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Before I left for my first trip to Europe, I'd spent a good portion of my college years living on white rice, toast, salad, and multivitamins (and cheap beer, of course). I ran every day, and while I was never skeletal, I was pretty skinny. I continued to lose weight when I traveled around Europe en route to Angers, France, and I often got comments about how tiny I was. I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that I would've continued my habits had not the culinary attitudes of the French intervened. Once I settled in to my host family's routine, which involved a 3-course dinner every night, I could feel the flab coming on. I resisted for a good month, by avoiding patisseries and making myself jog.
And one day, the voice that told me white rice with bouillon cubes was tasty just changed its mind, and I made the choice to enjoy my time in France and worry about my weight when I returned to the U.S. There would be no forcing myself out running in striped running tights with these sophisticated French woman giving me strange looks. I was NOT going to eat rice while everyone else ate flan.
Want more haunted tour ideas? As promised, we've got some! Hop on your broomstick and fly with us to the western US, where we've uncovered eight more haunted tours to scare you silly this Halloween season:
Denver, CO:Morrison is a short distance from downtown Denver, but this Colorado Haunted History Tour sounds like it's worth the trip out of town. Learn about the Hatchet Lady of Red Rocks and the Lecherous Indian Chief.
Hollywood, CA: Take a tour of the historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery with Karie Bible and visit the burial sites of famous dead celebrities.
Las Vegas, NV: We all know Sin City can be a scary place. But Haunted Vegas Tours explores the creepiest secrets of the city that never sleeps. Tours runs several nights each week, beginning at 9 pm.
Portland, OR: The Portland Haunted Tour is a 2.5 hour shuttle tour of 13 locations historically connected to secrets from the city's chilling past.
I was browsing through Forbes.com this morning and found an article titled Multipurpose Outdoor Gear. Needles to say, it caught my eye. What can Forbes possibly say about outdoor gear?
Actually, I learned a lot. Apparently, parkas by Prada are all the rage.
It is not a shocking revelation, I suppose. Just like Jeeps are no longer seen off-road; outdoor wear is not really for the outdoors anymore. The "ruggedly handsome" look is in. Facial hair, casual clothing...you get the idea.
David Makuen, vice president of marketing for Eddie Bauer said to Forbes that "George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, even Brad Pitt really made an impact on casual clothing, with their rough-around-the-edges looks. The unshaven, disheveled look became mass, and it inevitably had an affect on clothes."
REI is apparently packed with guys buying outdoor gear that "looks good" yet they have little intention to ever actually take it outdoors. Is it a strange world we live in, or what.
(By the way, the Loro Piana Outdoorsman Vest from the photo is available for $1325 at Bergdorf Goodman. It will look splendid in that $15/night hostel in Uzbekistan, trust me.)
Want to get spooked this Halloween? If your travels find you in any of these ten East Coast cities, be sure to check out the haunted tours happening on and around Halloween.
Alexandria, VA: This Colonial Tour Group runs their original Ghost and Graveyard Tour, as well as a special enhanced Halloween version, several times throughout the autumn months.
Ryanair's chief Michael O'Leary is considering budget transatlantic flights, but says he would create a new airline to run them. Name options include "something sexy like O'Leary Air or Ego Air," he told a news conference to promote Ryanair's latest flight deals.
All he needs is a fleet of new longhaul aircraft, which he's going to hold off on purchasing. Aircraft prices are currently at a peak, but they can fall by as much as 30 - 40% in a typical cycle. And like other budget airlines, there will not be first class; about 80% of the seats would be economy with a service for business travellers at the front. Furthermore, the airline would serve secondary airports, as does Ryanair.
No talk of fare prices, but I'm certainly in for a cheap(er) transatlantic crossing. Now if I could only convince a budget airline to fly Anchorage - Shanghai.... Any takers?
A device that would've allowed passengers to keep their shoes on at airport security has failed. Removing shoes in airport security lines is one of a passenger's biggest inconveniences, and the ShoeScanner raised hopes of faster, shorter security lines. After repeated tests at Orlando International Airport this year, however, the ShoeScanner "still does not meet standards to ensure detection of explosives," the TSA said.
