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| Travel - chicagotribune.com | ||
| More Americans plan to travel this summer, surveys say Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT But many travelers will hold the line on spending for items such as hotel stays and entertainment because of high fuel costs and rising airfares. Americans plan to travel in slightly higher numbers this summer, according to surveys, starting with the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. 
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| Why we stay Mon, 14 May 2012 20:40:00 GMT Sometime around mid-January, after Christmas cheer and New Year’s novelty have faded, we wonder why we stay in this place to wrestle with the cold and wind and snow and chill that run to the tips of our fingers and toes. Â Â 
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| Vegas sign a tourist attraction in its own right Sat, 12 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT The iconic 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada' greeting, which has been around since 1959, has become a full-flush symbol of this gambling mecca, with droves of tourists arriving as if on a pilgrimage. The iconic 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada' greeting, which has been around since 1959, has become a full-flush symbol of this gambling mecca, with droves of tourists arriving as if on a pilgrimage. 
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| 48 hours in Warsaw Fri, 11 May 2012 12:55:00 GMT Got 48 hours to spare this summer in Warsaw, the capital of Poland for more than 400 years? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most out of a 48-hour visit. 
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| Universal to build Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan Thu, 10 May 2012 20:20:06 GMT The parent company of Universal Orlando is trying to squeeze as much magic as it can out of Harry Potter's wand. 
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| Mountaineers to return to Disneyland's Matterhorn when ride reopens Wed, 09 May 2012 13:10:00 GMT I'm such a sucker for anything having to do with mountains -- hiking up them, watching climbers ascend them, snapping pictures of them -- that even phony peaks give me a thrill. 
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| Don't just burn your miles Wed, 09 May 2012 02:36:00 GMT After nearly 30 years of observing airline loyalty programs, Randy Petersen has reached a conclusion: You probably aren't managing your frequent-flier miles very well. 
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| Back on the river Wed, 09 May 2012 02:10:00 GMT Grand American Queen returns as a cultural museum piece For the 50 years leading up to the Civil War, steamboats ruled the Mississippi River and its tributaries to the east and west, carrying passengers, produce, sugar, cotton and livestock while weaving through the nation's heartland and touching the shores of 10 states from Minnesota to Louisiana. 
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| A Quebecois feast Wed, 09 May 2012 02:04:00 GMT Culinary adventurers can graze on Quebec City's offerings Those who possess the soul of a locavore, a respect for the classics, a taste for the innovative and a well-stamped passport should pack an appetite and head to Quebec City. 
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| Walking the path of van Gogh's brush Wed, 09 May 2012 01:53:00 GMT ARLES, France — It's not often people can walk in the footsteps of a legend, seeing the things he saw and experiencing life as he lived. 
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| Santiago's pisco makes tipplers tremble Tue, 08 May 2012 13:14:00 GMT Here's a tip for the thirsty traveller: Both Chile and Peru make tasty variations on the grape brandy known as pisco. Try both if you can. 
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| Scam: Beware a distress call from a traveling relative Sun, 06 May 2012 21:54:10 GMT A well-timed question saved an elderly Waukegan-area couple from falling prey to the so-called grandparent scam that exploits seniors' devotion to family by making them believe a loved one has been involved in an emergency and needs cash immediately. 
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| Pinterest spreading to the travel world Sun, 06 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT Vacationers can use the online photo bulletin board to quickly scan a destination's food, historic sites and more. The tourism industry is also jumping aboard. As a travel writer, I'm always looking for new tools I can use to help plan my trips. Lately, there's been lots of talk about a social media site called Pinterest, a free online photo bulletin board that's popular with designers, foodies and crafts people. 
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| In Hong Kong, pockets of serenity amid the urban chaos Sun, 06 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT A tram or ferry ride away from the skyscraper forest lie miles of trails that can lead hikers to hillside monasteries, idyllic fishing villages and wilderness camping. Birds twitter and sunshine twinkles through groves of bamboo and banyan trees adorned with cascades of orchids. With every step, my Vibram boot soles crush hibiscus blossoms littering a pathway, while butterflies flutter around a group of elderly folks welcoming the morning with the gracious silent semaphore of tai chi. 
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| 48 Hours in Bruges Fri, 04 May 2012 12:04:00 GMT BRUGES, Belgium (Reuters) - The well-preserved historic Bruges city centre is a UNESCO world heritage site and with eight Michelin star restaurants and the most independent chocolatiers in Belgium, it is worth a visit even for those who do not like museums. 
