Super Useful Travel Posts

Happy Friday, all! Apparently, it's a week of learning what not to do when you travel, as that seems to be the theme to today's SUTP (with the exception of a few). Sometimes knowing what not to do is more helpful than knowing the opposite. Be kind, courteous and enjoy your trips that you're properly prepared for. I hope you enjoy my round-up of links this week.

Have you taken a look at your passport lately? If it is damaged, you may not be able to get on the plane. This woman on her honeymoon ended up paying thousands to replace her passport to actually go on her trip with her new husband. Huffington Post shows you what to look for before heading to the airport.

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And speaking of honeymoons, they can be expensive. After dropping all your savings on the ultimate wedding, it's unlikely you'll have money leftover for that trip of a lifetime (unless you register for your honeymoon like I did). If you're looking to take a memorable and luxurious-feeling trip after your nuptials, maybe head to one of these 7 destinations that feel more expensive than they are.

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Because they aren't at home, some people think it's okay to act like a-holes when they are traveling, especially when they're in a hotel and don't have any courtesy for others who want to relax, too. Please remember that you aren't the only one away from home and trying to cut loose. You still need to be aware that other people exist, and are pretty close to you and your screaming kids or loud music. Travel + Leisure takes a look at annoying hotel habits. {I've encountered some of these people in rentals as well.}

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I'm always looking for interesting places to eat, and there's no more interesting place than a commune living in what they hoped would be a future utopia. In the middle of the Arizona desert, you can find such a place with a homemade buffet spread and open arms to visitors. Trade work for food or put down cold hard cash. Both work for this community. Eater gives you more details.

I wrote something to help you all travel better for the fall and winter. I know you have issues with packing light, even in the summer, so my new partnership with Travel-Wise is allowing me to give even more travel tips to you and a whole new audience. Usually, I don't include my own posts in this segment, but I'm kind of excited about this new website and want to share.

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Do you love wine? Do you seek out some of the best regions for tasting when you travel? If so, check out this post on Gogobot that shines a light on six unexpected, but seriously good wine regions. You'll find a more budget-friendly trip and enjoy wines that you never heard of before.

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Now there's a new way for thieves to steal your identity. Boo, right? When you travel, you need a boarding pass. What do you do with them after you've gotten on the plane? Do you toss them out like many people do? I always keep mine, but only because I like souvenirs from my travel and use them for photo shoots for this blog. Techlicious looks at why we should really use e-tickets as much as possible. We used them this last trip and it was super easy. You just need to keep your phone charged enough to bring up the airline app at security and the gate.

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What are your travel pet peeves? I can't stand it when people are so busy texting or looking at their phone that they run right into you. What about those people who just stop in the middle of the walkway, like they have no idea where they are or how they got there? And am I the only one that wants to smack an iPad out of someone's hand that is using it to take pictures? I know it takes great pictures, but you're annoying iPadder. Use your phone. Travel + Leisure reveals the top 5 travel pet peeves of 2015. Do you have others? Tell us in the comments.

That's all I got for this week. If you found something cool, interesting or just plain entertaining that is travel-related, leave a link in the comments, so we can all check it out.

Metromile: The Insurance Company That Fits Your Driving Style

In this world of high-priced everything, it can be hard to find ways to save for that awesome trip you want to take. Metromile wants to help you by giving you comprehensive pay-as-you-drive insurance. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars a month to insure a car you may not drive everyday, or one you only drive to and from work, why not pay only for the miles you actually drive? I work from home and probably drive 300 miles a month on average, because I only make trips to the grocery store, the hair salon and the movies. Of course, if we go out of town, we take my car, but that is only a few times a year. 

Metromile starts you off with a base rate that can be as low as $30 per month and then your cost per mile depends on your driving record, car, age and the things you want your policy to include. Add those together and your car insurance can save you big over your current policy. If you drive less one month, you save more than months you drive more. Pretty awesome right? That money you're saving can go into your vacation fun.

