That famous YouTube girl Natalie Tran makes travel videos
Using her signature offbeat and shy style, in a less staged and inoffensive manner, Natalie Tran entertains in her Lonely Planet travel videos. The video is poorly streamed, but the audio sounds good. You go, girl!
Ohhhhh, they’re so much better watched from her own site: http://natalietran.me/
Why to keep using a lock on checked baggage
Lately I came to the conclusion that though the lock I use isn’t a TSA-approved one, it’s useful as a theft deterrent to those handling bags in its long pathway to my hands at the end of my trip. In the rare times TSA will check my luggage, sure, they’ll break the lock, but all of the other times, my bags will be safe from the wandering hand, hoping to a score a little something. My advice is all more pertinent when I read articles like this one where an airline employee was arrested for stealing.
Real Madrid players sell us Madrid in this video
What adorable smiles they all have too and they speak in their native tongues about the city they play for and live in in this Madrid commercial from 2011 (link updated May 4, 2012) saying why you should visit Madrid.
Well done, boys.
Go to: I NEED SPAIN for tourist info.
Stop foreign transaction fees with Capital One and Schwab
So I have the results of my foray into international transaction fee freedom! And it smells soooo good. It used to be that there were no fees when you went abroad. But banks got smart and started charging you for the privilege. Now, I am happy to say, some banks got even smarter.
Capital One credit card – FANTASTIC A+++
That’s right, you pay no foreign transaction fees for any international purchase. In the past, some stores overseas would ask if I wanted to pay in dollars or Euros, and it used to matter. But in the past few years, credit card issuers don’t care. If it’s a transaction made by a foreign company, you get billed. This means, my purchases from ASOS.com, Iberia, Spanair, and apartment rental agencies – bam, I got hit with a 3% foreign transaction fee every time. Now, with Capital One, on my statement, each foreign transaction lists its exchange rate which is generous to me, and there are indeed NOO additional fees. I love that. Plus, I got to put my own image on the card – a cute picture of me on a white and lavender background. With this card, ask for the transaction to be put through in the original currency instead of U.S. dollars when they give you the choice. You’ll likely get a better rate from Capital One.
Schwab High-Yield Investors Checking Account – FANTASTIC – A+++
I can’t help but rate these two options highly. Though Schwab doesn’t list the exchange rate on each transaction nor the original amount – so save your receipts – they refund any fee charged at the end of the statement cycle, and do not charge you either a % nor flat fee for the ATM withdrawal. For domestic use, it’s great for when you don’t feel like running around finding your bank’s ATM machine. For foreign withdrawals, I’m just ecstatic. My regular bank charges $5 PLUS 3% in addition to the average $5 foreign bank charge. For $300, that amounts to a sobering $19. With Schwab, nothing, nada, $0.
Warn your bank if you have foreign travel plans
Note that for any bank’s ATM card, you should your bank in advance – sometimes it’s called the Fraud Department – and tell them where and when you’ll be out of the country so they don’t block your account. That happened to me once, and I have to say it’s not fun.
I hope these policies don’t change, because I like being a happy traveler.
Getting a license to travel to Cuba – restrictions lifted
I had been waiting for this ever since seeing the spectacular (but fake) representations of Cuba in its golden years in the movie Original Sin with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie. And with the election of Obama, the restriction to travel to Cuba was one of the things I thought he would relax, which he finally did last week.
Under certain licenses detailed on the U.S. government’s website – professional, religious, and academic – American citizens can travel to Cuba. Apparently, with certain visas they have to remain within Havana, and they have to obtain non-U.S. medical insurance which can be purchased upon entry.
Alas, I have no academic or professional reasons to go, so I am stuck looking from the outside, but this is one step further to some day being able to see this once-paradise famed for its hospitality.
European bachelorette party packages
In line with the previous post, here’s a great site for your European bachelorette party / hen night needs. stagsandhens.com. They put together travel packages so you can just do the drinking/ogling without worrying about what’s coming next.
A sweaty, sexy reason for women to go to the U.K.
So I was heading back to Philadelphia for a girls’ weekend and remembered a strip club featuring male dancers called “The Cave” which has sadly retired or become awful depending on the review. In my google searching, I found an alluring link with a shiny, chocolaty chest on it and found the lovely multi-city Dream Men Show site. Even their video is fun to watch. Female clients can be of any size, but if you’re a man who works there, you’re built like an Adonis and have a face to complement your body. Yumm. So if I never had a reason to go to the U.K. before, I think I’ve changed my mind. I feel the sudden urge to go British! Many of their dancers have modeled for fashion labels or appeared on television shows or in film. You go, boys!
British Airways frequent flyer program much less than expected
How it began
I signed up for a British Airways credit card to receive the 100,000 bonus miles (after $2,000 purchase). Then I started using it for all purchases, since I was getting 1.25 miles for each dollar spent. Then, I tried to redeem some miles.
