While it may not be the Grand Canal in Venice, you can experience an authentic Venetian Gondola ride on Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. Operating year round, Gondola Servizio offers private tours (meaning you are not thrown together with strangers) on a reservation only basis. Come as a couple for a romantic sunset rid, or put together a party of up to six for a more festive occasion. Available cruise packages include: Marco Polo: 30 minute tour, $45 for two people, additional guests $10 per person. Casanova: 55 minute tour, $75 for two people, additional guests $10 per person. Promessi Sposi: A photographers delight, and a popular choice for special occasions. Gondola Servizio will work with your photographer to create a photo-worthy event. This is a popular package for engagement and wedding photos, and family portraits. $225 for two people, […]
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Bishop Museum Explain the History & Culture of Hawaii
Honolulu’s Bishop Museum offers the natural and cultural history of Hawaii’s indigenous people. Founded in 1889 by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last heir to Kamehameha I, you’ll find artifacts and exhibits representative of all the Pacific Islands. A couple of my favorite highlights are the Science on a Sphere exhibit and the Science Adventure Center. Science on a Sphere is a 68 inch, 200 pound fiberglass sphere suspended from the ceiling. It serves as a sort of 3-D movie, displaying full color, satellite and animated images. You can watch a hurricane forming, a dust storm, violent solar storms, or any number of phenomenon occurring on our planet or in space. The Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center is focused on helping visitors understand the environment of the islands. You’ll find exhibits and research on such diverse topics as volcanology, […]
Read MoreSihanoukville Express, Bus Ride from Hell
Today I have a guest post from fellow blogger Ken Dunlop from The Vancouver Traveler. Ken spent several months traveling around Southeast Asia, and he graciously offered to share a bit of his trip with you. This is one of what I am sure is many anecdotes about getting around in Southeast Asia. So, you find yourself in Sihanouk Ville in Cambodia, and you are desperate to get into Thailand. Not wanting to travel the four hours to Phnom Penh in order to fly, the lady at the Internet Café presented a great plan, “Mr Ken, take the bus…it is good ride and only 8 hours.” Yup, you have it I took the bus. The day began at 07:00 for the tuk tuks ride to the bus depot, for the 07:50 bus departure. The bus is one of those huge […]
Read MoreBack to Basics: Mastering the Reservation Phone Line
I’ve written about this previously, but it’s basic information that can’t be repeated too many times. I know that most people do their research and booking online, but there are times when you are going to have to call a reservation center. It can be annoying to be put on hold, and repeatedly hear how many callers are ahead of your or how long your expected wait time is, and even further annoying to finally get a person who you can’t understand. I hope these tips will help reduce your frustration factor, and get you the information and service that you really need. Call at non-peak times. This means avoiding calls during standard business hours, if at all possible. Late nights (generally considered after 8 pm) are usually good are usually light in terms of wait time. News stories can […]
Read MoreBack to Basics: Remember Your Hotel Room Number
The days of having a metal key with your hotel room number engraved into it are long gone. Keys these days aren’t even keys. They are flimsy pieces of plastic, about the size of a credit card), and instead of having a room number on it, it has a pretty photo of your hotel along with operating instructions about how to insert it into an electronic reader on your room door. The plastic key usually comes tucked into a small envelope, or a larger folder, with the room number written on it. But the larger envelope or folder is often too large to tuck into a pocket or purse, and so we leave the room with only the plastic key. And when it’s time to return to our room, we have to trust our sometimes faulty memory about what the […]
Read MoreBack to Basics: Hang Up
How many times have you called up an airline (or hotel, tour operator, car rental company, or any other company that you want to do business with), and found yourself talking with someone who is rude, unintelligible to you, unwilling to assist you, or is downright hostile? If you’ve spent any time on the phone at all, this has probably happened to you many over. I know that I have spent countless hours trying to understand an accent or explaining myself to someone who wasn’t listening to me and merely reading a prepared “script.” It frustrates me when I have to repeatedly ask someone to slow down so that I can understand what they are saying. And turn down the background noise so that I can hear you! How to resolve these telephone aggravations? Hang up and start again! Chances […]
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 […]
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