Posted by Andrew Hickey on May 28, 2009 in
Travel
A web cam shot of Raciborz, Poland (about 2 hours outside of the more popular Krakow). The live stream is flawless and offers a peak inside of a tiny and lesser known Polish town.
When Google Earth just isn’t enough, live streaming web cams might be able to feed your travel hunger…yeah probably not. But still web cams are a great way to check out your favorite cities from the comfort of your living room. So while sitting in your lazy chair and looking at various parts of the world via the internet might not cure your travel bug, maybe these 10 web cams can at least hold you over until your next jaunt.
1. Prague, Czech Republic: This cam is located at the Grand Hotel Praha on Royal Road, in Prague’s historic city center. See the famous Old Town Clock and join crowds who gather for the hourly mechanical parade of saints in the clock tower.
2. Moscow, Russia: What makes this cam extra cool is that you can actually control the settings. Some features include moving it left or right and zoom in or out. The location is a park in the Southern Butovo district.
3. New York City: A very interactive web cam that allows you to move the came to predetermined destinations on a street in the city that never sleeps. Some locations you can check out include a Starbucks, newsstand, Christopher park, and even the entrance to the 1 line subway station.
4. New York Times Square: Another great cam in my home city. This cam has audio and switches to different views in Times Square from street level to on top of one of the many skyscrapers.
5. Krakow, Poland: This website offers five different views of the popular Polish city, which random street cams and a few that showcase Krakow’s popular Rynek Glowny.
6. Raciborz, Poland: While sticking with the Polish theme, this web cam features two live streams (three web cams on the site, but only two are up) of a small city called Raciborz. If you look closely between June 8 and 30, then you just might spot me. I will be staying in a 1-bedroom apartment right in this square. Unfortunately it is about 10 feet away from the cam view.
7. London, England: This web cam has full audio and is placed by the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square.
8. Buenos Aires, Argentina: This live streaming web cam is perched above Plaza Mariana Moreno in the Federal District, which is home to Argentina’s national government.
9. Las Vegas, Nevada: What happens in Vegas apparently doesn’t always stay there. Because this cam is streaming live 24/7 in Sin City with audio and video of the shot gun nuptials.
10. Punta del Este, Uruguay: Warning! Do not click on this cam if you are in desperate need of a tropical vacation. This live streaming web cam has audio, but it is just mostly the sounds of waves crashing on the shores of the pristine beaches of Uruguay. The cam is placed on top of the Conrad Punta del Este Resort & Casino.
This is just a tiny sampling of all the live web cams online. While some are live and streaming video, many offer updated still pictures that range anywhere from 30 second to 30 minute updates. You will find a web cam in just about any part of the globe by visiting Earth Cam. Enjoy!
Tags: argentina, buenos aires, czech republic, england, krakow, Las Vegas, moscow, new york city, poland, Prague, punta del este, raciborz, russia, times square, Travel, uruguay
Posted by Andrew Hickey on May 18, 2009 in
Travel Seven days…50 town squares…over 500 votes cast.
The results of the first round were pretty tight to say the least. For starters, five of the seven days of voting saw first place tied. The final day of voting it became a three-way tie. So who tied for first and what 20 town squares made it to round two of the most unscientific, unprofessional, uncomfortable poll in the history of blogs? Here are the results:
1) Brussels, Belgium: Grand Place
1) Prague, Czech Republic: Old Town Square
1) Krakow, Poland: Rynek Glowny
4) Venice, Italy: Saint Mark’s Square
5) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Rittenhouse Square
6) Florence, Italy: Piazza della Repubblica
7) Moscow, Russia: Red Square
New York, New York: Union Square
9) Copenhagen, Denmark: The City Hall Square
10) San Francisco, California: Union Square
11) Rome, Italy: Piazza del Popolo
12) London, England: Piccadilly Circus
13) Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Museumplein
14) Berlin, Germany: JFK-Platz
15) Barcelona, Spain: Placa d’Espanya
16) Lisbon, Portugal: Praca do Imperio
17) Buenos Aires, Argentina: Plaza de Mayo
18) Marrakech, Morocco: Djemaa el Fna
19) Seville, Spain: Plaza de Espana
20) Kharkov, Ukraine: Freedom Square
Like the results? Hate the results? Shocked by the results? Don’t care about the results? Well then click here to vote on Round Two and help your favorite town square move on to the top 10. You have until Sunday May 24 at 11am EST to vote. Thanks for everyone that voted, left comments and even told me about their experiences at some of these popular locales.
