Talking Travel with Peter J. Frank, Editor-in-Chief of Concierge.com

by Jamie Rhein on

For Peter J. Frank, Editor-in-Chief of Concierge.com, the on-line magazine spin off of Condé Nast Traveler, every day life and travel blend together. Vacations and work look a lot alike. Not that he’s complaining, but as he told Christopher Eliott earlier this year (see article), even trips meant just for fun and dinners out with friends often involve note-taking. Business trips might take him to those places most of us would drool over, but the pace would leave even the most seasoned of us breathless and wondering, now where am I again?

Seriously–as he explained his job, 11 days in the Florida Keys means 10 different hotels. Lucky for us though, Peter translates his notes into travel advice, making sure that Concierge.com’s readers have enough insider information to make the best choices when deciding what’s perfect for them. The August issue took on cruises, for example. A cruise ship by any other name would not smell as sweet.

Since Peter’s been sorting the dazzling from the dud experiences for 14 years now–he also was also an editor at Travel and Leisure, Condé Nast and the travel section of Men’s Journal,—we at Gadling decided he’d be perfect for a Talking Travel sit down. Happily, we were able to snag Peter for an e-mail interview so he could pass on more of his travel tidbits and tales. Enjoy.

You’ve been a travel-writing type guy for awhile. Has travel always been your passion or did you just fall into it?

I’ve always loved traveling, but it wasn’t in my life plan to become a travel editor. I’d studied English in college and wanted to move to New York, so it made sense to get into magazines – and my first job happened to be at a great travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveler. I worked my way up from there.

What was the trip you took that first hooked you into travel? What made it so special? How old were you?

I was about 19 when backpacked around Italy for a week. I had traveled in Europe before, but this was my first solo trip and a great lesson in self-sufficiency: I had to decipher train schedules, talk my way into packed pensiones, order off exotic menus, and so forth. I saw some great cities off the main tourist track: Perugia, Ravello, Verona. I ended up in Venice, where I met my father and stepmother, who had just gotten off a cruise and were staying at the Danieli. My clothes were all filthy from a week’s worth of traveling, so I sent my laundry in–$200 worth. He’s still after me for the money!

Where do you think cutting corners on the cost of a trip is a bad idea? What experiences do you think are worth paying for?

You can definitely save on laundry! I don’t mind splurging on a fabulous hotel or a great restaurant — actually, part of my job is to review places that are expensive, so I can tell our users whether it’s worth their hard-earned dough. But I try to balance out big-money places with less-expensive options, since our readers are also looking for ways to save. Regardless, I think it’s always worth spending money for the opportunity to experience the best of a foreign culture, whether that means eating the best sushi in Tokyo or paying a hefty admission fee to see the treasures of the Louvre, or hiring a guide to explain the intricacies of, say, the temples at Angkor. If you’ve come all that way, it would be a shame to miss out on the highlights for the sake of saving a few bucks.

Photo: Peter, the guy in the middle, has his notebook and pen in hand, not only paying attention to the sumptuous food in front of him, but his dining companions’ as well. (Photo credit: Ruby Washington/The New York Times)

The latest Conceirge.com has a mega section on cruise ships. That’s quite a menu. What do you think are the most important questions a person should ask before making a cruise ship choice?

We did that story, “Cruise 101“, because so many people ask us the difference between one cruise line and another. They don’t really understand what makes, say, Royal Caribbean distinct from Princess, or Sea Dream from Silversea. Unlike a hotel, once you board a cruise ship, you’re pretty much stuck there, so it’s critical to know that the ship you’re choosing is the right one for you. Will you be comfortable in the cabin? Will the other passengers be people like you? Is the emphasis on cultural discovery, or luxurious indulgence, or partying and socializing? Those more “philosophical” questions are just as important as those about price or logistics.

If all a person can afford is that budget cruise to the Bahamas, what can they do to make their experience a stand out?

Temper your expectations. If you’re only paying $500 for a weeklong cruise, and you’re expecting gourmet cuisine and a spacious cabin, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Understand what’s included and what’s not: A lot of cruise lines pile up the extra charges. And focus on why you’re there — to relax, to spend time with your family, to work on your tan — not on all the little things that might go wrong.

