Oct 19, 2007
English-language newspapers in non-English-speaking cities are often a goldmine of travel information
You haven't really exhausted all the available information for a trip to a particular foreign city until you've checked out the websites containing the articles appearing in their local, English-language newspapers.From the Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.net) to the Prague Post (www.praguepost.com), from The Buenos Aires Herald (www.buenosairesherald.com) to the Daily News Egypt (www.dailystaregypt.com), these papers are locally produced by the English-speaking community of each city or country. There are even ex-pat magazines such as Paris Voice www.parisvoice.com), and easyMilano (www.easymilano.it). And though the writing can sometimes be uneven and amateurish (given the limited pool of talent available), they can be a treasure trove of travel information.
There is usually a wide compilation of reviews on local restaurants (often far more than can fit in a guidebook, as up-to-date as yesterday, and many times appended with commentary by other ex-pats) and "weekend escape"-type features that detail an assortment of daytrips, often ones well off the beaten tourist track.
And that is the true worth of these resources: the insight they can offer and leads they can provide to having a richer, more interesting vacation. There will be the latest local news reports, editorials on local and regional politics, and classified listings of events being held in English around town, from book clubs to AA meetings to church services to language classes to one-act plays -- each one a top opportunity to get an inside glimpse at life in a foreign city from an American (or Canadian, or British, or Australian...), and perhaps make some new friends who actually live in town and can offer advice.
You can find ex-pat papers in the "Reading Room" of the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org), at World-newspapers.com (a country-by-country hodgpodge selection of papers that thoughtfully includes a brief description of each), Onlinenewspapers.com (a mix of many papers, though it specifies which are in English), Newspapers.com (which doesn't have the most elegant of interfaces but does provide a brief description on some papers), and Newsdirectory.com.
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There is usually a wide compilation of reviews on local restaurants (often far more than can fit in a guidebook, as up-to-date as yesterday, and many times appended with commentary by other ex-pats) and "weekend escape"-type features that detail an assortment of daytrips, often ones well off the beaten tourist track.
And that is the true worth of these resources: the insight they can offer and leads they can provide to having a richer, more interesting vacation. There will be the latest local news reports, editorials on local and regional politics, and classified listings of events being held in English around town, from book clubs to AA meetings to church services to language classes to one-act plays -- each one a top opportunity to get an inside glimpse at life in a foreign city from an American (or Canadian, or British, or Australian...), and perhaps make some new friends who actually live in town and can offer advice.
You can find ex-pat papers in the "Reading Room" of the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org), at World-newspapers.com (a country-by-country hodgpodge selection of papers that thoughtfully includes a brief description of each), Onlinenewspapers.com (a mix of many papers, though it specifies which are in English), Newspapers.com (which doesn't have the most elegant of interfaces but does provide a brief description on some papers), and Newsdirectory.com.
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Labels: websites
In the selling of "opaque" airfares, Priceline may be enjoying a new lease on life
The logic of Priceline (www.priceline.com) was always compelling. Airlines would quietly provide Priceline with secret discounts ("opaque" fares) on air transportation, while maintaining their normal price structure for non-Priceline customers. Everyone would enjoy the best of all worlds. Rigid, uninformed spendthrifts would continue to pay top dollar; smart risk-takers (purchasers of "opaque" fares for possible departures early in the morning or on less popular airlines) would gain a price advantage.
Trouble is, that in recent years, many airlines felt no need to discount their airfares in this manner or to do it too heavily. They obviously provided Priceline (I'm guessing here, but it's an informed guess) with fewer and fewer discounted tickets to sell. And many travelers, disappointed with the results of using Priceline, began using Priceline's hotel services instead, where the results were better.
There are indications that Priceline may again be receiving a hefty amount of air discounts. One tip-off was a recent announcement by American Airlines -- certainly a giant among air carriers -- that it had entered into an agreement with Priceline, making Priceline the exclusive outlet for American's "opaque" discounts. This is an extremely significant disclosure which may mean that the chances have substantially increased for getting a big reduction on flights aboard American Airlines by using Priceline.com. (As always, first go to www.betterbidding.com or www.biddingfortravel.com to learn what offers will prevail for a purchase of air tickets on Priceline).
I am also hearing rumors about the increasing use of Priceline.com to obtain advantageous hotel rooms, especially in Hawaii. On islands like Maui where room rates for deluxe properties are currently soaring up to $300 and $400 a night, turns out that many of the hotels charging such rates are simultaneously providing Priceline with discounts of as much as 50%. Smart travelers log on to Priceline, specify that they are requiring a deluxe hotel (about whose identity or location they couldn't care), and then post a price of, say, $135 a room or $150 a room -- and often get it!
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Trouble is, that in recent years, many airlines felt no need to discount their airfares in this manner or to do it too heavily. They obviously provided Priceline (I'm guessing here, but it's an informed guess) with fewer and fewer discounted tickets to sell. And many travelers, disappointed with the results of using Priceline, began using Priceline's hotel services instead, where the results were better.
There are indications that Priceline may again be receiving a hefty amount of air discounts. One tip-off was a recent announcement by American Airlines -- certainly a giant among air carriers -- that it had entered into an agreement with Priceline, making Priceline the exclusive outlet for American's "opaque" discounts. This is an extremely significant disclosure which may mean that the chances have substantially increased for getting a big reduction on flights aboard American Airlines by using Priceline.com. (As always, first go to www.betterbidding.com or www.biddingfortravel.com to learn what offers will prevail for a purchase of air tickets on Priceline).
I am also hearing rumors about the increasing use of Priceline.com to obtain advantageous hotel rooms, especially in Hawaii. On islands like Maui where room rates for deluxe properties are currently soaring up to $300 and $400 a night, turns out that many of the hotels charging such rates are simultaneously providing Priceline with discounts of as much as 50%. Smart travelers log on to Priceline, specify that they are requiring a deluxe hotel (about whose identity or location they couldn't care), and then post a price of, say, $135 a room or $150 a room -- and often get it!
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Guess what's the busiest season for issuing passports? Guess what's the slowest season?
A little-noticed press release of the State Department provides valuable advice for would-be travelers, of which they might otherwise be unaware. The "slow" season for issuing passports, it turns out -- that is, the time when backlogs will be down and passports issued fairly quickly -- is NOW, the autumn, a time when fewer people plan their trips. And when do things pick up? According to the State Department, it's the month of January, of all things, when people once again return in large numbers to the regional centers and frantically file their applications. January, February and March are when pressures begin building and the wait lengthens for the passport to actually be issued.
