One Stop Swap Shop

April 13th, 2010

I mentioned Points.com in a previous post where I spoke about my crazy habits of buying airline tickets even though I have plenty of “points” or “miles” that I could redeem for free travel. The title of that post was Why am I a Frequent Buyer if I am a Frequent Flier? I don’t think I have logged on to my Points.com account since I wrote that post. However, about every 6 months I browse through my frequent flier programs just to make sure points are not expiring and also to get a running tally of where I stand. Tonight must have been a 6 month mark because there I was logging into countless frequent flier programs. Then Points.com popped into my head and I immediately wanted to see what this Toronto based company was up to.

The website has definitely improved since I last saw it and they are now partnered with more point programs than ever before. The concept is simple…its a one stop swap shop. The most obvious function of the website is to track all of your point programs in one central location and we are not talking just airlines but also hotels, credit cards, and retail rewards programs. However, what I think is the most useful function of Points.com is the ability to unload your points from one central location. (read more)

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Posted in ...Tricks + Tips

Japanese Sushi Documentary

April 6th, 2010

So, you have mastered your local sushi joint to the point where you are BFF with the sushi chef. Suddenly you find yourself in Japan and the rules have changed. Sushi consumption is a culture. A culture with rules and regulations, especially in the country where it originated (actually, research shows that in some former century sushi originated in China, or maybe Southeast Asia but lets leave that for another post.) Point is, this video, albiet a little silly, is completely necessary in understanding the proper way to eat sushi in Japan. Check it out:

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Posted in ...Tricks + Tips

Adventure Travelers: Its Time Give Back and Get Outdoors!

March 23rd, 2010

Team Tafari and the Adventure Travel Trade Association is joining forces with the adventure travelers of New York City for the purpose of giving back to our local community!

Hands on New York Day

Pelham Bay Park (the beach!)

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

Join the Team

  • What is Hands on New York Day? Its a day when about 5,000 volunteers from the Greater New York City area head outdoors to clean up our public spaces, which include parks, recreation facilities, beaches, public schools, and more. Projects that we will be participating in include but are not limited to: planting flowers, painting murals and fences, edging pathways, raking, pulling weeds, etc., etc., etc. Its basically spring cleaning for New York City and an excuse to take our adventurous spirits outdoors!
  • Who are we looking for? Volunteers are organized into teams in order to keep everything running smoothly. I, Leah Smith, am the team leader and the point of contact for our team, Team Tafari. We invite anyone who has traveled, wants to travel, works in travel, or wants to learn more about travel to join our team. I chose adventure travel as our team theme because I know you guys are willing to get down and dirty! Feel free to invite your friends and/or family, just make sure that everyone is registered prior to April 16th (link provided below.) Unfortunately, official rules state that we cannot accept volunteers under the age 14. Registration is $20, which is considered a donation to the New York Cares Organization.
  • Where will we be lending a helping hand and what are the logistics of the day? The site we will be working on is Pelham Bay Park, which actually is New York City’s largest public park, yes, 3 times larger than Central Park! That’s not even the exciting news! We will be working along Orchard Beach, cleaning up the mile long boardwalk. Yes, finally an excuse to head to the beach! Since the park is located in the Bronx we will be meeting at the NY Cares office at 214 West 29th Street promptly at 8:30am. From there we will be taking a bus to our site. I will contact each of our team members directly with more information as the day gets closer. The day ends promptly at 3:00pm and of course I forsee some sort of celebratory cocktail immediately following!
  • So how do you join the team? Simple…click the link below and stay tuned for further instructions!

I WANT TO JOIN TEAM TAFARI!

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Posted in The Tao of Travel

Sable Horses Exhibit

March 10th, 2010

Roberto Dutesco is the photographer and Sable Horses is the exhibit. It all started in 1994, when Dutesco, a world famous fashion photographer, ventured to Sable Island with a vision. Sable Island is a narrow sandbar about 190 miles southeast of Halifax, Novia Scotia. Dutesco immersed himself in the island where he closely observed it’s only inhabitants – over 300 wild horses. In 2006, Dutesco opened a exhibit in Soho featuring his photographs of the Sable horses.

I visited Dutesco’s exhibit in Soho and was blown away. There is an undeniable “realness,” if that even makes sense, to the exhibit. The horses have an undeniable love for each other. One of my favorite images was titled ‘Love,’ which shows two horses nuzzling their heads together, eyes closed. If you are in the area, you should consider checking out the Sable horses (my quick snapshots above do not do it justice – I wasn’t sure if I was even allowed to take photos.)

The exhibit is located at 13 Crosby Street, between Grand and Howard Streets.

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Posted in Around Town: New York City

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