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For $550 Million Dollars, The Empire State Building Gets Its Art Deco Back

The first thing that usually dazzles tourists as they hit midtown in New York City is the view of the Empire State Building from almost any street. It stands at the commanding position of center of the city, and is also quiet central to a visitor's plans in NYC, being a tourist mecca. In order to keep up its appearances and continue to dazzle, the Empire State Building has just undergone at $550 million dollar renovation, with the lobby along accounting for $12.5 million of it.

Back in the 1960s, some aesthetic attempts at "modernization" took place—think the Mad Men-era's preoccupation with the future—and as a result, original Art Deco details of the building were covered up. This renovation has revealed at least two shiny Art Deco murals that fell victim to the 1960s revamp, and now they're back to giving the building's lobby an extra oomph of drama.

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Tags: Train Travel / Alaska Travel / Beer Travel / Tours / → All Tags

Let The Alaskan Railroad Be Your Designated Driver

There's travel blog bait, there's travel blog bait, and then there's a train that takes you along one of the most scenic routes in these United States and serves you six half-pints of microbrews plus appetizers. Well played Alaska Railroad, well played indeed:

Take a scenic journey along Turnagain Arm with the world's best designated driver—the Alaska Railroad. The Microbrew Express travels 80 miles roundtrip from Anchorage to Portage and features an impressive assortment of the finest local microbrews and incredible scenery of Turnagain Arm.

We got tipped to this via The LA Times, which also notes that the BrewHouse beer menu includes Brewhouse Blonde and Oatmeal Stout. Tickets are $149 per person and cover the rail trip plus everything else. The event takes place Oct. 3 and purchases are obviously 21+.

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Tags: Music Travel / Australia Travel / Tours / Themed Tours / → All Tags

A Rocking Tour Of West Oz, In Honor Of Bon Scott

When in Paris, visit Jim Morrison's grave; when in Perth, visit Australia's most visited grave: the final resting place of Bon Scott, the AC/DC front-man who would've turned 63 this month.

But there's much more to an AC/DC pilgrimage than just visiting a grave—they've just launched a Highway to Hell Tour to show you all the AC/DC sites of Fremantle, the port town to Perth where Bon Scott grew up.

The tour takes in Scott's childhood home and schools, the Fremantle Prison where Scott apparently had a brush with the law, a commemorative statue the town's put up and finally, his grave. At the moment, the A$25 ($20), 90-minute tour only runs on Sundays (but it does so three times) and the operators hope to increase the frequency as it gets more popular.

One thing we especially like about this tour is that the tourists get to choose the playlist for the bus-ride. We're pretty sure we'd be belting out "It's A Long Way to the Top" the whole tour long.

Related Stories:
· AC/DC Fans Follow Bon Scott's Adventures [The West]
· Western Australia Travel Guide [Jaunted]

Tags: Alaska Travel / Sarah Palin / Tours / Politics / Political Travel / → All Tags

Say Bye To Sarah Palin As You Swing By Her Alaska Office

Whether your heart is still aching over her loss in last year’s election or the fact that she's still around, you better hustle up to Juneau, since time is running out for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Over the long weekend, she decided to light off some of her own fireworks by announcing she wouldn’t be seeking a second term, nor would she even be finishing out her term in office; she’ll be wrapping up her duties and stepping down by the end of July.

Go to Alaska and bring home a souvenir eBay can be proud of: go to Alaska’s Capitol Building and try to get her to sign your ticket stub. The facilities are open all summer, obviously to take advantage of all those cruisers looking for glaciers, moose, and 2012 presidential candidates. The tours last for about thirty minutes, are totally free, and run daily. The state legislature, governor, and lieutenant governor all call this building their home away from home.

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Tags: Alaska Travel / Tours / Fishing / → All Tags

Become An Alaskan Fisherman, At Least For A Few Hours

If your summer vacation plans include a cruise to Alaska with your grandparents, then you might want to seriously start considering some alternate shore excursions. Sure you can wander through some shops and check out the Totem Poles in Ketchikan like everyone else, or you can pretend that you're a true deep sea fisherman fisherperson.

Imagine being on the Deadliest Catch TV show, except not having to lift a finger. On the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour, you’ll sit in a heated amphitheater right on the deck where you’ll be free to watch all the action while remaining totally safe. The crew will share some information about the ship, and before long you’ll be watching them haul in rockfish, cod, octopus, and king crab. Too bad they don’t bring drawn butter along.

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Tags: Trains / Train Stations / Los Angeles Travel / History Lessons / Tours / → All Tags

Visit The Last Of The Great Railway Stations in Los Angeles

Urban blog Infrastructurist just published a heartbreaking post bemoaning 11 gorgeous American train stations that have been demolished. One that's thankfully been spared: downtown Los Angeles's Union Station, routinely referred to as "The Last of the Great Railway Stations."

Opening in 1939 and costing $11 million, the station quickly became a central destination for the West Coast's passenger trains. It was not uncommon during the 1930s and 40s for 7,000 passengers a day to crowd into the station, which still provides the hub for Greater LA's many rail services. Even if you're not a passenger it's an architectural treasure worth incorporating into your Los Angeles tour.

