It’s been a busy week for travelers, with increases in checked baggage charges, crazy passenger antics, and reports that travel will probably not be rebounding much in 2010.    Those dedicated to travel still keep traveling, and writing about it, giving us lots to read this week:

• Intelligent Travel says farewell to Butterstick.  Four and a half years ago this baby panda captured our hearts, and now it’s time for her to head off to her permanent home in China.
• Travellious reminds us that we don’t have to stay in a hotel when we travel.  I’m a hotel gal, but there are lots of other options to consider.
• PlanetEye Traveler – LA takes us to the beautiful Huntington gardens and library.  This is one of my favorite places – a great respite in the middle of a huge city.
• HotelClub Travel Blog gives us some quirky attractions worth a visit.
• Where I’ve Been directs our attention to five overlooked European cities that are worth a visit in 2010.  Bologna is on my radar scope for this summer.
• Wandering Off, new to my feed reader, has suggestions to help parents overcome the dreaded air sickness incident.  These are good tips!  And I would add, don’t get angry with your child.  Yelling at a child for getting sick is just silly, and only makes the child feel worse.
• Chicago Tribune Travel reports on a way to get around those pesky baggage fees – visit a clothing optional destination.  Before you think this is for the young and wild, take a look at the gray-haired folks in that photo.
• PlanetEye Traveler – Amsterdam tells us where the wealthy live.  Good info to file away for your next visit.
• My Marrakesh is shopping in Kabul again, and takes us along with her beautiful photos.  I want to go shopping with her!
• Sharing Travel Experiences explains why everyone should carry a travel journal.  For travel writers and bloggers, it’s an obvious suggestion, but I love the comment that the journal itself becomes a souvenir.  I love journals, and am always picking up one for my next trip.
• My Bella Vita suggest reasons to visit Calabria, and since it’s on my plans for my Italy trip, I read with interest.
• Consumer Traveler offers some defensive packing tips.  Packing is one of those things that I’m good at, rarely taking too much, and I can personally attest that these are some good suggestions.  Oh, and if you can’t lift or carry around your bag – check it!
• PlanetEye Traveler – St. Petersburg tells us about an exhibit of French posters at the Hermitage.  The museum is one of many great reasons to visit this city.
• AAA Travel Views has a good primer on getting a passport for your child.  I’ve been helping someone with this task recently, and it pays to have all your ducks in a row.
• Sosauce has an interview with one of my favorite bloggers, Andy Hayes.   I have the privilege to work with Andy as PlanetEye’s expert on Edinburgh.  He’s a consummate professional, and I’m looking forward to meeting him when he visits Seattle in a few months.
• Camels & Chocolates has photos from Safari West, a game reserve in California.  I’ve been wondering if it’s a suitable trip to take a young child.
• Off to Europe, another blog that I’ve discovered, has a list of Europe’s greatest public parks.  It’s a great list of places to grab a little beauty along with your solitude.
• PlanetEye Traveler – Washington DC gives us a glimpse at an upcoming Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit at the Phillips.  This fascinating artist is one of the prominent women artists of our times.
• Luxury Resort Travel at Suite 101 details some fabulous (and exclusive) wine trips.  I love wine travel, so these definitely caught my eye.
• Luxuo details the largest book in the world, now on display at the British Library.  It’s a 1660 atlas made for Charles II of England.
• Germ-phobes take note.  Tripbase has a list of the 10 cleanest streets in the world.

That’s it for this week.  It was fun discovering a few new blogs and adding them to my reading list.  If you know of a travel blog that I’ve yet to discover, please leave the name and link in the comments.  And, as always, I invite you to check out what these travel bloggers had to say – and please tell them that MJ sent you!

Photo credit: SXC