CTN SUMMER 2007

STEVE & PAT’S CHEAP
TRAVEL NEWSLETTER
SUMMER 2007
(C) Tanenbaum 2007

WHO ARE WE?
We are Steve & Pat, the Travelin’ Tanenbaums. We are the
authors of The Cheapskate’s Guide to Vacations and The Cheaptskate’s Guide to Cruises (Citadel-Kensington Press)
Our CTN newsletter has published continuously since 1999. Steve is currently a ‘Budget & FREE Travel’ expert with AllExperts.com Aside from our books we have written national magazine articles and have made numerous radio & TV appearances. We have somehow managed to globe trot 6 months per year since we early retired from our ‘day jobs’ in 1999. Pure and simple, we enjoy a love of travel and do our best to share travel related comfort, convenience and money saving TIPS with our loyal readership. We always encourage and appreciate reader input. Our travel ‘motto’ these man years remains: NOTHING BEATS FREE TRAVEL!

THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS:
*CTN NEWS FLASH: YOU DESERVE IT! CTN ONLINE GOES FREE IN 2008
*SPRING 2007 FREE TRAVEL DEALS UPDATE
* PARIS, BARCELONA & LONDON VIDEO TIPS
* AFFORDABLE GLOBAL CELL PHONE? YOU BET! A POST TRIP REPORT
* OUR CHEAPSKATE PARIS ($77) APARTMENT
* OUR CHEAPSKATE BARCELONA ($97) APARTMENT
* CHEAP, THUMBS UP B & B IN LONDON? - YES, WE FOUND ONE
* BEST TRAVEL PHONE CARD
*GIZMO CORNER - AMAZING TRAVEL COMFORT FOR JUST $6

ONLINE CTN GOES FREE IN 2008
The best way to thank our long time as well as new subscribers is to make Steve & Pat’s Cheap Travel Newsletter FREE. Our recent ‘trial run’ of Online CTN Editions has been a huge success. As such we have decided that in 2008 we shall make the CTN a permanent FREE TO ALL Online Newsletter. As we have always said…..nothing beats FREE!

HOW FREE? Several travel related sponsorships are now sufficient to cover our publication and distribution costs permitting FREE future Online Editions and hence more travel savings for YOU.

HOW TO GET YOUR FUTURE FREE CTN EDITIONS: Simply provide us with your e-mail address. We shall create a data base of addresses for the sole purpose of emailing the necessary LINK for each new edition. Rest assured, e-mail addresses shall remain strictly private and will never be ‘shared.’

Snail mail CTN hard copies: We shall continue to mail future hard copy editons ONLY to: (1) Those who do not have an e-mail address and pay the regular $10/year fee and (2) those who have not yet received all their paid issues.

CITIBANK FREE TRAVEL OFFER UPDATE

Our Winter/Spring 2007 issue highlighted Citibank’s fabulous 20th Anniversary FREE miles give-a-way. Hopefully many readers followed our lead and took prompt advantage of that offer. We happily report that the offer has changed for the BETTER. As part of its 20th Anniversary Citibank is now offering EIGHT cards. Of the first four cards listed on their web site three of them and their related offer of free miles are unchanged from last April. See our April, 2006 issue at: www.ctnwinterspring2007.blogspot.com
Those are the:
(1) Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard which offers 20,000 FREE miles after a mere $750 is spent (2) Citi Gold / AAdvantage World MasterCard which offers 15,000 FREE miles after $750 is spent and (3) Citi AAdvantage American Express Card which also offers 15,000 FREE miles after $750* is spent. There is a new card: Citi SelectSM / AAdvantage American Express Card which offers 20,000 FREE miles after $750* is spent.
* Note that the text describing both these cards indicates only $250 need be spent to obtain the FREE bonus miles so why do I say $750 rather then $250? When one clicks on the Program Information LINKS beneath the photo of the cards the legal fine print page says $750 must be spent. No mention whatsoever of $250 on this page. Citibank has been unable to tell me which amount is correct. What to do? If your ‘assume’ the $750 amount is correct you will be certain to obtain all your FREE bonus miles.

NOTE: Your first 20,000 FREE bonus miles almost qualifies for a FREE RT ticket to any lower 48 U.S. destination as well as Canada and Mexico (25,000 needed). 20,000 miles qualifies for TWO ROUND TRIP INTRA EUROPE TICKETS. In June we obtained two FREE sets of round trip tickets from Paris to Barcelona using only 10,000 miles each. Use two cards, spend $750 each, obtain 35,000 miles and you have one FREE RT ticket to Maui from any major U.S. city (or to any other Hawaiian Island or Canada or Mexico).