Tags: amsterdam, argentina, barcelona, belgium, Berlin, brussels, buenos aires, california, copenhagen, czech republic, denmark, england, florence, germany, italy, kharkov, krakow, lisbon, London, marrakech, morrocco, moscow, new york, pennsylvania, philadelphia, poland, portugal, Prague, rome, russia, san francisco, seville, spain, the netherlands, ukraine, venice
Posted by Andrew Hickey on May 14, 2009 in
Travel
Krakow, Poland's Rynek Glowny is the largest Medieval Town Square in the world...but is it your favorite?
If you have traveled to any major city in the world, then chances are you have walked by, snapped a picture in, or spent the day at a town square. From New York’s Time Square to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, people love to check out these public meeting locations filled with everything from chic cafes to amazing architecture. So I ask you, what is the best town square in the world? Which one epitomizes what a town square should be?
Over the next few weeks I will be asking that question on this site and every week narrow it down until we pick the most popular town square in the world (according to the people that read this site of course.) Who knows, maybe I will even visit the winning location on a future getaway.
Click here for to vote between 50 of the most famous town squares in the world. The 20 most popular will move on to round two. You have until Sunday May 17 at 11pm EST to cast your vote. Thanks and may the best town square win.
Tags: amsterdam, argentina, australia, barcelona, beijing, bologna, boston, brussels, buenos aires, california, canada, china, christchurch, cuba, czech republic, europe, florence, france, germany, havana, italy, lisbon, London, lyon, Madrid, massachusetts, melbourne, mexico, milan, monterrey, montevideo, montreal, morocco, new york, new zealand, north korea, Paris, pennsylvania, philadelphia, portugal, Prague, rome, salt lake city, san francisco, serbia, seville, south america, spain, toronto, town square, ukraine, uruguay, utah, vatican city, venice, Washington DC
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Apr 20, 2009 in
Travel 
I have been saying for months now that we need to once and for all delete the awful phrase “Staycation” from the travel lexicon. Well the people at Travelmuse.com are helping to fight the good fight by putting together a handy new widget that will help you figure out ways in which you can save some cash for your next excursion.
Whether it be that long weekend to the shore or that dream month in Tuscany, the people at this great site feature 20 categories to help you figure out ways in which to add more coins to your travel piggy bank. The Yaycation calculator includes items that we can cut back on, like going to the pricier supermarket, to things some of us can eliminate, like that unused gym membership.
I took the Yaycation calculator out for a spin and here are my results:
- I am going to give up my $12/day lunch for three out of the five days a week and brown bag it the other two.
- I usually like to dine out Friday and Saturday nights, but will only now enjoy my local eateries once a week.
- My two year old Razr cell phone still works fine, so I will skip that iPhone purchase…for now.
- Instead of my monthly haircut, I will skip two of them…not a big savings, but every penny counts!
- With those cuts in my budget, I saved a grand total of…drum roll please…$6,012.00!
.
The site now brings me to a page that asks what kinds of vacations I enjoy. I picked culinary and urban endeavors. I popped in my home airport (JFK International) and Travel Muse recommended Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Paris, and Los Angeles. Hmm, not too bad. Three out of the four are destinations that I have been wanting to visit for awhile now. Sorry LA.
Want to see how much you can save? Check out TravelMuse.com and get set for your next Yaycation!
Tags: barcelona, buenos aires, los angeles, Paris, travelmuse
