Roundup: Delays in snowy Europe; Elvis birthday events at Graceland; Vail skiier becomes butt of jokes

Good morning! If you find yourself in a traffic jam today, just be thankful you’re not stuck on a train in very cold Italy — or on a ski lift in Colorado, for that matter. Read on for the latest from these locations, as well as to learn what’s cooking for the coming birthday weekend of none other than the King, Elvis Presley.

Europe | It’s subfreezing in Europe, and “exceptional” amounts of snowfall have created travel troubles, according to the Associated Press. On Wednesday, airports in Milan suffered delays and even brief closures; trains were delayed in northwestern Italy; and trains and buses were stopped and highways closed in parts of France. But in Rome, the unusual cold came with a silver lining for primates — zookeepers fed them a “special breakfast of warm barley porridge, croissants and cookies to make sure they had enough calories to keep up their body temperatures,” as reported in the AP piece.

Elvis | The Mississippi-born King’s birthday (Elvis was born Jan. 8, 1935) will be celebrated at Graceland this coming weekend. The four-day celebration at Elvis Central in Memphis, Tenn., will take place Jan. 8 to 11 and will include a ceremony hosted by Priscilla Presley, family-friendly  activities such as a scavenger hunt, a chance to dance to Elvis hits at a nighttime Club Elvis, special Graceland tours and lots more. If there’s no way you can hit that Long Lonely Highway for a trip to TN yourself, tune into the sounds of Elvis online, on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Ski-lift mishap | The headline says it all, really: “No Ski Bum Jokes, Please: Man Gets Stuck Upside-Down, Bare-Bottomed on Colorado Ski Lift.” This unfortunate 48-year-old skier was attempting to get on a lift at Vail Resorts in Colorado when his pants — and underwear — were left tangled in the chair. The rest of his pantless self ended up dangling by a ski boot for seven minutes, until his rescue. We hope the man, unnamed in media reports, will soon be able to leave this likely embarrassing incident, er, behind him.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Shopper at Graceland. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 8:38 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Europe, France, Good Morning, Italy, News, Tips & Advice, Ski & Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.