I went to a wedding in New Haven, Connecticut over New Years this year. FRIGID temps and a blanket of snow made it hard to tour Yale’s campus and other New Haven top sights, but we were able to eat and drink our way around the town for a few chilly days.
How to Get There
I rode the Amtrak to New Haven from Washington D.C. — the trip took about 5½ hours. From the look of the highway traffic battling snow along the way, train was definitely the way to go.
Where to Stay
Courtyard New Haven: This hotel was about a ten minute walk from the center of New Haven. Staff was friendly, rooms were clean and there’s a bistro and small marketplace in the lobby.
The Study at Yale: Most of the wedding party stayed here. The lobby bar is a large and a good meeting place. The hotel also has a great penthouse space with a bar and a view over New Haven.
Where to Eat and Drink
You can’t go to New Haven without trying New Haven Pizza — we ordered Pepe’s and the coal-fired pizza did not disappoint. (Full disclosure though, I didn’t try the clam pie that they’re known for.) The Study at Yale has a good bar with a few good craft beers on tap and a handful of wines. Some of my friends went to BAR, an industrial-chic spot known for its pizza and beer. For daytime drinks or brunch, I really liked Box 63 — the comfortable pub has a weekend “acoustic brunch” with a guitarist. Cask Republic has a big selection of beers on tap, plus whiskies and some beer-whiskey (yep, it’s a thing). Ordinary had a good-size back room that fit our large group, but the bar staff were condescending and rude. And finally, Roia, where the wedding took place, was beautiful and had great food and drinks.
What to do on a long layover in Paris? It can be tricky to leave the airport, even if you have 5 hours. But if you have a really long layover — like my 12-hour gap between flights this August — you can actually squeeze in a lot.
In 12 hours I was able to hop around to seven of Paris’s top sights, plus scarf down some French food (and vin, of course!), while making it back to CDG with plenty of time to check in for my flight. Here’s how I did it:
First, travel light. I checked my bags at CDG (about 28 euros for 12 hours) near the train depot. Then I bought a 1-day transport pass for RER trains (including the airport) and hopped on the train into the city.
Stop 1: Sacre Coeur
I got to this hilltop church around sunrise. It was freezing and the church itself wasn’t open yet, but there were very few people around and it was very peaceful. A wonderful view of the city here. I then wandered around the Montmartre streets surrounding the church — most were empty, but some were starting to show signs of life at cafes. Then walked down to stop 2: Moulin Rouge.
#parislayover stop 1: sunrise at Sacre Coeur (though it was cloudy)
Stop 2: Moulin Rouge
This was a total fan-nut stop, as I saw the Baz Luhrmann movie like seven times in the theater. It was still super early, nothing was open, but I stood across the street and pretended Ewan McGregor was serenading me.
This was my third trip to Paris, but the first time I’d actually gone to the top of the Arc. That was a mistake. The views from Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower are awesome. But the 360-degree view from the Arc, with 12 streets radiating from its base like spokes, feels more connected to the city and is now my favorite Parisian panorama.
#parislayover stop 3: top of l’Arc. I’d never been up here but it’s now my fave view of the city #travelpics
Stop 4: Bastille
I metroed from the Arc to the Bastille stop and parked myself at one of the standard cafes around the square.
#parislayover stop 4: lunch at the Bastille – I got cheese, meats, wine and a bit of attitude for sucking at French
Stop 5: Canal St-Martin
After gorging on cheese I walked through Bastille up to Canal St-Martin. I had heard Canal St-Martin was the hip “new” Paris hood to visit. It was quiet along the canal; shady trees and bridges crossing over the green water. People were taking walks, but it was early afternoon on a Monday, so things were relatively quiet. I stopped in a supermarket and bought a 5-euro bottle of (not chilled) rose to drink along the water. It wasn’t worth the 5 euros…
#parislayover stop 5: rose along Canal St-Martin. The canal was awesome. The wine was not. #travelpics
Stop 6: Notre Dame
This is my favorite spot in Paris; it just feels like the center of the world. I didn’t think I’d have time to make it down here from Canal St-Martin on my way back to the airport, but I actually had plenty of time to metro down to the cathedral and wander around Ile de la Cite.
#parislayover stop 6: I never can miss Notre Dame, even with only a few hrs in Paris #travelpics
Stop 7: Seine
Before taking the RER back to CDG, I took a walk along the Seine and watched the boats. Hopped on a 3:30 train back to the airport, picked up my bags, and had plenty of time to check in for my 6:50 pm flight.
