Jaunted

Airport Restaurants / IAH / Airports / Airport News / Cat Cora / Houston Travel / Top Chef Travel / → All Tags

Cat Cora's Second Airport Restaurant is Now Cooking at Houston-IAH

If you’re looking for a great layover lunch—or dinner—during your holiday travels be sure to check out one of the latest options at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Iron Chef star and all around celeb chef Cat Cora recently opened up a new restaurant in Terminal E at IAH—it’s near E10. Cat Cora’s Kitchen is intended to actually provide you with an enjoyable airport meal, and if travelers like this new outpost as much as the version out in SFO—check out the Yelp reviews—this should be quite an addition to the airport.

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Sports Travel / Basketball Travel / Texas Travel / Final Four Travel / How To Get Tickets To / → All Tags

Three March Madness Vacation Packages to Take You to the Final Four

We know there were some other games the other day, but the real March Madness starts this afternoon. Sure skipping work to watch the games is fun, but it would be even better to leave work and not come back until April. If that’s your plan—and we don’t see why it shouldn’t be—here are three Final Four packages to get you to Houston:

· Sports Traveler
The folks at Sports Traveler won’t judge your bracket, so don’t feel ashamed if your picks didn’t get you too far in your office pool. However, they will judge your credit card, as you’ll need to shell out some serious cash for one of their vacation packages. For roughly $1,900 per person you’ll get four nights at the St. Regis Hotel, a four-day rental car, and tickets to all three games. Just don’t expect courtside seats, as these are upper level options behind the baskets. If you want to upgrade to the lower level seats just throw down another $2,400 per person—oof.

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Airplane News / Continental / Continental Airlines / Boeing 787 Dreamliner / 787 / Boeing / Airline News / Airplanes / → All Tags

Continental Airlines Reveals Their Tricked-Out 787 Dreamliner Interior

If you have the necessary credentials to sneak into this year’s National Business Travel Association International Convention and Expo in Houston, you might just get a sneak peak at Continental’s plans for their Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The soon-to-be world’s largest airline revealed bits and pieces of what the insides of the new bird will look like.

One of the things Continental is bragging about is lower cabin altitude. The plane will change cabin pressure to simulate 6,000 feet to help passengers feel more comfy throughout their flight. Additionally, there’s to be way more natural light thanks to larger windows, and plenty of room for carry-ons in the overhead storage bins; in fact, Continental claims there'll be room for everyone's bag. We'll believe it when we see it.

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Airport Photo Shoots / Celeb Travel / Lady Gaga / Fashion Travel / IAH / → All Tags

Lady Gaga Dons a Straitjacket for Her Flight into Houston

In what's quickly becoming a weekly edition of "what crazy costume Lady Gaga wore on a plane today," we report that the infamously fashion-bold singer made her way into Houston International Airport in a straitjacket.

Well, it wasn't your typical straitjacket, but a custom-made, cowl-neck straitjacket dress designed for Gaga by stylist Asher Levine. The Daily Mail UK reports that yet again, Gaga found it difficult to walk in her high heels as the dressed cinched closely around her knees. And yet it seems like just yesterday that she was having that deep vein thrombosis scare onboard another flight.

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Air Marshals / Bad Ideas / Continental Airlines / → All Tags

Air Marshals Do More Than Just Chat Up Celebrities

We knew Kim Kardashian was a trendsetter—or at least plays one on television—but apparently her sense of style has taken to the skies. After she had a little in-flight meet up with an air marshal it seems that now everyone wants to get in on the fun of hanging out with a federal official. Unfortunately for one gentleman, his visit wasn’t a good one.

A couple weeks ago a dude from Alabama was headed to Houston aboard a Continental Airlines flight from Amsterdam, but things didn’t go as well as he probably planned. Apparently this guy was bothering a female passenger in an inappropriate manner, and the flight attendants had an air marshal switch seats with him in attempts to get a handle on the situation. Well that didn’t go so well since the troublemaker hit the air marshal a couple times, but the air marshal got things under control and probably administered an in-flight beat down.

