Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •The 33rd annual International Bridge Walk will be held June 29 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Participants will trek the bridge that connects the U.S. to Sault Ste. Marie,...
Don’t let spring showers rain on your June parade. Designated as Great Outdoors Month, the Illinois Office of Tourism rounded up some ideas for the outdoorsy (and not-so-outdoorsy) types in hopes of coaxing residents and visitors alike to enjoy Mother Nature in Illinois. Whether you’re looking...
Q: I recently bought round-trip tickets from Madison, Wisconsin, to Las Vegas on Frontier Airlines through Lookupfare.com. The tickets included checked bags for both of us. I have the printed itinerary that shows the baggage is included. On the return flight from Las Vegas, Frontier made me pay...
Oceans and rivers are home to some of the world’s most amazing animals. But for air-breathing mammals like us, these underwater creatures can remain elusive — unless you know where to look. Aquariums and aquatic centers across the country offer programs that let you get up close and personal with...
One of the busiest streets in Wisconsin’s largest city will turn into an outdoor art gallery when Sculpture Milwaukee makes its official debut Friday. Works by local, national and international artists flank Wisconsin Avenue for a nearly mile-long expanse that stretches as far east as the Milwaukee...
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •The Great Galena Balloon Race will be June 21-23 in the popular northwest Illinois town. There will be balloon races each day, along with night glows and a car show....
When my plane touches down at the Desierto de Atacama Airport in northern Chile, it feels as if I’ve been launched out of orbit to some Martian landscape. Aside from the small terminal, there isn’t another building in sight amid a panorama of parched earth. About 15 miles away from the airport,...
My family of four was scheduled to fly from Austin, Texas, to Quad City International Airport for my grandmother's funeral in Moline, Ill. The first leg of our American Airlines flight from Austin to Dallas was initially delayed because of a crew problem. Then, it was delayed even more because...
“Sometimes I take baths because it’s hard to drink wine in the shower.” This maxim hangs on the wall near the cedar tub in my room at Among the Vineyards, a bed and breakfast where the shoutouts to grown-up grape juice are as plentiful as misplaced beverage containers on the set of “Game of Thrones.”...
The Treasury Department released several rules Tuesday restricting travel to Cuba. The most dramatic changes are the elimination of cruise visits and people-to-people trips. But while the U.S. government has closed some windows, the door to Cuba remains open a crack. "We are really committed to...
Leopard spots — thousands of them, in a multitude of colors and sizes — cover just about every nook and cranny of one of the 219 guest rooms in Milwaukee’s new Saint Kate hotel, opening Tuesday. “You have to sign a waiver that if you stay in this room and nine months later you have a child covered...
Looking to get away without busting your budget? We asked the experts for their tips on finding affordable airfare out of Chicago this summer. Don’t dawdle: Book now When it comes to summer travel, buying tickets 20 to 30 days out can lead to lower fares. That’s because airlines usually operate...
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is on the same land as Disneyland, but stepping into the new attraction transports visitors to an entirely different world. The theme park offered media a glimpse into Galaxy's Edge on Wednesday. The exclusive tour included a Star Wars-themed food tasting, a stroll through...
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •This year marks the 27th for the Indian Market and Festival at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. More than 50 Native American...
It was a monumental achievement that enthralled people around the world: On July 20, 1969, astronauts walked on the moon. Fifty years later, that spellbinding milestone is being honored with events across the country. Central to the celebrations are places tied to the mission: Florida’s “Space...
We were taking a smarty-pants car through honky-tonky country — Reno to Las Vegas. Our route: U.S. 95, Nevada’s Electric Highway, a mostly two-lane road that has been peppered with charging stations to meet growing demand of electric vehicles, or EVs. Although still a fraction of the market, EV...
Tourists flocking to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games won't be setting any records for the time it takes to get downtown from the airport. The French government has decided to delay works on a direct rail link between the capital city and the Charles de Gaulle airport, saying that pressing ahead...
NEW YORK — There was nothing terribly unusual about the cops showing up that night 50 years ago at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street in New York’s Greenwich Village. Police raided gay bars in that era all the time. But this time was different. This time, in the predawn hours of...
