Meeting of Online Travel Minds at M. Silver and Associates in NYC

It was a pleasure sitting in the conference room of M.Silver PR this morning, six of the best online travel publishers as company. It was a face to face of those who love traveling and getting the word out. Some were old friends like the charming and decent dude Johnny Jet; the Jetster has always done me great! Hard working and thinking Tim Leffel the engine for this meeting another old bud was there. The maestro and online pioneer, Sean Keener was also in the mix. Of course my oldest pal and big boss Max Hartshorne was across the table.

I finally got to meet Greg Hubbs; his dad Clay was the first man to publish my very first article years ago. New also to me were Mike Richards and the Hobo, Andy Graham and great to do so. All of the sites are as different and diverse as the people I met, the common ground being travel. For us old timers it was an amazing feeling as we all recalled the days when online was travel publishing’s bastard child. That has changed and this prodigal son felt right at home! Check out the links and thanks to M.Silver for understanding that changes are constant.

Gridskipper, Budget Traveler, World Hum and Other Ways to Spend a Snowy Day

I got to love a snowy day because I get to float around the sites and blogs of traveling folks. I can tell when Gridskipper has posted links to my blog on their site; hits go up like a roman candle. Same for Budget Travel, World Hum, Tim Leffel and Johnny Jet, and a host of others and I will be linking some more great sites here soon. It truly is a small world we all work within. Tonight I would especially like to thank Gridskipper, such a cool site with info any traveler would use. Max and I discussed much of what we will talk about at our seminar at the NY Times Travel Show this year; you all deserve to be given a shout out on my handout. Time to put on the snow suit and dig out, the slopes of the Catskills will call soon.

"Travel and Bargain" Splitting Company

The dollar is about to drop in value again against the euro. Those ten buck coffees that bummed me out this spring could soon be fifteen. Due to the rising inflation rate in Europe, the European Central Bank is planning on hiking a key interest rate this week. As one not versed in economics, I have to go by my cost of a cup of coffee meter. By far Warsaw, Poland gave me the best bang for a cup of joe. I got an email from good friend Nora Brossard who handles the European Travel Commission for Spring O’Brien with the Commission’s bulletin with tips for alternative art cities that are a bit cheaper. For example Linz, Esztergom and Ghent have art treasures well worth seeing. Let’s face it, it looks like the words “travel and bargain” will be splitting company for a while. I have gone so far as to rent a hybrid car for my trip up the coast of Maine and into Atlantic Canada, a chance to save some green while going green. Even the Loon is easily pacing the almighty (once) dollar. Check out Tim Leffel's blogs and books for other travel ideas.