America Archives - Page 5 of 80 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Ryanair’s new friendly face

12th November 202512th November 2025 funtime65

Michael O’Leary famously quipped ‘if I’d known being nice to passengers would be so good for business I’d have done it years ago’ and that goes too to his staff, and Ryanair’s new friendly face.

Today, of course, was the big roll-out of Ryanair going fully digi with passengers’ boarding passes.

And for those fearful that they would be strong-armed by ground crew, such as Mrs Bandanaman who on being chivvied along called the woman at the gate a fascist, bravely under her breath.

Green for go

Ya dancer: Ryanair staff happy to meet you

The evidence at Dublin Airport was completely to the contrary.

My old travel pack colleague from Ireland, the award-winning Conor Power, reported in the Irish Times of a seemless transition.

With Michael O’Leary seemingly putting out the directive to his staff to be patient with customers… he must be getting soft in his old age.

And the company has said it will accommodate the paper generation.

And that ‘if you have already checked in online and you lose your smartphone or tablet [or it dies or gets left behind].’

‘Your details are already on our system and you will be assisted at the gate’.

While for those who turned up without digital boarding passes staff were there.

To show travellers where it could be found on your phone.

And they were only too happy to direct stressed-out holidaymakers to the Visa check desks for further assistance.

At your assistance

All of which we welcome as airport travel grows increasingly more stressful.

And it doesn’t matter how seasoned you are because it seems the more you know about what can go wrong the more anxious you become.

Thankfully, of course, some of those mishaps are behind me.

Such as not reading the small print on the paper boarding pass on the Olympic Air ticket.

And realising I’m at the wrong terminal.

And putting on my naughty schoolboy face to Greta at the Lufthansa desk and taking the telling-off.

To ensure I get put on the next flight from Munich to Athens on my Greek Odyssey without a charge.

Maybe then these digi check-ins and boarding passes are the answer.

Even for old technophobes like Bandanaman.

Countries, South America

Go nuts for Amazon Brazil

11th November 202511th November 2025 funtime65

And if all those big heads pressing the flesh at COP30 has piqued your interest then here’s where’s to go nuts for Amazon Brazil.

They’re the Amazon Explorers travel providers, who will immerse yourself into indigenous life.

Now our amigos at Feel Brasil know everything there is about the state of Amazonas.

The most indigenous in South America’s largest country, and home to over 50 ethnic groups.

Who guard the secrets of medicinal plants, astronomy, and sustainable forest management.

Go native

Communities such as Cipiá, Tatuyo, Diakuru, and Tuyuka are located along the banks of the Rio Negro.

And they are happy to open up their villages for a responsible ethnotourism experience.

Where visitors are not mere spectators but active participants in a cultural legacy that dates back centuries.

Each ritual, every body painting, and every story told reveals a sacred relationship with nature.

Tour de force

The indigenous immersion in the Rio Negro is a community-based tourism experience.

Where indigenous guides point out healing leaves, trees that house spirits, and fruits that nourish generations.

You’ll dine like a native which means tanajura ants, smoked fish, and exotic fruits.

The adventure begins early at the Roadway Port in Manaus’s historic centre.

Where you’ll board a fast boat that glides over the dark waters of the Rio Negro.

The tour lasts six hours and is available from Monday to Sunday.

A warm welcome

Walk like a Brazilian: Learning the customs

All the best cultural tours come with a welcoming committee and Amazon Explorers’ comes with bells and whistles.

And a ritual dance, where music and movement express the spirituality and stories of the original peoples.

You’ll be invited to participate actively, learning basic steps that express gratitude to nature.

And given a craft demonstration and the chance to take home a memento.

And know you have contributed to the local economy.

How to get there

And if you want to be really eco-friendly then you’ll bus it from Rio.

And here Rome2Rio have done all the heavy lifting for us with the details.

It’ll be a mere 49 hours 42 minutes but that’s a small sacrifice, and price at from £184-241, to help the planet.

You’ll get to see more of the region too as you get driven through Ribas do Rio do Pardo en route to Maunas.

But, of course, we’ll not judge if time, and maybe a bad back, is your enemy.

With flights from Rio taking 6 hours and 7 minutes and costing between £141-411.

Now TAP Air Portugal are the carriers to take you from London to Rio.

And we found a sample price return at £1424pp.

