Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

6 Weekend Travel Tidbits

by Janis on February 22, 2015

Are you planning a trip to France? In Defense of the Notoriously Arrogant French Waiter is an interesting and informative read from the Wall Street Journal.

Who knew that today is National Margarita Day? The LA Times recommends Nine great places to savor one. After viewing the pictures, we would not mind trying any of them, although we’d have fairly high expectations for the $45 El Jefe margarita at The Pony Room at Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa 25 miles north of the San Diego airport.

To make sure I saw it before tonight’s Oscars, we watched The Grand Budapest Hotel last night. We’d love to visit that hotel but were sad to learn that it doesn’t exist. The movie was filmed in Germany with the impressive hotel lobby atrium scenes shot in the now-defunct Gí¶rlitzer Warenhaus department store, while the exterior hotel shots were made by shooting a 14 x 7 foot handmade miniature model.

Three actual hotels did inspire Wes Anderson (the film’s writer and director) and production designer Adam Stockhausen: the pastel-pink Palace Bristol Hotel and the GrandHotel Pupp in the spa town of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic and the Hotel Gellért in Budapest. We’ve visited famous spa town of Karlovy Vary on a day trip from Prague to get a close-up view of glass-blowing at Moser glassworks. We will have to visit again to check out these historic hotels.

If you are considering having a cocktail while watching tonight’s Oscars, you might want to get some inspiration from this HuffPost article: Drink to the Oscars With Inspired Celebrity Cocktails. We like the advice from Bette Davis who famously said, “There comes a time in every life when the only thing that helps is a glass of Champagne.”

Perhaps you are heading out on a flight tomorrow morning like Mr. Jones will be doing. Do you dread waiting for your luggage after a long and/or delayed flight? Delta Air Lines announced a new promotion last week under which the Atlanta-based carrier promises to have your luggage on the carousel in 20 minutes or less. If it fails to do so, it will credit your frequent flier account with 2,500 bonus miles if you’re a SkyMiles member. The catch — this “guarantee” is only for domestic Delta flights between now and March 31, 2015. Alaska Airlines introduced a similar, but permanent 20-minute bag delivery promise in 2009. Check out Skift’s take in this article, Delta Has a Short-Term Fix For Late Baggage Problems.

Where will you dream of traveling this week?

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Views from Clearwater Beach, Florida

by Janis on February 19, 2015

With snow and ice outside today, it’s easy to dream of being back in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Here are few favorite views from our trip there during a long weekend in January.

We flew into Tampa International Airport. The views are stunning even as the plane prepared to land.

Blue skies and blue water everywhere.

Within less than two hours of touchdown, we’ve collected our bags, hoped into our rental car, headed to the beach through traffic, checked into our hotel, and are ready to explore the beach.

The turtles make us feel welcome.

Clearwater Beach offers and miles of white powder sand.

A bucket of cold beer put us in the right “beach” attitude.

Mornings are made for long beach walks; it’s easy to get 10,000 steps in on the Fitbit here.

Walking on the crunch of tiny shells is satisfying, even when the weather is cool; like it was the weekend we visited.

The beach is groomed every morning, ready for visitors.

There is a good reason that USA Today called Clearwater Beach “˜North America’s “Best Place to Watch a Sunset.”

The views are magical.

We might have to get this painting to remember the magic:

Sunset At Clearwater Beach Florida ,Us -Oil Painting On Canvas Modern Wall Art Pictures For Home Decoration Wooden Framed (20X16 Inch, Framed)

What’s your favorite beach to enjoy a morning walk or a spectacular sunset? Please share in comments below.

Check out these other posts on sun and beach destinations:

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16 Fun Facts About San Juan, Puerto Rico

by Janis on February 18, 2015

This post was updated on May 13, 2022 with changes in red text.

1. San Juan is the capital as well as the most populous city of Puerto Rico.

2. Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico on November 19, 1493, during his second voyage to the new world. During his two-day stay, Columbus renamed the island San Juan Bautista (for St. John the Baptist), and claimed it for Spain. He never returned.