So, how does this effect you when you go on a road trip? It's not necessary to leave your vehicle at home and rent a car to save money anymore. There is no charge after 150 miles per day (or 250 miles per day if you live in Washington State), so you may be spending less on gas and insurance than paying for a rental. When I got a free quote, I did the math and 150 miles came to less than $9 per day (everyone's cost per mile will be different, but all should be pretty reasonable). Can you imagine going on a long distance trip and still paying less on insurance than you do with your traditional policy? Even budget travelers can stay on track. Those months you drive less can help pay for the times you drive long distances.

You're probably thinking that Metromile cuts corners somewhere to bring you such affordable service, but they don't. You can call them 24/7 and keep track of your mileage and more with their app that is available on both Apple and Android devices. Metromile sends you the fancy little Metromile Pulse that you plug into your car and simply calculates and transmits your miles to them. Unlike other insurance companies, they don't keep track of how you drive, because you only pay for how much you drive. They treat you like the responsible drive you are.

The Pulse works with your app to help you be a better and more responsible driver and car owner. Are you in a street sweeping zone? The app will alert you! Does your car need a check-up? The app will alert you! When do you need to stop to get gas to get the most from your tank? The app will tell you! Forgot where you parked your car? The app will direct you!

The only bummer to Metromile is that it isn't available everywhere yet, but they are growing and rolling out nationwide as quickly as possible. At present, if you live in California, Illinois, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia or Washington, you can sign up right away. If you don't, you can put your email on a waiting list to be notified when you can sign up. Sounds pretty good, right? What if I also told you that you can win a fancy little swag bag from Metromile? Enter to win below and the go get a quote to see how much Metromile could save you!

Your Metromile swag bag includes this sweet t-shirt and sunglasses, plus: a reusable shopping bag, notebook with pen, mousepad, phone charger for your car, tire gauge, air freshener, a travel tumbler for hot or cold beverages and a $50 gas card! That'll get you started on that road trip you've been planning.

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Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by Metromile, but all opinions are 100% my own, Metromile comes highly recommended and, as always, I never blog about companies whose products/services I don't stand behind.

I Ate and Drank My Way Around the World in One Day

Usually, when people take a trip, they do it at a leisurely pace. I love trying new foods when I go anywhere, as you well know by now, so the opportunity to eat foods from all over the world in one place is always appealing to me. Last month we hit up Epcot's Food and Wine Festival to taste some of the world's dishes. This is our third time to visit the festival, as it brings together all my favorite things: weird food, food carts and small bites. 

I was super excited that Scotland had been added to the festival this year, as well as Patagonia and a few other places. Unfortunately, there were a lot of foods I could get at home, so I had a short list of what I had to try. The great thing about Epcot is that it's mostly for adults and has few rides. In fact, World Showcase now has only one and it's a boat ride like Small World. Eventually, Norway will have a ride that is Frozen themed to replace Maelstrom (another boat ride). It is really about bringing the best of countries to people and helping them learn what each destination is all about through shops, reproduction landmarks, food and entertainment. Even so, we have been there at least six times and still haven't seen everything. Being there on a Saturday when everyone else was trying to eat and drink themselves stupid really gave us a chance to explore.

Each country represented at World Showcase has it's own kiosk with foods from that destination. In between you'll find carts serving dishes from other countries of the world. Each one has entrees, desserts and drinks (basically alcoholic options that come from that region). 

Let's look at where we ate, shall we:

Africa

Berbere-style beef tenderloin tips with onions, jalapeños, tomato and pap 

Buttered chicken with micro cilantro and naan bread

Frozen Brown Elephant

I wasn't enamored by either of these, but Eric was hungry and these were his choices at the time. The best part of the beef was the pap and the best part of the chicken was the naan. I chose the drink as something that sounded interesting. It was a Coke slushie with Amarula, a liqueur like kahlua. It was not an $8 beverage, but it was refreshing and was interesting tasting. Kinda chocolatey.

