GAP rebranding earns a G grade

G whiz! I just heard that GAP Adventures has rebranded itself as G Adventures.

How clever! Not!

The change was ordered after a U.S. judge ruled that GAP Adventures' name conflicted with the mighty clothing brand - GAP clothing was the first to register the name so it gets title to it, the judge decided.

So the adventure travel company decided to drop the "A" and "P" and just go with "G".

Gee!

One wonders what other "G" names the company flirted with? G Spot Adventures maybe? Or maybe Golly G Adventures?

As part of the rebranding, G Adventures is offering a contest where the winner gets a free trip anywhere in the world - you have to bring your own tent, of course.

G, I wonder if I'm eligible for that prize?

Maybe "CAP Adventures" or "GO Adventures" would have been a better label to stick on this "new"company but G, what do I know?

I give this name change a G- grade!

My Top 10 autumn color tours

Now that autumn is here - well, almost - people are sending me emails asking if I can recommend some places to see fall foliage in all its billiance.

So, I've compiled this list of my 10 favourite spots that I've seen Mother Nature change into her most colourful coat:

1- New York’s Adirondack Mountains: Just a few hours from New York or Montreal, the colour show put on in this awesome region by Mother Nature is truly one of the most spectacular you’ll ever see. Drives along narrow, winding highways bordered by fast moving streams lead to places like Saranac Lake, Lake George and Lake Placid. In between, a canvas of colour clings to mighty mountains where tress and rock blend together to make one fabulous site.

2- Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant: Just two hours north of Montreal, a blanket of colour spreads across this famous ski region in late September and offers some of the most vibrant shades of natural colour you’ll ever come across. The French Canadian ambience and food just add to the autumn glory in this area of glorious Canada.

3- New Hampshire: This state was always one of my favourites on family fall outings, especially the areas around Franconia Notch and North Conway. The colours in New Hampshire always seemed brighter and the festive mood of the people there in the fall seemed more enthusiastic and genuine.

4- Pennsylvania: We stumbled across northern Pennsylvania’s autumn glory after visiting a cousin in State College, home to the University of Pennsylvania. We were blown away by what we saw. The state has 108 species of native trees and most change colour in the fall.

5- West Virginia: This is a state that gets overlooked by a lot of leaf hunters. However, America’s most forested state offers some of the most brilliant colour changes. Here trees begin turning in late September and the spectacle lasts until late October – the peek season for the colours there.

6- Ontario: The area north of Toronto known as the Muskokas, and the Niagara Falls region, south of the city, are among the favourites for fall colour enthusiasts. The Agawa Canyon train trip is one of the top-rated spectacles anywhere, but the province’s other regions also have much to offer in autumn.
7- Virginia: This state's stunning landscape looks even better in the fall months and drives and hikes along the Skyline Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail and many other byways and highways will leave you speechless. Some suggest the Shenandoah Valley offers the best autumn moments but I find it difficult to recommend one Virginia region over another.

8- The Carolinas: Believe it or not, both North and South Carolina offer fall foliage seasons. They’re not as vibrant as their northern neighbours but they’re still pretty spectacular. South Carolina’s Upcountry, set amidst the rugged beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills and along the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway (SC Hwy. 11) are two areas we highly recommend.
9- Canada’s East Coast: Densely forested provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are the best places to see the changing colours. In the small town of St. Andrews by the Sea, N.B., just across the border with Maine, they celebrate the fall season with parades and fireworks and many cooking festivals.

10- Maine and Vermont: I left my favorite autumn destinations for last. The states of Maine and Vermont are without a doubt the most beautiful of all 50 when fall descends upon the northeast. In small seaside towns like Maine’s Boothbay Harbor to ski centres like Vermont’s Killington and Stowe, and every town and village in between, fall is celebrated like Christmas.

I'm now a 'Trusted Traveller' folks!

I can see the future of travel folks - thanks to my new NEXUS card.

Yes, I've become a proud member of the NEXUS club, which allows me to avoid the long lineups waiting to see a U.S. Customs agent at Pearson International Airport and go directly to a kiosk, where my eye is quickly scanned and I'm allowed to go to security without having to see an agent.

I'm now what they call a "Trusted Traveller."

No more having to play nice with a custom's officer when I'm in a bad mood early in the morning. No more having to line up like cattle. No more pushing and shoving. No more delays!

I must confess, I'm breaking a promise to my fellow NEXUS friends who asked me not to write this blog for fear others will rush to get their NEXUS cards and lineups will soon start forming in front of the easy to use kiosks.

But hey, I have a responsibility to my faithful readers.

Getting the NEXUS card was easier than I thought. Just applied online, got a invitation for an interview (I took the one offered at the Fort Erie border crossing because to get one at Pearson International would have taken months instead of the few weeks I waited) and a few weeks later I had my card!

