AA Flight Attendant Travel Tips

Antalya, Turkey

2010-11-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

A tour of Antalya, Turkey, a modern European city, small, by the sea. Not an easy walk from the cruise dock. (2-3 miles) This town is better done by tour due to the distance of the ruins from the dock. Influenced by Roman and Hellenistic architecture, the ruins of Perge were unearthed recently. Very well preserved this is an excellent trip to take. Ancient baths were filled by aqueducts from the mountains. The water was heated by means of a large copper kettle, then the water was piped out to the baths and also through the walls as a heating system for the walls. Cool water was also used for the same reason. A third system was used for fountains to beautify the square.

Aspendos is about another 20 minute drive, and is the most well preserved amphitheater in the world This is a must see on a visit to Antalya. There is no hop on -hop off bus in the city, so a guided tour is recommended. In 1923 the Turkish language was purified and now only 10% of the language is influenced by Arabic. While the country is secular, the guide told us that the country is worried about a drift towards more fundamental government. During the last election in Turkey, about 20% of the vote went to fundamentalist parties. This is evident in Istanbul, where there is more influence of Iranian and other hard line governments' citizens, moving to the capital, however, in Antalya, there seemed to be little influence of hard line values and a very few women that we saw wore head scarves, most others adopting Western dress and styles. There is no Internet access, easily accessible at the port in Antalya.

9/23/10 A day at sea

2010-10-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

A day at sea, relaxing by the pool, working out at the gym, and sleeping in very late, of course, with breakfast in bed. Formal night tonight, lobster is on the menu...ummmm.

Tips When Visiting Istanbul

2010-10-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

-If coming by ship, skip the hop on-hop off bus. Too much traffic to make the trip in a timely manner and the sites in Istanbul can be walked easily. Save your money on this one.

-Visit the blue mosque. Preferably when sunny to get the feel for the "blue air".

-Hagia Sophia museum, 20 Turkish lira, must be paid in local currency only. One of the few place they won't take foreign currency.

-Don't miss the cisterns of Istanbul, my most "OH WOW" moment.

-Enjoy a Turkish massage at a hamam. Get the full service, and treat yourself.

-Rugs are beautiful, so is the tile work. Bargain and get a reputable dealer. Use ship or Fodor's/Frommer guidebook recommended shops.

9/21/10 Istanbul 2nd day

2010-10-25T15:49:00.001-07:00

Took a walk today to the bazaar. A fascinating display of color, the tiles, the rugs the spices. The rugs here seem to be so much better quality and more beautiful design than anything I have ever seen in the United States stores. I brought a colorful tile framed art piece which I bargained for. We spoke Spanish and told the guy we were from Spain, so we bargained in Euros, but payed with a credit card, which was drawn on a US bank, so we actually pulled off paying in US $, saving us $$$.

WOW MOMENT-The cisterns of Istanbul are amazing. Six euro entrance gets you into the cisterns where the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" was filmed. Two Medusa heads of unknown origin lie in the water, making the scene even more mysterious. This was the highlight of the tour through Istanbul.

Istanbul, a dirty, yet not unclean city. Women in various stages of religious cover (the city is 98% Muslim) mixed with girls and women in Western dress. Mosques dot the skyline, with the smells of fish, meat and chicken filling the air from the sidewalk vendors and open air restaurants. Men careful not to mix with the women, walk sometimes, arm in arm. A city unlike any I have ever seen.

A trip to the Haghia Sophia, built in the 6th century, built as a church and later changed to a mosque, was interesting from the outside but we never went in. After standing in line for a good 1/2 hour, you arrive at the window to buy tickets only to find out that they only take Turkish Lira for payment, no credit cards, no Euros. After talking to the people on the ship later, we found out that we didn't really miss anything, and that they had made the same mistake.

Arriving into Istanbul

2010-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

First day mostly at sea. Our schedule was set for 4PM which gave a very needed day at sea until afternoon. Pulling into Istanbul was quite a site. Off in the distance the view of so many mosques was quite interesting. We had taken in a tour lecture on board earlier in the day, and learned a bit about the city and culture. The port is easy walking distance to the old city. No need for a taxi here unless you cannot really walk the distance. The cruise ship was offering a shuttle bus at 8 euro each ($10), but this is a wast as the walk takes 15-20 minutes at most, though a little up hill. The blue mosque is easily seen from the port and our walk took us to the Gulhare park in front of the Greca Topaki palace, built in 1459. We worked our way over to the blue mosque, so named because of the 21,000 blue tiles that line the inside walls, giving the air a blue tint. Shoes are removed by the door and placed in a plastic bag, provided at the entrance. Prayers are don't 5x a day and the call to prayer can be heard over the loud speakers throughout the city. After a lot of picture taking we made our way over tot he Cagaloglu Hamam, a Turkish bathhouse. 50 euro for a full service massage. You go into a cabin room and remove all your clothes except for a small towel they give you. Then you lock your belongings in the room and don a pair of "slipper", which are actually the most uncomfortable wooden clogs. They will prevent you from slipping on the wet marble floors. You are guided into a steam room to heat up for 10 minutes, then the massage begins. More like being pummelled and beaten. This is followed by turning over for more of it on your back. This all takes place on a marble slab in the middle of a room while everyone else is either watching or having a massage of their own. You are rinsed with warm water and then taken to another corner for a loofah sponge scrubbing, all over. This is followed by another rinse. Next comes a complete body wash with soap, while lying down, soap going in every crevice. You are then rinsed with cold water, a welcome relief. Upon exiting, you are wrapped up in dry towels and offered tea. I tipped 10 euro although they will insist on more. Give what you feel comfortable with. I felt 20% was fair for the hard work. Men's and women's quarters are separate, but in the old days, the penalty for a man being caught in the women's side was death.

Holland America Line Westerdam

2010-10-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

From the hotel, Intercontinental, to the ship, by free shuttle that is provided by the hotel to Syntagma square. Subway from the square to Pireaus is 1 euro and we walked about 1 mile to the ship. Saved ourselves about 20 euro on a taxi but again, a long hot walk in the Athens sun.

Nice inside stateroom, good for sleeping with no windows, but some prefer a balcony. We are in stateroom J7116 on the Westerdam by Holland America Lines. I love the food on this ship and the first place I always head is the Lido deck for lunch. After unpacking and exploring the ship, we found a bar-b-que on the pool deck with bar-b-que lobster. First time I have had that, fantastic...mmmm! A nice dinner, met our table mates, as we [prefer the fixed seating, to make new friends and have a couple nice people at our table. The daughter of one couple is the lead singer of the band 10,000 maniacs. Both couples from NY. Dinner was followed by an early bed time. Arriving in Istanbul tomorrow.

Athens Tour By Hop on Hop Off Bus

2010-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Touring Athens by hop on-hop off bus runs 18 euro each. Normally I would say this is a great way to tour any city, however, traffic in Athens made this uncomfortable and hot. More time was spent in traffic, and due to an extreme amount of graffiti on almost every surface, it is not such a scenic ride around town. This may be the one exception to the hop on-hop off tour bus recommendation. Here in Athens, I think that a subway pass serves better. You won't miss much and get around faster. The Acropolis is breath taking up close. (15 euros to get in the park) The tickets give you access to 5 other ruins in the Athens area. Bring water, there is no shade and it is hot even in September. For dinner we took the luxury of going to the hotel roof top restaurant, call "Hit The Roof", a Michelin rated restaurant. 118 euro for 2 with wine, the food was excellent and the open air dining was accompanied by a spectacular view of the Acropolis lit up at night.

Santorini to Athens

2010-10-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Check out of the hotel was by 12 noon and our flight was not until 11pm. We had to find a way to waste away the day so we went to the ski lift and rode it down the side of the mountain. Four euro per person to go down. We spent some time sitting on the dock under at tree watching the boats go in and out of the harbor. A meal at a restaurant by the pier and then a donkey ride up the hill. Girls screaming all the way up. A ride is only 5 euro. A flight back to Athens was 30 minutes on Olympic Airways, ATR-400. A drink and snack sandwich on the short flight made it enjoyable. We took the bus (95X) into the city from the airport for 3.60 euro, which left us at Syntagma Square, followed by a 2 stop subway ride to the Intercontinental hotel. Room 5467 with a great view of the Acropolis from our window.

Kamari Beach

2010-09-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

A day at the beach in Kamari, by the ruins of Thera. 6 euro for 2 beach chairs with an umbrella. The water is beutiful and a fine tempature for swimming, about 75 F. A lot of seaside restaurants to eat at.

