Catania

Walking And Eating In Downtown Catania, Sicily

June 15, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Catania is a vibrant city center with a busy, urban core. We didn’t spend a ton of time downtown, but here’s a few spots to consider if you’re headed to Catania.

Exploring Mt. Etna, An Active Volcano

June 7, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

We’ve never had the opportunity to climb an active volcano. Mount Etna, via Sapienza Refuge turned out to be one of the highlights of our Sicily trip.

Hotel Review: Sheraton Catania, Sicily

May 27, 2017By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

This was our second time back at the Sheraton Catania. This hotel is a bit of an odd property, but a pretty good value for point redemptions.

The Biggest Point Redemption I’ve Ever Seen

Over 3 million points. I can’t recall any redemption quite that big. There was the 1 million points to throw out the first pitch in Game 7 of the World Series. That seems kinda cheap compared to this.

That Day My Daughter Completely Embarrassed My Wife On Southwest Airlines

Kids bring an incredible amount of joy to our lives. I never saw it coming, and I couldn’t be happier showing my kids the world. Every once in a while, we see life through their eyes and it can be equal parts embarrassing and hilarious. That’s this story.

20 Years Later, Alanis Morissette Adds Southwest Airlines to the “Ironic” Lexicon

James Corden is a funny guy. Alanis Morissette makes it better with a riff on Southwest Airlines.

The Great Marriott Debate And Losing All Your Miles

One respected blogger is doubling down on Marriott in 2019. Is that the right decision for you? And, what happens when you login to your mileage account to find out your miles are gone?

World of Hyatt Announces Award Category Changes For 2019

World of Hyatt announces award category changes for 2019. The changes are pretty balanced with an equal number of properties moving up and down in category. See if your favorite property is getting more expensive or cheaper.

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]