Following the Equator

Photo of the Week: Tokyo's Sensoji Temple

Oftentimes the best photos are the most unexpected—like this week's Photo of the Week. This adorable picture is of a young boy playing in front of Tokyo's oldest temple, Sensoji Temple. The contrast of young and old is striking.

"When I saw this, I just had to take it," wrote Thuy Tinh, who submitted the photo to the EF Tours group on Flickr.

Do you have a great picture that should be featured as a Photo of the Week? Add your travel photos to the EF pool on Flickr, and we'll select a different photo every Thursday.

Photo: Thuy Tinh via Flickr

The Spain Train to Boston

I've lived in Spain for the past two years, and I'm about to move back home to the United States. I'll be leaving behind the sun-baked terracotta roof over my head, and in exchange, I'll get snow-dusted asphalt shingles. 

I'll be leaving behind the local southern Spain accent (drops "s" wherever possible), and in exchange, I'll get Bostonian (drops "r" wherever possible).

I'll leave behind olive oil, and in exchange, I'll get … well, thankfully I'll still get olive oil.  My wife, who is Spanish, would likely cook with motor oil before accepting a can of Pam cooking spray.

But there's one thing I'll be leaving behind that may surprise you: some of the sleekest high-speed trains in the world. And in exchange I'll get this.

Friday Fun Fact: Future Olympics

When the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics concludes Sunday, the world's attention will turn from Beijing to London four years hence.

London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming the first city to host the Games three times (also 1948 and 1908). The 2012 London Olympics will run from July 27 through August 12, 2012.

The site of the 2016 Summer Olympics will be chosen October 2, 2009. The four finalists are Chicago, United States; Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.

Meanwhile, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, Canada, and the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia.

Maple Leaf Monopoly

Montreal is the new Boardwalk.

Monopoly finally revealed the winning cities in its new World Edition this week, and the Canadian city earned the global game's most prestigious position, as we predicted in February.

In fact, Canada monopolizes the new Monopoly board. In addition to Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto also earned spots. The other dominant country is China, which placed Beijing and Shanghai, plus Hong Kong, on the board. Only one U.S. city (New York) made the game.

More than 5.6 million votes were cast to select the 22 cities in the new edition, which goes on sale next week in 50 countries.

Travel Tidbits: Shakespeare marathon

Are you ready for some Shakespeare?

If you're like my father (a high school English teacher and devoted student of Shakespeare), you can't get enough of William Shakespeare. So here's an unprecedented opportunity: The esteemed Royal Shakespeare Company is performing the Bard's entire, eight-play History Cycle in order.

The Histories cover 100 years of English history and nearly 1,400 minutes of viewing time. That's more than 23 hours to you and me. The RSC is performing all eight plays in the order that Shakespeare wrote them (and his audiences would have seen them): Henry VI Parts I, II & III, followed by Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV Parts I & II and finishing with Henry V.

The epic undertaking is believed to be the first time one theater company has staged the entire History Cycle. It has taken more than two-and-a-half years to produce.

There's a lot of good information at the Royal Shakespeare Company site. But  Globespotters has some impressive figures: 34 actors play 264 parts, each part is understudied, which means a total of 528 parts have been rehearsed. The production also includes 210,000 spoken words, 800 costumes, 40 wigs and hairpieces and—get this—more than 15 liters of stage blood.

The Histories are running through Sunday at the RSC's Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, and then the performances will run from April 1 to May 25 at The Roundhouse in London.

Travel Tidbits: One long walk

How much does it cost to travel from Bristol, England, to Porbandar, India?

If you're Mark Boyle, the answer (hopefully) is nothing.

The catch is that Boyle is walking—yes, walking—from his British hometown to Gandhi's birthplace without any money.

The 28-year-old former businessman (pictured at left) began the 9,000-mile "pilgrimage" last Wednesday and plans to survive by relying solely on the goodwill of humanity or working for food and a place to rest.

"I've got some sunscreen, a good knife, a spoon, a bandage ... no Visa card, no travellers' cheques, no bank accounts, zero," he told BBC radio. "I won't actually touch money along the way."

Boyle, who also goes by the name Saoirse, estimates he'll cover 15 to 45 miles a day walking through France, Italy, eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He guesses it will take him two and a half years to arrive in Porbandar, Gandhi's birthplace on India's west coast.

You can follow Boyle on his journey by reading his blog. And, if you happen to spot him along the way, be sure to post your sighting.

Read on for this week's installment of Travel Tidbits.

Education around the world

The February issue of Edutopia magazine is out. It's especially worthwhile because the theme is global education.

The cover story, "As the World Learns: Education as a Vital Global Marketplace Represents the Future," is particularly interesting with reports on how students are taught in Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden and Uganda. There's also a report on Room to Read, a global nonprofit that builds schools and libraries in developing countries. Plus, there are additional global education resources.

The other cool thing in this issue is the Sage Advice page, which asks, "How do you prepare your students to be citizens of the world?" Some good responses that are worth reading.

Edutopia is the website of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that celebrates and encourages innovation in schools. The monthly magazine is free to qualified subscribers. You can even get the ultracool digital version, which looks and reads just like the printed version.