December 2008 Archives

iExplore has partnered with the folks over at Where I've Been on a holiday promotion that gives you a chance to win some travel rewards from iExplore and a wider variety of  travel partners. 

If you line-up three iExplore logos and you will win a $300 iExplore Travel Voucher for use on any iExplore Exclusive Tour booked by March 31, 2008.

Take a break from buying gifts online and treat yourself to a spin or two of the Where I've Been Holiday Slot Machine!

Good luck and Happy Holidays from the team at iExplore!

My love for all things English goes back a long ways.  I can't seem to get enough of this wet, vibrantly green isle and every time I return, I find myself experiencing something new.  Sometimes it's a hidden ancient cathedral tucked away in the financial district or sometimes it's the best pub in England, replacing the last best pub found on a previous journey.
 
London is a pretty easy city to navigate if you stick within the realms of public transportation.  If you do, however, decide to take a stroll through the winding streets of this sprawling metropolis, be sure to carry an A-Z Street Atlas.  London, like most cities in Europe, doesn't operate on a grid layout.  But it is an interesting way to spend a free afternoon.  I like to wander aimlessly from Earl's Court to Gloucester Road on to South Kensington, perhaps stopping at the Natural History Museum, and then onto Chelsea and Hyde Park. 

The touristy sites are well worth seeing.  View Westminster's Parliament and Big Ben towering majestically on the banks of the Thames River across from the Eye of London (the largest ferris wheel in the world) and the London Aquarium.  Other notable sites to visit include St. Paul's Cathedral, Spitalfield's Market in the East End, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, and Leicester Square in the West End.

British food has come a long way from the ordinary 'Fish and Chips' its famous for.  Traditional pub food has become quite tasty serving anything from Indian curries to refreshing salads and Sunday roasts with Yorkshire pudding.  Venture outside the pub and you will find most any restaurant to suit your culinary tastes.

London is a magnificent city, packed to the gills with history.  With its fascinating mix of modern and medieval architecture, charming culture, and a vast amount of entertainment available, it is no wonder that this is my favorite city in the world.  iExplore's England Experience is a great trip to begin discovering this exceptional country.

The Holidays are quickly approaching.  I recently asked the iExplore team to provide me with some of their favorite travel gifts.  If you have a world traveler on your gift list or feel like pampering yourself then I hope the list below will help you give a gift to celebrate the love for travel.

Joby Gorillapod Tripod
I never travel without my trusty photographer's assistant the Joby Gorillapod. The Gorillapod is a small portable tripod that can be attached to nearly anything.  I have wrapped it around tree limbs, fence posts and trusted it on uneven surfaces.  Don't miss out on self-portraits or group photos by using a Joby Gorillapod on your next trip to capture yourself in the excitement of your destination.  The Gorillapod is available in four sizes; choose the appropriate one for your camera.
Suggested by Todd McClamroch


Personalized Traveler Map Set
Have a world traveler on your gift list or a travel dreamer?  The Personalized World Traveler Map Set is the perfect gift to track their travels or plan their next adventure.  The color map comes with a personalized metal crest that can include up to 50 characters of your choosing.  The map is mounted on corkboard and is delivered with colored pins to track places visited, upcoming trips and dream destinations.  Purchase either a world or U.S. map both available framed or unframed. It can also be delivered framed. 
Suggested by Joelle Goldman


Suede Passport Cover & Tag
Common wisdom might say you don't want to stand out when going through customs.  If however you stand out in the name of fashion we think it will be alright.  Decorate your passport with a personalized suede passport cover and matching luggage tag.  Available in a variety of colors, each of which can be customized to include your initials. 
Suggested by Rosemary Burki
 


Cowhide-Leather Travel Backgammon
Roll up the leather backgammon board and stow it in your carry-on along with the drawstring pouch of game pieces.  Unroll it and play on airport floors or on an airline tray table.  A perfect gift to ensure the traveler on your gift list is not bored traveling to their next international adventure.
Suggested by Todd McClamroch




Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale
Stop trying to balance your luggage on a scale or holding the luggage then subtracting your own weight.  The Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale is a compact tool that will allow to easily and accurately determine the weight of your luggage.  Finding out a bag is over the weight restrictions before you leave the airport can make your travels hassle free. 
Suggested by Kathryn Shreve



Steripen Adventurer UV Water Purifier
If your travelers might take you off the beaten path you will want to make sure you have access to clean drinking water.  The SteriPEN Adventurer uses UV light technology to sterilize water.  Simply fill a glass or bottle of water and stir it with the SteriPEN for a minute and the water is cleaned to a level exceeding the EPA's highest standards in water purification. 
Suggested by Frank Anselmo

A Kiva Donation: A Gift That Changes Lives
Kiva's mission is "to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty".  As a person-to-person micro-lending provider Kiva connects you or your gift recipient with entrepreneurs in developing countries so your loan can assist them in making strides towards economic independence.  When you give a gift certificate, your recipient is invited to create a Kiva account where they then can use the Kiva website to choose the entrepreneur of their choice to lend the funds to.
Suggested by Todd McClamroch

Have a great travel related gift idea?  Leave a comment below.

Lemmings are fuzzy little critters that were rumored to commit mass suicide by following one another off the edge of a cliff.  Although Snopes and Wikipedia have proven that behavior to be a myth, I still think of lemmings whenever I travel.  I believe tourists are more prone than most people to behave like Lemmings and whenever I travel I do my best to travel "Lemming Free".

To travel by the Lemming Free mantra does not mean you need to pull out a machete and cut your own path through the jungle. In fact it can be as simple as walking by all the security lines in the airport to find one at the end that most people do not see and saving yourself some extra time.  In essence, it is not following the group but making your own decisions.

I wanted to share a few recent examples from my most recent trip to France.  The first was at the airport where there was a long winding line of travelers waiting in line for security.  I think some people might not have even been traveling but were just compelled to stand in line as there must have been something fun at the end.  I instead walked to the other end of the United terminal in Chicago where there is another security check-in.  Sure enough, there were only a handful of customers and I breezed on through.

If you have ever visited Paris for more than a few days you likely took a day trip out to the Palace of Versailles.  It is easy to get there by train. The morning my wife and I arrived, we were close to the last people off the train which gave us a great vantage point of the tourist migration out of the station where tourists one by one looked at the sign pointing the direction to the Palace, a short walk away.

Every single one of them made the decision to follow the line drawn on the map.  When I looked at the map it was obvious there was a street running nearly parallel to the one selected for the tourist migration and we broke ranks and went that way alone. Surely we were no pioneers, but we did enjoy a quiet, peaceful walk down a beautiful street.  Our photos of that neighborhood were tourist-free and with the lack of crowds we arrived before the mass of tourists.

One of the reasons I love working at iExplore is because we focus on providing privately guided tours.  We believe your best travel experience is not following packs of people on and off buses and listening to a tour guide from the back of the pack.  Instead we believe in a more personalized tour that can be fully customized to your interests.

Wherever you travel next I hope you will go "Lemming Free". Also, leave us a comment and let us know your best "Lemming Free" experience.  In case you needed any motivation check out this video of Lemmings hurtling themselves of cliffs.