I’ve had a busy week in New Orleans, so I’ll leave you with two of my favorite photos so far. Most krewe members (the generous folks who toss beads to the crowd while riding on floats) are masked, but CNN anchor Anderson Cooper made an unmasked appearance during tonight’s Krewe of Endymion parade in the Garden District.

And below, a pair of NOPD cruisers illuminate discarded bead packaging, as officers force the crowd to exit the street during a parade.

This afternoon I arrived in New Orleans, and I’ll be here through early next week. I’m in town to see a good friend, but as my visit happens to coincide with Mardi Gras, I imagine there will be plenty of photos and stories to share over the next few days. I’ve only been in the city for eight hours, but I’ve already managed to eat crawfish and gumbo, and watch three parades. Though I haven’t seen many iPhones in the city, Apple still had a presence tonight — iMuse (photo above) was one of the final floats in the Krewe of Muses parade in the Garden District.

I’m not one to spend much time watching amateur videos on YouTube, but I stopped working to watch this video of Space Shuttle Discovery’s final launch — shot from a passenger aircraft flying near Kennedy Space Center — over and over for about 30 minutes. Don’t send me any complaints when you end up doing the same! I’ll let the video speak for itself.

Via geek.com.

I spent nearly two weeks this month and last touring Israel, from the Golan Heights in the north to the Negev (desert) in the south. Over the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing photos and stories from the trip. Click here for more information.

Even if you’re not a “museum person,” a trip to Yad Vashem — Israel’s Holocaust museum, located in Jerusalem — is a must. The museum was established in 1953, just a few years after the State of Israel declared its independence from Britain in 1948.

The museum recently underwent a significant expansion, so plan to spent at least two hours walking through the exhibits. If you visit with a group, you may even have an opportunity to meet with a Holocaust survivor — an opportunity that will likely soon disappear, as survivors continue to age.

Click the “read more” link for more photos.

With over 800,000 visitors in 2009, Yad Vashem is the second most visited attraction in Israel (after the Western Wall).

Military service is mandatory in Israel, and soldiers are required to visit Yad Vashem. In the photo above, several soldiers guard M16 rifles, as the soldiers the weapons are assigned to explore the museum.

A group of female IDF soldiers listen to a fellow soldier discuss the museum, before the group proceeded to the exhibits.

Click here for a complete list of posts about Israel.

I spent nearly two weeks this month and last touring Israel, from the Golan Heights in the north to the Negev (desert) in the south. Over the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing photos and stories from the trip. Click here for more information.

Not far from the Galilee Region near the Syrian border, the Golan Heights has an average altitude of 3,300 feet. The area is a popular tourist destination, and is home to much of Israel’s agricultural production.

The area is also home to several kibbutzim — Israeli farms where many of the workers volunteer their time in exchange for room, board, and occasionally a small stipend. In the photo above, visitors observe a newborn calf at a Golan Heights kibbutz.

Click the “read more” link for more photos!

Kibbutzim typically have many agricultural components, from livestock to vegetables and flowers.

The Golan Heights Winery is very popular in Israel — its products are sold in most of the country’s grocery stores and restaurants, representing 18 percent of the domestic market.

The wines are marketed under several brands, including Yarden.

Click here for a complete list of posts about Israel.

I spent nearly two weeks this month and last touring Israel, from the Golan Heights in the north to the Negev (desert) in the south. Over the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing photos and stories from the trip. Click here for more information.

Today’s post focuses on the city of Tzfat and the Galilee region, both located in the North District of Israel near Syria and Lebanon. The photo above was taken at sunrise at the Sea of Galilee, in the town of Tiberias.

The town of Tsvat is the center of Jewish mysticism. But it’s also a typical Israeli town, with plenty of restaurants, Internet cafes, and nightlife. The town’s high elevation contributes to its seasonal climate, with warm summers and cool winters — it’s not unusual for the town to be blanketed in snow, on occasion.

Click the “read more” link for more photos from Tzfat and Galilee!

As the highest city in Israel, Tsvat sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet.

As certain sacred texts are forbidden from being destroyed, they’re often stored for hundreds of years.

The town of Tiberias is a popular tourist destination, known for its natural hot springs.

Located on the border of Syria, tourists have a clear view of eastern part of the country from the hills near Tiberias.

Click here for a complete list of posts about Israel.

It’s not often that I completely disconnect from the wired world, regardless of where I’m traveling, but on my recent trip to Israel, it simply wasn’t logistically possible to post to my blog each day, as I’ve done on every other trip. It wasn’t a vacation, or a media trip — I participated in a program called Taglit-Birthright Israel, which offers a completely free trip to Israel for young adults (18-26) of Jewish descent. As I’ve just about reached the upper age limit, this was my last year of eligibility. Like many other participants, I’ve become secular enough that many of my friends and professional colleagues didn’t even know that I was Jewish, and one of Taglit’s objectives is to help young Jews reconnect with their heritage, and Israel.