Ex. Husband and wife (or each member of any couple) each obtain TWO of the listed cards. (It is unlikely Citibank would issue four cards to one person at the same point in time). Each person spends $1,500 over the first four months. The couple could reap the top prize of 70,000 FREE miles which equals two RT tickets to any Hawaiian island or one RT ticket to Australia or nearly two RT tickets (off season) to any major European city (80,000 total needed).

Here is Citibank’s offer web site: https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/showSearchResults.do?family=FAMILY_AADVANTAGE

Bottom Line: These offers are better than ever. GO FOR IT!

PARIS, BARCELONA, LONDON 2007
OUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS
You would be right to say that these look to be the kind of ‘things’ Steve enjoys writing about in his CTN GIZMO column. On the left Steve’s new Sony T-30 7oz pocket digital camera which records onto an SD memory card shown on the right in USB SD card reader. Whoa…. what is with all this tech talk? In everyday terms these two items, the camera and teenie memory card change the world or communication as we know it. Steve used the mini Sony to take both still photos AND VIDEO. Steve next took the teenie memory card to an internet cafe and uploaded a travel video scene directly onto YOU TUBE. In an instant, a video scene filmed just minutes earlier was available not only to family and friends but also to ALL ON PLANET EARTH. During our 2 1/2 months of travel in Paris, Barcelona and London Steve uploaded over FORTY videos so that friends and family could literally see highlights of our travels just hours after they were filmed. Now that we have returned we happily do two things, both historic. First, we present below the first ever CTN EMBEDDED YOU TUBE VIDEOS. One selected video each from Paris, Barcelona and London just as they were filmed on location. Embedded meaning you need ONLY CLICK on the video image to INSTANTLY VIEW THE VIDEO. We shall also provide the brief instructions needed to access ALL FORTY of our recent You Tube videos. Note: The vast majority of our 160 You Tube videos, which include the newest 40 videos from our May-July 2007 trip, are travel related. Most offer unique sightseeing experiences while others are offered to ENTERTAIN. Again, enjoy the three examples that follow and WELCOME TO STEVE’S YOU TUBE UNIVERSE. Note: Our YouTube videos have been viewed by a global audience of well over 100,000. FIRST, THIS CHARMING SLICE OF PARIS LIFE. KICK BACK AND SAVOR THE VERY SOUL OF PARIS AS VANIA ADREIENSSENS AND FRIEND VIVIAN PERFORM ON FAMED RUE MOUFFETARD (BEST STREET MARKET IN PARIS).

NEXT, THE DANCING WATERS OF BARCELONA’S MONTJUIC

AND FROM LONDON A PORTOBELLO MARKET FIXTURE MAGGIE AND HER BABY CARRIAGE PUPS. MAGGIE HAS APPEARED AT THE MARKET MOST WEEKENDS THESE PAST 35 YEARS!

YOU TUBE BONUS FOR ALL LOVERS OF GREAT THEATER. STEVE FILMED, EDITED AND PRODUCED THIS EXCLUSIVE FIVE MINUTE VIDEO FOR VETERAN BRITISH ACTOR ROGER LLEWELLYN TO PROMOTE HIS ONE MAN SHOW, “SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE LAST ACT.” ENJOY THIS TOUR DE FORCE PERFORMANCE!

HOW TO VIEW ALL OUR PARIS, BARCELONA AND LONDON VIDEOS AS WELL OUR 100+ EARLIER VIDEOS: GO TO http://www.blogger.com/WWW.YOUTUBE.COMAND THEN, IN THE UPPER RIGHT BLANK SEARCH BOX TYPE STEVE’S SCREEN NAME WORLDROMER. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. ENJOY OUR WORLD OF YOU TUBE VIDEOS.

Note: For those CTN readers receiving the hard copy of this edition here are the LINKS for the above YouTube videos which you may cut and paste:
London: Maggie and her doggies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTItTy_slow
Tour of our Paris Apartment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naZWAKfOgmc
Rue Mouffetard Piano man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe7IZJJAZoM
Dancing waters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-T0uAs25mg
Sherlock Holmes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7U7y-OUZg

