Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for tourism
Stretching the Dollar
By Linda Tancs
Between rising fuel costs, exchange rate woes and failing airlines, you know your travel dollars will be stretched to the limit. So where can you get the most bang for your buck? The Portimão area of Portugal looks pretty good. You’ve got 5 beaches, 4 golf facilities, and the tourist mecca of Alvor, together with room rates as low as 83 euros through May. Hire a boat from Alvor to Ria de Alvor, an estuary giving sanctuary to a number of migrating birds and flowering plants amidst the sand dunes, mud flats, and freshwater and saltwater marshes. Top off your adventure with the local specialty of grilled sardine. Did you know that the Portguese eat more fish than any other Europeans? Now grab and bag and start packing. Desejo-lhe umas boas férias!
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Viticultural Areas Abound in U.S.
By Linda Tancs
So what is a viticultural area, you ask? It’s a wine grape-growing region with distinctive geographic features, similar to (but distinguishable from) an appellation of origin. The U.S. has over 180 American Viticultural Areas. As you might suspect, a great majority of these are in California. You might be surprised at some of the other locations on the list, places like the Ozarks in Arkansas, the Mississippi Delta, Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Texas High Plains, and southeastern New England (Connecticut, Maine and Rhode Island). So move over beaujolais and make room for the home-grown varietals.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg, or bookmark it on del.icio.us. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
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Power Napping At a Pod Near You
By Linda Tancs
You’ve heard of yellow cabs. Now meet YeloCab in New York City, a suite of cabins with adjustable lighting and reflexology designed to invigorate you during your busy day. Now you can catch some zzz’s in style. Learn more at www.yelonyc.com.
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Travel May Affect Insurance–Part Two
By Linda Tancs
In follow up to our 26 February post, New Jersey has now passed a law forbidding life insurance companies from adjusting premiums based on the travel predilections of policy owners–for the most part, that is. Exclusion is made for the application of sound actuarial principles or past experience. You can read the new law at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A2000/1586_I1.HTM.
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The Luxury of Monaco
By Linda Tancs
Monaco is synonymous with luxury, from its five-star hotels and famous casino to the slew of Rolls-Royces, Aston Martins and Bentleys that cascade around the tree-lined streets and boulevards. Experience the grandeur at www.travelrificradio.com.
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Passenger Bill of Rights Gets Tossed
By Linda Tancs
A New York appellate court has invalidated the nation’s first passenger bill of rights passed in that state, declaring that it conflicts with federal law designed to establish airlines’ rights and obligations regarding service. As travelers increasingly suffered the indignity of lengthy confinement on the tarmac sans food or drink, the idea of a passenger bill of rights gained ground around the nation among legislators. These bills intended to guarantee delayed passengers certain amenities such as food, water, clean toilets and fresh air. Now, unless Congress decides to legislate airline service in such circumstances, the treatment accorded New York’s bill doesn’t bode well for similar legislation proposed in states such as New Jersey and Washington.
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Pan-Asian Dining on Holland America
By Linda Tancs
Eurodam, Holland America’s newest build debuting this summer, promises Pan-Asian surf to rival the best fare available on turf. According to the Eurodam news blog, here’s a sampling of the dishes to be available in the reservations-only eatery on Deck 11: shrimp wanton, ginger-infused scallop consommé, steamed lobster with garlic, ginger and chili, baked snapper in rice paper, and a paella-style seafood hot pot. The menu is in English, but something tells me it would sound great in any language.
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Cruise Ports Unite in Marketing Alliance
By Linda Tancs
In a bid for attention among the better known (and used) ports of the Mediterranean and Baltic, fifteen European ports have united to market their appeal to cruise travelers. Calling themselves the Atlantic Alliance, the fifteen members of this cooperative are: Hamburg, Bremerhaven, IJmuiden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Santander, Vigo and Lisbon. More West European ports are expected to join in the future.
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Cheap Flights to Germany
By Linda Tancs
Hamburg, anyone? Air Berlin offers a one-way ticket to Hamburg (via Dusseldorf) from JFK for $338, including all taxes and fees–a rare find these days. Flights within Germany start at 29 euros. Find out more at www.airberlin.com.
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Oh, Canada!
By Linda Tancs
Canada’s motto is “from sea to sea.” And that’s no exaggeration for this country covering the Atlantic in the east, the Pacific in the west, and the Arctic in the north. Explore this vast expanse at www.travelrificradio.com.
