Posted by Andrew Hickey on Feb 11, 2010 in
Travel Sunday:
11am: I was able to sleep in a little late this morning, but hit the road running before noon to catch up with some of my fellow writers for lunch at Cafe Zique. En route from the hotel to the restaurant we encountered a little travel issue as one of our writers forgot their metro pass for the train. Without blinking an eye the transit worker gave her a free pass and said to enjoy her day. That truly was a pretty nice moment that I just do not see happening if I forgot my Metro Card in New York.
12:10pm: Cafe Zique was a great place to kick off my Sunday in Glasgow. The tiny corner cafe was jam packed with happy locals dining out with family and friends. Definitely had a great vibe and was great for people watching. I ordered the eggs Benedict and some much needed coffee after a long Saturday night. The food was outstanding and the coffee was damn good. Really loved this meal which gave me the fuel I would need for a long day of scouring the city.
1:08pm: If you are in Glasgow for a short time or an extended stay, I highly suggest you take a stroll down Byres Road. There were just so many great vintage stores, music shops and happy Scots wandering down the sidewalk with their family and friends. Also each street that intersected through Byres Road was lined with a few dozen or so beautiful brownstone apartment buildings. Kind of reminded me of Brooklyn.
1:39pm: If you had tweeted with me while I was in Glasgow then you knew I was on the hunt for a baby kilt for my little nomad that is due to arrive this April. Unfortunately I never was able to procure a baby kilt, but I did get to purchase some some great souvenirs for the wee one at these stores set up to raise cash for children charities.
2:30pm: Like whisky? How about brandy? Maybe even a little vodka? Then you will definitely want to make your way to a great place called Demijohn, which calls itself “the world’s first liquid deli.” I sampled a few adult beverages before picking up some apricot brandy for my sister.
3:11pm: Continuing with the theme of boozing it up, I stumbled down Byre Road to a great little place called Oran Mor. Actually this former church turn entertainment spot includes two bars, two restaurants, a nightclub and a private event space. I was here to check out the whisky bar, which was brilliant and cozy. I enjoyed a glass of whisky on the rocks and a good conversation with a friend for an hour or so before continuing on my way.
4:07pm: As a traveler I love to just wander aimlessly sometimes through a new city. Over the last few hours that was just what I did and I came across so many amazing shops that I look forward to seeing again someday. Just as I was on my way back to my hotel to get ready for dinner, I came across this monstrosity of a building. Not familiar with it, I asked a woman walking by. She informed me that it was the University of Glasgow. After hearing my accent, she asked me where I was from, telling her New York her eyes lit up as she exclaimed, “I will be in New York for the first time this June!” Love meeting new people while on the road.
4:20pm: I took a walk around the campus of the University of Glasgow and was in awe with the beauty of the architecture of the structure that dates back to 1451, making it the fourth oldest university in the United Kingdom.
7:30pm: After catching a cab from our hotel, it was the last meal of the trip together for the group of writers. Fortunately it was also a delicious one as we had dinner at Stravaigin. Meaning “to wander”, this restaurant, which opened in 1994, offers a great menu full of both classical and experimental dishes. The wait staff was informative, funny and very cool to all of us all night. The wine was flowing, the stories of our previous travels were shared and dessert was ordered.
10:10pm: On the advice of one the writers that has been to Glasgow before, we had a nightcap at Blue Dog. This was truly a great way to end my weekend in Glasgow. The laid back atmosphere of this wine bar/jazz club was perfect as a musician played popular tunes over piano. Of course being a music nut, I requested some Van Morrison. I didn’t want the night to end as it doesn’t get any better than drinking whisky over great live music and good conversation, ah what a night.
12:45am: But all good things must come to an end. Most of the writers had an early flight (fortunately I was not one of them), so we called it a night.
Monday:
10:03am: Feeling a little groggy but very happy to get home to my wife, I hopped into the car waiting to pick me up outside my hotel. As I drove down the street, memories of my whirlwind Glasgow trip kicked in. I really could have used another night in this city – especially at Blue Dog.
12:45pm: Up, up and away and back to New York I go. See you again someday Glasgow.
