Eat at the public market – Dining out tip

by Gadling Staff on

Public markets are great places to find fresh, local food. From farmer’s markets in California to public markets in Chile, you can find food booths dishing up vibrant local fare. It’s one of the best ways to soak up the culture and tradition of any city or town while traveling.

It also gives you the opportunity to indulge in unusual local dishes that you may not find in restaurants. Eating at the public market is a good way to stretch your food budget, as booth food is usually extremely cheap.

Bonus: it’s usually prepared on the spot, so you’re bound to get something super-fresh!

Snow Balling should be an Olympic event

by Amy Chen on

First there was skiing, then snowboarding–and now Snow Balling? For the first time this winter, Windham Mountain in upstate New York has introduced the Snow Ball at its Adventure Park. As the name implies, the Snow Ball lets you tumble down a hill like you’re a hamster. (Apparently the ski resort doesn’t have the rights to the term Zorbing, which is a popular New Zealand activity of the same concept.)

Located about 2 hours from New York City in the northern Catskills, Windham is a family-friendly ski resort with tubing, ice skating, and the Big Air Bag, where wanna-be Shaun Whites can practice aerial jumps.

When the weather warms up, the resort plans to keep the Snow Ball going by letting you roll down a grass-covered hill. I wonder if they’ll have to rename it.

Details: $20 per person, up to two people at a time.
Check out this video for inspiration.

Check into a suite – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

When booking accommodations, travelers should compare the price of a suite to the price of adjoining rooms. Suites are larger than standard rooms, often accommodate six or more people, and are frequently the same price — if not less than — two side-by-side rooms.

Larger families and small groups often find suites more spacious, more comfortable, and easier on the budget.

Cook with the coffee pot – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

The hardest part about hotel life, isn’t the bed, or bathroom, it’s food. What a lot of people don’t know is that you can do some quick home-styled cooking with the appliances you have available. The most important of these is the coffee pot!

The coffee pot’s heat comes from a warming plate, which is what the pot rests on. If you fill the pot with water and let it heat up, you can make anything from ramen to spaghetti.

Pro tip: just using the plate you can cook bacon, and even heat up some pop tarts in the morning for the kids.

Collect beer coasters – Souvenir tip

by Gadling Staff on

When most visitors to Europe think of art they imagine oil-on-canvas masterpieces hanging in distinguished museums. But beer companies adorn their coasters with colorful symbols and European scenes. Collecting them is not only fun, it doesn’t cost anything. When you leave the bar, just grab the circular print of the hearty fraulein holding onto the beer stein and pop it in your pocket.

The multitude of local brews allows you to collect a myriad of regal symbols and pastoral scenes. These remembrances of beers past can mark your trek through local London pubs and Berlin beer gardens.