foXnoMad » Contests

Discovering The Art And Heart Of Porto: The Best City To Visit In 2011

Anil P. — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:00:59 +0000

Back in March, through 4 weeks of voting, you picked Porto, Portugal as the best city to visit in 2011. Last month I made good on a promise to explore the city before the end of the year. What I found as a guest of Visit Portugal was a city that captivated me with its artistic nature. From the gigantic battle of design and ego that was waged over Porto’s two most famous bridges to Harry Potter’s birthplace, what’s uniform in Porto is an attention to unique.

The best way to show you Porto is to look at what the city has inspired, slowly working your way back to Portugal’s second largest city.

A Tale Of Two Cities

Somewhere around 300 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement of Cale – named after Greek for “beautiful” or Latin for “warm”; either way renaming it Portus Cale. Say that 5 times fast and you can see how the name Portugal likely came about. Porto is now known as a city of bridges, one of two in Europe to have 6; all of which cross the Douro River. The other city in Europe with 6 bridges is Vila Nova de Gaia (Gaia for short) – and it happens to sit across the Douro. Yes, Porto is right next to Gaia, taking up the limelight and making up two of the 12 cities in the Porto Metropolitan Area.

For travelers, the differences aren’t obvious and if you didn’t know better, would be convinced you haven’t left town, even after walking across Luis I Bridge.

Sound And Sight In A Little Big Fight

One of the most obvious displays of deliberate creativity in Porto is the Casa da Musica (House Of Music). The Casa da Musica is at its core a music hall; but it’s surrounded by individual rooms focused on different aspects of sound, art exhibitions, band practices, reading rooms, and things that vaguely have something to do with the giant concert hall in its core.

The Casa da Musica is free to enter, deliberately to signify that money isn’t a part of the creative process. (Although it helps to have wealthy investors.) The building itself was designed by the Dutchman Rem Koolhaas who wanted it to look like meteor crashing into the pavement. Cost and physics prevented him from making the exterior more elaborate and he almost had a fit when told his bar overlooking the concert hall required support beams. That, and the fact that the porous floor needed to be covered by glass because women in heels found it nearly impossible to walk across – and men below were enjoying more than a view of the concert hall.

Smaller battles were waged however in the VIP room, which is decorated with thousands of hand painted tiles, representing scenes from other museums across Portugal. Not one to be told what to do, the artist slipped in his signature hidden in grass, quickly noticed by museum’s staff. It would take another 7 years and an 8-year old to find the other mark of the artist – a tile that’s 90 degrees in the wrong direction in surprisingly plain sight.

I picked up these and many other stories on a tour of the building. 3 Euro and interesting enough that I didn’t notice it was an hour long; I would highly recommend it.

You’ll get a preview of those tiles, known as “azulejo” and all over the city or if you arrive by train to the Sao Bento station. There are over 20,000 hand painted tiles throughout the station painted by Jorge Colaco in the early 1900s.

Where Harry Potter Was Born

The Livraria Lello is over a hundred years old and consistently voted as one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores. What makes it enchanting these days for thousands of tourists is it might be where Harry Potter was conceived. Not literally (you’ll have to ask his parents for that information) but it’s widely rumored to be where J.K. Rowling first came up with the series’s overall concept.

Rowling has never actually discussed details about her inspiration but was teaching English in Porto when her marriage to a Portuguese man failed in 1993. Prior, in 1990 the idea of a boy attending wizard-school came to her and the depression that followed her divorce fueled many of the darker tones of the Potter series (including the dementors). Rowling completed the first Harry Potter manuscript in 1995; spending two years of her free time in Livraria Lello.

Controversial – especially for Potter fanatics who know about Edinburgh’s The Elephant House – so you let your imagination decide (*cough* Hogwarts).

By the way, the Livraria Lello is still a private shop and photos (you can see mine here) haven’t been allowed for the past 6 months since the owner found it difficult to maintain business with the influx of curious tourists. I was given special access thanks to ATTTurismo so don’t think I broke any rules. This time.

