Tagged With "Lego Group"
Blog Post
Charleston's Grand Mansions: Drayton Hall
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 9, 2015: "Teddy Bear" Cholla
When you see a group of them at a distance in the "Cholla Cactus Garden" (Joshua Tree National Park), they're a memorable site. With their arms outstretched, these cacti seem rather fuzzy, almost soft, and hence the name "teddy...
Blog Post
Charleston's Grand Mansions: Middleton Place
On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I bought a 2-day pass, called the Charleston Heritage Passport , at the North Charleston Visitor Center near the airport, and planned to include as many of the sites it offered of...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 10, 2014: Black Arctic Ground Squirrel
Ground Squirrels are fairly common in western North America. Many people call them gophers but this is not correct. A gopher is an animal that lives underground and stays there. Most people have never seen one. Ground...
Blog Post
Update: Loyalty Programs and Credit Cards
For some of us, credit cards are more than a convenient way to pay—they are the lifeline to free travel through loyalty programs. Between points for purchases and bonuses for opening or upgrading credit card accounts, it's possible to get quite...
Blog Post
Major New Entrant in Cruise Business
Richard Branson's Virgin Group announced it's forming Virgin Cruises.It plans on building two new world class cruise ships. It's the first major new entrant in the business since Disney Cruise Line started in 1996. Read More:...
Blog Post
Lonely Planet's Best Bang for Your Buck in 2015
While some of the destinations they include will be no surprise to the well-traveled group here on Travel Gumbo, I was interested in some of the places mentioned. Samoa, for instance, I wouldn't have expected, or South Africa. And I'd...
Blog Post
Throwback: Eastern Airlines Returns to Miami
Friday, Eastern welcomed its first aircraft to Miami International Airport. It's the first of 20 new Boeing 737s Eastern has for its return. The Airline is hoping to start charter flights in the second quarter, but no dates or routes are set....
Blog Post
A Day in Lisbon
Lisbon was our first stop in Portugal. Getting around Lisbon was easy, we were able to take the Metro from the airport to where we were staying without any problems. We got the LisboaCard at the airport, which seemed like a great deal, but when we...
Blog Post
Jestine's Kitchen, Charleston
In the past decade or so, Charleston has emerged as a food/foodie travel destination. On an extended weekend visit to Charleston, we enjoyed superb food every single meal. Most everything is fried and a little "heavier" than we're...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan 3, 2014: Santorini, the site of lost Atlantis?
Located in the southern Aegean Sea, 120 kms north of Crete, the beautiful island of Santorini lies in the island group known a the Cyclades, often referred to as the Windy Islands due to it's total exposure to all winds in the Aegean Sea. Thera,...
Topic
Spring Honeymoon Help
My BF and I are getting married in May, and we're getting a group present from the family--15 days in Italy! We think we want to go in Northern Italy, but is late May too cold for there? Also, we don't want to spend the whole time running around...
Blog Post
Columbia River Gorge, Where Gumbo Was #82
Gumbo was visiting the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, which straddles northern Oregon and southern Washington states. Specifically, Gumbo was enjoying the amazing view of the Gorge through the lobby window of the Skamania Lodge in...
Blog Post
Left Bank of the Tiber
I’d looked online for an apartment for my week in Rome, until I was sick of the thought of going. At some point I came across a recommendation for a women’s hostel in Trastevere (Tras TAY veree), on what I came to think of as...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 8, 2015: Toledo and Madrid
My first solo trip was to Madrid and Toledo in Spain. I had been travelling for years, but always in a group. This time I was on my own, and a little petrified. I shouldn't have been as Madrid is easy to get around and the...
Blog Post
Lufthansa to Fly From Oslo on Biokerosene
Starting in March 2015 , the Lufthansa Group will be flying on a biokerosene mixture on their flights out of Oslo. Read More: http://aviation-news.net/2015/01/02/lufthansa-group-aircraft-fly-from-oslo-on-biokerosene/
Blog Post
Selling Toronto Island terminal to fund more flights
Porter Aviation, which built and owns the Toronto Island Billy Bishop terminal featured in Gumbo's Where in the World Puzzle #71 , is selling the terminal to an investment group. But no fears for the convenient downtown airport—Porter is getting...
