I have a short list of travel posts this week, not because there was any shortage in great stuff, but because I had a little health scare that landed me in the emergency room.  I’ve spent a rather low key week as I’ve been nursing myself back to health, and so I just haven’t had the typical online time that I usually do.  Still, I think you’ll find plenty to like from these posts:

The Vacation Gals entreat the airlines and the FAA not to allow lap children.  The fares are cheap these days, but the costs add up.  Still, think about these issues before keeping your infant on your lap for your next flight.

Italy Mondo strike a chord near and dear to my heart, Italian food.

PlanetEye Traveler – Green Travel is talking about holiday travel.  Already!

Eyeflare has a nice primer on how to capture silhouettes in your travel photos.  Here’s one of the tips – turn off your flash!

Uncornered Market, making its first appearance in my list of favorites, lists the 7 habits of highly effective travelers.  How many can you count as yours?

Travel Savvy Mom, another first timer on my favorite list, tells why spending more money for an executive floor room can actually save you money.  I agree, and try to take that option whenever possible.

Intelligent Travel teases us once again with a very strange hotel, this one in a sewer pipe.

PlanetEye Traveler – London tell s the story of a neighborhood about to be demolished.  Residents of the building have put up portraits on the windows, a reminder of the real people who are impacted by this decision.

Cockpit Chronicles at Gadling attempts to help us understand why waiting in line on the runway is inevitable.

Travellious has some cool travel gear.  And besides that, Kelly is heading off to Italy.  (See Italy Mondo post above. . . again!)

LA Times lists some over-the-top promotions that hotels are trying.  Are you tempted by any of them?  The promotion that I want?  FREE internet access!

Seattle PI reminds me that there are hostels here in Seattle.

That’s it for this week.  Please stop by and say hi to this great group of travel bloggers – and tell them you read about them at Flyaway Cafe.

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Have you ever found a website that just sort of sucks you in and you waste too much time spend lots of time researching all the options you find there?

That’s how I feel about Friend Mosaic, in beta, a site that will take all you Twitter followers and create a mosaic photo of you.  Sounds strange, I know, all these photos of other people going to create a larger photo of you.  But it’s actually kind of cool.  So cool that I spent an hour or so playing around with it, using my own @twitter name as well as some of my friends.

The resulting photo here is a compilation of my 2,222 twitter followers.  Cool, huh?

You can follow me on Twitter:  @flyawaycafe.

Photo credit:  Friend Mosaic

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I hope you’re enjoying the long Labor Day Weekend, but also hope you’ll make some time to check out some of these great blog post from the past week.  It’s always hard to pick the best of the best, but these captured my attention this past week:

Up, Up, and A Gay, a recently discovered blog from another Flight Attendant, dishes about why we’re always dishing about work.  It’s true, too!

Los Angeles Times tries to makes sense of the security rule regarding exact name matchups.  There may be flexibility now, but what little there is will be going away soon.

The Venice Guide captured my attention again this week with a post about the etiquette of dining in Italy.  If you’re planning a trip there, give this post a once over.

Consumer Traveler enters the debate about travel agents being charged fees to book tickets on United.  No matter which side wins this battle, it’s us travelers who will wind up paying.

Gadling reviews a gadget with a name too long to remember.  Bottom line, though, is this little gem will help you get better wi-fi reception in hotels.

The Rio Guide gives suggestions for saving on your food budget by hitting up the right supermarkets.

Intelligent Travel tempts us to the 49th state with a post about Homer, Alaska.

Wanderlust and Lipstick has a travel writing contest.  You can win a 12-day culture and spa tour of Vietnam.

The Miami Guide writes about the story behind Vizcaya, a landmark property along the Miami shore.  You may want to catch the upcoming PBS documentary about it, too.

Tripbase lists 20 ways to screw up your Labor Day road trip.  These are good trips for any time at all.

Ron Dubin Photography has a great shot of Los Angeles and the smoke blanketing the city from the aggressive forest fires.

Traveling the Green Way reviews recycled travel speakers from OrigAudio.  Compact and green, what a great combo.

USA Today writes about the conception vacation promotion.  Provide some medical documentation to support your claim that your baby was conceived while vacationing at the The Westin Resort on Aruba, and get a credit for a return visit.

Photo credit: SXC

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Another great week of travel reads, covering topics both serious and fun.  Take a read at these great posts, and see if you agree.

The Edinburgh Guide – Although it has been called Auld Reekie, it never meant smelly until now.

Wisebread – Good tips for finding free wi-fi at airports.  Unfortunately, some of these means are getting encrypted and/or shut down, but it’s a great starting point.  And why, oh why, can’t there just be free wi-fi at the airport?!

Concierge – From Conde Nast Traveler comes this great guide to tipping around the world.  Read it, print it out for future reference, and understand how tipping appropriately maintains the culture of where you’re traveling.  It’s really not about throwing your money around to feel important!