To those of us who have always regarded the deep winter months as a slow time in travel, this correction comes as a surprise. And it has more relevance than ever. Starting sometime in early 2008, Americans will need passports not simply for travel by air, but for land crossings of the borders with Canada and Mexico. They may also need passports (it's not entirely sure) to take a cruise. All the more reason to start the application process now, in autumn.
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To those of us who have always regarded the deep winter months as a slow time in travel, this correction comes as a surprise. And it has more relevance than ever. Starting sometime in early 2008, Americans will need passports not simply for travel by air, but for land crossings of the borders with Canada and Mexico. They may also need passports (it's not entirely sure) to take a cruise. All the more reason to start the application process now, in autumn.
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Labels: passports
Is $30 a day per person the cheapest price ever charged for a cruise? Could be -- and that's from Miami to the Caribbean this fall
Here's the cruise bargain of all time (at least I've never seen anything cheaper), and after phoning to confirm it was for real, I'm announcing the breathless scoop (go cry your eyes out, Matthew Drudge!). On two different sailings of the Norwegian Dawn (a five-year-old ship, formerly based in New York, offering "free-style dining" and all manner of other goodies), sailing round-trip between Miami and the Eastern Caribbean for seven nights, inside cabins are available for as little as $349 per person, including port charges of $140 per person. Departure dates are November 25 and December 9, starting with one day at sea, then a stop at Samana in the Dominican Republic, then in Tortola, then St. Thomas, another day at sea, then a day at Great Stirrup Cay (a private island), and return to Miami.
Deducting those port charges of $140 from the overall price of $349 (port charges are usually in addition to the cruise price, not included within it, as is the case here) leaves a basic cruise price of $209 for seven nights, or about $30 a day. That's for everything (cabin, multiple meals per day, entertainment, lolling on the private island) except government taxes ($73.40 per person for the week). You snare the deal by calling the Cruise Wizard at 1-800/547-4790. Anyone there can book you on the ship, though it was "Tracie" who confirmed the price (and the availability of cabins) to me.
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Deducting those port charges of $140 from the overall price of $349 (port charges are usually in addition to the cruise price, not included within it, as is the case here) leaves a basic cruise price of $209 for seven nights, or about $30 a day. That's for everything (cabin, multiple meals per day, entertainment, lolling on the private island) except government taxes ($73.40 per person for the week). You snare the deal by calling the Cruise Wizard at 1-800/547-4790. Anyone there can book you on the ship, though it was "Tracie" who confirmed the price (and the availability of cabins) to me.
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Oct 18, 2007
On a recent trip to Spain, the cost of travel was substantial but not forbidding
There's a difference between the cost of travel in Britain (using the unbelievably expensive British Pound) and costs on the continent of Europe (using the expensive Euro), and that difference was again made clear to me during two recent weeks in Spain. At no time was any meal, purchase, or cost, substantially greater in price than they would have been in most large cities of the United States. And that was the situation in Spain despite headlines that constantly appeared during my time there about the plunging value of the U.S. dollar versus the Euro.
In Britain -- and not just in London, but in English countryside locations as well -- you gasp when you spot a price and then multiply by two to obtain the dollar equivalent. That's not the case in Spain. It's easily possible to find two-course luncheons selling for the equivalent of $15 per person -- exactly what you'd pay in New York or San Francisco; public bus transportation for about a dollar; and museum admissions for just about what you'd be charged at equivalent establishments in the U.S. At no time did I encounter hideous over-charges of the sort that marks life in Great Britain.
Want an example? I saved our restaurant bills, and find that on one night, we were a party of four eating at the El Caballo Rojo in Cordoba. We paid 1.20 € for a serving of bread and butter for the table, 11 € for roast pork with vegetables and sauce, 14 € for veal with roast artichokes, 8.45 € for kidneys in sherry sauce, 10.25 € for mixed fried fish, 9 € for a big mixed salad, 7.25 € for mushrooms Cordova-style, 2.10 € for a pitcher of Sangria (we had earlier had too much wine), 1.20 € for a Coca Cola, 4.80 € for four glasses of mineral water, and 6 € for an appetizer I can't decipher. Total, including service charge and tax: 75.65 € ($105.91) for the four of us, or about $26 apiece for more than we could eat of high-quality dishes, at a fine sit-down restaurant.
While there are very few bargains on the continent of Europe, the cost of vacationing there remains affordable for persons who exercise a modicum of caution in their choices. I wish I could say the same for Great Britain.
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In Britain -- and not just in London, but in English countryside locations as well -- you gasp when you spot a price and then multiply by two to obtain the dollar equivalent. That's not the case in Spain. It's easily possible to find two-course luncheons selling for the equivalent of $15 per person -- exactly what you'd pay in New York or San Francisco; public bus transportation for about a dollar; and museum admissions for just about what you'd be charged at equivalent establishments in the U.S. At no time did I encounter hideous over-charges of the sort that marks life in Great Britain.
Want an example? I saved our restaurant bills, and find that on one night, we were a party of four eating at the El Caballo Rojo in Cordoba. We paid 1.20 € for a serving of bread and butter for the table, 11 € for roast pork with vegetables and sauce, 14 € for veal with roast artichokes, 8.45 € for kidneys in sherry sauce, 10.25 € for mixed fried fish, 9 € for a big mixed salad, 7.25 € for mushrooms Cordova-style, 2.10 € for a pitcher of Sangria (we had earlier had too much wine), 1.20 € for a Coca Cola, 4.80 € for four glasses of mineral water, and 6 € for an appetizer I can't decipher. Total, including service charge and tax: 75.65 € ($105.91) for the four of us, or about $26 apiece for more than we could eat of high-quality dishes, at a fine sit-down restaurant.
While there are very few bargains on the continent of Europe, the cost of vacationing there remains affordable for persons who exercise a modicum of caution in their choices. I wish I could say the same for Great Britain.
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Labels: spain
A whiz-bang, doo-dad called Cubic Telecom promises to bring telephone heaven to heavy travelers
It is easily possible to buy or rent a cell phone that will make international calls from almost any nation -- and we've described, in an earlier blog, a particularly attractive, $29.99-a-month rental plan for travelers. Trouble is, if you're a talkative type, you'll run up big charges for calls of more than a short duration. The cheapest of the plans charges $1.39 a minute from most countries, and that can mean big bucks for a call, say, of 20 minutes or so.
The solution? It may be a brand new phone company called Cubic Telecom, whose roll-out is expected any day now. Though there is a presently-existing website making tantalizing predictions (www.cubictelecom.com/phones/), Cubic Telecom hasn't yet come up with all the specific details and addresses you'll need for actually obtaining one of their phones. At least I can't find them.
But it claims to be embarked on a revolution in international phone service. It says -- I'm simply reporting the hype -- that its new international telephone service using a special mobile phone will either eliminate the cost of international calling altogether, or at least reduce it by 80% -- and more.
With a CubicTelecom phone, they say, you can place your calls either on the GSM phone network or in any WiFi location. If you use the latter and place your calls to another person possessing a Cubic Telecom phone, the phone call will be entirely free. If you phone from a WiFi location and make the call to a non-Cubic Telecom user, the call will cost as little as a penny a minute. If you use the phone from outside a WiFi area, you'll pay 80% less than the charges of any other system.
Take a look at the website, and then follow up in a few weeks when all the practical details have been added.
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The solution? It may be a brand new phone company called Cubic Telecom, whose roll-out is expected any day now. Though there is a presently-existing website making tantalizing predictions (www.cubictelecom.com/phones/), Cubic Telecom hasn't yet come up with all the specific details and addresses you'll need for actually obtaining one of their phones. At least I can't find them.
But it claims to be embarked on a revolution in international phone service. It says -- I'm simply reporting the hype -- that its new international telephone service using a special mobile phone will either eliminate the cost of international calling altogether, or at least reduce it by 80% -- and more.
With a CubicTelecom phone, they say, you can place your calls either on the GSM phone network or in any WiFi location. If you use the latter and place your calls to another person possessing a Cubic Telecom phone, the phone call will be entirely free. If you phone from a WiFi location and make the call to a non-Cubic Telecom user, the call will cost as little as a penny a minute. If you use the phone from outside a WiFi area, you'll pay 80% less than the charges of any other system.
Take a look at the website, and then follow up in a few weeks when all the practical details have been added.
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Labels: cellphones
For $529, you can fly round-trip to Beijing from 15 widely-scattered U.S. cities throughout all of November
Here's an interesting travel opportunity from DFW Tours (tel. 800/780-5733; www.dfwtours.com), a 29-year-old airfare consolidator (discounter) that seems, from all indications, to be utterly reliable and well-financed (it's the subsidiary of a major British firm). Throughout the entire month of November, DFW will fly you round-trip to Beijing for $529 per person, midweek, from Newark, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Raleigh-Durham, and for about $100-or-so more from Dallas, Tulsa, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, and elsewhere. Since most of these cities lack direct service to Beijing, it's obvious that you'll making a stop in an intermediate U.S. city on the way. DFW does not reveal the airlines it will be using. Bookings must be made by October 30.
Once in Beijing, you'll find that hotel and meal costs are so cheap, especially in November, that another $400 or so is sufficient for a week's worth of your local costs. And so, if you have up to $1,000 in the bank, you can enjoy a week in Beijing viewing the rather unusual life and commerce in China's capital. And you should give that prospect serious consideration.
I'd suggest a totally independent stay, wandering on your own, eating where you choose, paying admission to various attractions on the spot. Take a look at the various internet services for booking hotels in Asia, and you'll find that a stay in Beijing can today be approached as you would a visit to Europe. But, of course, you'll want to start the application process for a Chinese visa right away.
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Once in Beijing, you'll find that hotel and meal costs are so cheap, especially in November, that another $400 or so is sufficient for a week's worth of your local costs. And so, if you have up to $1,000 in the bank, you can enjoy a week in Beijing viewing the rather unusual life and commerce in China's capital. And you should give that prospect serious consideration.
I'd suggest a totally independent stay, wandering on your own, eating where you choose, paying admission to various attractions on the spot. Take a look at the various internet services for booking hotels in Asia, and you'll find that a stay in Beijing can today be approached as you would a visit to Europe. But, of course, you'll want to start the application process for a Chinese visa right away.
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Oct 17, 2007
The breathless recent adventure of an American tourist who lost her passport
On the tour of Spain which I described in earlier posts, we arrived in Seville at 7pm, when one of our group discovered that she had lost her passport. We were scheduled to move on to the Mediterranean coast in two days' time (and leave for home two days later). What to do?
Though it was evening, we reasoned that there had to be a duty officer at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid who would answer the phone. And sure enough, after an initial recorded message, a person came onto the line to point out that only two U.S. consulates in Spain -- Madrid and Barcelona -- were able to replace passports. The consulate that used to operate in Seville had closed. But the Madrid service for replacing passports was open only until 1pm each day.
And here the high-speed train system of Spain -- the AVE -- furnished the solution. Though Spain will not permit a passport-lacking person to board a flight, even within Spain, there was a 9am train from Seville that would arrive in Madrid -- a distance of more than 300 miles -- in two-and-a-half hours, going at a speed of more than 140 miles an hour (and making several stops along the way).
After phoning to make a reservation, our tour companion, along with an accompanying friend, caught the 9am AVE the next morning, and arrived punctually in Madrid at 11:30am She was at the door of the U.S. Embassy (which contains the consulate) by12:30pm And after begging the staff to expedite her replacement passport (a strange-looking document valid for only three months), they delivered it to her at 2:15pm She caught the 3pm train (again the high-speed AVE) and greeted the rest of us in our hotel lobby in Seville at around 6pm
Now let me make a couple of points. She was able to obtain a replacement passport that quickly because, before leaving home, she had written the number of her passport on several separate pieces of paper. Advising the Madrid consulate of that number did wonders in speeding up the issuance of the replacement. None of us should ever travel abroad without safeguarding the number of our passport.
Second point. We should again stand in awe of the European development of high-speed rail. In the United States, a train trip to a destination as far from Madrid as Seville would take five hours (assuming it left on time). It would never be possible to transact a round-trip in the record time that she managed. Think of all the sensible, efficient, civilized, activities of life that high-speed rail in the United States would make possible. Why must we discover that Europe has achieved a quality of life that in numerous areas is higher than ours?
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Though it was evening, we reasoned that there had to be a duty officer at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid who would answer the phone. And sure enough, after an initial recorded message, a person came onto the line to point out that only two U.S. consulates in Spain -- Madrid and Barcelona -- were able to replace passports. The consulate that used to operate in Seville had closed. But the Madrid service for replacing passports was open only until 1pm each day.
And here the high-speed train system of Spain -- the AVE -- furnished the solution. Though Spain will not permit a passport-lacking person to board a flight, even within Spain, there was a 9am train from Seville that would arrive in Madrid -- a distance of more than 300 miles -- in two-and-a-half hours, going at a speed of more than 140 miles an hour (and making several stops along the way).
