Home > Still Traveling > Archives > 2005 > April > 07 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USReady to go again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m just back from a travel editors meeting in Little Rock, Ark., (fun and growing river city, if you’ve never been), and I’m itching to leave town again.
Blame it on the deals that cross my desk everyday. Two very different ones arrived this morning, and I can’t take advantage of either. Maybe you can.
British Airways is celebrating Mother’s day with a package from Atlanta that starts at $529, for travel through May 29. It includes round-trip airfare to London, three nights at the 3-star Comfort Inn Kensington with breakfast included daily, a £10 Harrods shopping voucher and afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason. Info at www.britishairways.com. Even with the weak dollar, this looks like a good deal.
The other offer in today’s email that made me wish for more time and money, is the Cape May Music Festival. I’d never heard of Cape May, N.J., until 8 years ago, when my Mother wanted to see a longtime friend in Baltimore and I agreed to drive her, then started looking for someplace nearby to visit while they visited with each other. Cape May is a wonderful beach town with lots of charm, Victorian homes and B&Bs. It was a relaxing getaway and I think of it often, and long to go back.
The music festival, May 22-June 19, looks like it has something for everyone, from symphony concerts to Zydeco music to brass bands to Latin jazz. When I checked for a Web site, I stumbled across the Cape May jazz festival, running April 15-17 and Nov. 11-13. And really started itching to go. Will somebody go and tell me about it? Please? Web sites to find out more: www.capemaymac.com, www.capemayjazz.com.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Tommy
April 10, 2005 12:34 PM | Link to this
Considering the weak dollar, I am wondering which is the most economical European country for travel in the near future.
By Lisa Stauffer
April 18, 2005 9:52 PM | Link to this
The Cape May Jazz Festival was great! (Just kidding. The schools frown on taking out your kids to go to jazz festivals.)
Actually, I’m writing because I was in Chattanooga this weekend. What a wonderful place to visit! Of course, when I was growing up there, I thought it the most boring place there was…. Well, except for the pretty mountains and the nice lake and all those cedars out in the country growing along fence rows.
But now, Chattanooga has an arts district, a walkway along the river, a blue-painted pedestrian bridge, funky shops, the children’s museum, the aquarium, and stately old buildings downtown.
Only recently has the city begun noticing and publicizing its long history. Cherokees and other Native Americans used the Tennessee River long before the Europeans showed up. And Ross’s Landing was a trading center until the Cherokees were forced west in 1838. Both armies occupied Chattanooga during the Civil War, fighting their way across town and back. After the War, the city blossomed with industry and innovations. The first Coca-Cola bottling company was there. Even in the early 1900s Chattanooga was a boom town, with the railroad connections.
By the time I came along, though, Chattanooga was choking on air pollution. I can remember the orange color of the air when I was in college there (Go Mocs!). But that’s all changed now. The pollution is cleaned up, the air is fresh, the town is green with trees and flowers, and the Civic-minded have created a great tourist destination.
The Riverwalk is especially nice. It runs for miles with historical markers and nature information posted near benches every now and then. Early on a Sunday morning, few people were out, and I could imagine myself back in time among the Cherokees, or the Civil War armies, or even imagine how the 1917 flood must have been. Unfortunately I had to get back to Atlanta, but if you end your stroll near the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge, there are yummy restaurants on both sides of the river.
Hmmm…. Wonder if my family would consider moving there….Or at least consider spending more weekends in Chattanooga.
By Amanda Miller
April 19, 2005 5:07 PM | Link to this
Hi Lisa You had me going there for a minute on the Cape May jazz fest. You’re right, Chattanooga is a great getaway for Atlantans, a friendly city I also highly recommend to anyone who’s never spent any time there. This Sunday, on Page 1 of the AJC, our Metro editors and staff are producing the first of two parts about Chattanooga and its many charms; on Wednesday in the Living section, you can read all about the city’s aquarium expansion and what it’s like to swim with the sharks. (Intrepid reporter David Pendered did the deed, and lived to tell about it.)
By Amanda Miller
April 19, 2005 5:19 PM | Link to this
Hi Tommy Your question about Europe is a good one, and I bet our readers will have a better answer than I do. What I’ve read is that developing tourism countries such as Bulgaria are much better values because hotel rates and food costs are much lower than strong tourist destinations, such as Italy or Spain. It’s still possible to go to England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, etc., though, despite the ever weakening dollar, if you’re willing to scale back your hotel/dining expectations; have a cheese/bread picnic in Paris at the Eiffel tower, for instance, or decide to splurge on only a couple of fine dinners, instead of one every day of your trip. I don’t mind counting pennies on a vacation; to me, seeing the sights and meeting the locals is far more rewarding than saying I ate in the top Paris restaurant.