Tag Archives: Travel

April 26, 2013 · 2:57 pm

The Week in Travel (4/26/2013)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

I'm too sexy for this country.

I’m too sexy for this country…

*The price of beauty is deportation.   Or so discovered Omar Borkan Al Gala (pictured above) and two other men, deported from Saudi Arabia for being… wait for it… wait for it… too handsome (via Asiantown.net).

*Time to expand your destination wedding options.  On Tuesday, France became the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage (Yahoo).  The next day, the Rhode Island Senate approved legislation to make the “Hope” state the 10th in the U.S., in addition to Washington D.C., to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples (via The Advocate).

*In other sweet news, earlier this month two men married in Africa’s first traditional gay wedding (via Daily Mail).

* In the Navy, yes, you can sail the seven seas, but apparently cannot afford to dock in New York City.  This year, Congress has sequestered the sailors.  Because of federal budget cuts, the Navy’s annual Fleet Week is cancelled (via AMNY).

*More than ever, support Boston with your travel dollars… here are ten reasons why (via PeterGreenberg.com).

*Go big or stay home!  Splurge at a hotel worthy of your holiday (via Conde Nast Traveler).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

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March 22, 2013 · 10:47 am

The Week in Travel (3/22/2013)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

Snakes on a Plane

If he only had a knife…

*Your liquid soap, cologne and moisturizing lotion over 3.4 ounces will still not be allowed in your carry-on, but your knives, ski poles and toy bats can board the aircraft, effective April 25, 2013 (via CNN).

*Scraping the sky on Instagram from 2,716 feet (via Huffington Post).

*Rumor has it, “air rage” is on the rise (via CNN).

*Boys will be boys, and bears and beasts and stags and trees.  Photographer Charles Fréger captures men of Europe dressed in outfits wilder than the National Tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (via National Geographic).

*The same oil that fried up your lunch might be powering your next flight to Europe (via BBC).

*Curious about the sexual orientation of a building?  Tour the Gayest Buildings in America (via California Home & Design).

*A time-lapse film captures New York City in the fast lane (via Kickstarter):

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo: Still from movie, Snakes on a Plane)

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March 8, 2013 · 11:07 am

The Week in Travel (3/8/2013)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

Turkey's National Sport

The National Sport of Turkey

*We connect with foreign cultures in many ways:  music, art, food, literature, etc.  With Turkey, may I suggest their National Sport (via BuzzFeed).

*If you liked it then you should’ve put a stamp on it.  The U.S. Postal Service may be selling architecturally distinctive post offices because of its financial problems (via NY Times).

*Ten indispensable apps for last-minute travel (via Smarter Travel).

*The joyous experience of air travel is getting more complicated.  U.S. airports have already started experiencing delays as a result of automatic federal spending cuts (via ABC News).

*The U.S. State Department has launched a web portal providing information for gay travelers, who sometimes face specific risks when visiting foreign countries.  The section will note if there have been recent attacks against LGBT-identified people or, more generally, whether local laws permit consensual sexual relations between two people of the same gender (via BBC).

*If at first you don’t succeed… try, try again?  An Australian billionaire has released blueprints for the Titanic II, a replica of the original ship which sank in April 1912, with plans to set sail across the Atlantic in 2016.  Oh yeah, FYI… the ship will be built in China (via ABC News).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo via BuzzFeed)

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February 15, 2013 · 2:30 pm

The Week in Travel (2/15/2013)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

Rio is World's Happiest!

Rio is the Happiest!

*San Francisco is the happiest city in America, but Rio de Janeiro makes the world smile (via Huffington Post).

*Poop, power outages and the perfume of sewage defeat the cruising vacation of 3,143 passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph (via Miami Herald).

*On Valentines’ Day, American Airlines and US Airways announced the marriage that will soon conceive the world’s largest air carrier (via Washington Post).

*Kids are great–and necessary to the continuation of the human race–but you don’t always want them on your flight.   Now, a Malaysian-based airline is introducing a kid-free, quiet zone (via Passport Magazine).

*France’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport offers duty-free shopping and an Auguste Rodin gallery (via NY Times).

*Want to know more about your upcoming vacation destination?  Tourism boards are sharing pictures, upcoming events, and restaurant recommendations on Twitter (via NBC News).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo via Fox Latino)

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February 14, 2013 · 10:00 am

Germany: Lock Your Love in Cologne

Open your heart to me, baby
I hold the lock and you hold the key
Open your heart to me, darlin’
I’ll give you love if you, you turn the key

This Valentine’s Day, let Cologne hold the lock and the Rhine hold the key.

Join the Köln tradition by engraving both your names on a padlock and locking your love along the pedestrian pathway of the Hohenzollernbrücke Bridge.  Then throw the key in the Rhine River.

In addition to connecting east and west Cologne, the Hohenzollernbrücke also symbolically links thousands of lovers.

