Ireland tops the Conde Nast Traveler resorts poll

Headed by Ashford Castle in Mayo, there are a striking amount of Irish resorts on the list of best European resorts voted by Conde Nast Traveler readers. I wonder what it is about Irish resorts? I've been to the top-placed resort, Ashford Castle, but it scored lower for me when I realized it is not actually an old castle, just a recreation of one...

Scenic traveling with Google Maps

How about this for a nice view of Kerry, Ireland, from Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?ftr=sv.seven:loc=eu:page=2&hl=en&hl=en&layer=c&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-sk-svn&utm_term=7

French language announcements at Little Rock Airport

Interesting to note that the PA announcements at Little Rock Airport in Arkansas are in French and English, rather than Spanish and English which you expect elsewhere in the US. Possibly due to the Cajun / French history in that part of the US?

Atlantic City at night from the Sheraton Atlantic City

Not the best Sheraton I've stayed at (coffee machine in the room didn't work, no bill under the door when I was to check out) but nice view at night:

Atlantic City in a photo

Dublin from the Ha'penny bridge

Great place for a photo of the Liffey. I can remember crossing this bridge with my grandmother and handing a ha'penny to the blind people on the bridge. However bad the recession has been, Dublin has moved on a lot since then. Another sign of progress are the Gay Pride flags flying. Click on the photo for the full size.

Renting a car in Boston Logon Airport when you have a Massachusetts Drivers License

Recently I was told by Enterprise Rent-a-car in Boston Logan Airport that "no car rental company at Logan Airport will rent to Massachusetts residents". This always seemed to be a strange rule to me, and meant they leave money on the table. Plus, when I needed to rent a car on a Sunday evening, nowhere else was available.

So anyway, I discovered that Avis does rent from Boston Logan Airport to Massachusetts license-holders. So they got my business - a 2-day rental - and they get my business for this week's trip to Washington DC, a trip I would normally have used Enterprise for. Thank you Avis.

Suing United Airlines for the baggage fee when baggage goes missing

Interesting article in Yahoo Finance about suing United Airlines for the baggage fee when baggage goes missing:

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109505/why-this-travelers-outrage-feels-so-right

"Undesirable" seats on JetBlue

Checking in on Jetblue.com for a flight tomorrow, I notice that they categorize some seats (which ones?) as "undesirable".



Also, even when you are not checking bags, you must click on "Check bags" to go to the screen where you say you are not checking a bag. Not very intuitive....

New Arizona law: "I'll go vacation somewhere the police won't stop me in the street to ask me to prove my citizenship."

Whether or not it is actually accurate, this discussion of the new Arizona law would sound some alarm to anyone considering traveling to Arizona. As a non-US citizen in the US, I'd usually carry my drivers license but not necessarily my Green Card everywhere, as I don't want to misplace my Green Card. Would I have to carry my Green Card around when I am in Arizona? It sounds like I would have to. A drivers license alone doesn't necessarily prove someone is in the US legally. That's an extra pain for me, so given choice, I would take my business travel elsewhere. It's also a pain for tourists who seemingly would have to carry their passports around all the time, which increases the risk of them being lost or stolen.

Iraqi Airways to fly to London, starting next week

Iraqi Airways is beginning (resuming?) flights to London, starting next week. Prices are not available right now on its website, but you can call them in their UK office to book. It has to be one of the few airlines which includes a "personal security" page on its website, recommending a security company (Global Strategies Group) "to take you to your final destination".

Rendezvous Observatory Hotel on Scarborough Beach in Perth, Western Australia

I stayed recently at the Rendezvous Observatory Hotel which is right on Scarborough Beach, in the north of Perth, Western Australia. The hotel is your standard resort-style hotel, in terms of architecture:



Outside the hotel is the beach, shown here with people playing volleyball:



In the morning the beach is cleaned:



Here is the view from my hotel room:



And here is the view down Scarborough Beach Road looking towards the hotel, framed by the setting sun. The sunsets are quite amazing there, on the Indian Ocean.



All in all I liked the hotel, but I was amazed to spend $25 AUD a day to connect to the Internet on a poor WiFi connection which didn't work from the room, only from the lobby and bar area. Parking was a reasonably $7 AUD a day. The hotel is near surf shops, car rental, a Subway for sandwiches, a convenience store at a local petrol station, and some restaurants. It's easy to find by car. However, a taxi there from the airport was an amazing $50 AUD [I'd assumed it would be cheaper, and then thought I was being ripped off. But it turns out that is the correct fare].

The best fictional B&B in town

For a place which does not exist, Shrute Farms gets a lot of reviews on TripAdvisor:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g52842-d730099-Reviews-Schrute_Farms-Honesdale_Pennsylvania.html

[ via the New York Times ]

Iran and the "Arabian Gulf"

The BBC reports that Iran is annoyed about the creeping usage of the term "Arabian Gulf" . It makes me think about how flight map screens didn't display cities in Israel when I was flying to countries in the Gulf. I wonder was a quiet deal done for that in the past, but never reported?

It also makes me think of the "Irish Sea" between Britain and Ireland. Does the name "Irish Sea" imply some kind of Irish ownership of that sea? I don't think so. If anything, it implies that from the British standpoint it's seen as the "sea which faces Ireland". That's how I always thought of it anyway. However, I can only imagine the consternation in Ireland if people started calling it the "British Sea", so I can empathize with the Iranians on this.

Jetblue bring their site down a whole day for updates

Pretty amazing, but at least they are honest:

American Apparel Travel Pants

I guess American Apparel may not be the first place that a business traveler would shop, but their travel pants are very nicely cut and practical too (no ironing).

As with all their clothes, it helps to be fairly slim to wear them. They are $58 - well worth it.

Photos here:
http://www.americanapparel.net/morephotos/viewer.asp?style=rsact400&n=Cotton%20Twill%3Cbr%3ETravel%20Pant