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Tags: Rental Cars / Cars / Budget Travel / Cheap Travel / Bargains / → All Tags

While Every Other Travel Thing is Cheaper, Rental Cars are Still Super Expensive

Airfares and hotel room prices have fallen markedly in response to the global economic meltdown, but rental car rates are as high as ever, prompting the penny-pinchers over at Budget Travel to offer up a few tips on keeping the costs down on your next trip. In an AP item, the magazine's editor-in-chief said that car rental companies are unique in that they can trim their supply of cars very easily, maintaining a tight market for rentals. Thus, your best bet for a bargain is to book in advance, look for a discount code on a site like best-car-rental-tips.com, or use a bidding site like Priceline.

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Tags: Baseball Travel / Nightclubs / Drinking Travel / New York City / → All Tags

The Yankees Just Won The World Series, And This Is Where They Went...

That sonic boom you heard emanating from the tri-state area was the sound of millions of Yankees fans, having been cruelly denied a World Series title, finally ending a 9-year drought last night with a 7-3 victory in Game 6. After the game, third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his girlfriend Kate Hudson hit the Meatpacking District, partying at 1Oak with his mom and sister and shortstop Derek Jeter and his girlfriend ("Friday Night Lights"' Minka Kelly).

Even the revelation that Rodriguez has a painting of himself as a centaur in his bedroom failed to slow the Yankees in the rush to their 27th title. Other celebrity Yankees fans include Alec Baldwin, who was spotted in the stands during Game 1, and Jay-Z who performed "Empire State Of Mind" at Yankee Stadium before Game 2. Game 6's celeb ticket holders included Will Forte, Spike Lee and Regis Philbin. (None of them were at 1Oak to the best of our knowledge, though.) On the other hand, it might be appropriate to buy a drink for Will Smith, Tina Fey and Vice President Joe Biden, all Phillies fans.

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Tags: Halloween / Halloween Travel / Parades / Scary Travel / Freaks / New York City Marathon / Marathons / Active Travel / → All Tags

A Hell of a Halloween Weekend in New York

Halloween is always a party in New York, but this year several forces combined to make it even wilder than usual. First of all, it happened to fall on a Saturday this year, drawing that many more people out of their apartments and into the night. Second, the Yankees played the Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series - and won! - giving the barroom crowds a grand reason to order a few ill-advised rounds of shots. And third, the New York City Marathon took place the very next morning, giving the Halloween revelers some great human drama to wake up and soothe their hangovers to. Add to that the extra hour of weekend we got because of the end of Daylight Savings Time and you've got a city with every reason to cut loose.

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Tags: Halloween / Halloween Travel / Parades / Scary Travel / Freaks / → All Tags

It's Halloween, Do You Have Your Silver Shamrock Mask Yet?

Happy Halloween 2009, everybody! I've always loved Halloween, because it's one of those all-fun, no baggage holidays where you're pretty much required to party and be ridiculous. As the Geto Boys point out, this year Halloween falls on a weekend, ramping up the crazy factor in cities around the world. I'm fortunate to live in New York, home of the legendary Village Halloween Parade, and even luckier to have a friend who lives along the parade route, so we'll be watching from above the fray. It's fun to stand along the sidewalk too, but be prepared for a crush of bodies akin to Times Square on New Years Eve.

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Tags: Top Chef / Top Chef Travel / New York City / California / Food / Food Travel / Restaurant Travel / → All Tags

Ash Fulk Cooks Up Friendly Swiss Fare at Trestle on Tenth, But Maybe Not For Padma

Northern California native Ash Fulk didn't have it easy during his run on Top Chef. He didn't win one challenge on the show, and was eventually asked to pack his knives and head back to New York City, where he serves as a Sous Chef at Trestle on Tenth. The Swiss-French-American restaurant is a neighborhood-y locale open for breakfast, brunch (on weekends), lunch and dinner, making it a go-to spot for Chelsea diners looking for elevated comfort food. And schnitzel.

Trestle's menus aren't intimidating in the way that many contemporary, haute cuisine restaurants tend to be. Here you'll find familiar dishes with a Swiss-French influence that makes them just different enough to be memorable, without being too perplexing or stomach-turning. We're still wondering why fellow TC contestant Hector would dare include Tofu Ceviche on his menu. No, Trestle is where you'll find a Signature House Burger, Cobb Salad, Roasted Chicken with Seasonal Vegetables in Consommè, and Coriander Hanger Steak.

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Tags: Televison Travel / Mall Travel / Glee / Los Angeles / New York / New Jersey / → All Tags

Fans Of 'Glee' Will Flee To NYC And LA For The Upcoming Mall Tour

The cute cast, catchy tunes and biting one-liners of Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) are making Glee a runaway hit. The show is about Will (Matthew Morrison), a Spanish teacher hoping to bring back the glory of the school's glee club as we follow the drama of the kids in his club and, of course, of his arch nemesis, Sue.

Fanatics of the new Fox comedy, or "Gleeks" as they are known, are finally going to get the chance to not only buy the first volume of music from the show, but also see the cast live at mall appearances in New York, New Jersey and California.

Where to get your Glee on, after the jump.