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Tags: Tours / Active Travel / Outdoor Travel / Animal Travel / Tripadvisor / → All Tags

Go To Lunch With A Llama In New Mexico's Mountains

TripAdvisor recently released their members’ picks for the best tours in America. While some were pretty blah, one that really stood out to us was the opportunity to trek through the wilderness in New Mexico with llamas by your side. You don’t actually ride the llamas, but they accompany you and your group, and apparently the critters are more than happy to carry your stuff. This leaves you and your back free to enjoy nature at it’s finest. Just remember to share your water bottle with your llama friend in case he or she gets thirsty.

The tours take you into New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and all treks are at your own pace. The tour guides, and probably the llamas too, aren’t looking for a stressful journey. After you work up an appetite as you make your way through the Carson National Forest, you’ll be happy to enjoy a fresh meal. All trips serve up “Backcountry Gourmet” meals and the head guide works as a chef in the off-season—so your taste buds will be in good hands.

Tours start at just $99 if you want to experience their Take a Llama To Lunch day hike. If you’re looking to spend a couple nights in the woods, and really get in touch with your new furry buddies, 3 night tours start at $499. Just remember to bring some llama snacks with you; you probably want to get them on your good side as soon as possible.

Related Stories:
·TripAdvisor Tallies America's Top 10 Tours [Official Site]
·Wild Earth Llama Adventures [Official Site]
·Tours coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of some llamas: Big Grey Mare]

Tags: Movie Set Travel / Twilight Travel / Fan Travel / Tours / Vampires / → All Tags

'Twilight' Geeks Can Now Play in The Vampire Baseball Adventure

Parents across the country will be faced with an age old dilemma this summer, spend that precious vacation time getting your "Twilight" geek on or take the obligatory family road trip. Thanks to "Twilight" Fan Trips, you don’t have to choose. Now, you can pack up the whole family for A Vampire Baseball Adventure.

As the company’s website explains, “this trip combines the best in 'Twilight' fan experiences with opportunities to experience some of most notable Washington and Oregon Landmarks for a well rounded summer vacation”.

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Tags: Tours / Slumdog Millionaire / Movie Set Travel / → All Tags

An In-Depth Report of the 'Slumdog Millionaire' Tours

We wondered last month whether Slumdog Millionaire jaunts through Mumbai's slums were inspiring or exploitative, and now the London Paper is back from India with a full report on Reality Tours and Travel's excursion through the Dharavi slums where the movie is set. The verdict? Well, still complicated. Aspects of it do sound like kind of a creep-tastic thing to do:

...walking down the tightly packed warrens of the residential area seems hugely invasive. Families are packed into single rooms and squeezing past the open doorways feels like walking through someone’s living room – we hear the blast of a TV, mothers scolding their children and the clatter of pots and pans being cleared away…

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Tags: Travel Tours / Walking Tours / Tours / Harvey Milk / Oscars / Movie Travel / → All Tags

Tour Harvey Milk's San Francisco

Slumdog Millionaire may be dominating the Oscar buzz, but it isn't the only Academy-nominated film catching tour planner's interest.

Best Picture nominee Milk made us want to hang out in San Francisco's Castro District circa 1978, and local walking tour organizers Crusin' the Castro have taken note—they're now offering a "Harvey Milk Tour." The comprehensive three-hour tour (Wednesdays only) takes you to the house where the pioneering politician lived, his campaign headquarters, through City Hall and to Milk's final resting place, along the way taking in the sights of the colorful Castro neighborhood, where much of the gay rights movement was born.

At $55, the price seems a little steep for a walking tour, although that includes admission to the GLBT Historical Society and its new exhibit about the Castro.

· Cruisin' the Castro [Official Site]
· "Milk" Reminds Us To Salute The Castro [Jaunted]
· 'Slumdog Millionaire' Tour: Effective or Exploitative? [Jaunted]

Photo: [magerleague]

Tags: Drunk Travel / Chavs / Cruises / Tours / Class Discrimination / → All Tags

The Chav Boat, Soon Will Be Making Another Run

The travel press was all atwitter last week over news that a tour company in England was advertising "chav-free holidays," drawing complaints that it was engaging in class discrimination. Activities Abroad sent a cheeky email to 24,000 customers stating that their excursions were designed for hardworking middle class people who don't want their vacations ruined by hordes of hard-partying lager louts with names like Britney, Dazza, Chardonnay, and Candice. Company founder Alistair McLean quickly apologized for any offense he may have caused, but stood firm in his belief that responsible members of society deserve a break from the ill-mannered oafs who have recently overrun popular holiday destinations like "Ibeefa" and "Grease."

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Tags: Walking Tours / Tours / → All Tags

Nearly Free Travel: London Walking Tours

"Free walking tour" shouted the headline, and we, like dumb tourists, believed it. On further investigation it seems that the "free" London walking tours are only free if you've bought a ticket on the Original London Sightseeing Tour hop-on, hop-off bus.

Just the same, we are rather attracted to walking tours and the outfit has both a "classic" walk through central London and a Changing of the Guard walk as well. Walking tours are often led by young backpackers spending a summer in London, so as well as regurgitating some of the local history, they can be extraordinarily good at pointing out the best pubs.

These "nearly free" walking tours cost £5 (nearly $9) if you haven't bought the too-expensive hop-on, hop-off ticket (which costs £20 ($35) for 24 hours). We advise checking out the walking tour guide first to see if they fit your bill and if not, well, just buy a map. Then you can make your walking tour an entirely free "getting lost" tour instead.

Related Stories:
· Original London Sightseeing Tours Introduce Free Walking Tours [eTravel]
· Walk Around London If Your Eurostar Is Late [Jaunted]

[Photo: Salim Virji]