Tagged With "Instant Booking"
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Agree with PHeymont. Plan your trips around the leaf watching. Lots of pretty small towns around New England, although many will be pretty booked. I'd leave at least 3-4 days for Boston. Lots to see and do there, including many items relating to the rebellious Yankees throwing off the ties with old King George. And great museums and restaurants and such. We can get into more details if you'd like, but you'll definitely want a good guide book. Many people find a day in Salem (famous for its...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Wow! HistoryDigger that is fantastic information, thank you, I will now 'dig' more (pardon the pun) on the web and put some plans into place around those excellent suggestions!! Please - a crucial question for us - would we be "safe" to just book hotels for the arrival and departure days of our tour and simply rely on finding local accommodation as we progress round - or is it really SO busy in this season that I must book every stop along the way? We prefer the 'flexible' approach as it can...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Regarding hotels, Mac, I think I'd spend a few days in Boston to begin with, presuming that's where you are flying into. This will let you get over your jet lag and also give you a chance to see the state of the colors and plot out where you want to go. I would NOT go without having at least a night's reservation booked ahead because you'll waste too much time looking for a place to stay and will end up paying rack rate. Things will be busy and pretty filled up in the small towns of New...
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Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Interesting story. A little known bit of Canadian history. Thanks. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, October 5, 2015: Stone Gingerbread House
I love stone houses like this one. There was one, on a much smaller scale, in my hometown that was right on the waterfront. @PHeymont - it is listed for a mere 11 million. http://www.zillow.com/homes/fo...4.039602_rect/18_zm/ “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
Received this e-mail this morning. Today we're excited to share the news that Starwood Hotels & Resorts will join together with Marriott International to create the world's largest hotel company. For our Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG® members, this will mean even more choices in even more places, giving you access to 1.1 million rooms across 5,500 hotels and resorts in more than 100 countries. We will work to bring you the very best of SPG and Marriott Rewards®, two of the most...
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
I'm hopeful, since I think the last thing in the world Marriott should want to do is to signal Starwood loyalists that they aren't valued. Wonder how long before SPG rewards will book Marriott rooms...that could be a quick thing to do!
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Re: 'Finding Reiner' letters now available as book
Thank you for posting this update. What an honor to find these letters and collaborate on this book with Denis Havel. The travel adventure will always inspire me to look beyond the ordinary.
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Re: 'Finding Reiner' letters now available as book
So glad this is a book! Congratulations Whitney and Denis!
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Re: New book celebrates Yellowstone, National Parks Centennial
That looks like a must read book about my favorite US National Park! Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
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Re: Shunpiking Through Northern Ohio
I enjoy your journeys around " Small Town USA". The US has such a wealth of history. You should write a book so that Brits like me know where to search for new ventures - ready for my next trip across the pond. Thank You.
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Re: Post-Merger AA Route Changes at DCA, LGA
Virign America will bee getting some of AA's slots at LGA - That is a net plus in my book!
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Re: Missoula, Montana — Home of Grizzlies
Originally Posted by PortMoresby: I like this one because it reminds me of a time when my son was a naval fire fighter and was talking about becoming a smoke jumper after he was discharged. He changed his mind, something for which I'll be forever grateful. Read 'Young Men and Fire', by Norman Maclean and understand. Those smokejumpers are amazing! Absolutely fearless. When everyone's running away from a fire, they're jumping from planes to run toward it. Another good fictional book is the...
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Re: Should Wi-Fi be free in all hotels?
Good discussion! WiFi has for me become an indispensable part of traveling. It allows me to stay in touch with family easily and cheaply (remember how hard it was even 25 years ago -- a phone call could run you $5 a minute? And there was no email). It lets me spend evening hours clearing out a hefty email que, and doing research on what I am going to see tomorrow and the next day. And with "Gumbo on the Go", it lets me share my travels as they happen with fellow Gumboites! I echo PHeymont's...
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Re: The "Eiffel Tour" Only Starts with the Tour Eiffel
Brunel has fascinated me since reading a book on the Great Eastern, an unlucky ship he designed. Perhaps someday I can find time to post about his work...unless I hear a volunteer? Thanks!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 13: Brussels' Saucy Statue
He's much smaller than I thought -- and I'm talking about the height of the little guy. Besides chocolate their tinkling mascot, the Belgiums also love beer and comics. I was quite surprised at what a comic book culture they have.
