Swedish Food Truck Dishes Up Airport Cuisine

Whether you like to hunt down the hidden hole-in-the-wall eateries, the popular street food stalls or the city’s best haute cuisine, you probably agree that food is an important part of the travel experience. But if there’s one aspect of travel dining that is universally loathed, it has to be airport food. Bland, congealed — not to mention overpriced — airport meals seem to be an inevitable part of the journey.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that one country has decided its airport food is so good that it is part of its marketing campaign. Sweden believes the fare at Stockholm Arlanda Airport is so nom-worthy that it is loading up food trucks with the airport cuisine to tempt the taste buds of the city’s residents and visitors.For $10, hungry patrons can dine on dishes like braised veal, pulled pork, truffle risotto, lasagna and ramen soup with wasabi-marinated smoked salmon. Those behind the concept say they believe people will be surprised by the quality of the food, and will hopefully be encouraged to get to the airport earlier to sample more of the cuisine on offer.

The food truck will make rounds of Stockholm for several weeks, but may stick around longer if the idea proves a success.

What do you think of airport food? Would you try out the Arlanda Food Truck?

Tripatini launches new “Ask a Travel Expert” features, contest

Gadling first reported on Tripatini, a new social networking website for travelers back in January. The site has earned a devoted following thanks to its large and growing community of passionate travelers, journalists and industry professionals. Recently Tripatini unveiled a new feature to tap into the collective experience and expertise of its members called “Ask a Travel Expert.”

For all the information that’s floating on the Internet, one of the most frustrating aspects of travel is finding reliable, up-to-date information. Tripatini’s Ask a Travel Expert fills that gap, creating a dedicated Q&A forum where information seekers can ask the site’s savvy travelers and travel experts specific questions about their trips. Right now there’s ongoing discussions about New York food trucks, shark cage diving in South Africa and tips for the Hawaiian isle of Kauai. Tripatini has also built their Ask a Travel Expert function around an embeddable widget which can be added to websites anywhere on the web.

Best of all, to help promote their new Ask a Travel Expert feature, Tripatini is giving away a trip for two to London now through June 30th. All you have to do to participate is simply ask or answer a question during the contest period and you’re entered for a chance to win. A forum to get answers to your most pressing travel questions and a chance to win a free trip? Sounds like good deal to me. Head on over to Tripatini’s Ask a Travel Expert page and complete the easy sign up for an account if you’d like to give it a try.

Document your vacation with RockResorts “Three for Free” promotion

With the slumping economy and decline in hotel occupancy rates, lots of hotels and resorts are offering deals that allow you stay for free after you pay for a certain number of nights. But not many resorts are throwing in a free “adventure cam” to use during your stay.

RockResorts, which operates properties in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and St. Lucia, is offering a “Three for Free” promotion that goes above and beyond the standard package deal. The minimum stay at each resort varies (ranging from 3-6 nights) and dates of validity vary through April depending on which of the 12 resorts you choose, but at each one you’ll receive: one free night’s stay, a $50 gift card or resort credit, and a free Adventure Eye Video Systems action/ helmet camcorder to make a movie off all the fun you have during your stay.

As an added bonus, those who actually use the camera to record themselves out and about on the property can enter their movie into a contest to win free Epic Passes for the 2010-2011 season. The passes allow unlimited skiing at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado.

To take advantage of the promotion, rooms must be booked by January 31.

[via La Times]

Joie de Vivre deals: Mobile Mondays, Twitter Tuesdays, Facebook Fridays

Before you finalize your travel plans, check the calendar first.

The California hotel chain Joie de Vivre is offering deals galore, but you have to know where and when to look. If it’s a Monday, check your cell phone. If it’s a Tuesday, check Twitter. If it’s a Friday, check Facebook.

The day also determines the type of discount. You’ll get special offers at restaurants and spas on Mondays, while you’ll get news on hotel discounts on Tuesdays and Fridays — all through December 2009.

To fully be in the social-media loop, become a mobile subscriber by texting the message “JDV” to 888999, follow them on Twitter, and become a fan on Facebook.

These deals are in addition to their current “Third Night Free” promotion.

[Thanks, LA Times]

California hotels offer third night free

35 California hotels run by the Joie de Vivre boutique hotel company are offering a third night free when you book and pay for two nights. To book the deal, go to the Third Night Free page on their blog or just use the promo code JOIE. Prices at the Joie de Vivre hotels range from $79 to $459 per night.

The Joie de Vivre group operates 35 hotels in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Sonoma, Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, Huntington Beach, Brentwood, Long Beach and Venice Beach. I checked out the Gaige House, a 23-room boutique hotel set on three acres in wine country and was able to book the deal, saving nearly $200 off the regular rate.

The offer is good for stays from November 1 to June 15, 2010 and must be booked online by May 31st.

[via Los Angeles Times]