A Trip To Oia

2010-09-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

A bus trip to Oia, a beautiful village that is a must on any trip to Santorini. This village was destroyed by an earthquake in the 50's and was left for decades, abandoned, until a number of years ago when it was revived. Here beautiful white wash walls are a back drop to the blue highlights of the churches, sea and sky. This island is not for those who have trouble walking or in a wheelchair. due to lots of steps and hills. Most of the crowd here seems quite young. I think that at a certain age, the elderly realize they can no longer handle the stairs and walking up hill and move on o the flatter lands. Plan on about 1/2 a day here. Bring lots of water. The scene from Summer Lovers, the movie, where the lovers were jumping off the cliff into the sea is filmed here. A steep climb down to the ocean though from this village. Too much sun left me napping in the afternoon and in the evening took a lovely walk through town to the far and of Fira to watch the sunset. I must have taken 100 photos on the way.

Thera and the ruins (Kamari)

2010-09-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Thera by bus via Kamari, is an easy trip. In 17 BC a huge volcanic eruption destroyed the city of Akrotiri, leaving ruins in the upper hills. 1.70 euro by bus per person, leaves from Fira, and takes about 20 min. You are dropped off about 1 block from the beach. Guide books will tell you it is possible to go up to ancient Thira by foot in about 1 hour, however, it is a very steep uphill climb, and once at the top, another 1/2 hour uphill to the ruins. We picked up a bus at an agency, which ran every hour or so for 5 euro each way. A bargin after seeing the steep grade to reach the top. Santorini is a desert like island and I could not imagine a climb in the heat of the mid-day sun with jet lag to boot. Allow at least 2 hours to fully enjoy the ruins. Back down in Thira, we took a walk along the black sand beaches. Populated by boutique motels, each one quite unique, and inviting. A variety of restaurants lines the beach along with sundry shops. Beach chairs with umbrellas rent for 6 euros. Back to the room to sit on the balcony on the caldera and watch the sun set, cruise ships sitting in the harbour and the classical music begins to play at a nearby bar. I am sitting with my wine and cheese, feet up, shirt off, taking in the last of the cool September evening sun.
Dinner at the Shpinx restaurant was excellent. Fresh pasta and steak overlooking the caldera, located in Fira near the church.

album 09\15\2010 Greece (169 photos), by Andrew Wright

2010-09-15T13:27:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Our Hotel Santorini

2010-09-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hotel Keti, 90 euros a night. The most spectacular million $ view. A room that is cut right out of the caldera, with a balcony looking right out over the sea. This is THE hotel to stay in Santorini. The view in the distance is the volcano that blew Santorini's harbour out in 300 BC. Hundreds of feet up the cliff our room opens right out onto the balcony overlooking the sea. To the right, the town of Fira, white wash buildings, blue doors, blue seas. A view to die for! Lunch at a tourist trap restaurant was forgettable and dinner was nice at Ellis. 36 euros with a tip. I had fresh catch of the day and dessert was free because they were a little slow with the service due to a large crowd. We picked up some breakfast items at a local grocery store, 5 min walking since breakfast is 6 euros each and figured we could do better ourselves.
The best part of the hotel was the sunset from our balcony. I ran out to the store and brought a bottle of wine, some cheese and watched the sunset, while classical music played from the restaurant nearby.

Athens, Santorini

2010-09-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Continental from Miami to Newark to Montreal to Athens. Continental was nice and gave me an exit row for which they usually charge a fee now! Flying coach is not so nice, however, the extra leg room made it OK. The Continental flight from Newark to Montreal was delayed, however, so was the Montreal-Athens leg, so we were OK. Air Canada 767 mostly all coach configuration, and a plane with an old style video system, not unlike our AA 767. Service was good, audio need help-upgrade Air Canada, please! We were however surprised to get a snack on Miami-Newark on CO, but hear that with the merger at UA, this is probably finished. Arrived in Athens easy clearance thru customs.
Train from Athens to city.

Thankfully there is now a train from Athens airport to the city. 5 euros each, a fair price for the distance. Blue line goes right into the airport. Very east to find, just follow the signs, about 5 min. walking from the customs area. Directions to most major sites in Athens are listed on the train. Very easy to use. We took the train all the way to the port of Piraeus. Out the door, turn left, 5 min to the Hotel Triton. A clean if minimal tourist hotel, we got Room 69! Breakfast included for 70 euro. Not too much to see in Piraeus. Avoid this area unless you have the need to be here early. We had a 7:30 am departure and we were able to pick up our tickets at the port the day before. The rest of the area of Pi reus was a dump. We had dinner at a restaurant at pier E-7, quite a big place, but food was so-so and cokes were $5 each. A McDonald's across the street would have served better at a lower price. Wake up at 5:30 am for breakfast which starts at 6:30am. Fantastic breakfast-continental style at the Hotel Triton, but a lot of choice. Fantastic Greek yogurt, eggs, bread, juice, coffee ham, cheese and cocktail fruits.

We arrived at the port to catch the speed lines ferry over to Santorini. Two classes of service on the boat. Regular seating is sort of like a domestic first class airplane seat and upstairs and area called "Distinguished class". Seat a bit bigger, few people, probably more money and not worth it. Seats were maybe about 3-4" wider, faced each other with a table in the middle. I was fine in the regular seats.
Five hours, we reached IOS, the first stop before Santorini. Ios, a non discript island, picking up a few tourists and dropping of a few also. The view on arrival to Santorini was quite beautiful. Arriving in port is a bit confusing due to a lack of Taxis available. The easy was to get to Fira is to grab a shuttle bus that waits to meet the ferry. Just look for people holding up a sign that says "bus" . 15 euros for two from the port to the area of our hotel. A real value, way too far to walk and all up hill. A regular bus would cost about 2 euros, but leaves you at the bus stop near the main street and with a lot of luggage, may be a problem.

Bok Tower, Central Florida

2010-04-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Off US 27, Bok Tower was build at the edge of the great depression in Central Florida. As the editor of the Ladies Home Journal, he he had the money to build this art deco tower as a bell tower, or carillon, as a reminder of his youth in Scandinavia. The tower is visible from US 27, just South of the I-4, highway, which runs into the Disney area. The tower entrance fee is $10 but for an extra $6, you can gain entrance to the Buck Mansion. The Buck Mansion, built and owned by the President of Bethlehem Steel, PA, is a beautiful house built at the edge of the property of the Bok tower, although the tower was built first. The names of the owner of the house and the tower are quite close, Bok and Buck, however, it has been said that the two never really knew each other. An interesting story...since the Bok tower had such beautiful gardens, the owner of the house asked that the same company that did the gardens of the tower be used to plant the gardens of his mansion, then the house was built with the gardens in place. The house is wonderfully preserved and well worth the visit to see the interior and the grounds around it. The Bok tower has carillon concerts 2x a day, as well as once a month at night, when the full moon shines on the flowers in the garden and illuminates the sky. The carillon looks a bit like a piano/organ, but is used to strike bells in the large bell tower at the top of the tower. It is played with both the fists, yes, fists, as well as the feet. There is a nice cafe on the grounds that serves a nice lunch, at reasonable prices. The area also has an interesting "inn" called the Chalet Suzanne, an inn and restaurant. Built in the 40's, it has been host to many famous people. The restaurant also made a soup that was taken to the moon with the astronauts, which still sells at the restaurant and is now known as "moon soup". The rooms of the inn are all in different styles and the rooms are named after plants and trees. The restaurant serves gourmet food and entrees start go for about $50. The area is well worth a visit and the tour of the gardens and the tower takes about 3 hours. Due to various reasons, the tower does not admit visitors. (Not to be mistaken with the Citrus Tower, about 20 miles up the road, north of Orlando.) This art deco treasure is a must see if you are in the area, and want a break from the Orlando area.

Forgot the beach party

2010-03-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot about the beach party, about 1 hour travel time from Kowloon, via ferry, and on a nice little beach. Everyone brought food...shrimp, steak, chicken, lamb, salads, lots of beer and a good time was had by all. We left by about 9pm to head back to the city and off to the night market.

