Having experienced hours upon hours of Amtrak delays in the United States — which has a lot to do with freight trains operating ~70% of the tracks on which Amtrak runs — I rarely ever think about train travel in this country. Undoubtedly, there are some beautiful rides — I remember thinking that parts of the […]
After Nearly Seven Years, Air Canada Returns to New York JFK
The last time Air Canada (in any form) flew to New York City’s JFK Airport was on 3 April 2016. Those were Air Canada Express regional jets, flying double daily from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Although those JFK slots are valuable, the goal at the time was to focus on the large point-to-point traffic […]
Brussels Airlines Starts Receiving Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
Teaming up with Finland’s NESTE, Belgium’s Brussels Airlines is now the second major European carrier — after Amsterdam-based KLM — to start using Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF to fill its aircraft. Last year Finnair and Iberia signed contracts with GEVO, a Colorado-based renewable energy and biofuels company, but those SAF shipments will only start […]
Language Lunes: Let’s Get Muddy
This week’s episode of Language Lunes takes us to Mexico, the home of albures. Albures are mischievous idioms which I believe help make Mexican Spanish that much more amusing to speak. For starters, use of the doble sentido, or double entendre, is very popular in casual speech. If you’re with a group of Mexican friends, be prepared […]
What is a Flight Information Region (FIR), and Why Did Qatar Want One?
As of September 2022, Qatar is the latest country to get its own flight information region (FIR). What the heck is a flight information region? Briefly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, the Montréal, Canada-based UN-group that specifically deals with air transport policy and standardization methods, is also responsible for having divided the world into […]
Top Five Unexpected Visits of 2022
To follow up the earlier post on my top five meals of 2022, I thought, food is great and all, but where the heck was I when eating? Why did I end up there? And, were any of those meals due to unexpected visits? Not necessarily, but I’ve got a fun top five list — […]
My Top Five Meals of 2022
First of all, Happy 2023! Mexico, Turkey, Japan, AND Georgia for good measure– how am I going to make a “top five meals of 2022” list when I was in some of my favorite countries for food? Better just take one from each, and then reveal a mystery country to finish the list off. Cue […]
Free Guided Hikes at U.S. State Parks
Elephant Rock, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, United StatesCome New Year’s Day, state parks around the United States will be hosting something called First Day Hikes. Introduced at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Massachusetts more than 30 years back, the idea to offer free guided hikes around state parks has since spread so […]
