I’ve got to hand it to Richard Branson–he’s smoother than Mitt Romney and Barack Obama combined (which some will argue is not saying much…). An anti-global warming crusader named Craig Rucker recently caught up with environmentalist Branson at the...
Viva La Habana!
I appreciated all of your speculation, but none of you correctly guessed the location of my “top secret” trip earlier this week. Burma won’t be till next March! Here’s a few pictures from the trip: And there’s a lot...
20% Off All Alitalia Flights This Weekend
Alitalia is offering 20% off economy and business class tickets through Monday (at noon CET) using the code SPECIAL20IT. This week you reserve an offer not to be missed. Buy online between 12:00 on 18 May at 12:00 on May 21,...
Star Alliance Celebrates 15 Years
Happy 15th Anniversary to Star Alliance! What began at a small office near Los Angeles International Airport in 1997 as a union between five airlines hoping to better cooperate has become a global force to be reckoned with; the...
Treated Like a Criminal in My Own Country
Just a few days ago I said I would never complain about U.S. Customs and Border Patrol again. That was before I came back to America earlier this week and had to deal with another humiliating interrogation session and...
I Did Not Clear the Standby List…
…for the shower. And boy oh boy, did I miss it. It’s been an interesting few days. Easter Island was great–pictures will be coming in due time–but I made a big mistake. For some reason, the sun and my...
Kazakhstan Embassy: Take Two
Yesterday I lamented about the refusal of the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington, DC to take my visa application package when I showed up 20 minutes after scheduled closing. How about 30 second before scheduled closing? “The Amazing Race: Matthew Edition”...
Around the World in 2012 – A Look Ahead
The last two weeks have been great–I’ve caught up on a lot of work and spent quality time with friends and family. But I haven’t traveled outside of California, and I am getting restless. With 2012 upon us, though,...
A Review of 2011: 42 Countries, 60 Lounges, 87 Hotels and One Iranian Island
What a wonderful year of travel this has been. 42 counties, hundreds of cities, and an amazing array of sights, sounds, and smells. One year ago, I stated: I plan to fully explore Europe and hopefully the Middle East...
Teen Busted at Airport for Gun [Design on Her Purse]
When is a purse a threat to national security? Apparently when it is decorated with a tiny, flat, plastic, obviously-fake, western-style pistol. Thank goodness for the Transportation Security Administration. First, take a look at the video here (I cannot...
Airlines Make Thanksgiving Possible
Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the United States and pleasant greetings to everyone. I am spending the day with family and friends today and thought it would be fitting simply to express my gratitude to the airline industry...
Weekend in Cyprus and Lebanon
Hello from Ercan, Northern Cyprus. I flew into Larnaca, Cyprus last night and after a brief walk around town travelled north to the disputed Northern Cyprus, a breakaway region whose independence is only recognized by Turkey. I will soon...
An Old Fashioned American Road Trip: 12,225 Miles in Five Minutes!
Yes, this blog is entitled Live and Let’s Fly, not Live and Let’s Drive, but in the spirit of discussing all things travel, I really enjoyed the video below of Brian DeFrees’ 12,225-mile journey across the United States and...
Destination: Riga, Latvia
Another weekend, another trip. I really do need a weekend to sleep and catch up on my hotel reviews, but I continue to take full advantage of my time in Europe to see other cities and countries at a...
Air India Has No Money to Pay for Boeing 787s
Poor Air India. When faced with a bloated staff and sagging financial numbers, rather than trim back operations and layoff non-essential personnel, they compensated for their abnormally high aircraft to staff ratio by ordering new airplanes–27 Boeing 787s. The...
Trying out Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines
This weekend I am checking out out two new European cities: Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia. The cities are only 140km apart, so I will be flying into Ljubljana then traveling to Zagreb by train, and finally returning to...
In the Heart of Bolivia…
Sorry it has been a couple days…I´m sitting at a little internet cafe in Uyuni getting ready to travel to Argentina and the connection is worse than dial-up speed–I am going to keep it brief. The last few days...
Welcome Back to America. We’re Closed.
After a delayed arrival into Washington Dulles Wednesday evening from Frankfurt, I just wanted to get through passport control and customs and out to the parking lot to meet my friends. It was after 2am Frankfurt time and despite...
Pictures from the Hamburg Aircraft Interiors Expo
As I blogged about on Tuesday, I flew up to Hamburg for the Aircraft Interiors Expo for a couple days. My intention was to take hundreds of pictures and make them available through a picture link on Live and...
Review: Westin Grand Berlin
In a city with such a storied history, it came as no surprise that one of its grandest hotels has a rich history of its own. As Front Office Manager Wendy Stendel guided us on a tour of...