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Re: Traveling for Local Food
I took a look and it looks like just what I need. I can even use the info to plan our route. I had my mom look at it, too, and she said it reminds her of when she was a kid and my granddad had a book called Duncan Hines that had local places all over. I wonder if that's the same Duncan Hines as the cake mix?
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Hi everyone! I'm back. Just arrived at my parents home for Thanksgiving. Not had a lot of time to work on this trip since I last visited TravelGumbo, but some progress to report. I have a firm ticket reservation for Manchester, returning from Paris, though a few days off the dates we talked about. But 29 days in Europe! Whooppeee!! I have a guidebook from the Library which I'm going to go through this long weekend (one by Fodors). I think this will help. Anyone know of a good pocket size...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
England is only as big as Florida ! I haven't seen a Guide book that sub-divides us! Wales is full of Castles, Mountains and Lakes. Tourists often divide England between the North and South. The North is often cooler and wetter than further South. But your Dollar will go twice as far up here in the North! And we're much friendlier. Have a look at places you'd like to visit. York (the old one) will keep you busy for 2 days. Train or Bus from Liverpool. Or a day or two in Europe from Liverpool...
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Re: Renting an apartment in Europe
Originally Posted by Bling: We have considered renting an apartment. We are never quite sure how to handle the deposit. Some owners seem very firm about having a non-refundable deposit upfront. We can understand their need to guarantee bookings but we also know that plans change, flights get cancelled, and, perhaps the place will not be to our liking. Should we only book with owners and agencies that allow the deposit to be paid on arrival ? What is the standard procedure for this ? What is...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan 31, 2013: Lindisfarne, the Holy Island
Thanks for the interesting post, Mac! I love the old abbeys of Britain and Ireland. And perhaps most important is the valuable roll they played in preserving the written word and scholarly traits during the Dark Ages. I imagine that the Lindisfarne Gospels are a lot like the Book of Kells?
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Re: Chris Elliott's New Book is a Smart Guide to Travel Smarts
Thanks Paul, Chris does seem to solve a lot of problems and shares how he does it and who to talk to. I've found his contact he lists at companies very helpful when people get the runaround. The book sounds like another useful resource
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Re: In Egypt: The Egyptian Museum
An item from the UK's Guardian comments on the timelessness & "place-less-ness" of Nefertiti's image. If she'd stayed in Egypt after her discovery at Amarna, she'd likely have a place near her image above with her family, in the photo titled " Scene of worship of the Aten ..." as that's a far more interesting historical context, rather than the following reign of Tutankhamun, in which to put her. I hope the book does her real life justice.
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Re: ANA Japan flight becomes flight to nowhere
When I worked in a library, checking in returned books to be reshelved sometimes the scanner would beep even though the barcode hadn't actually registered in the computer. So if we didn't watch the screen, but depended on the sound, occasionally a book would still be checked out as far as the system was concerned. A long-winded way of pointing out that may be akin to what happened in the case of the ANA passenger.
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Re: A Visit to Lovely Lake Orta
I booked a rental car earlier today for a forthcoming trip to Portugal/Spain. I had toyed with the idea of going for something a bit bigger than the smallest category - which is what I usually book - but your article reminded me of the potential issues with very narrow streets in this part of the world. So a 'mini' car it is (Renault Twingo)!
