tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61960405281103535312024-03-13T07:03:53.753-07:00Familia Travel Tipsjonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-91917018597809264192009-09-03T19:17:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.596-07:00On FireCheck out this amazing photo of the La Cañada Flintridge "Station fire" as viewed from Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles.jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-64756499399840518462009-09-02T09:19:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.596-07:00Frankincense in OmanWhenever I am in Oman, I try to bring frankincense back. I often wonder how frankincense harvested. Turns out the BBC has covered the Omani frankincense harvest this summer.jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-6173502929383857062009-09-01T15:26:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00McDonalds in DubaiRush hour at McDonalds in a shopping mall in Dubaijonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-23735014297145711872009-08-26T22:40:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00Biking around IrelandA good piece by Brian McIntyre in the Irish Times today, who biked around Ireland.I echo his experiences of Irish B&B's. Some excellent, with great breakfasts. Others "trying to emulate hotels, with dining rooms like public spaces, minimal interaction, and a growing sense of formality". And, as with Ireland in general, many are still overpriced. But the good ones are really good:However, it jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-73729294901943799482009-08-25T06:42:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00Hyatt "Three for free"Hyatt Resorts now has a “Three for Free” offer, where guests receive three free rewards during their stay – a free room night (based upon a minimum length of stay), room upgrade and full American breakfast for two daily at some Hyatt Resorts from September 8th through December 18th (more information available on www.Hyatt3ForFree.com).The only Hyatt Resort I've stayed at is the Hyatt at Palm jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-26861285282543584972009-08-24T14:01:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00Don't pay to use the US ESTA systemGood piece in the Irish Times about why not to pay third-parties to fill out the US ESTA forms for you. Unfortunately, there is a whole industry centered around charging money to fill out US Government forms which you could easily fill out yourself.jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-19885359930706731492009-08-13T16:23:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00$599 All-you-can-fly with JetBlueThis may be appealing to many business people who fly a lot, if you can get your company to agree. I know that I've certainly spent over $599 on flights this week alone (including two JetBlue flights) and with this program I would be ahead:http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2009/08/jetblue_offers_3.htmljonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-25257774653540422772009-08-07T06:18:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00Hotel Sofia in San DiegoI stayed at this hotel on a really good Expedia deal. I'd really recommend this hotel - nice rooms with the original warehouse-style windows, coffee-making facilities in the rooms (I'd just stayed in another hotel which did not have this amenity and was twice the price), close to 5th Avenue and the walk down to the waterfront, as well as close to the trams. Complimentary wired Internet connectionjonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-7765025982347166332009-08-06T06:32:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.597-07:00Another hotel rumor - Abandoned wedding ringsAnother rumor heard last week - If you work in the hotel trade then it's worthwhile running your hands over the top of furniture and doorways, in order to pick up forgotten wedding bands / rings. Apparently they are near the top of the list of things lost in hotel rooms, but do not appear on lists because people do not want to admit leaving them behind (I wonder why that is? :-) ).I wonder if jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-25640917988385655362009-08-05T05:05:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00The rumor of dollar bills hidden in hotel-room biblesThis is a rumor which I heard from an Intercontinental Hotels Group exec last week. The story goes that Christian evangelicals put money into hotel bibles, in the hope that people will open and look through the bible in the hope of finding the money. If there is no money there, well the rumor had the effect that the person has opened the bible and looked through it, and maybe they will read part jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-8664780166884429532009-08-04T09:33:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00Using the airport moving walkways 'actually slows you down'Something I've often suspected.I usually run alongside the moving escalator if I'm really in a hurry. Less risk of being stuck behind a group of people standing motionless.So I was interested to read this in the Daily Telegraph:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/5836445/Using-the-airport-moving-walkways-actually-slows-you-down.htmlSome interesting facts in the Telegraph story: jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-38231629946656662522009-07-22T06:32:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00Stay on a boat in San Diego harborCheaper than a hotel in many cases, plus free wifi :-)Search under "San Diego Harbor Vacations Club" on the left-hand side of this page:http://shellhospitality.com/blog/jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-47143840830692664492009-07-21T12:29:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00A new American car - The Rally FighterLocal Motors makes cars just outside Boston. Check out their Rally Fighter car, made based on specifications provided by a community of designers on the