I knew when I moved to Austin that I had to check out the Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters. The concept is simple: it’s a movie theater that also serves up booze. I’ve heard Chicago has a similar thing happening at The Vic (under the name “Brew and View”), but Austin’s Alamo truly blows the whole darn thing out of the water. Not only do they serve alcohol, but they’ve also got a full menu for those who like to take their “dinner and a movie” seriously.

And by “seriously, I mean “all at the same location.”

Alamo Drafthouse, Ritz location (photo via Alamo Drafthouse)

At first, you might wonder if all this chowing down and ordering during the films might turn a rowdy crowd loose, with NYC-style talking back to the screen encouraged. Luckily, the rules are simple and spelled out for newbies by groovy waitstaff: write your order on the slip of paper and place it standing up in the designated pocket. The waiter will come by to take and deliver your order silently, and will place a bill on the narrow table to pay before you leave. Warnings from Homestar Runner are also played onscreen to remind the audience to shut the heck up, turn off cell phones, and refrain from rowdy behavior. Sweet!

For those who do like to talk back to the screen, there’s another bonus feature: the Alamo’s regular Quote-Alongs and Sing-Alongs. Seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off so many times you can quote the whole thing from start to finish? Lucky for you, there’s Quote-Along night, where “you’re required to yell out your favorite lines, stand up and dance to the best songs from the soundtrack, and play with a series of props that are handpicked for most movies.” For all those who’ve ever seen (and loved) the cult-classic Grandma’s Boy, for instance, there’s an upcoming Quote-Along scheduled for December 24. Even if you’re way too baked to drive to the Devil’s house or you’ve drunk too much of “Sophie’s tea,” you won’t want to miss this one, kid.

As the type of person who likes to comment aloud on movies (especially the really bad ones), I’m pretty stoked about the Quote-Alongs, as well as their Weird Wednesdays (where only $1 gets you in) and monthly Dionysium debates (for those who like to get their think on). If you’re a hard-working member of the service industry, you also get a break on Monday-night movies, pizza and pints. Nice!

As you may have guessed, all of the Alamo Drafthouse locations (they have four in Austin: Lake Creek, Ritz, South Lamar, and Village) have a strict 18+ policy, so this is an adults-only type of scene. Anyone underage is welcome to attend a flick, so long as their legal guardians come along for the ride. That’s just how Texas rolls where drinking establishments are concerned.

As far as the menu goes, this varies a bit from one theater to the next, but all feature movie-themed items such as “The Breakfast Club” (lettuce, tomato, smoked bacon and a fried egg on sourdough with chipotle mayo) and the “Royale With Cheese Burger” (an Angus patty with lettuce, tomato, onions, cheddar cheese, bacon and chipotle mayo). When I hit up the Alamo’s Village location, I tried one of their white wines during a viewing of Where the Wild Things Are. It was kind of surreal to be watching a kid’s book that had been made into a movie for adults whilst drinking wine as a few rugrats got scared to death a few seats over.

The only potentially negative thing I can say about the Alamo Drafthouse is something that isn’t really their fault at all; it’s straight-up biological. Basically, if you drink half a bottle of wine while you watch a movie, you’re probably going to have to use the bathroom about halfway through. This isn’t a big deal if you’re watching flicks at home, since you can just pause the DVD, but it’s a bit annoying to have to sneak out of a theater, pee, and then try to return to your seat in the dark without tripping over anyone. I would guess that this is why most cinemas don’t serve alcohol, but then again, they do serve those giant 48-ounce sodas, so who knows?

All in all, the Alamo Drafthouse is definitely my favorite cinema in Austin, and given its wide variety of flicks, it’s primed to become one of my top hangouts overall. Check it out and bask in just one of the ways locals like to Keep Austin Weird.

The Siq, guarding the entrance to Petra

I’m probably unique in that I visited Jordan twice before I saw Petra. My only excuse is that the first two times, I was there on business. But, this time, I was on holiday, and determined to see this ancient city, which features high on everybody’s ‘must see’ list.

