Featured Post

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Mid-Atlantic Getaways for Beating the Winter Blues

Let it snow. And when it does, where better to weather a storm than at a cozy resort?

In light of Snowmageddon, WTOP Radio in Washington, DC asked me how to select the perfect mid-winter getaway. Here's  the reporter's write-up of our chat.

WASHINGTON — By now you’ve seen the signs:  frigid air, salty sidewalks, cracked skin. We’re officially smack dab in the middle of winter — a time of year when the sun seems to hibernate and warm weather is a distant memory.

If you’re looking for a way to beat the winter blues but don’t have the time or cash to fly to the Caribbean, plenty of local destinations and activities can take your mind off the seasonal grind.
The D.C. area is home to several famous luxury resorts — from The Inn at Perry Cabin to the Salamander Resort and Spa, but travel expert and blogger Laura Powell says you don’t need to go all-out to escape and recharge.

“I sometimes like to go to some of these resorts that are not necessarily off the beaten track, but they’re certainly not as well-known as [some of the others],” she says.

Regardless of which destination you choose, Powell offers one important tip:  Book a place that has a fireplace, an indoor pool or a spa.

“If you can find one with all three of the above, you’re going to be assured that you’re going to have a nice, relaxing winter weekend,” she says.

One of Powell’s favorite winter destinations is the Omni Bedford Springs in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The destination is only two hours from the Washington area and checks off all three boxes on Powell’s winter wish list.

“It’s a beautiful, historic property, so you’ve got your fireplaces, you’ve got a fabulous spa,. , and it's one of the few spas in the country that utilizes natural spring water for all of their treatments.”
And guests don’t have to worry about getting bored, as the resort offers a variety of amenities and activities to keep them entertained, including an indoor pool and tours of the historic property. When it’s warm enough, guests can cook s’mores over an open fire or take a hike in the surrounding mountains.

Powell also recommends Poplar Springs Inn and Spa, in Warrenton, Virginia, just one hour outside the city. The hotel went through bankruptcy about a year ago, but the property, which sits on about 100 acres, is open for business again. Powell says the hotel’s restaurant, Manor House, is one of the resort’s highlights. And every Thursday night during the winter, Poplar Springs offers free tastings of local beers and wines.

Poplar Springs Inn is also close to several wineries: “If you go into Virginia wine country, a lot of the wineries are still open, even though they’re not necessarily in production, so you could do wine tasting.”

Can’t make it out of town for the weekend, but still want to relax and recharge? The spa at The Four Seasons in Georgetown offers a variety of services, including massages, aromatherapy and facials. And for $50 extra, you can use the spa’s gym, pool, sauna, steam room and more for the entire day. After you’re done being pampered, slip outside the spa to the patio at Bourbon Steak. Grab a seat by one of their fire pits and enjoy a glass of wine and a bite to eat.

Similarly, the spa at the Mandarin Oriental makes its heat and water facilities (showers, a steam room and a vitality pool) and its relaxation room available to spa guests for the whole day, with a service appointment.   ---By Rachel Nania

Follow @WTOP and @WTOPliving on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

More Airport Developments


Following up on my coverage of international airport trends for CNN (see post below), here's this week's Let's Talk Live segment. I discuss worldwide and Washington, DC airport trends.



http://www.wjla.com/blogs/lets-talk-live/2015/01/airport-trends-in-2015-24200.html

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

My Story for CNN on Airport Developments 2015

Many moons ago, I helped develop CNN's very first travel program. I produced the original edition of CNN Travel Guide, and was responsible for doing that show, plus ten daily segments a week, for several years. Sounds dreamy, no?  However, with no budget to actually travel beyond the outskirts of Atlanta, the job had its challenges. Even so, working for CNN was the launching point for my travel journalism career. 

I also was one of the original producers for CNN International. So, it's particularly gratifying that my return to CNN is marked by a travel story in the international edition of the website. Here it is. 




