In this week’s Friday Free-For-All we want you to get your creative juices flowing. Between now and Thursday, December 13, IndependentTraveler.com challenges you to write your most clever travel limerick.
The writer of the funniest, cutest or just simply our favorite limerick will win a handy-dandy IndependentTraveler.com traveler mug. Please keep our posting rules in mind, and keep those limericks clean!
To help you get started, here are a few travel limerick examples, written by staff in the IndependentTravler.com offices.
A traveler once went to Belize
In search of a balmy sea breeze
She found jungles galore
Mayan ruins and more
Plus reefs underneath turquoise seas - Written by Sarah Schlichter, Editor
There once was a gal from New Jersey
Who fled upon turning 30
So she traveled and sailed
Flew ’round the world and prevailed
And ended up with a pretty great journey - Written by Dori Saltzman, News Editor
I once spent a night on a peak,
Where thin air had rendered me weak.
In my mind I was Incan,
Sun-child unblinking.
Descend now, I’m starting to freak! - Written by Dan Askin, Senior Editor
In this week’s Friday Free-for-All, we want to hear about the movies or TV shows that have inspired you to travel. For me, two movies, more than any others, aroused a travel desire almost too strong to ignore.
If sweeping vistas of stunning landscapes are your thing, the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy movies can’t fail to get your travel desire boiling. Seeing New Zealand displayed in all its natural magnificence on the big screen was too much for me to resist and within a few years of the first movie coming out I was in New Zealand visiting many of the places used as backdrops for the film.
On a smaller scale, the lesser-known “Enchanted April,” which I saw as a teenager, left me with a lingering need to rent a villa in Tuscan Italy. Anytime I feel the need to take a step back from the hectic pace of life as I know it, I imagine standing on a hill overlooking a Tuscan countryside with nothing to do but be still. I haven’t yet done it, but I know that someday I will.
Which movies or TV shows have featured scenery that has stuck with you to this day and moved you to visit the places depicted?
In this week’s Friday Free-for-All, we want to hear about the most cringe-inducing moment you’ve had in your travels. Ever tripped in front of the whole business-class cabin when boarding a plane? Or attempted to say something innocuous in the local language but come out with something awkward or obscene instead? Or fallen asleep on a train, only to wake up somewhere in the rail yards with the conductor looking down at you as though you were an idiot? (Yes, that last one happened to yours truly — a real high point of my trip to Rome.)
Share your most embarrassing travel moment in the comments below! Whoever submits the funniest story by Tuesday, November 20, will win an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug.
Editor’s Note: We’ve now chosen a winner — congrats to Buzz Toll, who has won an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug. You can see his winning entry in the comments below.
We here at IndependentTraveler.com have seen some crazy airline safety briefings in our time (Richard Simmons, anyone?), but this one definitely caught our attention. Featuring 11 Air New Zealand crewmembers and surprise appearances by “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” producer and “The Hobbit” director Peter Jackson, plus J.R.R. Tolkien’s grandsons Mike and Royd, this Middle Earth-inspired video tells passengers the standard need-to-know information from seatbelt-fastening to oxygen mask application. Take a look:
Air New Zealand has partnered with Jackson to promote the new “Hobbit” trilogy; the first movie in the series, shot in New Zealand, is due in American theaters in December.
Do new twists on standard briefings make you any more likely to pay attention? Sound off in the comments below.
Strolling the historic streets of Rome while savoring a few creamy scoops of gelato is one of travel’s most delicious pleasures. But if you’re visiting the Eternal City any time soon, don’t try to sit down on the Spanish Steps or the Trevi Fountain with that ice cream — a new Roman ordinance prohibits eating and drinking near the city’s historic, architectural or cultural treasures, reports the New York Times.
The ordinance, designed to protect landmarks such as the Pantheon and the Colosseum from potential damage (it also prohibits camping on the monuments), follows similar statutes elsewhere in Italy. The New York Times notes that it’s illegal to eat a bag lunch while sitting on the steps around St. Mark’s Square in Venice, while this summer Florence banned visitors from the steps of its cathedral.
Of course, Italy isn’t the only country where tourists could be tripped up by unexpected laws. You’ll want to watch your step in the following places around the globe:
1. Germany: Drivers who run out of gas on the Autobahn could face a fine.
2. Singapore: You won’t find chewing gum for sale anywhere in this city-state, nor are you allowed to bring it into the country yourself (except for medicinal/therapeutic reasons). Violators could face fines, stints of community service or even jail time.
3. Thailand: You may not step on or destroy any part of the local currency. It’s considered an insult to the king, whose face appears on all coins and bills.
4. New York State: You might want to reconsider that vacation fling. Adultery is illegal here (it’s on the books as a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail or $500 in fines).
Ever forgotten you were traveling with your mother and left her behind at the hotel after you checked out? How about your spouse? While you may have wanted to leave him or her behind, a poll by LastMinute.com of 500 hotels around the world found that these scenarios actually have happened.
In Prague a man left his wife behind – the hotel didn’t say if it was accidental or planned! And a hotel in Ireland reported a traveler forgot that his mother was with him and left without her.
Perhaps even odder are items left behind that someone probably shouldn’t have been traveling with in the first place. For instance, a man left behind snails in a Budapest hotel room. Maybe he was planning on asking the chef to cook him some escargot? Another guest, in a U.S. hotel, left behind $10,000 in cash.
