Gadling Take FIVE: Week of October 12- October 17

by Jamie Rhein on

This week Gadling picked up another blogger Mike Barish who considers Lunchables unusual food.

When I browsed the week’s offerings, money popped out as one of the prevailing themes. With the stock markets doing a roller coaster act, forgetting that the ups give riders a reprieve, it’s no wonder.

  • Scott’s post on American Airlines possible plan to do àla carte pricing offers great suggestions for getting the most umph out of the dollars you fork over for flying.
  • In another managing your travel money venture, Grant outlined how a person can take a short cut to Gold status for Hilton Hotels. Gold status offers more perks and deals.
  • When it comes to traveling in Europe, Jeffery delved into how the current financial crisis might be making European jaunts a cheaper venture for Americans. Considering that I’m heading to Denmark in December, that’s happy news.
  • Aaron wondered just how rich he is and found out that he’s the 730 millionth richest person in the world. His post points out how you can find out your own financial standing in the world. Perhaps the news will give you the feeling that you can afford at least a mini vacation to the next town over.
  • And to round it off, although there is more, Jerry is on the quest for cheap travel in Iceland. He’s already scored a $400 RT ticket. Not bad, Jerry.

Also, for anyone who is looking for some Gadling glory, check out our series Catching the Travel Bug. We’re looking for your stories and will publish our reader submitted favorites.

Britons Bring Bowel Bacteria Onto Buses

by Mike Barish on

I’ve never been much of a germaphobe. I don’t carry Purell with me. I don’t wash my hands obsessively. And I don’t walk around with a mask on. But then I come across a story like this one on the BBC News website and I start to question whether I should live in a bubble. A recent recent study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (is there a better location for the study of tropical medicine?) has discovered that more than one in four commuters in the UK has bacteria associated with fecal matter on their hands.

Dr. Val Curtis, director of the Hygiene Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said, “If any of these people had been suffering from a diarrhoeal disease, the potential for it to be passed around would be greatly increased by their failure to wash their hands after going to the toilet.” That, quite frankly, is more than I need from my daily commute. I’m just looking to get from Point A to Point B. Point D(iarrhea) is not part of my plan.

I ride the New York City subways to work everyday and I will admit that I avoid holding onto the bars/poles in the trains as much as possible. If I have to hold on, I typically wrap my arm around the pole so as to keep my hands clean. But sometimes you just have to grab on. However, I’m fairly certain that I don’t have fecal matter all over my hands. Because I wash them after I use the toilet. It’s everyone else who is apparently wiping their asses barehanded and then touching everything.

So, as we approach cold and flu season, perhaps it’s time to remind ourselves to wash our hands often. And use toilet paper instead of just our hands. It’s a great big world out there but it’s the tiny bacteria that will kill you. Or at least ravage your GI tract. Be sure to wave at me when I pass by in my bubble.

In the financial crisis, is Europe becoming cheaper for American travelers?

by Jeffrey White on

If one can justify talking about an upside to the financial crisis, it’s that the dollar has strengthened considerably against both the euro and the British pound recently. That translates to this: Europe has become cheaper for Americans than it was even a month ago.

In August, Grant reported on the dollar’s rally. Since then, it’s rallied more.

As I write this, 1 euro is equal to $1.35. As recently as this summer the euro had topped out at around $1.62.

The pound had also risen to nearly a 1:2 ration to the dollar this summer, and was right around $1.90 to the pound when I was last in London in August. Now, one pound is equal to $1.70.

Both are significant drops, though in real life it’s not like the difference means you can tack on an extra night or two to your European stay.

Still, after a while you notice it. I use the euro every day, and it’s nice hitting the ATM and getting a little extra (or to be more precise, not having as much come out of my American checking account).

The dollar stands to even grow stronger against these currencies, and here’s why: Europe is getting its ass kicked by the financial crisis.

The US housing boom was nothing compared to the value real estate appreciated in places like Ireland, Spain and the UK. Europe is going to follow us into a recession, and will be forced to cut interest rates to stimulate economic growth, which drives down the value of their currency.

But here’s the catch: Europe has to cut much more than the US.

The US’ interest rates are pretty much as low as they can get (1.50%), while the European Central Bank’s key rate is still up there — 3.75%. Since Europe is lagging behind the US, it’ll probably have to continue reducing its interest rates at the same time that the US stops cutting. That means the dollar is going to continue appreciating against the euro, pound and other currencies.

I’m careful to call that good news, given all the panic in the financial markets these days. But for American travelers heading to Europe this fall on long-planned trips, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t.

Oktoberfest can be expensive… especially if you take a £2,000 cab to get there

by Anna Brones on

Have you ever missed a flight? It’s a stressful and frustrating situation, especially if you have a carefully planned out itinerary that requires your presence in certain places at certain times. When a man named Dave missed his flight from Portsmouth to Munich — where he was to celebrate his friend’s bachelor party by drinking beer at Oktoberfest — he decided to forgo the airlines. Instead he hailed a cab.

“I thought he was having a laugh to start off with or it was one of my cabbie mates doing a wind-up on me but he was deadly serious,” says Mick Hogan, the cab driver who was hailed down by Dave. Hogan explained that the cab ride would cost £1,950 plus £250 for the English Channel tunnel and a hotel for the night, but the high price didn’t stop the passenger; it was Munich or bust.

The drive from Portsmouth to Munich certainly isn’t a short one, but Hogan didn’t find the task so boring after all, “It’s not something I’d want to do every day but it beats taking a few pensioners out to the shops.”

Rude Parisians? Not with Paris Greeter

by Anna Brones on

We all know that Parisians have a reputation for being smug and snooty. Want to order a coffee? Better pronounce café au lait with an impeccable French accent or you can forget about good service. But stereotypes are just that: stereotypes. And not all Parisians have a propensity to rudeness, at least not those part of Paris Greeter.

Created by a group of locals intent on showing the good side of the Parisian nature, Paris Greeter is a service that provides the traveler with free tours in nine different languages. Groups of up to six are led by true Parisians that have a love for their city and a love for sharing it with foreigners; the organization’s French name, Parisien d’un jour, Parisien toujours is very fitting.

These aren’t trained tour guides working for big companies, they’re just regular locals that want to give their city a good name. In the words of one of the volunteers, “I’ve always heard my American friends say things like, ‘Paris is wonderful – except for the Parisians. And I always wanted to do something about it.”

[Via World Hum]

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