Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide

Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Good Flight

JetSetCD — 2009-12-24T13:09:48-05:00

Happy Holidays! We're cutting out early today to go get our holiday travel on. We'll be back first thing on Monday though, so enjoy a weekend without airline drama (on here, at least). Safe travels, and thanks as always for reading!

FAME:
	See how four airlines are celebrating Christmas in the air
	Five Places for living out your favorite Christmas carols
	What was the biggest hotspot of the decade? You tell us! Also: Get your Coachella 2010 tickets now!
LAME:
	The worst airline drama, straight from a Jaunted writer
	NYC's Tavern On The Green closing, here's where to go now
	Stuck in an tunnel under the English Channel = not holiday fun Also: American Airlines plane overshoots Kingston runway

Aspen: The Streets Of Aspen Are Simply Crawling With Celebrities

cmb — 2009-12-24T11:34:49-05:00

While some celebrities are staying home for the holidays, just as many are hitting the road for a relaxing, and in some cases very snowy, Christmas. As in year's past, Aspen, Colorado is a favorite for celebs who want to spend the holidays cozied up in front of a fire, or walking the streets in their furs for the paparazzi, either way, Aspen's got it all this Christmas.

Keeping with their annual tradition, Kate Hudson and her family, including mom Goldie Hawn and son Ryder, are spending Christmas in their Aspen vacation home. But that doesn't mean their spending the week holed up inside. On Tuesday, Kate took Ryder to Boogie's Diner for some quality mother-son time. And yesterday, she spent some special mother-daughter time with mom walking around town where the two sported matching furs, sunglasses and coffee cups. They even ran into Heidi Klum and Seal who were taking baby Lou for a walk before bringing the older kids for ski lessons.

The World's Top Three Glittery New Year's Celebrations

JetSetCD — 2009-12-24T10:05:07-05:00

You can drink, you can dance, and you can kiss someone at the stroke of midnight anywhere, but somehow the experience of New Year's has more resonance when you're doing all things in the presence of pyrotechnics or a giant crystal ball covered in lights. Hey, everyone likes something sparkly and exciting, and so we sincerely hope that you get to celebrate the turn into 2010 at one of The World's Top Three Glittery New Year's Celebrations.

3. Paris, France
Paris isn't called "The City of Lights" just for the heck of it; not only will you be able to stuff your face full of cheap Nutella crepes on the street, but you'll be able to do so while walking down a traffic-free Champs d'Elys�es, bordered by Christmas light-covered trees and bookended by the illuminated Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde. But with so many historical landmarks and gorgeous buildings, you'll have decisions to make. How about kissing at midnight in front of the Eiffel Tower, as it goes crazy with a lights display? C'est magnifique.

LA: The Mississsippi River Will Burn Tonight For A Cajun Christmas Tradition

kjb — 2009-12-24T09:24:49-05:00

Hopefully you’ve made it back from the mall safely, and know you’re ready to sit back and wait for Santa to arrive. However, if you’re a resident of Louisiana you might have a little more work to do before it's time to open up all those presents. That’s because residents gather along the Mississippi River each season to ignite huge bonfires on the banks of the river. There’s a few stories surrounding the tradition’s beginnings, but most seem to agree that the fires light a path for Santa to deliver his goods.

Things were looking iffy earlier this year because the water level was too high, and officials were warning residents that they couldn’t light things up this year. However, the waters have gone down to good-to-go levels so locals will be out in full force to celebrate the season. People have been doing this for about 200 years, so even without the official approval, we’re thinking a couple fires just might have snuck out anyway.

Venice: Venice Is Flooded Again; Everyone Go Wakeboarding!

JetSetCD — 2009-12-24T08:47:09-05:00

The terribly wintery weather currently hitting Europe right now is bringing the lagoon waters of Venice up into the piazzas and reminding us of one of our favorite quirky stories from last year: that of the guy who wakeboarded through a flooded St. Mark's Square. We've posted the video for you again above, and believe us that it's worth watching all two minutes because the Red Bull guy also wakeboards in a canal. This is what happens when you combine horrible weather, a sinking city, and an opportunist tourist on energy drink.

Each year, this high water, or Acqua Alta, hits the Italian city at its weakest time: when the tourists and locals are all in town to celebrate the holidays. It also doesn't help that the lowest (and therefore most affected) place in town is the visitor mecca of St. Mark's Square. When the waters get knee-high here, you'll see Venice become a network of raised platforms as sidewalks—here's a great picture to demonstrate. Come to think of it, we should add "leaving the rain boots behind" to our list of the Top Five Tourist Mistakes in Venice.

Inside The Fanciest Starbucks In All Of Las Vegas, Maybe The World

JetSetCD — 2009-12-23T18:05:37-05:00

Our sis site HotelChatter does a bang-up job of covering the latest news and trends in the hotel world. We're also including a few links from VegasChatter, the newest member to the family. So check in and stay awhile.

VegasChatter:
· Is this the fanciest Starbucks in Vegas, or the World?
· This Vegas restaurant beat Bobby Flay in his own throwdown
· The Stripper Mobile is going on a road trip!
· The $750 cupcake

HotelChatter:
· What's the deal with hotel pens versus pencils? We investigate
· A list of London hotels doing 'Sherlock Holmes' specials
· A video tour of the Madison Suite inside Manhattan's Omni Berkshire Place Hotel
· Todd English will open an upscale food hall inside The Plaza Hotel

Think Internationally And Gift A Cow Or Llama For Good Karma

cmb — 2009-12-23T17:35:52-05:00

If the mad rush of buying Christmas gifts is turning you into a Grinch, the Heifer International charity wants you to give a gift that will be meaningful to both your family and families around the world, without all the hassle. In fact, it's the perfect last-minute gift since it doesn't require going out to buy it (you purchase online) and nothing needs to be shipped.

Heifer International provides animals like cows, llamas, sheep and even water buffalo to impoverished families who can then use the animal for their own nourishment and to create an income for the future. For example, if a family has a cow, the children will be able to have a glass of milk every morning for nourishment. They will also be able to go to school because the revenue earned from selling milk can pay for classes. Then, every gift multiplies. As the cow's first offspring is born, it is passed on to another family, and they agree to pass on an animal too and so on and so forth. It's quicker, cheaper and plain easier than taking a two-week voluntourism trip, and yet you'll probably feel just as good about it.