Of course, the Scanner was only available to those that could pay the yearly $100 fee to go through a separate line. For the rest of us, it was business as usual in the long line of peasants.
Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday. I get so in to it, I win contests. (Seriously, I am the best Mary Katherine Gallagher you will ever meet. Maybe even better than Molly Shannon. See photo). So I'm not going to let traveling with a small pack keep me from creating a costume.
In 2004 I was in Vietnam over Halloween in the town of Nha Trang. The U.S. presidential elections were days away, and I often felt under attack from questions and accusations of other travelers about U.S. foreign policy. Needless to say, I did not meet one single traveler (except for one American) who supported Bush or the war in Iraq. So I thought it might be funny to poke a little fun at all the political tension surrounding the U.S.
I bought a plain white t-shirt and used my travel partner's red and sliver sharpies to decorate what would be my costume: a Stupid American.
It's no surprise that airport personnel might need some sprucing up in the customer service department. After all, dealing with angry, delayed customers day after day is bound to make even the most serene Buddhist monk a bit frazzled. But rather than send employees to airport charm school, Miami International Airport is looking to Disney for a model of excellent customer service.
So far, 400 airport employees have attended classes at the Disney Institute. There, they've learned that when things go wrong, it's not their fault -- but it is their problem. Knowing that, they can, I hope, exude sympathy and understanding.
While personnel won't be donning Mickey ears anytime soon, they'll still be easy to spot in chipper tropical shirts. And really, it's pretty hard to feel grouchy in a bright, palm-treed polo. Right? Rrrrrrrright....
That's a lot of big names all together. And there's one more: Travelocity. How are all these companies linked, besides under the umbrella of travel?
Answer: Amex's new travel "sitelet" Local Color, which has destination-specific search capabilities using Lonely Planet, IgoUgo, and Travel & Leisure. Lonely Planet provides the destination guides, Travel & Leisure contributes articles about classic and up and coming destinations, and IgoUgo supplies travel reviews. If you want to book a flight, just click on the link and you're whisked to the Amex-powered Travelocity site.
The site also has currency converters, access to "travel specialists," and a travel support center. In fact, there are so many services that the site is practically overwhelming. But it's fun to play around in and certainly informative.
Does the thought of traveling to Indiana frighten you? It might if you've read any of Haunted Hoosier Trails, which explores scary spots throughout the state. This guide to Indiana's "Famous Folklore Spooky Sites" visits 75 haunted locations in the heartland, including the Hazelcot Castle, the Slippery Noodle Inn, the 100-Steps Cemetery and the Point of Death. Organized by county, each chapter reveals chilling historical details about the state's horrors and haunts.
Author Wanda Lou Willis is a fifth generation Hoosier and folklorist who has carefully researched all these ghoulish tales. In fact, she found so many that she had to write a second book as well: More Haunted Hoosier Trails includes visits to Hannah House in Indianapolis, and Indiana University in Bloomington, believed to be one of the most haunted campuses in the country. Although the books were published a few years back, they'd certainly serve as good guides to the scarier side of the Hoosier state.
Halloween's most famous symbol (except maybe the white-sheet ghost) has several uses: front-porch prop, tasty fall vegetable, and carving medium. But chucking pumpkins is becoming a popular activity as well. And this is some serious chucking: The World Championship Punkin Chunkin contest last year attracted 50,000 spectators and 100 teams.
So what is pumpkin chucking? More than just tossing the orange vegetable, the "sport" incorporates launching machines like air compressors, catapults, centrifugal machines that spin the pumpkins before hurling them, and trebuchets. The contest's record for distance was set in 2003, when a pumpkin flew 4,434 feet.
The Bristol Pumpkin Festival, Bristol, Conn., Oct. 28. Contestants are invited to power their pumpkins with "springs, rubber bands, air, muscle, centrifugal force, brute strength, power architecture and bicycles."
60,000 people chose their favorite towns from 25 choices across the U.S., and the list is in. The results are divided into 9 categories and 14 subcategories, including Shopping, Food and Dining, Culture, and After Dark. The winners are to be expected: New York won a first-place favorite for diversity, ethnic food, and classical music. Also consistently near the top were Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco. No surprises there.
