November 25, 2014

Doyden Castle in Port Quin, England

Doyden Castle


Sitting alone atop an isolated windblown English hill, Doyden Castle was created to be a secluded stronghold of sin where one wealthy businessman and his friends could get as debauched as they wanted to, the historic mini-castle is now a bucolic holiday home.


Built around the 1830's the little stone castle was the brainchild of wealthy hedonist Samuel Symons. Symons was known as a drinker, gambler, and all around Bacchus who enjoyed getting together with his friends and acquaintances to just indulge. Looking to create a space where his vices could be carried out away from society's prying eyes, Symons purchased Doyden Point in the hamlet of Port Quin. The rocky bluff overlooked the sea, and was constantly buffeted by heavy winds, but it was perfectly remote for his purposes. Symons had his party fortress built in the style of a medieval castle, only much smaller. The castle only has two floors and a basement. The two overground floors were used for Symons' parties while the cellar acted as storage, mainly for copious amounts of booze. Symons' parties were legendary, but they couldn't last forever.


While Symons and his revelers eventually passed on, Doyden Castle survived, like so many medieval ruins, thanks to its sturdy stone construction. Today the odd little castle still sits on that windy bluff, but its is now looked after by the National Trust. The interiors have been updated to modern standards and modern windows have been installed as well. Visitors can now actually rent out Doyden Castle as a vacation cottage. Although most would be hard pressed to party harder than its original owner.




















from Atlas Obscura http://atlasobscura.com.feedsportal.com/c/35387/f/665719/s/40d7975e/sc/10/l/0L0Satlasobscura0N0Cplaces0Cdoyden0Ecastle/story01.htm

Airlines always seem to be on the take, but why?





from Elliott http://elliott.org/thats-ridiculous-2/airlines-always-seem-take/

Amazing Time Lapse Video of an Airbus A380 Heavy Maintenance Check

Every couple of years an aircraft undergoes a “C check” which entails a majority of the plane’s components to be inspected. Emirates posted a time-lapse video of one of their Airbus A380s undergoing such a check. It’s amazing to watch. (HT: Johnny Jet) You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis […]


The post Amazing Time Lapse Video of an Airbus A380 Heavy Maintenance Check appeared first on View from the Wing.






from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/11/25/amazing-time-lapse-video-airbus-a380-heavy-maintenance-check/

Have You Won $200 And National Emerald Elite Status?

Last week National Car Rental sponsored a giveaway for readers of One Mile At A Time as part of their One Two Free


FIVE winners were randomly selected, and will each receive a year of Emerald Club Executive status, along with a $200 American Express gift card.


The winners were selected by random.org, and are as follows:


The post Have You Won $200 And National Emerald Elite Status? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.






from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/25/won-200-national-emerald-elite-status/

Thanksgiving’s Busy Week in Air Travel Is Now a Daily Routine

A travel trade group found that 13 of the nation’s top 30 airports already experienced Thanksgiving-like congestion and traffic at least one day a week.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d6344c/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C260Cbusiness0Cthanksgivings0Ebusy0Eweek0Ein0Eair0Etravel0Eis0Enow0Ea0Edaily0Eroutine0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

In Transit Blog: Exploring Thanksgiving History in Massachusetts

The nonprofit group called Plymouth 400 has an exhibition in Massachusetts that focuses on the early Thanksgiving story.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d61c96/sc/10/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C110C250Cexploring0Ethanksgiving0Ehistory0Ein0Emassachusetts0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

American Airlines Award Space Coming Back Online!

Over the weekend international award space on American Airlines flights for next year dried up almost completely. Lack of award availability on American isn’t a new issue. Premium cabin transatlantic awards more or less went away two years ago. It was still possible to get plenty of transpacific first class space, but first class has […]


The post American Airlines Award Space Coming Back Online! appeared first on View from the Wing.






from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/11/25/american-airlines-award-space-will-back-tomorrow/

Award Booking Tales: A LANPASS Award Booking

Regardless of how many awards you have booked or how long you have been booking awards professionally, there are so many airlines out there that inevitably, you will have the opportunity to book awards with rewards programs you had not previously booked with before. Earlier this month I had that happen with LANPASS, LAN’s rewards […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/11/award-booking-tales-a-lanpass-award-booking.html

Lack Of American Saver Award Availability Is A Glitch

A couple of days ago I wrote about how American seemingly stopped releasing all saver level award space for travel starting in December. While there's no denying there has been a trend the past several years whereby American is releasing less and less saver level award space, I was convinced this was a glitch. I don't know of any airline that has ever stopped releasing all saver level award space across the board, and I wouldn't expect American to be the first.


And I was correct. American has confirmed that this was a glitch as a result of a huge schedule change which was loaded over the weekend, which was related to the rebanking of flights at their Chicago and Dallas hubs. Apparently award availability should be fully functional again by late Wednesday.