Made it home from Hong Kong

2010-03-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

The picnic on the beach was wonderful, we went back to Kowloon and ran to the night market for a little last minute shopping. In the morning went to the airport via taxi, about $20 US, not bad...taxis here are cheap. Couldn't get on the Hong Kong-Tokyo flight, so we hopped the Hong Kong-JFK run on Cathay Pacific. Fifteen hours of flying, got to be too much about 10 hours into the flight. Great movie library on the airplane. About 1000 songs, on CD, 50 movies, TV shows, I think they have a great entertainment system at least! JFK to Tampa, then connect to Miami and in the house by about 10pm. A long day and just getting up this morning to pull it together. Thank you Ines for the best vacation!! Hong Kong totally rocks. Night life is incredible, great music at the discos, Miami Beach, take a lesson from the Chinese!

Made it home from Hong Kong

2010-03-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Trip to the giant buddha

2010-03-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

We took the ferry over to Hong Kong to pick up some airplane tickets from the American Airlines office, to get back home, and then took the MTR (subway) to the cable cars that go up to the giant Buddha, about a 25 minute ride, that costs about $10 a person. The views are spectacular and is the highlight of trip. We then headed back to the Kowloon to go to the night market for dinner where we met up with our friends. We finally had Chinese food in China!!! No soy sauce, if you can believe it. After we had a number of different foods, loaded with garlic...mmmm, we took off for Stickys, the local night spot with a live band from the Philippines. The music was fantastic, lots of 80's dance and I spent the night dancing. From there we hopped a taxi to Hong Kong ($10) to go to Propaganda. Totally fantastic music, and we wound up dancing until 5am. This city has the best night life. Sorry Miami, but you need to learn from the Chinese!

Day Trip to Macau

2010-03-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip over to Macau. The island is easily reached by ferry boat from the main terminal in Kowloon, and takes about 1 hour to get there. The round trip fare is $30 US. We arrived and hopped on the free bus over to the Sands hotel. Macau is famous for its gambling and most major casinos have set up shop over on the island, including the Wynn, and some local gaming casinos. The island is a Portuguese colony, which was reverted back to China about the same time that Hong Kong was reverted by the British in 1999. We had lunch at a small restaurant near the Sands, enjoying Portuguese food. We then took the city bus over to Senado square which is the main point for a nice walking tour. We went to see the ruins of St. Paulo church, which burned during a typhoon in the 1800. Only the facade remains, with the rest, an open air museum. We took a quick walk around the Macau museum, and then headed over to the Macau tower, which is the world's tallest bungee drop. I, of course, did not participate, but Ines and Todd jumped. Ines went after Todd, since Todd is an airline pilot and need a flight attendant to serve him on the flight down. We headed back to Kowloon after a beer, which the two of them really needed after falling 78 stories. Today we are off to see the giant Buddha on the island of Lantau.

Enjoying Hong Kong

2010-03-16T03:37:00.000-07:00

We went to the Peninsula Hotel for tea. Best to get there early since there is usually a line. The band plays from the upper balcony while you have tea. Not a bad price, about $25 a person, includes finger sandwiches, cakes and of course scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. We went up to the pool area which is on the 8th (or so) floor, and is beautiful, overlooking the harbour. On the top floor of the hotel is the helicopter pad, either for those flying in, or sightseeing tours. The hotel has all the best stores, Cartier, Harry Winston, Rolex, Hermes etc. It was actually the site of the British surrender to the Japanese during WWII. The best part is the line of Rolls Royces that line the front for the use of the guests. Hotel rooms start at $550 and up. Later that evening we went with our friends for dinner to a great restaurant called Wild Fire, in the Knutsford Terrace area. The food was wonderful, followed by a walk over to "Sticky Fingers", a local neighborhood bar. A Filipino band sings, in English, and call girls populate the stools for the unwitting men who come in for a few drinks. It is a great people watching spot. Today we decided to get on the hop on hop off bus. For $45US, or about $350 HKD, two routes will take you all over the city. We are staying in the Kowloon district, which is mainland China, and so we decided to do this side first, for a 1 1/2 hour tour of the city. We did the full route, and then got off at the beginning, walked down Avenue of the Stars, to the ferry over to Hong Kong Island, to take the second hop on hop off bus. The ferry ride takes about 15 minutes. The ride around Hong Kong Island is very interesting. Lots more high end stores, an arts district, and of course the Victoria Peak, which is reached by the cable car to the top and gives a fantastic view of the city. We took a picnic on the trip with us, and once at the top of the peak, there are a few nature trails to walk down, in what looks like a rain forest like setting. It was actually cold up at the top and we could have used a jacket, although I am told that it is quite hot most of the time, perhaps in the summer. Back on the bus and a ride through the "Soho" district of the island, which contains a lot of art stores and will be a point of a return visit. This evening is a party at our friend Ines's condo, and as I sit here and type, the guests are arriving, so I shall sign off for now. Tomorrow, who knows what is in the itinerary.

Tokyo to Hong Kong

2010-03-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

Made it in late to Tokyo, so we used the airline hotel for a night. About 15 minutes from the airport and $70 for the night for airline crew. A simple hotel but a good value with a nice Japanese garden. We had breakfast at the airport, Japanese style. I have no idea what we ate but it was great. We flew Japan Airlines to Hong Kong where our friend Ines met us at the airport. A cab drive into the city to her apartment, where her friends are out of town until the end of the month so we are using their apartment for our stay. We are on the 22nd floor with fantastic views of Victoria Harbour, and we can see the Chinese junks go by. We are going shopping for some groceries soon and to load up our "Octopus Card", the card that will get you on to the bus system, trains and boats etc.

Off To Hong Kong

2010-03-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

We are off to Hong Kong today, spending the night at the Holiday Inn in Chicago near the ORD airport, and then tomorrow flying from Chicago to Narita in Tokyo, Japan. We hope to connect with Cathay Pacific Airlines to Hong Kong where Ines will pick us up. Keep an eye out for our travels!!

Palm Springs, CA

2009-10-14T23:32:00.001-07:00

We have already been in Palm Springs for a week while I am doing this posting, so I will simply go over some of my favorite place to visit and things to do in the area. Palm Springs is about a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles. It is a step back into the 50's, when the area was a playground for the stars from Hollywood. A lot of 1950's architecture, which as been well preserved, including some really beautiful houses from that area. Lucille Ball, Liberace and other famous people had vacation homes here. A few of the great restaurants here are the Garden Terrace Cafe, which has 50% off entrees, during the week, and great food. A place called DINKS gets a good review, and although we never got to go there, we were told that the food was good. A really neat place for architecture is PRIMO, a new restaurant in the area. We went mid-week, and got right in, but on weekends, it looks very crowded with the locals and tourists alike. Inside, the atmosphere is elegant without being dressy, and you may feel that you have stepped back to the 50's from the mid-century modern design. Another evening we had a great dinner at a place called Blame it on Midnight, another restaurant, which gives a 50% discount mid-week, and features a cabaret act on certain nights of the week. We did a couple day excursions in our rented car. On one trip we went to the Joshua Park National Park, and watched the rock climbers. On another day trip, we went up to the mountains to Idlewyld, which takes you from the desert of Palm Springs, to the cold and wet mountains all in about 45 minutes. The drive gives spectacular views of the city below. We stopped at a restaurant called the Bread Basket, formerly the "Honey Bear" when it first opened in the 50's. Bread was freshly made, and the portions were quite big. I had a wonderful chef salad, that I had to take in a doggy bag since I had filled up on split pea soup. The town of Idlewyld is a little art town, but also hosts a lot of camping sites. Due to the rain, and off season, a lot of the stores were closed, but a trip here should be a part of any trip to Palm Springs. We enjoyed a drive around the star's homes, and one should never miss a trip up to the top of the mountain in Palm Springs on the worlds largest rotating tramway. There are a number of options for accommodations in Palm Springs, from guest houses, to small retro hotels, to such favorites as Holiday Inn, Motel 6, and Marriott. We stayed in a guest house, with a fireplace in the room, which we used, since temperatures can drop at night, even in the desert.

2009-10-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

Last day in Hawaii, we took a tubing trip down the canals of the Lihue Plantation. This was about $110 per person, and the only tour on the whole trip that I thought was maybe not so worth the money. I have done something similar in North Florida, at Lake City in the Ichituknee Springs Park for about $6 and the ride lasts about 3 hours, as opposed to 45 minutes. This was fun but wouldn't have spent the money if I was not enjoying myself with friends.