OUR CHEAPSKATE PARIS
APARTMENT - $77/DAY

In last years Fall 2006 edition http://www.fall2006CTN.blogspot.com article “Paris Beckons” we discussed at length our planned May - June 2007six weeks stay in Paris. More to the point we reported that our apartment ‘deal’, at the amazing cheapskate price of $77/day included:
No need to reiterate all the amenities when we can give YOU a personal tour HERE AND NOW!
Once again, through the digital ‘magic’ of YouTube we invite you to take the tour we filmed shortly after we moved into the apartmtent. As you take the tour keep in mind that a typical, teenie European sized hotel room with bed, bathroom and likely nothing more goes for about $125/day.
Click on the ‘TRIANGLE’ in the center of the video image to take the tour:

Our post trip review in a nut shell: OUTSTANDING IN EVERY RESPECT

Nothing beats owner occupied over ‘rental’ units. Big things like owner furnishings and smaller things like use of all their condiments, olive oil etc. saving much money and use of the wheelie shopping cart which was a life saver when buying 2 liter beverage bottles etc. Also, no exit cleaning fee, just a cursory final inspection. All in all EXCELLENT IN EVERY RESPECT.

TIP: The key to this amazing rental was the time factor. In past years we planned our trips three months in advance since we took two three month trips each year. This time around we had more time and so we snagged this apartment September 20, 2006, some SEVEN months prior to our departure. Even at that early date there were only two or three 2 BR apartments in our price range (under $100/day) that fit all our criteria. Also, this apartment rents for as little as one week BUT understandably at a much higher rate of about $180/day. Even so, that price for a family of 4-5 or four adults is still rock bottom compared to two hotel rooms or heaven forbid a large hotel suite both of which do not come close to such an apartments amenities.

CONTACT: A few years ago we used NYHABITAT, a vacation apartment lease specialty company, to lease a Paris studio apartment. We used the company again to rent our above 2BR Paris apartment. Great service, great apartment selection from one week and longer and a great web site with oodles of photos and detailed descriptions. Note: NYHabitat does take a heft fee, about 30%, so that short term rental per night prices are higher than longer stays. Ex. Our above 2BR apartment rents for about $175/day for a one week rental. Considering it sleeps up to FIVE and a 2-person two-star hotel room costs $130 this is STILL A BARGAIN. Our six month rental was cheapskate priced down to just $77/day. Thumbs up for: www.nyhabitat.com

OUR BARCELONA APARTMENT
ONLY $97/DAY
Barcelona often gets roasty toastie warm and so our amenity list included A/C plus the usuals such as great location, elevator, 1 BR, full kitchen and all this for $100 or less per day. Once again our web research, together with our prior European apartment rental experience, paid off big time.

We used and highly recommend http://www.citysiesta.com for Barcelona and other rentals in Spain. This fine company has a top rated web site unlike many others. It is easy to navigate and includes apartment details and a variety of photos. We found the ‘perfect’ 1BR apartment located exactly where we wished to stay, namely, in the awesome medieval Gothic (Barri Gotic) neighborhood. That means, for example, our apartment building was constructed circa 14th century….yes, 14th century. Now, that is medieval. Web site listed amenities included: A/C, balcony (very teenie), T.V. (no cable, as expected), Microwave, washing machine, full kitchen, elevator and about 500sq.ft. (small but acceptable for a 1BR apt. The living room also sported a futon that converted to a double bed.

Here are a few photos of our home away from home in Barcelona. Why stay in a small European hotel room when bigger, better, way more comfortable apartments COST LESS?
Below left is a partial view of the living room with TV and futon visible. On the right the dining room and full kitchen area. The doorway leads to the bedroom.

This was quite likely the best located lodging we have had in any major city. The apartment was on Boqueria street in the heart of the Gotic neighborhood and just two small blocks from Barcelona’s world famous Rambla. The Rambla is a mile long pedestrian mall that connects the sea at one end to the city´s main Plaza Catalunya at the other. The Plaza Catalunya is the end border of the medieval Gotica. the Rambla is the heart and soul of Barcelona when it comes to best, most famous and FUN street in the city. Every person visiting Barcelona will visit the Rambla and marvel at its unique ‘human statues’. Here is a video ‘taste’ of the Rambla’s sights, sounds and ‘human statues. So, join us for a stroll down the Rambla:

We were also dead center between Plaza Catalunya and the Sea meaning two short blocks to the Rambla and turn right a fun 10 minute walk to Plaza Catalunya and turn left for a ten minute walk to the sea (marina, famed Columbus monument etc.) Also just three blocks to the largest indoor food market in Barcelona, the Boqueria Market. In most of the Gotic neighborhood one walks on ancient pedestrian only (no cars here) streets many winding, meandering and leading to large plazas and other fabulous sightseeing ‘treats’ such as the oldest recently excavated synagogue, numerous preserved medieval churches, shops of every kind and description and much much more.

