Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide

The Week In Review

pbb — 2008-11-21T16:49:00-05:00

Our short list is all about pop culture travel trends in real-time.
It's the best of the week's news, bite-sized.

FAME:
	Free Tickets All Around
	Escaping Winter in Andros
	Southwest Coming to LaGuardia? Also: Sorry America: Cuba Tourism Is Booming
LAME:
	A Bad Case of the Xannies
	These Pirates Don't Quit
	No Virgin America for Chicago? Also: "The Hills": Season Five

Jaunted Comments Of The Week

pbb — 2008-11-21T16:30:17-05:00

· A few of you had praise for our flight attendant heroes.

· Runway Girl flashed back to grade school after hearing about Qantas' toilet paper rationing:

Qantas reminds me of my second grade teacher. She felt that the class was using too much loo role, so she rationed it sheet by sheet. Three sheets was the maximum!

· Meanwhile, juliana was unimpressed by Sydney's MySpace page:

Isn't MySpace over? Shouldn't Sydney be on Facebook or Twitter instead?

· And egw thought this week's was the best episode of Amazing Race 13 yet:

Sorry, I can never NOT reference Borat when it comes to Kazakhstan. So this was the episode where all the good tasks were hiding. I was surprised Terrence and Sarah were surprised at the Fast Forward--has there ever been a season where the weird food challenge didn't involve sketchy meats?

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New Orleans: We're Not All Saints In New Orleans

egw — 2008-11-21T16:05:16-05:00

Whether your weakness is for po-boys or something less likely to be celebrated with a citywide party, the Big Easy has what you've been craving at hot spots like these:

Cafe Rani: Work it or get some work done at this healthy cafe installed in an old Salvation Army building. 2917 Magazine St.

Little Tokyo: You won't have to resort to ruses to get your hands on some delicious tempura at this Asian restaurant near City Park. 310 N Carrollton Ave.

Bulldog: Apparently, talk is precious at this Uptown sports bar. 5135 Canal Blvd.

Related Stories:
· Po-Boy Party Hits New Orleans [Jaunted]
· 120-Hour Cocktail Party Coming To New Orleans [Jaunted]
· New Orleans Travel Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: gigielmes]

Washington, DC: Southwest The Latest To Add Inauguration Flights

pbb — 2008-11-21T14:36:06-05:00

When we told you how to get to Inauguration 2009, we mentioned that Baltimore-Washington International should be on your radar, even if it's a bit removed from DC. Now there's ever more reason to consider BWI: Southwest is adding additional flights to the airport in the days before and after January 20.

The airline is adding service to and from Austin, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, St. Louis and San Diego, and while some of those planes will be headed to BWI, others will land at Washington Dulles.

As we noticed when AirTran announced additional service to BWI, the extra capacity still isn't keeping up with demand: A number of Southwest flights from DC-area airports on January 21 are already sold out.

Prices are higher than you might expect from Southwest, too: Round-trip from San Diego to BWI, leaving January 19 and flying back January 21 starts at $688 all-in. Flying home on January 22 drops the price to $549. Book early and book often, Obamaniacs!

Related Stories:
· More Airlines Adding Inauguration Flights [Jaunted]
· How to Get to Inauguration 2009 [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Washington, DC: A Capital Improvement On The Work Lunch

egw — 2008-11-21T14:15:17-05:00

Are you ready to expand your palate? Put down that steak and look beyond the salad plate at the world's best vegetarian restaurants.

VegDC.com just named George Washington U. hangout and fair-weather sidewalk cafe Java Green the best vegetarian joint in our nation's capital for the second year in a row. So what makes this eco-friendly restaurant so great? Its model of fast food, vegan style!

The Conscious Kitchen, in its round-up of vegan food in DC, called Java Green "a great model of what quick, healthy veg food can be," showing off mouthwatering treats like a faux chicken bento. And a commenter on Yelp touted its "Lunches that aren't miniscule or gigantic. Lunches that are lunch-sized. I know. Wild." So whether you're picking up a noodle salad or treating yourself to a vegan burger, you'll have room for dinner--if you want to come back for more.

Want to see your favorite joint featured? Tip us off.

Related Stories:
· World's Best Vegetarian Restaurants: Gold Medal in Morocco [Jaunted]
· Dare to Vary in Amsterdam [Jaunted]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: xiann]

London: New In London: The Hat and Tun

BS — 2008-11-21T13:30:17-05:00

We know, we know, no one likes the phrase "new London pub." When we go out for a pint in London, we certainly aren't looking for some spiffy new lounge; we want greasy meat pies, floors that are sticky with spilled beer and that dank but homey lived-in atmosphere.

But give us a chance here! Farringdon pub The Hat and Tun--it's on Hatton Street, get it?--is a brand new entry to the scene, but it somehow has all that old-pub goodness. There's a genuine pub grub menu (with the requisite meat pies, along with Scotch eggs, sausage rolls and the like), along with plenty of quality brews on tap and a homey vibe complete with fireplaces, antique lounge furniture and an awful lot of taxidermy.

OK, so there are no sticky floors, but we're sure those are coming soon.

Related Stories:
· The Hat and Tun [Official Site]
· London Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Hat and Tun]

China's Airlines Stick Their Hands In The Pot

ced138 — 2008-11-21T13:15:17-05:00

Airlines in China are queuing up with the rest of the country’s companies for a ladleful of life-saving capital. Looks like now’s the time to see if this communism thing really works!

In addition to China’s already announced 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) economic stimulus package, Air China and the other big Chinese airlines are seeking industry-specific government aid to cope with their losses. Even the mention of the bailout sent shares of China’s three biggest carriers soaring. According to Reuters, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines were each likely to receive 3 billion yuan, or $439 million.

No word on whether the extra cash will prompt these carriers to trade in the rubbery meat they try to pass off as chicken, but we’re guessing, per usual, the passenger will be the last one to reap the benefits of any eventual government infusions of cash.

Related Stories:
· Chinese Airlines Look to Beijing for Help [Reuters, via IHT]
· China Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: msitting]