The NY Times has their end-of-year picks, while the LA Times and Washington Post finally get their snow-season specials on the lift (where were you two weeks ago, guys?) Included are three separate articles about the here-to-fore little-known mountains of Big Sky, Montana–so much for that bit of “insider info.” The Guardian crashes the après-ski festivities with tip on the really unknown winter destination of Kashmir, written by the amazingly, frostily named Minty Clinch (seriously).

NYT End-Of-Year Bests
– “Budget Destination: Albania, Europe’s Rough Corner, Loosens Up”
– “Hotels: The Toiletries, the Concierges, the Spas. For 2007, Conspicuous Luxury Is In”
– “Luxury Destination: In Zambia, Safaris With a Penthouse Touch”
– “Party Destination: Amid the Minarets of Istanbul, Club Music Pulses”
– “Family Destination: The French Riviera is an Adult Playground, With a PG Side”
– “Buzzword: Carbon Neutral – Raising the Ante on Eco-Tourism”
– “Entrepreneur: The Sheik of Dubai”
– “Adventure: Yemen, An Arabian Oasis for the Intrepid”

Washington Post Ski Issue 2006
– “Deer Valley: A Little Snow-How”
– “Montana: Plenty of Snow For Everyone”
– “Berguen, Switzerland”
– “La Grave, France”
– “Sainte-Foy Tarentaise, France”
– “Slopes With the Most”

LA Times Winter Holidays
– “Montana: White open spaces”
– “Montana: A quick whoosh through Big Sky”
– “Finding thrills on those smaller hills”
– “Lift-ticket deals: Less green stuff, more white stuff”
– “Brand names resonate when it comes to online bookings”
– “FIVE REASONS TO…Explore spectacular Whistler”
– “Fat but so light on your feet”

The Guardian
– “Why Kashmir beats Klosters”

Previously:
– “Weekend Travel Section Roundup: Snow Report”

The duo behind BigTripProductions’ videos aren’t kidding with the “Big Trip” part. Otherwise known as Kevin Allgood and Valerie Marshall, they’re currently on a one-year, round-the-world journey that they’re filming and blogging along the way. They took off on September 5th and warmed up with a trip to London and Amsterdam, before traveling through Turkey and Egypt. While they have a rough plan of where they’re headed, Kevin and Valerie are making up a large part of their route as they go. Their website, BigTripBlog is continually updated with posts from the road and clips of their most recent expeditions, and has all the backstory on their trip planning and previous stops. Kevin is the techie of the two, and has done a excellent job of fleshing out the site with pictures, route maps, embedded videos, and, my favorite, blog posts paired with binaural audio recordings made on location, for an even greater sense of place. Of course, you can always watch their videos right here on Travelistic, too.



Kevin and Valerie have left Egypt and are currently in Nepal heading for a two-week trek in the Annapurna region, where, despite all their gear, blogging on-the-go is, er, a little more challenging, so updates may be thin on the ground until they return to Kathmandu. Stay tuned for new posts and videos.

Previously:
– User Spotlights
– Around the World
– “Word of the day: Flashpacking”

The travel pages kept it real this weekend, with stories on stunt trips, insider knowledge and secret destinations, tips on how to find and avoid political hotspots, and news about how growing numbers of people are changing some beloved destinations.


Overcrowding at Machu Picchu
– “Taking the Back Roads to Machu Picchu” (NYT)

Hong Kong’s Disappearing Harbor
– “Hong Kong mourns as shrinking harbour gives way to development” (Guardian)

SF Chronicle Goes for the Borat Tie-in
– “JUST BACK FROM: Almaty, Kazakhstan” (SF Chronicle)

Survival Tourism
– “Setting Out Into the Arizona Wilderness With Only a Knife” (NYT)

Steering Clear of Politics in Mexico
– “Let caution be your guide” (LA Times)

Che’s Cuba
– “Santa Clara’s rebel saint” (Globe and Mail)

Berlin’s Fast Food for Foodies
– “Street Food with Ambition in Berlin” (NYT)

Istanbul on the Cheap
– “Modernity or Tradition: Istanbul at a Crossroad Finds Its Own Way” (NYT)

Secret Baja
– “Loreto: A relaxed fit” (LA Times)

Yellowstone in Winter
– “Zipping through Yellowstone” (Houston Chronicle)

It must be the unseasonably early cold-snap – this weekend’s travel features skipped over the exotic destinations and adventures in favor of hibernation-season comforts like food, wine, socializing, and luxe lodgings to bundle up in. Elsewhere, the SF Chronicle considered the problem of the “Ugly American”, while the Times of London ran a special section on the US, celebrating our culture of excess, and crowing about the near two-dollar-to-the-pound exchange rate that gives them even more access to it.

Burgundy’s Wine Festival
- “In Beaune, They’ll Drink to That” (Washington Post)

Gourmet California Wineries
- “A more robust wine country” (LA Times)

Istanbul’s Restaurants
- “Istanbul: Fresh as the Morning, or Rooted in Centuries Past” (NYT)

Madrid’s Open-Air Cafés
- “A Night Out on the Terraza in Madrid” (NYT)

Where to Stay Like Royalty
- “Queen-sized holidays” (Globe and Mail)

American Travelers’ Image Problem
- “Taking the ‘ugly’ out of ‘American’ in eyes of rest of the world” (SF Chronicle)

America, as seen by Brits
- “Welcome to America” (Times of London)

- “Don’t do things by halves” (Times of London)

- “America’s hottest hotels” (Times of London)

Last weekend’s travel stories were slim pickings, no doubt due to writers and editors phoning it in before skipping out of town, but apparently on 4th of July weekend, we the people feel very, er, nautical – with seafaring stories washing up on both coasts.

- “In Turkey, Sailing into the Exotic on a Blue Cruise” (NYT)
- “Booty Call (Pirates of the Caribbean travel)” (NY Post)
- “A place of jagged beauty (cruising Norwegian fjords)” (LA Times)
- “Deep blues and more on the deep blue sea” (SF Chronicle)