After phoning to make a reservation, our tour companion, along with an accompanying friend, caught the 9am AVE the next morning, and arrived punctually in Madrid at 11:30am She was at the door of the U.S. Embassy (which contains the consulate) by12:30pm And after begging the staff to expedite her replacement passport (a strange-looking document valid for only three months), they delivered it to her at 2:15pm She caught the 3pm train (again the high-speed AVE) and greeted the rest of us in our hotel lobby in Seville at around 6pm
Now let me make a couple of points. She was able to obtain a replacement passport that quickly because, before leaving home, she had written the number of her passport on several separate pieces of paper. Advising the Madrid consulate of that number did wonders in speeding up the issuance of the replacement. None of us should ever travel abroad without safeguarding the number of our passport.
Second point. We should again stand in awe of the European development of high-speed rail. In the United States, a train trip to a destination as far from Madrid as Seville would take five hours (assuming it left on time). It would never be possible to transact a round-trip in the record time that she managed. Think of all the sensible, efficient, civilized, activities of life that high-speed rail in the United States would make possible. Why must we discover that Europe has achieved a quality of life that in numerous areas is higher than ours?
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Labels: passports
A look at Yelp.com confirms again my poor opinion of "user-generated" travel websites
Ever heard of www.yelp.com? It confirms, to my mind, every slam I've ever directed at the recommendations or critiques on "user-generated" travel websites. In this highly popular travel website, the overwhelming number of user comments are so juvenile and over-the-top, that I can't imagine any mature person giving them a moment's attention.
As if they had been ordered not to do so, most of the users appearing in "Yelp" almost never mention the actual dollar cost of the places they recommend. The result is that ecstatic comments are made about hotels, but with no mention that the hotels in question are the single most expensive in the entire nation.
In writing up New York's Carlyle Hotel on the east side of Manhattan, a favorite of the late President Kennedy, a "user" writes that it's "my new FAVORITE hotel in NYC for travel with baby. We had a deluxe room and requested a crib and microwave and a room with pantry. We got it all … Don't know the price of this place b/c we used amex miles but it did cost a lot of miles."
What the "user" fails to mention is that the lowest category of rooms at the Carlyle start at $700 a night and quickly jump to $1,050 a night. At that price, it had better provide a crib!
Another "user" stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, New York. "I've stayed in a lot of nice hotels," she writes. "This hotel is in a class all its own. And that class is a class I have never been a part of….For one week last spring I was an interloper into that world and enjoyed the sweet, sweet taste of the upper crust, high society, elite lifestyle….I'm sure it's pricey. I was lucky enough to be the beneficiary of someone else's generosity."
The user fails to advise that rooms at the Mandarin Oriental in season start at $1,025 a night and quickly jump to $1,075 and $1,195. At that rate, it had better be good!
To add insult to injury, either the "user" or Yelp itself lists a wildly-inaccurate address for the Mandarin Oriental, which is located in the Time Warner Building, just off Columbus Circle, on 60th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Yelp places the location at Madison Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street (there is no hotel there), nearly a mile away!
As for restaurants, Yelp presents the usual conflicting opinions, leaving the distinct impression that many favorable comments are from totally inexperienced persons without palates. In its review of the (Greek) Parthenon Restaurant in Chicago, it runs nearly a dozen gushing, over-the-top raves from people who look upon the Parthenon as the ne plus ultra. Yet interspersed among those comments are people claiming to be of Greek descent who consider the Parthenon the worst Greek restaurant they have ever visited. Stacy L says "I'm Greek and this place is the worst Greek food I've had in Chicago." Kara B says "This restaurant is probably the worst in the nation." Kristen F says "It was terrible."
Which of these conflicting comments should you heed? And wouldn't it be better to follow the advice of long-experienced food writers or travel journalists who have eaten in scores of Greek restaurants in the course of their lives?
Finally, I can't resist quoting the comment about Chicago's Alinea Restaurant by Yelp-contributor Stacy L, one of the few persons to list an actual price in her restaurant review: "This was definitely the most expensive meal we've ever had ($500+ for two--that's the tasting menu plus wine pairings, tip and tax)."
Is it worth your time to plough through nonsense like that by visiting Yelp -- or other "user-generated" websites?
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As if they had been ordered not to do so, most of the users appearing in "Yelp" almost never mention the actual dollar cost of the places they recommend. The result is that ecstatic comments are made about hotels, but with no mention that the hotels in question are the single most expensive in the entire nation.
In writing up New York's Carlyle Hotel on the east side of Manhattan, a favorite of the late President Kennedy, a "user" writes that it's "my new FAVORITE hotel in NYC for travel with baby. We had a deluxe room and requested a crib and microwave and a room with pantry. We got it all … Don't know the price of this place b/c we used amex miles but it did cost a lot of miles."
What the "user" fails to mention is that the lowest category of rooms at the Carlyle start at $700 a night and quickly jump to $1,050 a night. At that price, it had better provide a crib!
Another "user" stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, New York. "I've stayed in a lot of nice hotels," she writes. "This hotel is in a class all its own. And that class is a class I have never been a part of….For one week last spring I was an interloper into that world and enjoyed the sweet, sweet taste of the upper crust, high society, elite lifestyle….I'm sure it's pricey. I was lucky enough to be the beneficiary of someone else's generosity."
The user fails to advise that rooms at the Mandarin Oriental in season start at $1,025 a night and quickly jump to $1,075 and $1,195. At that rate, it had better be good!
To add insult to injury, either the "user" or Yelp itself lists a wildly-inaccurate address for the Mandarin Oriental, which is located in the Time Warner Building, just off Columbus Circle, on 60th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Yelp places the location at Madison Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Street (there is no hotel there), nearly a mile away!
As for restaurants, Yelp presents the usual conflicting opinions, leaving the distinct impression that many favorable comments are from totally inexperienced persons without palates. In its review of the (Greek) Parthenon Restaurant in Chicago, it runs nearly a dozen gushing, over-the-top raves from people who look upon the Parthenon as the ne plus ultra. Yet interspersed among those comments are people claiming to be of Greek descent who consider the Parthenon the worst Greek restaurant they have ever visited. Stacy L says "I'm Greek and this place is the worst Greek food I've had in Chicago." Kara B says "This restaurant is probably the worst in the nation." Kristen F says "It was terrible."
Which of these conflicting comments should you heed? And wouldn't it be better to follow the advice of long-experienced food writers or travel journalists who have eaten in scores of Greek restaurants in the course of their lives?
Finally, I can't resist quoting the comment about Chicago's Alinea Restaurant by Yelp-contributor Stacy L, one of the few persons to list an actual price in her restaurant review: "This was definitely the most expensive meal we've ever had ($500+ for two--that's the tasting menu plus wine pairings, tip and tax)."
Is it worth your time to plough through nonsense like that by visiting Yelp -- or other "user-generated" websites?
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Labels: websites
I've just been offered a free travel gift by American Express Publishing. But it comes at a price
Every few weeks or so, it seems, I receive a mailing from American Express Publishing that's designed to sell subscriptions to Travel + Leisure magazine. Except it doesn't say exactly that.
