Heading to Richmond, VA

It's 6:08 and I'm passing time at a Continental President's Club while I wait for my flight from Houston to Richmond, VA. One of my most valued clients is in Richmond and I always enjoy going there. Of course, the main reason is because I truly enjoy meeting with this client. Second, there are a couple of things that make traveling into Richmond easier than some other cities.

1. There is a local taxi company named Groome Transportation that has a great set-up with about 30 local hotels in Richmond. Namely, you can take a taxi to your hotel and, rather than scrambling for cash to pay for the taxi, they will place your fare on the hotel bill. That's a smart partnership and the reason I choose them over another company.

2. Richmond International airport has free wireless. Unlike airports like Atlanta Hartsfield and Boston Logan where you can use wireless... for a fee, Richmond makes it available to anyone. Since Richmond doesn't have a President's Club, this makes it easy to get online before flying home

So... that's the upside. I'm going to wrap up as I have a flight to catch. Happy travels!

Amazing Race is Back!

Travel/TV addicts rejoice... Amazing Race is back with Amazing Race All-Stars. If you missed last night's episode or suffered the cruel fate of the 30 minute delay on TiVO or DVR, an episode and video recap is online.

No surprise... Rob and Amber came in first at the Quito, Ecuador pit stop. The leader board is now as follows:

Sunday Travel Round Up

The weather is gorgeous outside and there's a hammock with my name waiting for me. So, this will be a quick post. Here is a quick round-up of travel articles

For the Young of Wallet, There are Hostels - Houston Chronicle - If traveling on a tight budget is your thing, hostels are often a great way to go.

The Fragile Paradise That Tahiti Used to Be - New York Times - There's more to French Polynesia than Tahiti...

Travel Websites Clamp Down on Bogus Reviews - Sydney Morning Herald - Tracking down fake online consumer reviews.

Shanghai Raises the Bar - Sydney Morning Herald - Uncovering the glittering side of Shanghai

We Just Can't Seem to Break Up with Our Flier Programs - The Los Angeles Times - Redeeming miles is not as easy as it used to be

High on Lava Trails - London Telegraph - Trekking through volcanic islands near Sicily

A Mass in the Mosque - London Telegraph - A visit to the fascinating Spanish city of Cordoba

The Sizzle of B.A. - Chicago Tribune - The article begins with, "There's something about this place"... truer words have never been spoken.

Act Fast to Snare a Summer Bargain - Dallas Morning News - Looks like summer travel is on sale

By the way, I started this inside but, you know, I do have a laptop for a reason... so I'm not inside anymore. Maybe the hammock wasn't on my mind when I bought the laptop but the two sure seem to work well together.

Easy Costa Rican Souvenir

In December of 2006, we found ourselves "stranded" (not as drastic as it sounds) at Las Tortugas Hotel on Playa Grande in Costa Rica. It's a long story - one better suited for a completely different blog entry. Suffice it to say that the hotel and its restaurant were a Godsend. Anyway, for lunch I ordered a traditional casado. The dish is typically made up of meat (chicken, beef or fish), rice, black beans, veggies/salad, a local soft cheese and a fried plantain or two. The name, casado or "married", is somewhat of an inside joke as Ticos will tell you that what you see before you is what your wife will cook you for the rest of your married life.

When the waitress brought out our dishes, she handed me a small jar of a greenish brown sauce. I asked her about it and she told me it was Salsa Lizano and that I could put it on the beans. Not one to pass up a new flavor, I put some on the beans and... wow... it was fantastic! How do I describe the flavor? Hmmm... not sure but it's good. In fact, once we got back to Tamarindo, I picked up a couple of bottles at the little market across the street from our hotel. I've since used it at home on broccoli (a vegetable I normally avoid), sauteed veggies and, of course, black beans.

The next time (or the first time) you visit Costa Rica, run by a local market and pick up a couple of bottles - one for yourself and one for a friend. They're inexpensive and a nice reminder of your vacation. Hint: If you don't have any plans to visit CR, you can find them on Amazon.com in all kinds of sizes. I used some this past week on some sauteed veggies - tasted great!

Romance on the Mind

This entry was actually written on February 8th while sitting on a Philadelphia-bound flight. Below, you’ll see why I waited until February 14th to post it online.

