Top Ten Shopping Streets, Explore Estonia, and Books That Transport Us

If you are having trouble viewing this e-mail, please click on this link. To ensure you receive your National Geographic e-mails, please add ngs@newsletters.nationalgeographic.com to your address book now. December 5, 2007 INTELLIGENT TRAVEL 1. When In Utah, Do As Olympians Do Ever wonder what happens to Olympic parks once the medal ceremonies have ended and the Olympic flame goes out? Salt Lake City has turned its snow-covered Olympic Park into a tourist attraction, and the park has some cool features we just had to tell you about. Admission to the Utah Olympic Park is free, and just getting into the park allows visitors to take a self-guided tour of the Olympic competition sites, as well as access to the Winter Sports Center (which houses a ski museum as well as the 2002 Eccles Olympic Winter Games Museum). To feel like a true Olympian, you can also speed down a bobsled track at 80 m.p.h. (IT tip: Eat your lunch after you ride "The Comet.") A trained driver takes three passengers at a time to experience one of the Winter Games' signature sports. Participants must be over 16 years old, and tickets cost $200 per person (in summer, tickets are only $60 each). For a less expensive thrill, adrenaline junkies can experience the World's Steepest Zipline. The Xtreme Zip ($20, meant for riders over 100 lbs.) speeds 50 miles per hour along the K 120 ski jump hill, while the Ultra Zip ($15, meant for riders over 50 lbs.) takes riders down the winter freestyle hill. For more from Traveler's blog Intelligent Travel, click here. PHOTO OF THE WEEK 2. Calakmul Sunrise A young visitor and his dogs take in the Maya site of Becan, a collection of limestone structures crafted by master stone masons. A political and ceremonial Maya center in the first millennium, Becan is distinguished by a structure unusual for Maya sites: a manmade moat about a mile long probably engineered for defensive purposes. "Becan is dense with structures," says author Cliff Ransom. "The pyramids here are some of the tallest to be found near Calakmul, and are in good condition." Click here to download this photo to your desktop. PHOTO GALLERY 3. Explore Estonia A guest enjoys breakfast—and canine companionship—at Padaste Manor on the island of Muhu. "Imre Sooaar and his partner, Martin Breuer, have created Estonia's most luxurious small resort hotel and spa," says photographer Priit Vesilind. "They've recast the solid stone-and-timber carriage houses into elegant guest rooms and restaurants. A broad lawn slides to the sea under a canopy of leafy saar trees. Padaste grows its own salad greens and vegetables, and makes big use of local produce." Says Martin Breuer: "Our guests don't come here for the high life, or to impress other people. You go to the Côte d'Azur to do that. To come to Estonia is to be connected to nature and to the folk traditions." Click here to see more photos from Estonia. TRAVEL LIBRARY 4. New Books That Transport Us "The first time I visited Thailand, the quality that impressed me most was not the temples or the pad thai or the palm-fringed beaches, it was the smiles. As I traveled around the country, I came to understand that in Thailand (as in many places) smiles don't always equal happiness, but at the same time, I came away with the feeling that on balance, the often-smiling Thais are among the happiest people on earth, and that this is one of the prime reasons why visiting Thailand is such bliss. Eric Weiner comes to the same conclusion is his winning new book, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World. Leaving behind a career as a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, Weiner embarks on a year-long search to find the happiest country on earth. He starts his journey in the Netherlands, home to the World Database of Happiness, whose humorless statistics point him in the direction of nine more countries, wonderfully ranging from Iceland to India, Qatar to Bhutan. (The other countries are Switzerland, the U.K., the U.S., Thailand, and Moldova—the last, for contrast purposes, being the unhappiest place on the planet at the time of writing.)" To read more from Traveler's travel book guru, click here. THE REAL DEAL 5. "Romance to the Rim" Grand Canyon Package from $390.50 Hop aboard the Grand Canyon Railway for a three-night, four-day package that includes first-class train travel and accommodations at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams, Arizona; dinner and breakfast at Max & Thelma's Restaurant; round-trip first class train travel to the Grand Canyon; a narrated motorcoach tour of the South Rim with lunch; an overnight stay in a standard room at the historic El Tovar; a bottle of California sparkling wine and fruit basket in room; and dinner with wine in the El Tovar Dining Room. After the return trip to Williams, the package includes another night of lodging at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, as well as dinner and breakfast. Good for travel from January 6 through January 31, 2008. Rates are $390.50 per adult based on double occupancy and do not include taxes. For reservations and information call 800 THE TRAIN or click here. 1. Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, New York City 2. Plaza Dorrego, Buenos Aires, Argentina 3. Temple Street Night Market, Hong Kong, China 4. Patpong Night Market, Bangkok, Thailand 5. Chandni Chowk, Dehli, India 6. Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey 7. Navigli Antique Market, Milan, Italy 8. Dappermarkt, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 9. Les Puces, Paris, France 10. Portobello Road, London, England Click here to read more about these tips, or buy Journeys of a Lifetime now and save 10%. "The first lady traditionally invited a star to be Santa Claus at the White House Christmas parties for children. In 1983, it was Mr. T, whose costume alone made him an unforgettable Santa." —Diana Walker, from the book The Bigger Picture Click here to buy the book. OUR SPONSORS Attention Wine Lovers! WINE EXCLUSIVES: Oppenheimer's Wine Club Guide connects New York, Florida and California wine lovers directly to exclusive wineries, taking the confusion out of enjoying wine clubs and how to access hard to find and limited release wines. 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