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Re: In Egypt: An Unlikely Story
My guess would be that only about 0.00001% of travelers to Egypt would have a familiarity with that book, interesting though it seems. You may very well have been the first person ever who recognized Hamada from Mahoney's book. But a charming tale it is and one that turns a good trip into a memorable experience. I'm saddened to hear that your story has you returning to Luxor already. I've enjoyed your Nile journey.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Sep 18th 2014: Portmeirion , Wales
looks like something out of a children's story book...beautiful
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Re: Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Canada. Where Gumbo Was #36
Close but no cigar on Central Park's designer (who also did my backyard, Brooklyn's Prospect Park). Birkenhead was the work of Joseph Paxton, while the other two were done by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Olmsted visited Birkenhead in 1850, three years after it opened, and while he was already thinking about Central Park, which opened in 1858. In his book "Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England, Olmsted wrote about Birkenhead: "five minutes of admiration, and a few more...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 4, 2014: A Courtyard in Marrakech
I was just looking again at the book in the picture, on the table, wondering what it was I was reading. I found it in my bookcase, 'Marrakesh: through writer's eyes'. Published in the UK by Eland, thought I recognized their distinctive binding. In case anyone else was wondering...
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Re: Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
I've only had the pleasure of a small part of the road (east of Flagstaff and yes, passing that corner in Winslow, Arizona, but Route 66 is pretty much the symbol of the feeling so many of us have, of wanting to discover a past still visible in the present, and worth holding onto. Another good book for "shunpikers" is George Cantor's "Where the Old Roads Go: Driving the First Federal Highways of the Northeast." It's an easy and rewarding read even if you're not setting out on Rte 6, Rte 20,...
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Re: Coastal California: The Pigeon Point Hostel
Any travel tale that starts with a road trip following giraffes (nice pic, BTW), includes a lighthouse, the surf, goat cheese and cute granddaughters, is top rate in my book! Can't wait for the lighthouse tour!
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Re: Finding Reiner #7: Shrapnel & Bones
Originally Posted by Carlin Scherer: Beautiful image - grabbing on to the spider web and flying into a peaceful land/world. Reiner wrote beautifully!!! Reiner was a great writer, and I'm sure in the original German it's even more elegantly phrased than in this fine translation! PHeymont -- agree with the sentiment. Believe we'll always have evil, power grabbing tyrants in our midst and our challenge is not to keep them from seizing power. Not an easy task. I've been reading Eric Metaxas...
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Re: Finding Reiner #7: Shrapnel & Bones
DrFumblefinger—I've been meaning to read that book about Bonhoeffer. In fact, I'll do so, as soon as I finish Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation, 1939-1944 by Richard C. Lukas and Norman Davies . My affection for the Polish people I've met has spurred me to deepen my understanding of the German occupation and devastation of Poland.
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Re: Marriott to offer free wi-fi to all its Rewards member
In my experience, loyalty is built with perks the customer doesn't have to think about or read the rules to decipher. I always stayed at the same hotel in Tucson prior to flying out because they were happy to let me leave my car indefinitely. I didn't have to figure it out. The wifi issue is the same, just give it to everyone. Nickel & diming leisure travelers will, I suspect, often lead them to look at other options every time they book a hotel.
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Re: Italian Competition Authority fines TripAdvisor €500,000
I am a free speech advocate, and don't like this ruling. Free speech can be abused and, yes, there will be people who lie to hurt someone. But that won't be avoided by being 100% sure people have used a service. For example, if I want to hurt my competitor's restaurant, I'll go in, buy a drink, then go home and trash them on Tripadvisor. Similarly, guide book authors can be "bought off". Honest opinions are very important from experienced travelers and the more sources we have, the better...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 22, 2014: Mr. Kuttan
I've just finished a short book by Alan Bennett, 'The Uncommon Reader', about another notable personage whose job it is to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome in their presence. Seeing Mr. Kuttan's serene face, it makes me wonder what his private thoughts might have been all those years. And if he'd written them down and had them tucked away somewhere, to be revealed at a later date. I suspect not, under the circumstances, but wouldn't it be interesting?
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 22, 2014: Mr. Kuttan
Originally Posted by PortMoresby: I've just finished a short book by Alan Bennett, 'The Uncommon Reader', about another notable personage whose job it is to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome in their presence. Seeing Mr. Kuttan's serene face, it makes me wonder what his private thoughts might have been all those years. And if he'd written them down and had them tucked away somewhere, to be revealed at a later date. I suspect not, under the circumstances, but wouldn't it be...
