Since a good portion of my time in Paris was spent visiting museums, the Paris Museum Pass was both a money saver and time saver. With the pass, you get admission to a number of monuments and museums in and around Paris. Best of all — you don’t have to stand in those long lines — you get to bypass all those people and go straight to the front of the line. Temporary exhibits at the museums are usually excluded, though. The pass can be purchased for 2, 4, or 6 days, and currently costs 30, 45, and 60 euros respectively. (Check the website for pricing changes.) On your first visit to one of the museums or monuments, the pass is activated, and your time starts running. This allows you to buy the pass in advance, should you wish. You […]
Read MoreIdaho Potato Museum is Spud-tacular
Sometimes odd things catch my eye, and then I can’t get them out of my mind — no matter how hard I try. That’s sort of been the case with the Giant Baked Potato at the Idaho Potato Museum (formerly known as the Idaho Potato Expo) in Blackfoot, Idaho. While I like a spud as much as the next person, in Blackfoot it’s elevated to the status of royalty. Not surprising for the Potato Capital of The World. The expo claims to enlighten you with information about the agricultural, historical, social, scientific, educational, artistic and economic aspects of the world-famous Idaho potato. Here are just a few of the “spud-tacular” exhibits full of information and fun, if a little corny as well: Equipment displays The World’s Largest Styrofoam Potato – a popular photo site A tribute to Mr. Potato Head […]
Read MoreHawaiian Eye's Shell Bar
“Hawaiian Eye” was a television series that ran from 1959 – 1963, and starred Robert Conrad and Anthony Eisley as crime fighting detectives in Honolulu, Hawaii. The detectives hung out at the Shell Bar, where at least once an episode that ran into “Cricket,” a singer and photographer at the bar played by Connie Stevens. The bar was located at the Hawaiian Village Hotel, where the guys were house detectives and also had an office. Some viewers would swear that the guys spent more time with the sassy Cricket than they did with any crooks. While most of the television show was shot on the Warner Brothers lot in Los Angeles, the Shell Bar was a real place — then, and now. The Hilton Hawaiian Village, on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, is home to the real Shell Bar, and provided […]
Read More2008 Travel Resolutions at Flyaway Cafe
After relative success with my travel resolutions from last year, I figured that I need to raise the bar a little higher — to stretch a little more in setting some goals for 2008. Here’s what I have so far: Visit two new countries Visit two new states Visit four new cities in countries or states that I have already visited Try a minimum of one new restaurant a month (while traveling), and blog about it Stay at 10 new hotels (inns, resorts, bed & breakfasts, etc.) and blog about it I’ve also set some personal goals, so don’t think that my resolutions are all fun and games! I don’t think I’ve missed anything, so I hope you’ll leave some of your travel resolutions in the comments. _________________________________________________ Technorati Tags: b5media, Flyaway Café, flight attendants, travel, vacation, travel information, travel […]
Read More7 From 2007: Reflections on the Year
With a hat tip to Shai Coggins for the idea, here are 7 from 2007, my personal reflections on the year that is bidding us adieu: 7 Memorable Moments: Getting on an Air France flight, knowing I’d be getting off in Europe Coming out of the metro and seeing Paris for the first time New Year’s at the Needle Road trip to Philadelphia Seeing Jersey Boys Speaking at BlogHer (Chicago) and Blog World Expo (Las Vegas) Meeting some online friends in person 7 Memorable Travel Experiences: Notre Dame Cathedral Night Cruise on the Seine Rodin Museum in Paris and Philadelphia Seeing the Liberty Bell Segway Tour of Diamond Head Dolphin Cruise in Honolulu Visiting Kauai for the first time 7 Important Friendships: Family – whether by birth or by choice Anita – through thick and thin, the best friend in […]
Read More2007: The Year in Review at Flyaway Cafe
Looking back seems to be the thing to do this time of year. So I scrolled back through my archives to look at the resolutions that I made for 2007. I’m please to report that I did pretty well, accomplishing all three of my objective goals: I finally made it to Europe.: Paris (cityscape in photo above). I went to three US cities that I had not been to before: Philadelphia, Madison, and Kauai (in photo below, and yes I know it is an island, not a city, but it counts). I went to two state that I had not been to before: Delaware and Wisconsin. So I’m batting 1000 on my travel resolutions! The end of the year is also a good time to take a look back on the posts that were the most popular over the year. […]
Read MoreWhat to do When you Can't Find a Hotel in Paris
When I headed off to Paris a couple months ago, it was a bit of a last minute trip. I had been wanting to make the trip for quite some time, but had to make some changes to the actual travel dates at the last minute. You can make things work at the last minute, so if you find yourself in this position, don’t abandon your plans, just dig in and make it work. When I set my travel dates, I set them around my schedule, and didn’t pay attention to what was going on in Paris. It turned out that the Rugby World Cup was being held during the time I planned to be there. The downside of that was that all the moderately priced hotels were booked up. In fact, I couldn’t find hotel availability at all, even […]
Read MoreDark Tourism is Alive & Flourishing
While doing some research for some upcoming posts, I kept stumbling over the term “dark tourism.” I had never heard of it before, but it is defined as: Dark tourism is the act of travel and visitation to sites, attractions and exhibitions which has real or recreated death, suffering or the seemingly macabre as a main theme. At first, I found the thought gruesome, and couldn’t imagine why it would appeal to any traveler. But, the more I thought about it, I realized that I had myself visited and written about sites that were considered dark tourism. Dark Tourism would include travel to battlefields (such as Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Normandy), Cemeteries and Grave sites (such as Ground Zero, Auschwitz, Arlington Cemetery, Jimi Hendrix grave), Prisons, Castles, and Monuments or Memorials to the Dead (WWII Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Astronaut Memorial). For […]
Read MoreView the Night Sky at Kitt Peak Observatory
Boasting over 300 clear nights a year, Kitt Peak National Observatory, located about an hour outside of Tucson (Arizona), offers stunning view of the night sky. Kitt Peak has the world’s largest collection of optical telescopes, 21 in all, and offers a number of viewing programs sure to get you hooked on Astronomy. Daily observatory tours begin at 10 am, 11:30 am, and 1:30 pm, and last approximately one hour. You’ll get to see the telescopes from a gallery, and tour guides will provide you with information about the work going on at the observatory. It’s an informative tour, and the only downside is that there is no telescope observation during daylight hours. Although there is no official charge to visit the observatory, a recommended donation is $2 for adults and $1 for children. It’s worth it! The Nightly Observing […]
Read MoreArt & Wine in Tuscany
The Tuscany region of Italy Continuing with my geography awareness week of posts, I move on to the continent of Europe. There are so many places in Europe that I’d like to visit that it was hard coming up with a destination to discover. Well, actually it wasn’t hard to come up dozens of places that I’d like to visit, what was hard was narrowing it down to one. But finally, I chose Tuscany, in central Italy. What’s so appealing to me about Tuscany is its rich variety of life. From the history and magnificent art of its capital city of Florence, to the small towns and villages in the countryside, and the delicious wine and food of the entire area, it all sounds wonderful! This spring I’ll have the opportunity to spend a time in Tuscany, staying in a […]
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