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Academic Insights for the Thinking World

Travel Tips

Grace Labatt, Acquisitions Editor, Reference

Everyone has a favorite place in the world. Mine happens to be on that most derided of beaches, the Jersey Shore. (Thanks, Snooki.) I love escaping the gridlock and heat of Manhattan to the 9780195393293peaceful Shore, with its beautiful beaches, tons of activities—biking, crabbing, beach volleyball, fireworks watching, to name a few—and excellent ice cream. It’s just a short trip from New York, but feels like a different world.

Traveling there is easy: just hop on New Jersey Transit from Penn Station. Traveling across the world, though, is never a breeze. Just as everyone has a place they love to escape to, everyone knows what a pain it can be to get there. In anticipation of the quickly approaching summer, below are some tips from Oxford editorial staff and authors on the best ways to get around the world—or, if you’re not sure where you’re headed yet, tips on where to go!

For more travel destinations, check out the New Concise World Atlas Third Edition, which has hundreds of full-scale maps from around the globe.

Amber Fischer, Senior Editor, Oxford Art Online and Oxford Music Online: Pokhara is definitely worth a visit if you’re in Nepal and is a relaxing alternative to Kathmandu….Or try Wolsey Lodges if you’re looking for something different. Mostly in the UK (although there are also some in France and Spain), they are mostly beautiful, grand, historical homes where the owners choose to rent out a room or two to travelers. You get luxury (or at least really cool and historical) accommodations for usually 45-85GBP per night, and you’re almost always invited to dine with the owners, who always seem to be down-to-earth and friendly.

William Beezley, Editor of the Oxford History of Mexico: For absolutely excelente lunches with reasonably priced wine go to the Casino Español in Mexico City. I go at least once on every trip. A delightful museum is the Museo de Arte Popular, a new museum with excellent examples of popular art of all kinds and a good bookstore and coffee shop. The building was once a fire department.

Mary Funchion, Development Editor, Reference: Before I book an airline ticket, I use Kayak.com. It compares all the airlines and lets you know which ticket is the cheapest option. You have to leave the site to actually book the ticket, but it saves having to go to all the different travel sites. If I’m traveling on an unfamiliar airline, I use Seat Guru to pick a seat.

Andrew Herrmann, Associate Editor, Oxford Bibliographies Online: An underground (literally) treasure in Rome is the Capuchin Crypt, where you can stroll through six sections, including the Mass Chapel and the Crypt of the Pelvises. More than 4,000 friars and other Romans were buried there between 1528 and 1870. It’s not too touristy, despite playing a central–and morbid–role in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun.

Dayne Poshusta, Assistant Editor, History: Take precautions against bedbugs: Inspect all mattresses, bed frames, and dressers before unpacking.

Ani Mamourian, Editorial Assistant, Oxford Bibliographies Online: If you visit Buenos Aires, consider renting an apartment for a week instead of staying in a hotel. You’ll get a less ‘touristy’ experience, and normally you can get a much better price for a weeks stay. There are plenty of reputable websites where people list apartments for this purpose (it’s quite common), including ByT Argentina and Flats in Argentina. Check out the neighborhoods Palermo Soho or Palermo Viejo.

Michael Schaller, author of Right Turn: American Life in the Reagan-Bush Era, 1980-1992 : Rent Up in the Air: A very good movie with some sage travel advice.

Tim Sachs, Editor, Oxford Music Online: When traveling to countries that accept U.S. dollars but don’t have many ATMs, it’s important to take bills that are in excellent condition. In Nicaragua it’s very difficult to use or exchange a U.S. bill that has any writing on it at all. Don’t even try a torn bill. I also like to pick up a variety of 10s, 5s, and 1s at the bank before leaving the U.S.—makes it easier to negotiate or pay a restaurant tab when I don’t need change.

Max Sinsheimer, Editorial Assistant, Reference: My favorite summer destination is Boscobel, a neoclassical mansion about fifty miles north of New York City overlooking the Hudson River, directly across from the West Point Military Academy. The grounds are phenomenally beautiful—you walk through an apple orchard, past herb and rose gardens, and onto a sweeping lawn that overlooks the Hudson River at its narrowest and most winding point. It is the kind of striking landscape that brings you right back to 8th grade U.S. History—‘manifest destiny’ and Henry Hudson and Lewis and Clark. An Untamed American Wilderness kind of view. Go around five p.m. and bring a bottle of wine and friends, and enjoy the grounds…but then, and this is the best part, put away your picnic, walk to the open air tent that is set up on the lawn just behind you, take your seat, and watch some of the best Shakespeare theater around. The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival performs two or three Shakespeare plays from June until early September, and, in my experience, they are always fun and often provocative.

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