BEST PHONE CARD Here is the LINK for the Emerald Plan calling card, the BEST card we have ever used.
http://www.enjoyprepaid.com/calling-plan-details/international-calling-from-France-to-
United-States-15-101-1.html Or locate it by Googling Emerald phone card plan. The company is http://www.enjoyprepaid.com
More about this amazing card later.

CHEAP LONDON DIGS

While our three month trips find us staying mostly in ultimate travel comfort apartments our brief one week London visit meant the urrrhggg search for a low cost (Under $100) amenity laden B & B in a great central London location.

Our web search found the Notting Hill Guest House. There was scant information available except for a few mixed user reviews. Since most were positive we booked their double room well in advance of our departure. Pictured on the right is Holland Park Ave. The Notting Hill Guest House is on the right through the gate and behind the wall. the orange building in the background is the ‘could not be much closer’ Holland Park Tube station.

OUR PROS LIST:
1. 55 pounds so just a bit over our $100 budget and a great price for a London B & B
2. Room was only one flight up with a huge bathroom on the floor.
3. Seems other rooms on the floor have private bath so we NEVER shared the huge bathroom with other guests. Reliable hot showers plus bathtub.
4. Full English breakfast served in the room. No climbing stairs to a dungeon like breakfast basement room common with many such B & Bs
5. HUGE ROOM…..very UN London. About 20 x 16. Why so large? Because it has a….
6. KITCHEN, table & chairs with sink, frig, microwave all dishes & utensils.
7. Clean and no bugs, insects etc.
8. Small adequate TV with cable.
8. Family owned & run. Owner BEA and her son were always available to help if needed.
9. Superb location across from Holland Park and about 100 feet from the Holland Park Tube station. Bus stop only feet away and ten minutes to Bond street and all other central London areas.
10. Great neighborhood with Tesco market and gourmet food shops, pizza, bistros etc.
11. QUIET at night.
12. Phone just outside the room. Worked with our phone card and even refunded the initial 20 coin.

OUR CONS LIST: 1) This could be deal breaker for some, NOT for us. This B & B falls into a category we call: Oldies but goodies. The rooms are fit and clean but show obvious mild to moderate signs of age i.e. old furniture, freyed edges on cabinets and some items (bags of linens) store in a corner of the HUGE bathroom. Check out the pictures. What you see is pretty much what we got. 2. No sitting/reading/TV room. OVERALL:Comfort measured by room size and amenities is our goal. We LOVED the huge room and KITCHEN. SAVED oodles of $$$$ by cooking in. You do know about London restaurant prices, right? Savored the home made Shepherds pie from the award winning shop on the next block putting yummy left overs in the frig. $9.00 for double size pie for TWO. Shop is pictured on the left with its scores of awards. Very unique shop.
TWO THUMBS WAY UP ON THIS BARGAIN FIND.
CONTACTS: WEB SITE: http://thiswaytolondon.com/where-are-we.htm
Tel. 44 207 229 9233 or 44 207 460 7080
email: circles16@aol.com

CARNIVORE’S GOURMET TIP: No matter where you stay in London, if you are cooking at ‘home’ or simply wish to enjoy one of London’s best carnivore experiences you owe it to yourself to visit the Lidgate meat and specialty pie shop. Lidgate has been owned since 1850. We have NEVER seen anything like it in all our travels. And, YES they will heat up one of their award winning meat pies for a Holland Park ‘bench lunch.’

STEVE’S GIZMO CORNER
AN AFFORDABLE GLOBAL CELL PHONE?
YOU BET! A POST TRIP UPDATE
Our Spring 2007 CTN reported on the Rangeroamer global cell phone. Rangeroamer promised a low cost, reliable 140 country global cell phone and low cost user rates. This sounded like a travel communications dream come true. We hit the road with cell phone in hand ready to field test their basic Siemens A70. Here is a brief summary of the pre-trip basics and post trip review: * Bread & Butter basic package including Siemens A70 140 country global cell phone $129
* Required minimum $20 of airtime
* Charger with included European plug included
* Free 800 number first month
* Free incoming calls to most western European (40) countries
* NO contract NO monthly service fee
* Low cost 69 cents per minute for outgoing calls.

