July 2010

Travel Tech: Reading Kindle Books On The Road

App Reviews

“Here, take my Kindle Reader outside and try it in the bright sunlight” said The Nice Lady in the doctor’s waiting room.  So I did.  And it was cool.  With this gadget I could sit on the beach and read my favorite books  — all 1,295,041 of them.  “I need this” I told my wife.  [...]

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Destination Update (7/29/10)

Destination Updates

Here are this week’s travel destination stories on the Web: Five Stops On The Way To Venice (BootsnAll) Manhattan Rooftop Bars (The New York Times) Milwaukee’s Top 10 “Date” Places (GoNOMAD.com) England’s Cotswolds (Los Angeles Times) Highs And Lows At The Bay Of Fundy (Dallas Morning News) Ethnic Dining In Madrid (The New York Times) [...]

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Travel News Update (7/28/10)

Travel News Updates

Here are this week’s travel and travel technology stories on the Web: Take The Bus, Leave The Driving To Them (The New York Times) Flying The Profitable Skies (Elliott.org) Cheap International Calls On Android Phones (The New York Times) Skype Undated For iPhone (iPhoneFAQ.com) Shop While You Drop (In Your Airliner Seat) (AOLTravel) “Action” Trip [...]

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Blast From The Past: Beautiful “Downtown” Gimmelwald

Trip Blog Posts

Gimmelwald is a quintessential Swiss mountain community. Chalet-style homes dot steep grassy slopes where goats and cows chomp away at the greenery. Glaciated, horn-shaped peaks loom above us sending their melt waters in bridal veil rivulets down into the deep valleys below. There is only foot traffic here; the few vehicles that you see always [...]

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Travel Tech Special Report: “Jailbroken” iPhones

Travel Tech

The big high-tech news on Monday, July 26th was the decision by the Library of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office that it is legal for iPhone owners to “jailbreak” their phones.  A “jailbroken” iPhone is one that has been “unlocked” and can be used on any wireless carrier’s network that would support the phone; [...]

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Travel Essay: Travel By Catalog

Travel Essays

There are places you’ll drive to by car.  Others you’ll get to by plane or train.  But some can only be reached by catalog.

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Travel Tech: “Packing” Your iPhone For Travel.

Travel Tech

So Many Apps, So Little Room There are thousands of travel-related “Apps” for the iPhone, but until recently, I only had room to display the icons for 176 applications (including ones for Calendar, Contacts, Settings, and other apps that come with the iPhone) on the 11 Home Screens.

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Destination Update (7/22/10)

Destination Updates

Here are this week’s travel destination stories on the Web: Exploring Java’s Volcanoes (New York Times) Revolutionary Philadelphia (Chicago Tribune) Following Lewis & Clark (The Oregonian) 3-D Hawaii (AP via The Seattle Times) Lavender, Cowpokes, In Pendleton (The Oregonian) Europe Without Hotels (New York Times) Wisconsin Produce Tour (Chicago Tribune) Quebec’s “Wine Country” (Los Angeles [...]

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Travel News Update (7/21/10)

Travel News Updates

Here are this week’s travel and travel technology stories on the Web: Libya Is Ready For Tourists (New York Times) Free Road Trips (AP via The Seattle Times) GAO To Study Tarmac Delay Rule (Travel Weekly) iPhone Cruise App Released (Travel Weekly) Free Wi-Fi In The Sky? (AP via The Seattle Times) Talk To The [...]

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Blast From The Past: West To Switzerland

Trip Blog Posts

If Yosemite Valley was several hundred miles long and had a railroad running through it, the resemblance to Western Austria and Switzerland would be uncanny. Saturday dawned bright and sunny in Salzburg and just before noon we embarked on our long rail trip westward, passing initially through green rolling farmland and then into long valleys [...]

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Armchair Travel: The Anti-Bucket List

Armchair Travel

What do “The Testicle Festival”, “Your Boss’ Bedroom”, “The Wiener’s Circle”, and “Groper’s Night on the Tokyo Subway” all have in common?  They are chapters in Catherine Price’s new book, 101 Places Not To See Before You Die. Seven years ago Patricia Schultz gave us the ultimate travel “bucket list” with 1,000 Places To See [...]

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Travel Tech: Finding “Reads” On The Road

App Reviews

Looking for a good book or an independent bookstore while you’re on the road?  If you have an iPhone you’re in luck:  Download the free IndieBound app from the iTunes App Store. Finding Bookstores Turn your iPhone’s “Location Services” to “On”, then click on “Store Finder” at the bottom of the screen to get a [...]

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Destination Update (7/15/10)

Travel News Updates

Here are this week’s travel destination stories on the Web: Marseilles For “Foodies” (The New York Times) 11 “Must See” Wild Places (The Wilderness Society) Hanging Out In Hicksville (Matador.com) Kosovo On The Rise (Chicago Tribune) Travel To Find Your “Roots” (AP via The Oregonian) Enrolling in “Cowboy School” (The New York Times) Totally Eclipsing [...]

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Travel News Update (7/14/10)

Travel News Updates

Here are this week’s travel and travel technology stories on the Web: Finding Good “Road Food” (Culinate.com) Going “Naked” At The Airport (The New York Times) Tarmac Delays Turn Into Flight Cancellations (ABC News) Speaking Out On Air Travel Regulation (Elliott.org) Elephant Feeding Fines (AP via The Seattle Times) Kid Friendly Apps (San Francisco Chronicle) [...]

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Blast From The Past: Now That’s Real Vetter!

Trip Blog Posts

In “The Sound of Music” (which shows continuously on the TV in our Salzburg hotel room), a big storm frightens the Von Trapp children and they all run into Julie Andrews’ room where she sings “My Favorite Things” to calm them down. So, it was only fitting that thunder and lightning began with gusto around [...]

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Armchair Travel: City Of Thieves

Armchair Travel

David Benioff’s novel City of Thieves has it all:  The frozen winter landscape of Russia, death, betrayal, friendship, thievery, destruction, evil, and lust.  Lust for women, lust for men, lust for survival, and lust for food. Set during the siege of Leningrad in World Word II, it is the story of two incongruous companions: Young [...]

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Travel Tech: Gov’t Gets “Smart” Apps

App Reviews

If Maxwell Smart were a spy today he might be carrying a smartphone with “apps” that the U.S. government has created.  But these wouldn’t be James Bond-like secret intelligence gathering and dissemination programs, and anyone can obtain them at the “Mobile Apps Store” on the USA.gov Website. With only 18 apps in its store (and [...]

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