Internet.jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-13516216143677545212009-07-20T12:57:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00Skip (Dumpster) diving in LondonI grew up calling those big metal rubbish containers "skips", though in the US they are called "dumpsters". The BBC today has a handy guide to skip-diving in London. Although skips are relatively new, any reader of London history books like "The Ghost Map" will be aware that scavenging in London are nothing new, in fact one of David Beckham's ancestors in London was a scavenger by trade.jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-33943327714943914042009-07-17T06:58:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00Royal Oman PoliceI've done some work with the Royal Oman Police (ROP) over the past few years. A great bunch of people. I was really impressed by how genuinely they cared about the big flooding in Muscat a few years ago (compared to the indifference I saw in the US to the flooding of New Orleans).The ROP also had a certain wry Gulf Arab humour, with a lot of meaning being expressed in short remarks and smiles. "jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-50254892063541952562009-07-16T11:21:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.598-07:00Handy artist differentiation guide for CoachellaThe Coachella music festival was a few months ago now (God knows how hot it must be there now), but in the intervening time I've been mentally writing a handy guide to distinguish between two artists who played Coachella at around the same time this year - Leonard Cohen and Girl Talk. Over the past few months I've been racking my brains thinking of differences between these two artists. It is jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-70460242825182684102009-07-15T06:38:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00(Another) 24 Hour Sale on ExpediaPicked up a good deal on a hotel in San Diego, last week on an Expedia 24 Hour Sale.And lo and behold today there is another 24 Hour Sale on Expedia...jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-76513976060604576532009-07-14T06:42:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00The "black cab cabal" in LondonThe independent has a piece today about breaking the "Black Cab Cabal" in London. Satellite Navigation has enabled minicab drivers to provide cheaper fares.I occasionally take black cabs in London and, despite the occasional unwanted racist comments from a minority of drivers, they have known exactly where to go and got there fast. Would I take a black cab over a long distance? No - too expensivejonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-37476856010111057852009-07-13T07:17:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00The smart way to EuropeFor a while now, the cheapest way to most destinations in Europe from the US is to fly to Dublin or London and then catch a cheap Ryanair of Aer Lingus flight to the destination. Like this blogger did:FYI, my trip recently was Boston-London, cross London by bus to Stansted airport, fly by cheapo Ryan Air (bought on their site) to Brittany (Dinan), pick up car there, drive to apartment with wifi. jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-35384234346231708912009-07-10T09:53:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00Heathrow ExpressI wonder is this still the most expensive train in the world, based on ticket cost and distance traveled?It doesn't make sense for tourists, but I've used it plenty of times to get to and from central London (albeit the wrong side of central London for me usually - I then have to connect by Tube to get where I want to go) .jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-21658712067857322752009-07-08T13:18:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00Two views from the same street corner in New York CityLook right and you see the Chrysler Building. Look straight ahead and you see the Empire State Building. jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-39700192841074940032009-07-07T11:30:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00Travels with the MinotaurOne of the benefits of living in the US is the availability of cheap subscriptions to good magazines. But my travel schedule means that copies of the New Yorker and Economist often pile up. But travel also helps, because I read through the magazines on airlines. Last week I read the story "Ziggurat" by Stephen O'Connor in the New Yorker.It's an adaptation of the story of the Minotaur, a story jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-4346748576125279272009-07-06T06:18:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.599-07:00Marine Terminal at La Guardia airport in New YorkWhat a nice, quiet, relaxed place to wait for a plane. Even though the Delta shuttle flight was delayed (due to problems in Boston).This is the only original air terminal from the first generation of passenger air travel in the US.jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-58440175318364565102009-07-02T13:17:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.600-07:00Problems at Boston Logan Airport to last all summer?When I flew into Boston from New York on the shuttle from La Guardia last week, the Continental pilot told us that the instrument-landing system at Boston was not working, and that was slowing down the rate of landings there.Last night the Boston Globe reported that the "instrument-landing system at Runway 4R failed Tuesday for reasons that are still under investigation". Well, I'd understood it jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6196040528110353531.post-18536553089457009392009-06-27T20:59:00.000-07:002012-06-11T07:35:10.600-07:00Duty Free hut on the New York / Quebec borderI drove up to Canada recently through Vermont, and took the route over the islands in Lake Champlain, past farms and boating jetties. This linked me up with I-87 in New York State. I then crossed the border into Quebec, and was surprised at the small rural roads and this tiny Duty Free store:jonatanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07353221229629108025noreply@blogger.com0