Health Travel Insurance Center

Today’s traveller has many needs. Among the many needs are travel clocks. These clocks are necessary for obvious reasons even in the day and age of hotel wake up calls, a travel alarm clock is a kinder gentler way to be awakened than the excessively loud hotel room telephones.

Travel clocks now come in all kinds of shapes and sizes so that you can bring them with you and have a little display of personality or a small taste of home. Travel clocks can also offer a method of you keeping your time when traveling rather than relying on the hotel services which are on local time for the area in which you are traveling.

You can also involve your children in your travel by allowing them to choose a travel clock for you that will remind you of them every morning, not that you won’t be thinking of them anyway, it’s just a good way to make them feel that they are important to you even when you are away.

We often forget the importance of feeling at home when we are traveling. Little things such as travel clocks, candles, photographs of friends and family can go a long way toward making you feel at home no matter how far away you are. Traveling, especially when traveling on business, can be quite a lonely endeavor. Anything that makes you feel less alone and isolated is a good thing to bring with you when you travel.

Whether you travel often during the course of your business or you only travel for family vacations, good travel clocks will have a huge impact on the way you wake in the mornings and your overall enjoyment of your trip. Make a point of choosing a clock that has an alarm that will wake you in the morning without being overpowering and obnoxious and if you can, choose one that will help you feel much less homesick.

John Gibb is the owner of travel clock guide, For more information on travel clocks please check out http://travel-clocks2k.info

Share This

Facing the eating-out issue

When it comes eating out in Paris, travelers unfamiliar with the city may have a hard time finding the right place to eat out. Consider it this way: you are to live, breathe and eat for a short while in a city which counts over 1,500 restaurants, in a country internationally known for its exquisite food. Where do you start from? And what guarantee do you have to hit the right spots for lunch and dinner?

A large number of my American friends select to follow their favorite travel guide’s recommendations. Good thinking. But there’s a downside to it: travelers tend use the same travel guides. And too many tourists kill authenticity.

The so-called ‘French cuisine’

Being born and having lived in France for 30 some years before I found my true home in America, I have an in-bred tendency to be extremely picky when it comes to food. When I travel back to Paris, I especially dislike being served so-so cuisine at over-inflated prices.

By the same token I find it very hard to accept that any of my American friends touring Paris be served run-of-the-mill food posing as ‘French cuisine’. Hence this new series of articles.

In the course of several recent trips to the French capital, I was introduced by local friends to a few restaurants I found to be absolutely noteworthy. My first stop will be ‘Chez Georges’.

The set

‘Chez Georges’ stands out tall amongst my recent discoveries.

I had received an invitation for lunch from Philippe H., an attorney-at-law who specializes in brokering deals in record time. Philippe has been lunching at ‘Chez Georges’ for the last 20 years or so, he is a fixture of the place. He even has his own table there. A very practical state of affairs, mind you, as ‘Chez Georges’ always operates at full capacity, and one needs to book at least 48 hours in advance to get a table.

The decor is typical French 1920-30, with a mosaic floor, large mirrors on the walls, dark brown wood panels, and sandish paint. The restaurant is divided in two rooms, both very narrow. The first room features a bar and a row of small square tables. Being close to the door and window panes, it is well lit. The room in the back is larger, with two rows of tables. It’s also darker, without any windows. The (small) kitchen is situated at the back of this room, and the restrooms another step behind.

The place is obviously packed, and very busy. It smells good food, and though guests are allowed to smoke I didn’t find cigarette smoke to be an issue. The whole atmosphere is congenial, vibrant and lively. No elevator music to bother you, but your neighbors’ voices may cover yours. Very Parisian, no doubt, but I saw several American folks having lunch there.

The feat

Our party of six was soon tended by Zoe the waitress, a sight for sore eyes. This smiling brunette is married to the restaurant manager, a friendly fellow who tends the bar and the cash register. Zoe has a nice word for everyone, can explain the menu in details, recommends what’s right for you, and moves about diligently.

The menu at ‘Chez Georges’ is as varied as appetizing. Everything on it spells French tradition. We decided to order a large selection of appetizers to share, including rillettes (a sort of pate made with pork, duck or goose), pink radish, herrings, museau (beef head pate), potato salad, and other delicacies.