From your editorial background, I take it you have an interest in adventure travel. Are there any adventures you think a person should not take? What is an adventure travel experience you’ve had that you talk up to your friends.

It’s crucial to understand what you’re getting into before you go – are you physically up for this? Do you have the right shoes, the right clothes? Finishing a strenuous hike or rafting a whitewater river can be exhilarating, but if you’re blistered or freezing, your misery will outweigh the rewards. And while facing down your fears is important – don’t do something if you’re going to be so terrified that you won’t be able to enjoy it. I went whitewater rafting down in Argentina a few years back, on rapids that were about Class IV — stronger than I’d ever done before. A few people on the trip were scared, but I wasn’t. In fact, the boat flipped and I got flung into the water, and had to float a while before I could get back into the boat. It was scary for a minute, but it was also pretty thrilling – and hilarious.

You’ve a background in fashion editing, as well as, travel. What are your favorite clothes that you like to take on a trip and the must-have items?

I’m a terrible packer, actually. I either bring a ton of stuff and end up wearing only half of it, or I pack too little and end up having to shop for clean socks. Fortunately, most places have gotten casual enough that you can get away with packing nice jeans and a few button-down shirts, rather than having to worry about suits and ties. One thing I always wear is slip-on shoes for the flight. I don’t understand why people insist on wearing sneakers or lace-ups or even boots to the airport, when they know they’re going to have to take them off. I just slip ’em off, slip ’em back on, and I’m outta there.

I saw a YouTube video of you on E News last year talking up the hot, sexy clubs around the world where stars go. Fun piece to watch. It has a breezy feel to it. How did you get involved?

That was based on a story we’d done in our “World’s Sexiest” series – I think it was the “World’s Sexiest Parties,” and it was about clubs and bars that the jet-setters go to. The people at E! saw the story and wanted me to talk about it on camera. The celebrity culture in this country has gotten pretty out of hand, but we do cover that a bit as well. Let’s face it, celebrities are pretty good role models when it comes to travel: They can afford to go wherever they want, so if they like a certain club or restaurant or hotel, odds are it’s a pretty special place.

How much do you get to hang out with hot sexy stars? Is this a perk of your job? Being that I’ve never been in a club with a hot, sexy star, I’m just wondering.

Yeah, right! Actually, the reporter who wrote that story works for Style.com and she actually does hang out with the hot, sexy people — not me. The closest I came to hanging out with a star was when I was staying at the same hotel in Miami as Madonna.

Here’s the YouTube video we’re talking about. There’s great footage of Peter. Personally, I think he’s a TV natural. Check out the stars he mentions and see what a difference a year makes.

What do you enjoying most about editing Concierge.com?

Learning about all phenomenal experiences people can have the world over. I have the fortune of working with some pretty terrific writers, who are able to describe the great adventures and experiences they’ve had in language that’s evocative and inspiring. It’s torture sometimes – since I’ll never be able to do all these things myself – but I enjoy reading about them, and sharing them with our users.

It seems that a big part of your job is to enhance people’s life experiences by enticing them to travel. What’s the best travel advice Concierge.com has ever passed onto people?

I think what we do best is collect amazing places and experiences and make them easy for people to learn about. The site is like a catalog of the best things to do and see in the world. That said, we never take a place at face value: We’re not afraid to be critical, and we take pains to explain why a specific hotel is better suited to one type of traveler over another. Just because a place is expensive and luxurious and ranks high on some magazine’s list doesn’t mean it’s the best place for you.

What would be your trip of a lifetime?

I have so many! There are plenty of places I haven’t seen that I feel are critical: Vietnam is at top of that list right now. And there are the destinations that I love returning to again and again, like Rome, Istanbul, Tokyo, [Paris]. It’s a long list that keeps on getting longer!

Here’s the video ” 24 Hours in. . . Paris” from Concierge.com’s video library. It has all of Peter’s favorite places and is a chance to see the City of Love through Peter’s eyes, and probably at his speed.

