Tagged With "Amazon Local"
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Re: Carnival opens 'social impact' program to all
A good question, and one open to discussion. we can be sure of Carnival's motivation, and sure that the local government has not done these things. But how to assess whether it is a good thing is more complicated, I think.
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Re: Maybe Canada was right on closing parks
Police add black dye to a clear Blue Lake in Buxton England to deter visitors. This is why we dont give guns to our Local Police. If you went into that Lake the cold would kill you anyway.
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Re: Tips to help with packing no matter where you are going
Adding to Mac's point. A big turning point for us was when we started packing for 7 days, no matter how much longer the trip. Usually we have a washer in the apartments we rent, but when not, there's always a laundromat nearby, and usually one that will wash and fold while we tour. We don't often enough change locations to want to keep everything packed (and anyway, I'm a compulsive unpacker) so some of the tools are less useful to us...but I do remind everyone that shoes are actually...
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Re: Boston in the fall - suggestions please!
Wow! HistoryDigger that is fantastic information, thank you, I will now 'dig' more (pardon the pun) on the web and put some plans into place around those excellent suggestions!! Please - a crucial question for us - would we be "safe" to just book hotels for the arrival and departure days of our tour and simply rely on finding local accommodation as we progress round - or is it really SO busy in this season that I must book every stop along the way? We prefer the 'flexible' approach as it can...
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Re: JetBlue to be first with free WiFi on all flights
Excellent idea! Kudos to JetBlue for its foresight.
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Re: July in France: More than Bastille Day
Great photo of the lavender field. I remember all the years living in Germany, seemed there were weekly fests going on in our village or in one of the neighboring villages. Any excuse for outdoor music and to gather with current and new friends to drink local wines and beers along with plentiful grilled meats. I truly miss that part of European living. Fests all year long and never a rain date ... they just put up tents and partied in the rain. Photo of my wife Diane with two musicians at a...
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Re: Limone, Lake Garda, Italy
"Only to be found in the Mediterranean..." Not really. Meyer lemons are native to China and have been grown in the US since 1908. I can find them just about anytime in my ordinary local supermarket in California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_lemon
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Re: Notes and Noticings from the road
Actually, I think the banks have a fairly minimal (as small as I can make it) impact on my currency transactions, in part because I never deal with exchanges; I use bank ATMs. That way, the exchange takes place not on my account, but as an interbank transaction at the base rate banks use with each other. I used to use my ATM card from Citibank, but eventually they began charging a 3% foreign exchange fee even on withdrawals. At that point, I opened an account with Charles Schwab, a brokerage...
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Re: Experience Lalgarh Palace with Palace on Wheels Train
Without doubt this mode of travel appeals to some people. However, on our travels through Rajasthan we encountered tour groups from the Palace on Wheels on a couple of occasions and felt that going by road, with a car and driver, suited us much better. You simply saw a hell of a lot more, had much more contact with the local people, and were not tied to any schedule. We stayed at the Laxmi Niwas Palace, which is part of the Lalgarh site, and it was very pleasant indeed. (Whilst there are...
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Re: Top Tips and Advice for Travel to Malta & Gozo
"Tropical Paradise" is stretching it a bit - Malta is nowhere near the tropics and, whilst it has a mild climate, it is far from tropical. However, having been there, I concur that it is well worth a visit. We rented a local flat for a week and found the bus services quite good (and thus did not rent a car). Rabbit dishes seem to be ubiquitous on restaurant menus and we found many of them very good - although it is probably true to say that I am more fond of rabbit than my wife.
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Re: Why I Travel
My early travels in the US were all done with maps. I've been lost many times. So I bought the American Maps for my UK TomTom Sat Nav. Best thing I've done in years ! I love taking roads that aren't tourist routes - and getting lost - now. Explore the back woods and the one horse towns. Explore where the rich folks live and the poor. Taking photo's of local characters. Folks that have worse teeth than the Brits ! Show me the tourist route and I'll go the other way !
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day: Jan. 16, 2014: Liverpool Victoria Gallery
My favourite time to visit attractions is May-June-July. Before the little monsters are released on school vacation. Liverpool has hundreds of things to do - no exaggeration ! Here's 128 to go on with http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/A...seyside_England.html Liverpool makes a good hub for visiting nearby Chester with its 2,000 year old Roman Walls and Tudor Buildings. The River Dee and North Wales. All using local public transport - mostly trains. You can get a flight, Liverpool - Dublin from...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 4, 2014: Frutta Fresca, Roma
I love walking through markets - the smells, the colours and the rare fruits that don't make it to the Supermarkets! And sometimes the samples of local cheese ! I could spend all day there.