The post Lack Of American Saver Award Availability Is A Glitch appeared first on One Mile at a Time.






from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/25/lack-american-saver-award-availability-glitch/

Bites: Restaurant Report: La Parada in Cape Town

Despite inconsistent food, La Parada is the buzziest restaurant on Cape Town’s buzziest street.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d58963/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C30A0Ctravel0Crestaurant0Ereport0Ela0Eparada0Ein0Ecape0Etown0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Who is the most ambitious CEO in the universe?

SYSTEMS: Every CEO will always claim they are a least one of the following things – driven, ambitious, innovative, team-player, motivator. But ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/ambitious-ceo-universe/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ambitious-ceo-universe

Surfacing: A Hong Kong Street Switches From Ships to (Michelin) Stars

A stretch of Wanchai, where ships once docked for repairs, is home to trendy dining spots and big-name chefs.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d5eec1/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C30A0Ctravel0Ca0Ehong0Ekong0Estreet0Eswitches0Efrom0Eships0Eto0Emichelin0Estars0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Unpredictable East Coast Storm Could Snarl Thanksgiving Travel

More than 20 million people live in the area under a winter storm warning, and some parts of New York and New Jersey could see 10 inches of snow on Wednesday.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d5eec7/sc/8/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C260Cnyregion0Cunpredictable0Eeast0Ecoast0Estorm0Ecould0Esnarl0Ethanksgiving0Etravel0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Six Reasons to Visit Paris Right Now

Last week, I enjoyed two completely different dinners out in the French capital's 11th arrondissement. The contrasting experiences in the so-called “Brooklyn of Paris” reminded me why right now is a wonderful time to be in the city that casts a magical spell, whether it’s your first or fifteenth visit.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/11/25/six-reasons-to-revisit-paris/

The Airport Lounge Is 75 Years Old

Airline lounges are 75 years old. The first one was an American Airlines lounge in New York. American has a great online history of its lounges. The original club opened in 1939. New York’s Mayor LaGuardia was criticized for having too big an office at New York LaGuardia airport so he rented out some of […]


The post The Airport Lounge Is 75 Years Old appeared first on View from the Wing.






from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/11/25/airport-lounge-75-years-old/

An Afternoon of Pizza, Beer, and History (… and Beer) in Boston’s North End

Join Vagabondish on Twitter and Facebook.


Boston’s North End (aka “Little Italy”) is among the most historic neighborhoods in one of the most historic cities in the United States. It’s also one of the most densely populated, both with people and restaurants: 12,000 people and 120 restaurants fill an area less than 0.4 square miles. It’s a foodie’s (and an agoraphobic’s) […]


The post An Afternoon of Pizza, Beer, and History (… and Beer) in Boston’s North End appeared first on Vagabondish.






from Vagabondish http://www.vagabondish.com/pizza-tavern-tour-north-end-boston-travel/

What To Do On A Longhaul Flight?

Reader Jeff emailed me yesterday to say that he's taking his first longhaul flight in first class soon (flying Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to New York, for what it's worth), and wanted to know what my "routine" is for longhaul flights -- when do I change into pajamas, eat, watch movies, etc.


Now, what I'd recommend doing and what I actually do are two very different things.


What I should be recommending is to:


-- Drink lots of water

-- Don't overeat or drink a lot of alcohol or carbonated beverages

-- As soon as you board the plane (or ideally even before that) adjust your time to what it would be at the destination, and sleep accordingly


The post What To Do On A Longhaul Flight? appeared first on One Mile at a Time.






from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/11/25/longhaul-flight/

Personal submarine: Is this the world's coolest hotel perk?

Laucala Island resort in Fiji allows guests access to a James Bond-style mini-submarine as part of its resort fee.





from CNN.com - Travel http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/24/travel/laucala-island-resort-submarine/index.html

Now Is the Perfect Time to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass

In case you didn’t know, all four versions of the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card are currently offering a 50,000 point signup bonus. What that means is, it’s now the perfect time to earn the Southwest Companion Pass for the entirety of 2015 and 2016. Here are the details: Southwest 50K Offers On the Table […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/11/now-is-the-perfect-time-to-earn-the-southwest-companion-pass.html

In Transit Blog: In Quiet Puglia, Lots of Classes

The Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia is offering off-season classes in subjects like cooking, photography, and golf.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d4c629/sc/10/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C110C250Cin0Equiet0Epuglia0Elots0Eof0Eclasses0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

Heads Up: Farm to Table, Hawaiian Style

A recent wave of restaurants in Honolulu are finding inspiration in local ingredients, which are increasingly available to island chefs.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/40d4c623/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C110C30A0Ctravel0Cfarm0Eto0Etable0Ehawaiian0Estyle0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm