Affordable Travel

One of the most compelling reasons for travel, cited in many surveys of vacation travelers, is to visit museums and see art and artifacts. And there are great museums in almost every city in the world, each with its own special collection of rare aesthetic treasures. In London there is for example the often-overlooked Queen’s collection, in Paris there is the L’Orangerie with Monet’s works, and in Houston there is the Rothke museum. But one problem with visiting museums, whether you are going to the Louvre or the MOMA, is crowds. Here are some suggestions for beating the crowds, so that you don’t go to look at your favorite painting and find that there is a whole tour bus full of people ahead of you in line.

Go on “off days” and at “off hours”, not on peak days for museum visitation. If you go on a weekday, early in the morning, for example, you may have the entire museum all to yourself. Avoid going on weekends, when everyone else will have time off from work and school to visit the museums, but if you must go on busy visitation days, try to go during the hours when the museum is least busy. One way to find out the best time to go is to ask a museum guard which times of day are slowest.

If you enter a museum and find that you are behind a large crowd, don’t panic. When buses of tourists unload to visit a museum (and you may be one of the tourists who just got off of one of those buses) they always follow the same procedure. Once they are inside the museum, they move from room to room, from start to finish. So if you want to avoid the crowds, the best thing to do is to immediately go to the last gallery on the top floor of museum, which will probably be empty, and work your way backwards through the rooms of the museum.

Life on Nantucket is like no other because it is situated about 40 miles offshore in the Atlantic ocean, and after living there for awhile on this small island (you can drive from one end to the other in a matter of minutes) you begin to sense that you are not really part of the USA but are on an island that is unique to itself. You can get there by air, by flying into the small airport that until recently would open up again at night as the island’s favorite bar and dance club. Or you can take the Ferry from Wood’s Hole, which is on Cape Cod. The Ferry runs several times a day and flights are available to the Boston Logan Airport, an international terminal with connecting flights to the rest of the world.

Nantucket is a quiet old fishing village, but the shops don’t just offer fishing tackle and salted cod, because some of the most expensive real estate in the USA is also here, attracting the wealthiest people in the world. Throughout the island’s history it has been home to families of aristocrats with names including Rockefeller and Kennedy, and the local shopkeepers cater to the tastes of the elite by selling exotic imports of fine caviar, French champagne, and clothing worthy of Parisian runways.  For decades it has been nearly impossible to live on Nantucket without having lots and lots of money to spend on rent, but the island is very much dependent upon a reliable work force of service workers, who migrate there not to earn money, but to earn just enough to spend the summer there and leave penniless, in exchange for the adventure of living on this interesting island. The island has beautiful white sand beaches, cranberry bogs, blueberry fields, and some of the most interesting Cape Cod style architecture and antiques. And even if you cannot afford to spend a few nights, you can do as many tourists do and go to Nantucket on the ferry, spend the day, and take the ferry back to the mainland by nightfall.

The Nantahala National Forest is the largest one in the state of NC, which is known for its large tracts of wilderness and hiking paths. If you like to camp, hike, bird watch, or visit waterfalls, this is the place for you, as the Nantahala National Forest has more than one and a half million acres of land. The name “Nantahala” is from the Cherokee language, meaning “noon sun”, because most of this region is covered by a thick canopy of old growth trees and the river gorge generally gets bathed in sunlight at high noon, while at other times of day the sunlight is obscured by the forests.

In the Snowbird section of Nantahala National Forest are many trails alongside creeks and streams, dotted with wildflowers. The rare pileated woodpecker, which grows to the size of about two feet tall with a wingspan approaching three feet, can be found here, as can rare plants like mountain ginseng. In this section of the forest are two beautiful falls Sassafras and Big Falls. Although the water from waterfalls in the Nantahala National Forest is ice cold, if you can locate a swimming hole, creek, or calm enough waterfall, you will find that in the heat of summer the bracing water is actually quite refreshing, especially after a long and tiring hike. And if you don’t want to take the whole plunge, you can just slip off your hiking boots and soak your feet to help them get some instant therapeutic relief.

Prague’s Charles Bridge is now made of stone, but was first made of wood back around 900 AD. The first bridge was wiped out by a flood on the Vltava River where it was rebuilt and now stands as a massive stone structure and one of the main tourist venues of this popular city. There are historical statues along the bridge, representing figures from civic and religious life in the time since the Charles Bridge began to serve the citizenry of Prague. Even the Dalai Lama has walked across this famous bridge, which for many centuries was the only way to get in or out of the city of Prague.

One of the most interesting features of the bridge in modern times is the proximity to the old Prague castle and the adjacent cobble streets leading to the castle. It is a great place to stand and watch the river traffic, which mostly consists of small tour boats, and to shop from the many artists and crafts people who sell their wares on both sides of the bridge. In fact, many people visit the bridge just to have the chance to linger and see the mimes, musicians, puppeteers, painters, jewelers, potters, and other artists who have tables or displays on the bridge and entertain tourists for tips or sell wares in exchange for a few dollars.

By all means visit the Charles Bridge, but give yourself an hour or two to stroll and linger, because there is more to do there than just walk over the historic Vltava River.

The Bellevue is a great restaurant with higher prices than most in the city, but Prague is still known as one of the cheapest international cities for fine dining, so you might be pleasantly surprised by the menu, even if you are on a bit of a budget. The place is situated in a brick building with a turret, so it resembles a castle in a way, and has an elegant interior complete with thick velvet curtains and views of the river and the Prague castle visible from the lavishly appointed tables. The staff here makes everyone feel like royalty, and the service is all about attention to every detail of each customer’s needs. If you are there for a business dinner, your colleagues will feel more important than every; and if you are there for a romantic date, your date will feel as though she is the queen of the evening. The wine list is extensive and includes many good buys - Prague does have some wonderful wines of its own. And the goose, lobster, sturgeon, deer, and beef offer a whole selection of typically rich but flavorful local dishes of the finest caliber. The prices at the Bellevue are fixed, meaning that you pay one price and it includes three courses. For dessert the crŠme brulee and chocolate mousse are most popular, but you can also choose walnut ice cream or berries and cognac with ice cream. Call ahead for reservations, especially on weekend nights.