America, Countries, Music

A front seat peek into the world of Vegas divas

8th November 20258th November 2025 funtime65

Mick and Macca are mean but Elton would give you the world and this your front seat peek into the world of Vegas divas comes free.

With your party-loving Bandanaman and our driver Crystal, not her real name, of course, because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Crystal has driven all the stars in her stretch limo.

And will share her insider knowledge and her champagne.

Your entertainment: The free Neon City Festival

As you sit back and take in the sights, sounds and smells of Neon City outside.

Everybody and anybody has played Vegas and of course the big ticket is the artists in residence.

The stars come out to play

Mariah Carey, with her Christmastime in Las Vegas show at Park MGM Las Vegasn November 28 & 29. December 2-13.

The Eagles at Sphere, and you can check out any time you like…

Jennifer Lopez, Def Leppard, Kenny Chesney, Styx, Kelly Clarkson and New Kids on the Block.

The King and I: With Elvis at the Graceland Chapel Vegas

Now you want to be Hangin’ Tough you’ll have to book well in advance.

But if you want your entertainment for free then check out the off Strip bars.

And you might find a burlesque Seventies and Eighties covers band, bar staff ringing bells and doing body shots and Cami from Utah.

While this month, from November 21-23 Neon City Festival is putting on a range of free concerts.

And all for my 60th birthday, you guys!!!

The stage is set

So Good Charlotte and De La Soul headline the Friday, DeadMau5 and Breaking Benjamin the Saturday.

And Two Friends and Fitz and the Tantrums the Sunday, no us neither.

Our Vegas buddies tell us that the shows will unfold under The Canopy, the main stage nestled between Golden Gate and Circa.

The 1st Street Stage, located between Circa and Binion’s and the third stage near Fremont, Four Queens and the D Plus.

While VIP options are also available exclusively at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.

The Founding Properties are offering exclusive weekend packages, with food and drinks credits, and discounted room rates.

Fremont wheelin’

As a sample and because we have fond memories of being shown how to zipline through Fremont Street by a very accommodating Elvis.

There is 25 per cent off at the Fremont Hotel & Casino.

When you book three nights or more, with nightly prices from $41 to $107.

We found a sample return flight from Dublin with our tranasatlantic airline carrier of choice, Aer Lingus, to Vegas from $544.18.

And, of course, be sure to travel in style when you get there, in a stretch limo.

So ask them who they’ve had in the cab.

America, Countries, Sport

Our camper van for the World Cup in Florida

6th November 20256th November 2025 funtime65

When you hear that noise of the Tartan Army Boys… we’ll be coming down the road in our camper van for the World Cup in Florida.

Now we’re jumping a few fences here as Scotland haven’t officially made it yet and wouldn’t know if they’d be based in Florida when they do.

But someone will be, while if you’re a neutral you might just want to check out the Sunshine State anyway.

Down the hub

Of course, whoever is blessed with playing here next year, their supporters will be in for a treat.

Although as in most things Floridian you will need your own wheels to get around.

Which is where RV specialists roadcamper, who have a new rental hub opening in Miami, come in.

Minutes from Miami International Airport, on 2736 NW 37th St, the new location offers travellers the perfect launchpad to explore the state.

And for travel around the FIFA World Cup matches next year.

For the road

Big wheel keep on turning: The Everglades

To inspire fans who want to take in more than just the football, roadsurfer has put together some exciting road trip ideas.

From cruising the stunning Florida Keys, venturing along the east coast towards New York.

To taking in the Everglades and Disney World in Orlando.

Miami will be hosting five matches from June 21 to July 18 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

The Floridian road trip is one of the iconic routes and one which I was destined to get lost on with my itinerary mapped out.

Only for Donald Trump to have to shut down the country because of Covid.

So there’s unfinished business there.

Miami to the Keys loop

And that’s Miami → Key Largo → Marathon → Key West → Miami.

You’ll begin your seven-dayer 330 mile journey to the Keys in Miami.

And follow the overseas highway through the Florida Keys, cross 42 bridges over turquoise waters.

Stop off in Key Largo, where island life slows to the rhythm of the waves.

After Marathon, the journey becomes spectacularly scenic as the road seems to float above the sea.

End in Key West amid white-sand beaches and beating sunshine.

Best Western

And, of course, no trip to the Sunshine State is complete without a trip to the Happiest Place On Earth.