3. Then, in 1508, Juan Ponce de Leon came to the island and established the town of Caparra on its northern coast. He quickly found a better location for his fledgling settlement, an islet with an excellent harbor that he named Puerto Rico, or “Rich Port City.”

4. San Juan’s original name was Puerto Rico, but the name was switched to San Juan, which was the original name of the entire island of Puerto Rico in the 1500s.

5. The capital of Puerto Rico is the oldest city in U.S. territory, but St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, claims the status of the oldest city in the continental United States.

6. After the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with Guam and Cuba to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000 under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, signed in December 1898.

7. From the signing of the Treaty of Paris to the present day, Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States of America and San Juan continues being the capital.

8. On March 2, 1917, United States granted Puerto Ricans U.S. statutory citizenship.

9. Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth within the United States. The chief of state is the President of the United States of America. The head of government is an elected Governor. On January 2, 2021 Pedro Pierluisi assumed the office of Governor of Puerto Rico.

La Fortaleza (The Fortress) is the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan.

10. Puerto Rico is roughly the size of Connecticut but is one of the most densely populated islands in the world.

11. San Felipe del Morro is a 16th-century citadel commonly known as El Morro which dates to 1540. Rising 140 feet above the sea, its 18-foot-thick wall proved a formidable defense. Today El Morro is a National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.

12. Built in 1634, Castillo San Cristobal is El Morro’s partner in the defense of San Juan. It is a World Heritage and National Historic Site, administered by the U.S. National Park Service.

13. The Puerta de San Juan (San Juan Gate), built in the late 1700s, is one of six heavy doors in the wall which for centuries were closed at sundown to cut off access to the city and protect the city from invaders. The wall is up to 20 feet thick and up to 40 feet tall.

14. At 4,300 vehicles per paved mile, San Juan has by far the highest density of vehicles on the road of any country in the world.

15. U.S. citizens do not need a passport to visit San Juan, or any part of Puerto Rico.

16. San Juan is a great place to mail letters or postcards to anywhere in the U.S. for regular domestic postal rates.

Have you visited San Juan, Puerto Rico? What fun fact can you add? Please share in comments below.

Read more about our various discoveries during prior visits to San Juan, Puerto Rico:

Here are a couple of games to have fun while learning more about San Juan and Puerto Rico:
San Juan Card Game
Puerto Rico Game

Planning a visit to Puerto Rico? Check out this guidebook:
Fodor’s Puerto Rico (Full-color Travel Guide)

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A Look Inside the Albuquerque Marriott Hotel

by Janis on February 17, 2015

We visited Albuquerque, New Mexico over President’s Day weekend, and stayed at the Albuquerque Marriott on Louisiana Boulevard NE. Here is a quick photo tour of our room and around the hotel.

Take a look into room 1416, on the same floor as the executive lounge.

The rooms have an angled window, perfect for showcasing the beautiful sunsets.

The bathroom is standard, with adequate room for one person.

Since it was Valentine’s Day during our stay, we appreciated the special “Love” chocolates.

The hotel lobby includes the casual Cielo Sandia restaurant and bar.

We enjoyed a bottle of this Lock & Key Meritage red wine at the bar with a variety of appetizers and the chocolate lava cake.

There were several student groups staying at the hotel; they seemed to be on their best behavior, and enjoyed the hotels indoor/outdoor pool when it was open.

One of the best things about the hotel is the incredible colors of the Albuquerque sky at sunset.

Our bottom line impressions of the Albuquerque Marriott Hotel:

The hotel is well-maintained, with good service overall.
Since the executive lounge is closed on weekends, we enjoyed breakfast in restaurant, with the buffet included for Marriott Rewards Platinum members. The buffet included made-to-order eggs, waffles and omelets.
We enjoyed the service of an excellent bartender at the lobby bar on Friday and Saturday nights. She was a “hospitality superstar.”
The hotel is conveniently located near a variety of restaurants and shopping, with easy access to I-40.
The rate was reasonable for the product delivered.