While In New Orleans, Meet the Beignets
If you're headed to New Orleans, you'll find something on many cafe and hotel restaurant menus that you might never have seen before. It's called the beignet, and it's usually served in sets of three. This square fried confection resembles a doughnut coated in powdered sugar, minus the hole. Some say it's more like a fritter. As popular as gumbo and equally available throughout most of Louisiana, the quest for the perfect beignet might be a side highlight to your New Orleans vacation.
While there is some controversy over the true roots of the beignet, it likely arrived with the French settlers in the 1700s, perhaps taking a turn with the Acadians, before landing on the plates of hungry Cajun-Creole diners in Louisiana. On local menus since at least 1800, hotels and restaurants serve beignets as a main dish or an accompaniment. The Cafe du Monde, for example, opened in 1862 and serves the beignet as its only food choice, paired with hot or iced coffee, milk or soft drinks. It has opened other locations, and has increased the pastry's popularity. Cafe Beignet also highlights the dish, but serves other fare. The New Orleans Marriott's 5 Fifty 5 restaurant features beignets on its breakfast menu and sometimes on its breakfast buffet, among other local favorites. Several establishments in New Orleans offer beignets on the brunch buffet in their common form, or sometimes disguised over a sandwich without the sugar on a daily specials menu.
Whether you're in the city known as The Big Easy for a football game, convention or Mardi Gras celebration, take some time to try a beignet. It may not be the reason you chose New Orleans for your vacation, but it might be one of the highlights.
Is Travel Insurance Right for You?
You travel half-way around the globe to experience an exotic locale, lugging along your kids, your laptop and your new digital camera with the mega-zoom lens. Everything is postcard perfect until the end, as you’re waiting for a cab to the Cairo airport, eating some koshary you picked up from a street vendor, you realize your bags are gone, including your laptop and your new digital camera with the mega-zoom lens. Luckily you still have your kids. But what now?
Or say your husband falls off the Great Wall, fractures his leg and needs to be airlifted to a hospital 100 miles away? Or an ambitious snowstorm not only covers the mountain you were set to ski, but also the resort? In all of the situations above, travel insurance saves the day.
Like all other insurance policies—house, car, health—you never expect travel insurance to go into effect, but you’re relieved when it does. It covers a wide range of travel-specific situations, including trip cancellation, lost bags, sudden illness, medical troubles, essential items you’ll need if your bags are delayed, transportation to medical facilities and more.
You spend so much time and energy researching, planning and paying for the perfect vacation, it makes sense to add travel insurance to the equation, ensuring that all your hard work does not go up in smoke due to some unforeseen event or illness.
Yet travel insurance is not for everyone. A three-hour plane ride to stay at the Marriott near Aunt Hester’s house needs no extra coverage. But when you plan to visit an unfamiliar part of the world, travel during times of unpredictable weather, drive through underdeveloped countries or engage in physical activities, then travel insurance is just as important to pack as your toiletry bag.
Here’s a list of the most popular types of travel insurance you may want to consider for your next vacation. Of course, if you have any questions or need more information about travel insurance, please call us at the agency at any time.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption – The most common type of travel insurance, trip cancellation covers deposits or non-refundable payments if a trip is canceled or interrupted due to unforeseen circumstances. This coverage is generally meant for illness, injury or death suffered by you, your family or travel companion. But it can also cover supplier situations, such as a cancelled cruise due to a propeller problem or if a tour operator defaults the week before you trip.
Emergency Medical Coverage – Before you leave on any international trip, check your health insurance; the policy you have in the United States does not cover you the same way overseas, especially when a pre-existing condition is involved. With emergency medical coverage, if you have an accident, or if you fall ill because you drank tap water, you will be reimbursed for the medical expenses incurred. Coverage varies from policy to policy, and you can tailor medical travel insurance to cover that which your regular health insurance does not cover overseas.
