Travel Briefs
BALTIMORE
Anniversary of Poe's birth to be celebrated
Baltimore, the city where Edgar Allan Poe died, will celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth with "Nevermore 2009," a year's worth of exhibits and programs.
Events will include a one-man show, "POE in Person" at the Baltimore Theatre Project; a wine tasting inspired by Poe's sadistic revenge tale "The Cask of Amontillado" in the catacombs beneath Westminster Hall, a former church in west Baltimore; and exhibits at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The Web site for the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore has a link to the Baltimore Poe House and Museum, www.eapoe.org/. Details on the festival are at www.Nevermore2009.com.
Poe died in Baltimore in 1849 and is buried there at the Westminster Burying Grounds. The city plans an elaborate re-enactment of his funeral on the anniversary of his death in October 2009.
The city aggressively promotes its ties to Poe thanks in part to a mysterious visitor who leaves a half-empty bottle of cognac and three red roses at the author's grave every year on the anniversary of his Jan. 19 birthday. The city also named its football team the Ravens to honor Poe.
But other cities also have claims on Poe. The author of "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" was raised in Richmond, Va., where the Edgar Allan Poe Museum -- www.poemuseum.org/ -- is planning lectures, exhibits, workshops and a series of "Unhappy Hours" (with cash bar); details at www.poe200th.com/.
Poe wrote many of his enduring works in Philadelphia, and one of the houses where he lived is now the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, managed by the National Park Service. Click on "Poe's Bicentennial Events" at www.nps.gov/edal/ to find out about talks and exhibits at the site and related events in Philadelphia. (Note that the historic site is closed Dec. 1 to mid-January for renovations.)
Poe also lived for a time in the Bronx, in what today is called the Poe Cottage. His wife died there and he wrote some of his classics there, including "Annabel Lee." The cottage is undergoing renovation but remains open to the public; details at Poe Cottage, www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/poecottage.html.
Poe was born in Boston in 1809, but his birthplace is no longer standing.
MIAMI, Fla.
Art Basel show scheduled for Dec. 4-7
Art Basel Miami Beach, the annual art show and sister event of Switzerland's Art Basel, is scheduled to take place Dec. 4-7 in the city's Art Deco district.
Art Basel Miami Beach showcases selections from 220 galleries around the world. The four-day art extravaganza also includes public art projects, video art, performance art, music performances, movie screenings, and other contemporary art events.
Details at www.artbasel miamibeach.com.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.
Astronomy buffs now have own guidebook
Do you love visiting the planetarium? Are you fascinated by the history of NASA? Is seeing the Northern Lights on your life list?
If so, "Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler: Visiting Astronomy and Space Exploration Sites Across America" by Duane S. Nickell (Rutgers University Press, $21.95) can help you plan your next trips.
The book includes chapters on visiting planetaria, space museums, NASA research and flight centers, and optical and radio telescopes and observatories that offer tours, such as the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, the Lick Observatory near San Jose, Calif., the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, N.M., and the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico.
Another chapter lists homes and historic sites associated with eight astronomers and astronauts who the author says "made a major contribution to the field," from physicist Albert Einstein to John Glenn, first American to orbit the earth.
Other chapters describe meteor craters in Arizona and Texas; sites associated with stories of aliens in Roswell, N.M., and Nevada; and Native American sites that show how carefully many tribes observed the movements of the sun, moon and stars.
NEW YORK
Economy to pressure business travelers,
Current economic conditions are likely to pressure business travelers and visitors coming to the U.S. in 2009, according to the latest outlook from the Travel Industry Association.
Business travel volume is predicted to drop 3.7 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2009 as companies pull back on their employees' trips, the group stated.
The leisure sector has been squeezed as consumers and companies tighten their spending due to diminishing credit, the ongoing housing downturn and recession worries. Consumers have continued to downsize their vacations or take "staycations," while businesses scale back on their plans.
Meanwhile, international arrivals to the U.S. are expected to drop by 3 percent next year with modest growth anticipated for 2010.
"As the dollar gains strength and the global economy cools, the need to make America more attractive to international travelers grows," Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the Travel Industry Association, said in a statement.
NORWALK, Conn.
Site offers strategies for holiday flights
Still haven't made travel plans for the holidays? The online travel Web site Kayak.com, which aggregates airline ticket prices, has some advice:
• Don't wait. Holiday airfare is more than 25-30 percent higher than last year. As planes fill up, remaining seats will quickly become more expensive.
• Fly off-peak days around the holidays. Avoid returning over the weekend; take Monday and Tuesday flights if you can; and, according to Kayak, see if you can save money by flying on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve. Kayak.com has a search tool that allows you to compare prices up to three days before and three days after your desired date.
• Check out low-cost carriers serving alternative airports like Burbank or Long Beach, Calif., instead of Los Angeles. Airport fees and airfares may be lower.
• Track fares to jump on the best deals.
• Bear in mind that airlines may charge various fees on top of the ticket, including charges for baggage, food and even picking your seat in advance.
Kayak is based in Norwalk, Conn.
NEW YORK
Bon Appetit profiles culinary country inns
Bon Appetit's November issue profiles 10 "culinary country inns" that the magazine describes as offering "destination-worthy food" and cozy accommodations.
The 10 inns are The Lodge at Smithgall Woods in Helen, Ga.; Encantado, an Auberge Resort, in Santa Fe, N.M.; Hotel Fauchere, in Milford, Pa.; Canoe Bay in Chetek, Wis.; The Inn at Weathersfield, in Perkinsville, Vt.; Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in Forestville, Calif.; The Inn at Dos Brisas, in Washington, Texas; Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn.; The Lodge at Sun Ranch, Cameron, Mont.; and Watercolor Inn & Resort, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