(To learn more about Cologne, Germany… read my article on Travel Squire or listen to my radio segment on Proud FM)

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January 18, 2013 · 11:53 am

The Week in Travel (1/18/13)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

Sydney Sizzles

Sydney Sizzles

*Baby, it’s cold outside, but it ain’t nothing compared to the coldest city on earth–Yakutsk in Eastern Siberia–where temperatures plummet to minus 45C/49F (via The Independent).  In an alternate hemisphere, Sydney, Australia, records its hottest day ever at 45C/114F (via Sydney Morning Herald).

*The United States of America is inaugurating Barack Obama as its President on Monday.  And Washington D.C. will be celebrating from Mall (via Washington Post) to Ball (via NY Times).

*The Gray Lady names Rio de Janeiro #1 (via NY Times).  Find your top travel destination for 2013 (via Traveling IQ).

*While in Mexico, don’t drink the water; while in Beijing, don’t breathe the air (via NY Times).

*In air travel news: the Boeing Dreamliner is a nightmare (via USA Today), and American Airlines unveils a new look to mixed reviews (via NBC News).

*Looking for love in all the wrong places?  Book a trip to one of America’s Cruisiest Gay Cities (via About.com).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo via Toby Zerna/Sunday Telegraph)

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January 16, 2013 · 8:00 am

The W Mexico City Satisfies

W Mexico City View

When was the last time someone promised to satisfy your every wish?

The W Mexico City will be your swanky genie-in-a-bottle. Whether you want a mariachi band performing in your bathtub or VIP tickets to a private club, the W concierge will make it happen through their “Whatever/Whenever” service (legally permitting, of course). Located in the Polanco area, steps from luxury shopping, galleries and Bosque Chapultepec, the largest city park in Latin America, the W Mexico is the place to indulge.

With the AWAY Spa and Fitness Center, Whiskey Bar, Solea restaurant at your fingertips–and spacious rooms that feature a hammock in your shower (should you be exhausted from your hygiene regimen)–you may have to force yourself to venture beyond the hotel’s colorfully accented lobby.

W Mexico City exterior

Read my full Mexico City travel article on Edge.

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January 4, 2013 · 12:55 pm

The Week in Travel (1/4/13)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   This week, Traveling IQ curates the highlights of the upcoming year:

Topping 2013

There is a Top for you, regardless of who you are.  This Top has been chosen by experts, to make you happy, to make you whole, to expand your horizons, and to guide you toward finding that elusively special spot.

Now, in 2013, will your Travel Top be…

*Amsterdam.  Holland’s forward-thinking capital is serving up major museum renovations, locavore restaurants, and cutting edge architecture, while celebrating the 400 year anniversary of its canals (via Conde Nast Traveler).

*Portugal.  Oozing “old European charm” with it’s Medieval towns and historic quarters, the pace in Portugal is soothingly slow and its locals increasingly thirsty (via Globespots).

*Sri Lanka.  After a 26-year civil war and a devastating tsunami, this South Asia country has bounced back and is one of the best-value destinations around (via USA Today/Lonely Planet).

*Myanmar.  After decades of seclusion, men in skirts invite you to explore traditional culture, colonial architecture, and villages largely unchanged by the past 50 years (via Art Info).

*India.  Few places in the world can offer the stark contrasts of beautiful and awful, breathtaking and grotesque, while being considered the pinnacle for independent travelers (via BootsnAll).

*New York City.  King of the Hill and Top of the Heap, the city that doesn’t sleep is still the top gay travel destination for 2013 (via Advocate).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo via MSN)

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December 31, 2012 · 12:22 pm

Happy Travels in 2013!

travelingiq.com

As 2012 comes to a close, thank you to all the Traveling IQ readers (from 138 different countries!) for another wonderful year.

Wishing you all happy travels of our huge, small world in 2013!

(Photo courtesy to WordPress.com’s “2012 Year in Blogging” report)

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December 21, 2012 · 1:19 pm

The Week in Travel (12/21/12)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

SantaClausthroughsecurity

Has Santa been naughty or nice?

*Need a little help getting into the Holiday spirit?  Tour the most Christmassy places on the planet (via CNN) and follow Mr. Claus around the world (via CNN).

*Oh New Year’s Eve, how you force unattainable expectations!  This year, visit a spot worthy of welcoming 2013. (via CNN).

*Gay marriage has a new Caribbean destination.  The tiny island of Saba, located in the Dutch Caribbean, has legalized gay and lesbian marriage (via Passport Magazine).

*Tourists are not flocking to war-torn Gaza, but if they could, they would discover ancient archeological ruins and Mediterranean coastlines.  Michael Luongo offers a glimpse into what tourism in the region could be (via Huffington Post).

*Skiing is a seasonal sport for most.  Surprise, it’s always winter(y) somewhere.  Ski bums can spend all year on the slopes (via NY Times).

*Our vacation photos had a stressful week.  On Monday, Instascamgram announced it had the right to sell your photos (via CNET) before assuring us it didn’t (via CNET).  Confused and betrayed, photographers started dating new photo sharing apps, or at least embarking on open relationships (via Huffington Post).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo via CNN)

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