We love our tribe of traveltruthers. So, today, a reward. The name and telephone number of the one woman in the United States who can have you sleeping in the lap of luxury each and every night. Call Ms. Laura Wolff at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago and order one or two of the…
It seems like folks in the States believe that nearly everything that costs less than $20.00 is made in China. But the Washington Post points out that we Chinese have been consuming a good deal of stuff made int the USA. In fact, the Post reports that exports to, not from, China have increased by…
I visited Myanmar last November and it became one of my two top trips of my travels. As a child at school in Robin Hood country, the British Empire and Ex British Empire were taught in history and geography lessons. The magical names of Rangoon, Mandalay and the Irrawaddy river sparked a lightbulb so that,…
The crime rate in sections of Mexico has caused the US State Department to issue a series of warnings related to travel within Mexico, The body count from the various internal drug wars keeps rising. Yes, in figures just released by the Mexico Tourism Board, travel to the country actually grew by 2% in 2011,…
Things are not always what they seem. Tropicana Orange Juice contains oranges from Brazil. Only certain brands actually use Florida oranges. But, virtually all Grapefruit juice is home grown in the USA. The presence of fungicides in orange juice from Brazil caused some folks to actually read food labels. But food labels are deceiving. In…
The Doomsday clock has been moved forward – again. It may be time to travel since the clock is now set to five minutes before midnight. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists carried this cheerful news effective on January 11th – and that was before Newt Gingrich won South Carolina. The group of scientists who…
The latest figures from the United Nations indicate that any American with an annual income above $24,801 is, quite literally, among the 1% wealthiest inhabitants of our planet. 99% of the world’s people earn less than that per year. It is sometimes worthwhile to consider that fact during our travels and during our moments of…
Cruise lines are generally bullish when it comes to potential berth capacity going into the 20 teens. Or at least they were three or four years ago, when cruise line execs signed on to launch six new ships this year One of the primary reasons that seasoned cruise line execs and their investors are mildly…
You can call them vultures or you can call them smart corporate investors, but something in the air is circling American Airlines parent company, AMR Corp in Dallas. In fact, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that just as American is going through the kind of financial reorganization that will allow it to emerge from…
Everyone in aviation knew Southwest was going to place a serious new order with Boeing for the new, “Max” version of the 737, but the size of the order, 208 new aircraft valued at $19 Billion was still a shocker. The more fuel-efficient Max engines are new and Southwest will be Boeing’s first Max operator. Southwest…
The cost of a hotel night in Rome went up another $8.00 or so on January 1st. As one of the city’s new breed of public servants put it, “In order not to tax Romans we have decided to tax the tourists.” All Rome Hotel guests in four and five star properties will now be…
Travelers to Beijing need to “mask-up” before setting out to see the city this week as heavy clouds of industrial smog hang over the city. There is an air monitor mounted on the roof of the U.S. Embassy. This week the needle went past the end of the index, indicating a level of pollution that…
Visitors to Italy may be unaware of recent routing’s on the “World’s # 1-Rated (traveltruth) Airline” that can turn an Italy vacation into a two culture feast. Emirates has just initiated Airbus 380 Non-stop service between Dubai and Rome. There are four other direct flights between Dubai and Rome, Milan, and Venice. For a vacation…
Rome – 12.13.11 – As welfare Minister Elsa Fornero spoke to the nation about the passage of new austerity measures to be enacted by the Monti government, she broke down in tears and could not continue. Prime Minister Mario Monti, an economist rather than a politician, rushed to assist and finish her remarks. Italian workers…
Many affectionados of fine wines are unaware that credit card purchases may end up as data linked to credit scores. It is always recommended that all wine store purchases be paid in cash. No direct link between a major credit card and so-called “morality profiles” have been found to date. But we do know that…
The line was more than three years long but ANA, All Nippon Airways, received delivery of its first two spanking new 787’s. This is the plane that, quite frankly, is the Boeing Corporations biggest single gamble. The first flight took off from Narita on October 26th, landing a short time later in Hong Kong. Journalists…
There were some tense moments in our nation’s capital, last March 23rd, when several approaching aircraft could not reach the tower. It turns out, as reported by USA Today, that the lone supervisor had fallen asleep. We know that it has not been unusual for one controller to work the midnight shift at many mid-size…
That would be China. A recent report in Travel Weekly shows the growth potential of an “American Heartland” lodging icon in China. The numbers are rather staggering. Marriott brands, including Ritz Carlton and the upscale JW Marriott division, will open a new hotel in China every month for the next three years. And there is…
Qantas Airlines has an in-flight film channel called “The Edge”. It is interesting to note that the video-on-demand system has an option to “learn improved sex techniques”. It turns out that the video is a French documentary entitled “The Female Orgasm Explained.” The documentary includes excerpts from some dated porno films, complete with all of…
It happened, or at least we think it did, on October 31st. The 7 billionth one of us was born. On the one hand we might manage. There seems to be lots of space and the birth rate has nearly been reduced to half of what it was in 1970. Farm production has seen enormous…
The New York Times has selected its list of the 41 Places real travelers ought to consider visiting this year. Heading the List, at # 1, is a city that has survived an 8.8 magnitude earthquake less than fourteen months ago. By all reckoning this city should not even be standing. But Santiago, Chile has…
To date, no major cruise lines have canceled Athens embarkations. We anticipate some hotel location changes designed to keep cruise guests away from the central square where major demonstrations are taking place. This situation is currently rather fluid and we recommend that all Athens bound guests review arrangements with their consultant two weeks prior to…
You are cordially invited to join us on our 12-Day sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon on the new, Oceania Riviera. This is an ideal itinerary for those who would like to really get to know Spain and Portugal. We will have five port calls in Spain, two days in Portugal, two days in Morocco, and…
If you are renting a car it will be helpful to know the following in advance: Greece: The trick in Athens is to secure two legal license plates. Odd numbered plates are allowed on odd numbered days, even on even. This, quite theoretically, cuts traffic congestion by 50%. Italy – The rules keep getting tougher…
The fall and winter season will soon bring Florida’s crop of absolutely unripened tomatoes to our tables. This is another example of our collective willingness to eat chemically treated food when better alternatives exist. It is what separates us from the Italians, the French, and the Spanish as we appear to have no trouble with…
In case you’ve missed all our other credit card advice over the years. Here are the essentials: If you travel internationally two or more times per year, strongly consider using a credit card exclusively for overseas purchases.
The new Global Competitiveness Rankings, developed by the World Economic Forum, evaluate each nation’s education, health care, business innovation, infrastructure and other key factors.
There are some key “understandings” shared by many cruise line executives about their future growth and the internalization of their passengers. Here are some observations that can help the consumer envision the world of upscale cruising projected ten to fifteen years into the future: It is a given that at least 50% of luxury cruise…
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