Travel Planning and The Art of Browser Juggling

Last Millenium Travel

Once upon a time, out-bound travelers normally went to a travel agency to speak with a travel agent who dispensed maps and travel information like a prescient anthropomorphic vending machine that knew where you were going. For a price, someone else did all the work. You sat through it, thought about what you were going to pack, then paid the bill.

Had my North Dakota lottery-winnings check appeared as I keep hoping it will someday, I'd be more inclined to take the last millenium travel-planning route. But since another week went by without it showing up, we did what we normally do: we did it ourselves. Although this method requires role-playing [agent to customer] with yourself, the decisions -- and the blame for them -- will all be yours.

Aside: But if you are ready to play the blame game on travel particulars, especially when vouchers are issued through email, remember the controlling rules will be those of another country. This understanding was emphasized in the final words of our lodging contract from Lucca, which read: "Any problems that may arise between the parties will be dealt accordingly to Italian Law and will be dealt in Lucca." Any statehouse reporter worth his or her story leaks knows to read between these lines, even if they are in Italian. When in Lucca, to avoid a run in with the medieval walled-city's scales of justice, do as the Luccans. Soprano watchers, take note.

Browser Juggling

Sitting in the comfort of your home (my choice) or office, you can now find and see almost anything in the world. Clicking your way through a couple key websites can, when used as a group, become a powerful provider of info. Even with a half-baked plan, a bucket of determination and lots of time to work around the inevitable obstacles that humans or machines will cause you as you enter and exit the payment process, learning the art of juggling multiple browsers (I use Mozilla Firefox 5.0) is an acquired talent that you'll enjoy as your booking victories pile up.

Approaching the trip planning process like a seasoned tag-team duo, my wife Kathy and I took turns navigating through websites over the past month, learning on the fly their in's and out's as we compared and contrasted information from one site to another, then hitting the submit button to lock in rates and accommodations. OJT is what it's all about when you're shopping the web. Learning to be an armchair travel planner takes time, but it's good time as it represents a mini continuing-education-course guaranteed to improve your digital moxy, notwithstanding the embedded frustrations that will give you intermittent heartburn. Your newly developed ability to juggle browsers, and the multi "open tabs" you open as you go, would look impressive if you wanted to attend Jedi College.

Utilizing your browser's "tiling" feature (I prefer vertical, not horizontal), you can have many windows open simultaneously. And with the "tab" option in Firefox, you can manage them like a maestro might conduct a full symphony orchestra, calling on each musical section as the music demands to conjure forth their informational treasures.

Googleishous!

To an amateur travel planner, taking Google into your own hands is equivalent to what a magic wand can do for a young apprentice wizard. It makes things happen you never thought could happen. We all know Google has become synonymous with information retrieval, much the same way the name Xerox stood for paper copies and Kleenex translated into wispy personal paper tissue. With the world's strength in satellite imaging now at the hands of you and me [imagine what the NSA can see] Google Maps is a must-use tool to "see" your destinations, be they places or routes.

The free version, notwithstanding the slight age of the images, is a wonder of science and technology. By entering a simple place name like "London" or a structure name like "Eiffel Tower" or an exact street address, Google Maps will fly you there in nanoseconds. Once "virtually there," by drilling in or out, you can literally see the lay of the land. And when the images are of good quality, which is not always the case, even Peter Pan would be jealous of the view, as you fly at street level or peer down through a cloudless atmosphere to your destination below.

The Wonder Websites

When you're ready to fly hither and yon, as I've done for a while, the roundup of websites I can recommend from personal experience that will turn you into a competent, quick travel agent are Google Maps, ViaMichelin, TripAdvisor, SlowTravel.com, Worldby.com, Venere.com and Kayak.

Via Michelin is fantastic for European driving directions, complete with kilometers traveled, petrol needed to make the trip and the expected cost of that petrol at current prices. [BTW, to change USD last week into Euros and British Pounds took $2.01 for one BP and $1.385 for one Euro.] TripAdvisor is a "go-to sight" for visitor comments and a cornucopia of other info. SlowTravel is what the name implies; a site for travelers like us who don't want to rush or be rushed from one stop to another. Instead we'd rather hang around a bit, not that we're going to be mistaken for a local but to enjoy life from a different perspective.

Illustrating this notion is done best by recalling the scene from National Lampoon's Holiday Vacation movie when the movie's family finally arrives at the Grand Canyon after a series of mishaps befall them. Tired, mad, upset, they leave after a about eight seconds of group gazing into the gorge's timeless bowls. They cut and run as the view is too overwhelming to do much more than gawk in wonder at its enormity.

Kayak is the new pick of the web-travel-planning litter. It gathers search results from across the web, reducing the need for you to visit the many sites it searches as it mines data to match your request.

Still Learning to Drive the SOA Blogmobile

This is my second post to Spinelli on Assignment since I took it out for a spin a couple days ago. I know where the ignition key goes and how to put it into gear, but I'm very much an OJTer. Steady as she goes for me for a while. Next week I'll be in the nation's Capitol to attempt to hunt down information related to my father's 1928 passport and his attainment of U.S. Citizenship, which may have occurred about 1917.

Although we leave home soon, adventure is still just over the horizon. Stay tuned. JMS