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Film Festival Travel / Houston Travel / Culture Travel / Movie Travel / Film Festivals / → All Tags

Come Artists And All To Cinema Arts Festival Houston

Austin gets all the credit for being the arty city in Texas, and Houston residents probably like it that way: When no one's depending on you to bolster your state's reputation, you get a lot more work done! But the city where "Reality Bites" and "Rushmore" were filmed is stepping into the limelight with next month's Cinema Arts Festival Houston.

Held November 11 to 15, the fest says it focuses on "films by and about artists," offering events like a conversation with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga ("Babel") Nov. 13 and a screening of the new documentary "Yes Men Fix The World" with one of the Yes Men, who have been wreaking havoc in Washington D.C. this week with fake press conferences and silly costumes—that's on November 14 and 15.

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Reality TV Travel / Amazing Race / Chasing Racer / Survivor / Events / Houston Travel / Kelly Crabb / → All Tags

How Past Amazing Racers 'Survive': A Reality Show Challenge In Houston

Kelly Crabb competed in Season 13 of The Amazing Race, taking 6th place with her best friend, Christy. Coined as "America's Divorcee," this freelance writer and travel enthusiast lives life to its fullest in Houston, Texas and remains "bitchy with a heart of gold." Here she recaps the latest Amazing Race/Survivor alumni event in Texas:

Stars of reality shows don’t always return to normal, everyday life. After such an eye-opening experience, most go on to alter their lives by making special appearances, continuing to travel the world, posing for pictures like a regular celebrity, working towards good causes, and some even hold political offices. Of course it's even more drastic if you win a reality show, as they usually drop work altogether.

Houston’s Jolanda Jones of Survivor: Palau, and now Houston City Council Member, has put on The Houston Survivor Challenge now for the second year in a row. Many reality stars from different shows were in attendance this year, including the event’s Emcee, Uchenna Agu, Winner of Season 7 of The Amazing Race.

Who else was there, after the jump>

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Accidents / Amusement Parks / → All Tags

Houston Aquarium's 'Shark Trains' Collide; Sharks Unharmed

In some sad news that's all too similar to last week's Disney Monorail accident, a typical small amusement park train rear-ended another, injuring 31 visitors, 27 of whom who went to the hospital. The accident happened Saturday night aboard the Shark Voyage mini-train, which runs on a 10-minute-long loop through Houston's downtown Aquairum.

According to the Chronicle, the trains "never travel faster than 7 mph, and neither train left the track. Passengers were not thrown from the trains — just jolted in their seats." That hardly sounds like the type of accident which would send so many people to the hospital.

There is good news however for anyone anticipating a visit to the Houston Aquarium this summer: the trains were back up and running yesterday, and making their famous loop through an acrylic tunnel under a 200,000-gallon shark tank. Good thing the crash didn't take place in there, we say.

Related Stories:
· Accident at downtown attractions injures 31 [KTRK-TV Houston]
· Several injured after 2 trains collide at downtown Aquarium [Houston Chronicle]
· Accidents Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: waymarking]

Airplane Hell / Accidents / Houston / Southwest Airlines / Landings / Jetblue / Safety / → All Tags

Southwest Jet Suffers Tire Fire at Houston-Hobby

Last night was a beautiful evening, that is unless you happened to be channel surfing as we were, and come across Anderson Cooper talking between shots of a Southwest Airlines plane on fire and evacuating passengers via emergency slide.

Of course it wouldn't have been a pleasant end to the day for the passengers aboard Flight 519 from New Orleans to Houston either, as sitting aboard a flaming plane wasn't in the plans.

Upon landing at Houston-Hobby airport, the Southwest jet's tire caught fire and burned steadily through until emergency personnel arrived to the crippled plane on the runway. At that point, the rear left emergency slide deployed to get all 47 passengers and 5 crew out safely.