And your Miami Western Loop seven-dayer across 750 miles will bring you right to the door.

Taking you from Miami → Everglades → Naples → Orlando (Disney World) → Miami).

You’ll pick up your RV in Miami, journey through Florida’s tropical beaches and wildlife parks.

Stop at family-friendly gems along the way.

And finish with Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the gang.

America, Countries, Sport

The first black pioneer of the NBA 75 years on

1st November 20251st November 2025 funtime65

IT seems unimaginable now that basketball that has created more Afro-American idols than any other was once a white preserve, so it is worth marking the first black pioneer of the NBA 75 years on.

Charles ‘Chuck’ Cooper may not have the global adulation.

Of a Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Magic Johnson or Shaquille O’Neal.

But were you to ask any one of those black colossuses of sport for his contribution to the sport.

And their passage into it they would as one place him on the highest pedestal.

Because on this day back in 1950 the Pittsburgh native became the first Afro-American to play in the NBA.

Featuring in the Boston Celtics‘ 107-84 loss to the Fort Wayne Pistons.

That it was the Celtics that broke the colour barrier is a matter of great pride for Bostonians.

Because, of course, others were not always as welcoming to athletic achieving black Americans.

Best of Chuck

The towering 6ft 5ins Chuck though bore, as so many did in those days, the humiliation with heroic grace.

Not that Walter A Brown’s and Red Auerbach’s Celtics stopped there.

With Chuck going on to form a holy trinity of African-American basketball players.

With Earl Lloyd and Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton, who would transform the parquet.

That the Celtics weren’t prepared to be dictated to by anyone who they would or wouldn’t play was clear when Brown hit out at the racists.

And said at the draft: ‘I don’t give a damn if he’s striped, plaid or polka dot. Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne (College).’

The Holy Trinity

On a pedestal: With Red in Quincy Market in Boston

Even against, or perhaps because, of the maltreatment they would receive on the road they rose higher and greater.

Red’s Big Three faced discrimination in restaurants, hotels, and the very arenas in which they played.

Even when a new hotel on the exhibition circuit refused Chuck service or fans from a rival city shouted racial slurs.

The black and the green: The Celtics today

Chuck would also hold court for the Harlem Globetrotters, Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks.

And the team he faced in that historic first game 75 years ago today, Fort Wayne Pistons.

For the stattos out there, Chuck played a total of 409 games, scored 2,725 points for an average of 6.66 points per game.

He recorded 2,431 rebounds for an average of 5.9 per game, and had 733 assists for an average of 1.79 per game.

The pioneer

The most notable statistic though was that Chuck Cooper was the first, the first Afro-American to play in the NBA.

Chuck would be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame as late as 2019, some 35 years after he had died at the age of 57 of cancer.

But he has, of course, left a legacy that far outlasts his life as the first Afro-American to trod the parquet courts of the NBA.

And for us, and the great sports city of Boston, that is a real slam dunk.

We found an Aer Lingus flight from our home airport here in Edinburgh through Dublin with pre-clearance for a sample week’s return dates this month from £668.40.

America, Countries

Why Oregon is the wheel deal for accessibility travel

29th October 202529th October 2025 funtime65

So in the state where they let ’er buck they never let ’er buckle… or why Oregon is the wheel deal for accessibility travel.

Now if you’re either hell on wheels yourself or have travelled with wheelchair adventurers you’ll know.

That disabled travellers are always prepared to go the extra mile.

And often have to because too many destinations still don’t cater for even the most basic accessibility needs.

Bang for your buck

Definitely not so, though, with the Beaver state, which has become the first in the Oo Es of Eh to get Wheel the World Accessibility Verified.

The designation elevates transparency and promotes inclusivity in travel experiences.

For those with visible and non-visible disabilities.

This milestone marks the improvements in the accessibility of tourism businesses across all seven of Oregon’s tourism regions.

From hotels and outdoor adventure experiences to cultural attractions and culinary experiences.

Your accessibility guide

Oregon is now the first state to offer disabilities travel itineraries as an online resource.

Now WTW has done the heavy lifting for us here.

Assessing more than 750 hotels, restaurants and tourism businesses in 43 communities.

With more to come, and all Travel Oregon Welcome Centers.

Evaluating mobility, visual, hearing, and cognitive features.

