Enjoying this blog? Check out the rest of the Travel & Culture Channel 
Mom’s, Moms-to-be, or those without the title but who serve as a Mom nonetheless — I wish all of you a very Happy Mothers Day!
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Tags: b5media, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacationEveryone wants the “BEST” seat on an airplane, but how “BEST” is defined varies from traveler to traveler.
For some, best means First Class or Business Class. Okay, I’m with you on that one!
But what if you’re in coach? Is it possible to get a “BEST” seat there?
That’s where the debate begins.
Many travelers believe that an exit row or bulkhead is their “BEST” seat. Other travelers define “BEST” by a window or an aisle. Still others define “”BEST” by the front or back of the plane, how close or how far away it is from the lavatory, and how close or far away it is from a galley.
This video tries to give you some hints about those “BEST” seats that are kept secret. . . .
Are these really the best seats, though? Keep reading for my opinion.
Tags: Air Travel, airplanes, b5media, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacationWelcome to the May 7th, 2008 edition of the Carnival of Travelers. Yes, I know it’s a few days late, but real life has a way of catching up with lately.
Our theme for May was Local Events, and it was one that bloggers seemed to have a lot of trouble with. Many submissions were off topic, and despite being well written and creative, they are not listed here. I thank everyone for participating, along with a gentle reminder that this is a themed carnival.
I am happy to present the following travel blogs post on the theme Local Events:
That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Travelers. Thanks to all the travel bloggers who submitted such great posts about local events.
You can submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Travelers using our carnival submission form.
The June theme is Photos. All submissions must be a great photo (or photos) of a travel destination, event, attractions, etc., that you have personally taken. This is a photo submission, and text should be short and explanatory in nature only. So dust off your camera, and take a great travel shot. (NOTE: Please confirm in your post, or in the submission notes, that the photo is one that you have taken.)
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Tags: b5media, blog carnivals, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, local events, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacation
Today’s question, from Jon at The DC Traveler, is somewhat tongue in cheek and a bit of a challenge to all the bloggers in the Travel & Culture Channel:
Q. What would be the quintessential (tongue-in-cheek) cocktail for a Flight Attendant?
A. As tongue in-cheek as I’m sure the rest of our bloggers will be, here’s my ideal cocktail. I’m calling it the “Stew-tini.”
1 part on time arrival
1 part fun-loving crew
1 part great layover
1 part polite, appreciative passengers
Shake well at 40,000 feet and drink while wearing some to “die for” outfit!
I invite you to check out the special cocktails created by the rest of the blogs in the Travel & Culture Channel.
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Tags: b5media, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacation
After a sunny day exploring the island of Capri, it was fun to take the chair lift in Anacapri all the way to the very top to take a view of the island and surrounding area. The fog rolling in on one side of the island created quite a juxtaposition with the sun on the other side. Here’s the foggy side.
The name of the island is properly pronounced CAH-pree, not cuh-PRI (like the pants).
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Tags: b5media, Capri, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, Italy, photography, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacation
Traveling, whether by air, car, train, bus, or on foot, can be an exhausting experience. Many times, you cannot control or shape the events happening around you. But you can take care of yourself with a little thoughtful planning.
One of the easiest things you can do, and inexpensive too, is to carry along some bottles of water with you. Whether it’s your own refillable bottle, or you buy it as you travel along, having some water handy can make for a more pleasant traveling experience.
Taking water on a flight is the most complicated. By air: You are not going to be able to take your water through security, so this option required a little more planning. You can plan to buy water at a shop inside of the security gate and resign yourself to the cost. Or, you can bring your own water bottle with you and fill it once you past through security. There are drinking fountains located throughout most airports, or step into a restroom to use water from the sink. If you’re in an area where you are concerned about the quality of the tap water, just plan to buy it. Make sure that your bottle is full when you get on the plane, and you’ll always have some handy. Time and supplies permitting, when in flight ask for additional water to refill your bottle.
In all your other travel situations, taking along some water won’t be a big deal. I try to keep a bottle in my purse (or backpack) and drink it when other options aren’t available. When I’m somewhere that water is accessible, I just remember to fill it up, using the same bottle repeatedly.
Having water handy also means that you don’t have to go looking for it on the road, taking precious minutes and energy better left for enjoying your travels.
There are lots of good health reasons for staying hydrated. From a practical stand point, you’ll also be a more self-sufficient traveler, happier, and a lot more pleasant to be around.
