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 Tough New Baggage Fees Airfares are up 22% over last year. Tickets to Europe are higher still, up 29% over 2009, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A surf session on Travelocity confirmed the tough news for travelers. The best fares I find to London in July or August are well over $900 before the taxes and that jazz heaped on. London is a better bargain pre-Memorial Day or post-Labor Day, that’s a given, but I thought I might find something around $700. Rome, Amsterdam, Dublin, Berlin are all just as pricy. One can tell I have not been to Europe in the summer.
So we all get raked for summer tickets, plus those undecipherable fees that are not worth deciphering because they are not going anywhere just adding huge percentage to the total price paid. But the airlines are no longer stopping there.
First the airlines charged for a second bag. Okay, some people really travel heavy. But now all checked bags come with a fee. Did you think anything could be more annoying than fees for checked baggage?
How about Spirit Airlines’ audacious charge for carry-on bags? $20 to $45 to put an item in the overhead bin, space made scarce by the airline jamming extra seats in the plane. How will they execute the charge? What if I swear my bag will fit into the space under my seat and then I put it into the overhead bin anyway?
A part of me thinks Spirit will can’t make these charges stick and they will roll back the fees. But another part of me thinks other airlines will watch with fee-envy and start charging themselves. Its like the ATM fees. Once Citibank caved, Chase, one of the final holdouts, had to have some of the pie. Another WSJ article offers insight into that math behind the baggage fees.
The news is not all bad—hotel room rates are the one bright spot this summer. I am thinking Las Vegas, where once you get there the hotel rates are dirt cheap. In the city that is all about its hotels, rates are down 18% from a year ago. On the low end, four nights in July at Circus, Circus will average $39 a night. But why not seize a rare opportunity? Those same nights at the elegant Bellagio will only set you back an average of $202 per night. But if you’re going to spend $202, why not go all the way and go for the Wynn at $252 per night?
I would, but that darn baggage fee . . .
 Tonight, people will say goodbye to 2009. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.
A tough year in many respects, 2009 was a year to stay relatively close to home. Many of us, despite the wanderlust in our hearts, did just that.
The stay-cation became an accepted norm. In New York, the stay-cation is no raw deal. People pay good money to get here; we don’t have to sink the airfare or hotel cost to see a Broadway show or visit the Met.
In more certain times, we take one big trip out of the country and several domestic trips every year. But we only left the borders of the city a couple of times, though we did reach the left coast once.
The moment my job was assured, we spent a week in California, driving down Highway 101 and spending some time in both endcaps, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In August, we went to Milwaukee for a week, since we skipped it in 2008 in favor of Austin. Milwaukee is my adopted hometown and 2009 was a year for going home.
Not everyone confined themselves to the continental US. Good friends went to Turkey and Greece, another just headed to India.
Where, if anywhere, did you go in 2009?
 The rewards of travel are greater than simply seeing a new place.
For the duration of a vacation, your possessions are reduced to the contents of your suitcase.You don’t need all that crap in your basement, attic or storage space. You don’t need shoes in every color and maybe, just maybe, you will feel the lightness that comes with owning less.
You may be carrying baggage in the physical sense on vacation, but your metaphysical baggage is lifted.
For the duration of a vacation, the nagging pressures of everyday life evaporate. You don’t fret about house repairs, repainting, paying bills, or getting along with your boss. You don’t worry that you aren’t keeping up with life’s demands and how the bathroom is never quite clean.
For the duration of a vacation, life is no longer about going to work, lunchtime errands, traffic jams, and second-shift chores once home.
When traveling, you fall into discovery mode. Your mind is free to focus on where you are. Live in real time where there is little stress. Soak in the joy of awe-inspiring scenery, the profundity of historical places, the flavors of new cuisines and okay, great new places to shop.
For the duration of a vacation, everything is here and now. You shift effortlessly into mindfulness.
My last vacation seems longer ago than it really was, and my next one seems far in the future. But I am planning . . . Italy? South Africa? London? Germany?
 I am a fan of pizza: New York slices, cheesy Wisconsin thin crust, Chicago deep dish, you name it.
Would I go to the ends of the earth for it? My friend Bryan Myers, world traveler and news producer, did.
He and his crew sampled Bolivian spicy llama pizza high in the Bolivian Andes. I’ll pass on the llama topping myself, but Bryan’s experience at the highest pizza joint in the world proves the ubiquitous nature and infinite varieties of The Pizza.
I recently got this list of Do’s and Don’ts for travel in Italy from my friend Bryan Myers who works for a news program broadcast on public television. Many of the people who work on his program are foreign nationals, and each were recently asked to prepare such a list for their home countries. The one written by a staff member from Italy was one of the best:
1. Italian families and friends usually kiss when they meet, irrespective of their sex. There are usually two kisses – first on the right cheek, then on the left. When greeting a person you don’t know, stick to a firm handshake.
2. It is usually forbidden to enter a church if you don’t have your upper arms and legs appropriately covered by clothes. Men should wear long pants; for women, a skirt within a couple of inches of the knee is acceptable. You may be asked to leave the church if you are wearing a sleeveless shirt or short pants. Locals often complain about tourists breaking this rule.
3. In a formal conversation, when talking to someone holding a university degree (any degree), you should address the person with the title of “Doctor,” not “Mr.” or “Ms.”
4. Like in many languages, in Italian there are two distinct ways of addressing people; one familiar, used with friends and relatives (“tu”), and one formal used with strangers (“lei”). It’s considered very impolite (even aggressive) to address people you jut met with the familiar “tu.”
6. When eating, it’s very rude to put a piece of bread on your plate. Leave it on the table beside the plate. Bread is not considered a part of the meal, but rather more like salt and pepper. This is why restaurants do not charge for bread. Also remember to break the bread with your hands and not with a knife.
7. When eating at a restaurant, asking for the check immediately after finishing a meal is generally seen as rude. Take the time to relax and exchange a few more words with the other people at the table.
8. After entering one’s home, it’s impolite to take your coat off is you’re not invited to do so. Ask first.
9. Putting one’s bag or purse on the floor is considered bad luck; you should hang it somewhere or put it on a chair.
10. Flowers should be offered in odd numbers only.
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