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Traveler’s Show & Tell – Hot Girls, Cargo Cults & Spanish Bonfires

Modern David and Goliath spotted in Venice, Italy. (photo by Tui Cameron)
Modern David and Goliath spotted in Venice, Italy. (photo by Tui Cameron)

Traveler’s Show & Tell – 22nd Edition

This week’s topics include cargo cults (fascinating stuff!), cultural quirks of Instanbul (forget platonic friendships), and how even though Las Vegas is not exactly the most kid-friendly place (and, yes, the “hot girls” in the title refers to that article) one woman took her kids and had a great time.

This Week’s Photo

This week’s photo is another oddball one I snapped in Venice. (I’m saving up the gondolier photos and more conventional pix for a post devoted to Venice.) I really don’t know the story behind this sculptor and his/her modern-day interpretation of David and Goliath using Ronald McDonald as the giant, but not only did it crack me up, it really stood out amid all the ancient buildings of Venice. If any readers know more about this piece, please let me know.

1. “Cruisin’ Part Two: Vanuatu” by Cristin

Cristin is an expat who blogs about her life in Australia at In an Opal-Hearted Country. This week she brings us Cruisin’ Part Two: Vanuatu, saying:

“We had a wild adventure in Vanuatu on our recent South Pacific cruise. I nicknamed it The Wild West of the Pacific.

I especially liked this insight:

“After the market, we wandered up the hill to the Vanuatu National Museum. Upon paying our entry, we stepped inside and felt quite certain we’d been duped when we saw how small the museum was. But, like everything in Vanuatu, the real value came from the people.

2. “Surprising Friends…” by Jo Bryant

Jo Bryant presents Surprising friends… posted at Chronicles of Illusions, saying:

“You never know where your friends are going to go with their lives. My friends continually surprise me.

Jo goes on to vividly describe a free-spirited fellow she met in 1984, who now makes award-winning wine:

Rob never does anything half-hearted, at least as long as I have known him. At his place my education was about to continue as he showed me around.”

3. “Istanbul culture; my dating prospects” by Sierra Hunt

Sierra Hunt presents a brightly written piece that feels like a witty letter from a friend, called Istanbul culture; my dating prospects posted at I would go living in lights, in which she observes:

“As I’ve mentioned before, people are very fond of pointing out that Turkey- and Istanbul in particular, as the only major city on earth which straddles continents– is a cultural mix of Europe and Asia (or the Middle East, if you prefer). It’s all but mandatory, apparently, to touch on this in your opener if you’re writing a guidebook or a travel article about this place, and even Lonely Planet lists “crossing between Europe and Asia” as one of the top ten must-dos in Turkey.”

She returns to this idea later in her post, adding:

“That’s a big part of why I like living [in Istanbul]. Theres’s enough Western influence to make life straightforward for an American- I don’t spend my days muddling through a swamp of cultural misunderstandings the way I often found myself doing in Palestine- and enough of the East to keep me fascinated. Also enough of the East, apparently, that I’ll never have a working relationship with a Turkish man, as my coworker kindly informed me.”

4. “Hogueras Bonfires 2011 – Alicante” by Robert Carlton

Robert Carlton presents a photo essay entitledHogueras Bonfires 2011 – Alicante posted at his site, Alicante Spain, saying:

“Overview of this year’s Hogueras Festivities in Alicante Spain, where hundreds of miniatures get burned, celebrating the summer eve. Gloria and I took a couple – actually 60 – pictures of the lovely sculptures and miniatures of this year’s celebrations, right before they got burned in huge bonfires during the night of the 24th.”

5. “Vegas for Kids? Ummm, not so much.” by Pamela Jorrick

Pamela Jorrick presents Vegas for Kids? Ummm, not so much. posted at Blah, Blah, Blog. saying,

Well, we didn’t die. We made it Vegas. Let me just say that it was a LOT different than I remember. Some things were the same- the lights, the crowds, the all night entertainment. But other things were different, shockingly different than I remember. In your face with more than you ever wanted to see kind of different.”

She goes on to explain that although Las Vegas is trying appear more family-friendly, it still has seedy elements:

On every corner there were at least 4 people trying to hand out fliers for the “hot girls.” They all appeared to be fairly recent arrivals to the US, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the American dream they had imagined… These are the kind of times when I lament that my children are so inquisitive because now they were asking questions, and I had some explaining to do.

I think Pamela did a great job explaining the “hot girls” to her kids, and they made some funny observations, too. No spoilers from me, though! You’ll see what I mean when you read her post.

Did you enjoy this week’s Show & Tell?

That’s it for this week’s blog carnival, Traveler’s Show & Tell. As always, if you enjoyed it, let us know in the comments section. Also, please let the author know you liked their piece by leaving a comment at their blog. See you next week! :)

Do you have a travel story to share?

If so, submit your blog article to the next edition of Traveler’s Show and Tell using this carnival submission form. Please include the following two things with your submission: 1. Your email address (because the site has been buggy lately) and 2. Your Twitter handle (even if you have submitted in the past. It really helps me out!) Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Tui Snider
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