Tag: Hipster Travel

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Why Yes, This Donut is Shaped Like an Airplane

June 8, 2012 at 3:41 PM | by | Comments (0)

"Put a bird on it!" That may be the most famous quote from the popular IFC series "Portlandia," but it's also Virgin America's goal—to put one of their birds on a Portland route. Today, that bird flies SFO-PDX for the first time and we're on board.

Let's start out by saying that Virgin America knows how to throw a launch party. They do it often enough that it's now a finely crafted work of party art. For this week's first landing in Portland, the theme was "local": local libations, local entertainment and local celebrities.

Just steps after disembarking the A320 named "Mt. Hoodie," the planeload of first flyers was greeted with a glass of champagne (not cheap stuff, either) and a red carpet, where "Portlandia" mayor Kyle MacLachlan gave a speech in character. It was hilarious and he made sure to let us know that even though his preferred method of travel is bicycle, he was still excited about Virgin America's entry into the city.

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Virgin America's CEO Dishes During Their Inaugural Flight to PDX

June 6, 2012 at 7:37 PM | by | Comments (2)

"Put a bird on it!" That may be the most famous quote from the popular IFC series "Portlandia," but it's also Virgin America's goal—to put one of their birds on a Portland route. Today, that bird flies SFO-PDX for the first time and we're on board.

To say that Virgin America took advantage of every second of the short, hour-and-a-half inaugural flight from SFO to PDX would be a gross understatement. The second the doors closed, all the way until we disembarked in Portland, the activities for passengers kept on coming. Meanwhile, we dutifully filled you in from the air.

To kick off, the flight began by screening an episode of "Portlandia" that heavily featured the flight's two big guests: "Portlandia" mayor, actor Kyle MacLachlan and real Portland mayor/"Portlandia" mayor's assistant, Sam Adams. The episode got everyone on the flight pumped up and ready to party (as if they weren't already), as well as primed for a quick game of "Portlandia" trivia, which we knew all the answers to (duh).

Shortly after takeoff, Virgin's hand-picked crew began beverage service and, before we knew it, we were sitting with Virgin America CEO David Cush. Time for some serious questions.

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Hello from 32,000 Feet, Onboard Virgin America's First Flight to Portland, Oregon

June 5, 2012 at 6:07 PM | by | Comment (1)

"Put a bird on it!" That may be the most famous quote from the popular IFC series "Portlandia," but it's also Virgin America's goal—to put one of their birds on a Portland route. Today, that bird flies SFO-PDX for the first time and we're on board.

LIVE from 32,000' above Northern California:

We are officially airborne and on our way to Portland! The pre-departure festivities at San Francisco's snazzy Terminal 2 were complete with cookies and celebratory remarks by Virgin America CEO David Cush and "Portlandia" mayor's assistant/real Portland mayor, Sam Adams. Kyle MacLachlan, who plays the mayor in "Portlandia," is here as well, so really we just need to have shell art kits in the seatback pockets and all will be ideal.

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How To Get Tickets To This Summer's CBGB Festival in NYC

May 29, 2012 at 1:20 PM | by | Comments (0)

After being closed for more than 5 years, one of NYC's most famous clubs, CBGB, is being resurrected as a music festival.

The festival will be similar to Austin's SXSW and will include conferences, workshops, rock 'n' roll movie screenings, and performances by more than 300 band at venues across New York City.

The Cro-Mags, Vision of Disorder, Sick of It All, Guided by Voices, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cloud Nothings, the Baseball Project, So So Glos, Firehorse, the Dirty Pearls, D Generation, and Sister Sparrow are all part of the music line-up.

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Two Airplanes That Have Facial Hair and One That Needs It

March 30, 2012 at 10:28 AM | by | Comments (0)

At this point we're dead sure that Virgin America is attempting to solidify their budding reputation as hipster airline of choice. C'mon—their last three big route announcements were Palm Springs, Philly and Portland and now—AND NOW—they've actually gone and given one of their planes facial hair.

Granted the unshaven A320 references the beard of San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson, as this Airbus is Virgin America's tribute livery to the baseball team. Hitting the skies on April 2, the plane (named "Fly Bye Baby") heralds the opening of the airline's sponsored Club Level lounge at AT&T Park (with mood lighting, natch) and the beginning of a contest.

Planespotters! On your marks, get set, go...spot the bearded airplane, snap a photo and share it using the hashtag #FlyTheBeard to be entered to win roundtrip tickets. Virgin will pick a winner once a month until the end of baseball season. Beyond that, a single winner will score season tickets for 2013. Niiiice. Full contest rules here.

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NYC's New Catalpa Festival Could Become the East Coast Coachella

March 22, 2012 at 1:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

SXSW might be over but the year's music festival scene is just getting started and it includes one new fest that New Yorkers can call their own.

The initial line-up for the inaugural Catalpa Festival, which will be held on Randall’s Island on July 28th and 29th 2012, has just been announced and includes performances by The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, TV On The Radio, City and Colour, Umphrey's McGee, The Big Pink, AraabMuzik, Felix Da Housecat and Fort Atlantic.

