Ever stumbled upon the perfect café, sequestered deep in the quietest corner of a buzzing city, and just had to share the secret? Ever wanted to be part of that secret? Travelistas Lynn Lau and Abby Bender combine their journalism and travel experiences to bring readers Notes From A Café: Travel stories from the deep end, a refreshing cure to the usual stodgy travel resources. Notes From A Café revolves around the love of travel, with articles covering countries from Belgium to Norway to Malaysia, along with tips and resources to fellow travelers interested in the non-touristy side of exploring the world.
Celebrating the joie de vivre of traipsing the globe, Lynn and Abby feature their stories and secrets under headings such as "Voyage Vignettes" (focusing on the thick and thin of personal travel accounts), "Foreign Foibles" (cultural gaffes and taboos), "Travel Tips" (a grab-bag of information and suggestions for travelers), and "Roaming Reviews" (frank guides on true must-see's and definite stay-away-from's).
A random selection of our articles:
Flight comparison sites have certainly helped travel! |
Major travel comparison sites, such as Expedia and Orbitz, have made it much easier for us common folk to become world-savvy travelers. No longer are we dependent on travel agents to compare flight ticket prices between multiple airlines—we can do it ourselves with two taps of a mouse! In fact, the last time I used a travel agent was seven years ago, in order to map out a route to Molde. If I were to make that same trip today, there’s no doubt I could pull it off without a third party, just by spending a litle more time in front the computer screen.
Yes, the Internet has made it vastly convenient for us to get our own flight tickets. But did you know that there are actually certain days of the month that are the best times to book those tickets?
» Read the rest of Mark Your Calendar: The Best Times to Buy Flight Tickets ...
There’s no doubt about it: I’m not a girl who can function on a mere couple of hours’ worth of shut-eye. I need my beauty sleep. This includes when I’m traveling. Heck, especially when I’m traveling. When you’re zipping in and out of time-zones, the last thing you want to do is put up with a sleepless flight for 19 hours straight. (Tip: When traveling on flights, it helps to rearrange your sleep patterns from the start so as to reduce jet-lag.)
But if the person sitting next to you has her reading light on — determined to finish that Stephen King novel in her hands — or if that passenger at the far end of your row thinks it’s just peachy to have the plane window shades up when everyone else is trying to sleep, what can you do?
» Read the rest of Packing Essentials #3: Shutting Out The World ...
I could tell you about our getting lost on our first day in Seattle—well, not so much lost as misdirected, because all we did was take the wrong bus and wind up on the other side of town—or about how Pike Place Market was a riot of shops and senses, in a way reminding me of the low-cost shopping complexes back in Malaysia. But you know what the real highlight of the whole trip all was? When I held an absolutely fetching white-chested caique on my fingers and blew on her tongue.
Blowing on Katie’s tongue
Photo by Seow Yin |
Seow Yin and I had emerged from Pike Place, and decided to stroll over to a small park nearby for a breather. The bright sun and hot temperature defied April’s alleged “spring” qualities, and drew people out into the open as if by osmosis. Or like a well-sprung trap, depending on your frame of mind. So, scattered about the park were students, drummers, and casual tourists amidst tubby pigeons looking for a snack.
Seow Yin had finished taking obligatory photos when I noticed there were other kinds of birds in the vicinity, and not of the pigeon variety either.
» Read the rest of Katie the Caique ...
One Sunday, as we were rumbling down the road in the red Peugeot on our way back home from the Amboise open-air market, Jennifer turned around and asked: “Hey … do you guys want to stop and see the Chanteloup Pagoda?”
I knew most of the hundreds of châteaux of the Loire Valley, but I had never heard of a French pagoda. Visions suddenly filled my head of dragon-emblazoned silk banners streaming from Gothic turrets, and manicured topiaries flanked by delicate, blooming cherry trees, and I knew I had to go see it.
As it turns out, the “Pagode de Chanteloup,” or the Chanteloup Pagoda, was built upon the remains of the château de Chanteloup, which belonged to the Duc de Choiseul, minster to Louis XV. Said Duke eventually offended the king in some way, shape, or form, as was wont to happen in those days, and Dukey found himself exiled to Chanteloup from 1770 to 1774. But his friends remained loyal to him, and in 1775, he directed his architect, Le Camus, to build the pagoda in honor of them.
(I’m assuming that the king had died, which made it possible for the Duke to build the pagoda and not get his head chopped off, but my guidebook falls short at this point.)
We pulled up to the deserted parking lot, parked the Peugeot, and tumbled out of the car, ready to take a quick trip to the Far East. But, horror of horrors, we discovered that the gate surrounding the park was chained shut … and the pagoda was closed for the season.
» Read the rest of Breaking and Entering ...
A kiss, when all is said, what is it? … ‘Tis a secret told to the mouth instead of to the ear. – Edmond Rostand
| Cafe Knösel Haspelgasse 16 69117 Heidelberg Phone: 0049-6221-22345 Fax: 00496221-600160 http://www.cafek-hd.de/startseite.html |
Heidelberg is widely considered to be one of the most romantic cities in Germany. Its winding cobblestone streets, gingerbready-looking eaves and arches, its crumbling castle … just oh-so-quintessential, Grimm’s-fairy-tale German.
And if you’re looking for a dose of old-fashioned German romance, you simply must pay a visit to Heidelberg’s oldest café, Café Knösel.
» Read the rest of A Kiss is Just a Kiss ...