You have to go through two same day face-to-face interviews with U.S. and Canadian customs officers (hence the visit to Fort Erie) but that took just over an hour. When I visited Fort Erie, I was struck by the number of autographed photos of sports personalities the Canadian customs officer had displayed at her desk. "The sports guys are all getting the NEXUS card because they don't want to line up, either," she told me.

I can use the card coming into or out of Canada - even when I'm arriving from overseas destinations. The card can also be used if I'm driving into the U.S. - everyone in the car must have a NEXUS card or you'll have to go through the regular line, though - and the Rainbow Bridge crossing at Niagara Falls has been converted into a NEXUS only facility. Talk about being privileged!

Of course, the conditions attached to the card are strict. If you're pulled over randomly for a check by a customs officer and they find you're bringing something back that you've not declared, you'll lose the NEXUS card right on the spot and a black mark will appear beside your name for seven years.

Going to the States looks a lot brighter now, though, thanks to my new NEXUS card.

Flying Dutchman hits the water

Flying Dutchman bus cruise takes you on a tour
of Amsterdam's great canal system.

Henny Groenendijk, our good friend at the Netherlands Board of Tourism - she's the best in the business, folks - sent me a list of things visitors can do while in her remarkable country this Fall.

One of the things that caught my eye was a new amphibious tour being offered passengers at Holland's great Schiphol Airport - the best in Europe.

Passengers with a long layover at Schiphol can now take a canal tour aboard the "Flying Dutchman" - half boat/half bus - and they can board the floating craft at the airport's new "Splash Zone."

The amphibious bus carries 48 passengers, cruises the canals on battery power and is a partnership between the airport, the city of Amsterdam and a local cruise company.

Tours last two hours and 45 minutes and are offered three times a day. Tickets cost about $56 (39 euros) for adults and about $28 (19.50 euros) for children. Booking online offers a 10 per cent discount.

Toronto's Annette Fatael, who had a nine-hour layover at Schiphol while en route to Tel Aviv recently, tried the bus cruise and said it was a great way to kill time. "It’s a huge tour bus and it was hard to believe that it was going to go into the water,” she was quoted as saying.

Paolo's Air Deal Today: Berlin

Berlin Airfare

$313

Return From Toronto

Air Taxes: $528.78

Travel Period:

Oct 20 - Dec 19, 2011

Ticketing until: Oct 15, 2011

Call: 1.866.929.6688

My blog surpasses 10,000 readers!

Paolo, who digs up great air deals for you, thank you for
your support by reading our blog daily!

DATELINE TAIPEI - Thank you readers - there's now more than 10,000 of you reading this blog every day.

We passed the magic 10,000 mark today - 10,112 to be exact - and it's so good to know that so many people tune in to see where in the world I am.

This trip to Taiwan, like all the others I make around the world, has been an incredible journey of discovery and I've been so happy that you've come along for the ride.

Since starting this blog in early spring, I've taken you to Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and I've shared a lot of thoughts and airfare deals with you along the way - plus a few fashion comments about the recent royal wedding that stirred up a lot of emotions and responses in you.

There's many more journeys ahead - I'm off to Turkey in a few weeks - so keep your bags packed and keep tuning in to see where I'm taking you next.

Thanks again!

Taiwan has some unique stories

Master Wu shows off the knife he made out of a bomb.

DATELINE TAIWAN – Taiwan is a unique country with some unique people.

Like the man who makes knives out of old bomb casings on Kinmen Island; and the painter in historic Jioufen who uses asphalt instead of paint to make his art – which has been bought by former U.S. president Bill Clinton and given to the late Pope John Paul II.

First, the knife maker, known as Master Wu, who lives on the southern island of Kinmen, which sits just six kilometres off the coast of mainland China.

During hostilities between the two neighbouring Chinas, over 600,000 propaganda bombs were dropped on the Taiwanese island – the country’s first line of defence – by the communist Chinese to try and persuade Taiwanese soldiers and citizens to come over to their side.

It didn’t work, of course, and after the bombing campaign ended in 1992, Kinmen was littered with old bomb casings, which Master Wu began collecting and started melting them down to make knives.

His cutting-edge business began and now Master Wu has become internationally known for his work and sells his knives to customers all over the world.

Then there ‘s painter His-hsun Chiu, who got the idea of melting asphalt and using it to paint pictures. If you think that’s incredible, he also uses a ladle instead of a brush to create the beautiful images that make him the most unique painter on the planet.

Clinton was so impressed with the painting Chiu did of him playing golf that he bought it – along with a few others. When Chiu presented Pope John Paul II the moving portrait he did of the pontiff deep in pray, the late Pope ordered it hung next to the Michelangelos in the Vatican.

Impressive stuff and I’ll have more on these incredible Taiwanese in the weeks ahead at www.travelife.ca – so stay tuned!