Website on small town tourism

I have a wonderful treat for you this Friday - SmallWander.com.  They have such a cool idea!  They are compiling a list of great small towns in the US with the idea that a lot of people are interested in small town tourism.  You know – people who live in larger cities might like to get a taste of small town life for a break.  They’ve started with a focus on North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, and they plan to eventually provide information nationwide.  Do you know of a great small town (“fewer than 10,000 people that have smalltown charm, are walkable and have historic, artistic, and natural offerings“)?  Tell them about it!

The world’s greatest rip-offs

Check out the Backpacker’s blog at the Sydney Morning Herald – there’s a neat post about the world’s greatest rip-offs.  These rip-offs include:

1. The train to the Sydney airport
2. The Taj Mahal
3. Gondola rides in Venice
4. The Eiffel Tower elevator

TTT: Ladies, pack a Chilly Jilly

This Travel Tip Tuesday is for the ladies.  Packing a Chilly Jilly is an excellent idea for any occasion.  What’s a Chilly Jilly?  It’s a wrap made of a special lightweight, no wrinkle fabric that packs up into a teeny bag.  I was very grateful to have mine this past weekend when I got a bit cold during a couple of wedding events.  Those traveling to warm locales might use the Chilly Jilly as a cover up or an emergency beach blanket. 

 

Reminder: 32nd Annual Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival

Tomorrow is the big day for Lazy Daze of 2008.  According to the Town of Cary, about 60,000 people gather for the festival.  If you’re attending, park at the Cary Town Hall parking deck or take the shuttle over from Cary Towne Center.  I am appalled that I will, once again, miss this festival.   Arrg!  Maybe next year.  If you go, let me know how it turns out!

Image from Blue Skies Ahead.

Blog fun: Stuck in Customs

If you didn’t follow my link to Stuck in Customs yesterday, you should definitely check it out.  The blogger, Trey Ratcliff, is an amazing photographer who has a goal of sharing one amazing photo per day on his blog.  Here are a few of my favorites:

TTT: Paris on the “cheap”

This Tuesday, check out How to leave Paris happy, not broke, a CNN article with lots of advice about saving money in Paris.  Here are some of the best tips:

1. Skip paying to go up the Eiffel Tower.  Instead, have an impromptu picnic dinner to see the light show.
2. For a great view of the city, climb to the top of Montmartre (yeah, climb – it’s steep!) and sit on the steps of Sacre Coeur.  You won’t be alone – it’s a popular spot.
3. If money is super tight, research when the museums you want to visit have free entry.  I say “super tight” because the museums are likely to be really crowded on those days.  Regardless, take your student ID if you have one.
4. If you like independent touring and don’t mind something a tiny bit dangerous, check out Velib, the city’s new bike rental system.  I say dangerous because they don’t include helmets in the rental.  Eek!

News: Future of cruise ships

Check out this post on Tripso: Is the cruise ship building party over?  It contains some interesting information about where the various cruise lines stand right now – including that Norwegian is in the red.  Eek!

Travel (and other) funnies on NotAlwaysRight.com

This is not entirely travel related, but, if you want a good laugh, check out NotAlwaysRight.com.  Here is one story about passing through airport security, just to give you a taste of what the website’s content is like:

(While passing through airport security, a passenger’s bag needs to be pulled because the x-ray operator sees an obvious big bottle of water when the limit is 3.4 oz.)
Me: “Whose bag is this?”
Passenger: “Oh! Oh! Oohhh! It’s mine! Is there something wrong?”
Me: “I just need to take a quick look inside, ma’am. This shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.”
Passenger: “Well, hurry. I think they’re boarding my plane.”
(I open her bag and find the bottle almost immediately. She gasps as I pull it out.)
Me: “Ma’am, I’m afraid you cannot have this beyond this point.”
Passenger: “Why not? I just bought it, and it’s unopened!”
Me: “Ma’am, the rules clearly state that you cannot have any liquids over 3.4 oz in your carry on. If you’d like to, you could–”
Passenger: “But that’s not a liquid!”
Me: “Excuse me, ma’am?”
Passenger: “It’s not a liquid! It’s water! W-A-T-E-R! You know, H-2-O? For the love of God, don’t they hire anyone with more than a grade school education for security?”

For other travel related gems, click here, here, here, here, and here.

Dancing in airports

I just read something hilarious over at the Lonely Planet blog – Dee Dee Luxe says Paris airports Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Orly have instituted complimentary dance lessons at the international terminals to stretch your legs and lighten you up!  They also have free light therapy.  Wow!

TTT: MileCards

So you think you want an air miles credit card?  Head over to MileCards to find your best match.  They keep track of the best airline, air miles, travel rewards, and hotel credit cards and have categories for various types of “best” cards.

Best Overall Card: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express
Best Major Airline Card: Gold Delta SkyMiles American Express
Best Introductory Offer Card: Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard

Pretty neat, eh?  They even offer advice about pairs of travel rewards credit cards!

TTT: Travel Tip Tuesday