Grand designs at Bauhaus B&B
The influential German design school now offers tourists the chance to stay in its former student quarters. Hans Kundnani checks in
Grand designs at Bauhaus B&B | Travel | The Observer
Student-designed monorail system with city planner backing – Core77
ID students at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette are designing an ambitious mass-transit system for their city.
Student-designed monorail system with city planner backing – Core77
10 Questions For (24): Donna Hull of My Itchy Travel Feet
Happy to introduce a fellow Baby Boomer Travel Blogger, -Writer and Photographer: Donna Hull of My Itchy Travel Feet:
Donna Hull
1) Who Are you?
I’m a Tucson-based freelance writer and photographer specializing in travel and human interest content for print publications as well as the web. My articles have been published in regional and national magazines in the U.S. In the travel field, I concentrate on luxury travel, luxury and small ship cruising, soft adventure, boutique lodging including bed and breakfasts, the Southwestern United States and active travel for baby boomers. In fact, I write a blog, My Itchy Travel Feet, which advises baby boomers about active travel. Recently, I’ve partnered with two writers in Tucson to produce Tucson on the Cheap, a site highlighting entertainment bargains and cheap things to do for Tucson residents and visitors.
2) What do you like about what you do?
Travel writing gives me the opportunity to see the world. I never tire of visiting new places or meeting people along the way.
3) What don’t you like about what you do?
My biggest complaint is time. I need more of it. Can we add another hour or two to the day? Balancing trip planning, writing and marketing is a constant challenge for me.
I love it: My Itchy Travel Feet!
4) Please tell us all about your blog and your aims with it.
At My Itchy Travel Feet, I write about active travel for baby boomers. Using my personal experiences, photographs and references, I advise boomers on where to go, what to do, where to stay and how to prepare for that dream trip. My aim is to encourage baby boomers to stay active and see as much of the world as they can. Of course I’d also like to attract the eye of editors needing travel content.
5) Your top 3 destination experiences you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
Oh, this is a hard choice. I love everywhere I’ve ever been but experiencing a South African safari has to top the list. Sitting quietly in the bush observing animal behavior was life-changing for me.
The South Island of New Zealand is another favorite. The slower pace of life is very appealing. My husband, Alan, my travel companion and photographer, wanted to move there.
My third choice would be cruising through French Polynesia which I’ve done twice in the last few years. It’s such a beautiful part of the world that provides a tranquil escape from real world pressures. Swimming with the stingrays is a must.
Ivory Lodge Bedroom
6) Your top 3 accommodations you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
I’ve stayed at some wonderful places so this is another hard choice.
Ivory Lodge in South Africa’s Sabi Sands area tops the list due to outstanding personal service. The staff called us by our first names from the moment we arrived. They paid attention to our likes and dislikes, anticipating our every need.
Birkenhead House perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean in Hermanus, South Africa is a close second. The combination of excellent food, spectacular views and luxurious rooms can’t be beat. When we first entered our room, we discovered flower petals decorating the bed and bath.
Another favorite is Leroux Creek Inn and Winery in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The southwestern adobe building makes a convenient headquarters for exploring nearby Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Breakfast, prepared by one of the owners who is a classically trained chef, is served on a deck overlooking the vineyard.
7) Your top 3 most memorable food experiences to date and why?
Dinner at Hanagan Meadow Lodge while a snowstorm raged outside the window is a favorite dining memory. The setting at 9100 feet in Arizona’s White Mountains was the star here rather than the food.
Another great dining memory is sitting outside in the boma area of Lion Sands where a gourmet dinner was served on linen-draped tables placed near a roaring fire. The romantic setting included flickering lanterns hung in tree branches.
And of course I’ll include a favorite ship-board dining experience. On a Panama Canal cruise on Regent Seven Seas ship, Mariner, we were invited to a special dinner with the captain and cruise director. The staff transformed the cigar lounge into an intimate dining setting. Along with a small group of passengers, we enjoyed the best in food and wine that the ship had to offer.
Writer and Photographer
8) Your 3 worst destination/ accommodation /food experiences to date and why?
Sorry, but I can’t think of any. I can usually find something good in everywhere I’ve stayed.
9) Can you offer the readers 3 travel/ food / accomodation / things to do tips about the city you are currently living in?
A visit to Tucson isn’t complete without taking a hike in Sabino Canyon. Although it’s located in the city, once on the trail you’ll feel like you’re in the wilderness.
For dining, drive downtown for a meal at Cafe Poca Cosa where the inventive Mexican menu changes nightly.
To feel a sense of Tucson’s history, stay at the Arizona Inn which has been owned by the same family since 1930.
