Travel Tidbits: Long walk aborted

I decided to check in on Mark Boyle, whom we wrote about last month. Boyle—who also goes by the name Saoirse—was trying to walk from his hometown in Bristol, England, to Gandhi's birthplace in Porbandar, India, without money. Yes, without money.

Well, he didn't make it.

Apparently, relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers only gets you so far. Apparently, it only gets you as far as Calais, France.

Boyle pulled the plug on his "pilgrimage" after only 300 miles on his expected 9,000-mile journey. Not surprisingly, he cited lack of food, lack of housing and lack of the French language as huge obstacles. It didn't help that the French assumed Boyle to be a freeloading backpacker. You can read all of the excruciating details on Boyle's blog here, here and here.

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• On a more successful note, Scotsman Mark Beaumont circled the globe on a bicycle, traveling 18,297 miles through 20 countries in 194 days and 17 hours. He was officially recognized as the Guinness World Record holder after beating the previous mark by 81 days.

• Speaking of biking, Pat and Catherine Patterson (ages 62 and 48) spent four years biking across the world. They visited 57 countries on four continents. CNN.com has the details and a map.

• The Los Angeles Times, among others, reports that a U.S. appeals court today struck down New York's airline "passenger bill of rights." The bill was aimed at guaranteeing delayed travelers fresh air and working toilets, but the court ruled that only the U.S. government can regulate the airline industry. That means the issue is likely headed to the Supreme Court, according to MSNBC's Christopher Elliott.

• Rolling Stone magazine unveiled its first issue in India this month with five different covers—Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z and Indian sitar player Anoushka Shankar (pictured). According to the BBC News, this is Rolling Stone's 15th international rollout.

• Ruins believed to be from a pre-Inca temple were discovered at the Sacsayhuaman fortress overlooking Cuzco, Peru. BBC News has all the details.

• Speaking of Peru, Gadling has tips on how to hike the Inca trail.

• A movie museum—appropriately named The Movieum—opened this week in London, showcasing the British film industry. Globespotters reports that The Movieum is the first museum in London dedicated to movies since the Museum of the Moving Image closed in 1999

• Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, which houses the artwork of famous Dutch masters, is undergoing a massive renovation but won't reopen until at least 2012 due to construction delays. Several paintings are on view in a wing.

• Need tickets to the Beijing Olympics? Gadling says watch out for sketchy online offers.

• CNN's Rick Steves has a nice profile of Siena, Italy, the popular medieval town that hosts the traditional Palio horse race twice a year. I agree with Steves' assertion: "Siena seems to be every Italy connoisseur's pet town."

• Elaine Sciolino, the New York Times' Paris bureau chief, offers eight lessons learned while living in the City of Light.

• We wrote back in October about Paris' free museums. Gadling offers a reminder that the free part ends June 30.

• The Los Angeles Times writes about some new Beatles-themed lodgings in the Fab Four's hometown of Liverpool, England.

• Finally, if you're planning on climbing Mount Everest, you'll have to wait until after May 10. Climbers have been banned from the world's highest peak in order to ensure a secure route for the Olympic torch.