by David McGuffin | Mar 12, 2011 | Essential Travel Resources
Questions about airline ticketing and the TSA’s Secure Flight Program often come up when booking airline tickets. Here is my distilled version of the TSA’s behind-the-scene watchlist program.
Since November 1, 2010 airline passengers are require to provide “secure flight information” to the TSA when booking an airline ticket originating or terminating in the USA. This information contains your official name as it appears on government issued ID, gender and birthday (and redress # if necessary).
When booking an airline ticket online, this information is collected at the end of your booking progress. It is best to provide one’s full name (first, middle and last) including suffixes such as Jr. and III.
Some people, whose name closely matches a name of a known suspected threat to security may request a “redress number” which separates them form the name of the person who is on the TSA’s “known threats” list.
For complete information visit this link at the TSA website.
by David McGuffin | Mar 11, 2011 | Essential Travel Resources
Today, I am off to Europe for a few weeks of tour guiding. Before I get there and start to work, I decided to try an experiment with my flight attendants.
I often notice tha flight attendants put up with a lot of unecessary abuse from airline passengers. They work hard and must always have a smile on their face.
So today I delivered a Starbucks gift card to all the flight attendants on my flight to Zurich. I’m interested to see if it puts a smile on their face and makes them happy. I’ll let you know.
David
by David McGuffin | Jan 30, 2011 | Culture & Customs, Destinations, Experiencing Europe
For some reason I am much more aware of fashion when in Siena than in other parts of the world. I don’t know if it’s the allure of
Il Campo, the
passeggiata on
via Banchi di Sopra or maybe just my heighten awareness of people. Regardless the cause, I know I do a lot more people watching when in Siena than in any other place.
Last week I made a whirlwind trip to Italy to lay the groundwork for a new itinerary linking Rome and Tuscany. In four days, I traced the route that my “real tour” would experience in eight days. It was a bit grueling, especially driving from Rome to Volterra on that first day, but with a few stops for an espresso at the Autogrill, I survived.
We arrived in Siena on night three of my “tour.” During the past three days, my tour guide friends, Andy and Mary Ada, had been meticulously combing every detail of this new itinerary. Ditching the rental car and checking into Hotel Chiusarelli was such a relief! No more driving… just walking the medieval streets of Siena.
We went directly to Il Campo, the weather was great so we grabbed a seat at one of the outdoor cafes and ordered lunch. One of the first things I noticed being here “off-season” was the lack of tourists. The huge square was scattered with just a few pods of people enjoying the sun and a picnic lunch. For early January, this warm weather is very uncommon and it seemed that many local folks were out to make the most of it.
Sitting there in the sun enjoying my pasta our conversation turned to the Palio, the famous horse race that occurs on this very square twice in the summer. As I described the event to my friends, I began pointing out the various brackets on the exterior walls around the square meant to attach rickety old wooden bleachers for the thousands who arrive in town for the horse race. In my description, I pointed out what I think is the perfect balcony perch for taking in this magnificent square during the Palio or anytime during the year. You can only access this balcony by way of the bar, discreetly tucked into the building below and if you are not looking for it, you’ll miss it.
After lunch, we went our own way and decided to meet up later for dinner. I poked around Siena’s various contrada neighborhoods hoping to run across some previously undiscovered (for me) little gem of a bar, restaurant or shop. I found many of them, but most importantly, I experienced Siena with only the locals in town. As I said, this was so unlike the heavy tourist traffic in the spring and summer months. Finally, I picked out a place in the market square to return to for dinner.
By now it was late afternoon, as I walked across Il Campo the long shadow from the bell tower stretched nearly all the way across the square. Leaving the sun, the temperature dropped ten degrees as I entered the main pedestrian streets known as via Banchi di Sopra. Suddenly I was among more people than I had seen all day! It was as if all of Siena had suddenly come out to take a stroll and visit with one another. I had walked right into the daily ritual known in Italy as the passeggiata, or the slow walk.
I dug out my camera and began snapping photos because I realized every woman was wearing some version of knee-high boots. There were all styles and colors ranging from swanky black leather to more casual thigh-high suede leather ones with fringe. I’ve included a few of the photos I snapped just so you can get an idea.