The goods came in generous portions, and a couple of bottles of white Sancerre helped us gulp all this down. (Sancerre is a light red or white wine. It is made from black pinot or white sauvignon, and is grown in the Touraine region.) We were served two different types of fresh bread, including a delicious Poilane bread

We then attacked the entrees: duck filet with potatoes for me, please, served pink. (In my book, duck cooked to ‘done’ is unpalatable.) Soon came the plates, full up. My duck filet was perfectly cooked, and thick and tender as it should be. A wonderful abundance of gorgeous food! We accompanied the main fares with a bottle of red Chinon, a wine grown in my hometown. Things to get damned for!

All is well that ends well

The dessert was as succulent as the rest of this hearty meal. I had a Tarte Tatin, an caramelized apple pie baked ‘upside-down’. Apple slices are first baked on sugar, then covered with dough, and put in the oven again for a short while. When baked, the pie is turned over so that the dough now supports the apples. The result is a very tender pie, with a sweet but not overpowering taste of caramel. It is served with vanilla ice.

We all finished the meal on a good espresso. The check was very reasonable: it came to about 60 USD per person, for an unforgettable meal that included a ton of appetizers, six main fares, seven servings of dessert, 3 bottles of wine, and espressos for everyone. Expect to pay USD 30 on a lighter fare and less wine.

Though very hearty, my meal was easy to digest. I didn’t feel bloated afterwards, just slightly tipsy thanks to multiple servings of light wine. The products used were of very good quality, the bread freshly baked. The service we received was diligent and friendly.

Definitely a place I recommend you, my traveling friends!

Where?
Chez Georges
1 rue du Mail
75002 Paris
Tel: 33 (0)1 42 60 07 11
Lunch and dinner
Closed on week-ends and holidays
Book a table at least 48h in advance

As a noted Paris specialist, Phil Chavanne has helped many to make the very best of a trip to the French capital. This information is freely available at Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News.com, a guide to Paris hotels, sites, and restaurants.

Share This

Donsol used to be sleepy coastal town in Sorsogona province in the southernmost tip of Luzon. Nobody knows Donsol except for, of course, its local inhabitants until a few years ago when tourists from all over the world began to flock this remote place to get a look-see at the largest fish on earth: the whale shark.

Before, fishermen in Donsol were ignorant of the ecological (and tourist) value of whale sharks. They used to hunt, slaughter and sell the poor gentle sea creatures to Japanese traders. Local folks call them “butanding” or “big fish” in the vernacular. Early sightings of the butandings were reported in the Visayan seas in Bohol further south. It was said that massive slaughtering caused their migration to Donsol waters.

Although, according to stories, the first butanding that was netted out in the area was also butchered. A marine biologist witnessed it and instantly recognized the fish as a rare marine specie. The biologist immediately reported the incident to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an international organization promoting the preservation of the wildlife.

WWF wasted no time and launched an education campaign about the giant creature. After coordinating with the Department of Tourism, whale-watching soon became a tourist activity that allowed extra income for the people of Donsol.

Whale sharks can grow up to 50 feet in length. It has a rather wide mouth with hundreds of pointed teeth. It usually comes in grey or greenish brown color with white or yellow spots all over its body.

It earned the label gentle giant of the sea because of its harmless nature, considering it is of the shark family. It has nothing in common with whales except for its size, thus the name. Divers can swim and interact with them and are only known to sink deeper into the ocean when it gets upset. There has been no known attack on humans of whale sharks.

Scientists are still baffled with the large migration of whale sharks in Donsol. These fishes are known to prefer the cold waters, not the tropical seas that we have. One explanation would be the flourishing of planktons in the area. Planktons are organisms that fill the diet of the whale sharks. It is also hard to record the number of whale sharks that now thrive in Donsol. But early studies show that whale sharks can travel 14,000 miles in 40 months and is capable of breeding in different sea environments.

Whale sharks swim on the surface of the water especially during the morning and early afternoon. It opens its mouth rhythmically when feeding on the planktons and visitors may be treated to this wondrous sight if they spot the fish at the perfect time. But don’t expect them to jump up and down the water like the whales or dolphins. That’s actually another beauty of the whale shark experience because this makes it perfectly east and safe to get near them.

John Grant has been living in the Philippines for 5 years and has travelled the country extensively. His online Philippines travel guide gives you an extensive coverage of destinations like Sorsogon

Share This