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 ...
I’m an overpacker. I freely admit it. It’s been my experience that, whatever I decide not to bring, I will invariably need. If I don’t pack my umbrella because the weather report said it would be crystal-clear-sunny, it’ll pour three out of the five days I’m there. If none of the restaurants specified fancy dress in the Fodor’s listing and I leave my skirt at home, I’ll be invited to the opera. It’s just the way of the world.
I don’t mind lugging around extra items if I know I’ll use them. It’s another thing entirely when I’m lugging around all these items and find out later that I’ve forgotten half of the really important things that one needs on a trip, like shampoo and a toothbrush and such.
This usually happens in some level or another whenever I go on a trip, but on my latest trip to Germany, I took this ludicrousness to a completely new level.
In justification, I was attending a wedding, which required makeup, hair-care detritus, fancy dress and heels, and presents. The space on my carry-on was reserved solely for a pair of crystal candlesticks and the first two books of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. A curling iron and hair dryer take up a lot of space, don’tcha know.
When my connecting flight got delayed, ensuing a flight switch and a day’s layover, and my checked bag became lost in Luggage Hell, a blinding illumination came to me:
I was the quintessential Don’t Bee.
» Read the rest of Don’t Be a Don’t Bee Like Me ...
One powerful site in Paris is also one of its most unassuming, at least from the outside. A passer-by might easily overlook the small patch of land partially hidden by hedges as he or she hurries off to Notre Dame, which is a mere stone’s throw away. But the Mémorial de la Déportation, located at the edge of Ile de la Cité, is far more compelling than one could expect.
The memorial, dedicated to French victims and survivors of the Holocaust, actually lies at a lower level, down some steps from the little park above. I had arrived during the lunch-break hour, so I waited at the park for the memorial to reopen. I initially wasn’t even sure I was at the right place, despite having read the small sign by the even smaller gate. I had expected to find a skinny black brick building, inside of which would be lined with pictures of the Holocaust and some placards of history. With its lovely, serene view of blue skies and the surrounding Seine, this park above—and whatever waited below—was at odds with that image.
Just before the steps is a signboard for visitors, describing the history and purpose of the memorial. I read it as I waited. A row of triangles, consisting of various styles and color, lined the bottom of the sign. One has to be truly stoic of heart not to feel a lump in the throat on reading the meaning of each triangle, and to whom each symbol is sewn on to: German Jews, French Jews, homosexuals, stateles persons, gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, anti-socials, “deviants”. . . .
Those who don’t, according to some definition, “belong.”
» Read the rest of Mémorial de la Déportation ...
Click to see the whole set!
Owning pets—or, to be more accurate, their owning me—means that while I’m able to enjoy trips and vacations, I will definitely not be taking off to go around the world anytime soon. That doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through The Lost Girls, however!
The Lost Girls are three fresh young ladies from New York who decided to shuck off their business suits, ditch their nine-to-fives, and spend a year going around the world. They began their journey in January 2006, though now it looks like they might end up taking up more than the intended one year. But hey, one can’t live life to a schedule after all, can one?
I haven’t caught up on all their posts yet—there’s such a lot!—but I do enjoy their Trip Planning links, which are available on the sidebar to the right of their website. Among other things, they explain how they paid for their trips and reveal what they packed. Between you and me, I can’t wait for them to update the section that tells how they gave their employers notice!
Another favorite section is the top 20 reasons they took off and embarked on this adventure. Partly funny, partly thoughtful, this list definitely rules, not least because it reasons that “fending off a drunken pervert in Central Park hardly constitutes as communing with the locals.”
If you’re interested in embarking on your own worldwide sojourn, give the Lost Girls a read. As these fine ladies put it, “Sometimes you have to get lost in order to be found.”