The Blood Of The Heart Is Made Of Port Wine

Although I’m very familiar with wine in a bottle (and glass), it was kind of Porto Calem to teach me where their ideas for every blend come from and the work that goes into turning grapes into goodness. A 20 minute tour of their cellars ends with tastes of their selections. 4 or 5 glasses and I’m out the door, my thirst quenched; followed by a francesinha to kill any lingering hunger.

Though despite this taste, there’s more much more of Porto to be found. Some of it you can see, others you taste, but I think the reason so many of you voted it the best city to visit is for everything that’s much less tangible.

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Enter To Win A Nook Tablet With Every $10 Donation To Passports With A Purpose

Anil P. — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:00:05 +0000

For the past 2 years I’ve participated in the Passports With A Purpose (PwP) program; an annual travel blogger coordinated fundraiser whose objective is to raise $80,000 this year to build two libraries in Zambia. The PwP raises money $10 at a time – for each $10 donation you make, you can enter yourself for one of these wonderfully donated prizes.

Working With Room To Read

This year PwP is working with Room To Read, an organization that has built over 12,500 libraries and worked with over 6 million children since its founding in 1998. Neuroscientists regularly refer to reading as the most complex task our brains ever learn, getting parts of the brain to work in ways no other method can. [*] Putting more libraries where they’re needed and providing access to them unlocks the potential of the universe’s most powerful computer.

Every $10 donation is US-tax deductible and if you enter before December 16th, you can pick the prize of your choosing. You can donate here.

This year I’m offering up a Nook Tablet, one of my favorite new gadgets on the market. And yes, they don’t ship outside of the US so I’ll mail you one wherever you are in the world.

Why The Nook Tablet?

Aside from the ironic fact that it’s an eReader, it’s also the most versatile 7-inch tablet designed for ebooks. The Nook Tablet is a personal favorite of mine; and an eReader can lighten your backpack by letting you carry around a 400 gram library on your shoulder. Plus it’s wife-capable, letting you browse the Internet, and plays games as well. (Angry Birds on a long layover anyone?)

Details, Deadlines, And Donate!

Remember, for every $10 donation you get one chance to win any of these prizes of your choosing. They include 9-day tours to Costa Rica, a 1-year Boingo Global Account, and even a Kindle Fire if that’s more your fancy.

Donations can be made anytime but if you to enter for a prize your deadline is December 16, 2011.
Prize winners will be notified on Friday, December 23rd and prize delivered within 7 business days if you’re in the US. Those of you in other countries will receive your prize within 17 business days (the added time since I’ll need someone to forward it to your address).
Prize is void if we don’t communicate by January 31, 2012.

In 2009 PwP raised $30,000 to build a school in Cambodia and last year $64,000 to help build a village in India. To be a part of this year’s effort and enter to win a Nook Tablet, or one of the other prizes, donate here.

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 Winner Is Porto, Portugal

Anil P. — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:00:22 +0000

One month and 6 rounds later, the last city standing in The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 is Porto, Portugal. Congratulations to Portugal’s second largest city – getting by Madrid, Sydney, Bratislava, Jerusalem, Chiang Mai, and runner-up Prague was no simple feat. Originally nominated by Stephen, he’ll receive the contest prize of ~~$150~~ $200 for being a subscriber later this week.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I’m Going To Porto Before The End Of The Year

I can’t not visit the city all of you nominated as the best one to visit in 2011, so sometime before the end of this year I’ll be going to Porto. Portugal is one of the few western European countries I haven’t been to yet and (relatively) nearby Lisbon is also where I’ll begin The Ultimate Train Challenge in September. That’s where I’ll attempt to break the world record for longest continuous train journey.

The Best City To Visit Contest 2012, A Macbook Air, And Another Trip For You

I plan on running the tournament again next year, with a few modifications – including allowing people to write posts to pitch their city (thanks for the idea Priyank), as well as having a pool alongside the voting. That way, you can still participate when and if the city you nominate is eliminated. The prize pot will also be larger.

5 Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers Readers Will Receive $100 Apple Gift Cards: As I mentioned late this past February, March was a month of contests on foXnoMad. My hope with The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers is to make it an ebook that’s alive; so as promised, along with 6 months of included personal tech support, 5 people who purchased a copy in March will have $100 Apple gift cards waiting in their inboxes later today.

This summer I’ll also have a Macbook Air for one of you and later in the year hopefully send one of you anywhere in the world you want to go. I don’t want to inundate you with plans but sometime in the coming months I’ll probably be hanging out in one place, catching up on heaps of writing, along with putting together ideas to help you travel more, for less. The best way to find out about the various contests I run throughout the year is to sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter, that group always finds out first.

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

A Month Of Photos Slowly Catch Up With My Travels

I hope you’ve enjoyed the travel photos from this past month, along with the larger image format and shorter, more personal stories. Although I haven’t quite caught up to my movements (not even mentioned Bulgaria yet), we’re at least a few steps closer. Through Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and my favorite city in the world, perhaps we’ll finally cross digital paths in Cairo, Tokyo, or somewhere else.

Don’t worry if you missed this contest, I run several throughout the year. You can be the first to find out about the next one by signing up for my email updates, RSS feed, or bi-monthly newsletter.

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Championship

Anil P. — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:00:30 +0000

It’s almost appropriate that Prague and Porto meet in the Championship of the Best City To Visit Travel Tournament this year. Both cities have been quite a force against against each opponent in every round thus far; and to be honest I can’t call or even begin to lean as to who will come out on top – winning $200 in the process. Of course, that’s all up to you. Your votes decide this year’s winner and who will hold the title of “Best City To Visit” in 2011. Register now to vote.

Rio gave Prague a run for its money but won’t be any easy rival to Porto. Vote to decide the best city to visit in 2011 – you must register to vote. The polls are open until next Monday, April 4th at 12pm US EST. (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

Rio, Chiang Mai, it was a great run but, alas, there can only be one. The final results will be posted next Tuesday, April 5th, so get your votes in now. Best of luck to Prague and Porto, may the best city win!

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Final Four

Anil P. — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 06:00:58 +0000

The Elite 8 of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament was a series of upsets for the most part, with strong favorites Istanbul and Jerusalem being bumped out by the smaller Porto and Chaing Mai. Rio also moved on to the Final Four, quietly yet again, although now all eyes will be set on the Brazilian city against the Prague powerhouse. (Register to vote now.)

It’s now crunch time and up to you to decide the two cities that will face off in Friday’s Championship. Porto or Chiang Mai – Prague or Rio de Janiero; you’ve got two days to determine who moves on. There can be only one best city – polls are open until this Thursday, March 31rst at 6pm US EST. You must register to vote – good luck everyone! (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

The Final Four round is a short one, so get your votes in quickly! The Championship kicks off early this Friday, April 1rst.

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Elite 8

Anil P. — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:00:11 +0000

There were a few close races last week as the poll numbers jumped around quite a bit. Lubeck gave one heck of a fight before bowing out to tournament favorite Istanbul; while again Florence and Rio quietly advanced to the the round of 8. You may have noticed the figures changed quite a bit at the end, that was because I had to remove a number of invalid votes (aka. cheaters). For the rest of the tournament you’ll have to register to vote.

You MUST first register here to vote. (I’ll delete all registrations after the competition.) We’ve got Europe, southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East making this a well-rounded Elite 8. You have until this Sunday, March 27th at 12:00pm US EST to decide which 4 cities will remain. (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

Good luck to all of the cities still left, getting this far has been no easy accomplishment! The Final Four and Championship will both be next week, kicking off on Tuesday, March 29th.

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Sweet 16

Anil P. — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:00:57 +0000

There were a blend of close finishes and strong victories in the second round of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 that have left quite a few underdogs in the Sweet 16. This week we get our second battle of Italy in Bellagio vs. Florence, watch little Lubeck take on Istanbul, and wonder if Prague will maintain its dominance in this round.

There are now only 16 cities left and we’re two weeks from the Final Four. Decide who advances and which cities will be out by voting below before next Monday, March 21 at 09:00am US EST. There is $200 on the line – who will win it? (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

A few of you have asked so just for the record, the cities with the higher seeds from the preliminary round are always listed first (e.g. Cuzco vs. Chiang Mai). Leave your votes and next week this competitive group of cities will be narrowed down to only 8.