Lihue Plantation, founded in 1849, was one of the oldest sugar plantations in Hawaii. The original investors were Henry Pierce, a Boston businessman, William Little Lee, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and Charles Reed Bishop, founder of Bishop Bank and husband to Bernice Pauahi, noblest of Hawaii's alii. Lihue Plantation was one of the best financed, most expensive and most modern sugar company's in Hawaii.
Sugar is a thirsty crop, It takes approximately 500 gallons of water to produce one pound of sugar. It also takes 1,000,000 gallons of water per day to irrigate 100 acres of sugar cane. Thus, Kaua'i with its abundance of natural resources; land, sun and most importantly, water, was ideal for growing cane. Mount Wai'ale'ale(rippling waters)and Mount Kawaikini(waters or multitude), some of the wettest spots on earth provided enough water to meet the high demand that cane had for water.
In order to tap into Kaua'i's natural water resources, Lihue Plantation had to develop methods of carrying the water from the mountains to the cane fields that stretched, in some cases, all the way to the ocean. Hence, in 1856, Hawaii‘s landmark ditch, the Rice Ditch, was pioneered on Lihue Plantation by William Harrison Rice. It was the first irrigation ditch project in Hawaii and although it was not the success it might have been, planters no longer had to look for perfect conditions, now they could create them.
In 1870, the Hanama‘ulu Ditch, the ditch system currently used for Kaua‘i Backcountry Adventures Tubing Expedition, was engineered and constructed. The makings of the 4 mile Hanama‘ulu Ditch was done by hand utilizing sledge hammers, spikes, picks and manual labor. Although, no records of the ditch building have been found as of yet, it was hard work which was done, most likely, by Chinese laborers. Each tunnel and waterway of the Hanama‘ulu Ditch was constructed a bit differently, some using hand cut rock, grouted and placed by hand and some cut out of existing mountain sides. It was hard, manual work and could be dangerous. It is said that it took up to 1,000 workers at one time to build each ditch and no ditch took more than 2 years to build.
Lihue Plantation's water collection system is extensive and is made up of 51 miles of ditches with 18 intakes. The Hanama'ulu Ditch System draws water as far away as the Hanalei Stream and merges with the North and South Fork of the Wailua River before it turns into the Hanama'ulu Ditch System. The four mile ditch system provides water to the Hanana'ulu basin. Today, the Hanama‘ulu Ditch System provides water for cattle ranchers, farmers and feeds projects such as the Lihue airport gateway project.
In the late 1900's, Hawaii‘s sugar plantations closed their doors, one by one. Lihue Plantation was no exception. In November, 2000, Lihue Plantation was one of the last sugar plantations in Hawaii to close its doors

Back country, in Kauai, on horseback

2009-10-07T15:38:00.001-07:00

We drove up to the Princeville area to take a horseback ride to the back country. We used Princeville Stables for our tour and mounted our horses for a ride up the hills to the waterfalls in the back country. The scenery was beautiful and after about a 1 1/2 hour ride, we took lunch by the waterfalls. You can swim in the pools at the bottom, although the water is quite cold, it is fine once you get in. It is a steep hike down a lot of stairs to the falls, but getting back up to the horses is easy as you use rock climbing equipment to climb back up. With the equipment, it is easy even for a beginner to do. You cross over another river, the same one that feeds the falls by hooking on to a wire that you use to support yourself as you cross the water, and back to the horses for the ride back. The mountains in the back ground of the hills make a wonderful backdrop. The cost of the ride is about $120, well worth the cost to see the waterfalls. The ride is a slow walk for the horses and little or no experience is needed.

A beach day and a luau on Kauai

2009-10-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

We took a drive over to the St Regis hotel on the North Shore of the island after a nice morning walk along the beach outside the condo. The beach behind the St. Regis hotel has a wonderful view of "Bali Hi", and is accessible from the main road since all beaches in Hawaii must be accessible to the public, even though they are behind hotel property. The water is a little less salty, probably from mountain river run off into the ocean and the waters are a little more rocky than other beaches in the area, since the beach is right off of a reef. Also the water is a little murky, but the view is lovely, with the mountains in the backdrop. Parking is at a premium as there are only about 15 public parking spots for the beach, so you may have to valet park at the St. Regis hotel, and then walk out of the property and down the steps to the beach behind the hotel. There is another set of steps, between the public parking lot and a condo, but these steps are falling apart, very slippery and very dangerous. After getting about 20 steps down, we decided that this was too dangerous to continue and eventually found the other set of stairs. The beach can be accessed from the hotel lobby, but they will not permit you to walk through the lobby with a swimsuit on, so you must be covered up to us this route. In the evening we continued on to the Smith Family Luau. http://www.smithskauai.com/luau.html At a cost of $80 per person, this luau covers a 15 minute tram ride trough the gardens, a dinner and show. The tram ride took us trough some beautiful gardens, and you are then given about 1 hour to take pictures and walk about the gardens while the dinner is being prepared. A ceremony to remove the pig from the ground follows, and then you are shown into the dinner hall, all open air, although covered, to have dinner, free drinks and live music. The dinner was surprisingly good, and done buffet style, gave you a chance to have as much as you want. The show that follows was done in a separate open air theatre. The show runs about 1 hour and represents dances from a number of Polynesian islands as well as representations from China, Japan, and the Philippines. This luau was probably the best of all the luaus that I have been to on the Hawaiian islands and I highly recommend it.

2009-10-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

We went to a beautiful wedding on the North Shore of Kauai on the Anni Beach. In the back ground, on the hill is the house that Ben Stiller owns. The whole view could not have been more perfect for a wedding. The wedding planner, Linda, did a wonderful job. The simplicity of the location, and the wonderful views made this a truly memorable wedding. We continued on to the condo for a reception, done by a local chef. The next day we woke up early for a flight over to Oahu and a brunch at the Halekulani hotel on Waikiki. The brunch is presented on the beach side of the hotel with a wonderful view of Diamond Head in the background and the curves of Waikiki beach, surfers and wave runners. The buffet includes sushi, sashimi, eggs made to order, salads, a full carving station, and more for $55 per person. We did some shopping and driving around the island and out to the Dole Pineapple farm for a train ride around the plantation. This was a lot of fun and recommended. The train ride is about $7 per person. We went shopping at Halo Hatties with a coupon that the airlines, Hawaiian airlines, gave us on the airplane ride. Of course there is always the ABC store chain, which is on the island of Oahu about every block, not unlike Starbucks, in Seattle. A late flight back to Kauai, finished the day, with all of us worn out and full of good food.

AA Flight Attendant Travel Tips: Wiamea Canyon, Kauai

2009-10-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

AA Flight Attendant Travel Tips: Wiamea Canyon, Kauai

Wiamea Canyon, Kauai

2009-10-02T23:57:00.001-07:00

Went up to Wamea Canyon today. It is a long drive and a completely different area of the island than the North shore area. As you continue along, the air becomes drier and drier and takes on more of an arid feel. The drive up to the top takes about 1-1 1/2 hours, due to the slow speed limits on the island. The view might remind you of the Grand Canyon, only on a smaller scale. On the way home we stopped at the very lovely Waimea Plantation Cottages on the beach, which used to be a sugar plantation housing project, but now is the site of tourist cottages. http://www.waimea-plantation.com/. The area is lovely, full of trees, birds singing, and a wonderful restaurant, right on the porch of the main entrance. The cottages are on the beach, however, the beach area is not really suitable for swimming due to the rough waves and the muddy waters, from the nearby river that empties into the ocean nearby. There are 1/1 cottages, up to a 6/6 house, with a separate 1/1 cottage. This area is off the beaten path on the way to Waimea Canyon. A lack of "entertainment" in the area may be the only deterrent to staying here, but for a few days at the plantation, this is a perfect area to simply sit on the beautiful porch, and listen to the wind whistling through the trees and read a good book. The huge acreage makes it a perfect place to take kids also, since they can easily play away from the traffic.

2009-10-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach on Hanalei, followed by lunch at a fabulous restaurant called Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant and Fish Market, a charming little restaurant off the side of the road by the river. Wonderful ceviche and chowder made with fresh fish, along with fantastic fish and chips. The sandwiches are made with molasses-rye bread, FANTASTIC!