Missing? Philadelphia didn't get too many votes -- one third place win for its Farmer's Markets. Miami didn't fare too well either with no top-three wins, and same goes for Orlando and Dallas.
What's your least favorite city? (I think that's a much more interesting question than asking about favorites.)
Check out the results at CNN, and get more info on methodology at Travel & Leisure.
I've known of the Distant Lands travel shop for several years now, but always thought it was primarily a bookstore. However, after watching this short video feature on the store, I stand corrected -- the Pasadena, CA shop is much more than a place to stock up on your favorite travel titles. The travel outfitter has been providing a growing selection of travel gear and merchandise since it opened in 1989.
Distant Lands stock backpacks, clothing, maps and loads of other travel accessories. It's a one stop shop for pre-trip planning needs. And they host a wide range of travel-related events too. Next week they've got a travel photography class scheduled and they'll host a Peace Corp information session. Also in October -- talks by travelers who have explored Kathmandu and Tibet.
This reminds me of another cool California travel bookstore-and-so-much-more that I visited a few years back. I'm bummed to say that I've yet to discover a similar independent travel outfitter in the NY-metro region. Anyone know of one that I've manged to overlook?
Calling all paranormal adventurers -- ready for a Halloween ghost hunt? Cardiology specialist and ghost hunter Jeff Dwyer's latest guide reveals details about over 70 haunted hangouts around the Crescent City. The Ghost Hunter's Guide to New Orleans provides historical background on the spooky stories that have made these locations legendary.
But no fears or frets if NOLA is not on your Halloween travel agenda. Ghost-lovers in Los Angeles and San Francisco can do hunting as well, using Dwyer's guides to those cities. Folks who might be up for hunting goblins in between sips of chardonnay will want to pick up his Ghost Hunter's Guide to California's Wine Country, due out next year. (A guide to haunted locales in Seattle is forthcoming as well.) Whether or not you believe in the paranormal, these guides might be fun to have if you are traveling to these cities this Halloween season, or on any family vacation when you want to spook the heck out of your Aunt Martha.
Bonus for California residents: You can actually join up with Dwyer for ghost hunts taking place on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Acres of Books (1 pm) and Under the Bridge (5 pm). And he'll be signing books at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose on Oct. 27 (6 pm). Boo!
I just saw this sign at the lounge of the Sagamore Hotel at Lake George this weekend: Well-behaved children are welcome. I guess it is a nice way of saying: Keep your brats out of this place whenever you can.
Don't all parents secretly believe that their children are well-behaved? Don't all other people always secretly think that they are not?
This might not come as a surprise to those of you with kids, but on the web there are tips for keeping your children well-behaved when traveling. The ones for air travel are especially entertaining, at least for those of us without kids. Here are my top 3:
Let your children feel that they're performing a useful role in making the flight happen by being well-behaved. (uh, ok)
Discuss the importance of stretching during air travel (that should keep them occupied for at least 5 seconds)
When the plane takes off, your children will be eager to look out of the window and watch the ground moving away below. This is a good way to introduce the concept of map making. (or the concept of life-long therapy, depending on how nerdy your kid is)
Before I left for my first trip to Europe, I'd spent a good portion of my college years living on white rice, toast, salad, and multivitamins (and cheap beer, of course). I ran every day, and while I was never skeletal, I was pretty skinny. I continued to lose weight when I traveled around Europe en route to Angers, France, and I often got comments about how tiny I was. I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that I would've continued my habits had not the culinary attitudes of the French intervened. Once I settled in to my host family's routine, which involved a 3-course dinner every night, I could feel the flab coming on. I resisted for a good month, by avoiding patisseries and making myself jog. 
Want 
I was browsing through 
Want to get spooked this Halloween? If your travels find you in any of these ten East Coast cities, be sure to check out the haunted tours happening on and around Halloween. 
Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday. I get so in to it, I win contests. (Seriously, I am the best Mary Katherine Gallagher you will ever meet. Maybe even better than Molly Shannon. See photo). So I'm not going to let traveling with a small pack keep me from creating a costume. 
Does the thought of traveling to 
I've known of the 
Calling all paranormal adventurers -- ready for a Halloween ghost hunt? 