Here are our thumbs up bullet points:
1) Very small and light
2) Once charged days and days of wait time till next needed charging.
3) Sound quality very good considering the size of the phone.
4) Basic so no phone camera etc. but knew that going in
5) Charger weighs only 2-3 ounces
6) Hours remaining prompt given after dialing
7) Easy to buy more airtime
All call recipients reported very good quality voice.
9) Using FREE incoming calls feature friends & family called us using a low cost
phone card reducing the cost from 69 cents (if we called them) to 29 cents per minute
using the phone card we gave them.
10) A family member just took the phone on a Celebrity Baltic cruise. The phone is
usable in ALL ports of call including Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Luthuwania, Tallin and
St. Petersburg, Russia. Outgoing calls are the same 69 cents for all these countries except for
Estonia ($1.69)
11. Every call we made went through with no dropped calls. Ocassionally a call did not go through first time around requiring we re-dial.

HOT NEWS FLASH: Upon our return from Europe Steve’s sister used our Rangeroamer phone on her August Celebrity Baltic Cruise. We experienced her successful use of the Siemens A70 first hand, receiving calls from her in each port of call. Her ports of call included: Amsterdam, Stockholm-Sweden, Copenhagen-Denmark, Helsinki Finland, St. Petersburg Russia, Tallinn-Estonia and Lithuwania. Sister Phyllis marveled at the ease of use and great sound quality. Considering that Phyllis is NOT one with electronics, instructions etc. she was AMAZED at the 1-2-3 ease of operation requiring that one simply dial 00 and the U.S. phone number. The Siemens Bread & Butter package may be ‘basic’ but, as promised, it DELIVERS BIG TIME.

CONCLUSION: We highly recommend Rangeroamer’s Bread & Butter Siemen’s A70 phone package for all the above reasons. The $129 price tag is reasonable. Remember, you own this phone. Unlike its major competitor, who offers a lower priced phone, Rangeroamer comes through where it counts with MUCH LOWER user per minute fees, only 69 cents per minute in over forty major countries and often with FREE incoming calls. This means big $$$$ SAVINGS.
For more information or to purchase your global cell phone CONTACT: http://www.rangeroamer.com

YOUR PERSONAL i-THEATER IN THE SKY & BEYOND
In our last CTN issue I reported on i-O Display Systems video head wear I intended to use during our 2 1/2 months trip to Europe. Our next Fall 2007 issue contain Steve’s full review.For those who can not wait….they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a shot of Steve happy as a lark beating those airport blues as he watches a favorite movie.
Note: While the i-Theater glasses worked very well Steve, in the end, returned them to purchase the newer much higher resolution HD glasses.

As most of you know my love of travel related GIZMOS has cost me thousands of dollars over the years. Usually, high tech stuff like my portable DVD player, portable video media player (Archos 500), white noise headsets to ‘kill’ plane engine noise as well as some products we have tested (around the neck air purifier) but not used. The overall goals are comfort, convenience, safety and/or entertainment. Noble travel goals all. Here and now is my first ever recommended UNDER TEN DOLLARS THUMBS UP GIZMO. An item that proved invaluable during our trip and added levels of comfort we welcomed. Have I sufficiently ‘hyped’ this one? OKAY, here is a picture my newest recommended Gizmo (shown in two available colors):
NOW, you may be scratching your collective heads saying something like: They are little fans like the scores you have seen before. Sure nice to use for a few minutes till their batteries die.
As Paul Harvey used to say: Here is the REST of the story.

ASSESSMENT: Simply AMAZING. A bit lower air flow than typical lighter hand held AA models but never the less a perfect breeze. The included suction cup allowed me to place the fan on my airplane seat’s open food tray. It also stands alone even if the suction cup is not used. Next, it is a super QUIET FAN. So quiet I used it in the balcony of a west end show while all around me suffered from sweltering hot air. The head moves rotates up down from 90 to 180 degrees. It’s case is perfect for traveling to prevent damage to the fan. There were times in our apartment when the A/C was off and I simply placed the fan on any nearby table for 30-60 minutes of delightful breezes without. During all its uses, until the end of our trip, I NEVER feared that its battery would run down Because it is heavier than AA hand held fans I limited its use to airports/airplanes, museums, shows and other places we might be ’stuck’ for hours and which might find us suffering from heat.

Manufacturer’s Description: Convenient 1-speed hand-held fan fits easily in any handbag or briefcase. Suction cup allows the fan to be fastened securely to any nonporous surface. Head can be tilted in any direction. Runs on 1 “D” cell battery. Powerful air flow, ultra quiet operation. On/Off switch. 6.8 to 7.5″ H. x 4.4″ W. x 2.8″ D. 1 year limited warranty.

HAPPY TRAVELS TO ALL!