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5 People Who Purchase My eBook In March Will Receive A $100 Apple Gift Card

Anil P. — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:00:34 +0000

When I first was coming up with the idea of The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers, early on I knew I wanted it to be an ebook that gives back. Both with updates, my promise of 6 months free tech support, and the occasional gift for you readers. To keep the The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers a unique and alive ebook, this month, 5 random people who purchase it will receive a $100 gift card to the Apple.com online store.

How To Get Your $100 Apple Gift Card

All you have to do is pick up a copy from this link, the buttons directly below, or from any of my affiliates. So, along with 6 months of free tech personal tech support, information on extending your wireless range, plus more – you may end up with $100 to spend toward a new iPad 2. I’ll take all of the sales at the end of March, then run them through a program that will randomly select 5 people.

Keep in mind that if you purchase directly from the Kindle store or Barnes & Noble, you won’t qualify. You need to go here so I can make sure I don’t lose track of your purchase.

I’ll Be In Bulgaria Next Week

It’s been a turbulent past few weeks for me, putting my travel plans in a bit of flux lately. My only firm plan is that I’ll be in Sofia, Bulgaria next week to talk blogging at the Trends & Innovation Travel Summit. Also, hopefully I’ll get to meet Story Musgrave, a US astronaut who has spent over 1,200 hours in space. After the conference I’ve set aside some time to see more of Bulgaria, which will be my first trip there. Following that, anything is possible but I plan on sticking around the Middle East through sometime in May.

foXnoMad, Now In Jumbo And Mini-Versions

Many of you have probably noticed the slight design changes I’ve been making over the last 2 weeks or so, including larger photos within my posts and wide-screen pictures for single images. On the opposite end of the size-spectrum, there is now a mobile version of foXnoMad; making browsing from smart phones quicker and easier on your thumbs. In the near future I have further plans widen the scope of my writing and get a bit more personal throughout as well.

$100 Gift Card Or Save $100 Over The Next Year; Plus Your Personal Computer Consultant (aka. Me)

This won’t be my last surprise with The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers, so new and existing owners will have more chances to get back from the ebook that gives you ways to call landlines for free. Nowhere else can you also get the personal tech support of a professional hacker with my expertise – for 6 months – at a one time cost of $37.

Knowing your data is safely backed up when your laptop decides to bungy jump off a coffee table in Paris is well worth it.

Happy hacking…and travels,
-Anil

[photos by: yuankuei (plane taking off)]

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: Second Round

Anil P. — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:00:02 +0000

The first round of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 was a voting frenzy, with generally tight competition in close races like Stockholm over Cairo and Bratislava edging out Valletta. Of all the races, I’d say Bellagio eliminating Tel Aviv was probably the biggest upset, although I’m not sure many would have foreseen Lubeck putting Washington DC out of the running. There was a single tie at the end of round one, and being the tie breaker, Vilnius squeaks into the second round just ahead of Mexico City.

Will it be Stockholm or Kyoto, Istanbul or Chicago, Barcelona or Amsterdam to make it to the Sweet 16 in The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament? Vote below before next Monday March 14th, 09:00am US EST and help choose who moves closer to the $150 prize. (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

Vote for your favorite cities to travel to and next Tuesday, March 15th we’ll have a sweet 16 left on the road to the best city to visit in 2011.

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The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011: First Round

Anil P. — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:00:06 +0000

The preliminary round of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 ended yesterday and your votes helped to rank these 64 cities from number 1 all the way down. Those ranks are what I used to determine the match ups for this first round – and there are some intriguing ones to vote for down below. There’s the battle of the Canadas (Montreal versus Toronto), Olympics past and present (London vs. Beijing), and last year’s champ Zermatt up against New Orleans.

Cast your votes below before Monday, March 7th at 9am US EST – today there are 64 cities but once all is said and done in 3 days, there will be only 32. Your votes decide who moves on – good luck to all of the cities and contestants! (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to this page to vote.)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

You can view the entire tournament bracket in full size or click the image to view in wide-screen.

I will act as the tie-breaker in the event that any two cities end up with the same number of votes in this round. The second round of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2011 will continue next Tuesday, March 8th.

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