The Treasury (Photo by Lorraine D. Kellett)

Petra was built by the Nabataeans, who were a nation of merchants and traders, living in the 6th Century BC, in the southern part of what is now Jordan. They built their houses in a rather unusual way. Where anyone else would make mud bricks to build their houses, or quarry blocks of stone and take them away to build a city, the Nabataeans simply dug out caves in the soft sandstone of a narrow canyon.

People who have never been to Petra often recognise its Treasury, which featured in the movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. This building is right at the entrance of the city, which we approached down a narrow side canyon, called the siq. ‘It’s best to walk’ said Sami, our guide. ‘You can get a horse, camel or carriage back if you wish!’

That was good advice, for there’s much more to Petra than the Treasury … and it will take a long time to see it all. Almost all the city is still standing after 2600 years, not just one or two buildings. Even a day isn’t long enough … although that’s tiring enough.

On the way down the siq, Sami pointed out the clever system of drainage channels, which provided fresh running water almost everywhere in the city, and protected it from the danger of flash floods.

Living in caves suggests a primitive people, but it wasn’t the case here. Many of the buildings in Petra are as grand as many modern buildings. There’s even a Royal Palace. And, we stopped to admire the Qasr el Bint, or ‘Castle of the Woman’ which was believed to be the only building in Petra not to be hollowed out from the cliff.

Qasr al Bint

Sandstone is a reddish colour, which shines brightly in the sun, causing poet Dean Burgon to describe Petra as a ‘… Rose Red city, half as old as time’ … words often repeated in tourist brochures. But, it’s not all red … there are many different colours, and craftsmen make souvenirs for visitors by pouring differently coloured sands into little glass bottles, so as to form pictures and patterns.

Making coloured sand pictures

The books say that a Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who also found the gigantic rock temple at Abu Simbel, in Egypt, discovered Petra in 1812. However, ‘discovered’ maybe isn’t the right word, for the Bedouin people have always lived there, until fairly recently. Indeed, Dr. Nyazi Shaba’an, who was Director of Antiquities at Petra for many years, and now owns the tour company we were travelling with, was born in one of the caves, and his earliest memories are of riding his donkey through the ancient city to school.

And, Sami himself was born in a Bedouin tent nearby.

The author at Petra (Photo by Lorraine D. Kellett)

Some of the caves still house shops and restaurants, although nobody lives permanently in Petra now. We stopped at one restaurant, opposite the open-air theatre, for a cup of tea, and remarked on how cool the interior of the cave was.

Sami told us that when the people were rehoused elsewhere, one old lady refused to move. She said that she wanted to die in the home she’d always known. When King Hussein heard of this, he sent his brother, Prince Hassan, to visit the old lady, and try to persuade her to move. The lady presented the Prince with a covered dish, in which he found a dagger. She told him that she couldn’t disobey a Prince, so would he please kill her now.

Prince Hassan realised then how much the lady loved her home in the cave, so he told the authorities they must allow her to remain as long as she wished, and she stayed there until she died. So, maybe living in a cave isn’t as bad as it sounds?

'It's not a building; it's a whole city'

Since our visit, our guide, Sami, formed his own company, Jordan Inspiration Tours. You can visit him at www.jitours.com

by Dr. AM Benton for GiftedTravel.com

Many parents in their tour of England include a visit to Holy Island to see where the Lindisfarne Gospels were written as well as to enjoy the tranquil loneliness of rural Northumbria. But monastic ruins and ocean views might not go down well with kids hyperactive from a long car journey up north. Not to worry, as there is a little detour along the way that would intrigue even the most picky child—a visit to Alnwick. Alnwick is the home of the castle which served as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies, and it has its own children’s “Knight School.” The surrounding grounds also feature a restaurant in a treehouse and a safe and educational garden dedicated to poisonous plants. The village itself has the “British Library” of second-hand bookshops with an enormous children’s section.