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Tags: b5media, Back to Basics, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, tourism information, travel, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacation, vacation information
While it may not be the Grand Canal in Venice, you can experience an authentic Venetian Gondola ride on Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.
Operating year round, Gondola Servizio offers private tours (meaning you are not thrown together with strangers) on a reservation only basis. Come as a couple for a romantic sunset rid, or put together a party of up to six for a more festive occasion.
Available cruise packages include:
Group tours are also offered, and customized requests are always considered
From September through May cruises are offered Wednesday through Sunday, from 5 pm - midnight. During the Summer (June through August), cruises are offered daily.
Use the Fairyland entrance of Lake Merritt, and park in the Gondola Servizio parking lot. You’ll meet your gondolier out on the dock.
I’m still holding out for a ride in Venice, but till then, this will be the next best thing.
Photo credit: FreeFoto
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Tags: b5media, California, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, gondola rides, Lake Merritt, Oakland, tourism information, travel, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacation, vacation information
Today’s Matchbook Monday is from Morton’s The Steakhouse (formerly known as Morton’s of Chicago).
The restaurant chain was founded in 1978, and there are now locations around the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. You can check the full listing of restaurants to see if there is one in your neighborhood.
As you might have guessed from its name, Morton’s primary menu is steak. In addition to a listing of the types of steak on the menu, servers roll a display cart to your table, showing you raw samples of the various cuts. I’ve never understood why looking at raw meat is appetizing (bleh!), but it’s one of their signature features.
Do you have a matchbook from your collection? Or picked one up at a hotel or restaurant or resort that you’ve recently visited? I’d love to feature your matchbook on a future Matchbook Monday! Send me a photo, along with any comments you wish to make.
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Tags: b5media, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, Matchbook Monday, Morton's the Steakhouse, restaurants, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, vacation
When you travel all the time, it becomes easy to take the whole process for granted. Instead of being excited about heading off to the airport for a flight, you complain about having to go on “one more trip.”
It’s easy to understand how you feel when you’re traveling for business, but when it’s finally time to take the family on a vacation, it’s time to get your mind in a different space and make it fun for everyone. Especially for the kids — who can all too easily pick up on any negative travel vibe.
Whether you’re traveling with the family, or sending the kids on a trip of their own, they are going to need something to do for those hours they are buckled into an airplane seat.
So how about some good old fashioned games? No whistles, no bells, no video screen. Just some cards, mental and visual stimulation, and family interaction.
Flying Rubberneckers is card game that you can use to make the plane trip fun, encouraging kids to look at the world around. It’ll help pass the time, keep them occupied, and maybe even learn a thing or two. The game consists of 70 cards, and is appropriate for reading levels for ages 4-8. It retails for $12.95.
Additional Rubbernecker cards are available for car trips.
Get out of your grumpy travel blahs, and help the kids have the plane trip of their life!
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Tags: b5media, Car Trips, children traveling, family-travel, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, flying with kids, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel books for kids, travel games, travel information, Travel Tips, traveling with kids, vacation
I first heard about TVtrip.com when they launched last summer. The concept is to provide a hotel search engine that uses unbiased videos filmed by TVtrip. You check out the video, decide if you like the hotel, and then book. All for the TVtrip website.
Although the concept was interesting, there just weren’t enough hotels for me to decide just how reliable the site was going to be. As we approach the one year mark, I took a look back to see how they’ve evolved.
For starters, there are a lot more properties available. Still, while they claim to have over 1,000 hotels, many of those do not have videos. In Seattle, 10 hotels were listed, only one had video.
I checked out some hotel samples for Seattle (where I live), as well as several cities where I’ve booked hotels lately. I wanted places that I was familiar enough with that I could judge how fairly the videos represented the properties.
The first thing I discovered is that the videos are fairly amateurish, sort of like something that I could video myself (making note to self there). There’s nothing wrong with amateur video, however the site touts that “all our videos have been shot by TVtrip professionals.” I expected a little better quality.
The video shows the exterior of the hotel, a bit of the neighborhood, and then moves inside for some common areas - front desk, lobby area, etc. After that we get a sample of the room, shown from different angles in an attempt to showcase the various features of the room.
So what did I think?
Tags: b5media, flight attendants, flyaway-cafe, hotel booking sites, hotel bookings, hotel reservations, hotel reviews, Hotels, travel, travel & tourism, travel blogging, travel blogs, travel information, Travel Tips, TVtrip, vacationTravel information, tips, and destination suggestions from a Flight Attendant.
Written by Mary Jo Manzanares [email] for b5media.
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