Cookie travels

We have been searching the city center for items our visitors wanted to carry back home as souvenirs of their trip in Finland. They already bought some but as we visited the shops at the 43rd Pori Jazz Festival venue, we found nice usable stuffs with Finland name on it. So those three times I visited the festival venue they were mostly for souvenir shopping with a bit of watching free open concerts at Jazzstreet Stage and walking along Jazz Street. There were a lot of items to shop here but our eyes were fixed on souvenir items.

- The first time our family walked at Jazz Street was with dad, young sis and baby Caite after a heavy Pizza buffet. It was a bright night time, a nice evening for walking. There was one shop selling Finland souvenirs so we bought some cap, t-shirt and moose magnets. There was also a shop selling Pori Jazz souvenirs but there was no Finland embedded on it so we didn’t purchase any. Had it included the name Finland we could have brought some small stuff…hehe.

- The second time I went to Jazz Street was to buy additional Finland cap my dad requested.

- And the third trip was with mom and two sisters. We went to the same shop we have been coming back for souvenirs. Obviously, the lady selling those items already recognized us so as we left her shop, she bade us goodbye with: ‘see you tomorrow!’ After visiting Jazz Street three times, no more tomorrow for me…

Finland caps and other souvenirs for sale

crocs can be purchased at 43rd Pori Jazz Festival, too

Most travelers have become photo and video enthusiasts, capturing as much as they can of their travel with the beautiful sights explored. After taking the shots, it would be nice to document travel photos or videos with some home craft ideas find online, in particular the digital scrapbooking. If you visit Mylifetime.com, you will learn that this multimedia company among their other services, offers travelers and general users with a great space to upload photos and videos, and ultimately share them with our family and friends in e-cards, slideshows and digital scrapbooks thru email, blog or in print. So actually, you are not limited to digital scrapbooking here. More so, you can add music and words to your photos and videos, plus select from among the hundreds of designs they provide. Creating great digital scrapbook and others is easy and free. Takes only 5 minutes!

The recently concluded 43rd Pori Jazz Festival organized during 12-20 July 2008 included 110 full concerts with 70 of them open to public for free. Pori Jazz is not an event for grown-ups only. Kids were encouraged to take part in this event. In fact, Pori Jazz Kids concerts and workshops were free. Pori Jazz 2008 sold a total of 66,000 tickets compared to last year’s 58,000 tickets. This might be due to the fact that among the many invited performers, the legendary Carlos Santana is present. His concert alone at Kirjurinluoto Arena held last Friday, 18th of July sold 34,000 tickets with all tickets sold out.

Here are some photos taken during this event and more coming up:

band performing at 43rd Pori Jazz Festival

people walking at Jazz Street lined with shops selling food, candies,
souvenirs, shoes, bags, and other items

When we go on a road trip, we sometimes carry with us devices or tools to make our travel more relaxing, comfortable and convenient. And much more, it would be very nice if these gadgets are designed with environmental awareness in mind. Products you might need while you’re on the go during the cold season would be a heated travel mug with adjustable temperature control from 85F to 160F or a cozy electric travel blanket made of fleece to keep you warm and can make your seat warmer. It’s not yet winter time but then again it’s better to shop ahead or if you live in colder regions then it’s time to have one. These products are 12v powered thus uses less energy than traditional electric gadgets and eventually saves you money. These eco-friendly products can be purchased online at EcoGeek Living. A functional and eco-friendly travel gadget, why not?

Okay so here are a sample of dad and mom’s memorable snapshots in their last week tour of Europe. Which do you think would be their best snapshot???

at the Senate Square, one of the main tourist attractions of Helsinki with
the bronze monument of Emperor Alexander II of Russia located at the center of
the square and the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki behind the monument

a snapshot of dad and mom in Vienna with the Naturhistorisches Museum
or Museum of Natural History at the background, one of the important museums
of the world containing the earliest collections of artifacts of over 250 years old

at Brandenburg Gate, a former city gate separating West and East Berlin,
one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany and considered as one of Europe’s
most famous landmarks

Photo credits: rainydazeee.com

Transportation services from airport to nearby cities or other points of destination can sometimes cause anxiety to travelers most especially if they are newcomers to the city. That’s why usually when we have family members or friends coming to visit us for a holiday, we pick them up at the airport. Just recently, my parents and sisters who came to visit us in Finland had to be fetched at Helsinki-Vantaa airport despite the fever I had that day. I had to carry with me a pack of Paracetamol. It was about 4-hours journey from Pori to Helsinki airport with a bus change in Espoo, another city in Finland. And still I decided to go coz not only was their bus tickets with me, I was also worried they might not find their way to our house from the airport. It saves us from anxiety if we opt to fetch them despite the fact that transportation to neighboring cities from airport is reliable.