Alnwick is on the A1068 off of the A1, the “Great North Road.” The village is dominated by its quintessentially medieval castle. The castle has been portrayed in television and film—the movie Elizabeth and Harry Potter have used it as a stunning backdrop. When I visited, my inner child was secretly delighted to know she was touring the “real” Hogwarts, seeing where Harry played Quiddich and learned to fly on his broomstick. Alnwick’s Knights School also lets children dress in medieval costume and learn about early warfare and courtly etiquette. When we were there, kids were designing their own shields with a personal court of arms, and there were archery and sword demonstrations. The inside of the castle is also a treat for parents, featuring paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto and evening wine tastings.

Near the castle is Alnwick Gardens, opened in 2002 by the Duke of Northumberland. Entering through the main gates, there was a water sculpture of curved terraces, the water cascading and dancing, and at its base, toy tractors that kids could pedal around if their feet were tired. Budding wizards interested in brews and concoctions would also enjoy a visit to the Poison Garden, which is as its name suggests, is dedicated to poisonous and irritating species. The imposing iron gates, decorated with intertwined snakes and skulls will make the wait for the guided tours go by quickly. While the garden would seem to be best for older children past the stage of compulsively putting things in their mouths, staff were very careful to keep tour participants at a safe distance from the plants. We learned that the cure for nettle stings was rubbing the skin with a nearby plant called dock. Extracts of poisonous belladonna were dropped into the eyes by Renaissance Italian ladies to dilate their pupils and make them more attractive to suitors. I suspect our ancestors would not have been shocked by botox. And, just as these ladies survived their beauty treatments, you and your kids will escape the tour intact with a new respect for botany.

We then headed to the garden tree house, which had its requisite rope bridges and lookout points for children to explore. But this particular tree house was one with a difference, featuring an award-winning restaurant. The surrounding screens created with fallen branches and the roaring fire and low lights created an other-worldly atmosphere. It had started to rain, and we ate our sandwiches to the sound of the patter of raindrops on the leaves.

Alnwick’s town centre was delightful too, with handsome buildings, monuments and tempting restaurants, pubs and boutiques. While I was putting coins in the parking meter, I asked one of the shopkeepers stoically standing under his awning (now it was pouring) what things there were to see. He asked if I knew about Barter Books, and pointed me to the giant Lion’s Column in the distance adjacent to the bookstore.

Barter Books is called the “British Library” of second-hand book shops for a good reason. Comprising 32,000 square feet, it is simply enormous. Housed in the old Victorian railway station, there was a model locomotive meandering its way through the store, and murals of famous authors (though not J.K. Rowling) which are fun to point out to children. Barter’s collection is on a computerized database for easy searching, but if you just want to browse, the store is well-organized according to subject. There is also particularly nice selection of gently used children’s books. I found a book of Russian fairy tales, a reprint of a Victorian alphabet book, as well as old favorites such as Babar and Curious George.

We’d experienced the beauties and dangers of nature, eaten lunch in a tree house, browsed in a bookstore in an old train station, and visited where Harry Potter went to school. As a bonus, the kids were well fed, tired from all the walking and climbing, and had books to keep them amused. They also learned about medieval history and botany. Now we could resume our journey to Holy Island, but I suspected that at least in the kid’s eyes, it wouldn’t hold a candle to Alnwick.

If You Go:
Alnwick Castle
Tel: +44 (0)1665 510777  24hr Info: +44 (0)1665 511100
www.alnwickcastle.com
Open Daily 5th April to 29th October
10.00 am to 6.00 pm
State Rooms 11.00am to 5.00pm (Last admission 4.30pm)

The Alnwick Garden,
Denwick Lane,
Alnwick, Northumberland, UK, NE66 1YU
Tel: +44 (0)1665 511350
www.alnwickgarden.com
The Treehouse Restaurant and the Poison Garden are on the grounds of Alnwick Gardens.

