Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide

VegasChatter Knows What You Don't About Sin City Taxis

JetSetCD — 2012-05-16T17:34:37-05:00

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:
· How to hail a cab in Vegas, and why it's different.
· Suites in Vegas already always that sweet
· The Vegas Uncork'd Grand Tasting Awards!
· DO NOT DO.

HotelChatter:
· You say "secret bar," and we say meet you there.
· The James Hotel Miami will open soon
· Do you book a hotel based on its gym?
· Three Portland hotels perfect for Virgin America flyers

Ephesus: The Adventures of Travel Cat: Ephesus, Turkey

JetSetCD — 2012-05-16T17:00:16-05:00

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted in: Ephesus, Turkey.

This week's Travel Cat comes from valancyr on Instagram, who shares that he "took several photos of this beautiful cat lounging in the ruins of Ephesus."

Three Cute Owls and One Badass Lufthansa Bird

JetSetCD — 2012-05-16T15:17:33-05:00

OMG. OWLS.

Okay. That's just a teaser video (with a hot shot of an Airbus A380), because what we really want to talk about is this Lufthansa video:

New York: How To Get Tickets To 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' in Brooklyn This Fall

cmb — 2012-05-16T13:12:42-05:00

Surprise, surprise. Jimmy Kimmel announced he's taking his ABC talk show on the road, but he isn't headed to Las Vegas or Manhattan...he's going to Brooklyn.

Jimmy Kimmel Live will tape five shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music between October 29 and November 2. The episodes won't only be filmed in Brooklyn, they will also showcase the borough's neighborhoods, restaurants, music scene, and people.

How One Radioactive Man Has Us Rethinking Airport Security

Omri — 2012-05-16T12:31:12-05:00

We can't quite decide whether this story—which involves a traffic stop in Connecticut but which we'll connect to airport security in just a second—is quietly reassuring or deeply creepy. The things that police officers and security officials can do, and the different ways they can do them, are becoming harder and harder to catalog.

Stratford firefighter Mike Apatow was driving along a Connecticut interstate when he found himself getting pulled over for no discernible reason. It turns out that Apatow has high blood pressure, and just that morning he had been to the hospital for a medical stress test. Doctors had injected him with just a tiny amount of radioactive material so they could track what was going on with his blood. Hours later, the leftover isotopes in Apatow's body were still enough to light up his car as it drove by a state police vehicle equipped with a mobile radioactivity detector.

Keep in mind that he was on an interstate. That means he was either driving 65mph+ or stuck between a lot of other cars. Either way, the sniffer still picked him right out. Hmmm.

Atlanta: Atlanta Airport's New $1.4 Billion Dollar International Terminal is Open!

JetSetCD — 2012-05-16T11:36:33-05:00

Smell that? That's the scent of brand new airport, as Atlanta's Airport opens the doors to their brand new Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal today. The building is 1.2 million square feet with 12 gates, and cost $1.4 billion to complete. Now that is finally completed, however, what can you expect as a traveler winging your way to or from far-away destinations?

Yummy, convenient food options. Pei Wei Asian Diner, The Varsity (classic American burgers and hot dogs), Ecco Kitchen, Jekyll Island Seafood Company, Lorena Garcia Tapas Bar, Maison Mathis, Sweet Auburn Market Caf�, The Pecan, and The original El Taco will fill out the terminal, and of course there will be a Starbucks. Notice no Sbarro for reheated, overpriced pizza slices! Progress!

(Hopefully) faster, easier security. There'll be two security checkpoints in the new terminal, with a total of 13 lanes. Of course those won't all be in use at the same time, but we have high hopes for an airport that's been designed after 9/11, after the introduction of mobile boarding passes and after years of new security rule after new security rule.

Sounds Like American Airlines Could Be Open to That US Airways Merger After All

kjb — 2012-05-16T10:20:02-05:00

All right, we’ll admit that we don’t exactly know what’s going on with US Airways and American Airlines. It seems like one day the two airlines are all hot and heavy for one another, and the next day the relationship has turned a tad cold and sour. This week, the two airline lovers have been talking and texting once again, and American Airlines may be interested in continuing this type of relationship.

Late last week American Airlines said that they would consider merger opportunities with the friendly folks over at US Airways. This is kind of the first time they’ve admitted it, so we’ll see how things shake out moving forward.