The mailing features a gift that they're bestowing on me -- either participation in a million-dollar sweepstakes or a voucher for a free companion air ticket. Out of the goodness of their heart! If I want to receive the voucher for the companion air ticket, I need only pay the forgettable sum of $2.99. But when I pay that $2.99, I automatically get a short-term subscription to Travel + Leisure which is later automatically renewed unless I affirmatively notify them to cancel it.
Let me repeat the deal. Several months after the "free" subscription begins, a more serious charge will automatically be assessed to me for a real subscription, unless I first ask them to cancel it. Thereafter, there will be "continuous annual renewal" unless I take the time to shake off my lethargy to take the steps needed to cancel.
It is obvious that American Express Publishing is hoping that normal human inertia will block a large percentage of such subscribers from ever canceling their subscriptions to this elegant travel publication. The tactic must work, else why would they be bestowing these valuable "gifts" on us?
What's so striking about the tactic is that Travel + Leisure is the most upscale, hoity-toity travel magazine you can imagine, never hesitating to write about the world's single most expensive travel facilities. It undoubtedly advises advertisers that its subscribers are "la crème de la crème." And yet these transparent tactics are aimed at the kind of Americans who respond to this nonsense -- and they ain't a very upscale group. I wonder how many of the subscriptions to Travel + Leisure are achieved through "automatic renewal" following a free gift bestowed on people hungry for a gift?
It is depressing enough when small businesses in America use such tactics as I've described. It is sadder still when one of America's largest, oldest and most prestigious companies stoops to that level. Or am I thinking of the American Express that used to exist?
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The mailing features a gift that they're bestowing on me -- either participation in a million-dollar sweepstakes or a voucher for a free companion air ticket. Out of the goodness of their heart! If I want to receive the voucher for the companion air ticket, I need only pay the forgettable sum of $2.99. But when I pay that $2.99, I automatically get a short-term subscription to Travel + Leisure which is later automatically renewed unless I affirmatively notify them to cancel it.
Let me repeat the deal. Several months after the "free" subscription begins, a more serious charge will automatically be assessed to me for a real subscription, unless I first ask them to cancel it. Thereafter, there will be "continuous annual renewal" unless I take the time to shake off my lethargy to take the steps needed to cancel.
It is obvious that American Express Publishing is hoping that normal human inertia will block a large percentage of such subscribers from ever canceling their subscriptions to this elegant travel publication. The tactic must work, else why would they be bestowing these valuable "gifts" on us?
What's so striking about the tactic is that Travel + Leisure is the most upscale, hoity-toity travel magazine you can imagine, never hesitating to write about the world's single most expensive travel facilities. It undoubtedly advises advertisers that its subscribers are "la crème de la crème." And yet these transparent tactics are aimed at the kind of Americans who respond to this nonsense -- and they ain't a very upscale group. I wonder how many of the subscriptions to Travel + Leisure are achieved through "automatic renewal" following a free gift bestowed on people hungry for a gift?
It is depressing enough when small businesses in America use such tactics as I've described. It is sadder still when one of America's largest, oldest and most prestigious companies stoops to that level. Or am I thinking of the American Express that used to exist?
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Oct 16, 2007
On a recent visit to Spain, I found a nation as modern and progressive as any in the world -- Part II
What's most impressive about modern-day Spain is the speed with which it threw off its stultifying past and became an exciting center of new ideas and humane policies. It shows what people can do when they defy the privileged nay-sayers and set about to improve their lives.
The pre-World War II-era dictator of Spain, Francisco Franco, lived and remained in power until 1975, and his political party continued to rule for several years more. I made repeated visits to Madrid during that time, revising my guidebook to Europe, and these short stays were unbelievably depressing. Censorship prevailed. Newspapers were one-note and dull. Motion picture theaters showed cowboy films, and little else. An atmosphere of repression lay heavily over the entire country.
And then in 1981, when a ridiculous army colonel burst into the parliament building, fired shots in the air, and announced that the military was again taking over, the unexpected happened: King Juan Carlos, who had been reared by Franco to be a harmless figurehead, single-handedly put down the revolt and proposed a referendum in which the Spanish were asked to say whether they wanted more of the past or a new and democratic constitution. On the streets of Malaga, that Roberta and I walked last week, bronze reproductions of newspaper front pages in 1982 announcing the turn to democracy are inlaid into the sidewalks. And in 1982, a youthful reformer -- Felipe Gonzales -- became premier of a liberal and democratic Spain.
This remarkable turnabout -- and the almost unbelievable progress which it brought about -- happened less than 25 years ago. In that short amount of time, Spain has been transformed.
The current Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero, is the grandson of a captain in the Republican Army of loyalist Spain, who was captured and executed by the army of Franco. He has made a point of educational reform, enacting laws that mandate the teaching of democratic ideals and institutions; he has greatly widened the separation of church and state. Even before Zapatero, Spain had embarked on programs of amnesty for nearly two million illegal immigrants whose presence is vital to the economy of the country, enabling -- among other things -- the harvesting of olives and oranges and the ever-increasing production of olive oil for a health-conscious world. Attracted to the historic capital of the Hispanic world, many of these immigrants -- including several hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorians -- are from nations of Latin America, and not simply from North Africa.
In addition to the overall impressions, the highlights of a trip to Madrid are its trio of world-important museums: the newly-expanded Prado (with its rooms of Velasquez, Goya and El Greco, overwhelming in their impact); the modern Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (with the Guernica); and the classic collection donated to the state and now known as the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Your knowledge of art history is incomplete until you have visited all three and stood transfixed by paintings acknowledged to be among the greatest of all time.
This year, the government has pulled down the city's last remaining statue of dictator Franco. His efforts to stifle the nation's yearnings for free expression, to thwart the modern progress of Spain, have at last been defeated, and you will be exhilarated by a visit to this capital of youth and vigor. If you had thought the life of London, Paris or Berlin was "cool," wait until you see current-day Madrid.
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The pre-World War II-era dictator of Spain, Francisco Franco, lived and remained in power until 1975, and his political party continued to rule for several years more. I made repeated visits to Madrid during that time, revising my guidebook to Europe, and these short stays were unbelievably depressing. Censorship prevailed. Newspapers were one-note and dull. Motion picture theaters showed cowboy films, and little else. An atmosphere of repression lay heavily over the entire country.