10) Any Question(s) you’d expected me to ask that you would like to answer?
Where am I going next? I’m currently planning a visit to Molokai and the Big Island of Hawaii. Alan and I will be concentrating on off-the-beaten-path adventure while staying in small inns and bed and breakfasts.
Thanks for this opportunity, Guido. It’s been fun sharing my travel experiences with your readers.
My observations:
Thank you very mutch Donna. It was a pleasure having you.
I dare say you have very nice feet:-)
Tucson Arizona must be a place with many ancient Adobe buildings and maybe also some adobe built hotels. I am curious if this is true and if you can pinpoint some. Am glad having found another Baby Boomer who is so actively engaged in modern technology!
Winding Down from the T-List – PhocusWright Travel Blogger Summit #ITB09 in Berlin part 3 – Final
Many new and many familiar faces and a lot/too much to digest and cover here.
As a wrap up I’ll give you in this last post some photos and some links of fellow bloggers covering the summit:
Ludolf Stavinga of the Dutch language blog Reisportals reported partly in Dutch and partly in English:
- PhocusWright itb09 Tweetdeck 7 Scenes 4 M’s
- PhoCusWright ITB 2009: social media guy, hyperlocal, twitchhiker
- Travellr Nieuwe Site met Vraag en Antwoord
Kevin May of the Travolution Blog did a good job as usual:
- Crowd Sourcing-A visual Representation
- Corporate barbarism does not begin at home say The Smiths
- The Pros and Cons of Scrapping
- Tripadvisor Flight Meta Search Expected in the UK
Stephen Bud (l) and Vicky Brock (r) of Tracking Tourism: The Tourism Research Blog:
- ITB Berlin, A Flavour of Day One
- A testament to testing: ITB day 2
- Live Coverage of PhocusWright 2009 Begins Tomorrow
- PhoCusWright@ITB: Travel & The Semantic Web
- PhoCusWright@ITB: Selling Luxury Boutique Hotels
- Cool Start Up 7 Scenes
- Het verhaal achter Hotel Website Mr and Mrs Smith
- PhocusWright itb Conferentie (Day2)
- PhocusWright itb Conferentie (day 1)
Olivier has found a nifty tool to wrap your Twitter stream for publication. It’s only disadvantage is that you have to intsll it before you start Twittering and have to specify who will be in the wrap…
Darren Cronian’s TravelRant’s posts:
- My consumer thoughts on the PhoCusWright ITB conference
- Sat in the Spotlight on the Travel Bloggers summit panel
My Twitter Award for this summit goes to:
Who Twittered best at this summit and took wonderful photographs at the same time.
I found a couple of posts from author’s I have no photos of:
- Jared Salter Itb Berlin 09 Recap
- The Berlin Buzz by PhocusWright
- Travel Weekly reported about it.
A pity I cannot could find a only one post from
Martin Schobert (l) of the Austrian Tourist Board site Kulinarische Reisen who was on two panels, on one of which he was dressed very aptly in a Trachten jacket
On his significant other Blog: Austria Tourismus Blogger Meeting – Phocuswright Berlin
who made my day with this huge compliment:
To all I didn’t mention here:
It was a pleasure to meet you! You all Rock!
Lesson for me as a hotelier? Keep focused on 6 C’s:
- Be Creative,
- Keep or get into Contact with your guests whenever possible,
- Connect as much as possible with your guests,
- by providing as much Content, as possible
- Do provide the Content within it’s own Context (i.e. offering the right information (content) at the right time, thanks @Joebertl), and
- keep thinking of ways to Convert lookers into bookers.
10 Questions For (23): Tom Meyers of EuroCheapo.com
Happy to present a community and team builder: Tom Meyers (@Budtravel?), brother of @Pete Meyers, of EuroCheapo.com.
Tom Meyers in Paris
1) Who are you?
I’m Tom Meyers, the founder and editor of EuroCheapo.com, a guide to budget travel in Europe. I’m American and live in New York City.
2) What do you like about what you do?
First off, I love to travel and feel very fortunate that my job allows me to travel to Europe a couple times a year. After eight years of doing this, I still get a thrill every time I arrive in a city and head off to visit hotels.
I also really enjoy running my own business and, together with my business partner (and brother) Pete, making decisions, and implementing them right away on the site.
3) What don’t you like about what you do?
I wish that I could travel more frequently. In the years following our 2001 launch, I was the only employee and operated EuroCheapo from my apartment in Berlin. My expenses were minimal, so everything went back into travel. I spent years roaming around European cities hunting down hotels. Now, fortunately, the business has “grown up†and we have grown-up expenses, and I travel less.
