Generally I don't like staying in hotels when I travel. There is something about them that makes me feel so separate from the country that I am visiting. When I do stay in a hotel, I like to indulge in hospitality establishments with either a great degree of personality, history or amazing location. When I first heard of Paradors in Spain, I was blown away. Paradors are essentially historic sites that have been converted into hotels. So, I picked ten Paradors that have a lot of history, a lot of character and generally in amazing locations.


If seeing the 120-meter drop into the Guadalevín River outside of your window doesn't give you goose bumps, the site of the Puente Nuevo basking in the sun over the Guadalevín will. This parador, a former town hall, sits at the edge of the rocky gorge right next to the historic bridge built in 1751.

Labels: Alacron, Andalusia, Asturias, Badajoz, Caceres, Cangas de Onis, Extremadura, Galicia, Jaen, Jarandilla Vera, La Mancha, Pontevedra, Ronda, Spain, Zafra

No Excuses left...a perfect name for a get-me-out-of-work-and-into-an-amazing-place song. This song reminds me of the fast pace of traveling with friends and the inevitable "take it all in" moment when you overlook a mountain range, look out into the ocean or stand in the middle of a busy city gazing up at all the neon lights as people rush about you.

Artist: Air France
Song: No Excuses
Album: No Way Down

Labels: Air France, Music, Music Videos, No Excuses, Songs, Travel Songs

I was about to post a song of the week but decided to be a bit more creative and make my own music video. This is driving around with Phoenix's Summer Days. Tell me what you think.

Labels: Caribbean, Curacao, Driving, Music, Music Videos, Netherland Antillies, Phoenix, Summer Days

From the [evil?] geniuses at Google Labs comes Google City Tours, a Google Maps-esque application that routes points of interest according to your current location. No longer will you have to flip through guidebooks and highlighting streets on maps, now all you need to do is let Google pinpoint all of the attractions for you.

I assume that part of this grand plan would be to incorporate Web 2.0 elements such as shared videos and photos. It would only make sense given that Google is well underway of integrating these elements already - check out Google Caffeine if you get the chance, it is basically Google's way of trying to get closer to real time search.


I would imagine that this application would be very useful to many first time backpackers or travelers, maybe families on vacation or perhaps very short-term travelers like business types and such. I've been in those situations before where I came for an event, be it meeting or wedding, and have had the urge to see something else but just did not have that much time.

As an avid traveler I have mixed feelings about this function. Sure, it is handy but I don't necessarily like planning out my adventures down to this much of detail. I've always felt that going with the ebb and flow of a new place is the most important thing you can do as someone truly attempting to step into a new environment and adapt. I have used guidebooks primarily for one reason, and that is to figure out where not to go. I do most of my research by searching travel blogs and personal videos or perhaps documentaries of places that are very far off the beaten path. Therefore I feel that I would use this application much like I would use a guidebook. Going forward, if I were to research a hotel or hostel, I'd simply type in the address and see how close I am to all of the tourist hot spots.

Needless to say, this application does cater to the majority of travelers and I am sure it will be a big hit. The technology behind it is great and is a testament to how far search technology has come. A significant majority of travel plans are made online these days and Google City Tours will fit in nicely with all of the other tools.

Labels: Google, Google City Tours, Google Labs, Tourism, Travel Applications

Lately I've been doing a ton of local exploring and getting to know my neighborhood in Washington, DC a lot better. On Saturday morning, I woke up thinking about Fried Chicken and Waffles and the two places that serve this dish on U St.; Marvin and Creme. Creme has been around longer but on Sunday, for brunch, I decided to go to Marvin instead because they serve a better Bloody Mary there. Although, hands down I think that Bar Pillar and Saint Ex on 14th St. put the other two to shame when it comes to the brunch cocktail classic.

I put in my order and the waiter smiled "Excellent Choice!" I was ready. I first heard about fried chicken and waffles from a friend about a year ago. In fact, we were at Creme for brunch and he ordered it! Honestly, I was absolutely disgusted at the sight but this had more to do with the fact that I was recovering from a late night and what I saw was not on my list of stomach friendly things.

Fried chicken and waffles is originally from Harlem, NY and made its way down south. The idea behind it is simple, late night party animals would end up very hungry after a whole night of dancing. Given that it was way past dinner and barely close to breakfast food options were scarce, and so fried chicken and waffles was born.

My plate finally arrived. Golden brown fried boneless chicken atop a square waffle which sat on a bed of collared greens and of course a side of maple syrup. I poured the maples syrup right on top of the chicken and watched it make its way down to the waffle. I brought my fork towards my mouth and bit into Thanksgiving dinner. No, honestly, the taste reminds me of Thanksgiving.

Sweet, savory and tangy all at once. It actually tasted great. The textures weren't disturbing, the maple syrup didn't overpower the fried chicken and the waffle was light and fluffy, not thick and heavy like most places serve them.

It was a good Sunday morning, and nothing feels better than satisfying a craving as soon as you wake up. I don't think I will have another order of fried chicken and waffles for at least another two weeks, but if I do I'll have to go to Creme for comparison and maybe, one day, I'll go to Harlem and find an original recipe. I should probably consider walking from DC to NY and back just to lose the calories.

Labels: Bar Pillar, Brunch, Creme, DC, Fried Chicken and Waffles, Marvin, Saint Ex, U St., USA, Washington

Crafty Bastards is today! It is my favorite arts fair in Washington, DC. This is the one time of the year where you can get to see local art, meet the local artists and buy their work - most of which are originals. Walking in between each stall and getting to see little projects that don't make it to the galleries (or streets) are right there. If you are ever in DC during the beginning of October, make sure you check out the Washington City Paper and find out what day Crafty B's is on.

Labels: Adams Morgan, Art Fair, Art Festivals, Artist, Crafty Bastards, DC, DC Artists, USA, Washington

Labels: Travel Blog, Travel Industry, Travel Insights 100, Travel News