Featured Member Blog Posts – November 2011 Archive (44)

This is the city that has everything: shopping, culture, sports, entertainment and good food. And the best part is that most attractions in London is gathered in the center. The best way to get to know the city is to walk, since there are an awful lot to see. You may want to take a neighborhood per day, preferably Leicester Square, Soho, Westminster and the City of London.

If you have a lot of activities planned in different parts of the center, the subway, or the “tube”, is the best…

Hace poco tuve el placer de otra bonita visita a esta preciosa ciudad patrimonio de la humanidad UNESCO, y aunque en mis muchos viajes por el mundo muchísimas personas nativas me han pedido (y una vez literalmente exigido a punta de cuchillo) dinero, esta ocasión, como dirían mis…

How Tourism Ireland Won Top Social Media Prize



Luck of the Irish?



Hardly.



It was no surprise to us when Tourism Ireland  was tapped as…

Oh sure, there's Shakira, Paulina, Thalia, Camila, Juanes, Marc, Ricky, and other popular poppers, God bless 'em. But ay,  bendito, the sensation of the 12th annual Latin Grammy Awards earlier this month -- as it was at the same awards in 2009 -- was the Puerto Rican duo Calle 13, nominated for ten awards, and bringing home nine, breaking Colombian singer…

The world is now more accessible than ever before. Things you thoght weren't posiible now are, you just need the reight resources and assistance.

Twenty percent (62 million) of the U.S. population has some form of disability, and the number of these individuals is increasing daily. These people need to, want to, and can…

Muscadine is a type of grape mostly indigenous to the Southeastern United States but also found from Delaware down to Georgia and as far west as Texas. Not only do they grow best in humid climates within this region, their distillation into wine is exclusive to this area as well. The first European…

Cruize Cast Blog: A Cruise Podcast Full Blog with More Pictures

  When looking at the cost of a cruise in the Mediterranean, one of the largest expenses is shore…

When Travelers Become Transumers



Get comfortable with the term "Transumer,” because you’ll be hearing it often.



Correspondent Charlene Rook uses it in her informative articles in…

I am not ashamed to admit it I like to eat. and I prefer to eat really great food. My nickname when I worked on cruise ships was the food scout, and my book Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships is filled with vivid descriptions of the wonderful meals I have eaten across the globe. So when I heard that there was an all you can eat lobster buffet at Valley View casino - a small casino set in the mountains north of San Diego I knew that I had to go there. I know some people…

The Lure of Dark Tourism: Murder and Mayhem



Places like Cambodia’s Killing Fields,  Auschwitz, New York’s Ground Zero, or the Wolf’s Lair where Hitler barely survived an assassination attempt in 1944, exert a powerful pull on travelers.



But what’s…

Normally I tend to shy away from places you might term "tourist traps." And Puerto Vallarta has certainly had its bread plenty buttered by tourism -- in fact, it seems that half the city is geared toward freespending gringos. And yet... there's no doubt that PV is one of Mexico’smost popular…

IT'S NOT A CHEAP TICKET, BUT IT'S STILL A GOOD DEAL

“Premium Economy Class” is often an oxymoron, if not an outright lie. However, Air New Zealand's PE section in the big B777-300ER aircraft appears to be more premium than economy, so I was…

One important lesson I learned during my visit to St. Simons Island was how difficult it is to promote the use of locally sourced ingredients even in a region awash in native seafood, fruits, and vegetables. The more people seek out and demand better quality…

Hi all,

travelers to major cities want to take in excellent theater at bargain prices. If you're in NYC this weekend, you have got to check out this off-off Broadway piece at Astoria Performing Arts Center in Queens. Here's my review from The Queens Gazette newspaper:

A Hard Wall At High Speed: Powerful Play Hits Home …

Billions Spent, But Are We Any Safer?





In its usual witty, acerbic but always readable content, FastCompany  looks at the Transportation Security…

Besides pumpkins, apples are one of the most used ingredients in autumn recipes, and with all of the orchards around Virginia, we are certainly in no short supply of this delicious fruit. There is a humongous variety of apple-based recipes floating around the world wide web, so perhaps you’re having difficulty in locating the perfect dish. To lessen your stress and shorten your search time, enjoy one particularly delectable recipe (which can be found in Bob Greene’s The Get With the…

Occupy Business Class!

After more hours than I care to count sitting in the cookie cutter seats in economy class, I was pleasantly surprised today when Qatar airlines upgraded my wife and me to Business Class. I have not flown Business Class since I stopped working and an employer was buying my ticket. I had forgotten how much better it is to spend 7 hours in a fully reclining seat with incredibly good food and service beyond the pale.

The seat not only spread out to a flat…