Best cities for a pub crawl?

by Abha Malpani on

On holiday, it’s not uncommon to consume large quantities of toxic beverages. An attempt to check out the city’s nightlife = an all-nighter pub crawl.

Some cities are just geared to allow for the most memorable crawls (assuming you remember stuff post getting plastered, which of course, isn’t the objective). Here are the Lonely Planet blog’s idea of a what entails a good pub crawl, here are mine:

  • A number of bars in the same area, so you can walk the whole way (or even crawl if necessary!).
  • No dress code. You have to be allowed to enter the places without stuck-up bouncers. Preferably, there shouldn’t be bouncers at all and you should be able to enter with flip-flops.
  • Cheap. Getting drunk, not remembering anything, AND not having any money left — not a good combination.
  • The places should be filled with locals rather than tourists.
  • Friendly bar tenders. Rude bar tenders with a chip on their shoulder for anyone out having fun while they are working, can ruin your night.
  • Bars with games, happy hours, and music. A little bit of research and you can find a cluster of bars with special drink offers and games to win them alongside music and/or jam sessions.

Basis these criteria, my favorite cities for a pub crawl — that believe it or not, fulfill at least 5 of the 6 points above, are:

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Wollongong, Australia
  • Phi Phi Island, Thailand

What are your favorite cities for a pub crawl?

Why you should visit Denmark, the world’s happiest country

by Catherine Bodry on

On the Map of World Happiness, Denmark comes out in first place. Sweden, Finland, and Canada were also top 10 contenders (the US only ranked #23. I have a feeling that happiness might be directly related to universal health care, but that’s just me).

Tim Ferriss, lifestyle designer and author of the 4-Hour Workweek, just happens to have some Danish blood pumping through his cheerful veins, and he’s laid out six other reasons to visit Denmark (in case is being the happiest damn place on the planet isn’t enough for you). Here they are, but check out his blog for details:

  1. More than 80% of Danes speak English.
  2. You can visit Christiania, the anarchist state of Scandinavia.
  3. They know how to pair wines and food better than the French or Italians, or so Ferriss claims.
  4. The genetically gifted population seems to be modestly unaware of their good looks.
  5. Danish design is incredible, even if IKEA does name its doormats after Danish locations.
  6. Small location, great transportation.

What more can you ask for?

Eating mallorcas in Old San Juan

by Jeremy Kressmann on

This past weekend I had an opportunity to experience the many pleasures of Puerto Rico’s Old San Juan neighborhood. Ringed by massive stone walls and the imposing El Morro fortress, the historic heart of this former Spanish colonial capital provides a virtual feast for the senses. As I meandered the area’s narrow cobblestone streets, I passed by block after block of majestic, pastel-colored colonial facades. My ears picked up strains of salsa music cascading from upper story windows, while groups of old men sat chatting, playing dominoes in the area’s tiny local parks.

But perhaps the most overpowering sense was the delicious smell of baking bread that came when I opened the door to La Bombonera, arguably Old San Juan’s most famous bakery and cafe. This old gem has been churning out homemade pastries and bottomless cups of coffee for tourists and San Juan regulars since it opened in 1902. The menu is just the basics – coffee, pastries, simple entrées, and what is arguably the house specialty, the mallorcas. Mallorcas are a sweet pastry which is typically grilled and buttered, then topped with a generous heap of powdered sugar. If you’re feeling particularly ravenous, grab one with ham and cheese in the middle. The sweet of the powdered sugar and dough combined with the savory taste of the ham and the cheese is heavenly. I ended up ordering two. I’m told the house coffee is also superb – they brew using a monstrous contraption brought from Havana in 1898. Take that, Starbucks.

So if you find yourself in Old San Juan some ungodly bright Saturday morning, hungry and hungover from one too many piña coladas the night before, make sure to stop by La Bombonera. But get there early – the line is probably already out the door.

Noisiest places in the world

by Jamie Rhein on

The noisiest city I have been to is Athens–at least what I remember. I’m basing this on a fuzzy memory of an experience crammed onto a bus thinking that the people around me were angry, bit finally decided that they were having a chat and had to raise their voices to be heard above the din of the traffic. That was one bustling place, and I’ve lived in New Delhi.

There’s an article in the New York Times about how noisy Cairo is these days. It’s so noisy with horn honking and teaming people, as a matter of fact, that it’s like living in a factory. If you know anyone who has worked around machinery for a lifetime, think about how often the word “WHAT?!” comes up. Just a tad.

Where else has noise? I found a Web site, “hear-it ” that cites Spain as the country with the most noise and the second loudest country is Japan.

According to The Hearing Journal, San Francisco is the loudest city in the United States beating out New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The quietest city is Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

###

The 10 World’s Dirtiest Cities!

American Airlines: Tell its pilots your travel horror stories

by Jeffrey White on

American Airlines customers: Are you angry at the company? Well, AA pilots want to hear from you.

Following a week that saw the carrier cancel more than 3,000 flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded, a group of AA pilots has just launched a Web site — Tell Your AA Story — where they want you to air your frustrations about the airline’s recent and future performance. The site has already generated more than 56,000 hits.

Check out this welcome message, taken directly from the site (the caps are not mine):

Had your travel plans destroyed by the actions of AA lately? Even if they’re not listening–we are. Whether you were traveling on business, for pleasure, or for an emergency, we realize that the mismanagement of American Airlines has cost you dearly. It doesn’t matter if you lost a day at Disney with your family, a day of work for your business, or a major family event, the unfortunate truth is that your life has been disrupted, your plans destroyed, your business derailed–all for one bad reason: THE PROFIT OF A FEW AMR EXECUTIVES.

AA’s 12,000 pilots are in the middle of contract negotiations, so the site’s launch seems as much a collective bargaining move as a response to last week’s cancellations, even as the Allied Pilots Association, the pilots’ union, says it is neither.

If you’re flying out of Boston, New York, Miami, San Francisco and a handful of other cities today, you are likely to encounter a few dozen AA pilots outside protesting the company’s recent performance. At key hubs, 30-50 AA pilots will be passing out literature promoting their new Web site between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

This just as American says it is back up and running at a full schedule (the pilots say their actions will not translate into flight delays). AA clearly has more than just frustrated customers to be concerned about. I’m reminded of Grant’s post earlier this month about an AA flight attendant who used an awards ceremony as a forum to take AA management to the woodshed over a whole host of consumer and safety issues.