On the lake with Kaylee

Now to bring the story to life, Travel Oregon and Wheel the World partnered with accessibility advocate Kaylee Bays.

With Kathleen being the first wheelchair user to compete on So You Think You Can Dance.

Hat’s the boy: Bandanaman goes Oregon cowboy hat

We can only imagine our old pal and Yorkshire disability advocate from joint travels in Germany, Debbie, was busy.

Kaylee shares her journey with her 140,000 followers on Instagram.

Helping to inspire a wide audience with her experiences. Kaylee explored Oregon’s accessible offerings.

Kayak Kaylee

Experiencing the dramatic landscapes of Smith Rock.

And kayaking Hosmer Lake in Central Oregon with the backdrop of the stunning mountains.

“I used to assume nature wasn’t something I could really be part of. Oregon showed me that I was wrong,” said Kaylee.

Let ’er buck, not buckle

Kaylee, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a degenerative condition she was diagnosed with at 21 added: ‘It opened a whole new world for me.’

With accessibility data now visible and bookable online, travellers can explore detailed listings.

So let ’er buck, not buckle, it’s time to freewheel around the great state of Oregon.

We found return flights with Aer Lingus from Dublin with pre-clearance for a sample week next month from €875.09.

America, Countries, Deals

Universal’s Fast & Furious Flying Cars

17th October 2025 funtime65

My Dear Old Mum‘s driving prowess was legendary with Dad calling her Stirling Moss, so I’d venture that she was airborne long before Universal’s Fast & Furious Flying Cars.

Time has surely whizzed by since Jimmy Fallon, no less, was audio guiding us through a crazy Fast & Furious studio tour at Universal Hollywood.

And now our Universal buddies have only up and added to the fun with Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

Universal Studios Hollywood has begun extended testing with its first launch of the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift ride vehicles.

As the theme park’s first-ever, high-speed outdoor roller coaster prepares to open in 2026.

The train containing the four ride vehicles, including the Dodge Charger, will be concealed during this initial test phase.

With the remaining ride vehicles revealed at a later date.

Get the drift

Jimmy, Jimmy: Jimmy Fallon and the Universal Studio Guided Tour

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will feature 360-degree rotation of the individual ride vehicles.

As guests travel along 4,100 feet of elaborate track – the equivalent of nearly 12 football fields – built with sound reduction technology.

So for those who haven’t been in a car with my daredevil Mum, and we know you’ll have your own, it’s a seamless sensation of drifting cars.

As guests spin in motion at fast speeds while speeding along an aerial track.

Get there Fast

That winds its way over sections of the theme park, including the multi-level escalator that connects the Upper and Lower Lots.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will be located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood.

Guests will queue up within an expansive garage-like structure before settling into one of four ride vehicles, designed to look like the iconic cars from the films.

Including Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger.

We found a return Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Los Angeles (LAX) for a sample five days next month from €551.51 with Ireland’s special pre-clearance obviously.

America, Countries

Chicago the best big city in the USA

8th October 20258th October 2025 funtime65

It’s our kinda town and has been for nine years, Chicago the best big city in the USA.

But don’t just take our word for it, well do.

But listen too to the readers of Condé Nast Traveler.

While UK readers registered their thoughts in the 2025 Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice.

Bestowing Chicago as one of the friendliest cities in the world, the only U.S. city to earn this recognition.

The rail thing

Because they’re our kinda people who smile at you.

And help visitors get around the city on their L rail.

Where don’t be surprised if you end up chewing the fat with the guard.

About The Average White Band, his Scottish term of reference.

Now our chums at Choose Chicago have set out nine ways the Windy City is best.

Now know we know 99, although technically it would be 77.

Play, pray and sashay

That being the number of neighborhoods in the great city of the Midwest.

Which, of course, you need more than a week to get around although we did try.

Now as you all know now we live by the maxim go where the locals play and pray.

Which has led us to our fair share of ballparks.

And now we can say, play, pray and sashay after enjoying life in and around North Halsted.

The Three Temples

And find all three come together, the three temples of Da Pope merch at Wrigley Park. (yes, we know he’s actually a White Sox fan).

And all coming back from Pride party in the gayborhood where it all started and on the L with Cubs fans.

Of course, the only way of discovering the 9, 77 or 99 reasons why Chicago is the best big city in America is to get out there.

Because Chicago is tuggin’ my sleeve,

Fly with Aer Lingus through Dublin with pre-clearance from €406.96.

