Hi, friends and Happy Saturday! I hope you enjoy this set of home decor ideas for your Saturday enjoyment. We are still plugging away on the bathroom, probably two more weeks to go. Mark and I will be working on our side to get some woodwork finished and I will be painting that vanity, so we definitely have more DIY to do to get to the finish line. After some delays and disasters with our countertops (the original remnant piece we chose was cracked during fabrication so back to choosing another), we finally have one chosen and ready to go, so that should happen next week. We are so ready to get finished, cleaned up and start using this bathroom. What fun that will be! 

The post Home Style Saturday 177 appeared first on Southern Hospitality.

Happy Friday to you all! We are in the home stretch of the biggest part of the bathroom renovation, so I’m happy to say we are getting there. After posting on Monday about the renovation, the countertop was supposed to be installed on Wednesday. As fate would have it, a corner of the counter broke during fabrication, so I couldn’t use it. It was on to Plan B in the countertop material, but by today we should be on the way to the next stage of countertops installed and then the guys will come back and finish up that wall, as well as the vanity faucets and tub installation. It’s been quite the process, but that’s the way renovations can be. Mark and I have board and batten to do in there as well as I’m hanging wallpaper in the water closet and painting the vanity and walls so we have plenty to do waiting for the countertop to come in. Whewwww! Progress!

Today’s Feature Friday is a new to me blogger, Michelle with Thistle Key Lane. She has a clean and classic style that I think you’ll find refreshing. Michelle says she likes to incorporate things into her home that have a fun story or special memory behind them. 

The post Feature Friday: Thistle Key Lane appeared first on Southern Hospitality.

History Banská Štiavnica is a town located in a volcanic caldera in central Slovakia. its location made it an excellent place to mine silver and gold. During its heyday, it was the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Hungary after Budapest itself. The mining culture here had several things about which are unique to mining …

Read moreVisiting Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia

The post Visiting Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia appeared first on Everything Everywhere Travel Blog.

The Wachau Wachau Cultural Landscape is an Austrian World Heritage Site location along the Danube River approximately between the towns of Krems and Melk. It is one of the most popular world heritage sites in the country attracting thousands of riverboat passengers each year, as well as visitors from the nearby capitals of Vienna, Bratislava, …

Read moreVisiting the Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria

The post Visiting the Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria appeared first on Everything Everywhere Travel Blog.

The Major Mining Sites of Wallonia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in 2012 which preserves the heritage of coal mining and early industrialization in Wallonia. The site consists of four different properties: Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc, Bois du Cazier, and the Blegny-Mine. It is one of 12 world heritage sites in Belgium, and also on the European …

Read moreVisiting the Major Mining Sites of Wallonia

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Flying Travel Tips

Everyone wants to save money when they travel, and flying can be expensive. Here’s how I use budget airlines & low-cost carriers to score cheap flights around the world!

I’m always looking to save money when I travel, and I travel a lot. Booking the cheapest flights with budget airlines is a good way to accomplish this.

Most people book tickets with the airlines that they know best — Delta, United, British Airways, etc. Partly due to all the expensive marketing they do.

But there are many low-cost airlines that offer great flight deals too.

Budget carriers are able to provide cheaper tickets to many destinations around the world because they save money in other ways — for example by restricting free luggage allowances or meals & drinks on their flights.

They cut out some of the extra perks (while still maintaining high safety standards), in order to make their prices more competitive with the big airlines.

Some budget airlines are pretty bad, but others can be awesome!

I frequently use budget airlines to help save money while flying, and wanted to share some of my favorites with you for different popular destinations.

Budget Airlines Guide For 2020

Flying From United States To Europe

Norwegian Air

Norwegian Air has been voted the world’s best long-haul, low-cost airline 5 years in a row by the SkyTrax World Airline Awards. And there’s a good reason. Norwegian flies to over 100 destinations in Europe from a dozen different major cities in the United States. And they do it for cheap, too.