Tags: europe, glasgow, scotland, united kingdom
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Feb 10, 2010 in
Travel You think you know a place…and then you visit it. Glasgow, Scotland was one such locale that I thought I was familiar with. I mean I had heard of haggis (although never tried it), I have been known to down a few glasses of whisky (not to be confused with whiskEy) and well I grew up on such pop culture characters that call Glasgow home as pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper and Simpsons’ extra Groundskeeper Willie.
But after spending two days in the Scotland’s largest city I came away with a totally new and even more positive outlook on this often time overlooked destination.
Saturday:
12:02pm: After flying from London’s impressive Terminal 5 in Heathrow, I landed down in the very simple and somewhat dated looking Glasgow International Airport. I mean the place was nothing special, but at least I could get out of it in less than 10 minutes (which is usually not the case in London’s “Death Row” or my own local airport JFK International).
12:47pm: I arrived at the ABODE Glasgow Hotel, but could not check in just yet. So the bags were dropped and off I went to check out this new city I had landed in less than hour ago.
1:23pm: Lunch time and I needed some grub in my belly badly. Some writers and a representative from Visit Britain joined me for an afternoon meal at the very popular and equally cozy fifi & ally. This would be my first chance to try the much talked about Scottish dish called Haggis. What exactly is haggis you ask?
(Warning: If you have a weak stomach, you might want to skip the next couple of sentences.)
Haggis is a dish containing sheep’s (sometimes cow or pig) heart, liver and lungs. It is then minced with onion, oatmeal, spices, chicken broth and salt. Then it traditionally is simmered in the animal’s stomach for about three hours.
Well I tried it…and I loved it. I thought it tasted pretty damn good and had a little kick of spiciness to it (which I love). I washed it down with a local Scottish brew called Arran Blonde Ale. I made one observation while attending lunch here with my fellow writers…a lot of women dine at fifi & ally! Seriously every a few minutes 10-12 more females entered, some with babies, but mostly alone. It made for a sort of Scottish Sex in the City scene.
2:30pm: I hailed a cab (which are so much cheaper than in London) to check out local art exhibit called Trongate 103. Although the name sounds like a Scottish sci-fi convention, this six story Edwardian warehouse is actually filled with many great and unique pieces from some very creative individuals. Worth checking out if you are into local city art scenes and like free attractions.
3:45pm: I was finally able to check into the Abode Glasgow. Nice property in a good part of the city. I could easily walk to top restaurants and night life from the hotel within minutes. Some negatives to the property however included no Wi-Fi internet (had to plug laptop into a modem…very 2002), only four or five channels on the TV and the room was pretty cold at night.
7:30pm: After freshening up at the hotel and enjoying some dinner with friends, I made my way to Celtic Connections, which is Scotland’s premier winter music festival. It was a chilly Saturday night in Glasgow as I entered the Classic Grand to check out some live music over a few cold beers. As I walked into a rowdy music hall full of Scots, the Bevvy Sisters were performing. This trio of Edinburgh women really impressed me with their absolutely amazing vocals. It was a shame that I showed up late because I was just getting into the band as they wrapped up their set.
Up next were the Deadly Gentlemen. A few writers and I were ready to listen to another local act. But when the lead singer introduced the band, we immediately noticed he did not have that distinguishable Scottish accent, but instead sounded like one of us. It turns out that the band is from the States and currently reside in New York! Talk about small world. While they were not my cup of tea, it was pretty funny to go all the way to Scotland to hear some New Yorkers sing.
9:45pm: A few drinks were in order and Glasgow had plenty of great spots to hit up. Unfortunately we started the drinking part of our night a little late (Glasgow’s last call is 12am!). But some bars you should check out include the Buff Club, Winchester Club and Horseshoe Bar.
Notice the blurry vision? That is how I take pictures after some whisky
11:50pm: As the night was winding down the group I was with needed some grub. So the five of us crammed into a tiny fish n’ chips shop and ordered lots of greasy and fried goodness. This place unfortunately closed down the dining area, but did offer us five chairs to sit and eat. Never thought my night would end with four writers and myself squeezing into a corner and chowing down on unhealthy treats. But I wouldn’t have it any other way as it was pretty funny.
Check back tomorrow for part 2 of my 48 hours in Glasgow, Scotland.