To read the entire story, please click on 

Saturday, January 3, 2015

TV RESUME

Laura Powell
(202) 415-6455
dailysuitcase@gmail.com
Career Summary To Date: 25 years covering travel and lifestyle topics for a range of media outlets. Work has included television and video management and production, writing for print and online outlets, custom content development, strategic consulting, and spokesperson and media training work.
Current Positions:

Executive Producer, LP Productions/Daily Suitcase Chicago, Illinois
Produce, host and write travel-related programming and videos. Write freelance travel articles for national and international outlets. Appear on television and radio programs as a guest travel expert.

2017-
Luxury and Special Correspondent, Skift, New York, New York
Report on luxury, wellness and trends for the premier outlet covering the business of travel.

2014-
Contributor: CNN.com, ShermansTravel; Orbitz Blog, Travelocity

2005-
Travel Correspondent, Around the World Radio Santa Barbara, CA
Professional Journalism Experience:
 
2007-2017

Contributing Travel Expert, WUSA and NewsChannel 8, Washington, DC

1993-2014
Special Sections Writer, The Washington Post
Write special sections on travel, lifestyle, shopping and the environment.
2007-2012
Contributing Editor, Hotel F and B


2002-2006
Writer, Travel Supplements, USA Today

1998-2005
Contributing Editor, Lodging, Washington, DC

2001-2003
Contributing Writer, Good Housekeeping New York, New York

1998-2002; 2007-2009
And Before That:
Producer, CNN TravelGuide Atlanta, Georgia
·        Created and produced CNN TravelGuide.
·        Provided management direction to production of CNN's travel coverage, including daily segments on business and leisure travel.
·        Coordinated and planned field production at domestic and international locations, and wrote and produced daily packages and weekly programs.
Selected Television and Radio Appearances:
ABC World News This Morning, ABC News Now, CNBC, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport, WUSA (Washington, DC), NewsChannel 8 (Washington, DC), WTTG (Washington, DC), Fox News Channel, Good Day New York, Today Show/New York, WABC (Los Angeles), CBS 2 News This Morning (Los Angeles), AM-Philadelphia, WTOP-AM (Washington, DC), WOR-AM (New York), WGN-AM (Chicago), NPR, Martha Stewart/Sirius Radio.
Education:
Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York B.S., Broadcast Journalism
Distinction: Summa Cum Laude and Class Marshal-Newhouse School of Public Communications
University of Essex, Colchester, England M.A. International Relations
Distinction: Rotary Foundation Scholar
European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy  

Monday, December 29, 2014

China’s Mandarins Shanghai The Pun

I’m appalled. China has banned puns. This is a crying shang. It has me seeing red. And almost as offensive is that, in reporting this news, many writers (clearly those not practiced at the fine art) have dubbed punning “the lowest form of humor.” 
Foo-ey, I say.
双关语
The Forbidden City
Those critics are simply noodles. Nonetheless, today I am opting to focus my ire on the Chinese mandarins who made the pun a forbidden ditty. Deng it, how could 1.357 billion people not like puns? Well, it turns out they do, and that has created a sticky pun problem.
Puns are actually considered an important feature of Chinese culture. Puns are ubiquitous in Chinese, because the language is not wonton for homophones. It’s all in the way the Chinese write words from characters. Substituting one character for another can alter the meaning of a phrase while hardly changing the sound.

IMO, China's Next Generation
is being pun-ished by this new ruling
At any rate, China’s State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued an order in November saying wordplay has no place in broadcasting and advertising.  While spearing a chopstick through the heart of punditry, the order conceded that “idioms are one of the great features of the Chinese language and contain profound cultural heritage and historical resources and great aesthetic, ideological and moral values.” Nonetheless, the statement says improper exploitation of words may lead to cultural and linguistic chaos. and could harm the nation’s young people. Certainly, the government doesn't want to have a han in that happening.


