Notes from Portugal: Hertz Hurts

by Iva Skoch on

There are some things to plan when you travel and some things that are best left unplanned if you want to really experience a place.

I don’t usually reserve a hotel, unless I’m arriving at night. I can always find one, and the searching makes for more interesting travel.

However, if you need a car once your flight lands, securing a reservation ahead of time is definitely the way to go. That not to say you can’t ultimately find a car somewhere, for some price, if you look really hard. (If you’re really out of sorts, you can almost always find car rentals off-airport, from hotel car desks, or rentals from smaller, local companies, if you keep looking. But, it can take time and effort, some riding around on buses or taxis, and can eat into your holiday time.)

But what if you’ve done your car-rental homework and you still get screwed? Welcome to Madrid airport and welcome to Hertz.

We secured our auto rental several months ago, confirmed the reservation recently, and printed out all the paperwork off the internet. When we got to the rental desk, they told us: sorry, your reservation has been canceled. By whom, we asked. We don’t know, we were told, the reservations center canceled it. Why, we asked. We don’t know, we were told. Ok, what are we going to do about a car, we asked. Please can we see the manager. Your reservation was canceled. (You can see where this is going.) Sir, we’re heading to Portugal. Tonight. We’ve got a 7.5 hour drive…which we’ll need a car to accomplish.

No apologies, no assistance, no explanation, no cars. Nothing.

All other airport rental agencies said: ‘no cars.’ (A variation: ‘no cars without reservation.’ The distinction became important.)

But perseverance paid off: we found an internet kiosk near a bank of phones, logged into the internet, and found that Europcar still had cars. We pulled out the credit card, made the reservation on the kiosk, went back down one flight of stairs to the counter.

Ah, a sea change had occurred. Sure, your car is ready. Right outside. Right now. Have fun.

My new rule upon landing at an airport: keep an eye out for internet access and keep tabs on where it is. You might need it.

Oh, and avoid Hertz Rent-a-car. In Madrid, at least.

Ellis Island has a birthday on January 1

by Jamie Rhein on

While I was getting the links for my post on things to do in New York City on New Year’s Day, I saw that Ellis Island is also open, plus that it’s having a birthday tomorrow. It first opened on January 1, 1892.

Friends of ours went to New York City earlier in December and did take the ferry to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty lifts her torch and then on to Ellis Island, but they didn’t get off the boat in either place. They missed out on what I think is one of the more interesting museums I’ve been to–and I’ve been to A LOT of museums. Sure, it’s neat to see the Statue of Liberty from up close, but if you only have time for one place, get off at Ellis Island for at least an hour or so. Plus, the museum is free. You’ve already paid for the boat ride, so why not get your money’s worth?

Ellis Island does not have the flashiest of museums, but it is steeped in American and world history and, I think, is important to the multicultural fabric of the United States–one that is good to pay tribute to. If you have kids, it’s an excellent way to teach them about who has immigrated to the U.S., when the various ethnic groups came and the various things that were happening in the world that prompted them to relocate.

My two favorite displays are the 3-D graphs that show who came and when and the section that highlights various families and the belongings they bought with them. If you do go here, take time out for the movies and the talk by the National Park ranger.

The last time we were there, my son caused a double-take. When the ranger asked, “Who here was born in another country?” and my son, then age 4 raised his hand and shouted out, “I was. I was born in India,” the ranger looked at my son’s blond hair and fair skin in confusion. “For real?” he asked.

For real. My son’s immigration story is not quite as exciting as an ocean journey from Europe, but it will provide some party talk when he gets older.

Geo-tagging photographs with a GPS unit

by Neil Woodburn on

I’m usually pretty good at remembering where I took each and every photograph. Or so I thought. It seems to be with increasing frequency these days that I come across a photo or two that I never labeled and I have no idea where it was taken. Sure, I know which country, but the names of some of these small, one-pony towns I visited have disappeared from my head.

20 years from now it will only get worse – not only will my memory be shoddier, but with the advent of digital cameras, I now take a lot more photos.

And that’s why the Sony GPS-CS1KA GPS Unit Kit is a pretty cool idea. This smallish unit (4.2 x 1.3 x 6.9 inches) records your location every 15 seconds and then syncs it up with photos you’ve taken with a digital camera. Such technology will not only tell you the city in which you’ve taken the photograph, but if you want to return to the same street corner 20 years later, the GPS coordinates will get you there.

Just as cool is the mapping feature which plots the exact locations of the photos with virtual pushpins on a Google map. Roll over the pushpins and up pops all your photographs taken in that spot, simply blowing away all those photo albums you’ve created in the past.

This is a nifty little toy, especially if you take a lot of photos. Personally, however, I’m going to wait until this function is incorporated into a digital camera instead of it being a stand alone device.

(Price: $108)

More travel resolutions you might be glad you made and kept

by Jamie Rhein on

When I did a search for travel resolutions this handy guide of 12 resolutions came up. Although it was published in Travel and Leisure in 2005, the tips still hold true, particularly as regulations and rules change. Even if you take the steps already, check to see if there is anything you shouldn’t update.

Andrea Bennet presents a through overview of those overlooked items that can make the difference between a smooth, uneventful trip if all goes well, and being prepared if things go awry. She also gives specific suggestions for what to consider when planning your next trip to get the best deal you can.

Check your insurance coverage:

  • Look into travel medical insurance to decide if you need any and how much.
  • Find out what your personal car insurance covers on a rental before you take a trip to decide exactly what you need before you leave home.

Review your Frequent Flier mile programs:

  • See if the regulations have changed
  • Do you need to update the credit card you are using?
  • Plan your next trip and book ahead in order to use frequent flier miles. If you wait, you’ll miss out.

Safety, security and regulations:

  • Duplicate all important documents and designate a person and place to keep them
  • If your passport needs new pages because there isn’t much room for new stamps, get the pages now
  • Get TSA approved locks for your suitcases

Keep in touch with family and friends while on the road:

  • Make a personal Web site to keep in touch with family and friends
  • Let people know how to get in touch with you (I wrote a post about this one)

Bennet gives specific details about each resolution and also offers the suggestion to build a vacation around a skill you’d like to learn. This is a read I recommend.

One for the Road: Trading in Memories

by Kelly Amabile on

At year’s end, there are always special moments for remembering – for looking back at all that transpired over the past 365 days. And when it comes to travel, that means taking stock of the ground covered as we each moved about the earth. The easiest way for me to recall where I’ve been is to flip through my journals, bursting at the seams with ticket stubs, bookmarks, stickers and receipts. Although quite messy and not artistically crafted, they are a wonderful version of my travels that can be thumbed through at anytime.

But after reading Barbara Hodgson’s latest book, Trading in Memories, I’m inspired to shoot for beauty a bit more in future travel journals. Subtitled “Travels Through a Scavenger’s Favorite Places”, Hodgson celebrates her unique souvenir gathering method in this gorgeous tribute to ephemera, to “bits of detritus” and to the “beauty in erosion.” From Syria to France, China to Canada, Hodgson shares details of her expeditions to curio shops, flea markets and graveyards. What she discovers, and how she captures, and eventually uses “found art” for her creative projects, is beautifully illustrated and explained in this travel book treasure.