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The Adventures of Travel Cat: Panzano in Chianti, Italy

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted in: La pieve di San Leolino, in the town of Panzano, in the Chianti region of Italy.

This week's Travel Cat comes from Ned Lundquist, Editor and Publisher of the “Your Very Next Step” travel and adventure newsletter (subscribe by sending a blank email here).

The story of this Travel Cat is a uniquely funny one; we'll let Ned tell it:

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Bali Travel / Indonesia Travel / Bali Field Trip / An Awesome Day on Bali / Photo Gallery / Landmarks / Starbucks / Coffee Travel / Religion Travel / Historical Travel / → All Tags

An Awesome Day on Bali: Stumbling upon the Starbucks Temple

BALI. For some, the word conjures up images of infinity pools, surfing beaches and tropical temples. For others, it's a nightmare of topless tourists and sweaty sightseeing. Well, we just got back ourselves and we, with the help of tips from friends and locals, did something in between...something that turned out to be awesome. Put on the SPF, hire a car* and join us this week as we reveal an An Awesome Day on Bali (Jaunted-style).

Our awesome day on Bali continues with a wander around Jalan Raya Ubud (Ubud's main street) and a visit to the Pura Taman Saraswati temple behind Starbucks (yes, Starbucks)..

Alright, so now that you've breakfasted at Biku, it's time to hop in that private car* and hightail it almost two hours north into the cultural heart of Bali, in the town of Ubud. We recommend going there in the morning, because the afternoon brings the tour buses and floods the sidewalks (already barely wide enough for one) and many, many temples with vacationers who stop, stare, photograph, bargain for tchotchkes and sweat down the backs of their T-shirts.

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Ryanair / Airline Industry / LCCs / Italy / Italy Travel / Religion Travel / → All Tags

Ryanair is Literally Selling Tickets to See the Pope

When it comes to inventing new fees and in-flight purchases for their passengers, it goes without saying that Ryanair is a leading... innovator. Sometimes those fees are so egregious they get ruled illegal, so the Irish LCC has to continuously brainstorm. There's a reason that the airline is swimming in profits.

Last time it was porn. This time it's audiences with Pope. Where it not for how simply tiresome this entire act is becoming, we'd almost admire Ryanair's utter disregard for even the barest hint of shame. Almost.

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Religion Travel / LOT / Poland Travel / British Airways / Air France / Airline News / Airline Uniforms / → All Tags

Airline Uniforms are Keeping the Faith

For airlines that fly internationally, cultural sensitivity is occasionally part of employee training. We have already talked about Alaska Airlines eliminating prayer cards from their first class meal trays. While the Alaskan carrier abandoned the in-flight faith, other airlines have gone the next step to ensure a religious vacuum while flying on their birds.

The Polish flag-carrier, LOT, may be added to the list of airlines that walk the fine line of being politically correct while upholding consistent uniform guidelines. The airline has been involved in quite a firestorm recently by banning cabin crew from wearing religious symbols that are visible to passengers. After much debate in the deeply religious nation, the carrier decided to renege on their decision and maintain original policy.

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Amsterdam Travel / Museum Travel / Holland Travel / War Travel / Historical Travel / Jewish Travel / Religion Travel / Thanatourism / Lilit Marcus / → All Tags

Five Jewish Historical Sites to Visit in Amsterdam

A display at the Verzetsmuseum

All this week, traveler and writer Lilit Marcus will share her favorite unique spots in Amsterdam, a city Jaunted can never get enough of.

As a Jewish traveler, or simply one interested in checking out the local Jewish sites, there’s more to do than simply patronize kosher restaurants. Holland lost the largest percentage of its Jewish community during the Holocaust, and since then the country has worked overtime to make sure that the community’s history didn’t disappear. These sites help give a broader picture of Jewish life in Amsterdam—past and present:

· Verzetsmuseum
The Verzetsmuseum (Resistance Museum) paints a picture of what life was like for ordinary Dutch people during the German occupation. The rooms in the center depict everyday life, complete with food rationing and forced military service, while rooms on the side share stories of Dutch citizens who worked against the Nazis and in some cases paid with their lives. The museum successfully gives a broad representation of what Holland was like during the war without resorting to victimhood.

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Religion Travel / Alaska Airlines / Lion Air / CGK / Airline News / Airlines / → All Tags

Alaska Airlines Stops Handing Out Prayer Cards, but They're Not the Only Airline with Them

By now you've probably already heard the news that Alaska Airlines is doing away with dispensing mealtime prayer cards onboard. For many travelers, the fact that an airline would do this in the first place is surprising. Like flyer need to be reminded that their lives are in the hands of a few people sitting up front, and the buttons and switches they're operating to keep the plane aloft and on course.

Well, while Alaska Airlines sends all those prayer cards to the recycling bin, at least one other airline is continuing the practice. Twitter user @Jonathan_Liem tipped us off that Lion Air, an Indonesian carrier that flies around SE Asia, includes "invocation pamphlets," printed with prayers for several religions, in your seatback pocket. "Please do not remove from aircraft." Ay yai yai.