Golf is making a comeback at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel. In July, the historic property at 12 S. Michigan Ave. plans to debut a Topgolf Swing Suite, featuring two indoor golf simulator lounges with hitting bays where people can tee off and play other virtual games in front of a large...
If it were always summer in Chicago, the population would be an order of magnitude larger than it is. Summer is the city’s seasonal sweet spot, when Chicago looks — and feels — its best. No wonder it’s when tourism is at its peak. But why should out-of-towners have all the fun? We’re the suckers...
In America’s Dairyland, folks have about as much love for their Friday fish fries as they do for the Packers, cheese and beer. And leading the cheering squad — for the fish, not the football — is a Milwaukee guy named Caleb Westphal. “I have eaten a fish fry every Friday night for at least 279...
For many in Northern Ireland, the filming of "Game of Thrones" there has been “absolutely life-changing."
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •PrideFest Milwaukee will celebrate the LGBTQ community June 6-9 at Henry W. Maier Festival Park on the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown. A broad range of live entertainment...
I have a home reserved in Kauai, Hawaii, this spring through HomeAway. I had multiple heart attacks and was then diagnosed with a rare heart disease known as spontaneous coronary artery dissection. My medical team advised me not to take the six-hour flight to Hawaii. I asked for a refund. The owner...
When the Cubs play the Reds at Great American Ball Park the weekend of June 28-30, they will face a club commemorating a history longer than their own. The longest, in fact. Cincinnati lays claim to the first all-pro baseball team, founded in 1869, and tells the story of its 150 years in a newly...
American Airlines says it's cutting the cost of checking oversized sporting gear and musical instruments on flights. American said Tuesday that it eliminated the extra oversize charge for those items and instead will charge regular bag fees, which are lower. Before Tuesday, a passenger who checked...
Next month marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which led to the liberation of Europe and the end of World War II. On June 6, 1944, nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of coast in Normandy, France, to fight Nazi Germany. One of the sites commemorating the anniversary is...
I am in love with the art and heritage of French bread. Fortunately I'm not alone. Each year one chef is chosen in the Grand Prix de la Baguette de tradition française, an accolade bestowed each April for the past 25 years. The winner goes to a handcrafted baguette that beats out dozens of entrants...
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •Enjoy outdoor fun in Wisconsin for free June 1-2 during the State Parks 4-Pack of Fun program. During the weekend, admission to all state parks will be free, and fishing...
Sipping fresh coconut water while sunbathing on deserted Hikkaduwa beach, Alexi Konchayenko, a sports trainer from Ukraine, struck a stoical note. Bomb blasts can happen "anywhere, anytime," he said, adding that he was not afraid. "Sri Lanka is an amazing country. This is my first visit and I will...
The famous winged TWA terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport came out of its decades-long retirement Wednesday with a new life as a luxury hotel. Gov. Andrew Cuomo was on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the $268 million project. He said he remembers seeing the terminal as a Queens...
“Star Wars” fans have spent years waiting for Disneyland to let them enter a galaxy far, far away. How then does the Magic Kingdom get them to leave? Disneyland’s May 31 launch of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will test the park’s efforts to open a highly anticipated expansion without the crushing crowds,...
Don’t call it ice cream. Not if you’re in Milwaukee. Not if you don’t want to be ridiculed as rude, clueless, a rube. Folks in Wisconsin’s largest city take their signature dish seriously — no offense, cheese curds — and consider it an insult to confuse their rich dairy dessert with ordinary supermarket...
The Oxford Dictionary defines hygge as “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment.” The Danish concept has become so popular that it made the dictionary’s word of the year shortlist in 2016. I first discover the true meaning of hygge at La Banchina...
I recently stayed at a Country Inn & Suites in Omaha, Neb. After my husband and I checked out, the hotel charged us a $250 fee. I contacted the hotel once I saw the charge, and after several phone calls, an assistant manager told me it was a cleaning fee for smoking in the room. He told me the...
Had a bad experience at Newark Liberty Airport last year? You're not alone, according to recent rankings. The New Jersey hub ranked as the worst U.S. airport in the 2019 annual ratings from AirHelp, an organization that specializes in air traveler rights and seeks compensation in cases of delays...
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •Goold Park in Morris, Ill., will be full of music June 8-9 during the 30th annual Gebhard Woods Dulcimer and Traditional Music Festival. There will be hourly performances...