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
Actually, the Hua Shan (Mountain Hua) is close to the city of Xi'an (where Terracotta warriors museum is located). I visited both in a same trip few years ago. Regarding to the Hua Shan trial, there was a local advise "if you want to climb to the tea house, better do it during night, because you do not see what is around you, ha ha! ". Of course, now a days, you can get there comfortably by riding a Gondola.
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Re: World's scariest hiking trail?
To be precise, the Hua Shan trial has two sections. The longer scarier section with local advise to be done during night is now equipped with Gondola. Only the hard core climber will try that section now. There are park ranger standing by the entrance to screen if some one is really fit for the climb (after seeing the trial in person, i realized that the screen is not just for increasing the Gondola revenue! ). Not be too relaxed yet, even after the Gondola ride, to reach the tea house, one...
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo? # 9
Well, nothing "Thais" us together like a good puzzle! But alas, this one did not last to the weekend. WorkerBee, our puzzle champion started homing in by e-mail on Wednesday, with an inspired but wrong guess: Once again Gumbo is taking time to visit a church. This church is made of wood on a base of stone. The location is near Barsana (Birsana) in Maramures county, Romania. By Thursday, he had continued his research, and last night he was back with another e-mail, and he had nailed it. On...
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ
My local friend, who warned me about them, also told me how to get the barbs out...
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Re: How'd We Live Without Travel Apps?
A lot to be said for what might be the ultimate travel app category: Maps and GPS. I know people have their favorites (Google's not the only one, according to my wife...) but almost everyone uses some version on their phone or tablet. Another good one is local transit. Most big cities have a route-finder on their transit site, but you have to find it. But Google Maps and HopStop and some others have transit info for most big cities. One downside: Apple is as bad as Google about business;...
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Re: Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb
Perceptions of time ! Interesting subject. You do get a little blasé about History when you're surrounded by it. This is my local Church. It's nearly a thousand years old and still in regular use !
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Re: Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb
Walking the "Walls" that enclose the City - maybe 3 miles around - is a local ritual ! At frequent intervals there are Pubs to stop at. The idea being that you stop at each one , have a drink and proceed to the next. Its only the hardened drinkers who complete the circuit. A friend from Anna Maria Island, Florida sent his daughter to stay with us for a while. Same age as my daughter and they got along like a house on fire ! So when we arrived in Chester I told her our day was walking around...
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Re: Laughter Set in Stone: Fun with Statues
Well, here's another I would have included in the original post—except I didn't remember I had it! Unintentionally ironic or not...it speaks up for a local guy in an unusual way!
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Re: Budget Way to Use a Cell Phone and VOIP in Europe
Sounds like a real money-saver, at home in the U.S. but it might not suit all travelers abroad. Since the phone uses the Sprint network (CDMA) you couldn't just add a local SIM in Europe where GSM is used. That would mean it would only work on wi-fi in Europe, and you might find it inconvenient to not be able to make or get calls when you were away from it.
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Starting to get things planned now Hank ! You have the choice of flying into Edinburgh in Scotland. Manchester in the North of England. Or Gatwick / Heathrow which both serve the London area in the South of England. You can get a Train to Paris to end your tour with a few days of Culture in a foreign language ! Fly back to the US from Paris will save you hundreds of Dollars because you wont pay the UK "Departure Tax" but not vital ! Liverpool is less than an hour on the Train from...
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Re: Traveling for Local Food
I took a look and it looks like just what I need. I can even use the info to plan our route. I had my mom look at it, too, and she said it reminds her of when she was a kid and my granddad had a book called Duncan Hines that had local places all over. I wonder if that's the same Duncan Hines as the cake mix?
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People
To say that Ireland is typically wet and cold is true of Winter. The Summers are often pleasant and warm but when you get to the West Coast then the wind blows in of a cold Atlantic Ocean. But the weather can change 4 times a day - so there's something there to please everyone. Ireland has wonderful fresh food. Fresh from the sea and farm. Try a locally produced Vintage Cheddar Cheese or an 18 year old Jamesons Whiskey. Soda bread is a local speciality. But stay away from the home made...
