of the events in real time, but if you’re on the east coast, it may be difficult to keep up! Fortunately, the coverage is generally quite good. Regardless of where you’re watching the Winter Olympics, one thing is for sure: it’s going to be an exciting year!

Olympic veterans like Apolo Ohno (speed skating), Shaun White (snowboarding) and our local favorite Seth Wescott (snowboarding) have what it takes to bring home the gold, and there are a whole plethora of young talented athletes who have their eyes on the prize. Even comedian Stephen Colbert has secured his place in the Olympics by being made an official assistant sports psychologist on the US Olympic speed skating team.

Who will you be rooting for in this years Olympic games? What are your favorite events? One more thing that is worth noting, Canada has hosted the Olympics two previous times (Montreal 1974, Calgary 1988) and has never won a gold medal on it’s own turf. Let’s hope they can bring home a gold this year!

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You may not realize that there are only 21 miles between the towns of Dover, England and Calais, France. The two countries are separated by a part of the English Channel known as the Strait of Dover. Because of this handy location, many travelers use this point to begin and end vacations.

There are several ways to get across the Strait of Dover. If you’re in top physical shape and train for months, you can attempt to swim across. I must immediately state that we do not recommend this at all. It was first officially done in 1875 by Captain Matthew Webb. Since then, thousands of people have successfully completed the daunting swim. Nowadays, there several groups that exist for the purpose of verifying and supervising people who wish to attempt the swim. The fastest verified swim was done in 2007 by Petar Stoychev. He managed to swim the entire distance in just under seven hours.

For people who would like to cross in a more conventional method there are a couple of options. You can opt to take a ride on a Eurostar train in the Chunnel. The Chunnel is an underwater tunnel set up for this purpose. At it’s deepest point, passengers ride about 250 ft below the sea level. The Chunnel is actually buried under the ocean bed. Around 16 million people per year use this method to cross.

The other common approach to crossing is by taking one of the many ferries that are available. The Dover-Calais ferry is pretty popular. The ride usually takes just over an hour and it is relaxing and beautiful, unless you get seasick . Regardless of how you choose to cross the English Channel, if you need a car rental in Dover, or a rental car in Calais, Auto Europe can make it happen!

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Congratulations to Allison, Damien, and Ella for getting the answer to last week’s trivia! The location was Portofino, Italy and there was a statue of Christ placed under the water to protect divers and fisherman. Sure looks like a great vacation destination to me! Now for this week’s trivia:

Q. Over the next two weeks, nearly a million visitors will come to enjoy the food, drink, and dance in this city. Where are they going and what are they celebrating?
Good luck!

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Next time you travel to Florence to see the Uffizi Gallery, make sure to watch your step. Last week, a woman visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York lost her balance and fell into a Picasso painting, ripping it. It was valued at $130 million dollars. Fortunately, the museum has stated that the tear did not effect the focal point of the piece. Also fortunate for the woman, the tear in the painting will most likely be able to be repaired by the museum.

Everyone makes little mistakes while traveling, sometimes they can really make you feel silly. For example, I once realized while on a bus to Boston from Portland, that I had left my passport in Maine! It all worked out in the end, but not before I had a serious freak out at the airport, worried I would not catch my flight. Sometimes a gaffe may feel like the most embarrassing moment of your life, while other times you may not even realize you are committing one.

What is your most embarrassing travel moment?

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