The Inside Track Travel

Whenever I travel, I enjoy visiting stores. I don’t particularly enjoy the shopping, I just enjoy the architecture, the history and the decoration of stores around the world. I enjoy window shopping in England – looking at stores with windows that are picturesque – windows comprising many small, interconnected-framed panes found in towns all over the Cotswolds and Cornwall. The most famous of this genre of “Ye Olde Shoppes” is in London – Dickens’ Curiosity Shop (1668).

Some of the world’s top museums were “Green” centuries before that movement. Moreover, some storefronts are so artistic they look as if they belong in museums. And in many major museums, they are: Paris’ Museum Carnavalet preserves ancient storefronts as does New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, York’s Castle Museum etc.

Great antique pharmacies are a store type that has survived in cities all over Europe and the USA, including Beaune, Bruges, Dubrovnik, New Orleans, Rome, Salzburg, Strasbourg, Wurzberg and Williamsburg (Virginia).

Another category of elegant, beautiful and historic store is the upscale food emporium. The two most elegant in the world are the Elyseev stores in Russia. St. Petersburg’s Elyseev store on Nevsky Prospect showcases a stunning Art Nouveau interior and exterior. The Moscow Elyseev store is in an 18th-century building with an even more dramatic Art Nouveau interior.

My favorite Art Deco market is Riga’s enclosed market – which used to be a zeppelin hanger. Riga Airport has stores representative from that city’s downtown establishments. Emihls Gustvas chocolate store at Riga Airport is where I had my best hot, thick dark- chocolate drink, which enticed me to duplicate that experience at their downtown store.

Markets that sell many different products under one roof are found in exotic locations such as the Khan El Khalili Bazaar (Cairo). I always visit the Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, which has some great values for those who wear leather above the ankles. There are also great bazaars in the “old city” of Jerusalem, Damascus and Aleppo. (Hopefully in the near future, you will be able to visit them on the same trip.)

And let’s not forget antique markets, flea markets, night (food) markets in Taipei, Beijing (and other Asian cities) and the unique floating markets of Thailand.

The worlds’ most famous stores hangout on “Main Street” – which the Brits call “High Street.” There’s London’s Bond Street and Knightsbridge Road; Rome’s Via Condotti; Milan’s Via Montenapoleone; Paris’ Rue Faubourg St. Honore; St. Petersburg’s (Russia) Nevsky Prospect; New York’s Fifth Avenue; Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive etc.

The first half of the 19th century saw the introduction of the shopping arcade. Among the most famous: London’s Burlington Arcade, Paris’s Galerie Vivienne, Brussels’ St. Hubert, St. Petersburg (Russia) Passage, Prague’s Lucerna Galleria (designed by Vaclav Havel’s grandfather), Naples’ Galleria Umberto, Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the many arcades in Cardiff (Wales), etc. These were not created to replace main shopping streets – but merely to link them. That’s where they differ from shopping malls.

Shopping streets are usually more historic and tourist friendly than enclosed shopping malls. (Unless you’re in a very humid environment such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila.)

The newest trend in store for stores is the most “Green” application – recycling buildings that had a previous purpose and adapting them to store design – such as railroad stations in St. Louis, Providence, New York’s (Grand Central Station), Washington (Union Station), St. Petersburg (Warsaw Station). And this trend also goes the opposite way: A branch of Paris’ Printemps Department Store became a Holiday Inn. And a New Orleans department store became a Ritz Carlton.

Department store cafeterias are a great way to sightsee the store and they’re reasonably priced. Many department store cafeterias offer unique, spectacular views. Galeries Lafayette’s cafeteria gives a rare bird’s-eye view of the Paris Opera’s rear silhouette. Samaritane’s summer terrace gives you more choices of Paris views than food choices.

Urban downtown department stores define Christmas. Paris’ Printemps and Galeries Lafayette not only decorate their store windows and giant inner, covered Art Nouveau courtyards, they also splashily and electronically light up their facades. My first view of Harrod’s was at Christmas. I loved the lit electric lights emphasizing its ornate Victorian architectural detail. When I returned the next summer, I then realized that it’s lit up every night! What a treat without even buying anything.