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| 48 hours in Titanic Belfast Thu, 03 May 2012 20:27:30 GMT BELFAST (Reuters) - Belfast in the 21st century is developing into a chic capital of culture, character and chatter built on a proud industrial heritage which includes the world's most famous luxury liner. 
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| A taste of Hungary's history in Budapest's sumptuous coffeehouses Thu, 03 May 2012 20:27:27 GMT A family finds sweet fulfillment on a trip to Hungary that includes stops at ornate Budapest coffeehouses featuring delicious pastries and memories of a flourishing Jewish community. BUDAPEST, Hungary —American coffeehouses are prized for their quick service and fast Internet — ideal for people on the go. But a century ago, European cafes were places to linger amid Gilded Age opulence. Nowhere was this more so than in Budapest, where some of its great historic cafes have survived economic crises, war and Communism. 
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| English couple to travel to Effingham for services Thu, 03 May 2012 20:00:12 GMT They may be halfway around the world, but John and Catherine Marshall-East feel like they know the man they helped return home to Effingham. 
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| Yanni travels the world and says it doesn't matter if the crowd is 300 or 300,000 Thu, 03 May 2012 07:40:10 GMT More than most who bear it, Yanni truly lives up to his title as a world musician. The 57-year-old self-taught Greek pianist/composer made his name by taking his sweeping, majestic music to the far corners of the Earth, from the Acropolis in Greece to the Taj Mahal in India to the Forbidden City in China. 
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| Service matches dogs with hosts while owners travel Wed, 02 May 2012 01:35:00 GMT Now your dog can have a better vacation than you. 
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| San Francisco of the East Wed, 02 May 2012 00:14:00 GMT Portland has grit, soul and salty docks PORTLAND, Maine — I was in Portland all of 10 minutes when its soul rolled by on two wheels: a gentleman pedaling through downtown on one of those ridiculously tall bicycles with an oversize front wheel and tiny back wheel. 
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| Cruising to nirvana in Halong Bay Wed, 02 May 2012 00:10:00 GMT The islands emerge from the muffling mists like tombstones, stark vertical forms thrusting 10 stories or more above the water and flat in the thin light. Their sheer sides and sharp peaks defy any comforting notion of human habitation. This is a ghostly though gorgeous seascape, an environmental phenomenon that forces awe and pleasure — as well as needed serenity. 
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| TSA's PreCheck, a new passenger-screening program, could use a checkup Tue, 01 May 2012 20:46:00 GMT Is there a doctor in the house? 
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| Ask Airfarewatchdog.com: Be wary of airline check-in luggage scales Tue, 01 May 2012 20:45:00 GMT Q: I recently took a trip where I was dangerously close to being overweight with both my checked bags. With this in mind, I weighed both my bags with a certified scale before leaving the house and found that each bag weighed under 40 pounds. When I got the check-in counter, however, my first bag weighed in at 57 pounds on the airline scales, the other at 42. Obviously, I switched some things around to make keep both bags under the 50-pound limit. Is it possible the airlines' scales aren't zeroed automatically? Or is this a conspiracy to add up those "overweight" charges? 
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| Going beyond downtown Portland for cultural sights Tue, 01 May 2012 20:42:00 GMT Not all of Portland's visual-art attractions are in the downtown core, but they're still easily reachable by foot or mass transit. If you're up for crossing a bridge over the Willamette River or heading toward the hills on the western horizon, you'll be rewarded. Here are three venues to seek out: 
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| Word of the day |
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 17, 2012 is:
maffick • \MAF-ik\ • verb
: to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior
Examples:
Fans mafficked for hours outside the stadium, celebrating the team's dramatic victory in the division championship.
"In half an hour, after the mildest of mafficking, the last visitors of the exhibition's last day had gone out of the gates and the staff began their final acts of closing up shop." — From an article in The Guardian (London), October 1, 2011
Did you know?
"Maffick" is an alteration of Mafeking Night, the British celebration of the lifting of the siege of a British military outpost during the South African War at the town of Mafikeng (also spelled Mafeking) on May 17, 1900. The South African War was fought between the British and the Afrikaners, who were Dutch and Huguenot settlers originally called Boers, over the right to govern frontier territories. Though the war did not end until 1902, the lifting of the siege of Mafikeng was a significant victory for the British because they held out against a larger Afrikaner force for 217 days until reinforcements could arrive. The rejoicing in British cities on news of the rescue produced "maffick," a word that was popular for a while, especially in journalistic writing, but is now relatively uncommon.