Marriott made a pretty major announcement today, which we should all be excited about.
As of January 15, 2015, Marriott Rewards members will receive complimentary standard wifi as long as they make their reservation directly with Marriott (be it online, over the phone, or at a hotel). That's a really smart move on the part of Marriott, as it further encourages people to book directly with Marriott rather than through a third party.
This benefit will be available at over 3,800 properties, spanning their different brands. Free wifi is being added at Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Gaylord Hotels, Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, Marriott Executive Apartments, and Ritz-Carlton.
The post Free Wifi For All Marriott Rewards Members Starting In 2015 appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Even though I've flown Etihad quite a bit, this was my first time on one of their regional aircraft.
Etihad's A320 business class consists of a total of 16 seats, spread across four rows in a 2-2 configuration.
The color scheme of the cabin is a bit, erm, bright, at least for a flight departing at 1AM. Though I didn't totally hate it. It kind of matched the motif of most Florida homes built in the early 90s.
The legroom in the cabin is generous. Seats have ~49" of pitch, which is quite a bit more than you'd get in domestic first class within the US, though quite a bit less than you'd get in business class on a longhaul flight. So for a roughly four hour flight, it was more than enough.
The post Review: Etihad Airways Business Class A320 Abu Dhabi to Cairo appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
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On Tuesday I wrote about the US Airways Trial Preferred program, which is hands down the best way to earn top tier status with US Airways (and now by connection, with the new American).
It's one of the few "shortcuts" to top tier elite status, so understandably there were many questions.
Many, many, questions. ;)
Between the original post, Ask Lucky, Twitter, Facebook, and my email, I've received literally hundreds of questions clarifying how the program works, so I thought it would be helpful to consolidate everything into one place.
The post Answers To Your Questions About The US Airways Preferred Trial appeared first on One Mile at a Time.
Inside a stark modern marble building, Yale University's rare books are housed in an architecturally stunning, elevated, glassed-in, 6-story tower of book stacks.
The stacks hold the university's extensive collection of medieval manuscripts, rare books, maps, historic tracts and pamphlets as well as modern-day items such as artists' books, and rare limited editions. Built in 1962, the building is the largest in the world dedicated to the preservation and collection of rare books and manuscripts.
The oldest printed item in their collection is a Gutenberg Bible from approximately 1454 (one of only 48 known examples of its kind), but perhaps the most famous item is the mysterious Voynich Manuscript.
The Voynich Manuscript is named for the book dealer who purchased it in 1912, and very little is known about its true origins. Written entirely in a mysterious and most likely fictional language, the manuscript is elaborately decorated with symbols and illustrations of fanciful plant life. The book was donated to Yale's Beinecke Library in 1969, where it continues to attract the attention of scholars and code-breakers attempting to crack its riddles and solve its mysteries.
The library operates as a closed-stack system, with visitors given access to works only in a closely controlled subterranean reading room. The library is open to Yale students and faculty, as well as visiting researchers.
Also housed at Yale is the extraordinary Cushing Brain Collection.
Standing in the middle of Bern, Switzerland, is the Kindlifresser, or “Child Eater.” The fountain sculpture towers above the ground a baby half stuffed into his mouth, and a sack full of three alarmed tots slung over its shoulder presumably for later snacking. The disturbing sculpture is no modern work of art; built in 1546, it is one of the oldest fountains in the city of Bern.
Strangely, no one is exactly sure why it’s there. There are three main theories. The first and most unfortunate possibility is that the Kindlifresser was built as a sort of warning to the Jewish community of Bern. The Kindlifresser wears a hat that is strikingly similar to the yellow pointed Judenhut that Jews were forced to wear at that time.
The second theory is that the terrifying Ogre is a depiction of Kronos, the Greek Titan. Kronos has arguably one of the most disturbing stories in Greek Mythology. Long story short, Kronos eats all his god children to keep them from taking over his throne.
The final theory is that the Kindlifresser is supposed to be the older brother of Duke Berchtold, the founder of Bern. Apparently the jealousy of being overshadowed by his younger brother for so many years caused him to go mad, eventually sending him into a rage where he collected and ate the town's children. (It would seem likely that this event would have been recorded in the towns history books, which it is not.)
It may of course be none of the above, and is simply a sort of boogie man from Switzerland’s Fastnacht, or ''Night of Fasting'' festival, a way to remind the Children of Bern to behave. Whatever the Kindlifresser represents, it has terrified Swiss children for nearly 500 years, and hopefully, will be there to terrify them for 500 years more.
