Our inaugural daily travel roundup posting! A sampling of the day's most interesting travel articles, announcements, and blog posts.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Lonely Planet's Top 10 Destination Picks for 2010
According to Lonely Planet, the Top 10 Best Value Destinations for 2010 travel are:
10. Iceland
9. South Africa
8. London
7. Las Vegas
6. Kenya
5. Thailand
4. Malaysia
3. India
2. Bulgaria
1. Mexico
From this list, I've had the privilege of visiting London and Vegas. And I love them both. London offers a more traditional vacation, while Vegas is nothing short of a party. In fact, we'll be returning to Vegas in April. Hope to post some thoughts on our Vegas trip planning in the next few weeks.
Where have you been? Favorites?
10. Iceland
9. South Africa
8. London
7. Las Vegas
6. Kenya
5. Thailand
4. Malaysia
3. India
2. Bulgaria
1. Mexico
From this list, I've had the privilege of visiting London and Vegas. And I love them both. London offers a more traditional vacation, while Vegas is nothing short of a party. In fact, we'll be returning to Vegas in April. Hope to post some thoughts on our Vegas trip planning in the next few weeks.
Where have you been? Favorites?
Happy New Year
Welcome to the 2010! Usually I ring in the New Years at a concert in New York; Phish, String Cheese, moe... But this year as a new Chicago resident, I decided to do something more low key. Alex and I headed to the restaurant Folklore in our local neighborhood of Wicker Park. Folklore is the sister of well known Tango Sur of Lincoln Park fame, an Argentine steakhouse. Folklore shares the same menu; however, unlike Tango Sur (which is BYOB) offers a full bar and specialty cocktails. Folklore also accepts reservations, which TS does not.
Yelp boasted strong reviews, but other food critics offered some criticism. We approached the dinner with some quality intel, believing we'd make the most of our meal regardless. Our friends recommended we stick to the Argentinian specialties, and avoid the filet.
We started with the empanadas, beef and chicken, they were fabulous and served with a dipping sauce of oil, garlic, and parsley, a great accompaniment. Our salads were too simple, lettuce, onion and tomatoes, served with oil and vinegar. Would have been better off without them.
For our entree we ordered the Vacio Parrillada. A big slab of meat for two served on a tabletop grill. Alex thought the meat was far too fatty. I wasn't thrilled, but was enjoying my evening enough to ignore the meat quality. The bill rang in at just over $80 without tip, and including a bottle of pinot noir.
My vote is 2.5/5 stars. I'll go back for the mojitos, excellent empanadas, nice atmosphere, and great location. But I'd rather grill the steak myself at home.
Yelp boasted strong reviews, but other food critics offered some criticism. We approached the dinner with some quality intel, believing we'd make the most of our meal regardless. Our friends recommended we stick to the Argentinian specialties, and avoid the filet.
We started with the empanadas, beef and chicken, they were fabulous and served with a dipping sauce of oil, garlic, and parsley, a great accompaniment. Our salads were too simple, lettuce, onion and tomatoes, served with oil and vinegar. Would have been better off without them.
For our entree we ordered the Vacio Parrillada. A big slab of meat for two served on a tabletop grill. Alex thought the meat was far too fatty. I wasn't thrilled, but was enjoying my evening enough to ignore the meat quality. The bill rang in at just over $80 without tip, and including a bottle of pinot noir.
My vote is 2.5/5 stars. I'll go back for the mojitos, excellent empanadas, nice atmosphere, and great location. But I'd rather grill the steak myself at home.
Folklore Chicago 2.5 Stars; Photo (C) Stevenjohnsonphotography
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The Caribbean: An affordable, rustic vacation for camping lovers
Doesn't this campground in St. John just look beautiful? Affordable too.
St. John, The Caribbean; Photo (c) NYT
Cinnamon Bay Campground - St. John, $684-88/night for a Tent; Photo (c) NYT
St. John, The Caribbean; Photo (c) NYT
Cinnamon Bay Campground - St. John, $684-88/night for a Tent; Photo (c) NYTAfrican Safari: Airfare
Here's the plan. 2 travelers, 12 days, 7 days of PTO, and a $5K budget. Once I had my mind set on South Africa I realized nearly half my budget was going towards airfare. Piggybacking off a federal holiday (President's Day) it was easy to outline the international flights which would serve as the backbone for our trip.
