French Kissing: Just how many cheek kisses to give

by Anna Brones on

The French bise (salutatory kiss on the cheek) is always slightly awkward for those of us who haven’t grown up using it. Do you kiss once, twice, three times, or even four? Fortunately this map, made by a Frenchman named Gilles Debunne, gives a geographical explanation for just how many cheek kisses you should administer. The map was made after a poll that Debunne did with over 18,000 people, asking just how many bises they were used to doing upon meeting a fellow compatriot.

Unfortunately, a map can only do so much, and even within some départements there is still confusion on just how many bises to do. But here are some basic rules for French cheek-kissing that will help to make your introduction to a French person a little less awkward:

  • You don’t need to kiss the cheek of a superior (a boss, the President, etc.).
  • Offer your right cheek; just like when you stretch out your arm for a handshake.
  • Men can get away with not kissing each other hello; this is often reserved for very close friends or males with a familial connection.
  • If you don’t feel comfortable kissing people on the cheek, play the foreigner card and at least go for a handshake. Definitely make eye contact with everyone in the room; not making an effort to give an official hello is a major faux pas.

If your French is up to speed you might find this video amusing, otherwise check out the interactive version of the map here.

The mother of all airline fee tables

by Grant Martin on

Air travel Masa Rick Seaney is seems to be just about everywhere these days, but I have to tell you, his website does come up with some good data every now and then. In addition to Farecompare’s ability to pluck out excellent airfare (the needle in a haystack analogy comes to mind), Seaney has more recently been commenting and writing on the industry on his personal website, RickSeaney.com

Just last week, Rick et al published a huge table of airline fees, containing all sorts of depressing information from reservation over the phone fees to checked bag fees to animal carry-on fees. He’s lined these all up against each other as a function of airline, where you can easily go down, pick your favorite (or ticketed) carrier and see how much your next trip to the airport is going to cost you.

Say you’re taking your family to Disney World this weekend and you have the choice between a 320 dollar ticket on Southwest or a 300 dollar ticket on American Airlines. Initially, you might jump on the 300 dollar ticket. But once you realize that you and your wife both have to check two bags, the kids check one each, the total price falls in favor of Southwest. And if if you have to change your ticket because Timmy got sick and you had to stay an extra day? Change ticket fees on Southwest are also free.

Make sure you take a look at Rick’s site if you’re ever on the fence between two tickets, and take a look at the booking engine while you’re out there.

Skype 4.0: “The biggest new release in Skype’s history”

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Skype, every traveler’s favorite internet-based phone service, last night unveiled Skype 4.0 beta, which Skype president Josh Silverman calls “the biggest new release in Skype’s history.”

The newest version of Skype will feature easier video conferencing, the ability to import contacts from your email, and records of past conversations displayed next to people’s names in your Skype directory. In addition, video chats, which make up about a quarter of all the calls made on Skype, will now allow picture-in-picture and greater space for texting or sending files while on a video call.

Skype, which was purchased by eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion (billion!), has more than 300 million registered users.

It is also one of the greatest things ever invented for homesick travelers on a budget– or so I’ve heard.

More here.

National Geographic launches Topo.com

by Grant Martin on

I kind of have a thing for maps — when I was a kid I either wanted to be a cartographer or a pickle factory (proper) — so I perked up when I heard that the National Geographic Society had just launched Topo.com, a comprehensive database and guide for topographic maps in the United States.

Inside, users are free to browse around an interactive Google map onto which the NGS’s topo database has been integrated. One can browse around updates trail and wilderness maps and ultimately customize a personal map to be printed and shipped to you.

The best part is that users can add their own video, pictures and trip reports to the site, making it incredibly easier to research a trip.

User content is still a bit low on the site, but take the opportunity to tool around your local area and see how the topography of the land around you changes. It’s really interesting to see your neighborhood not from the perspective from the roads, proper, but rather from the perspective of elevation and boundaries.

Gadling’s guide to GPS and location based services

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Traveling for me evokes memories of ancient explorers, navigating across vast oceans with only a sextant and the light of the stars and moon. Or the arduous journey of Lewis and Clark as they mapped a slow path across the great wilderness of the Louisiana Purchase. We’ve certainly come a long way since then in terms of navigation – in fact the now-ubiquitous availability of handheld GPS units and Google Maps has made finding your way around in unknown places a cinch.

But in fact, GPS and Google Maps is only the beginning. As we saw with yesterday’s new 3G iPhone with built-in GPS, we’re in the midst of a new era of “location aware devices.” This includes everything from from cameras with geotagging to “location-aware” mobile phones which promise to revolutionize the way we travel and gather information for our trips. Follow along and we’ll take you through Gadling’s guide to GPS and location based services.

Mobile Phones and Location Based Services
A whole range of mobile devices are now on the market that can pinpoint your exact location. Companies like Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola and Apple all make devices which can access this information over the network. This has enabled a huge range of new ways to use your phone, from getting turn-by-turn driving directions to more advanced applications that combine the power of social networks with your location. Services like Where and Socialight not only know where you are, they also let you access location-specific “tags” left by other users in popular locations. Want to know the best place to grab a drink when most bars close at 11pm in London? Find the closest late-night pub by subscribing to Socialight’s “Late London” channel. Looking for a place to cool off this summer in the Northeast United States? Check out the “Swimming holes” group. Drank too much coffee this morning? Better get MizPee. The best part of all this is that the recommendations are based on your location, so you can find the most interesting/useful spots closest to you relatively quickly – no guidebook required.


Geotagging and Photography
Not only does your mobile phone know where you are, your camera is also getting in on the act too. Tools like this Sony GPS unit let you add location data to your snapshots, providing a whole new dimension to your digital scrapbook. Perhaps you’re trying to track down that street in Austin where you took a photo of the great Mexican restaurant? Not a problem, just check out the location data embedded in your image and the next time you’re there, you can swing by for a few tacos. Even popular photo-sharing site Flickr has gotten in on the trend, allowing you to view maps of destinations with popular photos pinpointed to where they were taken. Interestingly enough, there are now even cameras on the market that have built-in GPS capabiltiies.

GPS Just for Fun
In addition to GPS-equipped phones and cameras, there are also plenty of other ways you can use GPS devices just for goofing around. Sony’s popular PlayStation Portable offers a GPS add-on, allowing you to access location data for some of your favorite games like Metal Gear Solid to unlock special bonus characters. And you’ve probably heard by now about the artwork people have been creating using GPS software. Even though the recent DHL piece proved to be a hoax, other copycats have already followed suit. Of course, no article about GPS would be complete without a mention of everyone’s favorite GPS activity, geocaching. If you want to take it step further, you might even use GPS to create a life-size game of Pac-Man for yourself. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Not only do these new location-aware devices services provide us with useful information, they promise to change the way we travel. We are no longer tied to the recommendations of guidebooks. We can call upon user-created information about places to make informed decisions about what to see and where to go. We can take a look at a tiny street in a far-away land, without ever having to step foot there. Or we can use these new services for just plain fun. As location-based devices and services become cheaper and more widespread, they can only serve to help us make more informed travel decisions in the future.