Taking off Travel blog

Time for another round up of posts that caught my eye on the travel blogs. First, a short post on Family Travel Guide called The Vacation Departure Maniac (with a title like that, how could I resist looking at it). This post extols the virtues of the list, in which I’m a firm believer. What about you? Next, the LA Times travel blog has another eye-catcher on Following Elvis Presley’s Ghost Around. Not quite as spooky as it sounds, it’s about a tour of Memphis.

European Highlights

Gary talks about his visit to Amsterdam in Brussels, Amsterdam and the Green Fairy. I loved his description of drinking absinthe as ‘doing a shot with cough syrup mixed in’. Not too far away (well, on the same continent at least), there are great pictures of the Guggenheim Bilbao on the Soultravelers3 blog. I’ve seen this building from the outside and it is fabulous.

Rants And Weird Things

Thinking of booking travel insurance? Then maybe you should read The View From The Wing’s post on why it may not be such a good deal. (You might as well read the NY Times article that inspired the post too). On the lighter side of travel, check out the list of weird airport names on The Independent.

Galavanting points to the fees to be imposed by United and US Airways when paying baggage fees at the airport. I wonder if those airlines have been talking to Easyjet in the UK. That airline also has some interesting fee policies.

Wrapping Up

The Location Independent blog has a detailed post on the ultimate mobile office setup for that lifestyle. Even if you’re just a frequent traveler you will find something useful here. And finally, Nomadic Matt has a list of free things to do in Washington, DC, complete with great pictures.

One of the travel sites that I have been enjoying is GoNomad.com. Interestingly, GoNomad defines itself first by what it is not - and that’s a travel agency. Instead it’s a ‘resource center, designed to provide independent and alternative travelers with all the inspiration they need to plan their travels’. That’s a big claim, and I set out to see what the site had to offer.

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There’s a great thing on Twitter called FollowFriday, where people give props to those they have enjoyed following on Twitter. I thought I’d do that here.  Here are the people I really rate on Twitter.

Coqui2008

@coqui2008 is probably the person I talk to most on Twitter. He shares some great links about travel and runs two interesting travel blogs, one about travel gadgets and the other about Puerto Rico. Here’s a recent tweet I enjoyed.

TravelRants

Despite the intriguing name, @travelrants doesn’t always rant, at least not on Twitter, but doesn’t mince his words, which I like. Favorite recent tweet.

Soultravelers3

@soultravelers3 is tweeting this family travels around the world (they are currently in Spain). I especially like the quotes that this Twitter user shares, which are a diverse collection. Here’s an example. Follow their travels on the blog. Read more »

I love looking around the travel blogosphere to see what’s new. This week I’ve decided to look on the Alltop travel site, of which the Taking Off Travel Blog is a proud member. Here’s a flavor of what you can find. The Conde Nast Daily Traveler has a post on cheap chic hotels, otherwise known as ‘properties that have grown up in the last few years and are aimed at people traveling on a budget but who don’t want to compromise on style’. Meanwhile, the Intelligent Travel blog from National Geographic is in a festive mood, highlighting some Mardi Gras moments.

I’ve been following the Travel Rants blog on Twitter, and Darren has always got something interesting to say. This week, he’s discussing the treatment of disabled travelers. If you’re in the mood for a rant, then weigh in on the issue of security fees at Rick Seaney’s blog. Read more »

While browsing around travel sites I recently found a blog called the Gadget Traveler. I loved the concept, which site owner Brian explains further in this interview.

Why did you start the Gadget Traveler blog?

I like gadgets and I like travel and though there are many gadget related sites, there are not as many that focus on travel gadgets / gear. I created the Gadget Traveler so that I could share interesting travel related gadgets with others; it’s still evolving…

What do you consider a travel gadget?

This is something that makes traveling fun and or makes traveling easier. It can be something as simple as a uniquely designed luggage tag, that helps you locate your luggage faster or a camera that can upload your shots to a website using a wifi connection. Even in the current economic climate, I think there is a large market for gadgets and gear that help to make travel easier and more enjoyable.

What’s your favorite travel gadget and why?

A camera. Because even though memories are powerful, it’s nice to have a physical reminder of places I have visited. I make sure I have a camera with me at all times (even if it is just a cell phone camera), as the best photo opportunities usually happen when you least expect them to.

The Gadget Traveler

What’s on your travel gadget wishlist for this year?

I like to have access to the internet when traveling, so top of my list for this year is the Apple MacBook, because I would like to make the switch from PC to a Mac and the MacBooks are relatively easy to travel around with. Second on the list would be a DSLR camera. I miss using my old SLR camera and would like to make the step up from my current Canon SD790 ‘point and shoot’. One of the consumer models from Canon or Nikon would be nice. Read more »