Kauai, the Hawian Islands

2009-10-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

We landed in Kauai, after a 5 hour flight from Los Angeles. Arriving at 10pm, is no conducive to seeing the beautiful island from the air. The airport is small, and we were greeted with a Lei, from http://www.leigreeting.com/. After our friends picked us up, we headed over to their time share in the Princeville area. The Princeville area is located on the North Shore of the island and is about 1/2 hour from the airport. In the morning we were awakened by the sound of roosters crowing, about 4:30 in the morning. A lot of the houses here have no air conditioning, since the trade winds that blow over the island keep the temperature at about 70 F. A good fan inside will keep you quite happy. This of course lets the noise of the roosters come right into the room, but I have to admit, it gives the island a certain charm. The roosters were a direct effect of the hurricane that blew through the islands back in the 90's and blew the chickens around the island. Now there is a plan to get rid of them, obviously not too successful. We got up in the morning for our first look at the island from our bedroom. The time share is right on a golf course and on a Cliff that hangs over the ocean, so the view is beautiful. The Kaeokai is the name of the time share, which left me quite impressed. We took a walk in the morning passing beautiful homes, and then loaded up the car for a drive along Kuhio Highway (hwy. 56, which becomes Hwy. 560) after Princeville to the end of the road. We took a look at the lighthouse at Kilauea, where there was a beautiful little island over the bluff, and then went back in the opposite direction along the highway. Our first stop was Hanalei Beach park, a beautiful beach. Swimming is excellent here all year. We made a stop at the Ching Young Village, and ate at Kalypsfo, horrible food, skip this restaurant. My suggestion is to stick to the travel books such as Fodor's or Frommer's for eating at any city you are visiting. We continued on, passing a lot of one lane bridges. The etiquette for the bridge is that you let about 5-6 cars go one direction, and then let 5-6 cars go the other direction. We continued on to other beautiful beaches, such as Lumahai Beach of the movie "South Pacific", as well as Tunnels Beach, and Haena Beach Park. Lumahai Beach, has a fantastic inlet that becomes a lagoon for swimming. We continued all the way down to the end of the road where there are some natural caves that you can explore from the outside, but not go into due to falling rocks and stagnant water. We traveled back to the apartment for a home made dinner. It is a good idea to bring food to the island with you, to the point that you can. Due to the fact that a lot of food items must be imported into Kauai, some products are above what you may be used to paying. Cereal for example sells for about $8 a box, and milk goes for about $5 a gallon.

Key West

2009-09-07T13:33:00.001-07:00

I recently enjoyed a weekend in Key West which I go to as a weekend getaway. It is an easy 2-4 hour drive from Miami. This is considered one of the world's most beautiful drives. When leaving Miami, there are two choices: one is to go to Card Sound Road, which is considered a more old Miami route and will take you past some old fishing areas. The other is to go directly into Key Largo via US 1, which will save you a $1 toll. This road has been under construction for a few years, to assist with the evacuation routes out of Key West when there is a hurricane. This is not really an inconvenience since the work is almost done. There are many beautiful stops along the way and I usually bring a picnic lunch to eat at one of the roadside beaches, before getting to Key West. A word of caution, there are a lot of speed traps along the route so be careful not to speed and take care to check posted speed limits. Upon arrival there are a number of options for accommodations. Of course, most of the large hotel chains have accommodations on the island. To really get a feel for the island, it is better to stay in one of the guest houses on the island. These are located, for the most part, in the old town section of Key West. The nicest of these are in the old, renovated conch houses that were built around the turn of the century, or even before. Some of my favorites are The Mermaid and the Alligator, The Heron House, Alexander's Guest House and the Curry House. A good way to get a feel for the island is to just walk the island. The whole island is only about 3x5 miles and the old town section is very easy on the eye. A lot of people enjoy hopping on the Conch Train, which takes the visitor around the island on a 1-1 1/2 hour tour of the island and points out the most interesting points of the island. This is a great way to pick out points that you would like to go back and visit. One of my favorite places to visit is the Hemingway House, http://www.hemingwayhome.com/in which the author Ernest Hemingway lived for years. This is where you will find the 6 toed cats, that populate the house. Tours are about $10 and well worth the historical interest. There are a number of other interesting tours that can be done, such as the Audubon house, the Key West Aquarium, which has a hands on section. The Little White House http://www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com/is a wonderful tour that takes you through the Little White House that was used by Presidents of the United States for vacation many years ago. My favorite overall, is the original site of the very first Pan Am flight, which was from Key West to Havana Cuba. The office is now a restaurant, www.kellyskeywest.com , and you can find some Pan Am memorabilia there also. You will find a fantastic assortment of dining options on the island. The best, in my opinion, is Blue Heaven. http://blueheavenkw.homestead.com/Blue_Heaven_Restaurant_Key_West.html. If you go early enough in the evening and sit outside, you will be able to enjoy a wonderful, freshly cooked meal, while the chickens run around your feet. The restaurant is in a lovely outdoor setting and in the evenings you will often find a singer or small band playing live music. I highly recommend the snapper, and the banana heaven, which are always on the menu. This is a do not miss restaurant. Another fine restaurant, but requiring reservations, is Seven Fish, http://www.7fish.com/, a very small but somewhat upscale (for the island), restaurant specializing in...fish. Evening entertainment on the island begins with a sunset at Mallory Square, where street performers put on a show, while the sun sets behind the islands in the background. An evening walk down Duvall Street will bring you to a lot of different bars and dance clubs for different tastes. If you in the mood for something a little different, take in the drag show at Bourbon Pub http://www.801bourbon.com/ on Duvall. Bring your dollar bills to tip the drag queens as they lip sinc some crazy songs with even crazier acts. If that is not your taste, there are pleanty of other bars and clubs along Duval Street to enjoy. A trip to Key West is also enhanced by a snorkle trip to view the many fish and coral around the island. Many different options are available from sailing ships to booze cruises. Ask your guest house for the best deals on the island. There are few beach choices on the island due to the rocky make up of the island itself, and shade is a premium on the few beaches that there are. It is important to find yourself good accomidations with a great pool area in case the beaches that are on the island are not quite up to your standards. A small airport serves the island and flights from Miami, Tampa and other nearby cities are available, however, the drive from Miami is something that should be taken in at least once in your life. Key West...One Human Family.

Staying Caracas, Venezuela

2009-06-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have written in this blog but have sworn to start again. Too much Facebook and not enough blogging. Since my last entry I have been on a transatlantic cruise, been to P-town in CT, spent a few days at the flower and garden show at EPCOT, been camping and traveled through Arizona and up to Las Vegas, among other trips. I need to sit down and write some more about each vacation, from memory, and have sworn to go in and do all this this month. I am on a layover in Caracas, Venezuela and have time to write. Apart from the transatlantic cruise from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, I have pulled back from travel to Europe. The low dollar and the high cost of everything in Europe kept me back from traveling over there too often. It seems that the dollar has become strong against the Euro again, and my layovers are getting easier to stomach, especially in London, where I was paying $2 for each pound sterling. Unfortunately, my layovers in Europe have all been in Madrid lately, and it is a city, which although lovely, I have seen way too many times, so I just stay in the hotel room and watch TV rather than getting out. I did manage to take a hop on hop off bus a few months ago to see the city, which I think is a fantastic way to see any foreign city that you may be traveling to. For about $20 US, you can see the sights. The buses supply a headset, which you plug in to a prerecorded narrative about the sights of the city that you are passing. You can hop off, see the area and hop back on, as the buses run about every 10-15 minutes, making this a terrific way to sightsee, on the cheap. You can find these buses in most major cities in the world, although the US seems slow to adopt? The only exception was when I was in Madera, off the coast of Africa, and the hop on hop off bus was a failure. Not enough buses running to handle the number of cruise ship passengers that had landed made this a bad idea, but more about that on the blog I will do about my transatlantic crossing. Now I will discuss a bit about Caracas, Venezuela, where I am laying over this month. Ever since the collapse of the bridge into the city about 9 years ago, we are no longer laying over in the downtown area. The back story is that the bridge that connected the airport to the city, collapsed during a rainstorm around 1999, and stranded our American Airlines crews in the city for 3 weeks. I think that some of them were finally taken out by helicopter however this happened right at Christmas time and caused a big mess for those who were stuck for 3 weeks with nothing to do. Since that time, Hugo Chavez has taken over the government at a rapid pace. Since we no longer stay in the city, I cannot comment on changes outside of the airport area, since we stay very close to the airport. The changes I have slowly seen taking place have been some new “government housing” going up near our hotel, and a larger and larger number of working people on the street wearing red (read-communist) shirts, that have the name of the government “social” program embroidered into them. The streets near the airport are cleaner as more and more people are employed by the “socialist” government to take care of the airport and surrounding areas. The airport has been greatly improved, with new clean facilities and the landscaping the the airport area, which was in the past shamefully full of trash, has been cleaned and brightened. A funny point is the fact that when you come out of the immigration area, there is a big sign over the luggage carousel area, that reads, in Spanish, “Now Venezuela belongs to all.” Hugo Chavez pictures are everywhere, and he is known for talking for hours on national television. This of course is all funded by the oil revenue that the country now controls, and little by little, the nationalization of industry is taking place. I cannot help think that I am witnessing the communist takeover of the country. This has been obvious in the demeanor of the passengers on our Caracas routes. They seem to be more subdued than in the years before Chavez took over. I think that it is a tale of things to come that are more foreboding. My partner, who is Cuban, says that this is the start of a communist society, and the façade created by jobs, clean streets and government housing will soon be replaced by food shortage, and a repressed lifestyle as the infrastructure begins to collapse under the communist system. I am sure he is right, but for now, I cannot help but think that I have seen positive changes in the area surrounding the airport. This cannot, however, cover up the fact that crime rates continue to surge in Caracas, thus we are no longer taken into the city, even though the bridge was fixed long ago. We are told not to venture outside the hotel for any reason, since robberies are commonplace, even just outside the hotel area.