Barter Books
Alnwick Station
Northumberland NE66 2NP
Tel: 01665 604888
www.barterbooks.co.uk

Dr. AM Benton is a professional travel writer and historian living in the UK. When not travelling the globe, Dr. Benton is a research associate in history of medicine at Oxford University.

by Liz Lewis for GiftedTravel.com

No visit to New Zealand would be complete without exploring some of the locations featured in movies such as Lord of the Rings, Whale Rider, The River Queen, and The World’s Fastest Indian. After all, who wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Frodo, paddle along side the River Queen, swim with the Whale Rider, and race with the Indian.

Many of the movies were filmed in remote locations well of the tourist trail. Little, if anything, remains of the sets and props built for the movies. But it is well worth the effort to find them. Because the biggest star of the these movies, the landscape, remains.

So what can you see and how accessible is it?

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Director Peter Jackson covered the whole of New Zealand looking for ‘middle earth’ and ended up filming in 150 different locations. Many of the locations were on Department of Conservation land with the agreement that nothing would be left at the end of the filming.

The villages and sets created for the Lord of the Rings trilogy have been dismantled. Except for Hobbiton. Located two hours south of Auckland on State Highway 27, here you can find the remains of the original Hobbiton Village. But as it is set on private farmland near the town of Matamata, access is only available by tour.

Next head for Taupo in the middle of the North Island and walk in the footsteps of Frodo and Sam along the Tongariro Crossing (aka Mt Doom). This challenging 8 hour walk has been described as the best one-day walk within New Zealand. Set up on the central plateau, there are spectacular views to be seen as you walk past steaming fumaroles, lava flows, the Red Crater, and the Emerald Lakes.

Continue further south to Kapiti Coast, just before the capital city of Wellington, and visit Movie Horses NZ, where you can meet the equine stars of the movie.

Then head for Wellington, home of Peter Jackson and the Weta workshop, Rover Tours, provides a number of tours covering film locations in and around Wellington.

But the biggest concentration of Lord of the Rings tour operators are found in the South Island, and in particular, Queenstown and Wanaka. Here you are surrounded by Lord of the Rings locations. But as most of these locations are hidden in remote areas, access is easiest by tour company. For a comprehensive list of tours available and contact information, check out Lord of the Rings Tours.

Another great resource to checkout before you arrive is the New Zealand Tourism website, which offers a number of Lord of the Rings driving routes for the independent traveler.

The River Queen and The Whale Rider

These two movies provided not only spectacular scenery but also introduced movie goers to insights into Maori history and culture.

Visitors to New Zealand can get a glimpse of this by heading out to the Whanganui River and following the trail of the River Queen. Adventure and culture await along this river that was used by Maori as a main transport route for centuries before Europeans arrived. Today, you can canoe, kayak, or jet boat down the river. Alternatively, you can hike along any of the numerous hiking trails that follow the river.

Those choosing the water route can arrange for an overnight stay at Tieke Marae, an old pa (fort) located on the river banks. This cultural experience features a traditional powhiri (welcome) and strives to provide a view of Maori life – past and present.

The small village atmosphere is also available at the beachside community of Whangara (population 30) where Whale Rider was set. Located near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island, Whangara is the hometown of Witi Ihimaera, author of Whale Rider. This small Maori town (population 30) is the ancestral home of the Ngati Konohi tribe.

Base yourself at nearby Gisborne, known for it’s sunny weather and wineries, and take one of the tours to Whangara led by Hone Taumaunu, cultural consultant during the filming of Whale Rider. These tours depart from the Gisborne Visitors Information Center and offer a chance to visit the house where the filming was done and learn about the story that inspired the movie.