Snails aren’t the only animal guests have left behind. A hotel in Washington discovered a customer had forgotten his snake, while a dog was left behind by its owner in a Milan hotel.
Another big “oops”: a police officer forgot his gun and badge in Las Vegas. I guess what goes to Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Of course, more commonly left behind are cell phone, camera and laptop chargers. Passports are another oft-forgotten item.
Reading about what other people have forgotten in their hotel rooms got me to thinking, what kinds of stuff have I left behind?
I’ve been pretty lucky. The worst thing I’ve forgotten was a favorite pair of black evening pants (which I still miss very much, by the way). But I remember a time, back when I was a kid, when my family discovered on the drive home from New England that my sister had left behind her beloved stuffed duck, Engineer. I don’t know how far from the hotel we had gotten, but we turned right around to go back and get him.
Overall, the writers here at IndependentTraveler.com are pretty good about remembering to check their hotel rooms before leaving. But a few of us learned this the hard way.
Adam Coulter, the senior editor at the U.K. office of our sister site CruiseCritic.com, recently left behind his iPod speakers, an electric toothbrush charger, a hooded sweater, several T-shirts and his swimsuit at a hotel in New Jersey.
Another CruiseCritic.co.uk staffer, Jamey Bergman, and his wife left their laptop behind in a hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Luckily all turned out well as the hotel FedExed the computer to their final destination free of charge (though they still argue over whose fault it was).
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s photo caption contest. We received some great submissions, but our favorite was from
Emily Bahr, who wrote, “I’ve got a sinking feeling…” Emily has won an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug.
Runners-up that we also loved:
“You can’t Schwinn em all!” — Michael Marino
“But my GPS says to ride straight ahead…” — Karen
“Deep end … DEEP end … I’M not going off the deep end … we’ll SEE who’s going off the deeeee…” — pupnpony
This week’s photo was snapped at Hayden Lake, Idaho, by reader Nancy James, who said, “I watched and wondered if he could ‘ride on water’. He was successful.” Do you have a funny or bizarre photo that we could use for a future caption contest? Send it to us at feedback@independenttraveler.com. (Please put “Caption Contest” in the subject line.) If we feature your photo on our blog, we’ll send you a prize.
What’s going on in this photo? Come up with a clever caption for this funny travel pic and you could win an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug.
To enter, drop your wittiest one-liner (or two-liner, or three-liner…) in the comments by Sunday night, October 21, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. We’ll contact the winner and reveal our favorite caption on Tuesday. Remember, keep it clean; please be sure to abide by our community guidelines when commenting.
Today’s photo was snapped at Hayden Lake, Idaho, by IndependentTraveler.com reader Nancy James. Do you have a funny or bizarre photo that we could use for a future caption contest? Send it to us at feedback@independenttraveler.com. (Please put “Caption Contest” in the subject line.) If we feature your photo on our blog, we’ll send you a prize.
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s photo caption contest. We received some great submissions, but our favorite was from Fiona Wiltshire, who wrote, “Stop taking the piste, Sheila and get back in the yute!” Fiona has won a travel mug from IndependentTraveler.com.
Runners-up that we also loved:
“An Aus-ski.” — James Reardon
“When in Rome…” — Elaine Erback
“Are ya sure it’s this way to the Piste Skippy?” — David Southern
Do you have a funny or bizarre photo that we could use for a future caption contest? Send it to us at feedback@independenttraveler.com. (Please put “Caption Contest” in the subject line.) If we feature your photo on our blog, we’ll send you a prize.
What’s going on in this photo? Come up with a clever caption for this funny travel pic and you could win an IndependentTraveler.com travel mug.
To enter, drop your wittiest one-liner (or two-liner, or three-liner…) in the comments by Monday night, October 8, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. We’ll contact the winner and reveal our favorite caption on Tuesday. Remember, keep it clean; please be sure to abide by our community guidelines when commenting.
Do you have a funny or bizarre photo that we could use for a future caption contest? Send it to us at feedback@independenttraveler.com. (Please put “Caption Contest” in the subject line.) If we feature your photo on our blog, we’ll send you a prize.
In this week’s Friday Free-For-All we want you to get your creative juices flowing. Between now and Thursday, December 13, IndependentTraveler.com challenges you to write your most clever travel limerick. 
Top 10 Books for Travelers
In this week’s Friday Free-for-All, we want to hear about the movies or TV shows that have inspired you to travel. For me, two movies, more than any others, aroused a travel desire almost too strong to ignore. 
In this week’s Friday Free-for-All, we want to hear about the most cringe-inducing moment you’ve had in your travels. Ever tripped in front of the whole business-class cabin when boarding a plane? Or attempted to say something innocuous in the local language but come out with something awkward or obscene instead? Or fallen asleep on a train, only to wake up somewhere in the rail yards with the conductor looking down at you as though you were an idiot? (Yes, that last one happened to yours truly — a real high point of my trip to 
Strolling the historic streets of 
Ever forgotten you were traveling with your mother and left her behind at the hotel after you checked out? How about your spouse? While you may have wanted to leave him or her behind, a 
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s 
Thanks to everyone who participated in last Friday’s 