For the past month or so leading up to Valentine’s Day, I’ve been tracking the number of daily V-day/singles/romance-infused story pitch emails I’ve received from public relations reps and CVBs.
The total count is 193.
Honestly, it felt like it was much higher. And that’s part of the problem.
Even on a “slow” day, like on Friday, Jan. 30, when only two pitches with the word “Valentine” appeared in my inbox, my instinct was to just glance at the subject and immediately trash the messages. V-day fatigue had set in.
Sure, it’s a popular travel day—especially when it falls on the long President’s Day weekend. But the number of ways people tied their product or property to the holiday in hopes I’d be able to cram it into a “Romantic Round-Up” was dizzying. I was told to “fall in love with” everything from hotel specials, indulgent cocktails, and European barge activities to heart-shaped pancakes, beef hearts, and Waze (even though I work for competitor MapQuest).
Meanwhile, I had already assigned our Valentine’s stories (an admittedly uncreative series of “romantic things to do” in the 10 cities we were creating travel guides to) back in early January, before most of these pitches came in.
So in the name of better editor–PR cooperation, here are some ways the nearly 200 people pitching Valentine’s Day stories could have caught my attention:
1. Pitch something else.
Remember that fatigue I mentioned? By early February, if I saw something Valentine’s related in a subject line my interest instantly plummeted. I received 193 Valentine’s emails. Know how many Black History Month pitches I got? One. And given Selma‘s Oscar nominations and the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March next month, there’s a much more interesting—and timely—travel angle there than a singles appreciation package.
2. Consider your subject line.
This tip goes beyond Valentine’s Day—think of your pitch email subject line the same way we think of our headlines: will this make me want to click to read more? Writing in all caps is a no-no; I feel like you’re yelling at me. Putting the full gist of the pitch in the subject is fine, but I will often only read that line. On the other hand, sending a more casual, regular email–style subject, like the one I got that just said “Belize + Tinder” is more likely to make me open it, read it, and give it more than 3 seconds of consideration.
3. Pitch on the weekend.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to kick myself for this one later, but the data doesn’t lie. See the dips in the chart? Those are weekends. Almost no one sends pitches or work emails then, but here’s a secret: most of us don’t stop checking our email on the weekend (thanks, smartphones).
4. Be funny or creative.
I know, I know. You have a lot of clients and are trying to send out news quickly in case it’s a fit somewhere. None of us have time to gussy up every email. But if it’s really something you want to stand out, consider telling the story in a funny way. This isn’t a travel/work pitch (and wasn’t counted in the 193 emails), but look at what Noodles & Company did for Valentine’s Day: they made a video recreation of the classic Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene with their product and real dogs. It’s funny, it’s entertaining, and it associates their product with V-day. I don’t even like dogs and I watched and shared this video a few times.
5. Ask what we’re looking for.
Want to know what I’m working on? Just ask! Travel editors want to work with PR contacts. But as Zach Schonfeld proved in his exhausting attempt to reply to every PR pitch he received, we just get too many emails, and we have to choose what’s most relevant to reply to. For me, those are often sincere (and brief) questions about what I’ve got in the pipeline and what sort of stories I generally cover. For example, last year for Valentine’s Day, I assigned a series of online dating profiles for Caribbean islands and invited readers to “find their perfect match.”A V-day hook, sure, but the info was evergreen and not just directed at people traveling for the holiday. A few hotel reps asked what I was working on, and when I explained the project, they sent more general, useful info about their island properties—not irrelevant Valentine’s packages. So always feel free to ask—but by email, not by phone please!
Rio’s heavily guarded botanical garden is a nice place to wander
Safety was my main concern when visiting Rio de Janeiro. I’d heard stories of muggings from people who’d visited, advice from former residents to avoid hills and the beach at night, and terrible accounts of attacks on tourists on public transit.
Overall, I didn’t feel as safe as I do wandering around New York. You do need to keep your guard up, and there are some areas you should know to avoid. However, as a female traveler touring solo at times, I never felt unsafe because of my gender — Rio is a great place for women to travel alone.
Here are my tips for staying safe in Rio:
Learn a little bit of Brazilian Portuguese
I can’t stress this enough. English is not as widely spoken as it is in say, Europe, and Spanish, despite some similarities, is not the same as Portuguese (thanks, Captain Obvious). It’s incredibly helpful to know a few phrases and words in Portuguese for taxis, asking directions and ordering food (greetings, ‘where is,’ right/left, basic numbers, and of course, “obrigada”).