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Religion Travel / JFK / Airports / Catholic Travel / Jewish Travel / → All Tags

Peeking into JFK Airport's Religious Prayer Rooms

The Catholic room

Got some extra time at New York-JFK Airport? Instead of grabbing another Auntie Anne's pretzel or buying an "I <3 NY" magnet for your second cousin, perhaps wander on over to the prayer rooms instead. Yes, prayer rooms.

The departures level at Terminal 4, before security, has four prayer rooms for different religions: Muslim, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish. When we passed by recently, we noticed that the Catholic one was in the middle of actual mass, and indeed they offer it daily excepting Wednesdays (M: 5pm, Tu: 12:15pm, Th: 5pm, F: 12:15pm, Sa: 5pm, Su: 1pm).

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Israel Travel / Jerusalem Travel / Tourism / Religion Travel / Travel Snapshot / → All Tags

Travel Snapshot: The View from Atop Jerusalem's Austrian Hospice

The city of Jerusalem (Hebrew: Yerushalayim) has seen as much history as any other place on Earth. The Old City, the 1sq km walled area tucked inside Israel's larger capital, has been continuously inhabited for 5,000 years. It fell on particularly hard times when it was divided between Jordan and Israel from 1948 to 1967—all but one of the city's 35 ancient synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians, for instance—but since its reunification under Israel much of the destruction has been repaired.

The result is that the Old City is now often the highlight for tourists indulging in some Israel travel. It takes more than one day to see all the sights, with just the Ramparts Walk that we recommended to you last summer taking half a day. The question naturally arises, how can you see as much as possible in the least amount of time?

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Airports / Airport News / BKK / Bangkok Travel / Bangkok Field Trip / Thailand Travel / Religion Travel / → All Tags

Finding Buddha at Bangkok International Airport

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport is massive, and this is something that must be experienced the understand. From the moment you step into the check-in area of BKK, it's all space and all filled with fellow travelers. Perhaps your eyes are drawn to the lines of counters for exotic airlines, or perhaps you're distracted by the numbers of western tourists dressed like they just crawled out of a rice paddy, but regardless there's one huge focal point smackdab in the center of the terminal: a Reliquary Urn of the Lord Buddha.

Kind of like the rest of the airport, it's giant and shiny. The multi-tiered golden reliquary is also surrounded by a garden of Thai flora, and it's pretty much the most ideal photo backdrop in the airport as evidenced by the flow of people posing in front of it.

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Bangkok Field Trip / Thailand Travel / Bangkok Travel / Photo Gallery / Palaces / Religion Travel / Architecture Travel / → All Tags

The Musts of Bangkok: Touring the Blinged-out Grand Palace

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 see the Grand Palace for yourself.

If there's something you need to understand about Thailand, it's that the king and veneration of the royal family is everywhere, and it gets glitzy. The Grand Palace in the center of Bangkok should be first on your itinerary to come to terms with this, as it's really less of a Palace and more of a village built of gold and richly hued mosaics.

You don't have to worry about waking up the current King and Queen when visiting hours begin early in the day; the Grand Palace is only used for events and backgrounds of tourist photographs these days. Still, the history is palpable, or nearly so as there's one building completely dedicated to illustrating the story of the Ramayana.

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In-Flight Entertainment / Religion Travel / Virgin Atlantic / → All Tags

Finding Mecca is Easy as Turning On a Virgin Atlantic TV

It's quite difficult to shock us these days, especially when it comes to new airplane amenities and features. But then when we recently hopped the pond on Virgin Atlantic and spent some sleepless hours really delving into their seatback in-flight entertainment, we discovered something of an Easter egg tucked away: an option that displays the direction of Mecca relevant to the plane's position.

On the early morning flights from New York to London, there will be a moment when practicing Muslims must complete salah, or the traditional prayers facing the Qibla. Prior to this comes a ritual ablution—we're guessing performed in the airplane's itty bitty restroom sinks—and then the praying may begin.

It's not an ideal way to practice your religion, but as we all know from air travel experience, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Photo: Jaunted]

Israel Travel / Jerusalem Travel / Religion Travel / Travel Snapshot / → All Tags

Jerusalem's 'Ramparts Walk': The Insidery Diversion You'll Want to Take

We're indulging in some Israel travel this week, as Jaunted writers are wont to do from time to time. The picture you're looking at is of the ramparts that line the Old City of Jerusalem, a two and a half mile walk that dates back to ancient times and has been immortalized in art. The so-called "rampart walk" is one of those insidery tourist attractions that, once you know about them, are actually worth signing up for.

Visitors can enter and tour the ramparts, which ring the Old City, for about $5. You have to climb up some fairly steep stairs to get to them, but once you're at the top - as you can imagine - the views are spectacular. If you turn and look inside the city, you get to see iconic structures that have been written about for thousands of years. If you turn the other way you're presented with modern Jerusalem.

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