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Tags: Baseball Travel / Baseball / Sports / Sports Travel / Yankees / World Series / → All Tags

What's Going On For Yankees Fans During The World Series

After several years out of the big game spotlight, the New York Yankees have returned to the World Series. This year is even a bigger deal since they’re proud to debut their new home. Whether you like the Yankees or the Phillies we wanted to give you the run down on what to expect at each stadium before, during, and after the game. Of course, feel free to ignore all this advice below if you'd rather just watch the game. After all, that's what you paid for.

· Before The Game
We’ve already told Big Apple natives the best way to reach the new Yankee Stadium, but we realize that loads of fans are coming in from the suburbs. Fans that are located within the Metro North service area will be happy to know that extra trains will be running directly to the stadium each night the game is in town. Just follow the schedule that’s most convenient to your neighborhood—there’s usually no need to connect through Grand Central. However, those stuck with NJ Transit will probably need to change trains.

Now that you’ve arrived you’ll need something to do, but forget about bringing your own pregame beverage—the city’s finest will be out in full force. So just head around the corner and down a few with your fellow fans at Stan’s Sports Bar. You’re not going for the service, but the atmosphere will certainly prepare you for a night of cheering. After you’ve entered the stadium, but before taking your seat, swing by Monument Park. Pay your respects to Yankee legends, but please, don’t get emotional, it’s just a game.

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Tags: Caribbean Travel / Jetblue / T5 At JFK / Jetblue St Lucia Inaugural / St Lucia Field Trip / St Lucia Travel / → All Tags

Live From Jetblue's Inaugural Flight To St. Lucia

Good morning! We're coming at you live from Terminal 5 at JFK International Airport, where Jetblue's inaugural direct flight to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia is about to take off...with us on board. And aww—they got us a cake!

You may have already noticed, but we love us some first flights, and so we'll be bringing you all the details from this game-changing flight.

And how is it game-changing, you ask? Well, in two ways: it's a triumph for an LCC like Jetblue to take this route usually owned by legacy carriers like American, but also because it means a huge influx of American (and New Yorker) visitors to the island of St. Lucia, which up until now has been the paradise of mainly British and French travelers.

Oh, and St. Lucia flights one-way will be on sale for $129. Since the pricing is way cheaper than American has been charging to date, can we expect a fare ware on this route? Probably.

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Tags: Travel Channel / Parties / Andrew Zimmern / Anthony Bourdain / → All Tags

Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern Spill Their Vacation Vices

Last night, while the country watched a new episode of 30 Rock, we took the elevator to the actual Top of the Rock for a party to celebrate the launch of the new Chase Sapphire, a traveler-centric rewards card. Chase has partnered up with The Travel Channel to promote the card, and as a result, the party was co-hosted by none other than Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern.

Munching through multiple chocolate and praline-covered bacon strips with a sunset view of the city below, we managed to tackle both Bourdain and Zimmern to chat about some current travel trends. For their answers to one of the biggest airline questions right now, you'll have to wait for the full video reveal on Monday, but for now we'll share what they name as their favorite vacation spot...

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Tags: Killer New Music Venues / Live Music / Live Music Travel / Best-Small-New-Music-Venues-in-the-US / Music Travel / New York City / New York Travel / → All Tags

Entering Musical Bohemia With Franco Battiato At NYC's Le Poisson Rouge

More than a music venue and beyond an art space, NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge is a self-proclaimed “creative asylum,” and its historic address (the site of the legendary Village Gate) is an inviting refuge from Bleecker Street’s rowdy, pub-crawling NYU crowd.

This week, we stopped by here—one of our "Best Live New Music Venues"—for a performance by Italian musician Franco Battiato. But the experience is so much more than just him; it's the entire venue. You'll see why...

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Tags: Hot Yachts / Parties / Yachting / Virgin / Virgin Limited Edition / Richard Branson / → All Tags

Richard Branson Was With Us In Spirit Last Night At Le Bernardin

How do you throw a launch party for a luxury catamaran without the boat or its owner present? Well, if you're Virgin Limited Edition and Richard Branson and his new Necker Belle are unavailable to party, you just down canapes at one of New York City's best restaurants: Le Bernardin.

Surrounded by Virgin's signature red rubber duckies and with visions of Virgin Limited Edition's luxury properties—Swiss ski chalet and Moroccan retreat, anyone?—dancing in our heads, we managed to make it through a few Blue Margaritas at the Necker Belle party last night. Officially to welcome the twin-hulled beauty to the Virgin group, the event also showcased these other small and carefully curated properties owned by Branson through his Limited Edition Label.

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Tags: Rock and Roll Travel / Museum Travel / Music Travel / New York City / New York Travel / → All Tags

NYC Will Become Deadhead Mecca In March For Grateful Dead Exhibit

Deadheads, book your New York City vacation now, as the New York Historical Society has announced that in March 2010, they will mount an exhibition of the Grateful Dead Archive. It will be the largest exhibition of its kind ever, and is sure to have fans breaking out their Jerry Garcia-brand ties for the occasion.

According to the official description, "Grateful Dead: Now Playing at The New York Historical Society", as the exhibitions is called, "will chronicle the history of the Grateful Dead, its music, and phenomenal longevity through an array of original art and documents related to the band, its members, performances, and productions." If you've been a hardcore fan for years, be sure to look closely at the piles of fan mail that will be exhibited, just in case you ever wondered why Phil Lesh never responded to your sincere letter asking him to play at your prom.

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