Save on a summer getaway

CHICAGO - Temperatures are rising, the school year is ending and vacations are on the brain.

If you and your family want to go away for more than a few days, renting a beach house or lakeside cabin can cost about half as much as a hotel stay. That means more cash to spend having fun.

Rentals are being reserved at a faster clip than just a year ago, but it's not too late to plan this summer's family getaway.

"There's plenty of time," says Maria Kirk, the owner of ShoreSummerRentals.com, a company that matches the owners of 1,400 properties in seven Eastern states with renters.

"If they're really picky, they need to get started now," she says. "If they want a deal, they may want to wait because there's always going to be something available. It may not be their dream place, but there's always going to be something available."

Here are some tips on finding an inexpensive summer rental.

Be flexible on location: As it gets closer to your vacation date, you may have to make some compromises if you want to get a deal, says Alexis de Belly, vice president of U.S. brands for Homeaway, which lists about 400,000 rental properties around the globe.

"If you can book at the beginning or end of the season, typically you'll find more availability at better prices," he says.

Meanwhile, consider putting a few miles between your rental and your vacation activities. Opting for a rental a few miles away from the hottest spots can cut costs.

"If you look a little further away from the main attraction, the prices go down quite dramatically," he says.

If week still too pricey, then days: Thanks to the recession, homeowners who once rented properties only for full weeks are increasingly willing to book shorter stays, even just even a couple days. The reason? Money for a four-day rental is better than none at all if the alternative is leaving the property vacant. But renter beware: Not everyone will be receptive to an offer for a partial-week rental.

Negotiate: Just as some property owners are more willing to rent for less than a week, many are negotiating on prices or are offering deals. A listing on Homeway.com for a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the Florida Keys offers $500 off a summer rental, which typically costs $1,650 a week. A three-bedroom condo in Myrtle Beach, S.C. offers golf discounts at nearby courses.


Several coastal rentals in California are going for half price. And, for those seeking a little extra in a vacation, weeklong stays at a four-bedroom waterfront home in Southampton, N.Y., through July were 30 percent off this week: just $4,900.

But more modest offers — a free bottle of champagne, say — are most common.

"It doesn't hurt to ask," says Kirk.

Dial for help: There are scores of private companies that can help you connect with rentals, and many local tourism boards Web sites will show or link to what's available in a community.

But old-fashioned telephone research sometimes can get you into the ideal property, says Jon Jarosh, a spokesman for the Door County Visitor Bureau in Wisconsin, a popular vacation spot. Workers in the county's information center know their community and can explain what properties might work best based on a vacationer's needs.

Keep checking: The direct-rental business is still growing, which means more properties become available every month. It's also worth checking for last-minute cancellations.

"I think there's a perception that if you didn't have your reservations (in advance) it was really hard to find a place up here," Jarosh says. "But there's now more inventory available now than there was 10 or 15 years ago."

Source from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

All clear at Seattle airport after bomb scare

SEATAC, Wash. - A bomb scare at the Seattle-Tacoma airport interrupted operations for about two hours before a squad detonated a smoking bag and determined it contained a battery charger and electronics.

The incident Thursday morning forced the evacuation of several hundred passengers and delayed four flights.

Port of Seattle spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt says a bomb squad gave the all-clear about 7:30 a.m.

The Transportation Security Administration says the bag was smoking in the Delta Air Lines checked baggage room. Spokesman Greg Soule says the area was evacuated out of an abundance of caution.

Two American Airlines flights and two Delta flights were delayed. Those passengers and others in the concourse were evacuated to other parts of the airport.

Demonstrations in Greece

Greek authorities have confirmed that there were three fatalities at a bank in central Athens on 5 May during demonstrations.

We advise British nationals to continue to exercise extreme caution around public demonstrations and protests in major urban centres in Greece.

Visitors should expect regular strikes and demonstrations throughout Greece during May. Strikes and demonstrations are sometimes called at short notice and can cause disruption to public transport in and out of the country, including air travel.