There are several carriers with routes to South Africa, and the majority fly into Johannesburg through either Atlanta or Washington DC. We settled on Delta. It had the most convenient schedules with one of the lowest costs. South African Airlines was the runner up, but I wanted to keep both my segments (ORD->ATL->JNB) on the same carrier in case we had any delays/interruptions. Its always easier to fix and negotiate changes when these trips are booked on a single carrier.
Unfortunately, I don't usually fly Delta so the 18,000 miles I'll accumulate this trip are headed towards a virgin Delta Sky Miles account which I just created. I'll have to prioritize Delta next year so I can round out a free award flight, after all I'm only 6k miles away now.
Had another encounter with the ominous Secure Flight program. Lucky me, my boyfriend has an abbreviated name, Alex, and being overwhelmed fact checking the dates/times/destinations, I almost forgot to use the proper 'Alexander' for his ticket.
For all you Alex's, Dave's, and Susie's out there, make sure you use your formal names (as printed on your passport or gov't ID) when booking flights in 2010. Check here for the rules.
In the end my round trip trip from Chicago to Jo'burg was just over $1,000 per person. This seemed pretty reasonable for a vacation in February (Africa's high season), with 4 months advance booking.
With the bookends to our trip confirmed, the fun stuff begins.
Delta here we come; Photo (c) Coleman Center
There are several carriers with routes to South Africa, and the majority fly into Johannesburg through either Atlanta or Washington DC. We settled on Delta. It had the most convenient schedules with one of the lowest costs. South African Airlines was the runner up, but I wanted to keep both my segments (ORD->ATL->JNB) on the same carrier in case we had any delays/interruptions. Its always easier to fix and negotiate changes when these trips are booked on a single carrier.
Unfortunately, I don't usually fly Delta so the 18,000 miles I'll accumulate this trip are headed towards a virgin Delta Sky Miles account which I just created. I'll have to prioritize Delta next year so I can round out a free award flight, after all I'm only 6k miles away now.
Had another encounter with the ominous Secure Flight program. Lucky me, my boyfriend has an abbreviated name, Alex, and being overwhelmed fact checking the dates/times/destinations, I almost forgot to use the proper 'Alexander' for his ticket.
For all you Alex's, Dave's, and Susie's out there, make sure you use your formal names (as printed on your passport or gov't ID) when booking flights in 2010. Check here for the rules.
In the end my round trip trip from Chicago to Jo'burg was just over $1,000 per person. This seemed pretty reasonable for a vacation in February (Africa's high season), with 4 months advance booking.
With the bookends to our trip confirmed, the fun stuff begins.
Delta here we come; Photo (c) Coleman CenterWednesday, December 30, 2009
Newfound Money
Usually when I get a raise, a bonus, a Christmas check from mom, the cash winds up right in my checking account, and before I know it it's paying off this month's credit card bill. The excitement of new found money is oh so fleeting. Last month, when a generous $5k found its way to my pocket, I decided I was going to blow the whole thing on something fun.
It didn't take long to realize I'd be planning a vacation. Last year I got lucky with Birthright, a full two weeks all-expenses paid trip to Israel, it was like winning the lottery. In '08 I cashed in on some airline miles to visit a friend in Paris with a hop over to Amsterdam. Every year there's a new angle, a new destination, but every year there's travel, the world at my fingertips.
and this year its South Africa.
Cape Town; Photo (c) Cape Town Lodgings
It didn't take long to realize I'd be planning a vacation. Last year I got lucky with Birthright, a full two weeks all-expenses paid trip to Israel, it was like winning the lottery. In '08 I cashed in on some airline miles to visit a friend in Paris with a hop over to Amsterdam. Every year there's a new angle, a new destination, but every year there's travel, the world at my fingertips.
and this year its South Africa.
Cape Town; Photo (c) Cape Town LodgingsHello cyberspace
Here I am, another ordinary person taking a stab at cyberspace, for no other reason than to pass the time. I'm not a particularly good writer, so I can't promise poetry and I do hope Blogger has spell check. I don't have any super powers, I can't cook like Julie Childs or teach makeup lessons to the world. I simply want an outlet to write my thoughts, organize my travel diaries, and connect with fellow adventurers, if you're out there...
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