While they charge for checked baggage, they are one of the few budget airlines that offers a free personal item and carry-on bag. Another great reason to fly them is their fleet of modern aircraft like the comfy 787 Boeing Dreamliner.

EXAMPLE AIRFARE

NEW YORK CITY (JFK) – ROME (FCO) for $429 roundtrip

Other Budget Airlines In Europe

• LEVEL
• EasyJet
• Eurowings
• RyanAir
• Wizz Air

From US To Latin America & Caribbean

JetBlue Airlines

JetBlue doesn’t just fly in the United States, they fly to 3 destinations in South America as well as all over the Caribbean and Central America. And unlike other low-cost budget airlines, they also provide economy passengers with free snacks, drinks, wifi, and in-flight entertainment.

They’re definitely one of my favorite budget carriers to fly with — especially if you’re close to one of their major airport hubs like New York, Ft Lauderdale, Boston, Long Beach, or Orlando.

EXAMPLE AIRFARE

FT LAUDERDALE (FFL) – QUITO, ECUADOR (UIO) for $299 roundtrip

Other Budget Airlines In Latin America

• Volaris
• Viva Aerobus
• Interjet
• Spirit

Flying From The United States To Asia

AirAsia X

Air Asia X flies from Honolulu to nearly 30 destinations around Asia, plus many connections at other popular destinations like Los Angeles. If you’re going to be spending some time in Southeast Asia, it’s a wonderful choice to fly cheaply. They charge extra for checked baggage and food, but they do offer a free carry-on bag.

EXAMPLE AIRFARE

LOS ANGELES (LAX) – BANGKOK, THAILAND (BKK) for $451 roundtrip

Other Budget Airlines In Asia

• Asiana
• Jetstar
• Scoot

Flying From United States To Canada

Air Canada Rouge

Air Canada Rouge flies from many different US destinations to over 60 Canadian cities, plus a few international stops in Europe, Asia, and South America. It’s basically a stripped down version of the larger Air Canada brand. They don’t provide free in-flight entertainment (but you can rent an ipad). A checked bag will cost you $30, and a meal starts at $6.

EXAMPLE AIRFARE

NEW YORK CITY (LGA) – TORONTO, CANADA (YYZ) for $256 roundtrip

Other Budget Airlines In Canada

• Air Transat
• Swoop
• West Jet

Top Budget Airlines In Africa

• Kulula
• FastJet
• Mango

Flying Domestically Within The United States

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is the largest low-cost carrier in the world, and my favorite budget airline for traveling domestically within the United States. Not only are their flights super affordable, they offer TWO free checked bags standard (including golf bags and sports equipment), and some of the funniest flight attendants in the business!

EXAMPLE AIRFARE

NEW YORK CITY (LGA) – DENVER (DEN) for $168 roundtrip

Other Budget Airlines In The US

• JetBlue
• Frontier
• Spirit
• Porter

Tips For Flying With Budget Airlines

1. Budget Airlines Are Safe

While flying with a low-cost carrier will leave you without many of the perks of the larger airlines, what they don’t skimp on is safety. In fact, many budget airlines have better safety records! Except Indonesia’s Lion Air. Maybe skip them…

2. You’ll Pay For Luggage

Always check the exact baggage allowance when flying a budget airline. You’ll almost always pay extra for a checked bag, and frequently for a carry-on bag too. That means weighing your bags with a portable luggage scale, because unlike major airlines, they almost ALWAYS weigh every bag (and maybe you!). Check if it’s cheaper to pay for your bags in advance too.

3. You’ll Pay For Food

While some unicorn budget airlines offer free food (JetBlue FTW!), most don’t. That means if you want to eat, you’ll be paying extra. So either budget that into the cost of your flight, or plan to pack your own meal and snacks for the trip. Personally, this doesn’t bother me too much because I prefer to bring my own food anyway. Airline food sucks!