Tags: europe, glasgow, scotland, united kingdom, visitbritain
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Jan 31, 2010 in
Travel 
While I promised updates from the road, it just has been such a busy week in London and Glasgow. I will definitely have a full recap of my trip this week, with many images and travel tips as well.
It was a hell of a good time and thanks again to the great people at VisitBritain for their insanely gracious hospitality and mapping out a fun couple of days that I will soon not forget.
To be continued…
Tags: england, glasgow, great britain, London, scotland, united kingdom, visitbritain
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Jan 20, 2010 in
Travel 
Next week I will be headed to London, England on a press trip provided by VisitBritain and their Transatlanticism campaign. London is easily one of my favorite cities to visit.
Haven’t been? Well then you may want to visit the official CheapOair blog all next week for your chance to enter into a drawing for a trip for two to Jolly Old England.
CheapOair, in partnership with VisitBritain and base2stay hotel, want to send you on a “Long Weekend in London.” One lucky winner and a guest will fly to England’s capital city.
While there they will enjoy 3-nights at the hip base2stay hotel, located in the cool Kensington section of London. You will even receive two Oyster cards (valued at $20 a piece) to get you around town.
For more information, be sure to visit the official Long Weekend in London page for full rules and restrictions. Good luck!
Tags: cheapoair, england, great britain, London, Travel, united kingdom
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Oct 29, 2009 in
Travel 
Canadians still visit the United States way more than any other foreign country around the world.
Last week I wrote about how America was voted the “most liked” country in the world. So with so much love for the U.S. going around, one question must be asked. Has the world’s crush on Uncle Sam helped with the country’s tourism? In a word…kinda.
Year after year when the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel & Tourism (OTTI) releases their data of which countries have visited America the most, two destinations continuously top the list – #1 Canada and #2 Mexico. That really should not come as a surprise since both countries sandwich the U.S. and are more easily accessible than any other locations on the planet.
So who else is checking out the streets of New York, the Hollywood hills, and all points in between? Well coming in at #3 is the United Kingdom. Even with a decline of 16.9% in tourism through July 2009, the U.K. is still the most popular visitors from overseas.
Another country that visits often is #4 Japan, which also saw a major decline of 17.6% for year-to-year tourism traffic. Coming in at #5 was Germany, and yes just like the rest of the countries listed, Deutschland saw a 7.5% drop in tourists between July 2008 and 2009.
Now if you are wondering why so many people have halted hauling themselves to the U.S., it is quite simple – the economy. Due to a worldwide economic meltdown over the last year and a half, international tourism is down across the board sharply. Just like many Americans have skipped taking worldwide jaunts in favor of more domestic trips, so has the rest of the world apparently.
To help remedy the continuous decline of foreign visitors, Congress is considering a Travel Promotion Act. In it, anyone that shows up to the United States must pay an additional $10 fee. The money collected would be used to start a travel campaign in various countries around the world to boost interest in visiting the United States.
Currently the Commerce Department is not funding any ad campaigns to promote travel to the States. Yes you read that correctly…no marketing at all! The last time the U.S. was promoted was back in 2007, and even then it only received a measly $4-$9 million dollars. What a joke.
On a positive note, with the economy getting slightly…and I stress slightly better, tourism has picked up a bit and that is always a good thing for any country. Below is a list of the top 20 countries that visited the United States between January and July 2009, the amount of visitors, and how much tourism has decreased from the same time the previous year.
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Canada (10, 108, 302 visitors) – 9% decline
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Mexico (3,308,779) – 9.9% decline
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United Kingdom (2,149,149) – 16.9% decline
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Japan (1,564,441) – 17.6% decline
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Germany (921,874) – 7.5% decline
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France (694,340) – 1.1% decline
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Brazil (469, 985) – a slight increase
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South Korea (415,509) – 12% decline
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Italy (379, 641) – 4% decline
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Australia (376, 614) – 2.7% decline
The remaining 11-20 include: India, People’s Republic of China, Netherlands, Spain, Venezuela, Ireland, Colombia, Argentina, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Tags: argentina, australia, brazil, canada, colombia, france, germany, india, ireland, italy, japan, mexico, netherlands, People's Republic of China, south korea, spain, sweden, switzerland, united kingdom, united states of america, Venezuela
