I know how hard it can be to come up with just the right gift at just the right price, so I did a bit of research, and I’ve come up with 10 great gifts at a variety of price points and one great idea for the last minute shopper!

1. I love beautiful coffee table books, and perhaps it’s because I recently was in Rio de Janeiro that this book is especially alluring… Brazilian Style published by Assouline, is informative, inspiring, and visually stunning. It’s certain to have any armchair traveler wanting to fly down to Rio.

2. Grooming Lounge specializes in men’s grooming products, and “The Greatest Shave Ever” Try Me Kit includes four of their top-rated products—face wash, shave cream, shave oil, and aftershave—in small, TSA-approved sizes. A great gift for the traveling man in your life.

3. Winner of the 2011 Conde Nast Traveller “Favorite Travel Website” Mr & Mrs Smith are premiere bookers of boutique and luxury hotels. Now they’re offering a stylishly wrapped “Get a Room!” gift voucher sgood for use toward an accommodation at any of their more than 850 hotels around the world. Cards start at $50.00, and for $100.00 or more you’ll also get one of their best-selling travel guides of your choice. Add it to your gift to inspire the recipient to explore someplace new. [Read more →]

 Years ago I was working a flight out of Las Vegas when, as we were getting ready to land, I noticed that one of the passengers seemed to be unconscious. He wasn’t traveling with anyone (so no one could speak for him) and I had no idea what was wrong with him—it could have been anything. But as I and four other flight attendants gathered around trying to revive him, he woke up, totally confused and indignant—just as we were unbuttoning his shirt (to prepare for CPR).

Turns out he’d been partying hard for a couple of days (starring in his own version of “The Hangover” with his buddies) hadn’t eaten much, and had then taken some kind of prescribed stomach medication. The combination of alcohol, medication, and an empty stomach had caused him to pass out.

So if you’ve had too much (holiday) cheer and are not feeling great when you need to board a plane, here are a few things you can do to make it better.

• Even if you are not thirsty, buy a large bottle of water (and maybe some aspirin) after you go through security and drink A LOT! Not only will your body appreciate it, it will hydrate your brain.
• Even if you are not hungry, buy a snack to take aboard, but make it light (even if there is food onboard, it may take a while for the flight attendants to get to you). Food will help to absorb some of the alcohol, but anything too heavy, too spicy, or too rich will just make you feel worse. [Read more →]

Gathering as much information as you can before you leave home is a smart way to cut down on the stress of holiday travel. Here are a few tips and apps that will help you to know before you go.

1. Download My TSA is an app that gives you great travel info. Just select the airport you’re departing from and you’ll get information about real time delays and the wait times at various security check points along with everything you need to know about what you can carry on and how to dress to speed up your check-in time.

2. Ship your gifts whenever possible. Not only will you avoid having to drag cumbersome packages through crowded airports, but also, you’ll probably be saving money because of increasing charges for both checked and carry-on luggage. And if you must carry gifts with you, don’t wrap them. They will be opened and your expensive gift wrap (not to mention the time you spent wrapping) will be tossed in the trash. [Read more →]

Russia Holiday Update

By Summer Jenkins, Communications Director, G3 Visas

With Christmas and New Year’s fast approaching, please be aware that Russia will close its consulates and the Foreign Ministry in Moscow for an extended period. We can expect the Russian Foreign Ministry to be closed as early as the 30th of December and possibly staying closed to the 16th of January, which is the first Monday after the celebration of Old New Year’s on the Julian calendar.  This means that there will no business invitations issued during this period. The embassy will most likely be closed for 7-10 business days as well, with a short week schedule in the second week of  January.

We recommend that any travelers planning a business trip to Russia in January or early February should contact G3 now to initiate visa processing, as business invitation processing will come to a virtual halt for about three weeks during the holiday.  For more information, please contact G3′s Country Information Coordinator for Russia, Jonathan Phillips, at Russia@g3visas.com.

Visa Updates
India: The updated visa application which was scheduled for release in early November is currently on hold. Our sources do not know when the new application will be released. As the new application is expected to be more difficult than the current one, we recommend that travelers planning trips to India get their applications in now, before the application changes. As all India visas are valid for at least six months after the date of issue, visas can be applied for well ahead of the departure date. [Read more →]

NEW YORK CITY 

What’s more exciting during the holidays than being in New York City? Seriously! And every year, when it comes to dining out, visitors and locals alike eagerly want to know “what’s new and what’s hot.”

There is no one better to turn to than Kate Edwards, a restaurant consultant here in New York City, for her insider tips on where to make your holiday (and beyond) restaurant reservations.

Kate Edwards Consulting is a boutique restaurant consulting firm that specializes in opening new restaurants and retail concepts as well as revitalizing existing, long-standing restaurants. Some of Kate’s clients include The Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel, Le Cirque, and South Gate at The Essex House. Kate also is an instructor at the Institute for Culinary Education, my alumni culinary school (yes I am a foodie) here in Manhattan.

Carolyn: For a fast and festive New York City experience, where do you suggest dining?

Kate: For seafood fans the Grand Central Oyster Bar is a NY classic. It has a daily menu with a huge variety and features dozens of types of fresh oysters. It is an iconic restaurant in an iconic building (Grand Central of course), one of a kind!

Carolyn: Now… what about a casual enviroment where its lively and the food is great.

Kate: For great Japanese noodles and food there is Ippudo on 4th Ave and 9th street. It is always packed (so arrive early) but is super delicious and fun…when you enter the dining room the entire staff (american and japanese staff) all call out in unison in Japanese, something like “welcome!”. Is surprising and then you hear them throughout the night, is a lively atmosphere!