Emergency Evacuation or Emergency Transportation – While falling ill and staying in a hospital in a foreign land can rack up a hefty bill, nothing compares to when you need to be medically evacuated from a remote area, which can incur a charge as high as $100,000. Emergency evacuation insurance covers this transportation to a hospital or other medical facility. This is key coverage to have for those traveling to remote areas of the world, those with chronic illnesses or who are pregnant, or those who are involved in hardcore adventure travel.
Property Loss – Covers your luggage and personal effects in case they are lost, stolen, damaged or indefinitely delayed.
The next time you plan a trip, pack a little peace of mind by purchasing travel insurance. Give our agency a call and we’ll set you up with the perfect policy that fits your plans and your budget. You can find more travel tips at 1800Hotels blog
Tips to Choose the Ideal Rental Car
Whether you need a car to drive from the airport to your seaside cabin, or you’re planning a road trip and don’t want to put the extra miles on the family sedan, then a rental car is in your future. What doesn’t have to be in your future is difficulty choosing the right rental. Here are four tips to ensure you end up behind the wheel of the best car possible.
Price is Nice – Many travelers view a rental car like their luggage: they know it’s necessary, but don’t want to fuss about it too much. If this describes you, then by all means shop by price and choose the smallest vehicle the car company has. Luck may be on your side since so many people shop by price and are aiming for the exact lowest-price vehicle as you, the company may be out of them when it’s time to grab your keys, forcing them to upgrade you to a roomier car at the same price.
Stick to the Big Boys – When renting, you may find a great price for a compact car through some low-budget, locally-owned company. Before committing, know that the rental will also come with low-budget, locally-owned service, which may steer you into a bad mood once you’ve dealt with it. In our experiences, it’s best to stick to the bigger, national brands like Hertz, who are best at getting people into theirs cars fast and helping out swiftly if things go wrong on the road. In the interest of full disclosure, our agency has an exclusive partnership with Hertz, which means we can get you special rates you are unable to acquire on your own!
Indulge Yourself – No matter what type of vacation you’re on, remember that you’re on a vacation! That means you should be pampering yourself even if it’s just a little. When selecting a rental car, choose one with a little more room and luxury than you’re used to. There’s no faster way to get into a vacation frame of mind than driving away from the airport in a spacious, luxurious vehicle, blasting XM radio and using the car’s built-in navigation system
Must Have Airport Location – There are very few deal-breakers when it comes to choosing a rental car company, but this is definitely one: it must have cars located at the airport. The last thing you want to do when your plane lands is take a cab or bus to an off-site rental company, which only adds an extra leg onto the journey. Choose one you can walk to, or at least has a direct shuttle bus service to an on-airport facility, thus saving you valuable time.
Look Out for Hidden Charges – Due to typical taxes and fees, the price of a rental car always exceeds the quoted price. However, there are non-typical fees to watch out for too, such as drop-off charges for one-way rentals and mandatory insurance on international rentals. To avoid these expensive surprises and more, turn to us to navigate your next rental car purchase.
Booking a Pet Friendly Hotel with 1800 Hotels
When you're planning to stay in hotels, be sure pets are allowed. Ask. Call the toll-free 1-800 hotels reservation line for your favorite chain when you're ready to book. If it's prime vacation time, be sure to make reservations well in advance. Pet-friendly hotels fill up fast.
Weigh your pets to see if they meet hotel requirements. A few pounds here and there might not matter, but large breed dogs are not always welcome.
If you have small animals in containers or cages traveling with you, you probably won't need to notify the hotel. Be sure the cage is secure. Watch the temperature and the lighting. Small animals like ferrets, turtles, hamsters and mice are sensitive to their surroundings.
Additional Tips for Booking
Finding a hotel that accepts pets isn't hard. All you have to do is call the 1800 hotels reservation line for your favorite chain and ask if they take pets. Most agents are helpful in finding convenient locations to take ALL family members. Some have size restrictions.
Call in advance. Try to plan ahead. If you're taking a long road trip, estimate the maximum number of hours you can drive, then reduce it by an hour. You should be able to find pet-friendly hotels in the area.
Be honest. If a hotel says "No Pets," don't try to smuggle your pets into the room. One bark or meow could get the whole family kicked out. This is the best way to ruin a vacation.