Here’s my slant. Clearly, the Chinese government is not panda’ing to its pun-crazed public here. In fact, yuan-a bet that this great wall has been erected as a form of censorship? Indeed, puns and wordplay are just one mao way the Chinese work around censorship in the Internet age. The Chinese use puns and wordplay to duck censorship software, designed to catch and embargo obscene or politically sensitive words. So, an entirely new lexicon of puns has been developed for online discussion of sensitive topics. As a result, the amount of online punning is one way to gauge the tempura-ture of public opinion.
I am just glad I do not have to wok a mile in the shoes of a Chinese writer. For if I were not able to employ the venerable pun, I might have to be peking into another line of work.

But No Puns Allowed







Thursday, December 25, 2014

Holiday Gifts for Travelers


It's that time of year when the Travel Elves drop off all sorts of sample goodies upon my doorstep for me to test. Here are a few of the products which pass gift-giving muster in my book. For more, you can watch my show-and- tell on Let's Talk Live: 

 http://www.wjla.com/blogs/lets-talk-live/2014/12/last-minute-gifts-for-globetrotters-24023.html





A Heys Ecotex 5 Piece Packing Cube Set is like a Russian Matryoshka doll. Unzip the biggest one and a smaller one appears...and so on and so on. The colorful quintet costs about $44 and a three-pack runs around $27. Both come with nifty little stick-on labels to identify what's in the bag. Available at http://shop.heys.ca/










It's not a foot rest. It's not a computer case. It's both. This Leggage laptop case has a nifty design that allows you to safely stow your computer and then use the case as a foot rest on the airplane. While the company claims that the wedges on the hard side serve to massage the tootsies...well, that may be stretching it just a bit. But especially for those with shorter legs, having a on-board foot rest will definitely add to comfort and better posture.
It's $79.99 at www.leggage.com.



LiteGear's Hybrid Rolling Tote is the perfect alternative to being weighed down by a heavy purse or tote bag. The fashionable roller, is just the right size for a change of clothing, an iPad, and many other small odds and ends, including your purse..With dimensions of 13.5″ x 8.5″ x 14.5″, it can either replace your carry-on or supplement it.  The LiteGear Hybrid Rolling Tote is available at Travelsmith, Amazon and other on-line retailers. The price ranges from $79.00 to $99.00.




Finally, from Shoes on the Fly, we have washable cotton bags in which to pack footwear. Sure, one can always use a plastic bag to separate shoes from clothing...but that's exactly why this is the perfect gift. It's one of those things that your favorite travelers might not buy for themselves, but they'll absolutely be happy 'soles' when they receive it.  The bags are adorned with various slogans and an embroidered bug matching the theme, They cost between $27.00 and $29.00 at www.shoesonthefly.com.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Nine Images of Georgia (Okay, 11)

One of my most adventurous journeys of the year took place in October, when I headed to Georgia (the country). Take a listen to my perspective while looking at the pictures below.


Mother Georgia Stands Over Tbilisi 

Tbilisi's architecture is a mix of ancient and modern.
The white spaceship is the Tbilisi Public Service Hall,
affectionately known as The Mushroom.


Monks at the Alaverdi Monastery in the Khakheti
region has been making wines in qvervi for
more than 1000 years.
Georgia has been producing wine longer
 than any other place in the world....
8000 years!
The Sixth Century Jvari Monastery near Mtskheta is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Stalin was born here.
The Stalin Museum in his hometown of
Gori (appropriately-named) is a throwback
to Soviet times.

The Tskaltubo Health Resort is
where members of the Soviet Ministry
of Defense took the waters
back in the day.

While considered luxury during its heyday,
most would consider the rooms and facilities
rather spartan now.

The Caucasus Mountain Range
contains Europe's highest peak. 

The www.georgia.travel website isn't up and running, yet. If you can read Georgian (good luck with that), click here. Although what I am saying on the live stream doesn't always match the images, more pictures can be seen  here.