4) Please tell us all about your site/blog and your aims with it.
EuroCheapo.com is primarily focused on reviewing budget hotels in Europe. Our writers visit lots of cheap-ish hotels in 26 European cities, find the best deals, take photos and write a review. (note from hh: Eurocheapo’s blog is Eurocheapo Blog)
Our blog offers us a chance to supplement that information with other timely tips about how to visit these cities on a budget. With the blog, we can be immediate (for example, updates on rail strikes), write about things of seasonal interest (“where to celebrate Thanksgiving in Europeâ€), and do “on the road†reporting (our “Wandering Cheapos†series allows us to post while working abroad).
5) Your top 3 destination experiences you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
A bike trip in the south of France – One week cycling through Provence during the summer of 2007, visiting Roman ruins, enjoying leisurely lunches, and burning off all the calories on our bikes.
A trip to Tokyo and Kyoto – because it was just so different from any of my European travels. It blew my mind.
St. Petersburg and Riga – I spent two weeks in these cities in January 2009. It wasn’t “fun,†but it was immensely interesting and very educational.
6) Your top 3 accommodations you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
I still dream about a mountain-top monastery-turned-hotel (and amazing restaurant) in les Baux-de- Provence, France.
In Corsica, we stumbled upon a dusty old seaside “Grand Hotel†just north of Ajaccio—and I don’t even remember its name!
Photo pinched from Art Luise
In Berlin, I love the artistry at the Kunstlerheim Luise, an art hotel in Berlin along the S-Bahn tracks in Mitte. Every room is designed and decked out by a different artist.
7) Your top 3 most memorable food experiences to date and why?
My work is done on a cheapo-budget, so my memorable meals have been on the budget-side. Call me predictable, but my three favorite meals were in France:
Sunday lunch in Chateauneuf-de-Papes, France in 2002. We feasted on duck, wine, desserts… happiness.
During that bike trip through Provence, in Baux les Romains, our “monastery†offered dinner, with only local ingredients. I remember a steak au poivre, cheese platter, bottle of Cote de Provence, and my bed.
Tom and Friend
My boyfriend is French. Two years ago at his family reunion in Normandy, I got to experience the kind of feast an extended French family throws after not eating together for four years. Halfway through, just when I thought we had finished the meal, they brought out a bottle of Calvados from the basement, everyone took shots (which “opened the stomachâ€) and we all pushed on…
8) Your 3 worst destination/accommodation/food experiences to date an why?
Reviewing Venice hotels in December 2001 was pretty depressing. It’s already hard being a single guy in your 20s in Venice, much less in December when it’s practically empty.
Night train from Budapest to Berlin in December 2001. I got locked in the bathroom at the end of the train, behind the café car, and had to scream for ages to get anyone’s attention.
As someone who tries to find “food deals,†I’ve experienced my share of bad meals. I get disappointed and a little depressed by the boring meals thrust upon tourists, usually in restaurants lining a city’s main square or pedestrian zone. I can think of many lame pizzas, pastas, beef thingies, sad salads, etc.
9) Can you offer the readers 3 travel/food/accommodation/things to do tips about the city you are currently living in?
Don’t pay full-price for admission to the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Their entrance fee of $20 for adults is only “recommended.†You can pay anything you like.
Don’t fall for the midtown “delicatessen†restaurants (like Carnegie Deli or Stage Deli). The food is fine, but it’s just too packed with tourists and way too expensive (a pastrami sandwich can cost about $20!). We recommend the much more reasonable (and popular with locals) Katz Delicatessen in the Lower East Side.
If you’re flexible about your theater plans, buy same-day half-priced tickets at the TKTS booth at Times Square. If you want to book your show in advance, at least find a discount code from BroadwayBox.com or BroadwayOffers.com. (Discounts are available for most shows.)
10) Any questions you’d expected me to ask that you would like to answer?
Well, you didn’t ask the one question on everyone’s mind in the United States:
Is this a good time for Americans to travel abroad?
The answer, as you know, is a resounding “yes!†Despite a shaky economy and uncertainty, the dollar is stronger than it’s been for years and many hotels are lowering their rates to attract tourists. It’s a great time to travel, and not just for those of us States-side, but for everyone.
Thanks for the interview! It’s been a pleasure.
The EuroCheapo Team
My observations:
Thank you Tom. Now I’m very curious which hotel in Les Beaux de Provence you were referring to. In addition I would have liked to pinch your brain for more inside info on Berlin, understanding that you have lived there some time. Finally: What is you Dutch connection with your very Dutch family name?