Carolyn: I love trying new wines, and having delicious “bar bites.” What NYC spot would you suggest? [Read more →]

Sure, when the snow is on the ground it’s great to throw off scarves and boots and warm up with an island getaway. But sometimes it’s great to do something different, and people are always asking me for new ideas. So here are a few winter vacations you probably haven’t thought of before. I haven’t actually been to any of them myself, but they’re really tempting to try.

1. How about staying in a treehouse?

No, this isn’t like the treehouse your daddy may have built when you were a kid. Wipfelglűck Treehouse Hotels has two properties in Germany where you can lie in bed at stare at the stars, then wake up to be served a delicious breakfast of fresh baked goods with ham, cheese, butter, honey, and jam, along with juice, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate before heading out to visit a vineyard, a gallery, a castle, or even the famous caves of the Black Forest. To me this sounds like the perfect combination of adventure travel with a bit of culture and all mod cons thrown into the mix.

2. Take a symphony cruise

Love the sun? Love the water? Love music? A symphony cruise may give you the best of all possible worlds. Celebrity Cruises offers luxurious Symphonic Voyages with a 54-piece symphony orchestra, world-renowned solo artists, and a chamber music group. See the sights when in port, sit back and enjoy the music while at sea. Get some sun, and enjoy the many other activities Celebrity offers its well-pampered guests.

3. Visit Uruguay; see the art

Estancia Vik in José Ignacio, Uruguay boasts an unparalleled collection of contemporary Uruguayan and international art in a beautiful, luxurious setting. Now guests also have the opportunity to spend a day with local artists in their ateliers, take private workshops, and tour local galleries and museums with a knowledgeable guide. And when you’re not immersed in art you can sit by the pool, go to the beach, take a horseback ride, or simply luxuriate in the outstanding landscape and architecture of this unique resort. [Read more →]

Airplane travel during the height of the holiday season can be tough enough, but when you’re traveling with young children it can make the whole trip seem not worth the trouble.  Here are a few tips that will make flying with family a lot less frustrating and more fun for everyone.

1. Do plan in advance. Make lists of what you’ll need for each family member and check it off as you pack. The last thing you need is the added anxiety of forgetting some essential item or having to run out at the last minute to buy more diapers.
2. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to buy whatever you need at the airport. Have a supply of baby wipes, diapers, and bottles or juice boxes in your carry-on before you leave home. Reasonable quantities of formula, baby food, breast milk, and juice are not subject to the TSA’s 3.4 ounce carry-on limitation and do not have to be in a quart-size zip-top bag.
3. Do make sure you have enough supplies and medicine in your carry-on to get you and your child through a day or two of lost luggage.
4. Do bring toys to keep your child occupied during the flight. But don’t bring things a baby or toddler can bang on the tray table or seat back to annoy your fellow passengers. And don’t bring toys with too many tiny pieces that can get scattered and lost or toys that make al lot of noises or beeps. Soft toys or a coloring book and crayons are good options. [Read more →]

Trip Viewer (right) is a great new iPad app to use in conjunction with the Trip Journal 6.1 app for iPhone. Trip Journal allows you to track, document, and record your travel experiences, personalize them with notes, photos, and videos, and share them with your friends.  Now, with Trip Viewer, you can export those experiences to an iPad, view your stopping-off points overlaid on a map, and enrich the whole experience with real-time locations and photos for the richest, most complete record of your travels you could possibly imagine.

iTranslate makes you instantly fluent in more than 50 languages. Just speak an English word into your phone and iTranslate will show it to you in the language of your choice. Spoken voice translations are also available in 18 languages so that you can have an actual conversation anywhere in the world. Trying to give a cab driver directions? Looking for a restroom? Lost your way to the hotel, restaurant, shop, or museum you were looking for? Can’t find anyone to ask who speaks English. No worry! iTranslate will do the translating for you. [Read more →]

India and Russia Visa Changes

The governments of both India and Russia are planning changes to the visa regime for US citizens, though neither country has made official announcements with details of those changes.

The online visa application for India will change to a revised version on Monday, November 7.  There has been no official announcement of what the revisions will entail, but our contacts in the Indian Visa Offices say that the online visa application will no longer be editable after it has been completed.  Any changes would require completing a new application.  There are also reports that visa requirements may become stricter at all consulates, but again there have been no announcements as of yet as to which requirements may change.

Russia will be moving to an outsourcing system, similar to the one used by India, starting as soon as December 1.  Outsourcing is expected to be implemented first in Washington, DC, and will be phased in at other consulates in the US this winter.  It is reported that there may be different outsourcing companies in various cities, so we may begin to see more differences between visa processing at the consulates.  Changes to the fees and processing times are likely, but we do not anticipate that the online application will change. [Read more →]

When I was in London recently, I was both amazed and charmed to see a classic London cab “wrapped” like an iconic Tiffany blue gift box complete with a golden chain and a lock on the hood in front. Of course I knew there were Tiffany shops in every major city throughout the world, but I’d never seen a Tiffany’s on wheels before.

It got me thinking about what else Tiffany might have to offer the traveler beyond jewelry (of course), key rings, and passport covers.

Then, not long after that, I discovered that the one of New York’s most luxurious hotels, the St. Regis, had recently opened a Tiffany suite created by Tiffany’s own renowned design director emeritus, John Loring.  An elegant yet playful mixture of modern and deco design, the rooms are done in tones of white, charcoal gray, and silver with Tiffany blue accents throughout, including the headboard on the bed. So now you really can have breakfast—in bed—at Tiffany’s.

And when you’re ready to do a little shopping, you can pack up your handy Tiffany reversible tote and walk two blocks north to the store itself!

The travel friendly bag, which comes in either Tiffany blue and platinum or camel and gold, also has a detachable zipper pouch. It’s soft enough to pack easily in your suitcase and roomy enough to hold a few of those famous blue boxes.

Tiffany making handbags? Who knew!