When Peter does make it to Vietnam, I’m sure his notebook will be overflowing with details. I’ve been to Vietnam five times now, and certainly wouldn’t mind finding another Hanoi hotspot or hidden treasure as the result of Peter’s travels. 24 Hours in. . . Hanoi would be a fine video to see.

Band on the Run: Rockin’ Out in Buffalo’s Allentown

by Ember Swift on
Ember Swift, Canadian musician and touring performer, will be keeping us up-to-date on what it’s like to tour a band throughout North America. Having just arrived back from Beijing where she spent three months (check out her “Canadian in Beijing” series), she offers a musician’s perspective on road life.

We drove over the border yesterday to a sunny early evening in Allentown, a Buffalo neighbourhood that was the location of our gig last night – a bar called “Nietzsche’s.”


Allentown is cool. It’s got the vibe of a community of artists, preservationists, historians, antique-lovers, and good chefs. The latter was easy to peg via the smells of incredible cooking coming from several local restaurants and taunting our hungry selves when we really needed to be unloading equipment and setting up for sound check.

This district of Buffalo is one that we’ve been in many times. I always feel comfortable here. It’s an area of the city that borders the downtown and seems to embrace diversity. There are rainbow flags and biker bars, gourmet restaurants and late-night snack stands, funky modern galleries flanked by dusty bookstores.

One of the bookstores also sold music and had displays of their used cds and cassettes in old-fashioned kids’ wagons out on the sidewalk. Love it!

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Historically, I learned last night that Allentown was named after the original settler to this land, Louis Allen, who bought the land in 1822 (around 29 acres) and used it to farm cattle. It is said that this very street, Allen Street, was his original cow path for transferring his herds from one edge of his property to the other. In 1832, he sold his land to the encroaching city and it was developed into both residential and commercial structures. Now, the Allentown region stretches 36 blocks or a half a mile squared.

After the gear was hauled in (thanks to some friends and Kenny, the resident and helpful sound guy), I stood on the street and just looked left and right to take it all in. I imagined a bunch of cows in place of the pedestrians and cars. I wondered how they’d react now to the pavement, the bright colours, the sounds of a nightlife hub starting to come alive in the early evening. Maybe they’d just graze the leaves of low-hanging trees and ignore us all. Maybe they’d leave their paddies expertly deposited on the sidewalks in disgust and wander away to greener parklands.

I wandered a block or so to truly appreciate the paint job on the local bar called “Boddington’s.” (At least, I think this is the name of it, although I know that’s also the name for a beer. Does anyone know?) It’s painted purple and decked out in rising flames as though it were a motorcycle or hot rod. They’re beautifully painted – must have taken forever! – and the neon beer signs in the windows were like the feather in the artist’s cap.

When I came back in a few minutes later, the gear was already half set up and I had to hustle to catch up to everyone. I unpacked my guitars and pedals plugging everything in while simultaneously chatting with Kenny about his last six months or so since we’ve been there last. He asked me about China and I asked him about some good artists he’d mixed lately.

It’s always nice to come to a place and actually know the people there. I always feel welcomed at Nietzsche’s.

This venue is definitely a rock room. The old wooden stage and banisters have the faint stench of stale beer and cigarettes (although it’s now non-smoking in there.) Maybe its name has inspired proliferation, but the bathrooms are home to so much graffiti that it takes a long time to pee, I find. I can’t help but read peoples’ philosophical outpourings. (It’s all well-placed, I’d say!) There are also great installations of paper mache artwork hanging in the room from the ceiling and a wonderful busted and slightly crooked ceiling fan that hangs right in front of the stage. I always laugh inwardly at the notion that at least there will be one fan, crooked or not, that will be in front of the stage when we play.

Kenny also has a collection of small tinker toys and dinky cars that are permanently stationed at his soundboard. I asked him if he ever finds some have disappeared after the shows he has in there. They’re fairly visible and my pessimistic self figured there’d be some drunken theft here and there. He said, “Yeah, of course. But, they all just appeared anyway so it doesn’t really make a difference.” I smiled at that idea. I liked the image of these little toys just coming and going as they were meant to, not permanently attached to his sound board or to the decorative role they are temporarily playing. Sort of like a toy liberation movement. People as pawns.