Big Boots & Little Kids
boot boots
Also, notice the men… many are wearing stylish shiny quilted jackets with faux-fur collars… something you’d never catch any guy in the USA wearing. Also, notice the white tennis shoes and jeans sported by the guys. That struck me as odd because I’ve always preached not to wear white running/tennis shoes because that screams “American tourist” to everyone. Well, these shoes were not exactly our version of tennis shoes, but pretty close.
So, foot fashions are changing… be on the lookout for tall boots and designer tennis shoes coming to a shopping mall near you… and don’t forget to pick up your faux-fur collared men’s jackets!
Ciao from Siena!
-David
P.S. Click here for another one of my “fashion” epiphanies in Siena.
2 more entries about hanging out on Il Campo:
Fashion in Siena
Camping out on Il Campo!
by David McGuffin | Jan 5, 2011 | Adventures in Tour Guiding, Essential Travel Resources
Exploring Europe’s travel philosophy is simple…inspire people to have fun traveling in Europe by providing stress-free group tours and informative publications designed to equip them for their travels. I believe you’ve got to visit the “must-see” tourist sights, but once the touring is done, slow down and experience Europe!
Every year we helped many people slow down and enjoy their travels. A picnic under the Eiffel Tower, an impromptu bus ride when the subway closed early, a moonlit walk in the Swiss Alps with waterfalls roaring in the background, a festival of 7,000 bagpipers in Scotland, a lone crooner singing his heart out in an Irish pub, a gourmet Parisian dinner with a singing waitress…..
At David McGuffin’s Exploring Europe, we are eager to get your next trip out of your mind and on to the calendar. Think about touring with me, I’d love to show you around!
by David McGuffin | Dec 17, 2010 | David's Journal, Destinations
Have you ever been lost? Not the kind of lost where you really don’t have a clue where you are, but being lost in familiar territory. Confused yet? Well I was too.
I had just arrived in London. I’d traveled most of the day from hot and sunny Madrid to wet and soggy London. The Thameslink train dropped me near Kingscross Station and I hoped on the TUBE to my hotel. When I emerged from the TUBE station at Tower Bridge I knew, according to the directions given by the hotel operator, I was just a short walk from my bed for the night!
The Tower Bridge station is right across the road from the Tower of London, just on the west side of the Thames. When I couldn’t see the hotel from my location, I decide to do the smart thing and call the hotel for more detailed directions. Little did I know I would get “central reservations” located in who knows what little podunk town in the depths of England. The reservations agent sounded like she knew what she was talking about, so I believed her when she said ” it’s east, just walk from your present location and follow the road away from the Thames. “Don’t go across the river” she exclaimed.
Well, I took her at her word and proceeded to walk (with my 30 pound backpack). Twenty minutes later there was no hotel in sight. Instead, I’d crossed over into some industrial zone in London where the prevailing industry was shipping and loading boxes from trains to freighters. So I did the logical thing, I retraced my steps to Tower Bridge. Knowing my hotel was NOT across the river, according to the previous directions, I took another route away from the bridge! On this I ended up almost all the way back to Kings Cross Station. The spot I had left over two hours ago!
By now I was frustrated, hot and worn-out! I decide to hail a taxi. Being in London there are tons of taxis. But out in the boondocks of the city they all had fares. So I had to make my way to a Tube station to find a taxi stand. Finally! I was in one of the big black sedans. The driver asked where I was going. I gave him the address and off he went. Soon we crossed the Thames by way of the Tower Bridge and just two blocks later I was dropped at my hotel!
My lesson here is a TAXI is sometimes worth the expense. If you’ve got less time than money, then a taxi can be a lifesaver. It cost me about $7 to get that taxi to my hotel. But the worst thing is that I wasted an hour wandering around looking for the blasted place!
Later in the evening I began to wander down the east bank of the Thames into an old seafaring part of London. My wandering took me past clipper ships, chic bars, and a wonderful view of the city. This was a different kind of wandering that I had done in the afternoon looking for my hotel. Tonight, I wanted to get lost in order to discover new ground. This is what I call exploring Europe!
