New York Times Travel Show

Today I attended the New York Times Travel Show at Javits Center in New York City. There was a big expo floor with lots of booths, travel companies representing locations around the world. There were also lectures and I attended a few. American Travel Guru Rick Steves' gave 2 presentations which I attended. Here are my notes on what I thought was most important to me and my travel to Venice as well as others travels I will do.

Me with Rick

Europe Through the Back Door
European Travel Skills
Meet real people
Seek them out
Don't just meet other tourists or people that work in tourism
Get off the beaten path
Most tourist places (i.e. St. Marks Square) are best after 4pm before 9am
Night is the magic
Venice has as many tourists as Paris
Don't forget about modern parts of a city that the local will spend most of their time in
Ruined castles and small out of the way non touristy places that are not promoted (no financial gain to be had) seek these places out
Study the map key for such places
Look at local coffee table books for inspiration and photographs of places not promoted by tourism
Study Historic context
Become a temporary European
Avoid putting walls between you and the place
Visit Markets
Don't feel awkward
Understand the context
Find Qwerky museums
Guidebook (need an up to date one) $20 tool for $3000 experience
Try to avoid shopping
Tour or on your own
Get culture shock
Try to get 30 miles from the next tourists
Connect people to people
New Rick Steves' audio Europe guided tours free
Buy tourist cards  if it saves time
Pack light 9"x 22"x 14"
English = Worlds linguistic common denominator but try to know some key words and phrases of the country you travel to


Less you spend the more you experience
People carbonate your travel experience
Go to places that have no promotional budgets
Places that missed the modern boat
Hill towns retreated from modern life
Work to get off the beaten path
Enjoy a town early and late
Spend at least 1day in industrial city the real experience
Try to humanize things
Be there emotionally
Art should be fun
Some people don't have time for beauty
Understand context
Capuchin crypts Rome
Funky museums
Accessible natural wonders

News in US is entertainment
Hysteria in the news
Fear is for people who don't get out much
Rick Steves' is going on one of his own tours to Turkey this year (no one knows registered under pseudonym)
Europe through the back door bus tour defense
Be an extrovert

Americans are not exceptional
Just as loved by god as everybody else

Don't wait in line
Equip yourself with good information

Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act
Thoughtful travel
Broaden your perspective
Our Society and Media Pushes fear
Gain understanding through travel
New hysterical sensational
different people have different dreams
Humanize vs. Demonize

Bring home the magic
Connect with history
Get smarted up not dumbed down
Meet people