And then in 1981, when a ridiculous army colonel burst into the parliament building, fired shots in the air, and announced that the military was again taking over, the unexpected happened: King Juan Carlos, who had been reared by Franco to be a harmless figurehead, single-handedly put down the revolt and proposed a referendum in which the Spanish were asked to say whether they wanted more of the past or a new and democratic constitution. On the streets of Malaga, that Roberta and I walked last week, bronze reproductions of newspaper front pages in 1982 announcing the turn to democracy are inlaid into the sidewalks. And in 1982, a youthful reformer -- Felipe Gonzales -- became premier of a liberal and democratic Spain.
This remarkable turnabout -- and the almost unbelievable progress which it brought about -- happened less than 25 years ago. In that short amount of time, Spain has been transformed.
The current Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero, is the grandson of a captain in the Republican Army of loyalist Spain, who was captured and executed by the army of Franco. He has made a point of educational reform, enacting laws that mandate the teaching of democratic ideals and institutions; he has greatly widened the separation of church and state. Even before Zapatero, Spain had embarked on programs of amnesty for nearly two million illegal immigrants whose presence is vital to the economy of the country, enabling -- among other things -- the harvesting of olives and oranges and the ever-increasing production of olive oil for a health-conscious world. Attracted to the historic capital of the Hispanic world, many of these immigrants -- including several hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorians -- are from nations of Latin America, and not simply from North Africa.
In addition to the overall impressions, the highlights of a trip to Madrid are its trio of world-important museums: the newly-expanded Prado (with its rooms of Velasquez, Goya and El Greco, overwhelming in their impact); the modern Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (with the Guernica); and the classic collection donated to the state and now known as the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Your knowledge of art history is incomplete until you have visited all three and stood transfixed by paintings acknowledged to be among the greatest of all time.
This year, the government has pulled down the city's last remaining statue of dictator Franco. His efforts to stifle the nation's yearnings for free expression, to thwart the modern progress of Spain, have at last been defeated, and you will be exhilarated by a visit to this capital of youth and vigor. If you had thought the life of London, Paris or Berlin was "cool," wait until you see current-day Madrid.
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Labels: spain
Who needs to travel when there's WAYN?
In England, a travel website called www.wayn.com (for "Where Are You Now") has scored a smashing success (8,000,000 members by wayn.com's count) by permitting users to make friends around the world without ever meeting them; you enter your identity and interests, select a country whose people you'd like to know, and then chat with them about what's going on in their neck of the woods. One lonely Australian living temporarily in England speaks about how much she values her contact with people in Brazil, with whom she chats upon returning home from work every night. Who needs actual friends in your own community? Or travel, for that matter?
The site is also useful, of course, for persons planning a trip to a particular destination, where they will find dozens of persons willing to at least converse electronically with WAYN users; if those confabs then create enough confidence, the people listed may agree to meet the other WAYN user for a drink upon their arrival in that country. Among WAYN's services is a department called "Meet people who will be in the same place as you."
There are persons listed for even the most remote and little-visited areas of the world. Going to far-off Bhutan? Click on Bhutan, and up pop photographs and vital statistics (but not the home addresses) of a number of people in Bhutan willing at least to converse electronically with a would-be foreign visitor.
Other services of WAYN? "Keep a log of your past, present and future travels." "Keep your friends informed of your whereabouts." "Share experiences, trip details, photos and journals." Though WAYN is obviously capable of being abused, a careful building of confidence through lengthy correspondence, references, and the like, can eventually lead to your knowing people in advance at the vacation destinations to which you're heading. You might want to take a look at it.
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The site is also useful, of course, for persons planning a trip to a particular destination, where they will find dozens of persons willing to at least converse electronically with WAYN users; if those confabs then create enough confidence, the people listed may agree to meet the other WAYN user for a drink upon their arrival in that country. Among WAYN's services is a department called "Meet people who will be in the same place as you."
There are persons listed for even the most remote and little-visited areas of the world. Going to far-off Bhutan? Click on Bhutan, and up pop photographs and vital statistics (but not the home addresses) of a number of people in Bhutan willing at least to converse electronically with a would-be foreign visitor.
Other services of WAYN? "Keep a log of your past, present and future travels." "Keep your friends informed of your whereabouts." "Share experiences, trip details, photos and journals." Though WAYN is obviously capable of being abused, a careful building of confidence through lengthy correspondence, references, and the like, can eventually lead to your knowing people in advance at the vacation destinations to which you're heading. You might want to take a look at it.
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Labels: websites
For more of those rock-bottom-priced re-positioning cruises, a fruitful source is www.cruisedirect.com
A number of readers have taken me to task for my over-reliance on www.vacationstogo.com as a tool for finding bargain-priced re-positioning cruises -- those two-week-long sailings between Europe and America (or the Caribbean) priced at far less than you'd spend at home (like $60 a day). They cite www.cruisedirect.com and claim that the latter often has lower prices than those found on the better-known Vacations To Go. Though CruiseDirect's format isn't nearly as easy to use as Vacations To Go (which might explain VtG's popularity), it does publish re-positioning rates that often seem lower in price than from any other source. As for example:
CruiseDirect cites a rate of only $799 per person ($57 a day) on the giant, 110,000-ton, brand-new, 3,000-passenger Carnival Freedom, in an inside cabin, on a 14-night, October 28 sailing from Civitavecchia (near Rome) to Miami. The journey includes calls at Livorno (near Pisa); Malaga, Spain; and Madeira, Portugal.
Or you could take a 12-night cruise on October 30 from Southampton to Ft.
Lauderdale aboard the 2,500-passenger, two-year-old Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Sea for $849 (ocean-view cabins from just $50 more), stopping at Le Havre, France (with enough time for a quick daytrip into Paris); La Coruna, Spain; and Madeira.
Perhaps the most diverse itinerary gets you the best of a classic Mediterranean cruise along with that trans-Atlantic crossing, starting at $957: Holland America's 2,400-passenger, three-year-old Westerdam leaves Civitavecchia, Italy, on October 5 and stops at Lipari in Sicily's Aeolian Islands; Monte Carlo; Marseille, France; and Barcelona, Valencia, and Almeria in Spain before arriving in Ft. Lauderdale 16 nights later.
The public dislikes these re-positioning cruises (they don't enjoy several consecutive days at sea), which is why the cruiselines must discount the price so heavily to sell the cabins. Their loss is our gain.
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CruiseDirect cites a rate of only $799 per person ($57 a day) on the giant, 110,000-ton, brand-new, 3,000-passenger Carnival Freedom, in an inside cabin, on a 14-night, October 28 sailing from Civitavecchia (near Rome) to Miami. The journey includes calls at Livorno (near Pisa); Malaga, Spain; and Madeira, Portugal.
Or you could take a 12-night cruise on October 30 from Southampton to Ft.
Lauderdale aboard the 2,500-passenger, two-year-old Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Sea for $849 (ocean-view cabins from just $50 more), stopping at Le Havre, France (with enough time for a quick daytrip into Paris); La Coruna, Spain; and Madeira.