I will readily admit that I have much to learn about women and what makes them tick. As any man (and woman) can tell you, discovering what the love of your life considers romantic is a lifelong process. I’m still exploring and discovering but hoping to make inroads in what I consider to be an exciting adventure.

Though I have no evidence to back it up, I believe that gestures that demonstrate that your loved one is on your mind while on a business trip are very romantic. You don’t have to get fancy – just creative. Something as simple as a postcard with a love note mailed from the airport will do (keep stamps in your “travel stash”). Of course, you can pick something up that speaks of the place you just visited. Why not pick up a little memento like a special bottle of wine in San Francisco or a salsa CD in Miami? Sure, you can find those items back at home but do they express the same emotion?

A couple of other ideas…

• Take a look around while passing through the airport. You might run across some new shops or even some that might fill a last minute gift need. Case in point: Having nearly finished shopping for my wife for Valentine’s Day, there was one more gift I wanted to get her – a specific ring from Swatch’s Bijoux line called “Love Explosion”. I tried to order a red one online but could only find it in a size 5. Having previously seen a Swatch store in Terminal E at Intercontinental Airport, I checked in early for my flight and then walked from Terminal C to the store. Within 3 minutes of entering, I left with a size 7 “Love Explosion” ring in my carry-on.

• Make your loved one a romantic playlist that they can listen to on their mp3 player while you’re out of town. Napster, iTunes and other downloading services all allow you to put together the mix that expresses your own thoughts and feelings. The list that makes me think of my wife includes songs like With These Hands by Les McCann, You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To by Helen Merrill and Clifford Brown and I’ve Got a Crush on You by Bill Gordon and Oscar Peterson.

Why not share some of your own ideas on this Valentine’s Day?

Step into a Hot Buenos Aires Shop

I hate to spill the beans on a secret shop but, well, Conde Naste let the cat out of the bag in 2005 so here goes...

My wife loves to shop and she adores shoes. That's why a fashionista like her finds a place like Josefina Ferroni, located in Palermo Soho in Buenos Aires, to be a dream come true. Josefina Ferroni is a shoe designer who does something a bit different. Rather than mass-producing shoes, Ferroni designs a shoe and then only produces 15 pairs. That's right, a total of 15 pairs. Once they're gone, they're gone. Ferroni keeps getting press as she was once again in Conde Naste in a February 2007 article on Buenos Aires.

We're on their e-mail list since we visited the store at Armenia 1471. Apparently Ferroni is having a sale from February 14-17. On the off chance you won't be in Buenos Aires (don't we all wish we could be), send them an e-mail or visit their web page. Exclusive shoes can be had for around $100.00 a pair.

Three Great Travel Sites

One of my customers, Jason Lee, is a road warrior... if he's not in his office, he's probably flying cross-country, training team members to be better at what they do. He shared a couple of web pages with me that I thought were terrific.

The first site, Seat Guru, is one that I've used before and definitely recommend. I've found that this site is particularly useful when you're planning a long-haul flight or dealing with an "unknown" carrier... let's say someone like Asiana. We used it last year when planning our second trip to Buenos Aires. Given the ten hour flight, we wanted to score some good seats. In essence, the page provides diagrams of plane layouts and offers detailed information, by airline, of the best and worst seats. Seat Guru can help you avoid the dreaded 29E.

The second site is FlightAware. I'm still getting my arms around this site but it looks like it offers real-time insight into true flight status. Gate agents will often tell you that a flight is "scheduled" to be on time. This site offers the most detailed flight status information you can find. It's actually really cool and has some great illustrations on flights, airports, etc. It also includes trip alerts and other tools. It might take a while to get used to it but I suspect I'll need to use it on a future business trip.

On a related note, we had a great experience working with Travel Ideas the last time we went to Argentina. Our local agent, Hernan Federella set us up with a great package from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. We ended up staying for three nights at the Design Suites in Bariloche. I'll have to post more about the hotel later. The agency can help with tours all over Argentina to places like Mendoza, Bariloche, El Calafate, Ushuaia or Igauazu. Of course, you can call Hernan at (54) 2944 424659.