This week in Singapore, we earned the city-specific Foursquare "Lion City" badge just for SIN. The geek in us got excited and we immediately began wondering if our next trip's destination also has its own badge. Well, if it doesn't now then it will soon, as Foursquare continues to expand the variety. Just this week, both Madrid and Seattle join the club.

It began with Chicago (Windy City Badge), then London, Paris, Istanbul, Atlanta, New Orleans, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Berlin and Tokyo.

How to get the badges: First, follow 4sqCities, and just to be safe, it wouldn't hurt to also follow the individual city lists here: Madrid, Seattle. Then travel to one or all of the cities and clickety-click to check-in to the places on the recommended lists. Five places earns the badge.]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-25T13:25:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/9/24/14357/9567

Japan may delight in having vending machines for almost everything, but there's one you can't yet find there: the Gold To Go gold bar-dispensing machine. Introduced only a couple years ago, they've been slow to roll out. They have appeared in a few places around the world, however, and we know where to find them when you need a solid gold fix.

Three Places to Find the Gold Bar Vending Machine:

· Frankfurt, Germany
Since the Gold To Go machine was invented by a German, it only makes sense for him to debut it in his home country. The first machines took up residence in two Frankfurt hotspots: Frankfurt International Airport and the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Both are humongous transportation hubs, where people may be walking around with lots of cash and the will to pass some time playing with, and buying from, the Gold To Go. Options can cost as little as 40 Euro, but the prices are continually updated via an internal computer which monitors gold value.]]> JetSetCD 2010-09-24T14:46:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/25/144940/47

Irony! Just when we vouched for the safety of travelers in Madrid last week with our "Bad Rap Cities: Madrid" story, a high-profile woman fell victim over the weekend to the city's thieves who prey on tourists.

It all went down on yesterday evening in front of the Thyssen Museum in Madrid, when beloved fashion designer, contemporary of Andy Warhol, and legend in her own right Diane von Furstenberg twittered: ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-26T08:53:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/19/173951/57

Some locales can’t seem to shake their less-than-sparkling reputations despite efforts to lock away the skeletons of yesterday. We’ve decided to highlight five of these Bad Rap Cities that are making moves to shed their grimy and gritty images in hopes of becoming more tourist-friendly. Maybe, just maybe, after reading this series you'll be willing to take a chance on them. Enjoy.

Bad Rap City: Madrid

Why Go?
Just like Barcelona, Madrid has a rep for being a Thieves Paradise. Many post-trip reviews are peppered with tales of pickpockets roaming the streets in droves, armed with purse-cutting knives. Add to that the declarations that local men are lecherous louts, and female travelers become skittish about visiting alone. But forget the fear mongerers rantings and head to this beautiful city that is chock full of impressive art, delectable cuisine and is a nightowl’s dream.

]]> Chanize 2009-10-21T13:47:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/