Travel Dept. - New Views and Opinions

You might think as I did that there's really nothing much more to say about "travel" than the fact that we do it; that when things go south on us while traveling, we write about it in various newspaper Travel sections or blog the horror stories (guilty) and throw in some word of mouth to warn others off of dangers in (fill in location.)  Certainly useful information in most cases.

But to my surprise, here comes a new one and to my even greater surprise, it's actually quite interesting!  It is:  blog.the discoverer.com  

To give you some examples.  Glamping has given birth to Poshtels which is to hostels as glamping is to camping out (hardly with bathrooms, servants, etc. )  What a poshtel has retained from a hostel -think backpacking youths on a limited budget and a remarkable ability to bunk with total strangers who also share a communal bathroom.  Not glamorous in any way shape or form.  Not here at any rate.   In rather Spartan quarters at that.  Pictures of bunk beds float through my mind.

But now comes poshtels which began originally in Europe and today have search sites like Generator which lists temporary abodes available in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Madrid - and getting an edge in - Miami.  Poshtels have private rooms with a bath, sometimes even a penthouse or a terrace with a wonderful view along with free wi-fi, a palatable free breakfast for up to $200 a night which would be considered "budget" in such burgs as Manhattan.

Another article was titled Totally Under-Rated U.S. Cities.  Such as Camden, Maine, north of Kennebunkport.  Beaufort, SC, looked so appealing that I would like to go back and actually stay there.  We have been there - for lunch on our way from Savanah to Charleston - but based on the article merits a second, closer look.  Another redheaded orphan listed was Hilo, Hawaii.

Everybody loves a bargain or something better than the heavily-advertised darling.  Such was the feature on comparison attractions.  The London Eye (expensive, long waits, shortish ride) vs.  the Sky Garden which is the world's highest public garden.  It, too, is located in London and has free admittance, a restaurant and several pubs.  And sensational views, presumably surrounded by attractive vegetation.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa vs. the Towers of Bologna - there are two and the taller is 318 ft. tall.

The Eiffel Tower vs. what looks like an office building, the Maine-Montparnasse Tower.  It has a terrace which is flooded during the winter so that visitors can get in a little ice skating - with a sensational view.

The Cliffs of Moher, 700 ft. vs. Slieve Cliffs, 1,900 ft. near Donegal.

All in all, I found this sort of travel magazine entertaining, and informative.  In short, Armchair Traveler - here's your seat!