The shocker
I found that British Airways charges you the fuel surcharge and taxes and fees, a minimum of $100+ for transatlantic flights each way for the surcharge alone. A search concluded that for a May round-trip flight to Madrid and back, I’d use 60,000 of my miles and pay $300 or more total.
My tried and true frequent flyer program
Redeeming American Airlines miles is much more rewarding. I’ve paid from $44 to $80 in taxes for round-trip flights to the same European location. And if I flew between October 16 and May 15, it would only take 40,000 miles.
The consolation prize
Thankfully, redeeming domestic U.S. flights via British Airways is useful. $5 in total taxes for a round-trip from Austin to LAX.
Why American Airlines is terrific
I’ve gone back to spending on my American Airlines credit card for another reason. All British Airways transatlantic flights stop-over in London, which sometimes means another stopover for me, which I don’t like at all. Through American, if I book far enough ahead, sometimes I just have one stopover for a flight from the small city of Austin! And another thing. In the last year, American has upgraded its mileage reservations system. It’s easy to see one month at a time what days still have rewards seats available in each category. British Airways’ search is much more shot in the dark and tells you NO more often than not.
Back from a month in Spain. First let’s talk Ibiza…
I didn’t know what to expect. I’d booked a hotel room (a double but for just me) for a great rate since I booked in January. 30 euro a night for each of three nights and 50 for the last (don’t know why, it was a Sunday). I’d already spent four days at the beach on the North Coast of Spain, in Bakio close to Bilbao and San Sebastian, so I wasn’t screaming “Need beach” but when I arrived it was a given that I was going to start a tan like a lot of these bronzed Italian and Spanish gym boys. Incidentally, not enough of them were gay for me to even notice. It was a smorgasbord for all. Yeah, there were plenty of beautiful girls there too, though I didn’t notice them much.
Of course, with all these ripped gym bodies all around, one of the first things I did was find a gym, run and owned by of course, a gorgeous bronzed ripped guy, of French origin. He cracked me up because every time I’d cuss in Spanish or say the word “whore” he’d get embarrassed and utter “Madre mía” meaning “mother of mine.” I like oxymorons – huge guy who gets shocked by little foul-mouthed chick.
I hit the gym every day I could, with a great view of course, of the whatever body of water is there in Ibiza (I don’t pay attention to such things – is it a sea or ocean? Whatev).
Enjoyed myself thoroughly at the opening party of Pacha, formerly my favorite club in Barcelona before it shut down, though now it’s been replaced by a kick-ass club called Oshum I have yet to set foot in… next time I’ll have to check it out.
It was sardine-can packed, so I stayed away from the booze – plus, the darned bartendress wouldn’t serve me – seems like if you’re not bald, you’re not going to order as many drinks so you’re not worth her time. When it started to get reasonable, a guy who worked there, handsome Victor from Sitges outside of Barcelona with big innocent eyes, told me about some other rooms, so I got myself a juice in one of those, and this gorgeous black female DJ in awesome distinctive fishnets gave me a gift. But mostly, it was a juice and hang-out-with-Victor night.
More later. Just going to say: Viva Italia!!
VRBO and Friendly Rentals don’t post bad reviews – shame on them!
Ratings have become unreliable. They are still helpful if you’re smart enough to weed out the fake reviews, but with sites like VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner) and now one of my favorite rental sites FriendlyRentals.com (I am not linking because I’m a bit peeved right now) purposefully NOT posting negative reviews, it’s a frustrating process to try to find a good place to stay and avoid a bad experience.
The thread to this Mendelson’s Musings blog post is full of responses mostly from renters of VRBO but also of property owners pointing to the fact that VRBO will upon request by the owner not publish a review by a customer, claiming it does not meet standards. Owners complain that since they pay to list their property, they should have the right to dismiss negative reviews since not all renters are honest people.
So I have become very suspicious of properties with only raving reviews or very few reviews at all. Surely, all places experience renters who do not think the apartment or house was the best thing since sliced bread.
My own experience:
Had I put these comments in my review, my review would probably have been denied. But the owner could simply write that these things had been addressed and show proof in updated photos.
Friendly Rentals.com – used them five times for rentals
I rented two apartments in Madrid and two in Barcelona from FriendlyRentals, one in Milan. Everything but the Milan rental I loved even if they weren’t perfect. I rely heavily on their reviews to make a decision, and was disappointed to find that they too do not post negative reviews. My Milan review is nowhere in sight and still has an average 9.1/10 review out of a measly 2 entries.
Here’s a screenshot of as much of my review as I could fit – obviously the scrollable text boxes don’t show everything I said nor do they send you a copy of what you wrote. Now I know why.
I also wrote about the gate to my wing being impossible to close quietly due to an industrial-strength spring. Every time someone would enter or exit, the gate would SLAM shut, making it difficult to have any length of sleep. Light came through the open entry into the bedroom and there was no way to block all light from the bedroom window, again a sleep depriver.
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I will write a solution to avoiding problems with these not-so-honest rental sites in an upcoming post. In the meantime, I recommend only book properties with lots of reviews – preferably some not overly gushing which is suspicious – and who don’t require payment all up front.