The London Traveler – The Cult of Mithras, the patron god of the Roman Empire Army, is depicted in statues around the city.  Andrea puts it all together and explains why it’s important to the history of the area.

Wanderlust and Lipstick – What’s worth the money and what’s not.  Mostly not.  A good read on how to avoid the airline fees that plague us all.

Intelligent Travel – A review of S’Mac, in New York City, where the specialty is macaroni and cheese.  Ooooh, oooooh, I love my mac and cheese, and this lower east side restaurant serves their versions of it right in the skillet.  My mouth is watering even typing about it!

Tripso – A great discussion of how social media can help make your vacation better.  Twitter anyone?

Stood There – I love this fun site where there are lists and list of attractions and locations where you must have your photo taken.  Divided up by geography, these lists are a lot of fun.  How many can you check off?

Traveling the Green Way = Travel is certainly not the most green of activities, but seeing the world and learning about other cultures is important.  Jennifer lists a variety of ways to help minimize our traveling impact, giving us good food for thought.

Photo credit: SXC

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When it comes to travel gadgets, it seems like smaller is better.  As long as smaller still allows for a quality experience, that is.  And that’s why the Flip Mino has become such a popular video cam choice.

Now available in HD, and a number of colors and fashion choices (like the Hello Kitty Flip in photo) , the Flip Mino has a budget friendly price point to go along with its travel friendly size.  Here are a few of the features it offers:

• Pocket sized
• One-touch recording
• Built in flash memory (holding up to 60 minutes of recording)
• Battery lasts over 4 hours of recording time per charge
• Battery recharges via your USB port
• Fast start up allows recording within seconds of power up
• Pause, Fast Forward, and Rewind
• Child Safe mode to prevent accidental deletion
• 2x digital zoom
• Transflective display for clear viewing in bright sunlight
• Flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your computer for easy transfer
• Silent recording mode
• TV connector cable so you can watch videos on television
• Tripod mount compatible with most standard tripods

That’s a lot of features in a small package, and is one of the reason that the Flip has become a popular choice with travelers and low-technology users (it’s SO SIMPLE to use).  Priced well under $200 (depending on model), and available at online and at your local electronic, camera, or big box store.

I purchased a larger video camcorder about a year or so ago, with the idea that I would be able to take some great video on the road, and learn to share it with family and friends, and post it on my blogs.  That’s never really come to fruition, though.  Although the vidcam is fairly small, it still requires effort to take it with me, and I haven’t really mastered the technology.  I’m giving serious consideration to purchasing this little Flip cam.  It’s small enough that I keep it in my purse so that it’s always handy (that’s what I already to with my camera), so there’s be no excuse for not having it with me.  I have no delusions of becoming a great film director, but for the casual videos that I’d like to take, this may be a good choice for me.

I’d love to hear comments from any of you who use the Flip.  What do you like?  What don’t you like?

Photo Credit:  Hello Kitty Flip Mino courtesy of Sanrio

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This photo was taken in those few minutes right before sunset.  A particularly peaceful way to end a vacation day. 

Photo credit:  personal collection

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After a sunny day exploring the island of Capri, it was fun to take the chair lift in Anacapri all the way to the very top to take a view of the island and surrounding area.  The fog rolling in on one side of the island created quite a juxtaposition with the sun on the other side.  Here’s the foggy side.

The name of the island is properly pronounced CAH-pree, not cuh-PRI (like the pants).

Photo credit:  personal collection

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In my blog posts, I frequently share with you what I see out of my hotel window — beautiful beaches, the ocean, a storm brewing, a majestic skyline, or simply some architecture or flora that may have caught my attention.  I share with you what I am looking at as I travel around the world.

Today, I discovered a relatively new blog that takes this idea to a grander level.  Anthony at What I See Out My Window asks readers to take a picture of the view out their window.  Then, send the photo to him along with your location and a description and/or story about the view.

Anthony says that he’s bringing the world together, one window at a time.  What a fun idea!

Head on over and check out this creative idea.  And then, get your camera, go to your window. . . and click!

Photo credit:  wikimedia

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If you’ve visited any of the great travel blogs out there, you’ve seen some great photography.  After looking at some of the photos, have you ever gone back through your own personal collection and said, “you know, mine are just as good — maybe even better?”  If so, here’s a contest for you.

As part of Conde Nast Traveler’s 20th anniversary, it is having a travel giveaway — and your photos may just be your ticket.  All you have to do is submit a photo , to the “Live the Cover” contest, that you took and that captures a great travel memory.  Tell where the photo was shot and what made the experience so unforgettable.  That’s it! 

The deadline is June 25th, you can enter as many photos as you like, and the winner gets a trip for two to the Frank Gehry designed Hotel Marques de Riscal, in Eliego, Spain.  (The hotel was on the May cover of the magazine.)

I’ve seen some great photos, and I’m going to send copies of this blog post to a few people suggesting that they get busy and enter.  How about you — do you have a shot that captures one of your great travel memories?

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My blogging friend Georgie, over at Laughing Chow,

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