It’s OK to bring a nice camera, just make sure it’s inconspicuous
I left my DSLR at home because I didn’t want to look like a target with a nice piece of equipment. I regret that. Not only was my little point-and-shoot insufficient for the this-place-can’t-really-be-real views from Sugarloaf and the Corcovado, Rio is a tourist destination, and as a tourist you’ll be going to places where cameras are common. That said, if you do have a big camera, be sure to have a non-camera-specific bag or purse that you can stow it in while you do your exploring.
Leave the fancy jewelry at home
A friend pointed out that the beautiful women of Rio are far more stylish than I’ll ever be, so I shouldn’t worry about fashion. That’s true, and I doubt my fake diamond studs from Target would have lured muggers out of dark corners. At the same time, it was easier to leave the nice looking stuff at home and just not worry about it. As for what to wear in Rio, keep in mind it’s a beachy city and the land of Havaianas, so put on flip flops and some casual beachwear and you’ll be good to go.
Don’t bring a towel to the beach
Cariocas don’t really use beach towels, so laying one out on the sand screams “I’m a tourist.” Then again, ladies, if you’re wearing a typical American-style U-bottomed bikini you’ll look like a tourist anyway.
Bring a Blackberry, hide your iPhone
I met an American couple who had recently moved down to Rio. When I asked about safety the guy shrugged and said, “Everyone has their mugging story.” His was my favorite: he was walking at night when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife. The boy asked for the guy’s cell phone, which he handed over without a fuss. The boy looked at the device — a Blackberry — and handed it back with a sneer, saying, “I don’t want this, it’s not an iPhone.”
Bring cash, change it when you arrive in the airport and keep it in your hotel
ATMs can be a nightmare in Rio if you have a U.S. bank account. We spent 1 hour machine-hopping to about 8 ATMs, none of which would dispense cash for a Chase account, until finally returning to one of the first ones we tried, which produced cash the second time around. Also potentially from ATMs: a friend traveling to Rio at the same time for work reported that four of her colleagues had their debit accounts hacked.
Take cabs
At the airport you can pre-pay for your taxi into the city. Once in the city, cabs are pretty easy to hail and aren’t terribly expensive (compared to other things in Rio). Some guidebooks suggest taking a cab at night even if you’re walking 100 yards. In Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon that’s a little overcautious, but if you’re going to the clubs in Lapa you definitely definitely want to avoid walking.
Don’t go on the beach at night
Given the staggering number of beach-worshippers by day in Rio, it was a little spooky to see how quickly the sand clears out once the sun goes down. Copacabana recently installed lights where the beach hits the street, but deeper into the sand it’s still dark. Ipanema and Leblon were pitch black. In general, while the beach bar huts are a fun stop for a nightcap, it’s not advisable to wander around the dark beach itself at night.
Do not avoid Lapa, but be careful here
Lapa’s the undisputed nightlife hub of Rio — many of the music and samba clubs are here. But it’s also a neighborhood that’s still shedding its shady past, so while walking around at day is now relatively safe (thanks to an increased police presence), walking extensively at night is not. Local ladies I spoke to say they slide some money in their bra or shoe when going out here — purses are a no-no. And keep those cell phones hidden; I heard multiple accounts of phone snatchers pulling them off people’s ears mid-convo.
*One thing to note about Lapa and night safety in general: while the risks are there regardless, a lot of tourists make themselves larger targets by getting too drunk. If you don’t want to get mugged, a good place to start is to not stumble incoherently around the streets.
Avoid favelas, except with an organized group or on invitation
That whole “don’t walk up hills” bit rings true. In Rio, what would be the most expensive, glitzy ocean-view hillside real estate in California is taken up by favelas. These shanty towns may look a bit like the cliff villages on the Amalfi Coast, but here they’re associated with poverty, the country’s extreme income gap, and gangs and drug trafficking. Not really an ideal spot for an evening stroll. Favelas are opening up to tourists more these days, and can be vibrant and welcoming places to explore, but it’s still best to visit with an organized tour or by invitation from someone in the community.
Know your neighborhoods Even if a neighborhood doesn’t have a reputation for being unsafe, it might not be the smartest place to stay. Santa Teresa is a little hilltop artists’ hood. While it’s still not the safest place at night, some wonderful boutique hotels are drawing visitors to stay here. Once here, however, many guests discover that it can be a real pain to find a taxi to actually drive you up the windy streets to get to your lodgings. If it’s late and you’re trying to get home from a club in Lapa, you really don’t want taxi after taxi saying no way, I won’t go there.
