Before you RSVP to that family reunion in Paducah, Kentucky, this summer, make sure to consider your options.

• Helping elders clean food out of their dentures or chasing a roll of cheese down a hill in England?
• Babysitting the kids table or jumping over a row of babies in Spain?
• Listen to your aunts and uncles carrying on about their wonderful kids or attend the wife carrying world championships in Finland?

Catch my drift? There is a lot to do this summer around the world and it is cheaper than ever to get there thanks to the poor economy.

Here are a few options:

The Baby Jumping Festival, Castrillo de Murcia, Spain, June 11-15

Stretching back to 1620, men dress up like the devil and jump over a row of babies in the street to “cleanse” them of evil. The event is held every year in honor of Corpus Christi, but the tradition has evolved as I’m not sure if the devil ever wore Nikes.

Wife Carrying World Championships, Sonkajärvi, Finland, July 4

This Is Called Estonian Style

While on the subject of putting family members in danger, the Wife Carrying World Championships gives husbands the opportunity to carry their wives (or their neighbor’s wife or another female) around a course upside down. The wife must be wearing a helmet at all times and teams are punished 15 seconds for every “drop.” Former participants include the legendary Dennis Rodman.

La Pourcailhade, Trie Sur Baise, France, August

Come on…who needs horse racing when you can watch short, stubby-legged swine race around the track at less-than-amazing speeds? In addition to the race, la Pourcailhade includes a pig imitation contest with costume and noise requirements (including mimicking reproduction) and a pork-sausage eating contest. I don’t want to hazard a guess at what happens to the pigs that lose the race.

La Tomatina, Valencia, Spain, the last Wednesday of August each year

This giant food fight held in Bunol, a small town near Valencia, is the cream of the crop when it comes to summer festivals. The tomatoes at la Tomatina are specially grown for the occasion and people are supposed to squash the tomato before throwing to prevent injury. All in all, it is a crazy good time with the favorite target being the camera guys who are there filming the event.

Cheese Rolling Festival, Gloucestershire, U.K., May 25, 2009

Often rainy and still a bit cool, truckloads of people head to Gloucestershire to watch people chase a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a very steep hill. What’s worse is that to compete in the race, you have to climb up the hill right before heading back down. And don’t worry women who pine for cheese, there is a separate ladies race as well.

So what are you doing this summer?

Wife Carrying Photo Credit: jurveston on Flickr

La Tomatina Photo Credit: grahammclellan on Flickr

Chug-a-lug people. St. Pat’s day is almost here so you know what that means? Green beer, embarrassing photos, thrown worshiping and that artistic way of speaking English known as the belligerent slur. Which countries around the world pound the most creative juice each year?

According to an international survey, Luxembourg easily takes the cake for the most alcohol consumed per capita in a year: 15.5 liters. Closely followed by France, Ireland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic who all clock in over 12 liters per person per year. Very impressive!

Let us give a round of applause, or shots, to the top 5 countries while we take a gander at the 15 followers:

6) Spain
7) Denmark
8) Portugal
9) United Kingdom
10) Austria
11) Switzerland
12) Belgium
13) Germany
14) Australia
15) Netherlands
16) Finland
17) South Korea
18) Greece
19) New Zealand
20) United States

It’s no surprise that the U.S. hits all the way down at #20. The U.S is 1 of 6 countries who’s legal consumption age is over 20:

1) Fiji – 21
2) India – up to 25 (depends on state)
3) Micronesia
4) Pakistan – 21 (non-muslim)
5) Palau – 21
6) U.S. – 21

Please drink responsibly while searching through your lawn.

Photo Credit: wickenden on Flickr

One of the most obvious perils of travel is often the least expected – the toilet. We worry about packing the right clothes and securing the proper visas, but we often forget about the under-appreciated toilets that we rely on so heavily.

Just to make sure you aren’t left hanging in your time of need, we’ve done a little research about different toilet facilities around the world.

France: Public toilets aren’t as plentiful in France as they are in the U.S. and some come in the form of pay-as-you-go enclosed large metal pods in the middle of public parks. You shouldn’t have much of a problem locating one as toilet in French is toilettes, but some may be marked W.C. You may have to do a little detective work to find flush mechanism though, about.com says that it can be difficult to find.

Japan: Many public toilets in Japan take the same shape and form as modern U.S. toilets, however some  traditional “squat-style” toilets are still in use. Just check to see if your toilet is a bidet toilet, which are much more popular in Japan than the U.S. and feature a cleansing stream of water after use. There are however many Japanese toilet features that are much more advanced than in the U.S., including a seat warmer, massage options and blow dryer all controlled wirelessly.  Often times the sink is also combined with the toilet, so don’t be scared if you see it stacked on the back of the toilet.

Australia: Australian toilets were made famous in an episode of The Simpson’s for spinning counter-clockwise. However, that isn’t the case as Australians are actually leading the pack when it comes to eco-friendly toilets thanks to the Australian inventor of the dual flush toilet. Check out the story here and the video here. And if you are out-and-about and need a toilet, make sure you have your handy government-issued public toilet map.

Finland: If you want clean, modern U.S.-style toilets, park your rear in Finland. Called a W.C. like in France, Finnish public toilets sometimes cost a few coins to use, but some pod-like toilets are self-cleaning and the rest are maintained regularly. The cool thing about Finnish toilets is that if you need to use one of the roadside toilets, you must send a text message to the road association to have them unlocked. This keeps them cleaner and helps prevent vandalism.

Peru: If you are going to Peru, you may want to stash a few rolls of TP in your bag. Toilet paper is not as popular in Peru as it is in the U.S. and when you can find it, you either have to pay for it or you’re looking at something similar to sandpaper. And don’t think about flushing your TP. The pipes in many places in Peru clog often, so look for a bin near the toilet or just toss it on the ground. Look for signs that say baño or S.H.

Final Thoughts: Keep in mind that many European countries often charge to use their toilets, so keep some change in your pocket. I’m not recommending Depends, but it might be a good back-up in a pinch.

There you go folks. Keep this guide handy and I am taking requests for countries for the second installment.

Squat Toilet Photo Credit: TimTak on Flickr

Japanese Toilet Photo Credit: angeloangelo on Flickr