Register To ParticipateGet Away with Fran
Staycation at Fenway
Posted on May 12, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under IN New England, New England, Travel Advice | Leave a Comment
One of my favorite new terms is Staycation, as in stay at home but still vacation. That’s something I personally plan to do this summer. I want to sit in the sun on the Common and bike past the South Boston beaches. I want to eat in the North End and hangout in Harvard Square, shop on Newbury Street and take time to really explore the MFA.
And maybe I’ll even do lunch on the Green Monster.
Check out the new Lunch on the Green Monster Tour offered by Old Town Trolley. Read more
Gas, cash and summer vacations
Posted on May 9, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under International Travel, New England, Travel Advice, US Travel | Leave a Comment
According to the Travel Industry Association (and a recently conducted survey), six of 10 Americans will not change their summer travel plans even if the price of gas keeps going up, as predicted. And one in six of us plan to spend our government tax rebate (the one from the economic stimulus package) on an overnight trip or day trip for leisure purposes. So people will still go place like Disney World (photo of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Beach Party Bash).
When it comes down to it, we all feel entitled to a vacation Read more
Sex and the City - Again
Posted on May 6, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Travel Advice, US Travel | Leave a Comment
When the TV show “Sex and the City” was on the air, there were a spate of hotel packages in New York designed for “Sex”-loving girlfriends, encouraging them to get together at a hotel to sip Cosmos and enjoy girl time - just like Carrie and gang. In fact, the show helped create a new lodging trend in “girlfriend packages.”
And now “Sex” is coming back in movie form on May 30, and hotels are welcoming Carrie-wannabes anew.
The four Affinia Hotels in New York, for instance, have launched a “Sex and the City” package Read more
Tea for two in London
Posted on May 5, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Food, International Travel | Leave a Comment
Afternoon tea is one of those British traditions that Americans (including me, in photo) will have no trouble embracing. Think afternoon pig out.
And so I found myself at the posh (as they say in London) Berkeley Hotel with my British guy-pal indulging in a late afternoon feast - 4 p.m. being just about the perfect tea time.
Tea at the Berkeley (pronounced Bark-lee) is themed for fashionistas, which makes a lot of sense since the venerable Harrods and fashion-forward Harvey Nichols are both right down the road. Read more
New world’s biggest Royal Caribbean ship launches
Posted on April 30, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Cruise, International Travel | Leave a Comment
It must be hard for cruise line executives these days because it seems you always have to have the latest and greatest thing. Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, which was officially named today in Southampton, England - and takes its place for over a year anyway as the current world’s largest cruise ship - is actually a lot like its sister ships Freedom and Liberty.
The only really noticeable on the 160,000-ton ship are the additions are heated swimming pools and in-room tea makers .
The activity-packed ship has a rock climbing wall, skating rink and surfing pool, hot tubs that seem to dangle off the sides, a boxing ring and an extravagant Royal Promenade (see below) with shops and cafes.
So no one could blame Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain for jokingly Read more
Bedtime tales at new London hotel
Posted on April 28, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under 1, International Travel | Leave a Comment
I didn’t have British journalist Damien Barr read me a bedtime story last night, but I could have. Barr is the reader-in-residence at the new and fun Andaz hotel in London. And guests at the hotel this month had the opportunity to book him for a bedtime tale, in their rooms.
That is surely one of the more wacky hotel offerings of late, and comes at a property that is very much trying to be new in its approach to the hotel experience. Read more
Cruising’s New Wave
Posted on April 25, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Cruise, International Travel | Leave a Comment
Hmmm, we’re building a new cruise ship, so let’s add a rock climbing wall. Oh yeah, been there, done that. How about we add a bowling alley? Oh yeah, we already introduced that. A giant movie screen at the pool? Ditto. So what should we do next?
How about create a new, cool, comfortable cabin design. Now that’s an idea whose time has come.
And so in the Aker shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, Norwegian Cruise Line this week introduced a small group of press - yours truly included - to its New Wave cabin prototype. The cabins will in fact have waves, as in wavy walls, and are a radical departure from the standard box-like accommodations we’ve all become used to on cruise ships. Read more
Cooking Class
Posted on April 19, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Food, International Travel, Travel Advice | 1 Comment
I will always rave that the best way to get to know a place is to hang out with some locals. This can achieved even if you’re in a place very briefly. Try a conversation at a cafe or in a shop (asking a shopkeeper for a recommendation on where to eat or what to see is a good starting point). Sometimes an encounter on the street can even lead to a little chat.
But there are other ways to put yourself in the local scene too. In Dijon, I decided the best way to learn about the city and mustard might be to find a friendly chef. I did a little google search before my trip and found Alex Miles. Read more
Rollin’ on the river (canal)
Posted on April 15, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Cruise, Food, International Travel | Leave a Comment
Lazy, lazy. That is what an Afloat in France cruise allows you to be. And boy, is it blissful. As we pass Burgundy’s tiny towns with stone houses and our barge goes through a series of locks, the gate keepers and crew do all the hard work of wheeling open the floodgates as we are float through. Our job as the five passengers is simply to eat gourmet French meals prepared by the onboard chef. And to drink wine from the Burgundy region and sample delicious cheese. We can go for a walk with ducks floating by, ride a bike alongside the canal or stay onboard and read or play Scrabble. It’s down time at its best.
Barging from Dijon
Posted on April 13, 2008 by Fran Golden
Filed Under Food, International Travel | Leave a Comment
For the next several days I will be on a canal barge. I took the train today from Paris to Dijon - the city made famous by mustard - and now I am relaxing in splendor on The Amaryllis, a luxury barge owned by Orient-Express. It’s hard work but someone has to do it - we were welcomed onboard with champagne and caviar. I hope to learn about mustard and Burgundy wine on this journey - including visiting vineyards and mustard producers. Please pass the Grey Poupon.
keep looking »