America, Countries, Food & Wine, Ireland

How to pour the perfect pint of Guinness

30th September 2025 funtime65

And you’d expect the owner of the company at least to know how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, but alas not.

Edward Guinness’s cack-handed tilt is, of course, not the only inaccuracy in The House of Guinness, but it is the most serious.

Eddie makes a set piece of showing Fenian firebrand Ellen how to pour the stout out of a bottle in the Stephen Knight Netflix series.

Using the whole theatre of the moment in a posh Dublin hotel.

Tilting in wrong direction

To point out that patience is essential for the perfect Guinness.

And that the same ought to be applied to the fight for an Irish republic.

Only that he has the tilt all wrong and that the head is too thin.

Now, as with all matters, we always go the experts.

And in the absence of my Donegal hotelier grandpa or my four Irish publican uncles. I’ll settle on the next big thing.

The Guinness Storehouse at St James’s Gate in The Liberties, Dublin who advise.

The initial pour

Hold your glass at a 45-degree angle and aim the tap nozzle for the gold harp logo.

Pour until you reach the top of the harp, then stop.

Let it settle

Set the Guinness down and let it rest, which is called the ‘surge and settle’ phase.

The darker stout slowly sinks under the creamy, white foam.

Top off the pint

Settle your drink for about a minute beforeyou fill up the rest of the glass.

With the glass straight, fill until the foam forms a dome for the perfect Guinness head.

And all of which I learned first hand for myself in a little corner of Ireland.

They call Las Vegas and Rí Rá Irish Pub at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place.

America, Countries, Ireland, Sport

Steel yourself for Irish Gridiron spice bags

27th September 202527th September 2025 funtime65

And as American Footballers take over Dublin this weekend steel yourself for Irish Gridiron spice bags.

Taking two of the cultural culinary staples of Pittsburgh and the Irish capital.

To create the Steel Bag,

Sponsors Aer Lingus are blending the homegrown take-away treat of a Spice Bag with Pittsburgh favourites like melted cheese and meats.

Which, of course, we know is a variation on a Philly Cheesesteak, but whisper that around Steel City.

While anyone who has been brought up, or reared their kids in Ireland, will be familiar with the smells of a Spice Bag from a weekend out.

Bag it up

Your bag is a mix of deep-fried salt and chilli chips, salt and shredded chilli chicken or wings, red and green and chili peppers, fried onions and a variety of spices.

That we’ve honed in on Pittsburgh rather than opponents Minnesota Vikings is no sleight.

On those brave men of the Mid West.

But rather because the Pennsylvanians have long had stronger links with Ireland,.

Particularly the Steelers owners, the Rooney family, whose rich Irish heritage dates back to the 1840s.

With the team’s fanbase, Steeler Nation, having also travelled across the Atlantic in huge numbers to see their team play on Irish soil.

Now gridiron fans who were around Earlsfort Terrace yesterday would doubtless have done a double take.

To see Steelers legend Brett Keisel rolling up his sleeves, serving the fusion feast.

Tailgate party on

Say cheese: Cheesesteaks and Arnold Palmers

And who knows the new dish might take on and the Steeler Nation might bring it back with them to adopt at their Tailgate parties?

Now, no quarter has been given in turning Dublin and the Aviva into an American Football outpost for the weekend.

With a Steelers Fan Tailgate set up at Merrion Square, presented by Aer Lingus.

With football themed fun for all the family.

Man of Steel: Pittsburgh’s ‘secret weapon’?

And fans can learn more about all the Steelers’ Black & Gold activities taking place in Ireland on the footie team’s website and the Vikings can be found on their site too.

Six-time Super Bowl Steelers entered a four-year partnership with Aer Lingus this year.

Establishing the airline as the Official Airline of Steelers Ireland and a Founding Partner of Steelers Ireland.

Deal us in

Aer we go: Aer Lingus and Pittsburgh Steelers

And Aer Lingus offers convenient travel options for fans from the US making their way to Dublin for the game.

With the airline flying 21 direct routes from North America to Ireland in 2025.

For next year, Aer Lingus will fly two new transatlantic routes from Dublin to Cancún, Mexico, and Raleigh-Durham in the US.

We found return flights with the national airline carrier through Dublin with pre-clearance from €815.65 for sample dates in October.