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People
When I go to my local Pub in Liverpool I'll have a choice of Beers. Heineken Dutch Lager - San Miguel Spanish - Carlsberg Danish - Stella Belgian - Fosters Australian - Sagres Portuguese. Plus many local brews. Old Speckled Hen, Bishops Finger and my favourite Newcastle Brown Ale. Served in a Pint - 20 ounce - Bottle. With a half pint glass. It keeps cooler in the bottle ! Liquid Toffee ! Not a light Beer. Lots of Flavour and quite potent. I've found bars around Ocean City Maryland who serve...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
England is only as big as Florida ! I haven't seen a Guide book that sub-divides us! Wales is full of Castles, Mountains and Lakes. Tourists often divide England between the North and South. The North is often cooler and wetter than further South. But your Dollar will go twice as far up here in the North! And we're much friendlier. Have a look at places you'd like to visit. York (the old one) will keep you busy for 2 days. Train or Bus from Liverpool. Or a day or two in Europe from Liverpool...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Hi Everyone! Hope you had a good Christmas. I spent mine with my parents, which was nice. I've been busy planning this trip that you've helped me with and I think I'm making good progress. Largely starting to arrange places to stay and developing a list of "must see" things for myself. Using the hostels and airB&B I've been able to get decent looking and affordable places for me. I still need to find something for London and Paris, but the rest of the trip is mostly worked out. Might...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov 14, 2013 : Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland
That's a cool photo, Ottoman! Reminds me of the bartender at my local pub. His smile is even bigger if you leave him a nice tip.
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Re: Capital of Culture Series: Liverpool
No, not thinking of mills and chimneys, necessarily--note my very pre-Industrial Revolution examples--but certainly industrial, and by the nature of sizable cities with people living in close quarters and with the side-products of their industry, an argument can be made for dirty. It's not a slam...it's just the condition of cities that are alive. Here's a quotation, by the way, from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health: The industrial revolution in England had by the beginning...
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Re: Gifts to bring back from Portugal or Barcellona
I may not be much help, because we tend to send postcards to the grandchildren from each city, with notes about what we've seen and think they would be interested in, and to avoid filling the suitcase with physical items. But for those few things we do buy, we usually go to the market! One of our travel rituals, on the first day when we stock the apartment, is to look for a local preserve or jam that we don't see at home (skyberries in Stockholm, for instance). Once we've found one we really...
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Re: Gifts to bring back from Portugal or Barcellona
I am no shopper so I try to make this gift-buying task easy. When I arrive at the large entry airport, I like to stretch my legs, get a cup of takeaway coffee, and cruise the airport gift shops. Almost always, I can find little magnets of the country flag, local tiles, miniature photos, the sports team, or handiwork mounted on refrigerator magnets. I pick up a few of those and am good to go for my visit. One more thing off of my list. Refrigerator magnets are easy to carry, no problem with...
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Re: Do you Like these Hotel Tipping Tips ?
Before I retired, I traveled quite a bit on business, both inside the U.S. and abroad. I still travel frequently to racing and club events, but almost all are in the U.S. or Canada. That said, here’s my take on tipping: Restaurants – According to the sources I checked, in the U.S. the Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13. Most states have set higher amounts, but food service workers are still generally paid much lower wages that other ‘minimum wage’ employees. Unless the...
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Re: Put Stuttgart on Your Travel List
Many European towns have a Central Square where concerts and displays by local groups entertain us. Is Stuttgart like this ? Does it have Art Galleries that survived the war years ? Stuttgart isn't one of the places you associate with tourists in Germany but you've given us a taster. Thanks Rob !
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Re: Photo sharing services
I've used Picasa Web Albums (linked with the Picasa desktop software, by the way) from Google for that; I upload the raw pictures as an archive (not shared) and then a selection of edited ones that are shared with whoever I give the link to. Free up to a point, and added storage is pretty cheap. the one downside is that you occasionally have to click some links to say that NO, you do not want it linked to Google+ The other reasonable choice is DropBox; once you've created a folder in your...
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Re: Beautiful collection of mate cups at the Puerto de Frutos market, El Tigre Argentina. Mate is the national drink of Argentina, a type of tea
Mate' is very high in caffeine and has a lovely smokey flavor. If we look closely at the cups, I believe they are the traditional sort, made from embellished gourds. It's drunk using the "straws". There's a nice version available in the US, 'Morning Thunder' which is combined with black tea, 'Celestial Seasonings' brand. I've even seen mate' available loose at my local natural foods store where they also sell the cups. Fun to see them in situ, DrF.
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Re: A Birthday Message from the Gumbo Gurus
Here's a piece of cake for you, Portmoresby. E-enjoy it! Or, if you prefer, some ice cream!
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Re: Shipping Container as Your Next Hotel Room or Apartment ?!