Staying in the Orlando Area

2008-05-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

This month my layovers are in Orlando, and we stay on International Drive. While my preference for hotels is the Disney Resort Hotel chain, since my company is paying for it, we all know that beggers can't be choosers. International Drive is actually a great place to stay for all the activities in the Orlando area. It is just a trolly ride away from Wet 'n Wild's water park. I was able to purchase a $49 year long pass, only good on week days, but perfect for my long layovers in the Orlando area. The trolly ride is only $1 each way and runs up and down International Drive every 20 minutes of so. There is a Ponderosa which charges $4 for an all you can eat breakfast. The coffe is $2 more, and not really that good, so I just take the coffe from my hotel room and order water for my meal. If you load up on enough, it should even take you through lunch time without another meal. The water park is a great value on the pass, and since Ocean World opened up a new water park, right down the street, I imagine that the drop off in business has prompted them to offer a good deal like this. Best thing is, the lines are almost non-existant for the rides, since I guess everyone is over at the other park. For me, a water park is a water park, unless it is Disney, which I consider much higher quality, but for ease of access from our International Drive layover hotel, it is perfect.

New Orleans Mardi Gras

2008-02-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

I am writing this a little after my vacation to New Orleans late last month. I wound up in the middle of what is really Carnival time, but is refered to genericly as Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is really the day of FAT TUESDAY, when the big parages are held, but for the tourist, I feel that anything that leads up to the actual Mardi Gras date will give you a little taste of the true parade. I went to New Orleans not to sure of what to find after the distruction of Katrina passing through just two years earlier. My original plans were to go camping, as I like to do, but then changed my mind when I realized that any nice parks may still be severely damaged as a result of the hurricane. I instead went online to chose a guest house and found a small bed and breakfast by the name of Burgendy House, so called by the color of the paint outside. My arrival into New Orleans was uneventful and picking up a car and navagating the streets was quite easy, even without a GPS. I think that the reports of the hurricane damage were so over played that it is easy to think that the whole city is destoyed. This is not the case however, and the city as a whole seemed to be funtioning quite well. My first stop after checking into the B and B was a walk into town to see the dog parade. Quite funny and cute. This years parade theme was Indiana Bones and the Raiders of the Lost Bark. Some of the costumres were quite cute. I was very hungry so I asked someone behind me where the nearest ^good^ place to eat was. The locals, as I found out, are quite happy to help you out, probably as a need to get some life back into the city. They recommended a popular grease kitchen that specialized in hamburgers, just up the road. This was the Clover Grill, a place where your food is cooked under hubcaps, yes, hubcaps. The burgers were very good, dripping and well worth the $20 for two with a shake. Yum!!! What I loved best was the music, a steady stream of 80s classics that kept the beat as fresh as the food. A further look around the French Quarter, stopping in some of the shops and a walk along the waterfront afforded some great entertainment from the local street kids. We stopped in at Cafe Du Monde for the beignets and coffe, which are supposed to be a must do. I quite enjoyed it. They are covered in powdered sugar and wondered how that was going to look on my next cholestorol test right after a burger at the Clover Grill. Dinner was at a nice restaurant, which I am having a terrible time remembering the name of. I will include it later if I can round up the name. Dinner was good, but the service a bit forgetful for a high priced, fancy restaurant. The wait staff were very apoligetic for their oversights and even brought us a free appetizer, even though we hadnt complained. We simply gave them the benefit of the doubt and under the idea that the city was trying to get back on its feet. The next day was a day trip out to the planation homes. About a 1 hour drive that will make you think that you are just lost in the middle of nowhere, you will eventually happen upon Desrehan Plantation. Cllick here for directions...(http://www.discoverourtown.com/Refer.php?link=www.DestrehanPlantation.org) This is the house where Interview with the Vampire was filmed and well worth a visit. The price of admision is about $15 at writing. The tour is included and quite interesting. There is a restaurant on the property which was not too bad but was better enjoyed since I was able to look out the window at the beautiful grounds while having lunch. There were a few more plantation homes in the area, but at $15 each I decided just to look from the outside and take the long ride back into town. On my third day, I decided to do the Hurricane Katrina tour. While it sounds a little macabre, it is quite often done, just as people make a visit the 9/11 grounds in New York City. What I think is holding people back from visiting New Orleans is that they think from news reports, that the whole city is destroyed, which is far from the truth. Actually, I had to follow a driving map, and got lost once, looking for what distruction there truly was. The ride takes you through several rough areas of town and interestingly some areas, which were completely spared, even though they were just a few blocks from the distruction. I felt that it was important for me to try to let people know that New Orleans is not in the horrible mess that the new media would lead you to think. Another interesting drive that we did was through the mansions of New Orleans, in the Garden District. We parked the car and simply walked. Seeing the beautiful homes in many different architectural styles was a postive image that not all of New Orleans was taken by the hurricane.

Holland Park London

2008-01-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

Happy 2008, I just got back from a fantastic walk around Holland Park in London, where I am once again on a layover I managed to pick up a Podcast on a walking tour of London, which had a 1 hour walking tour of Holland Park. I took the tube over to the park, however, for those of you on an "Oyster Card", the card that you use as a pass on London transit, the Holland Park exit is in zone 2 as opposed to Nottingham station, which is in zone 1, so it is cheaper to get off at Nottingham station and walk to Holland Park, which is about 10 minutes away. The podcast can be found on the iTunes site for ipod, and is quite interesting, however, I found myself getting a little lost in the park due to the signs not being too well posted on directions, while follwing the podcast. That aside, the walk was nice and took about 1 hour. I actually saw a fox, which I was surprised to see running around the park. The park was originally the grounds of a house, actually a mansion, that was destroyed in WWII. The remaining areas of the house that were salvaged were turned into a youth hostel, also known as the Holland Park youth hostel, run by the YHA and a restaurant which was made out of a separate area of the mansion that was salvaged. I have actually stayed in the youth hostel, and it is supposed to be one of the most famous and widely used youth hostels in London. It is a fantastic deal, and was about maybe $30 a night, at that time, around 2002, -with- breakfast included, per night. A great deal for London, and the breakfast is a FULL breakfast, not just some cereal and toast. It was quite interesting staying in what was once one of the wings of a grand mansion. A walk around Holland Park will take you to some murals that were painted in the last few years, that depict the Holland Park mansion, as it was in the 1870's. A restaurant is also located in this area, although no one seemed to be there when I went by late at night, and I was left to wonder if the restaurant is only open during the day. Also, please be aware of the closing time of the park, which is at dusk, depending on the time of year, obviously it will vary. I found myself trying to get out of the park after closing and had to hop over the fence to get out. I misjudged the distance to the ground and fell on my behind when I fell, so be careful!!! I had dinner at a McDonald's nearby, but as the pound is so strong against the dollar, my "value meal, came out to be close to $8 U.S. for a Quarter Pounder with cheese, fries and a coke. I have yet to really find a good deal on restaurants here in London, even though the food is quite good, I really suggest trying the supermarkets, where you can buy groceries at closer to "US prices", than eating out.