I plan to use the next week or two to share some of Israel’s attractions, but please keep in mind that this blog’s roots are certainly not political — it’s really just about cool tech, incredible places, and good food. I’m going to do my best to avoid commenting on the political situation altogether, instead focusing on Israel as a tourist destination. Many other tourists I met weren’t Jewish, and my trip wasn’t religious or political in nature (like the four photos I chose to display here). So, if you care to discuss Israel’s politics, please send me an email, rather than posting a comment here. Because the trip’s objective was far detached from Middle East politics, and access to media was hard to come by, I wasn’t even able to closely follow the events in Egypt until I arrived in Europe, despite being so close to the border.

I hope you enjoy seeing Israel through my eyes — I had an incredible time, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that spending two weeks without Internet was incredibly difficult.

Yesterday I was in Paris, today I’m in Wyoming — and it’s incredible. Jackson Hole is a popular ski destination for West Coasters, but the powder-loving New Yorkers I know tend to head to Vail instead. The Jackson, WY airport (JAC) is quite possibly the tiniest airport I’ve flown into — there isn’t a single jet bridge — but the airport’s size is an excellent representation of the Jackson experience. Don’t get me wrong, tourists certainly outnumber locals in Jackson Hole, but the resort town has managed to attract tourists while maintaining a small town feel, without the overwhelming commercialism found at other North American ski resorts. There’s a Dairy Queen downtown — not a Cheesecake Factory, or Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville — along with a slew of local joints serving game meats, like buffalo and elk.

Initial impressions:

- It was 10 degrees when I landed, but felt like 40 — the dry air really makes a difference.
- The locals are incredibly nice — our taxi driver from the airport even pulled over several times to point out elk and a bald eagle.
- Tomorrow will be awesome — people coming off the mountain were incredibly enthusiastic about the ski conditions, and snow tonight means fresh powder in the morning.

Planning a trip to the thermosphere on Virgin Galactic? Me too! (Just as soon as Sir Richard offers a press trip.) If you’re ready to pony up the $200,000 airfare (that’s roundtrip, including taxes and a rocket fuel surcharge), then head on over to Kayak.com to book! Simply type “50m” and “90n” in the from and to fields, respectively, select departure and return on the same date, click “first” class (to the right of the number of travelers field), and hit the search button. Unfortunately, you can’t actually book your flight through Kayak — clicking “Select” on the flight details page simply redirects you to Virgin Galactic’s website.

Since your flight into space departs and returns on the same day, spend the night at the Stratosphere (in Vegas) — click the strategically placed “Stratosphere Discounts” link just above the Galactic flight results, bringing your total package price to $200,150. Or, you can add dinner and a show in Vegas for just $50 more (per person), for a grand total of $400,250, assuming you’re planning to bring a friend on your flight 50 miles above the earth’s surface.

The fine print: As you can see from the aircraft description, you’ll be flying on a “Regional Jet,” so board early to avoid gate checking your luggage. Also, you may not have enough time to use the restroom during your 6-minute layover at 50M (see flight details), so take advantage of the facilities at Spaceport America (90N) before boarding.

(Via Jetset Farryn and Mashable.com)

I’m going to start this post off with a disclaimer: I’m not a huge fan of mass-produced organized group tours to begin with, but unless you rent a car during your visit to Hawaii, a tour may be your only option if you want to explore the islands. Hawaii is no fun in the rain, and as it rained for half of my visit last week, I had no choice but to book a tour on a day when rain was in the forecast. When we woke up on Wednesday, however, the rain was much heavier than anticipated, with powerful winds. Based on these conditions, the tour company (Discover Hawaii Tours) should absolutely have cancelled our outdoor “Polynesian Cultural Center and Deluxe Circle Island Tour,” and offered a refund of the $89.99 per person tour price. The tour company refused, however (though a representative did offer to allow us to reschedule when our bus arrived more than 15 minutes late — unfortunately, our flight was scheduled for the next day).

Click the “read more” link for more photos, along with my review of the tour, as submitted to (though not yet displayed on) DiscoverHawaiiTours.com.

As submitted to DiscoverHawaiiTours.com: “I went on tour 13A last week along with my mother and sister, but because of heavy rain and the tour company’s “no cancellations/no refunds” policy, we wasted an entire day of our short Hawaiian vacation. I first attempted to cancel our tour when I heard about the weather forecast the day before. The representative refused. Then, when our bus wasn’t there 15 minutes after the scheduled pick-up time, the representative still refused to issue a refund, despite very heavy rain and clearly displeased customers (my family). The tour company offered to allow us to reschedule, but our flight back to New York was scheduled for the next day.

Tour 13A is almost entirely outdoors, so great weather is key. And judging by the incredibly thin crowds at the Polynesian Cultural Center, other tour companies made the right call to cancel their tours — you do NOT want to visit the Polynesian Center in the rain. With perfect weather, I would have probably rated the tour 3.5/5. The Polynesian Cultural Center doesn’t live up to all the hype (it reminds me of a small town renaissance festival), the food in the economy section of my plane on the flight home was of much higher quality than what was available at the buffet lunch, and the Dole “Plantation” is little more than a roadside pineapple-themed shopping center (though the pineapple ice cream was great).”

A young pineapple plant.

Tourists on Sunset Beach on O’ahu’s North Shore.

Entrance to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Our guide passes time at the Polynesian Cultural Center by telling stories in the rain.

Tourists watch a show in the rain at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Byodo-In Japanese Temple near the Polynesian Cultural Center.