When traveling in less developed countries, many foods are grown organically. Although the lack of chemicals is great, remember what is used instead…..manure….poop…caca…whatever you want to call it.

When in Djemma el Fna square in Marrakesh, there are tons of carts selling fresh sqeezed orange juice. Although you may think “it has a peel so it should be safe,” you are mistaken.

In Morocco, donkey maneur is used instead of pesticides…..and the oranges are not usually washed well….so when they are sliced to be juiced, you can end up with traces of donkey dung in your juice.

My host in Morocco said that many tourists drink the orange juice and are fine, but many get sick as well. So to avoid only seeing the inside of a restroom in Marrakech….stay away…..unless you are a gambler!

And remember, when traveling always vigorously clean pealed fruit…..even if you only eat what is inside.

Fly to France for less….but hurry, these deal exprires 10/1/08….

More Castles, Less Cash! Fly Round-Trip to Europe on Air France From $479

The hardest part of discovering the world is the time it takes to travel.  For those on the West Coast, a trip to Europe entails a 12 hour flight commitment, not including time spent at both airports……making it hard to go for anything less than a week.

But what if you could go from Sydney to Brussels in only 4.6 hours……that means LA to Paris would only be a 2.3 hour flight.  For that amount of time you could go to Paris for dinner!

Well, Reaction Engines Limited is working on making that a reality.  They have designed an airplane called the LAPCAT A2, that is capable of flying from Brussels to Sydney in under 4.6 hours and carry 300 passengers.  

Due to the fact that the plane can carry so many passengers, they estimate that tickets would run the same price as business class tickets…..unlike the Concorde, which costs MORE than first class.

Learn more at reactionengines.co.uk and stay tuned for more info on this fabulous air phenomenon!

If you are going on a short trip and want to take some of your fabulous La Mer face cream along….but don’t want to lug the whole $200 precious tub of goo with you (god forbid it gets lost in transit, yikes!)….recycle those old contact lens cases.

For contact lens wearers…use your old cases as mini travel pods. If you are lucky enough to be graced with perfect eyes….you can pick up a case at the local drugstore rather inexpensively.

I prefer the type that screw close as to the snap closed ones (as those tend to pop open when you least expect them to).

As there are two little pods you can put face cream in one side and toothpaste in the other…..or eye cream….or neosporin….you get the idea…..

For those to lazy to go to the drugstore is a link to order them online at Walgreens….click here!

Cafe du Marche is hands-down Paris’ best cafe to visit for the traveler that wants a taste of real Paris. The cafe is located on Rue Cler, which is a pedestrian-only street that is lined with all kinds of food specialty stores, and open-air grocers. The cafe is located five very short blocks from the Eiffel Tower, making it a great place to refuel after taking in the awe-inspiring view.

The prices are very reasonable (under $15 for a great meal) and the atmosphere is a mix of local parisiennes and tourists “in the know”. The waiters are friendly and willing to play along if you want to practice your french (most of them do speak english for the non-francophones).

Now for the food, the Poulet Roti (roasted chicken) is incredible and so is the Confit du Canard. In fact their Confit is so good, if you look up Duck Confit on wikipedia, you’ll see a picture of their version of it! They have great salads for those on a diet (a diet in Paris……sounds like medieval torture to me!). As for dessert, my favorite is the Moelleux au Chocolat, which is a flourless chocolate cake with a molten center.

Cafe du Marche, 38 rue Cler, Tel: +33-(0)1-47-05-51-27, Metro stop: Ecole Militaire, 7th arrondisment, map