Blog Post
Aer Lingus may become part of British Air/Iberia group
International Air Group, the parent of British Air and Iberia, has made an offer to buy Aer Lingus, now owned 30% by RyanAir and 25% by the Irish government, and unlike two previous offers, the board of the Irish flag carrier has agreed to consider...
Blog Post
Qatar now biggest investor in BritishAir/Iberia
BritishAir's parent company, International Airlines Group, has a new investor, Qatar Airways, which has bought 10% of the company and says it's maybe interested in more. EU rules limit non-European investors to a maximum of 49%. IAG, which is...
Blog Post
Road Trip, More Day 2: Point Cabrillo Light Station
Not quite recovered from the long drive the day before, and having just walked a couple of miles around the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden, had I realized the extent of the hike required to get to and from the the lighthouse at Point...
Blog Post
Airport playgrounds take off for kids
The GO Group supplies limos and shared shuttles at airports, but they've also taken a look at what goes on inside the airports, and found what they call the Top Five Airport Playgrounds for Kids, including the "Kids on the Fly" shown below at...
Blog Post
Airbnb now open for business in Cuba
Jumping ahead of the airlines and hotel chains, Airbnb has opened its first list of lodgings available in Cuba, mostly rooms in existing "Casas Particulares," which are private rentals of rooms in homes. Airbnb, famous for "disrupting" the lodging...
Blog Post
Road Trip, Day 3: A Sunny Day in Sonoma
March 11, 2015 The drive down California Highway 1, along the Mendocino and Sonoma County coast, was a bit of a bust. It started to rain as I arrived at Point Arena and Fort Ross was closed, it turned out, on weekdays, so I...
Blog Post
National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta (Where Gumbo Was #109)
Exterior Albert Vecerka-Esto & The Freelon Group-HOK We had some good guesses for this week's Where in the World is TravelGumbo, but believe it or not, no one offered the correct guess. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights opened on Monday, June 23rd 2014 in Pemberton Place, adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. This area is in Downtown Atlanta, just north of Centennial Olympic Park. The Center links the American Civil Rights...
Blog Post
"Poo-Powered" buses debut in Bristol, Oslo
Yes, the headline's real...buses powered by human waste are on the road, one in Bristol, and more than 100 in Oslo. They're diesel buses, powered by methane, the same as the natural gas-powered buses elsewhere...except that the methane in this case is...
Blog Post
The Way to a Man's Heart
Travel news website, Skift, has revealed the fact that many of us already knew, in travel as in life, decisions made by men are more likely to be determined by what's to eat. I was a first-hand observer of this phenomenon when a group of Gumbo...
Blog Post
Amtrak's Auto Train - Relax your way to Sunshine
There is a rhythm to train travel that is different. This is especially true when you are taking a train for a long distance. I recently took a round trip excursion on Amtrak’s Auto Train. And it immediately reminded me why I enjoy train travel...
Blog Post
Skedans, Haida Gwaii, British Colombia (Where Gumbo was #106)
Gumbo was visiting the "misty isles", Haida Gwaii, in British Columbia. Specifically, the remnants of the Haida village of Skedans. Sadly, not much remains of the village, captured at its prime in the above image (1878), rich...
Blog Post
Extra-day offers on Eurail passes
The Eurail pass has two current offers for extra days of travel. One adds a day to Single-Country or Regional passes; the other adds up to five days to Global Passes, which are good for 28 member countries of the Eurail consortium. To qualify,...
Blog Post
Is merger the way to profit for European airlines?
A number of industry consultants and some airline executives believe that Europe's airlines, including numbers of its "flag" national carriers, need to consolidate to grow (or reach) profits. They point to the experience in the U.S., where...
Blog Post
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, November 13, 2014: Statue of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii
Duke Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) is a legend in the world of surfing, but this was only one of his many great achievements. Duke (aka "The Big Kahuna") was born in Honolulu and grew up in Kalia, Waikiki (near...
Blog Post
Paris by Night: Fleeting Glimpses
I've never set out to document Paris at night, never had a conscious plan to record a particular area or its life. These are just selections from several visits, held together only by the late hour or by something that pleased me. Night doesn't have...