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Laid-Off Travel / Apache Oil / Layoffs / → All Tags

How An Oil Company's Ex-Employees Can Spend Their 'Vacation' Days

Times must be tough if even oil companies are cutting down their workforce. Houston multinational Apache is "only" laying off 200 employees in response to dropping oil and gas prices, but that's a deep cut for an industry widely considered to be recession-proof.

Of course, the best revenge on the oil company which showed you the door would be to staycate and let their demand fall even further, but that's not as fun as our post-employment suggestions:

Cool It -- It's not even that warm in Texas yet, but you know it's coming, so spend a chill weekend sampling microbrews and watching the Rockies play in Denver; we found a LastMinute.com package for next weekend for $259/person, hotel included.

Craic -- This Gaelic word meaning "fun or light-hearted mischief, often in the context of drinking" is what you'll be having with a $516 round-trip ticket to Dublin on Air Canada this summer.

Crash -- Want to stay close to home but still get away? The NYLO Plano Hotel is offering a buy-one-get-one-half-off weekend special for a getaway you can drive to.

Related Stories:
· Oil independent Apache Corp. is laying off 200 [Houston Chronicle]
· Wall Street Meltdown Good for Airlines [Jaunted]
· Laid-Off Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: guccibear2005]

Food Travel / Restaurants / Brunch / Houston To Do / → All Tags

Three Great Deals For Brunch In Houston

Weekending in Houston lends itself well to brunch: Breezy mornings are often the best time to experience the city before the humidity really kicks in. Chow down at one of these and you're guaranteed to get the most for your money.

The Classic: West Gray Cafe (415 West Gray St.) A local in the know said he'd never had trouble getting a table at this River Oaks stalwart, also popular with the post-bar crowd for 2AM breakfasts. Platters include plate-sized pancakes, crunchy bacon and jokey, friendly service.

The Local: La Guadalupana (2109 Dunlavy St.) An unassuming family-owned joint tucked next to a convenience store and a laundromat, this Montrose bakery is best known for its tres leches cake, but if you want to eat how the city's Mexican-American population does, chow down on migas (scrambled eggs with tortilla strips and sausage) washed down with bottomless, cinnamon-scented coffee.

The International: The Black Labrador (4100 Montrose Blvd.) Combine a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston with pub fare at this scenic little stone cottage. The menu plays fast and loose with traditional conceptions of British food (quesadillas are not from southern London, no matter what the entree says!) but purists can order bangers and mash, the adventuresome type a chicken-filled crepe.

Related Stories:
· Post-Ike Travel: Houston's New Cruise Terminal Will Actually Get Some Use [Jaunted]
· Tribeca Grand Brunch Just on Summer Hiatus; Recession Not to Blame [HC]
· Brunch Travel: Totally Trendy in Seoul [Jaunted]

[Photo: groovehouse]

Adults Only / Museums / Ima Hogg / → All Tags

Houston Museum Putting on a 'History Camp' For Genteel Adults

Don't just grumble about the troublemakin' kids on your lawn -- leave them behind entirely: A Houston-based history museum plans to make a kinder, gentler age come alive with history camp for adults.

Bayou Bend was once the home of an oil millionairess named, we are so not joking, Ima Hogg. Now Hogg's house, antiques and gardens are open to the public thanks to the efforts of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts -- another good place to while away the hottest hours of the day -- which is helping to put on these lessons in 18th-century gentility.

The presentations run every Wednesday in February from 6 to 9PM; for $50, you can enjoy a proper dinner while learning about candlemaking (Feb. 11) or the proper way to host a tea party (Feb. 18). If you can't make it to camp, Bayou Bend is open Tuesday through Saturday with tours every 15 minutes; admission is $10. We'll be working on our pinky-curling in anticipation.

Related Stories:
· Learn 18th Century Etiquette and More at Bayou Bend [Houstonist]
· All the Educational Programs at Bayou Bend [MFAH.org]
· What To Do In Houston Other Than Sweat Profusely [Jaunted]

[Photo: zephrene]