Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers Choice Awards 2007

by Jamie Rhein on

If “only but the best ” is one of your adages, this month’s issue of Condé Nast Traveler lists the best of everything from hotels to cities to airlines. The Readers’ Choice Awards are based on reader votes. With 100 bests, perhaps you’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed one of them.

I’m feeling a bit puffed up because I’ve been to 9 of the top 10 cities–even if a couple were only a quick run through–some, like New York City, I’ve been to again and again. At the top of the list is San Francisco. Yep, I’ve been there. I haven’t been to Charleston, South Carolina, though. I’ve heard it’s divine.

My puffed upness, however, is dashed by the fact that I have not stayed at one of the top 100 hotels. Sad, sad, sad. Although, I haven’t stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City, number 7 on the list, I have stayed at the one in Singapore. Sweet.

I’ve also taken 5 of the top 10 international airlines. Singapore Airlines is number one. Remember, this is the airline with those double beds I wrote about. Domestic airlines are a different story. I’ve only been on two of those. Southwest with all its wacky dress issues still squeaked in at number 10. There’s much more in the article. Check it out to see how close to the mark you’ve been with your travel choices.

Traveling for A Wedding Gown

by Jamie Rhein on

When a friend of mine visited me when I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, another friend got us tickets to see the Today Show when it was filmed for a week in Old Town. She won the tickets through a radio promotion call in. From what I recall, we had to be at Old Town by 4 AM since filming started at 7 AM. If it’s a live show that goes on at 7 AM in New York, filming before the sun comes up in a later time zone is a reality of real time television.

The Today Show is fond of doing segments that get people to tune in and travel to somewhere. This time it’s wedding dresses that are the lure. If you’re in the market for a wedding or a wedding gown, here’s a reason to travel. If you’re THE chosen winner, the show will give you a wedding that Martha Stewart puts together. Even if you’re not picked as THE wedding couple, the first 50 eligible brides to show up at 3 of the interview spots will get a free wedding dress from Filene’s Basement. Maybe you’ll get lucky. You have to show up at 4 a.m. so if you’re an early riser, head on over to one of these places. Get an application and details from the Today Show Web site. Check a site like Hotwire. There are a lot of cheap flights to some of these places. If nothing else, this is a fun way for a quick trip.

  • Las Vegas, Tuesday, July 24 at the Venetian
  • Miami, Wednesday, July 25, Loews Miami Beach Hotel
  • Chicago, Thursday, July 26 at WMAQ-TV, NBC Tower
  • New York, Friday, July 27 at Today Show Plaza. (New York not included in the brides dress give-a-way.)

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law won a radio promotion wedding to Las Vegas for Valentine’s Day years ago, so it can happen. People do win these things. At least you may go home with a dress or some vacation memories and a tale to tell.

Win a Romantic Getaway Thanks to the U.S. Postal Service

by Jamie Rhein on

If you want to be able to fund that romantic getaway on someone else’s dollar–$10,000 worth, enter the United States Postal Service’s “Guess and Win Sweepstakes.” According to a flier I picked up at my neighborhood post office, all you have to do is guess the number of Hershey®’s Kisses® that will fit into a Postal Service Priority Flat Rate Box by February 15, the day the contest ends.

How big is that size box you wonder? 11-7/8 inches by 3-3/8 inches by 13-5/8 inches. If you happen to buy kisses and put them in the box to help you with your guessing, you can mail them anywhere in the U.S. for $8.10. That’s the idea behind the flat rate box. Not to get people to mail chocolate, but to get people to mail this size package.

Let’s say you are the lucky winner of this $10,000. You get to choose where you want to go for romance. If you have no idea where that might be, or want to try some place you haven’t thought of before, I found this list on AskMen.com. Reasons for each choice are listed by writer Harry Marks.

10. Turkey
9. Malta
8. Vienna Austria
7. Algarve, Portugal
6. Paris, France
5. Argentina
4. Greek Islands
3. Venice, Italy
2. Casablanca, Morocco
1. Bora Bora, French Polynesia.

My pick? I would choose Malta because I never would have thought of it and because it sounds like a place that’s intimate, historical and lovely. Turkey, though, is a close second. How many places could you go on a $10,000? It seems like if you did the budget travel version, you could hit 8 of them, including Malta on a few weeks trip.

You can enter the contest on-line and, if you don’t win the $10,000, you might be one of the 100 people to win a Valentine -themed bear.