Perhaps the most diverse itinerary gets you the best of a classic Mediterranean cruise along with that trans-Atlantic crossing, starting at $957: Holland America's 2,400-passenger, three-year-old Westerdam leaves Civitavecchia, Italy, on October 5 and stops at Lipari in Sicily's Aeolian Islands; Monte Carlo; Marseille, France; and Barcelona, Valencia, and Almeria in Spain before arriving in Ft. Lauderdale 16 nights later.
The public dislikes these re-positioning cruises (they don't enjoy several consecutive days at sea), which is why the cruiselines must discount the price so heavily to sell the cabins. Their loss is our gain.
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Labels: cruise, deals, websites
Oct 15, 2007
On a recent visit to Spain, I found a nation as modern and progressive as any in the world -- Part I
In the museum of Madrid that displays Picasso's unforgettable Guernica, among other masterworks (the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; www.museoreinasofia.es), the admission charge is waived for persons under 18, over 65, disabled or -- can you believe it?--unemployed ("desempleado"). And there, in a single word, you find a new Spain of social compassion and innovation. After decades as the pitiable "poor man of Europe," held back by dictator Francisco Franco (who remained in power and alive until 1975), backward in every aspect of its society and fundamentalist in its beliefs, Spain has suddenly emerged as a modern, progressive and important nation -- as I learned on re-visiting it last week.
The streets of Spain's capital city (and everywhere else I went) are filled with well-dressed young people striding with confidence to discos and cultural and social gatherings that would have been unthinkable in the past. The façades of buildings are new and colorful; the plazas marked by gigantic fountains surrounded by fresh flowers and spouting huge plumes of water high into the air, the shop windows filled with modern merchandise and fashions, the movies showing provocative films, the bookstores large and filled with browsers, the new architecture stunning and like none other on earth. Even the bullring, once hemmed in by shabby tenements reaching to its walls, has obtained a new lease on life with the clearing of those structures to create an immense surrounding open plaza. In terms of its modernity and optimism, Madrid is today no different from New York, London or Paris.
On your own visit, as on mine, it's instructive to question the many English-speaking Spaniards you can easily meet. You'll learn that Spain currently enjoys the highest rate of economic growth of any major European nation; that its government has a budgetary surplus, low levels of public debt, and the lowest rate of mortgage delinquencies in the world. Its parliament has enacted a broad program of full legal and social equality for women, and Spanish women -- far from being sheltered by dueñas and tyrannical fathers -- are today prominent in the ranks of doctors, dentists and managers of every sort. Abortion is legal, the average age for marriage is now in the 30s, and the lesser emphasis on child-rearing has resulted in zero degrees of population growth. Spain is also the only European nation to recognize same-sex marriages.
In my next post, coming soon, we'll explore how Spain got to be the way it presently is.
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A bunch of Londoners have now created the world's finest calendar of festivals
One of the joys of travel is to arrive in a destination and encounter a harvest festival where the food and locally-brewed beer flow freely, a concert series held in parks or ancient ruins, or a spectacular celebration of the local saint's day. There once was a time when, aside from such major events as Carnival in Rio or Venice, you either had to contact the local tourist office to learn of such events or rely on sheer dumb luck to land you in town on the right day.
Now you can just log on to Whatsonwhen (www.whatsonwhen.com) to learn about every sort of special event, from festivals to concerts, trade shows to art exhibits. The site cover annual events and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, offering one-stop shopping, whether you want to find out the dates for the New York marathon, get directions to the Buffalo Wallow Chili Cookoff in South Dakota's Custer State Park, or learn more about the Water Festival along the Mekong River in Cambodia.
You can browse by country, region, or city, getting a full list of the annual calendar or just focusing on the dates you'll be traveling. Each destination guide cover some sightseeing and basic info, but the true treasure trove lies under the "Events" menu. These are divided into events categories: festivals & heritage, music & nightlife, arts, spots & outdoors, classical music, lifestyle, kids & family, science & knowledge, gay & lesbian, and weird & wonderful (wherein such oddities as Italy's Duck Festival, donkey racing in Croatia, or the annual Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering)
The site can help you fine-tune your itinerary in two ways. You can alter your schedule to make sure you'll be in town for the annual uncorking of the new wine...or shuffle your plans to avoid a city during some huge convention that will keep prices high and hotel rooms booked.
Note: You can also find all of these events at events.frommers.com, as Whatsonwhen is a sister site to Frommers.com and also part of Wiley Publishing.
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Now you can just log on to Whatsonwhen (www.whatsonwhen.com) to learn about every sort of special event, from festivals to concerts, trade shows to art exhibits. The site cover annual events and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, offering one-stop shopping, whether you want to find out the dates for the New York marathon, get directions to the Buffalo Wallow Chili Cookoff in South Dakota's Custer State Park, or learn more about the Water Festival along the Mekong River in Cambodia.
You can browse by country, region, or city, getting a full list of the annual calendar or just focusing on the dates you'll be traveling. Each destination guide cover some sightseeing and basic info, but the true treasure trove lies under the "Events" menu. These are divided into events categories: festivals & heritage, music & nightlife, arts, spots & outdoors, classical music, lifestyle, kids & family, science & knowledge, gay & lesbian, and weird & wonderful (wherein such oddities as Italy's Duck Festival, donkey racing in Croatia, or the annual Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering)
The site can help you fine-tune your itinerary in two ways. You can alter your schedule to make sure you'll be in town for the annual uncorking of the new wine...or shuffle your plans to avoid a city during some huge convention that will keep prices high and hotel rooms booked.
Note: You can also find all of these events at events.frommers.com, as Whatsonwhen is a sister site to Frommers.com and also part of Wiley Publishing.
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Would you believe a round-trip fare this winter between New York and Rome of $319 per person?
Last April, yours truly was the exclusive source of an amazing airfare of $299 per person between New York and Rome, Italy. We enjoyed that exclusive scoop because the source of the fare, the trans-Atlantic Italian carrier known as Eurofly, decided to announce the boon on my Sunday radio program, knowing that such a limited announcement would be sufficient to sell out the 1,000-some-odd seats they were willing to sell at that sacrificial price.
Well, Eurofly has done it again. For Friday and Sunday flights in either direction, taking place from October 22, 2007, through March 14, 2008, between New York's JFK and Rome, Italy, they will make available to the first few-thousand people who book, a price of $319, including fuel surcharge -- only $20 more than they charged last spring. And once again, we (meaning this blog and my Sunday noon to two radio program on WOR710.com) will be the only journalistic source of the news. The last date to book is October 28.
