The World Makes Me Wonder...

Ben Wright has a cool post over at Occasionally Wright: Do I Wonder? Apparently Not, based on Howard Hillman’s list of 100 Wonders of the World.

So, in the continuing search for cheap-‘n’-easy content here at BTN, I bring you my scorecard.

• I was pretty disappointed with my empty slate through the first column, but then I hit the second column and chalked up #43 The Louvre. Without Rick Steves, I’d have been unable to appreciate much of the art, as the facility itself doesn’t offer much in the way of explanation. But the building has its own attraction, both with the modern entry plaza and in the museum itself, a former palace turned into a museum during the French Revolution.
• #73 New York Skyline — yep, got that. I can’t claim the other two NYC features, though: I’ve walked past the Metropolitan Museum of Art but haven’t gone in, and I haven’t made it to the Statue of Liberty.
• #89 Stonehenge I found more exciting as a story than as an actual visit. We get the legends and mysteries pounded into our heads for years, and that tends to develop expectations that just aren’t matched by the tourist trap this place has now become. Once you could wander among the stones; now there are ropes on the site’s perimeter, a gift shop at the entry/exit point, and a parking lot full of busses on the other side of the A303. Bill Bryson has written about the paradox of modern mass tourism, that it obliterates the true character of the places it infests; I can think of no better example of this than Stonehenge.
• On the other hand, #94 the British Museum really is all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve spent about two days total there so far; I could use another week or so and still not properly appreciate all its treasures.
• Finally, #100 the Eiffel Tower is worth your time as well. I seem to have more tolerance for mass tourism at a location built specifically for that purpose than at somewhere like Stonehenge — maybe that’s why one of my favorite stories from Europe ‘03 is standing on the first level of la Tour Eiffel at 11 AM Thursday morning, translating the sign on the door of the post office from French into English for a Japanese couple: ”We’re sorry, we are closed due to a computer problem.”

So my final score is 5. What’s yours?

Toronto Goes Insane

I got on the TTC subway at Union Station after Jays-Red Sox and Leafs-Sens Game 7 ended nearly simultaneously, and the mass of Leafs fans that joined the baseball crowd were relatively calm and sane. Then I rode it up to Yonge and Wellesley and started walking back down Yonge, where I saw…

Mid-street partying…

And this guy…

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A Good Day

The Toronto roadtrip report will be up by next weekend, but I’ve already got your highlight right here.

The Anatomy of a Cheap Trip

After attempting to explain the steps to several different people recently, and losing them when I referenced six URLs in the span of two sentences, I figured maybe it was time to put together a quick reference on how I pull off my cheap weekend trips. I’m going to link this at behindthenet.org/cheaptrip, for the benefit of those who require a simple, easily-spoken URL. Feel free to share as you like.

Flights

There aren’t many tricks here, particularly if you need some choice in your schedule (which you don’t get with Priceline or Hotwire). But, paradoxically, you may be better off if you don’t have a clear destination in mind — just look to see where you can go for cheap.

• Digital City Travel Deals — Richmond (or from DC)
• Yahoo Best Fares from Richmond (DC)

The other places to look for very short-notice deals are the various weekend fare-dump e-mails sent out by most U.S. airlines. I find the US Airways E-Savers most useful, since (a) I’m in Richmond, a big US Airways city and (b) they generally allow Friday departures and Saturday returns, but you might also be interested in AA Net SAAvers or United E-Fares.

Southwest and its fellow low-fare airlines are worth checking, but if you plan it right, you can usually fly the majors for the same price or close to it because Southwest forces them to fare-match on common routes. Where SWA really shines is in its low cost for refundable and one-way airfares.

Of course, if you know what you want, there’s always the Big 3:

• Orbitz
• Expedia
• Travelocity

I personally prefer Orbitz nowadays, but I’ve used them all dating back as far as 1997. If fares appear high on your favorite site, it’s worth checking the others, as fare availability may not be consistent between the services.

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Roadtrips Galore

Amy linked some nifty little tools on quand même the other day, diagramming the collection of US states and European countries she’s visited in her travels. So, being the ripoff artist quality blogger I am, I thought I’d get in on the act.

I felt like adding more detail, though, so I borrowed a North American outline map from EduPlace.com and went at it with The GIMP. The result is the nifty little colorized map to the right, with states I’ve spent lots of time in in red, lower-intensity locations in orange, and drive/fly-thru only states in green. (Of the greens, Ohio is airport-only, Rhode Island I covered on a southbound train, and the rest I’ve driven/ridden through on some epic roadtrips.) The total score is 29 of 51 states (counting D.C.), plus two Canadian provinces (of 13 provinces and territories).

You’ll note half of the continent is missing from my map; that’s because I have yet to make it any farther west than Austin, TX. I’m hoping to rectify this problem soon. (West Coast Ballpark Fest ‘05?)

Favorite places among those red and orange states/provinces? Depends on what I’m looking for at any particular moment. Tossing out Blacksburg (because it’s on an entirely different level), here’s a somewhat-arbitrary Top 5, in no particular order:

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