http://www.post-gazette.com/travel Travel news and features, Travel Editor David Bear's column en-us Copyright 2009, post-gazette.com. Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:58:28 -0500 15 http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09311/1011689-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml IN 2002, Doug Smith was bored. Korakia Pensione, his Mediterranean-style boutique hotel in Palm Springs, Calif., that attracted a celebrity crowd like Annie Leibovitz, Gore Vidal and Brice Marden, pretty much ran itself. Mr. Smith was looking for a new project -- a grand fixer-upper in an exotic locale -- where he could show off his well-honed style and settle into a life of rustic ease with his new wife, Josie. Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09311/1011690-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml NASHVILLE isn't nicknamed Music City for nothing. Singers, songwriters and pickers -- not to mention their toe-tapping admirers -- have been pouring into the Tennessee capital for decades. Yes, the city's rhinestone-studded past still glimmers, especially downtown, where you'll find Hatch Show Print, the legendary poster shop, Ryman Auditorium, home to the original Grand Ole Opry stage, and a slew of honky-tonk joints. But there's more to Nashville than country music, especially in the once-sleepy neighborh Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09311/1011691-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml FOR many Americans, the fear of swine flu has made everyday acts like going to work, going to school or getting on a plane feel fraught with danger -- even more so since President Obama recently declared swine flu a national emergency. Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09311/1003472-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml We motored the Zodiac into Kealakekua Bay around noon, the sun shining off what I'd been looking for: The Captain Cook monument, its ivory surface and vertical shape sharply contrasting the green foliage background. ... Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09311/1010492-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml McLEAN, Va. -- Winter Trails will celebrate its 15th year Jan. 9 at locations throughout the U.S. with free snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. ... Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09310/1011328-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml Marietta, Ohio -- A DEEP current of history runs through this quiet town of 15,000 nestled in the arms of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. Indians first left their mark here, in great earthen burial mounds. Then, as the first chartered city in the Northwest Territory, Marietta felt the nation's initial footprints as it strode west. Fri, 6 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09310/1011329-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml WESTPORT, Mass. Fri, 6 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09310/1001709-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml I'm in my seat in a dim Amtrak car, beside an aromatic guy and in front of a woman who speaks so loudly into her cell phone that she must assume everyone is interested in her conversation. ... Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09310/1004251-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml BERLIN -- The modern skyscrapers of Potsdamer Platz glisten in the sun. Stylish Berliners sip coffee in swanky sidewalk cafes. ... Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09310/1010491-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A new walking tour is being offered in Charleston based on places featured in the new Pat Conroy best-seller "South of Broad." ... Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09309/1001707-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml MARRAKECH, Morocco -- Winston Churchill invited Franklin Roosevelt here to relax following strategic talks during World War II, and Alfred Hitchcock shot some of "The Man Who Knew Too Much " in the hotel's lobby -- which has also been a haunt of the Rolling Stones, Charlie Chaplin, Sharon Stone and many other Hollywood stars for nearly a century. ... Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09309/1010490-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml DENVER -- Ski.com has come up with a list of what it calls the '10 most affordable ski resorts', including Whistler-Blackcomb, site of the Winter Olympics. ... Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09308/1001698-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml NEW ORLEANS -- With the glow from nine crystal chandeliers reflected in the gleaming marble-and-mosaic floor of its block-long lobby, the reopening of the historic Roosevelt Hotel puts a glittering exclamation mark on the comeback of New Orleans. ... Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09308/1010488-37.stm?cmpid=travel.xml ORLANDO, Fla. -- Why does Orlando make you smile? Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500