Dauphin Island Times

Where better to get married than on the beach?

The beach has always been one of my favorite places on earth. The beach is why we love Dauphin Island so much. Standing there on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, looking out over the surf, wind in my face and Dauphin Island's warm white sand tickling my feet. There is something really special about the beach.

Really get away from it all - the Glen Cova

Looking for a great new vacation idea this year? What about something a little off the beaten path? Something you have (probably) never done before? What about Scotland?

The people who run the Glen Clova Hotel have asked me to write a review of their beautiful Scottish Inn. One look at the place and I could not refuse.

It's gorgeous. Go ahead and have a look at it. I'll wait right here...

Take in a concert while you're here

We'll be headed down to Dauphin Island for a visit later this summer. We'll spend a long week on the beach, just relaxing and enjoying the sun, sand and surf.

Every time we visit Dauphin Island we always try to take the time to do something really special. We'll take a day away from our lazing on the beach and get away from getting away from it all. We have not totally made up our minds what that will be this time around but I just discovered a leading candidate. Earlier today I was asked to review a site that helps get you just the right concert tickets you want. Hmm, we might have to take in a concert at a nearby arena.

How to find the best hotel for your European vacation

Have you ever gone to one of those big brand name travel web sites and tried to book a decent room for a European vacation? Frustrating, isn't it? The reason these sites don't do a very good job of helping you to find a hotel is that they apply the same "find a hotel" rules to hotels in Europe that they do to finding decent lodging in the US. In Europe this just simply doesn't work very well.

People get around differently in Europe; and you'll find that it varies greatly from city to city. Public transportation is the norm. So is walking, or even riding a bicycle. Take a taxi? Sure, but you'll pay a lot and you might get taken for a ride. Rent a car? Are you kidding? It's so much more expensive to drive, plus you miss the sights while you're trying to avoid getting run down by buses, trains and people on bicycles.

So how are you going to get from your hotel to all the great places you want to see? The trick is to find a hotel that's positioned perfectly where you want it, priced how you want it and that has the service level you want to pay for. What you need is a reliable partner where you can make easy European hotel bookings. For that I recommend Eurobookings.com.

Virtual visit to the Uffizi gallery

You're probably here because you're planning a trip to Dauphin Island this summer. We live nearby and we love the place, but this year we decided to really get away. We've always wanted to bum around Italy. In particular we wanted to visit Florence. Florence, as in Florence Italy! Finally! After all these years.

A mutual acquaintance introduced us to a service which we think you might find useful. We reviewed it and thought it made good sense to tell you about it.

Here's a tip for you if you're headed that way and you want to take in the famous Uffizi gallery of Florence. There's a complete catalog on line. It's a great new service. You can tour and admire the museum to plan your trip before you go. And when you're ready you can buy your Uffizi tickets online and not having to worry about waiting in line.