Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar

Wow, where have I been while this "Car-Sharing" idea slipped into so many cities in the US and around the world!!! It is such a novel and green concept! To share cars in densely populated cities like London and San Francisco for example, where it's so expensive to store, insure and park one's vehicle and where it would be best to get a car "loaner" to forgo the expense! Brilliant!

That's what Zip Car does. It allows you to select a car from several vehicle models for the amount of time that you wish/need. As a result, you can "borrow" for example, a pick up truck, or an SUV, or perhaps a four door sedan for some business calls? They even have Hybrid cars available! Cool concept no? Just sign up and follow the websites' directions, pay a small annual fee and your ready to borrow away.

Zip Car's are now available in many US cities, like Washington DC, Portland, Boston, San Francisco, New York and more. They're also available in London, Vancouver and Toronto.

If you live in one of these "Zip" cities, or plan to visit them any time soon, visit Zip Car's official web site to see is their car-sharing plan suits your needs. Go to www.zipcar.com or click on the enclosed blue link below.

Happy Zipping!

Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar

London - TUNE HOTELS - Cheap! Cheap!! donwtown hotel!

Wow! You won't believe what I just read in the latest issue of the The Lonely Planet Travel Magazine. Tune Hotels, a brand new, no frills hotel chain from the Far East, has just opened a new 79 room hotel in downtown London that charges only $23 pounds a night.



How is that possible? Well, much like the discounted airlines like Ryan Air and Spirit Air, this hotel chain will charge you extra for hotel "amenities". What does this mean? Well, you will pay extra for the use of a hairdryer, or to view the TV. Also, it cost's extra if you want your room cleaned, or request towels or toiletries. You get the picture.


Still, extra charges and all, it's an exceptional deal for a room located only steps away from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey don't you think? If you look at the Tune Hotel's room pictures in their official website, they look brand new, crisp and clean (photos enclosed). Take a peak and see what you think. By the way, some rooms have windows, others do not.



If you like this concept, Tune Hotels runs additional "reasonably priced" properties in Malaysia and in Bali, Indonesia. Check those out in their website too.


For more information on all these properties, please visit the Tune Hotel's main website at www.tunehotels.com or click on the following link Westminster, London | Best Value Hotels, 5 star beds at 1 star prices


Photos, courtesy of Tune Hotel's official website
Enjoy your London stay!!! and let me know how it was!!!

London: Free sights! from Budget Travel

This summer, we have to be prepared for Volcano eruptions and flight interruptions! Will the gods be on our side during our next trip to Europe? Hard to predict, so in case you get stuck in London and you don't want to spend more of your hard earned cash in daily activities, here's a handy list of some FREE sights in London published by Budget Travel! London: Looking for a silver lining? Free sights! - This Just In - Budget Travel

Can you think of any other cheap or free sights in London?

The "Underground Dining Scene"

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone. There are secret restaurants all over the world hidden behind closed doors. Who knew! Check out this great website list (www.saltshaker.net/underground-dining-scene) - It names by city, some of the "underground" gourmet dining places that have emerged around the world that one only hears about in hushed tones, tweets and Facebook posts. In fact, some of these places require you to make dinner reservations through their Facebook pages! How interesting and unusual don't you think? The furtiveness of it all piques my interest and my appetite!

The New York Time's claims that "“The new trend is to be more in the know instead of buying yourself into places.” Well, I won't make you wait, here's the list. SaltShaker � Underground Dining Scene. You be the judge. Let me know what you think of any place you visit. I'll probably try a couple of them in Buenos Aires this coming month while I fly there and I'll report more about them then soon, I promise!

Until then, enjoy the new trend and the mysterious food spots!

LONDON - Bus #15

This past week, while in London, I discovered a wonderful, easy way to see the city - Bus #15 baby! ... it leaves right from Edgware Road, in the direction of Marble Arch, every 15 minutes.

So, get your two British Pounds in exact change ready and look for the bus stop with the sign for #15. Once there, purchase your bus ticket from the machines before you board the bus (very important). You're on the bus now? climb to the second floor and try to get a seat in the front row (or near it) for the best views. You're now, set to go!

Get your camera ready and let the show begin! Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, St. Paul's Cathedral, Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, Temple Area, The Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

To return to Edgware Road, where you started, you can either:

- Take the Tube from Tower Hill station - by the Tower of London - to Edgware Road station.

- Or, walk along the Victoria Embankment towards Big Ben, for some additional scenery by the river. When your feet are too tired for another step, grab the underground from any of the stations along the way - ie. Blackfriars, Temple, Embankment or Westminster - and from these stations, you can ride back to Edgware Road Station. Voila! you're back where you started.

Enjoy the sights and take pictures!

LONDON - Hyde Park

Did you know that in Hyde Park...

- There is an area for swimming in the lake?
- You can rent boats in Serpentine Lake?
- You can rent horses and take riding lessons (any level) in the park...
- One can dine in several facilities, like The Dell, The Lido Cafe, or The Hyde Park Tennis Central Cafe.
- There is an area for playing tennis and you're welcome to join in?
- They have several bowling green lanes?

For more valuable information on Hyde Park's seasonal events and facilities, please go to www.royalparks.or.uk

Enjoy!!

LONDON - Treasures of The Plague - The Wallace Collection

If you're in London between now, and the 10th of May, you may want to head to the Wallace Collection Museum to view a fascinating - FREE - exhibit, about a treasure-trove of gold and silver jewelery from the 13th century, found only recently, in 1998!! incredible! It had been buried under ground for 600 hundred in Thuringia - Central Germany.

This treasure, presumably owned by a Jewish goldsmith, was never retrieved by it's owner...perhaps, because he died suddenly from either, the plague (1348-49), or from the massacres that followed the plague - killings aimed at the local Jewish residents, who were blamed for the spread of the Bubonic Plague. (terrible!)

If you want more detailed information on this incredible exhibit, or about the Wallace Collection Museum's permanent collection, you can go to their website at www.wallacecollection.org.

The site includes a clear map with the precise location of the museum (a five minute walk from Edgeware Tube Station); and a tempting description of their French, courtyard Brasserie- yum, yum, I want to go!

If you make it to the exhibit or to the Museum's Brasserie, please let me know how they were...

Happy Trails!