When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

From just two days in Budapest the other week, it seems like we could fill six months worth of Foreign Grocery Friday features. Offensive, weird, funny-sounding...who knew snacks and candy could be so odd?

The best of the bunch, though, was the Hyper chocolate bar—or, as the packet has it: "The wafer for big people." ]]> juliab 2012-02-10T16:15:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/10/133225/681

The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida isn't the largest zoo in the country, though it does clock in at a very respectable 50 acres. There are areas containing wildlife from Africa, Australia and Asia, and Florida. Then there's a section with with all kinds of jaguars, monkeys, reptiles, and (especially) vultures. The zoo's Wikipedia entry even features a digital marque promising that you can feed gentle giraffes. Just so there's no confusion, we like feeding gentle giraffes. We'd even be willing to feed non-gentle giraffes, if it came to that.

More importantly for the immediate circumstances, all-things-adorable blog Zooborns reports that the Brevard Zoo has just had its first ever birth of a Giant Anteater. The little guy or girl—it turns out that you can't really tell the gender of baby Giant Anteaters—will spend the next year of his or her life riding on the back of mom Boo. She and father Abner are said to be pleased by how everything is progressing. ]]> Omri 2012-02-10T14:45:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/10/125651/159

This weekend the family friendly 3D sequel to the 2008 hit Journey to the Center of the Earth heads into theaters. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island centers around Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson), who receives a message from his long-lost grandfather Alexander Anderson (Michael Caine) from a fabled Mysterious Island. Sean decides to find the island but has to take along his stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), their pilot Gabato (Luis Guzmán), and his strong-willed daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) on this journey of a lifetime.

The movie's plot might not sound too original, but its locations make up for it. Journey 2 was filmed in Oahu, Hawaii, around the Waimea Valley and Kualoa Ranch.]]> cmb 2012-02-10T13:28:39-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/10/123116/175

While racing to finish up work, stuff the last necessary items into our suitcase (we would not be a good candidate for I am Packed right now), print out our boarding passes, double-check our camera equipment, charging cords and TSA-sized toiletries and do other last-minute errands before hopping on a flight, we caught eye of this snapshot from the Beijing International Airport in our photo archives.

Posted just before the trains to the baggage claim, it says: Relax. Train Comes Every Three Minutes.

Isn't that just...nice? We wish all airports had that sign so that us hyper-active, worrywart travelers could at least take a moment off (or three minutes) from stressing.

There's another bonus for the OCD traveler at Beijing's airport, as the lifts and train cars are frequently disinfected. But of course, we understand if you still want to bring your own personal hand sanitizer.

[Photo: juliana]]]> juliana 2012-02-10T12:31:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/9/22309/68777

We're kind of obsessed with browsing Instagram for travel inspiration and, every other Friday, we'll bring you 10 of our favorite shots that impart major wanderlust. Don't forget to follow our own shots on Instagram under "jaunted," "hotelchatter" and "vegaschatter."

· Photo via photosbylinda — God, Budapest looks so good in black & white.

· Photo via contax_h — Awesome escalator symmetry at HKG.

· Photo via nytimesfashion — The night before NY Fashion Week...so lovely at Lincoln Center. ]]> JetSetCD 2012-02-10T10:17:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/10/7106/39212

The airport that serves the greater Seattle area—Seattle–Tacoma International Airport or Sea-Tac—is already a pretty decent airport, but now they’re bringing a taste of the local music scene to those arriving for the first time. The airport is spending some cash on a slice of musical marketing, and they’re hoping that the "Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative" will have passengers humming long after they've passed through the concourses and terminals.

Passengers can use the airport’s free WiFi to access the airport’s official webplayer, where they can tap into airport-approved tunes, and of course there have been more than a few live concerts right in the middle of the airport. Local artists have been reading the overhead announcements, and there are even music videos streaming on the monitors near the baggage claim area. Sir Mix-A-Lot, Jerry Cantrell, and Macklemore are just some of the artists lending their voices to remind passengers to watch their baggage at all times. ]]> kjb 2012-02-10T09:50:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/10/7436/14694

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Alaska Airlines:
All that Starbucks has them buzzing about the nifty fifty, and that’s why Alaska Airlines is looking to expand towards the East Coast. The carrier is launching a nonstop option to Philadelphia all the way from Seattle beginning on June 11.

The flights will run each and every day of the week, and the planes leave from Seattle and in the morning and depart from Philadelphia in the evening—no red-eyes needed. Alaska Airlines is also connecting to one other new spot, as they’ll also be sending jets back and forth between Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale each and every day of the week. These Florida flights start up on July 16, and if you book before February 13 there’s even some introductory fares where you might just score a deal.

· Air New Zealand:
If you’re looking to head to Bali you might as well stop over and check out New Zealand first, as the airline is launching some new nonstop service between Bali and Auckland a couple times per week. It will just be seasonal service for them between June and October, and the new options will all get done thanks to some of the airline’s Boeing 767-300s. The flight will take about eight hours or so, and that should save you a decent amount of time by not needing a layover. Tickets for the new flights go on sale later this month, so if you’re thinking about adding on a little bit of paradise to your Kiwi adventure now’s the time to do it. ]]> kjb 2012-02-10T09:21:46-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/