When you think of the holiday season and big cities you probably think of New York City and its window displays and oversized Christmas tree. Well it’s time to consider Chicago as well, because they certainly get into the holiday spirit in their own Midwesterny ways. Especially since every season they totally remodel the inside and outside of an El train with lights, decorations, and more.

The Chicago Transit Authority has done this for a few years now, and the trains even come complete with Santa and his elves, on hand to pass out candy canes and other treats. In additional to the holiday treats, the train is decked out with lights from top to bottom along with projections and other displays. It doesn’t stop there either, as the inside of the train also gets a holly jolly makeover that can put a smile on the face of even the biggest Grinch. ]]> kjb 2011-12-01T11:45:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/6/101544/454

These days, when you think of Bangkok, does the "Hangover 2" phrase "Holla, city of squalor" pop into mind? It did ours, until we freaking went there and got tangled in its web of awesomeness. Bangkok is truly a world metropolis to be experienced over more than a few days, but we'll be detailing several places and things that simply can't be left undone. Join us, but watch where you step.

You MUST hop the river's bus boats to get where you're going.

If you think there's a ton of ways to get around a metropolis like New York City, then you need to spend some time in Bangkok, which may just take the cake for variety of public transportation options. There's taxis, tuk-tuks, motorbike taxis, buses, songthaews, longboats, the subway, the Skytrain, commuter and hotel boats and the Chao Phraya Express Boat. The latter, if you can't yet tell from the topic of this story, is our favorite by far.]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-06T15:31:59-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/17/93053/8575

This sign might not have been charming if it was in New York’s subway system, but when we spotted this traveling around Paris we thought it was something pretty special. We’re hardly experts when it comes to French—our knowledge is based purely on those old infomercials for Muzzy—but we kind of knew what they were talking about when we spotted the sign.

It doesn’t take much to understand that the city doesn’t want chewing gum left behind on the trains, but it’s the way in which it was written that we found charming. Even without too much mastery of the French language it was pretty easily to see that the whole thing rhymes—kind of like a public service sonnet. ]]> kjb 2011-06-17T11:00:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/3/29/152457/112

We still need to get through the Royal Wedding before finalizing our plans for the 2012 Olympics, but if need be, we might be able to plan things on the fly when the fun rolls around next year. London is moving full-speed ahead in preparation for next year’s games, and it looks like Tube stations will also be getting some spit polishing.

Unfortunately the upgrade doesn’t include air conditioning, but they do involve a little bit of technology. The city is attempting to bring WiFi to the London Underground before the 2012 Olympics, which means no more dropped signals on your smartphone when you’re forced to head below street level. ]]> kjb 2011-03-30T08:31:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/3/12/131422/094

Today is officially the first day of pre-orders for Apple's new iPad, and in honor of the day, we thought it appropriate to talk up another great iPhone Travel App, especially now that augmented reality is becoming more and more embraced.

The latest to make use of augmented reality with the iPhone 3GS is, to our delight, San Francisco's BART system. They've just released their app in conjunction with Junaio, to locate the closest BART station to you, and even see what and when is the next train is arriving. It works like most other augmented reality applications; you turn on the app, which opens up the phone's camera and utilizing the GPS to lay direction and transportation information over the scene you see around you, but on your screen.

But it's features go further. More, after the jump. ]]> JetSetCD 2010-03-12T17:41:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/2/19/14341/1507

If you're planning on taking a trip to Italy and haven't yet experienced the unique event of crossing the Strait of Messina by train, you must add it to your bucket list. We've done it six times, and each time we discover something new between the boot of Italy and the island of Messina. For one, when you take a train, your train is loaded into the belly of a ferry to make the crossing, and you're free to wander the ship and sightsee during those 35 minutes of open water.

Doing this is very easy, can be very cheap, and will yield you some of the best photographs and stories of your trip. That is, unless you sleep through the whole thing, it's that seamless a transportation transition! The video above is filmed from the front of a train car as it goes into the ferry of the "Ferrovie dello Stato"—or Italian railway—and then sits on the tracks inside for the crossing.

The Guide to Taking the Train across the Strait of Messina, after the jump]]> JetSetCD 2010-02-19T16:25:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/2/18/2338/03371

First off, it's important to understand the difference between the the iconic vintage cars that run on three routes in San Francisco and the trolleys on Market Street. They are easily and frequently confused, but what we're discussing is the former—the cable cars like the pretty open-air ones featured in Rice-A-Roni commercials.

Of course TV shows like Full House helped too, since the cable cars were only restored to safe operating conditions in the late 1980s. These days, you won't find the Olsen twins on one, but you will join a load of tourists all jostling for the best photo position as the cars climb the hills and go from Chinatown to Fisherman's Wharf.

The Guide to Taking the SF Cable Cars, after the jump ]]> JetSetCD 2010-02-18T10:30:18-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/