Travel and the ease of the Net

Traveling has become so easy nowadays I am surprised more people don't grab a  passport and go. I mean with sites like Travelocity and Yahoo Travel Guides, just to name a few, It's easy to get a package deal, if that's what you are into. Everything is click and go and it truly is that simple.

I prefer making my own itinerary, with my preferred destinations and different types of accommodations. I don't like staying in hotels in every city. I like B&B's. I love quaint apartments. I like the feel of the city without looking like a tourist everywhere I travel.

courtesy Europeworld.com

When I lived in Paris I had the opportunity to live in an apartment adjacent to the Seine. Waking up in the morning and taking a  run down the Seine to the original Statue of Liberty is probably something I could not have done had I chosen a hotel for my visit. But better than that, getting to know my neighbors, the shop keepers, the newsstand owners, the metro ticket cashiers...everyone that I came into contact with on a daily basis made my visit the unique experience that it was.

In preparation for London and Dublin this spring, I have found so many options in finding housing. I have looked at couchsurfing in one city, hotels, and apartments, and now I am coming across websites that offer even more choices. With websites and apps such as Yelp and Gowalla, I can pretty much land anywhere in the world and find something pleasing or interesting to do.
The options are endless and right at my fingertips.
Fantastic!

Travel Attire

I flew on a USAir flight from Phoenix to Denver and became acutely aware of the difference between American travelers and travelers from anywhere else in the world. Somehow we have become the lazy, sloppy tourist, turning air travel into bus travel, with our pajamas and head scarves and lack of respect for public presentation.

The people of Wal-Mart have nothing on the air travelers of our nation.

In twenty minutes I watched women in head scarves traipse through the airport chewing with their mouths full. I saw small children in pajamas, being led by adults in sweats and house slippers. It occurred to me that we have no pride.
Gone are the days of dressing up to go see family and friends on the other side of the country or the world. I actually saw a man in a suit with flip flops on. Whether you are going to a business meeting or going home from a day of business - what if your company CEO happened to be on the same flight? What if your CFO happened to be at the airport picking up his wife or mother as you bounced off of a airplane with no damn socks on?
We have taken this "comfort thing" too far.
For shame.
No offense, but I will never take anyone seriously who approaches me in a house coat and curlers in their hair. Did you really leave the house like that? What is wrong with you? With us, as a nation?