$319, round-trip between New York and Rome.
You snare that price at www.euroflyusa.com, or by phoning Eurofly at tel. 800/459-0581, and obviously you're advised to act quick, as a $319 opportunity (INCLUDING fuel surcharge) will sell out fast. And after you book, run equally fast to a bookstore and buy a copy of Pauline Frommer's Italy to guide your hotel and restaurant choices in the Eternal City.
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Well, Eurofly has done it again. For Friday and Sunday flights in either direction, taking place from October 22, 2007, through March 14, 2008, between New York's JFK and Rome, Italy, they will make available to the first few-thousand people who book, a price of $319, including fuel surcharge -- only $20 more than they charged last spring. And once again, we (meaning this blog and my Sunday noon to two radio program on WOR710.com) will be the only journalistic source of the news. The last date to book is October 28.
$319, round-trip between New York and Rome.
You snare that price at www.euroflyusa.com, or by phoning Eurofly at tel. 800/459-0581, and obviously you're advised to act quick, as a $319 opportunity (INCLUDING fuel surcharge) will sell out fast. And after you book, run equally fast to a bookstore and buy a copy of Pauline Frommer's Italy to guide your hotel and restaurant choices in the Eternal City.
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You've seen air-and-land packages to the Caribbean for $649-or-so. How about $399?
A Caribbean specialist in Tampa, Florida named Changes In L'Attitudes (tel. 800/330-8272; www.changes.com) has just announced a fall sale on three-night vacation packages to all-inclusive Jamaican resorts starting at $399 for trips through December 10. That's about the lowest price I've ever seen for an air-included package emanating from the northeast.
The lead rate of $399 is for roundtrip airfare out of New York (other gateways available for only slightly more), transfers, and three nights at the Starfish Trelawney (www.starfishresorts.com), a 350-room all-inclusive resort affiliated with SuperClubs on the North Shore between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. Since we all know that "all-inclusive" is often used to mean different things, you should know that at this particular property it covers everything -- food, alcohol, activities, and entertainment -- except motorized watersports.
Other Jamaican all-inclusive resorts are available at differing prices: the Gran Bahia Principe from $439, Couples Ocho Rios from $567, and Sandals Inn from $559. The company is also selling three night air-hotel packages to the Bahamas starting at $299 per person at the Sheraton Cable Beach, $417 at the Atlantis.
All those prices are per person based on double occupancy; air and hotel taxes and government fees can add up to $100 extra. And you must book by October 15.
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The lead rate of $399 is for roundtrip airfare out of New York (other gateways available for only slightly more), transfers, and three nights at the Starfish Trelawney (www.starfishresorts.com), a 350-room all-inclusive resort affiliated with SuperClubs on the North Shore between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. Since we all know that "all-inclusive" is often used to mean different things, you should know that at this particular property it covers everything -- food, alcohol, activities, and entertainment -- except motorized watersports.
Other Jamaican all-inclusive resorts are available at differing prices: the Gran Bahia Principe from $439, Couples Ocho Rios from $567, and Sandals Inn from $559. The company is also selling three night air-hotel packages to the Bahamas starting at $299 per person at the Sheraton Cable Beach, $417 at the Atlantis.
All those prices are per person based on double occupancy; air and hotel taxes and government fees can add up to $100 extra. And you must book by October 15.
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In a frightening case that threatens the existence of travel guides, a Sydney jury has found a writer guilty of defaming a local restaurant
Though it hasn't yet been noticed by U.S. publications, it's a terrifying development that denies the right of a travel journalist to compose an honest opinion about restaurants, hotels, and other tourist facilities. A restaurant in Sydney, whose meals were said to be unpalatable by a newspaper restaurant critic who had taken two meals there, the restaurant having later closed, sued the critic's newspaper for defamation and won a jury verdict. Prior to the trial, the courts of Australia had upheld the right of the restaurant's owners to maintain such an unusual lawsuit.
No one denied that the restaurant critic had eaten there twice. No one claimed that he had an ulterior or improper motive for criticizing the restaurant's meals. Yet an Australian jury found him guilty for rendering an honest opinion.
I am virtually certain that the courts of America would throw out any such lawsuit. Or would they? Too many of us take the right of free speech for granted, and the casual way in which important elements of the Australian society have trampled on free speech rights in this instance is a horrendous development, and one that would find plenty of extremist supporters here. Imagine the state of our newspapers, magazines and guidebooks if we could not criticize a restaurant, hotel, movie or book for fear of being sued for libel over honest criticism.
I think it's important for us to let the Australians know that the world is watching, to provoke opinion leaders in that country to confront the implications of this weird, totalitarian ruling. If you know an Australian, or if you meet an Australian traveling in the United States, shouldn't you let that person know of the horror we feel?
A full write-up of the court's decision is found on the Sydney Morning Herald's website, while this link includes a timeline and breakdown of the case by a legal consulting firm. The Guardian covers the lack of a free speech here.
A somewhat similar lawsuit is currently pending in the courts of Philadelphia, brought by a disgruntled restaurateur against a food critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer who had written that he had been served "a miserably tough and fatty strip steak. The crab cake, though, was excellent." We should all pray that the case will be decisively dismissed, with costs assessed against the restaurateur; otherwise, we'll all suffer the eventual disappearance of critical reviews in our press.
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No one denied that the restaurant critic had eaten there twice. No one claimed that he had an ulterior or improper motive for criticizing the restaurant's meals. Yet an Australian jury found him guilty for rendering an honest opinion.
I am virtually certain that the courts of America would throw out any such lawsuit. Or would they? Too many of us take the right of free speech for granted, and the casual way in which important elements of the Australian society have trampled on free speech rights in this instance is a horrendous development, and one that would find plenty of extremist supporters here. Imagine the state of our newspapers, magazines and guidebooks if we could not criticize a restaurant, hotel, movie or book for fear of being sued for libel over honest criticism.
I think it's important for us to let the Australians know that the world is watching, to provoke opinion leaders in that country to confront the implications of this weird, totalitarian ruling. If you know an Australian, or if you meet an Australian traveling in the United States, shouldn't you let that person know of the horror we feel?
A full write-up of the court's decision is found on the Sydney Morning Herald's website, while this link includes a timeline and breakdown of the case by a legal consulting firm. The Guardian covers the lack of a free speech here.
A somewhat similar lawsuit is currently pending in the courts of Philadelphia, brought by a disgruntled restaurateur against a food critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer who had written that he had been served "a miserably tough and fatty strip steak. The crab cake, though, was excellent." We should all pray that the case will be decisively dismissed, with costs assessed against the restaurateur; otherwise, we'll all suffer the eventual disappearance of critical reviews in our press.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
