Travel briefs
Published 9:09 am Friday, April 4, 2008
A new museum dedicated to sports history opens May 7 in Lower Manhattan.
The Sports Museum of America is partnering with halls of fame and sports organizations around the country to host exhibits not only on football, baseball, basketball and hockey, but also car racing, biking, boxing, figure skating, track and field, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, swimming, volleyball and even fishing.
The museum will display memorabilia and artifacts, 1,100 photos and 20 films in 19 galleries. One gallery will be devoted to the Heisman Trophy, college football’s top honor, including a display of the original trophy and a contest for fans to vote for the next Heisman winner. The museum also houses a hall of fame for women in sports.
Interactive exhibits allow visitors to make an NFL field call; try on a goalie mask and experience a slapshot; stand on a simulated NASCAR racetrack with cars screaming by on floor-to-ceiling screens; and compare the weights of baseball bats used by Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki.
The museum will be at 26 Broadway, across from the financial district’s famous sculpture of a charging bull. (Enter the museum around corner on Beaver Street). It will be open daily. Tickets will be $27 for adults, $20 for children 4-14, and can be bought in advance online at www.sportsmuseum.com.
Dale Chihuly exhibit in San Francisco
Dale Chihuly’s first major show in San Francisco will be at the de Young Museum from June 14-Sept. 28. The show will include 11 galleries of new and past works from the popular artist, who is known for large colorful glass art.
Chihuly is creating the installations for the works, and several are viewable now, including a 30-foot yellow neon Saffron Tower at the de Young’s Pool of Enchantment and a 15-foot radiant yellow Sun at the Legion of Honor in the exterior Court of Honor.
Other works will include chandeliers and towers in the Rodin sculpture galleries at the Legion of Honor; the 56-foot-long Mille Fiori garden of glass; and Glass Forest 3, recreating an early white milk-glass and neon work that has not been viewed in the U.S. since 1972.
Details: www.famsf.org/deyoung.
Lincoln’s hometown reschedules bicentennial
Abraham Lincoln’s hometown is making sure the 16th president gets a bicentennial birthday bash.
Hodgenville, Ky., was forced to cancel the February kickoff of the two-year celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday because of bad weather, but it’s rescheduling the events for May 31, according to The News-Enterprise newspaper.
The celebration will feature the unveiling of a statue of the young Lincoln, children’s games from the early 1800s, including a frog toss using rubber frogs, and various displays.
The National Park Service reported an increase in visitors at the birthplace park here, possibly in part because of media coverage and bicentennial marketing.
Although the president is most often associated with Illinois, where he was first elected to public office, Lincoln was born in a small cabin near what later became Hodgenville on Feb. 12, 1809.
Details at www.nps.gov/abli.
Rough Guide has budget ideas for Europe travel
Is your heart set on a trip to Europe this summer despite the weak dollar and pricey plane fares?
“The Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget” ($24.99) can help you plan a trip without going broke. The book includes suggested itineraries, adventure travel options, maps, hostel listings, transportation information, festivals, arts and culture, top attractions, climate charts and daily budget estimates.
Money-saving ideas include the Emerald Card-Irish Rover ticket for three, five or 15 days of unlimited bus and rail travel around Ireland; the Metro del Mare ferry for a summer cruise experience in Italy without cruise ship prices, and hostels, pensions, camping and couchsurfing as alternatives to hotels. (At www.couchsurfing.com you’ll find locals who are willing to put travelers up in their living room.)
The book advises that October through May is the best time to visit tourist hotspots such as Paris, Rome and Barcelona, while peak summer months can be enjoyed on the Balkan coastline, and autumn is ideal for exploring the Mediterranean.
Authors’ picks for “ultimate experiences” include clubbing on Ios, Greece; visiting Malbork Castle in Poland; eating pizza in Naples; rafting the Soca Valley in Slovenia; and attending the Edinburgh festival in Scotland.
Associated Press
