Showing posts with label Matt Gross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Gross. Show all posts

Road tales on a budget

Matt Gross, the New York Times' "Frugal Traveler," is moving on to something else. After four full years of writing travel articles for the newspaper, of blogging and videotaping his budget-wise, globe-trotting ways, Matt has decided to take off his backpack. (If you'd like a little background, see the posts entitled "Rome and Malta" or "Bucharest rising" in this blog.)

Before moving on to his next assignment, he wrote one last blog entry that summarizes what he's learned from being a traveler on a tight budget. He says one of the key lessons that will stay with him is that the amount of money spent on a trip does not determine the quality of the experience. What instead is much more valuable is having an open mind and being willing to go outside of one's comfort zone. Matt says meeting new people and establishing new friendships are the real reward for travel, regardless of budget or destination.

He explains his reasons, his joys and his regrets. The blog entry also has some embedded video samples of some of his experiences. You can read his last post here.

The "Frugal Traveler" column, however, isn't dead -- it merely has a new protagonist: Seth Kugel will be picking up where Matt left off. This summer, Seth will be travelling on less than $500 a week from Sao Paolo to Manhattan. The writer of the "Weekend in New York" column will offer some unique insights from the road. You can read some of Seth's previous work on his website, linked here.

Weekend Travel - Cape Cod and a little bit of Europe

Cape Cod has been a popular summer travel destination for decades. Many people take photographs of the landscape and the buildings.

One of America's most gifted artists, Edward Hopper, often travelled through Massachusetts and Maine in the 1920s and 30s. His paintings are more popular today than ever.

The New York Times recently returned to Cape Cod with some Hopper prints and compared the subjects of his paintings then and now. The newspaper put together an interesting slide show that takes a look at each painting. The slide show is here.
Click on the audio bar at the bottom of each picture frame. It's a great way to enjoy the scenery and the artwork. Think of it as a virtual vacation.

Across the ocean meanwhile, Matt Gross, the intrepid frugal traveller, has almost reached the end of his twelve-week European trip. He files a video story about a border town in the Netherlands that shares just about every building with Belgium. The locals take it all in stride. Makes me want to visit. You can see Matt's story here.

Thanks to Sean Gianotti for his photograph above of the Highland Light, also known as the Cape Cod Light. He made it available for public use with attribution.

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Rome and Malta

Matt Gross, the intrepid back-roads traveler with the New York Times, is heading to the Eastern Mediterranean after stops in Rome and Malta. As usual, his visits are colourful.

For those who haven't seen Matt's work, he's on a tour of Europe on less than 100 euros a day, and he's blogging, photographing and videotaping the whole way.

His videos begin with this introduction, accompanied by the up-beat strumming of a guitar:

"I'm Matt Gross, the Frugal Travel with the New York Times. This summer I'm embarking on the grand tour of Europe. Over 12 weeks, I'll seek out ancient history and contemporary culture. I'll find cool hotels and memorable meals. And I'll stretch the U.S. dollar to the breaking point."

He's a very likeable guy and he tells his stories in a refreshing, down-to-earth way.

In Rome, he stayed with nuns and visited the city on foot, by tram, and on the back of a speeding moped.

In Malta, he explored the many cultures that give this island nation it's unique character and language.

The videos are fun. Add the blog and slide shows and you've got a great recipe for an engaging armchair travel experience.

You can follow Matt Gross on the Frugal Traveler site here.

A group of fans even set up a Facebook page.

For a related post in this blog, see "Summer Travel"

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Rome photo is courtesy of Kevin Stanson, who made it available on http://www.stock.xchng/