I loved the design of the South African Student Housing.It was pretty cool. I hope someone can post their own photos of them on TG. As for the hotel, I'm guessing that would go good in places were there is only a seasonal demand . I imagine local laws might get in the way. I'd try it though if the price is right
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Re: AAA Premier a Good Idea for Budget Travelers
AAA seems to choose their contracted towing services very well. I have always had good luck with them. I used the coverage when I had a break down with a rental car in a small town. The rental car company suggested that I call AAA for towing to their office in a nearby larger town to exchange the car. The rental car company had a contract with the same towing company that was under contract to AAA in that area. So that was very easy. If the tow goes over the 200 miles, they charge something...
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Re: The Candy Church, Lamèque Island, New Brunswick
A beautiful small church. I'm pretty sure you won't read about it in a travel guide, but which a local like Vivie would know about. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
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Re: A Rambler in Strasbourg
Alsace was our favorite destination for relaxing, taking the Rue de Vin for picnics, and enjoying the cuisine and slow pace of life. Colorful timber houses and festivals added to the richness of this region. A couple of our photos. My wife Diane with a local policeman, the cathedral and a canal.
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Re: How to not miss a connecting flight
Thanks! There's a lot of good advice in there, including the factor that often isn't thought of in the standard connecting times: walking. So many terminals have gates so far apart that it can take 15-20 minutes just to walk the distance, which can eat up the time between flights quickly. And, as one of our NewsLinks pointed out last week, airports are developing more local restaurants with regional cuisine to tempt you while you wait.
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Re: Welcome to The Golden State.
Later today, after I'd posted this photo, I was watching the local 6:00 news, Sacramento. A fire had started in Lincoln, NE of Sacramento, a yard full of trucks engulfed and spreading into grass, moving toward a subdivision. A spotter plane left the Grass Valley Base, flew over my house and I looked to see what it was. About 10 minutes later the news helicopter showed it arriving low over the fire to inspect it. I went out again to watch the next plane, a retardant tanker, possibly the one...
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Re: A Morality Tale: An iPhone's Solo Excursion in Paris
I've just put in a request for Gopnik's 'Paris to the Moon' at my local library. The title is so familiar to me that I thought I must surely own it or have read it. Or maybe one that I had every intention of reading and forgot. We'll see. He sounds like one of those valuable writers who condense a million of our own half-thoughts into a few words we all wish we could assemble ourselves.
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Re: Kyoto Tells Tourists What Not To Do
It is one of those real-life bad jokes. I find particularly humorous the rules about when and how to take photographs. Anyone who's stumbled upon a group of Japanese tourists know that they'll fight for the best shot if they have to! Guess the rules apply to foreign guests, not local residents.
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Re: Exploring Namibia – Part 2
A colorful and very captivating travel story. Everything from land formations, cuisine, architecture, and wildlife. It wasn't lost on me while engaged in your story on the remoteness of your explorations. Disaster could have befallen you anywhere and no cell towers, but you explained how you were well prepared and took great precautions. Very well written and photographed. Did you have many photos of the local people and their native architecture after colonialism?
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Re: Exploring Namibia – Part 2
Thank you very much for your comment, George. There certainly were times - after we had not encountered another vehicle or a building for ages - when our thoughts turned to what might happen if our car suddenly broke down. We found the local people very cheerful and most helpful. With older people the conversations inevitably turned to the bad old days of apartheid. Some of the stories were very disturbing indeed. As to modern buildings, we did not find much beyond the usual 'shopping mall'...
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Re: Back to Oaxaca: Hoofing It, El Picacho & Teotitlan
Another interesting item from the OLL newsletter regarding the weaving village of Teotitlan: TOUR: ARCHEOLOGICAL RUINS in TEOTITLAN Presented by Dr. Robert Markens Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas—sede Oaxaca Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México THURSDAY, JANUARY 11 / 9 AM-4 PM MX$350 (M) MX$400 (NM) Local archeologist Dr. Robert Markens will lead a tour of the archeological ruins located in the ancient village of Teotitlan del Valle, world-famous for its woven textiles. This...
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Re: Prague's Jewish Quarter: An Emotional and Educational Journey
I also visited the Old Jewish Cemetery during my first road trip to Prague shortly after the Soviets departed. I stayed with a local family in their spare room where I learned some of their customs and foods. Many of the historical sites were still not available for viewing at that time, but fortunately Marilyn provided some exquisite photos and historical context.
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Re: Nepalese Sherpas building Norway trails
Good news; I certainly struggled with paths in Lofoten in summertime, mainly because most local access is in winter by skidoo. Even waterside trails are non existent as everyone uses boats for fishing ! Norway has a spike in hillwalking accidents in springtime among hikers desperate to get out in the hills; surely this will help them too.