Same goes with transportation services in New York City area. I can say that they are also reliable, as well as reasonably priced, and safe especially the one that is offered by GO Airlink Shuttle company. GO Airlink Shuttle’s airport transportation service not only covers New York City but also the neighboring vicinities. I’m sure travel bugs are not much bothered by those anxieties mentioned above, so if you need a reliable JFK Airport Shuttle ride or shuttles at LaGuardia and Newark Airports, don’t hesitate to make your reservation by visiting their website. Take note that when you book online, you are guaranteed of a best price. GO Airlink Shuttles services are always on time so you are assured of no-missed flights. And in case of last minute reservations, you can get in touch with their phone reservation agents who are available 24/7.

It’s now summertime in Europe, a wonderful time to mull over traveling. One can spend his/her summer holidays in some of the most popular destinations in this continent such as France and Spain, visiting several popular tourist attractions as enumerated: the Eiffel Tower - one of the most famous landmarks in the world, the impressive Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral or the “must see” Chateau de Versailles - home of the Sun King Louis XIV in France; explore the Museo del Prado and the enormous Palacio Real in Madrid; or tour the most famous boulevard in Barcelona, La Rambla, and the Montjuïc Castle, for a beautiful panorama view of the city. There’s a lot more to see so booking an accommodation is recommended.

Chateau de Versailles in France, home of the Sun King Louis XIV

Planning your vacation means booking at least your accommodation in advance. But if you don’t have much time, discount last minute hotels are also available online. If your destination is France, you can search online for cheaper Paris hotels and travel or France travel and hotels at cheaperthanhotels.co.uk. And if you’re planning to spend a holiday in Spain, you can book your travel to Barcelona and hotels at cheaperthanhotels.co.uk as well. They also have last minute deals on Madrid hotels and accommodation. So check this site if you are looking for discount last minute hotels.

Photo credits: wikipedia.org

Even though dad and mom had quite a relaxing time in our place in Pori, Finland (coz the tour guide got sick ), this last week though was quite a hectic Europe trip for them. Want to know why? It started this Monday with a day tour in Helsinki, followed by their flight back to Prague on Tuesday, a Wednesday tour in Vienna, a Thursday visit to Berlin then back to Prague, and today dad and mom left Prague for Philippines, with a connecting flight at Amsterdam. My cutie sis said they didn’t have much time to sleep coz they had to pack after arriving from their Berlin trip. It was a tiresome last week in Europe but I know it was a memorable and enjoyable one for them. Photos will follow.

Travel bugs usually visit many travel websites so they can plan ahead their holiday. It’s more on getting information regarding cheaper flights, budget accommodations, the sights they should see, and more. But how can we know for example if this budget accommodation is worth our money? I usually bank on User Website Reviews.

There’s a website where in internet users are allowed to share their own views through website reviews at Talkreviews.com. Here, users can review a website they like or dislike and their experiences, be it bad or good. More so, Talkreviews.com offers detail statistics about every website in quite a lot of countries. So if you have some travel experiences to share, this is a place were internet users can be heard and other travel bugs (or general readers) can learn…

My parents and cutie sis’ vacation in Finland is now over. We sent them off at the express bus station in Pori for their Helsinki-Vantaa airport trip last Tuesday for their flight back to Prague. It was almost a month’s stay in Finland but it seems quite short to think that I got sick for more than two weeks that started since I picked them up at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Poor tourists arriving Finland without a tour guide. He..he.. But the tour guide was able to get back in shape before they finally left, such that a day’s tour in Helsinki was possible. Anyway, cookietravels would also like to say bye to our dear visitors with some photos taken in Helsinki:

at the Helsinki City Museum

at the Esplanadi Park in Helsinki