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Virgin America's Newest Routes Will Totally Help 'Keep Portland Weird'

March 13, 2012 at 6:13 PM | by | Comments (0)

Everything happens in threes, and Virgin America's latest route launches follow the pattern. This year so far it's been new flights to Palm Springs, Philadelphia (launching beginning of April) and now—the third "P"—Portland, Oregon.

Just announced today, Virgin America will begin hopping over to PDX from both SFO and LAX beginning June 5. LAX will get two daily nonstops, while SFO claims only one. Whatever—that's plenty to help "keep Portland weird." Rates start at $99 each way, inclusive of taxes and fees. LA and SF people mixing with Portlanders is usually pretty hilarious, and they're pretty much most of the guests at The Ace Hotel PDX, so Virgin's new flights will just help them make the trip to "where the young go to retire" even easier. But that's not all!

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The Countdown to Coachella Starts with a Cool Time Lapse

March 13, 2012 at 9:14 AM | by | Comments (0)

It's March 13 and, therefore, officially one month out from the start of the Coachella music festival in Indio, outside of Palm Springs, California.

At this point, if you haven't booked airfare/hotel/rideshare/campsite/etc, it's not going to be easy or cheap to figure out your weekend...or weekends. You see, this will be the first year that Coachella splits into two consecutive weekends, offering the same experience at both but allowing for double the attendance in total.

While regular festival passes are long SOLD OUT, it does look as though there's one work-around to score tickets to the first weekend of fun. Buy the Lake Eldorado camping package, and it comes with General Admission to Coachella. But then ya gotta camp, and the only option left is a 4-person tent (and 4 festival passes) for $2,975.

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Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen to Make a 'Portlandia' Travel Guidebook

February 14, 2012 at 1:00 PM | by | Comment (1)

IFC's hit series Portlandia has been showing us around Portland's neighborhoods for two seasons, and now they are bringing that expertise to bookstores.

Hachette imprint Grand Central Publishing will release “PORTLANDIA: A Guide for Visitors” later this year. The book will be written like a traditional travel guide, but instead of providing practical information, like prices or reviews, it will take readers on a tour of Portland's landmarks, shops, and restaurants in the same quirky tone Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen use on their sketch comedy show.

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Neighborhoods to Know and Go: London's Exmouth Market

April 5, 2011 at 2:31 PM | by | Comment (1)

The more we explore London, the more we're wont to wander off the beaten path. A recent trip to Oxford Circus reminded us how the city's most crowded areas are enough to rile up agoraphobic feelings in just about anyone, even locals.

Exmouth Market is a sweet pocket of Clerkenwell that boasts a rare village-y atmosphere. On a recent sunny (miraculous, we know) Sunday afternoon, the area was buzzing with hipster parents and their prams, tattooed creatives sipping on flat whites at Caravan and older couples enjoying a midday glass of Sauvignon Blanc at the Ambassador. With restaurants, independent boutiques and nary a conspicuous tourist in sight, it's a worthy place to spend a part of your day, perhaps before taking in a dance show at Sadler's Wells just down the road.

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Chicago's Foodies are Currently Obsessed with Queso Fundido

Where: 1531 North Damen Ave [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60622
April 26, 2010 at 5:22 PM | by | Comment (1)


Big Star's queso fundido

While New York goes through food obsessions every few months (it's cupcakes and then it's pork belly and then it's banh mi), Chicago prefers to idolize specific ethnic restaurants, where one or a few dishes completely stand out and really make the dining experience.

When we were in Chicago recently, we heard the same couple curious words all over the place: "Queso Fundido." Why was everyone talking about melted cheese so excitedly, and where could we get some? As it turns out, the Queso Fundido currently tempting the palettes of Chicago is what's on the menu at hipster taco joint Big Star, in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood.

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How Gritty Is Too Gritty When You Travel?

May 13, 2009 at 5:39 PM | by | Comments (2)

Something of a travel journalism brouhaha erupted a few weeks ago, when Guardian UK travel writer Benji Lanyado penned an article for the NY Times entitled "In London, New Cross and Deptford Attract the Hip." This was taken in some quarters as risible, since in addition to attracting hipsters Deptford is also known for attracting criminals, junkies, and all manner of people who rob and kill other people.

The British media being what it is, newspapers and tabloids immediately began to pile on:

The New York Times dubbed the deprived districts of Deptford and New Cross as "London's Wild West" and urged Americans to visit the area's gritty attractions. Readers of the respected newspaper are told that Deptford has "that most heady of urban ingredients: an edge". That edge includes being the tenth most violent place in the country,... But the article praises the area's indie club scene where "rude boys and art students with asymmetric haircuts party side by side to raucous live acts""... Barmaid Sandra White, 41, said: "... I hope they like hoodies, muggers and junkies - there are enough of them here."

We don't know what a hoodie is, but fair enough. Most tourists go out of their way to avoid the bad neighborhoods of the cities they travel to. We certainly can't think of many people who would pay to fly to London specifically with the intent of visiting a slum. Targeting the article towards the NYT's demo was probably not the best of editorial decisions.

That said, there's probably a flavor of hipster travel that Deptford fits into comfortably.

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