The travel stories we liked and clicked this week:

     • The folks at Tripl shared a very persuasive infographic about the role of social media in travel. 
     • Gwyneth Paltrow and friends gave their insider tips on how to pack  for work trips, city breaks and beach vacations without checking luggage. (Does anyone check luggage anymore?) 
     • Vogue unveiled part one of the annual Summer Travel Diaries, with entries from swoon-worthy Blake Mycoskie of TOMS shoes, Kate Bosworth, Alexa Chung, Alek Wek and the Libertine’s Johnson Hartig.
     • So far, so glued to the Olympics, but our favorite moment of the week happened outside the arenas. In case you missed it, here’s London mayor Boris Johnson marking Great Britain’s first gold medal with celebratory whizz (ish) down a zip line.
     • One of the stranger additions to the Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors summer series, tonight is the US premier of the Kimmo Pohjonen & Helsinki Nelson’s Accordion Wrestling. Exactly as it sounds, the dance-theater piece features men wrestling to the sound of an accordion. Catch it tonight or tomorrow.
     • Monday marks Jamaica’s 50th independence anniversary, so we’re saying happy birthday with a deals at three of our favorite properties: Round Hill, Jamaica Inn and Jakes Hotel.
     • And finally, our editor-in-chief Kate Maxwell shares her insider tips for exploring East London — while riding a Boris bike no less.