The World’s Fastest Indian

Visit the southern city of Invercargill in the South Island to experience the place which inspired Burt Munro in his quest for speed. A city of 50,000, Invercargill has a the appeal of a small town, complete with wide streets and elegant Victorian and Edwardian building. Check in with the Invercargill Information Center to find out where to look for Burt’s shed and other film locations.

Then head out to Oreti Beach for a view of the place that Burt did his original test drives on his 1920 Indian Twin Scout. All that remains is the spectacular landscape – white sand flats, sparkling water, and views out to Stewart Island.

Liz Lewis is a New Zealand based freelance writer. Check out her Travel Café Kiwi blog for all things New Zealand and My Year of Getting Published blog for all things about writing.

Written by Sheila O’Connor for GiftedTravel.com

What child of any age hasn’t heard of Beatrix Potter or that famous Peter Rabbit? Well now they both come alive with the movie, “Miss Potter”, which highlights the story of England’s much-loved author and her 23 children’s tales. For adults there’s the story of romance in the famous author’s life. “Miss Potter” stars Renee Zellweger as the passionate and imaginative Beatrix Potter and Ewan McGregor as the man who captures her heart as her publisher and true love Norman Warne.

Alas the romance was not to last. Meeting with only disapproval from her family, who felt Mr. Warne was not a suitable partner, Ms. Potter decided to keep her engagement to him a secret. Tragically Norman died only four weeks after their engagement and Beatrix could do nothing but throw herself into her writing. At this time two more of her Little Books were published, a fact for which many children, can, at least, be thankful. Ms. Potter did eventually marry a solicitor (whose office now houses some of her work) at the age of 47. This again, met with her family’s disapproval but it seemed they pretty much disapproved of everyone! Her first love would always be Norman however.

And when it comes to love, if you happen to be in England’s Lake District, you won’t be able to help but fall in love with places the movie was set in or places which Beatrix Potter herself loved over the years. The Lake District is situated in an area in the north of England where you’ll see the subtle hues of rolling pastures, quaint villages and hardy stone walls. You’ll even smell the earthy aroma of burning peat as it fills the air and be transported to a bygone era – an era that inspired Ms. Potter to write her children’s classics.

In particular, check out the World of Beatrix Potter where those little story books come to life. This is a children’s wonderland where hands-on participation is encouraged, whether it’s flipping through the story books, goggling at the centennial clock whose character come out to entertain you whenever it chimes, or having your photo taken in Ms. Tiggie Winkle’s Kitchen (the most popular of all the attractions). The statue in the front was unveiled by Renee Zellweger during the filming and it has many of the characters featured in the novels. The boy and girl paramount in the display were inspired by the artists’ own young children when he failed to come up with suitable models for the artwork!

“I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result, and when I have a bad time come over me, it is a stronger desire than ever,” wrote Beatrix in her journal. The Lake District was in her heart , and children, drawing and writing were in her blood, even from an early age.

The story of Peter Rabbit came about when she wrote to the son of one of her governess’s but being unsure what to say to him, told him the tail of four little rabbits, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter. She later borrowed that letter back and decided to have her story published. It was a story that was to change her life.

With the proceeds from that, and eventually her other books, she went on to buy up property in the Lake District, donate it to the National Trust and thereby allow millions of families from far and wide to visit this beautiful area. Don’t miss it.

“If I have done anything-even a little-to help small children on the road to enjoy and appreciate honest, simple pleasures, I have done a bit of good” said Beatrix Potter.

You’ve done a lot of good, Miss Potter. Children everywhere, and of every age, will never forget you.

If You Go
Fly into Manchester and from here you can get a coach or train to the Lake District. For free maps, brochures, vacation-planning advice and wide selection of passes and transport tickets, contact VisitBritain toll free on 1-800 462 2748 or visit http://visitbritain.com/usa

Sheila O’Connor is a freelance writer living in San Francisco.  She loves all things British.  She is an associate editor with Romantic Traveling and runs a markets newsletter for writers that includes both US and overseas markets. Sheila can be reached at email