The Vacation Gals entreat the airlines and the FAA not to allow lap children.  The fares are cheap these days, but the costs add up.  Still, think about these issues before keeping your infant on your lap for your next flight.

Italy Mondo strike a chord near and dear to my heart, Italian food.

PlanetEye Traveler – Green Travel is talking about holiday travel.  Already!

Eyeflare has a nice primer on how to capture silhouettes in your travel photos.  Here’s one of the tips – turn off your flash!

Uncornered Market, making its first appearance in my list of favorites, lists the 7 habits of highly effective travelers.  How many can you count as yours?

Travel Savvy Mom, another first timer on my favorite list, tells why spending more money for an executive floor room can actually save you money.  I agree, and try to take that option whenever possible.

Intelligent Travel teases us once again with a very strange hotel, this one in a sewer pipe.

PlanetEye Traveler – London tell s the story of a neighborhood about to be demolished.  Residents of the building have put up portraits on the windows, a reminder of the real people who are impacted by this decision.

Cockpit Chronicles at Gadling attempts to help us understand why waiting in line on the runway is inevitable.

Travellious has some cool travel gear.  And besides that, Kelly is heading off to Italy.  (See Italy Mondo post above. . . again!)

LA Times lists some over-the-top promotions that hotels are trying.  Are you tempted by any of them?  The promotion that I want?  FREE internet access!

Seattle PI reminds me that there are hostels here in Seattle.

That’s it for this week.  Please stop by and say hi to this great group of travel bloggers – and tell them you read about them at Flyaway Cafe.

Post from: Fly Away Cafe

People may be used to seeing 747’s on the runways, but this is one plane that is neither landing nor taking off.  Instead, it’s a unique destination hostel, which opened just a few days ago, and is permanently anchored at the entrance to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport.

It is a REAL 747!  And now it’s also a REAL hostel!

There are 25 rooms and 85 beds onboard onboard in different room categories.  All rooms have flat screen televisions, including a flight departure screen, and there is access to wi-fi throughout the plane.  With the exception of the suite, all rooms offer a shower and toilet in the corridor.

A sampling of room types and pricing:

• A luxury suite in the converted cockpit offers a panoramic view of the airport – just like the pilots must have had.  It has a private shower and toilet facilities.  The suite is priced at approximately $406 per night, based on current conversion rates from Swedish Kroner to US Dollars.  (In photo below.)
• A private twin bed room sleeps two adults and is priced at approximately $148 per night.
• A bed in one of the dorm rooms, a more typical hostel stay, is priced at approximately $44 per night.

Their is cafe onboard (see photo above) where you can purchase breakfast, coffee, cookies and basic meals, as well as a microwave for any meals that you may have brought with you.  The cafe is open to the general public as well.

To learn a little more about how this crazy idea became a reality, as well as to get a few more glimpses at the interior, take a lunch at this video:

As an adult, I’ve never been that attracted to staying at a hostel.  The Jumbo Hostel has changed my mind!  I think this is pretty cool!

How about you?  Would you stay in a 747?

Images:  Used with permission of Jumbo Hostel

Post from: Fly Away Cafe

A very big thank you to all of the wonderful bloggers who submitted posts for inclusion.  This month’s theme was “Lodging” and I think these bloggers covered nearly every angle of the theme.  Read on for the many options that you have when it’s time to lay your head down.

Hotels:

• Let’s start with a little humor from Madeleine Begun Kane, and A Traveler’s Net Woes posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.  It’s a good laugh about hotel internet connections and business travel with your spouse.
• Susan presents The Innovative Traveler: Sleep with the Nuns… posted at The Innovative Traveler.  A convent in the heart of Rome, operated as a hotel, sounds like a great option.  (I know I’m going to look into it!)
• Debbie Dubrow presents DeliciousBaby Journal | Choosing A Family Friendly Hotel posted at Delicious Baby. Traveling with little ones raises a host of issues, and these tips for choosing a hotel will help you out.
• Raymond presents Join and Participate In Hotel Rewards Programs To Earn Free Hotel Stays posted at Money Blue Book, reminding us about ways to maximize our hotel stay.

Resorts:

• Jennifer Rog presents Tipping at All-Inclusive Resorts posted at All Inclusive Travel Tips, with tips on tipping at your all-inclusive destination.
• Jeet presents Bheemeshwari Fishing and Nature Camp posted at bangalorebeats.  This resort in the South Indian state of Karnatak will appeal to those looking for adventure, fishing and nature. 
• Sheila Scarborough presents It’s cold, so let’s go to a water park posted at Family Travel: See The World With Your Kids.  The Great Wolf Lodge resorts combine an indoor water park with a hotel option.  Something for everyone?

Hostels:

• Christopher Cook presents Choosing A Hostel Is Like Choosing A Friend: things to think about when trying to find a place to sleep posted at -noambit -Travel Europe- where to go, what to see, and how to get there.  Hostels in Europe come in all shapes, sizes and types, and this article helps you decipher what to expect and what to look for in a European Hostel. 
• Macie presents My London Trip posted at Random Useful Information, sharing her humorous experience about a hostel stay in London.”

Homes & Apartments:

• Andrew Edgington presents Cyprus Holiday Villa Homes posted at Cyprus Informer.  Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and is becoming a popular spot for holidays and buying property.
• Mitch McDonald presents Hawaii Rentals : Finding The Perfect Vacation Home posted at FYI About.com, another article about life on an island.
• My contribution from here at Flyaway Cafe was What to do When You Can’t Find a Hotel in Paris, and how I found the perfect Paris apartment.

Miscellaneous:

• Michael@TSM presents Travel Writing Contest! Win $150 Cash Prize | Traveling Stories Magazine posted at Traveling Stories Magazine.  If you have a travel lodging story to share it could be worth a little cold, hard cash.

You are invited to submit a post to the next Carnival of Travelers on the theme “Family Travel.”  All posts must relate to the theme.  Please make sure your link work, as I had to eliminate several submission with broken links.  Submit your blog article to the next edition using the carnival submission form. You can get more information about past posts on the blog carnival index page.

Photo credit:  flickr

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Post from: Fly Away Cafe