During afternoon tea at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong, I told a friend that I had arrived by way of Chongqing. “Ah. Chongqing’s time has come,” he said. It was a flattering comment, considering CQ, as it’s also called, isn’t as well known to Westerners as Chengdu, the seat of Sichuan province and...
I recently purchased a business class ticket on Aerolineas Argentinas to fly from New York to Buenos Aires. Due to a pilots strike on the day of my trip, I was rebooked on a United flight. I was seated in a middle seat in economy class. Apparently, no higher cabin seats were available. I discussed...
Escaping downtown Chicago to get to the great outdoors doesn’t require an expensive plane ticket — or even a car. Urbanites can use public transportation to do a deep dive into nature, relying on buses, trains and the “L” to whisk them to forest-engulfed trails and other recreational destinations...
Business travel is to travel what business writing is to literature: it uses all the same tools but does not create quite the same experience. Indeed, it takes practice to draw pleasure from a tightly scheduled business trip. As the newly designated head of my law firm's German desk (which serves...
Sitting on a couch in a nook of The Peninsula Chicago’s lobby, the man in the brown sports coat could be anyone — local, tourist, salesman. It’s a chameleonlike quality that comes in handy: He’s Inspector 40, an inspector with AAA, and his job is to visit hotels and restaurants — often anonymously...
Get ready to 'Gram: The Illinois Office of Tourism has come up with “Instagrammable Illinois” trip ideas touting 20 of the state’s most Insta-worthy places to visit. The tourism bureau made its picks — a mix of well-known and off-the-beaten-path places — based in part on how images have performed...
I recently took a Grand Circle tour of the Canadian Rockies. I purchased travel insurance through Trip Mate. While I was on the tour, I tripped on uneven concrete in front of the Waterton Lodge in Waterton, Alberta, and slammed down directly onto my right knee. I was treated in a local hospital...
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •The Indianapolis Zoo will be unveiling new exhibits and animals May 25. In the Deserts Dome, which has been renovated, a new snake exhibit will feature some of the world’s...
Just like in Europe’s Holland, tulips are a big deal in the Michigan town that goes by the same name. The floral symbol of spring is so beloved in this part of southwest Michigan, it’s the subject of an annual festival, Tulip Time, celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The nine-day party...
When I was a lad, the three days of the year that required no alarm clock to pry me from bed were my birthday, Christmas and any day our family was headed to Disneyland. Nearly a half-century later, I’m sitting in the driver’s seat now, my wife is co-piloting and my two youngest kids (ages 22 and...
After six years of a Cirque drought in the desert, the Cirque du Soleil is to bring a new attraction to the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas later this year. Instead of the acrobats and trapeze artists that populate its six current long-running shows ("Mystere," "O," "Ka," "Zumanity," "The Beatles Love"...
For Americans who fell in love with the England of buttered scones and Agatha Christie, a visit today can be jarring. London has become a city of vaping millennials and unfortunate skyscrapers, while even provincial capitals such as York have embraced Colonel Sanders and BabyGap. It's a better...
Learn self-defense. Gather information. Ask for help and for what you want. Be slightly suspicious. Act confident. Fit in by not standing out. Stay sober. Scream when necessary. Trust your gut. These are some of the ways, women travelers tell us, they ensure their safety when traveling, especially...
The first visitors to Disneyland’s highly anticipated new Star Wars attraction will each be given a four-hour window to take in the $1-billion expansion — but how that deadline will be enforced is still unclear. With six weeks to go before the May 31 opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland...
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently: •The ukulele is king May 10-12 during Mighty Uke Day in the Old Town area of Lansing, Mich. This is the ninth year for the festival that includes concerts, workshops,...
How did it happen that I'm now slicing into what might be the world's biggest schnitzel, to be washed down by a half-liter of local brew, in a medieval castle perched atop a hill overlooking an Austrian border town I've never heard of? The castle, whose tower - the "keep" - was built around 1265,...
I recently booked four round-trip tickets to the Philippines through Expedia . A short while later, I received a message from Expedia saying Asiana Airlines changed our flight time. But when I checked Expedia, our departure from Toronto only went as far as Korea. Our last leg, from Seoul to Manila,...