$200 from Los Angeles – Guatemala City. Got any Plans this Weekend?

by Grant Martin on

There appears to be some squabbling for the Los Angeles — Guatemala City (LAX-GUA) route today. Spirit, American Airlines, Taca and Mexicana all have been showing excellent fares between LA and the Latin capital, and I’m currently seeing a price of about 200$ on Taca starting this weekend through Q1 2008.

Usually, fares departing on such short notice are hard to come by. So if any of you left-coasters are free this weekend, surprise your significant other or mother with a trip down to Guatemala.

Don’t even think about telling me that you think Guatemala is dangerous. I was there in March and got there and back just fine, even with a white girl in tow.

If you want to be super safe, the trick is to leave Guatemala City as soon as you touch down and head straight for Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala. Here you’ll find an historic Central American village high in the mountains surrounded by volcanoes. Head out to see La Merced Church or stick around for a few weeks to attend spanish school.

There are a variety of activities in this safe, colonial town that will keep you busy for a long relaxing weekend without breaking the bank. And to put the safety issue in perspective, I ran into a guy from my home town, Ann Arbor as I was walking down the street one day; tourism is fairly common in Antigua.

If you get bored, you can pay a few pesos for a trip to Lake Atitlan or the top of one of the local volcanoes. I would recommend a tour in that case though, because things can get a little dicey outside of the Antigua bubble.

Use a flexible search engine such as Kayak to locate the best itineraries for your window. And as always, fare sales can disappear in the blink of an eye. If there’s any question, book now and ask questions later.

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Restaurant Menus Available Online for Major American Cities

by Neil Woodburn on

You know the drill. You’re in a strange city, someone gives you a restaurant recommendation, but when you get there, there is nothing on the menu that looks interesting to you.

Well, a new website plans to alleviate that culinary nightmare. MenuPages.com is a database of thousands of menus covering restaurants in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, and South Florida.

The site is organized by regions and cuisines. Simply find the restaurant that’s been recommended and click on the online menu or download the printable PDF file.

The listings are long and impressive–pretty much every restaurant I searched for in Los Angeles popped up. The one disappointment is the rather lackluster review section. Few of the restaurants feature reader reviews. Hopefully this will change in the future as the site catches on.

The Best City Parks in Los Angeles

by Neil Woodburn on

There is something about a big city that can really suck the life out of you if you spend too much time there.

That’s why most cities try to maintain some type of sanctuary–such as public parks–where its people can escape and recharge. When traveling, I often find myself in such a place. Usually, it’s toward the end of a long day of sightseeing and all I want is a simple bench upon which I can watch the world stroll by.

Every city is blessed with a range of city parks that reinvigorate the soul, but where are they? Most guide books don’t go out of their way to mention a leafy Shangri-La tucked between high rises.

And so, when I came across a recent article featuring the best parks that my hometown of Los Angeles has to offer, I thought I’d share it with our readers who might be heading this way in the near future. Who knows, perhaps I’ll be the local strolling by you as you stop for a break from your sightseeing.

New Luxury Hotel Coming to West Hollywood

by Jamie Rhein on

According to Virgo, my zodiac sign, (see post), the perfect vacation for me is a luxury resort. I’m not sure if I would have made that choice, but thinking I ought to look into the possibility, I sought one out. The thing is, luxury resorts make me feel like I’m playing pretend. I’m a more of a budget travel kind of gal. Whenever I’ve gone uptown, ending up in a room with those thick plush bathrobes, fancy shampoos and highly polished wood furniture with drawers that glide so smoothly that you barely hear them open and close, I feel as if I’ve won some grand prize, and in the morning will return to my regular person kind of life.

In my fantasyland, here’s one resort hotel that looks like it would be a swell place to play pretend. The London West Hollywood, formerly The Bel Age Hotel is slated to open January 2008. West Hollywood, California is where one of my best friends used to live. It was the perfect place for a stop when we either flew in or out of the United States when we lived in Asia. Many a time I worked off jet lag with a hike in nearby Runyon Canyon and picked up pastry at one of the neighborhood Russian bakeries. My friend has since moved to Butte, Montana leaving us to find other accommodations if we stay there.

So, if I had a different kind of life, staying at The London West Hollywood of Luxury Resorts would not be too shabby. Just sampling the bath items on the counter would thrill me. Just look at that soap. So oval like and smooth. The Q-tips and cotton balls so carefully placed. All that marble. So orderly. So Virgo like.

Staying Cool in Hot LA

by Neil Woodburn on

Los Angeles is hot in every definition of the word.

Sometimes when it is too hot, however, one must escape the heat by seeking refuge in the hottest place around – be it a club, bar or spa.

Avital Binshtock, writing for the LA Times, recently contemplated the Angeleno quest to cool off in hip venues and has come up with three suggestions for the rich people of the city, and three suggestions for the rest of us poor mopes.

Overheated rich people, for example, can seek refuge in various spas that offer “cold plunges” – a dip into a 50 degree pool that really invigorates the soul, if it doesn’t kill you first (Spa Montag in Laguna Beach or Rancho Valencia Spa at Rancho Santa Fe). Or, they can head on over to Nic’s in Beverly Hills where a walk in vodka freezer will both cool them down and warm them up at the same time.

Binshtock’s suggestions for the less affluent include a 6-mile hike to the Santa Paula Canyon Falls where cold swimming holes await the adventurous outdoorsman. Or, drop a few bucks and visit one of the city’s numerous ice rinks. A real treat, according to Binshtock is the Ice Castle located at Lake Arrowhead.

My favorite way to escape the heat is to go swimming. I can join the huddled masses and do this for free in the ocean, or I can check out one of LA’s swank hotels and indulge in whatever trendy poolside bar is all the rage now. The Standard in downtown LA is always a good bet.

Related: Los Angeles destination guide