After the show, we hung out for a while in the parking lot with friends before pulling away from Allen Street and staying just a few blocks away, still in Allentown. We rarely stay over in Buffalo since it’s often just a one-off show that enables us to return to friend’s places in Toronto after we play, but the tour rolls on today into more U.S. cities.

I woke up this morning having dreamed about cows and toys taking over the city when the people have all disappeared. Buildings crumbled, trees growing out from broken windows and grass taking back the asphalt.

I guess we’ll never know.

Until that day, Allentown‘s worth a visit. In fact, a spontaneous night out to Nietzsche’s will probably introduce you to a great band you’ve never heard of. They have music every night and sometimes even a late and an early show.

When was the last time you did that?
Ignore the listings. Just take a stab.

Arrive.
Order a drink.

See what happens.

Newark/JFK to Manhattan via Helicopter for $99

by Justin Glow on

How much does it cost to take a cab from JFK or Newark to Manhattan these days?

US Helicopter — an “8-Minute Airport Shuttle” — says it’s a cool $60, but that seems pretty high. Regardless, the company is offering a helicopter ride from either JFK or Newark for only $99 one way, which seems pretty fair considering regular helicopter tours of Manhattan can cost almost $200 per person for less than 20 minutes. So if you’re planning on taking a pricey helicopter tour of NYC anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone and get yourself from the airport to your hotel in style?

The $99 is a sale price which lasts until October 31st, when the fee will get bumped back up to $159.

Tours on the Run

by Catherine Bodry on

One of my favorite ways experience a new place is by going for a jog. I love not having a map or a plan, just tying on my shoes and meandering along. I’ve had memorable runs in Tuscany as well as Ireland and France. Suffering from annoying jet lag in Asia motivated me to get out at dawn in China, Vietnam and Thailand. Asia is buzzing at first light, and in Shenzhen as well as Hanoi people gathered in parks for exercise routines that ranged from flag dancing to tai chi to something that seriously resembled jazzercise. These runs always felt a little bit magical, like I was privy to sights other tourists didn’t get to see. I also never felt like the usual conspicuous tourist, but just seemed to melt into the landscape with all the other early-rising exercisers.

I love running as a way to get to know a place so much that I’ve been planning to write a post about it for a while now. And then today I came across the website for City Running Tours, which offers guided jogs in New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. Personalized tours are led by a guide who takes you on a nice long run and points things out along the way. Runs start at $60 for the first 6 miles, and are $6 per person per mile after that. Besides the guided tour, you also get a t-shirt and a souvenir photo.

I’m not a huge fan of guided activities, but this is the type of tour I would totally take part in. I have to try really hard to get all my exercise in while on the road (especially in countries where transportation is cheap and the air quality bad, like India), and an early morning jog with other travelers seems like a great way to wake up, burn some calories, and do some sightseeing.

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Seinfeld Via Google Maps

by Erik Olsen on

It pains me to think that there will come a time when people think of Seinfeld the way I now think of, say I Love Lucy. Already, you watch some of those older episodes and the pictures a bit faded, the styles dated and even some of the jokes a bit worn. I don’t want Seinfeld to get any older. I want to show to range in my thoughts as fresh as the bread I buy at the local bakery. Having lived in New York for the last (almost) eight years, I feel like Seinfeld and New York are one, and to see the show get old kind of makes me feel old.

All of that is a long preamble to a nice little Google mash up I saw over at Gothamist that refreshes the Seinfeld allure, if just for a moment. The map shows many of the spots in Manhattan where various scenes and episodes took place. Take, for example, Jerry’s apartment on 81st and Columbus, where, the map tells us, Jerry actually DID live while here doing stand up. And, of course, the location in mid-town of the infamous Soup Nazi, who has made quite a little business keeping that character alive. So, good stuff for Seinfeld fans and New Yorkers alike.