London

2007-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Laying over in London this month. The prices here seem to keep going up. Today I went to take the subway, or the tube as they like to call it. A one way ticket is now costing 4 pounds which is equal to $8 one way, as compared to about $1.50 in New York City. I don't know how people live here??? I instead purchsed an Oyster Card, which costs about $6 to get, and then they top it off for as much as you want to add to the card. This allows you to take a one way trip for about 2 pounds, I think, anyway, much cheaper than just paying the one way rate. You just hang on to the card, and use it anytime, you happen to be in the city. It is like a phone card or bus pass that you just top off when the balance gets low. It is a better deal than paying each time. The other thing to do is to pay the one day pass, at about 5 pounds, that is $10, and you can get on and off, all day as you choose. It used to be somewhat reasonable to get around here, although, not as "cheap" as New York City, if you can call New York cheap? It just seems that things here keep going up. I try to keep the prices down by buying groceries in the store down the street from our layover hotel. Prices on groceries, thankfully, seem to be in line with what we pay in the states, even if the cost of everything else here is overpriced. The other bargain is the theater, and tickets for half price can be found at the TKTS booth near Piccadilly Circus. They were offering tickets for Wicked for just $30, but, since I already have tickets for later in the year in Miami, I skipped it. It is still a good price, however. A good deal to is to go to the theater and see if the have "standing room only" tickets. I paid about $15 to see Lion King. Yes, I stood for the entire show, but for such a low price, who cares. The other thing that you can do in London, for free, is look. I love to go to Harrod's, and just people watching is fun. You can see all the well to do Europeans shopping, and the store is just fun to be in anyway. Stay out of the "Halls of Food", the food looks wonderful, but unless you are interested in paying about $30 for a pizza, I wouldn't eat there. Anyway, there is a McDonald's right around the corner that is much more in line with U.S. prices. There are a few museams in the London area that are free. The museam of natural science, the Victoria and Albert, is partialy free, unless they have a special exibit, and then they only charge for the special area. The British Museam is also nice. There are also a lot of things to see just by walking around, such as the Palace, of the queen, and the changing of the guard. In any case, London need not be over priced. Just realize that you will probably have to pay on the transportation and hotels.

Camping in Tallulah Gorge State Park

2007-11-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

I just came back from camping in North Georgia over the weekend of the 17th and 18th. The Miami airport was really busy. I thought that no one would be traveling over that weekend, electing to do so over the Thanksgiving holiday, but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, I am making a change to my last posting in regards to renting a car. I previously recommended www.onetravel.com for car rentals, however, I have now found that they are charging $2.99 to book a reservation, a fee which I think is unnecessary considering that they should also get a commission from their car rental partners that they book, so I will only use onetravel, now as a search, and then book directly with the car rental agency web site. We flew up to Atlanta, a great airport, it seems, to fly into, and were quickly out and in our rental car from Alamo. I paid just $16 a day for a compact, which was perfect. We drove north until we reached Tallulah State Park in Georgia. It was about a 1 1/2 hour drive. The fall colors were beautiful on the way up with a few patches of brown here and there, but for the most part, we seemed to have arrived in the peak of the color. We arrived about 2pm at the park, and set our tent up quite quickly. On the way in we were smart enough to stop at the gorge, about 5 minutes south of the park. There is a little store that you can go into and get some hot cider, fantastic this time of year, and have a look down into the canyon. Once we were in the park we headed into the small town nearby for a shopping trip in Wal-Mart for some firewood and breakfast items for the morning. The next morning after a peaceful night in the cold mountain air (about 40F), we awoke and cooked our breakfast on the fire, dressed and went into the woods via the park's Stoneplace and High Bluff Trails that will give the visitor some great looks at some oak, maple, and dogwood, which were still showing some bright yellows reds and orange at this time of year. There is also a fantastic welcome center at the entrance to the park's walking trail, and apart from being very beautiful architecturaly, it has a lot of interesting facts about the park, the area and the history. It is a steep, hard walk, with a staircase of over 1,000 steps, which left me winded for awhile, but fantastic exercise. The falls were absolutely beautiful, and we spent about 2 hours enjoying the park. Afterwards, we hopped back in the car to head on over to Helen, GA. About 35 minutes by car. Helen is a small alpine village in GA. We had a wonderful lunch at a small German style restaurant, right next to a small creek, and then had a quiet walk through the town looking in the shops, and buying some Christmas decorations. We then went into the Unicoi state park. This is about another 15 minutes driving and well worth the trouble. The park is beautiful, and I had a hard time in deciding which park was more beautiful, Unicoi or Tallulah!!! Unicoi state park has some cabins that we drove by, which are really lovely looking and I am considering that the next time I am up in this area, I will try on of the cabins. They can be rented for about $75 and up according to the brochures that I read, but I guess that depends on the time of year. We then went past the camping area to the falls, which were breathtaking. This is a trip which is a must do if you are ever in Helen, GA. In the evening, we went back into town, where we had a nice meal at Huddle House, and then spent the rest of the evening cooking marshmallows over the fire at the campground. We packed up the next morning and had an easy trip back to the airport. I cannot say enough for Tallulah Gorge State Park. It is very clean and well tucked away in the trees, with a wonderful walk nearby. For those of you who are looking for a great camping trip to see fall leaves, or maybe just for some relaxing get away for a weekend, this is a wonderful place in Georgia to visit. I will be posting some pictures of the park as soon as I get them developed.

Rental Cars While on Vacation

2007-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Rental Cars While on Vacation
When you rent a car, you are essentially giving your credit, to cover a vehicle, which can easily run a minimum of $10,000, and up, so, what can go wrong? What can go right? Buy collision insurance, don’t buy it? What about driving in foreign countries?
Going on vacation and deciding whether or not to rent a car is something that most people go through with, without really thinking the issue through. As a flight attendant I have a lot of experience with car rental companies and what can be great and what can go wrong, and why you may or may not want to rent a car on that next dream vacation. I’d like to present a few tips that may make your vacation car rental go smoother.

Driving In Foreign Countries

Recently I was at a party and was talking to a close friend from high school. She asked me what route I was flying that month and I mentioned to her that I was laying over in London that whole month. “My husband and I hate London”, she said. I inquired as to why, such a beautiful city, with such a rich history, would cause her to be so displeased with her experience. “We rented a car and tried to drive around London. It was the worst experience of my life.” First of all, let me tell you that personally, I would never rent a car in a foreign country, unless I was desperate. First of all, it is best to check up at the library or at your local bookstore for books on your destination and review the public transportation in the area you are visiting. I have found that in Europe, the public transportation is fantastic. In London for instance, you can take a bus or a subway/train, right from London, Heathrow, London Gatwick, and London Stanstead. The problems with driving in a foreign country should be considered before really thinking about renting a car there.

Ok, so, what happened to my friend that ruined her vacation so much? Well it seems that since it was her first time traveling to Europe, she and her husband decided that London would be a great place to visit. They speak the same language, so how hard could it be to drive over there: it must be just like the United States. They told me that as soon as they got out of the airport, the problems started. Unkown to them, even taxi drivers in London study for about 5 years, to really learn the streets of London. You have to realize that the streets of London were laid out hundreds of years ago, and don’t necessarily follow a grid pattern like we do in the Untied States. They had a lot of trouble figuring out the foreign road signs. Other than Stop signs, and the red, yellow, green, like the U.S., they said that the street signs where difficult to interpret. Secondly, they had never seen to many “round a bouts”, or traffic circles, which are more prevalent in Europe, than in the United States. They found themselves lost more often, than they were able to find their way. My friend said that she finally would up in tears, after not being able to find their hotel. When they finally did it took them ages to find parking, and then there was the cost of fuel in London. They swore never to go to London again. I told them that they should give it a second try, only this time, try public transportation.

A few years ago, we were going to New Zealand for vacation and had toyed with the idea of renting a camper to travel all the way through the country. We decided that we did not want to deal with the issue of driving in a foreign country, especially with 12 hours of jet lag behind us. We wound up buying a New Zealand bus pass, and left the driving to the professionals. We were able to sleep when we wanted to, and enjoy the wonderful views of the countryside without the stress.

Second, is the language issue? Are you going to be able to understand the road signs, street signs, and other public service signs? For instance, most cities are becoming familiar with the automatic displays on public highways warning of traffic accidents a few miles ahead, or advising of a highway close down. If you are unfamiliar with the language in another country, you may not be able to determine that the highway will be closed down ahead for several hours, and that you should take an alternate route. Even more interesting is trying to find directions in a foreign country such as Japan, where the Roman alphabet is rarely used on street signs or anywhere else for that matter.

