Free admission to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens for volcanic ash victims

by Scott Carmichael on

Travelers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Continental Europe who are stranded in the US are eligible for free admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Waterpark and Busch Gardens Tampa.

Because of the volcanic ash flight disruptions, thousands of tourists are stuck waiting for their airlines to get permission to fly, and a free day trip to one of these parks could really help take some of the stress (and boredom) out of waiting.

To get your free tickets, you need a return airline ticket valid from April 14 through Wednesday April 21 (or until flights return to normal). One free ticket is issued for each airline ticket presented. The offer is also extended to airline crews. For more information on this very generous promotion, you can call 1-888-800-5447 or visit the SeaWorld parks and entertainment blog.

John Cleese takes $5,100 cab ride to bypass Icelandic ash cloud

by Scott Carmichael on

While some people may just give in and spend a couple of nights at the airport, funny man John Cleese is far too important to sit around and do nothing. So, instead of spending the rest of the week in Oslo, Cleese and his assistant got in a cab and asked the driver to head to Brussels. Thankfully, the cabbie was smart enough to make the 932 mile trek with a second driver.

Once in Brussels, Cleese will board a Eurostar train and continue his journey to London. Despite the hassles of his journey, he was still able to tell reporters a joke:

How do you get God to laugh? Tell him your plans.

According to some Oslo cabbies, the trip to Brussels wasn’t even their longest drive – one passenger took a cab from Oslo to Paris – adding another 200 miles to the trip. To be honest, I’d probably pay good money to spend a day stuck in a cab with John Cleese – as far as I’m concerned, he’s one of the funniest men around. Then again, I could also just sit back at the airport and enjoy hours of Fawlty Towers over and over again.%Gallery-67351%

Tourism helping Iceland weather their perfect storm

by Scott Carmichael on

If you think the recession in the US has been dreadful, I recommend reading up on how Iceland has been coping.

This nation of just 320,000 people let its banks pull the country into a total financial disaster.

Their three national banks had debt equaling over three times the countries gross domestic product.

Their government collapsed, their currency lost a third of its value, they had to take out emergency loans with the IMF, and some of their European neighbors don’t want to let them into the EU until they repay their debt. Sucks to be Iceland.

But despite all this, the country still has its biggest asset – itself. The nation is gorgeous, and they are heading back to their roots to take full advantage of this.

Tourism is up 20% this year, and they are on target to welcome 600,000 people, almost twice their own population. Part of the driving force behind this increase is a substantial drop in the cost of visiting Iceland. The country was always well known for its insanely high prices – it was quite normal to be charged $16 for a glass of wine, or $150 for a short excursion.

Many of these prices have dropped by at least 30%, which still puts them on the high side of what you’d want to pay, but makes it affordable enough to pull in more tourists. The lower exchange rate has also lowered prices of air travel to Iceland, flights from many European countries are available for under $200, and even round trip tickets from the US to Reykjavik are available for under $550 (all in) on Icelandair.

I highly recommend visiting the site of their tourism board to see how much the nation has to offer. Your tourism krónur may not be able to pay off their debt, but you’ll certainly help them in the right direction.

Icelandic Teen pranks the White House

by Martha Edwards on

How’s this for wacky news: An Icelandic teenager managed to convince several officials that he was the president of Iceland, and even was scheduled for a call with George W. Bush on December 1 until he was found out at the last moment, as this recent article reports. The boy posed as Iceland’s president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, and called the White House using a number given to him by his friends.

But showing their usual lack of humor, the police did not find it funny, and took the actual president in for questioning around the time that the fake call was meant to happen. Once the clever teen was discovered, he was questioned as well. However, no further action appears to have been taken.

I’d like to know what this teenager said to get through to the president. No doubt, it was more intelligent than the old “Hello, is your refrigerator running …. “ gag.

Word for the Travel Wise (02/10/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

This evening while chatting with a pal from Iceland who was looking for some first-time NYC travel advice, sights to see, etc. I kindly asked him to return the favor of providing any info with some vocab out of Iceland. As of right now I haven’t really any suggestions, but I told him I’d think up something in the next few days and here is an idea as well… If you’re in NYC, wanting to go to Iceland and found this word useful, perhaps you could leave some suggestions for my pal in the comments below. Otherwise it’s time for me to start sniffing around for some not-so-touristy ideas of things to do in the exotic Big Apple.

Today’s word is an Icelandic word used in Iceland:

framandi – exotic

Háskóli Íslands, one of the universities offers an excellent free starter course to learning Icelandic. Pictures, text, and audio for sample conversations are included. European Youth Portal points out other sources of study within the country and distance learning. I’ve met several speakers with My Language Exchange. Lastly, check out the BBC for a few easy phrases to help get you around the town.

Past Icelandic words: söngkona/söngvari, himnaríki, velkomin, dýrt, menning, bless