There are lots of great travel stories this week, and I’m envious that a lot of my pals are currently on the road. It’s a perfect time to enjoy their travels vicariously, though, so I hope you’ll take time to see what these great travel writers are up to.
UpUpnAAway is off to exotic Dubai to meet up with her husband. She’ll be on the road for several weeks and explains how she packs everything she needs using the bundle method. Everyone has a packing preference, but if you’re struggling to fit everything in, this post offers some good suggestions.- Musings of the Global Traveler answers questions about elite frequent flyer status. If you want the best airline experience, status matters.
- PlanetEye Traveler – Boston has a list of 25 FREE things to do in Boston. In an otherwise expensive city, it’s nice to find some fun, family friendly suggestions that are also free.
- Flight Wisdom attempts to decipher and explain bereavement and emergency fares. Not every airline has them, and they’re often not great deals, so give this a read before you need to know the info.
- Sharing Travel Experiences talks about the concept of serendipity while traveling. Good advice and suggestions on how to just let be and let happen.
- Vagabondish has a beautiful photo of La Tossa de Montbui in Catalonia, Spain.
- The Perrin Post shares with us those “secret” booking codes that will help get great deals on luxury hotels. I know a lot of people that swear by this method, having great luck, but it’s never worked for me. I’m open to a tutoring lesson!
- Travel Savvy Mom discovers how you can love books and love the Kindle, too. I’m a Kindle fan for pretty much the same reasons that Kayt outlines.
- PlanetEye Traveler – Washington DC offers tips for enjoying DC’s Cherry Blossom Festival. Despite some pretty horrible weather, they promise to be spectacular.
- Eyeflare introduces us to the ghost town of Ruby, Arizona. I love little towns, and especially ghost towns like this, so Ruby is going on the to-see list for next time I’m in the Tucson area.
- italy MONDO has a nice explanation about the wines of Sicily. Let’s see. . . Italy and wine. . . two of my favorite subjects, so it’s no wonder this post caught my eye!
- The Vacation Gals keep with the wine topic with a review of a travel-sized wine wand. This is a great gadget for travelers who like opening a bottle while on the road!. It’s a giveaway, too, so head over to enter before the contest closes on March 16th.
- World Hum talks about the intriguing (or annoying, depending on your view) concept of place-dropping. No A-lister, celeb names dropped in this group, just marvelously exotic and compelling destinations.
- Europe up Close explains the cafe culture of Athens. It’s one of the great parts of travel, having a cup amongst the locals, watching the world go by, and deciding what to do or see next.
- Wandermelon introduces us to the modern side of Mexico City, a good reminder of how the old and the new co-exist in the cosmopolitan city. Long on my list of places to visit, I keep asking myself why I haven’t gotten there yet.
- PlanetEye Traveler – Los Angeles gives us an ethnic tour of Sawtelle Boulevard, explaining its thriving Asian community of shops and restaurants. Try one of the recommendations.
- Consumer Traveler explores the increasingly common practice of requiring co-payments for using frequent flyer upgrades. Enough of these fees already!
- Gadling list the 25 greatest cities in the world for drinking wine. Two Washington locations were on the list – Walla Walla, which makes perfect sense, and Bellingham, which I’m still scratching my head about.
That’s my reading list for this Sunday. I hope you’ll take a little time out of your day to explore what these writers have to say. And hey – tell them MJ sent you!
Photo credit: SXC
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My husband and I had tickets to fly up to NY for our nieces wedding. 2 week before my sister-in-law’s cancer came back in her liver. On the last day before she died we knew it was close we were trying to get a flight out asap. We called Delta explained our situation they asked for proof. My husband gave them the number to the Hospital to confirm and they did. They still charged us $600.00 to change our flight 1 way. I am sorry but I don’t agree with anyone who sides with the airline! It is dispicable that they charge an outrageous amount for an emergency!! They charge for every other thing on top of that they can at the very least have compassion for those who have true emergencies and need to change or get a flight out asap. That is true to the person that said they have a bussiness to run but guess what, they wouldn’t have a bussiness without their customers!!! Bernadette
[Reply]
Mary Jo Manzanares Reply:
September 7th, 2010 at 7:44 am
@Bernadette LaSorsa,
Your comment really deals with two issues: burdensome bereavement fares and the pricing of fares in general.
I’ve fortunately never had to deal with bereavement travel. From what I’m told, however, they really aren’t any bargains. I’ve heard that there are a variety of techniques that people have tried, from showing up at the airport and standing by for the first available flight (sometimes with a more modest change fee) to taking the ticket to another airline to see if they will honor it. Travel agents repeatedly tell me that this is the type of emergency that they can help with, but that is missed when travelers book direct. I don’t know what the answer is, but it seems to be a problem with all the airlines, not just Delta.
As for airline pricing in general: We’re in a world of ala carte pricing. Why? Because travelers said that they didn’t want to pay for services that they didn’t use. So the airlines gave travelers exactly what they asked for — a base price with add ons. Instead of loving the change, though, travelers mourn the days when all those things were free (they were never free, they were just included in the price).
While I’m a fan of all-inclusive pricing, it would mean that prices would increase. That seems to be a deal breaker for most people. This is a case of be careful what you ask for it, because you might get it.
[Reply]