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Re: Dublin, Ireland's Trinity College: Where Gumbo Was #29
Thanks for the note, Andre. It is a great library, but like many college students those at Trinity College like to party as much as study, so you'll likely not see them there much before the end of the semester either. What you might find even more amazing is that every student has the right to sign out any of those books (with the exception of the ancient ones like the Book of Kells). Despite how historic it looks, it is still a university library for students.
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Re: London- multiple questions
Thank you for all of the information. I am finally ready to finalize some things since we leave at the end of this month! We have decided not to do Liverpool...seems like we should come back and do that someday. I am thinking the Megabus option may be the way to go to Salisbury and catch the shuttle to Stonehenge from there. That way we can see the cathedral while we are there. Do you know if it is a short walk to the cathedral or will we need to take a taxi from the Megabus stop? Do you...
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Re: London- multiple questions
Hi Chickpea. The train from London to Liverpool will take 2 and a half hours each way. You can check out the times and which trains are direct - no changing - at www.thetrainline.com It's always cheaper to book well in advance ! It's over 400 miles round trip. And it's expensive at peak times. Around £200 return. So if you get the 09:40 from Euston Station (London) to Lime St. Station Liverpool its only £39 with a change at Crewe. 20 minute change time. And return at 19:48 Liv - Lon - Direct...
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Re: Dismaland - the new 'post-apocalyptic' bemusement park in England
Entry to Dismaland remains at £3 ($5) but apparently you now have to book online the crashing website (part of the fun?) which charges you a further £2 ($3.50) for the privilege. Excellent value for such an outstandingly dismal experience...
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Re: Air Canada Launches Free Layover Program in Toronto
http://www.aircanada.com/us/en...to-stopover-program/ This is what the Air Canada site says about the program. It says you have to book by October 31, 2015 to get the offer.
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Re: How to Irk the Brits
It's been more than 50 years since the book "The Ugly American" was published. Does he still exist ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzsBh2WsFCQ
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Re: Airbnb's plans for business travelers
As an Airbnb user, and also a host, again I have the feeling that the company, while tooting their "community" horn, has again proceeded with changes to the site with no input from users, but rather as conceived by the designers working in their own little world. Particularly as a host, it regularly becomes a case of "you can't get there from here". This interview is an example, telling us that corporate users will be directed only to entire properties, rather than all properties available...
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Re: Beating Jet Lag
When you arrive at your departure airport set your watch to your destination time. Sleep as much as you want to on the flight. Wear headphones to avoid being woken - listen to some smooth tunes on your MP3. Take snacks and bottled water. Don't eat big meals before and during your flight. Take a puzzle book to keep your mind active while you are awake. Take a pee long before they put the seat belt sign on for landing. (Waiting too long in line for Immigration when you're busting makes you bad...
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Re: How do occupy your time while flying?
Great ideas and i especially like the audiobook idea! For me it depends whether I'm going on the trip or returning home. Going, I tend to organize my notes and read about some of the sights I'm planning on visiting. That used to be in guidebooks but now it's a combination of guidebooks and material I've printed off. Coming home, I try to relax and unwind. Maybe watch a movie or read a fiction book. My next trip I want to use that time to learn some French.
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Re: Outdated Information, Print & Online
This is problematic, especially when it comes to accommodations and restaurants in my experience, because ownership and management changes and closures are far from rare in the travel industry. A lot of guide book publishers have on line sites which provides updates to the guidebook. But that takes lots of effort and this is a real downside of printed media -- its short half life. Glad to hear you're looking at Sri Lanka! It's a wonderful destination.
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Re: Books That Sent You Packing (your bag, that is)
People always laugh when I tell them this but the book that most inspired me to travel was Arthur C Clarke's "2001 a Space Odyssey". It made me want to see the universe -- or at least Clavius Base on the moon. It wasn't until later that I learned I'd have to settle for staying on the planet. Little did I know those journeys would one day lead me to the home and friendship of the man who wrote the book that so inspired me.
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Re: Waived Booking Fees on AA Award Travel
Really good news, because some of those partner flights are hard to book online even when you know they exist. This should make it easier to make connection to a number of areas in Europe without having to do Heathrow...
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Re: Smart marketing: publisher targeting Wright Brothers book at airports
McCullough is a great researcher and writer, and this book will do well regardless of where it's placed.