Podcast #155 — RJ Delays; Street Food in Poland and Hungary

Written by mark on September 20, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #155 — RJ Delays; Street Food in Poland and Hungary

Polish health food

Didn’t have any problems with the 787’s flying 4,800 miles to Krakow or back from Budapest, but the 560-mile regional jet flights between Chicago and Charlottesville, VA have been causing me no end of hassles. We talk about this, revisit our discussions about iPhone dual SIM capability and American Airlines’ MD-80 retirement. And then go deep on my very non-keto-friendly dive into Krakow and Budapest street food.  All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show notes

Podcast #154 — Will We Still Love Uber When The Prices Go Up?

Written by mark on August 13, 2019 1 comment

The moment of truth

Breaking out the mobile rig to record this episode in the Residence Inn in downtown Charlottesville, VA. Summer storms let me test Freebird’s re-booking service, I wrestle with AT&T so I can use my iPhone’s dual SIM capability on my trip to Krakow and Budapest, booking more relaxed flight itineraries lets me call an audible when Uber and Lyft prices surge into the stratosphere, which gets me thinking — will we still love those rideshare companies when they’re no longer cheaper than taxis?  All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show notes

Podcast #153 — Travel By Algorithm; Leaving Places Behind

Written by mark on July 26, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #153 — Travel By Algorithm; Leaving Places Behind

What’s Behind Me Is Not Important

Going upscale, recording in the podcast studio at the 1871 tech incubator in Chicago, I talk about my surprising smooth 2-week trip in Ireland and Scotland. We also note the retirement (finally!) of American Airlines’ MD-80 jet, a very interesting new social media app, talk about how algorithms are changing the way we travel, and the melancholy of leaving familiar places for the last time.  All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show notes

Podcast #152 — Overwhelming Travel; New & Old Restaurant Trends

Written by mark on June 16, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #152 — Overwhelming Travel; New & Old Restaurant Trends

Latest in Sustainable Food Delivery 

Moving the TravelCommons studios kept me mostly off the road this month except for a quick trip to Nashville, but staying out of restaurants has helped me finally drop the last bit of Christmas weight. We talk about the “earn and burn” strategy for frequent travel awards; answer a listener’s question on how to keep from being overwhelmed when arriving in a new city, and new restaurant trends from the floor of the National Restaurant Association’s big show. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show notes

Podcast #151 — Traveler Data Leaks; Brittany Street Food

Written by mark on May 7, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #151 — Traveler Data Leaks; Brittany Street Food
Cancale Oysters with a nice Evian Sancerre

Squeezing in another episode before moving the TravelCommons studios, we talk with Candid Wueest of Symantec about websites that leak traveler data and what we can do to protect ourselves. I talk about yet more frustration with the Avios frequent flyer program, while a listener writes in about his great experience with Freebird, a new flight rebooking service. I wrap up talking about great street food we had while touring Brittany, France last month. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show notes

Podcast #150 — Travel Interruptus

Written by mark on April 22, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #150 — Travel Interruptus
This guy looks familiar…

It’s been a tough month for travel. Not quite to Book of Job-level torment, but two of this month’s three trips spiraled into head-shaking metaphysical “What the hell is going on here” questioning of my decision to get out of bed that morning. I walk through the travel gods’ fun and games, as well as some new data on regional jet delays and buying a new travel bag. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To read the Detailed Show Notes

Podcast #149 — Dining Single; Airlines Need To Tell Us More

Written by mark on March 19, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #149 — Dining Single; Airlines Need To Tell Us More
Not Looking Friendly for a Solo Diner

I dusted off the mobile rig to record this episode in Happy Valley, the home of Penn State. And I am kinda happy with some travel to Phoenix and Florida to thaw me out after Chicago’s run in with the polar vortex. In this episode, I talk about budget airlines, stepping down in Hertz status, why I bought physical guidebooks for a trip to France, the challenges of being a solo diner, and then dig into the archives for a classic travel story. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show Notes

Podcast #148 — Travel Potpourri for $200, Alex

Written by mark on February 10, 2019 Comments Off on Podcast #148 — Travel Potpourri for $200, Alex

Tough travel day when the deicing fluid freezes

Flying home into the teeth of the polar vortex that gave Chicago its coldest day since January 1985 took a bit of flight changing strategy and some incredibly dedicated United ramp workers. I get on-trend by “Kondo-ing” my old suitcases, worry about visiting Sweden as it rapidly goes cashless, and gather up some odds-‘n’-ends from travel notebook into a Jeopardy-like topic “Travel Potpourri”. All this and more at the direct link to the podcast file or listening to it right here by clicking on the arrow below.

Click Here To Read The Detailed Show notes