Blog Post
Underground Puerto Rico: The Camuy River Caverns
If Old San Juan and the El Yunque rain forest and the beaches have been drawing visitors for hundreds of years, that's certainly not true for this hidden attraction: a vast, and still-not-fully-explored system of caves, carved out by the world's...
Blog Post
Traveler advocates ask DOT to cap change fees
FlyersRights.org has petitioned the Federal Department of Transportation to put a $100 cap on change fees for international flights. The fees, which used to run around $50 to $100 now go as high as $750, and the group says they have no relation to the...
Blog Post
Visiting Cuba pt 2. + more cars !
EXPLORING CUBA (Missed pt 1 ?..... http://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/visiting-cuba ) Getting about in Cuba varies dramatically. In the populated areas they have regular buses. Out in the countryside you'll have to take a taxi or go on an...
Blog Post
Disneyland Shanghai Delays Opening
It was announced by Disney's CEO that the 5.5 billion dollar Disneyland Shanghai will now open Spring of 2016. It was scheduled to open late 2015. Disneyland Shanghai is a joint venture between the Chinese State owned Shanghai...
Blog Post
A Day in Ponce, Puerto Rico (Where Gumbo Was #87)
On our second-to-last day in Puerto Rico, we headed to the south shore of the island, to the city of Ponce. It's smaller than San Juan, has less tourist traffic—all that, and yet it considers itself the cultural equal of the capital or of...
Blog Post
Airlines defend holding onto fuel surcharges
The airlines, stung by criticism that they are holding onto fuel surcharges even as fuel prices plummet, are making the argument that now that fuel is cheaper, they are able to spend the money—a billion a month by their estimate—on more...
Blog Post
United "test-flies" its new website
United Airlines, which has taken heavy criticism for a bad job of merging computer systems after its merger with Continental, is taking no chances with its major overhaul of its website, according to an analysis in USA Today. The new site is...
Blog Post
Back to Oaxaca: Xochimilco
PortMoresby finds her ideal neighborhood for a return visit to colonial Oaxaca, Mexico.
Blog Post
Back to Oaxaca: Michael's House
PortMoresby finds her perfect place in Oaxaca, Mexico, in a strikingly modern house tucked into Xochimilco, the oldest neighborhood in the city.
Blog Post
Belgians in Copenhagen file 'missing bus' report
Leaving a load of tourists behind, a very noticeable bus has gone missing in Copenhagen.
Blog Post
Oct. 22, 2017: Sunday Markets, Northern Vietnam
Grand Escapades shares a visit to a few markets in Northern Vietnam, where locals still dress in colorful traditional costumes that make this a photographer's treat!
Blog Post
October 12, 2017: Disneyland Monorail System, California
Ottoman has a look at the pioneering transportation system of Disneyland.
Topic
October - A perfect month to explore Udaipur and nearby sites
Udaipur, which is also known as the lake city of India, is a beautiful and romantic tourist destination, in the state of Rajasthan (INDIA). Udaipur has been the home of the Mewar Kingdom, which has built a strong empire from 11th to 20th century and has not surrender to major empires in India like the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal, etc. Now as said in the title, October is the best month for a couple (or family traveler) to explore Udaipur, as the weather is quite good (not hot or too cold). And...
Topic
Now this is how you explore the sites of New Delhi
Around 7 million travelers from all over the world visit India every year. Most of them land at New Delhi Airport (Indira Gandhi International Airport), and from here they hire cabs or catch a train to starts their holidays in India. Along with this many travelers also give a day or two in Delhi to explore the tourist monuments of the city and observe the life at India's capital. In this post, I've tried to present a typical tour itinerary on how a traveler can enjoy a fantastic week (or max...
Blog Post
Nov. 10, 2017: Hedgehog, Northumberland
Ian Cook presents background information and some great photos of a hedgehog, found in the pasture with some sheep!
Blog Post
Arctic Tern Colony, Long Nanny, Northumberland
Ian Cook shares a gallery of photos and detailed natural history of this fascinating bird, which has the world's longest migratory routes.
Blog Post
The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)
A sight you won't see anymore, Ian Cook shares these photos of the QEII sailing into the River Tyne just before her retirement in 2008.
Blog Post
Back to Oaxaca: Hoofing It, El Picacho & Teotitlan
PortMoresby sets out on the first of several walks in the countryside of southern Mexico, ending in a Zapotec weaving village.