4. The Airplane Interior Is Basic

Another way budget airlines save money is by keeping the interior of their planes pretty basic. Harder, less comfy seats. Possibly no in-seat entertainment system. Maybe less legroom. That’s not always the case (Norwegian planes are awesome!) but it often can be. You get what you pay for after all.

5. Inconvenient Airports

One dirty little secret of flying budget airlines is that some of them use “alternative” airports that are located outside major cities. For example, Beauvais Airport is about 1.5 hours away from Paris, compared to the main international airport of Orly. Keep this in mind, and double check how far away the airport is and how much ground transportation is going to cost.

6. There Are Many Budget Airlines!

While I’ve listed my favorite budget airlines here, it’s hardly all of them. If you really want to save money, you can research fares on every single one with the helpful Wikipedia guide organized by country. There’s a lot!

Happy Flying!

So there you go, a quick guide to booking flights with low-cost airlines in order to save some money on your next trip. I hope you score a great deal, and if you do, feel free to let me know in the comments below!

Enjoy This Post? Pin It!

Have any questions about booking flights with budget airlines? Do you have any favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

Overview Pont-du-Gard is the remains of a Roman aqueduct that delivered water over 30km to the Roman colony of Nemausus, what is today called the modern city of Nimes. It also holds the distinction of being the highest surviving Roman aqueduct in the world. The aqueduct was used as a bridge across the river for …

Read moreVisiting Pont-du-Gard, France

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Posted: 02/06/2020 | February 6th, 2020

At the end of 2019, the team and I ran a reader survey. We wanted to see what you liked, didn’t like, and wanted from us in the future. There were some interesting and helpful suggestions in there.

I read through over a thousand responses, as I wanted to see what you wanted from us. You can’t get better without feedback, and we always want to make sure we’re serving your needs.

So, as we make our way through this year, I wanted to share with you some changes you can expect to see on the website:

First, we’re continuing to bring on new voices to write for us. You might have noticed that we’re having more guest posts to more destinations! We’re currently looking for articles about:

• LGBT content: stories by transgender people, queer couples, and solo gay, lesbian, or bi travelers
• Africa-related content (bonus points if it’s East or Central Africa)
• Middle East–related content
• Central Asia–related content
• India-related content
• China-related content
• Technology- or gear-related content
• Senior/Older travel
• Family travel

If you want to write for us, check out our guidelines page.

Second, I plan to write more travel stories this year. We do a lot of brass-tacks, hard-numbers stuff here. The nuts and bolts of travel. Practical information.

But last year, writing my book inspired me to get into more storytelling. So this year, as I make my way around the world, I’m making an effort to create more stories about the places I visit — their history, people, and culture. So you’ll see such content popping up with more frequency.

And you’ll see more history and culture in our how-to posts too. I want to start painting a more holistic view of each destination we write about.

Third, we’re going to be hosting a lot more events this year. We’ve started The Nomadic Network so we can do more in-person events this year. We really want to take this online community offline, so we’re building a great website for that and hosting lots of events.

For more information and ways you can get involved, check this post out.

Fourth, a lot of you suggested topics you wanted to see, so we’re busy making that happen! Some of the topics you’ll start to see more of over the course of the year are:

• Eco-travel
• Traveling with pets
• Family/kid-friendly travel
• Traveling when you’re older
• How to make friends when you travel
• How to make the most of your time
• How to save more money BEFORE you go
• Off-beat destinations
• “Thematic” ways to see a city
• Reader stories
• Ways to volunteer
• Itinerary posts
• And a bunch more!

Obviously, I can’t write all the time (or expertly on all these topics), which is why we’re going to be bringing in a few more regular contributors and writers now. So not only will you be seeing more content, you’ll be seeing a lot more diverse voices on the website too.

And, as a sidebar to that: since we have so much content now, we’re going to be doing a new redesign in the middle of the year so the site will be easier to navigate.

That’s it! Those are our big plans! We’re super excited about what’s in store for this year.

– Matt

The post Reader Survey Results: What We’re Changing This Year! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.