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Travel Tips, Trends & Tours

By Bob on July 6, 2011 5:34 AM

Charlotte and I like to travel and we often get tips from our blogger friends, business associates and neighbors. It's good to have the "inside" track on places our friends looooove, or the joints locals only share with people they like. It's that kind of info that's led us to such wonderful places as diverse as Tin Top Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Bon Secour, AL and La Masseria Ristorante in Manhattan. It's a lot of fun exploring. It's even MORE fun when exploring takes you somewhere great.
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We'd like your next trip to be the kind you'll want to share with your Boomer friends, so we put together some tips to give YOU the inside track.

 

Frommer's Dream Trip Recommender

Frommer's has long been the go-to place for travel tips for a long time, but now they know where you should go - even when YOU don't. Frommer's Dream Trip Recommender, is a terrific online tool designed to help travelers make their dream trip a reality. You simply select various trip preferences on the easy-to-use sliding scale and the online tool tailors a list of destinations suited especially to your needs. It's fun. Easy. And best of all, FREE. According to my preferences, Charlotte and I should head out to Bermuda sometime soon. Guess I'll be shopping for a new Speedo.

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Travel Trends

Ever wonder where your Boomer brothers and sistas are going? Yeah, me too. Our friends at KAYAK.com  recently pulled some travel data on Dallas/Fort Worth and found out where they're daydreaming of vacationing in the next three months:

 

Vegas

Dallas residents are keen on traveling to the City of Sin this summer, the most searched for destination from Dallas as an origin city. It may be because Dallas-to-Vegas flight prices are down a whopping 25% from last year. Average roundtrip ticket price for June, July and August are just around $276. Hotel rooms are pretty cheap, too. The price of Vegas hotels are down nearly 4% (averaging about $130/night,) making Vegas a great and affordable getaway.

 

San Francisco

Travelers looking for a more low-key getaway are headed to the city by the bay, San Francisco. Flights from Dallas to SF have decreased an incredible 36% from last year, averaging out for just $274 for a round trip ticket. And while hotels in SF have increased about 20%, they're still affordable at around $161 a night.

 

KAYAK.com is your one-stop shop for travel bargains. If you're not using it to find the best airfare you're probably paying too much.

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Chicago for the Regular Guy

Here's THE trip for the single Boomer guy. Singles Travel International has put together a Chicago for the Regular Guy insiders' sport and tasting tour of Chicago over Labor Day Weekend. From September 2 - 5, Single Travelers will indulge in a Cubs game from one of the famous "rooftops", gorge on stuffed pizza and "dipped" Italian beef sandwiches, visit the original Billy Goat Tavern (Cheeberger-Cheeberger-Cheeberger...No Coke...PEPSI!), pay homage to legends at Ditka's and Harry Caray's restaurants, and much more. Prices start at $569, including 3 nights at the wonderful Fairmont Hotel. And a quick note to all our Boomer Sistas...if you like sports, you're welcome, too!

 

Luxurious Villas

If you're looking for something a little more refined than the Billy Goat Tavern, we have the perfect solution. Around the world there are gorgeous villas, often with awe-inspiring views and private beach access that inspire less white-knuckle adventure and more white-glove service. Our friends at The Daily Meal have given us the 411 on nine beautiful villas around the world that come with private chefs. Here are three standouts: Nido de Amor-425.jpg

 

Nido de Amor: Careyes, Mexico

With the nearest town about an hour away, all this exclusivity and seclusion offers an incredible amount of luxury, such as fully stocked and staffed homes like Nido de Amor. Is there anything better than having fresh Mexican food cooked expertly in your villa's kitchen each day? Nah...didn't think so.

 

Moscatello Estate: Maremma, Italy

With the spectacular Cinque Terre to the north, smaller coastal towns like Maremma, get fewer foreign visitors. An hour from Pisa and a 2 ½ hour ride to Florence, Maremma is a coastal Tuscan town that is host to Moscatello, a beautiful estate with two villas, a golf course, horseback riding, tennis courts, pools, beach access, and on-site hunting. Want to learn authentic Italian cooking? You can learn alongside your chef or simply practice your already honed skill for eating it.

 

Bolt House-435.jpgBolt House: Galina, Jamaica

Guests who've enjoyed the confines of Bolt House before praise the chef on staff as reason enough to rent this villa. He makes mouthwatering local cuisine, sources the freshest produce, and it is all ready by the time you wake up.  During your stay, you have access to a private car and driver and can use many of the amenities at nearby hotels.

 

For the full list of luxe villas with private chefs visit The Daily Meal.

 

Medical Care at Airports

Air travel is hard enough if you're feeling great. If you're on the road and beginning to feel less than your best Concentra Urgent Care offers a convenient and affordable option to treat the most common travel ailments. They're not everywhere - yet - but they do have locations at several airports in the U.S. where they provide a convenient and worry-free medical treatment.

 

You'll find them at:

*Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)

*Memphis International Airport (MEM)

*Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)

*Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE)

*Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI)

*Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

*Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)

*Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

*Honolulu International Airport (HNL)

*Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

*Houston Hobby Airport (HOU)

*Portland International Airport (PDX)

*Indianapolis International Airport (IND)

*Portland International Jetport (PWM)

*Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

*Romulus/Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)

*Louisville International Airport (SDF)

*San Antonio International Airport (SAT)

*Manchester Boston Regional Airport (MHT)

*Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)

 

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Guest Room

Diabetes-Friendly Chicken Burrito Bowl

ChickenBurritoBowlEverydayDiabetes 600.jpg

By Laura Cipullo and Lisa Mikus, authors of Everyday Diabetes Meals
Image credit: Colin Erricson

Prepare your own Mexican quick fix with this Chipotle-inspired bowl. Carbs are moderated by filling the bowl with beans, extra veggies and chicken. No need for rice, since the beans count as carbs.

Tips:

If you love tomatoes, increase the quantity to 1/2 cup, but note that the carbohydrates will also increase.

If preparing this recipe for one person, cut all of the ingredients in half. Or simply prepare the full recipe up to the end of step 2 and store leftover chicken and vegetable-bean mixture in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave on High for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through, and continue with step 3.

Health Bite: The iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc in black beans help to keep bones strong and healthy.

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Windy City

It's been almost 18 years since Alison Krauss gave us a solo album, but the wait is over with Windy City. The release (her fifth solo studio album) features ten covers of classic songs (and some bonus tracks) she picked with producer Buddy Cannon.

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