Next is the issue of liability. If you have ever rented a car before, you are aware that you will be asked if you wish to take out collision insurance, medical coverage, insurance for valuables etc. If you are traveling in a foreign country, do not assume that you insurance in the United States will cover you in another country. If your insurance company says that it does, get it in writing, and find out which countries it covers. Some insurance companies will not cover rentals in some countries. Likewise, collisions, liability, personal effects insurance, are usually priced out separately adding a large fee to your car rental bill. You should also be aware of the laws in different countries regarding what happens in an accident, or even worse, if you are responsible in an accident in which someone is seriously injured or killed while you are driving a rental car. I know of a case of a lady who rented a car on a layover in Japan and was involved in an accident that killed someone. From what I heard, she had a terrible time, dealing with local laws, language differences. Also understand that you may be held in prison for your liability. Simply being an American citizen, does not guarantee you the right to live under American law in another country.

Also consider the fact that sometimes when you rent a car, you may return home with no problems, only to find a large credit card charges from you car rental company for damages that have supposedly occurred, but for which, you know nothing of. I have been reading Conde Nast Traveler for years and they have a wonderful section in their magazine called Travel Ombudsman, in which people write in letters regarding problems they have had while traveling, to see if the travel ombudsman can help them out. I have noticed that a relatively large number of complaints are from people who have rented cars, returned the cars, only to find that the car rental company has charged them, after the return for damages to the body of the car, or mechanical damages, that they claim the renter caused, but were not “discovered” until later. This also is compounded by the fact that car rental offices in other countries may not stay open 24 hours like they do in the United States, and people are often forced to return their car in the “drop off” area, in order to catch their flight home on time. This does not allow a proper inspection of the car when it is turned in, and it becomes a matter of the car rental companies’ word against the renter. Imagine how much trouble it will be to make phone calls and email or snail mail, back and forth to a foreign country, to clear up a charge for damages if this should happen. Compound this with a language difference and you can see a strong argument as to why I have a number of reasons for not renting a car in a foreign country. Now all this is not meant to scare, it is just my personal reason for not wanting to rent a car in a foreign country. Even earlier this year, when I attended my uncle’s funeral in England, my family wanted to make arrangements for me to use their car to get around and I declined. This is just a way to make sure that you are aware of all the issues that can arise when you take on the responsibility of a car while in a foreign country

As for renting a car in the United States, this is something that I really enjoy. It gives me a chance to try out a new car without actually committing to the purchase. I also feel more comfortable renting in the United States, since I understand the driving rules and conditions a lot better. If you are in the United States, renting a car, your own car insurance –should- cover your car rental. It is best to call your insurance company to make sure, and also get this in writing. Most major credit card companies will also provide some sort of coverage, but only if you decline the car company’s collision damage insurance. This is something that you will have to decide on. There have been a couple of times, when I have gone to some of the cheaper car rental companies, or the mom and pop agencies, where they will only rent a car if you have current proof of car insurance. Now this sounds a bit redundant, since you can purchase their collision damage waiver, but I was one refused rental of a car, in my own state, for not having private car insurance. This was at a time when I was living in another city, and just used to fly into Miami to visit friends and family. I told them that I didn’t own a car, and that was the reason for me renting one. Why would I carry car insurance if I didn’t have a car? “That is our policy”, I was told. No, it wasn’t state law that I carry insurance to rent a car, which was just their policy. After much arguing, and watching a few other folks get the same bad news, I walked out of the agency that day without a car and had to scramble to get another car from another agency, at a much higher rate, since I had to rent last minute. A good idea is simply to ask, when reserving the car, if you are required to have insurance. Don’t get caught with your pants down, so to speak. I think that the state of California does require proof of liability insurance, only for those holding a driver license from the state of California. I am not sure if this is correct, but what I have heard through the rumor mill. Somehow it doesn’t make too much sense, since I cannot see many reasons why someone who already has a car, would need to rent one too, but that is big government for you. I have very rarely taken the collision insurance out, unless I feel that I am in an area that I am uncomfortable driving in. I figure my credit card and my own car insurance should cover any damages I will need taken care of. Strangely enough, the one time that I did, for some unknown reason, take out collision insurance was the one time that I needed it. I had returned the car, undamaged, or so I thought, and when checking out, the clerk receiving the inbound returns told me that I had to sign a paper for her stating that I had had an accident so that the insurance company could pay for the damages to my car. “What accident”, I said, “I never had an accident.” “Yes you did”, said the clerk, “look right here at this dent.” What I was told to look at was a tiny little ding caused by what was probably a shopping cart banging into the car. I told her that I refused to sign anything that said that I had been in an accident. She told me I didn’t have to worry because I had taken the collision damage waiver out and that would cover the damages. The rental was one of the smaller mom and pop companies and it sounded more like a rip off to me, like the company was trying to bill the insurance company for damages to get money. I never did sign the papers admitting that I had had an accident, since I didn’t, and left, never hearing anything from the car rental company after that. This leads to the subject of making sure that when you take out a rental car, you make sure that you thoroughly check the car for any and I mean any damages. Even the tiniest of scratches can come back to haunt you if you get an over zealous car rental company, who is trying to collect on dings and scratches. I always mark everything on the form that is provided by the rental agent, and return the paper before leaving the lot. I even make sure to mark any damages to the interior of the car, since this can also be an area that the rental company may charge you back for.

Which Rental Company To Use

Personally, I don’t have a favorite, although, the bigger the company, the better the service you are going to receive, especially if you have a problem. Once while I was in North Carolina, I was driving a car from a large rental company, when suddenly, all the water from the air conditioning unit came pouring into the car, flooding the whole front passenger area in about 2 inches of water. I immediately called up the agency, who referred me to their nearest office, where I was able to change the car. Furthermore, I was followed up, with a letter of apology for the inconvenience, and a coupon for a discount on a future rental. When you rent from a smaller company, you may find that business houses, service, and complaints, my not be to your liking, although, the smaller companies, can also provide you with the lower rates in most of the cases. It is a trade off, for service, over price. Smaller agencies also usually have a smaller number of people working behind the counter, so you may wait longer to rent your car. This can be a real frustration when returning the car, if you have a flight to catch and have to wait a long time for an agent to assist you. The larger companies will usually be able to check you in and have you on your way without having to go back inside to the counter to return your car. I usually choose price over service, and make sure that I leave plenty of time on both the rental and the return end, so as not to inconvenience myself. You may also find that the larger companies have more cars with convenience features, such as built in GPS systems, which are fantastic if you are in a strange town. I used to use Alamo Rent A Car quite a lot. They are a medium sized car rental company, with a somewhat reduced level of service as compared to Avis or Hertz, but the prices are usually reasonable. For the lowest prices you will have to usually try a mom and pop rental company, and I usually use OneTravel.com to complete the search for the most reasonable price. Once I have found it, I usually call just to see if they can beat their own internet price. You should also try discounts, such as AAA and AARP. Good luck in your car rental search and remember, drive safely.

www.hertz.com
www.alamo.com
www.budget.com
www.onetravel.com
www.aa.com

Mexico City Layovers for the month of September and October

2007-11-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Two months of laying over in the same city could become very boring. Thank goodness that these layovers were in one of my favorite cities, especially for fantastic food. El Fogoncito, the name of a fantastic restaurant, has, in my opinion, some of the best food I have tasted in Mexico City. This restaurant has been constantly patronized and recommended by fellow flight attendants for years, but only recently did I stumble upon this site. Located on the corner of Mariano Escobedo street, it is fondly referred to by crews (probably those who have trouble pronouncing the name), as the restaurant with the yellow awnings. The restaurant is open air and the cool Mexico City temperatures help keep the inside comfortable. When you walk in, the first thing that calls the attention is the pork, on a skewer, cooking on an open flame. You absolutely have to try the "Aztec Soup", a tortilla soup, packed with fresh avocado slices, tortillas, and wonderful spices. I tried the steak tacos also which were wonderful. All together, a meal, with a soda, runs about $10. A real deal for fantastic food.

Welcome to AA Flight Attendant Travel Tips

2007-11-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Andrew Wright and I have been a flight attendant for American Airlines for the past 15 years. I worked for Pan Am for 3 years prior to becoming a flight attendant. I have traveled to over 60 countries around the world. I am creating this blog to try and dispense travel tips and ideas for people who love to travel. Go ahead ask any questions.