Belgium

Potato and leek waffle with beer-braised beef and smoked gouda cream

We had to wait a bit for them to get more potatoes to make these waffles, but man was it worth it! I'm hoping my box of souvenirs comes soon, so I can see if the recipe is included in the Epcot cookbook. I'd be willing to buy a waffle iron just for this. I'm almost sad that we only got one to split.

Craft Beers

Funky Buddha Vanilla Espresso Porter, bottled in Oakland Park, FL

I'm not generally a big beer drinker, but I was waiting around and the name of this one jumped out at me, so I figured I was destined to try it. This was a thicker beer like Guinness with a delicious chocolate scent and I loved it. I may have indulged in a flight of beers that included this one, but we were right on the heels of dinner reservations, so I just stuck to the one.

Dominican Republic

Soufflé de yuca: Yuca soufflé topped with griddled cheese

This was on my must-eat list and I'm glad it was, because it was delicious. I'm not sure what I thought yuca would taste like, but it wasn't this pleasant mashed texture that was a little sweet and somewhat bland. I could see this being a staple in my house if I lived anywhere it was available. The grilled cheese on top was definitely different, but added a fantastic element and another layer of taste.

Mexico

Pastel de elote con queso: sweet corn cheesecake

I think I wasn't sure what this would taste like at all, but I saw corn cheesecake and was all over trying it. I think I was expecting a sweet cornbread, but what I got was an awesome creamy dessert that was sweet, but not too sweet. It was a great afternoon treat and I was glad we ordered two so I didn't have to share.

Refreshment Port

Pineapple Dole Whip soft-serve ice cream

You can't take a trip to Disney and leave without having Dole Whip. It sweet and cold and basically the best thing ever. You can only get it a few places in the world: Disney, the Dole Plantation in Hawaii and maybe your local FroYo shop.

Scotland

Haggis with neeps and tatties: Traditional Haggis with rutabaga and mashed potatoes 

Seared sea scallop with spinach-cheddar gratin and crispy bacon

I have been wanting to try haggis for a long time now. Unfortunately, I am not willing for my first taste to be from a can and I can't particularly afford a trip to Scotland right now. Having never seen it before, in my mind I figured it would be stringy and possibly chewy with some sort of weird tripe flavor. Well, I had to try it once just to say I had. I didn't expect it to be super tasty, but it totally was. Also, I think mashed rutabaga (turnips) needs to be in my repertoire now, because yum.

I had some of the spinach gratin on Eric's dish, which I thought was fab. He said his least favorite part of it was the actual scallop. So, I guess we know now that Scotland knows how to make red meat and veggies really well.

I didn't actually have the following things, but some nice people we shared our table with let me take pics of them and told me they enjoyed them.

Brazil

Escondidinho de carne, “Little Hidden One”: layered meat pie with mashed yucca

Beer flight: Hoegaarden®, Palm Amber Ale, Leffe® Blonde and Stella Artois® Cidre

I didn't actually make it to everything I had hoped, as I wanted to try mead and Hungarian wine, but there's only so much time and so much you can eat and drink. We were able to take advantage of the Festival Chase Lounge that was only available to Chase credit card holders. This was found on the top floor of the American Adventure Pavilion (of which we still have yet to watch the show) and featured free drinks, some comfy places to sit, the chance to try out some of the newest Disney Infinity video games, outlets to charge your phone and a selfie booth to remember the fun you had at Epcot. If you were a Disney Chase card holder, you had the option to get some extra freebies and book exclusive experiences. Shockingly, they were happy to sign you up for one on the spot.

Here are some tips on how to do the festival better: 

• Look at the menus ahead of time to see what's on offer and pick your "must try" dishes and drinks. That way you can make sure to hit those kiosks above all else.
• Avoid the weekends. We were there on Saturday and the lines were crazy long. Of course, we didn't have to wait long for rides and other attractions.
• If your only option is the weekend, go as soon as the open and get in line the second they let you into World Showcase. We did this on Monday and were the first ones at a few of the kiosks and only had to wait for the food to be put together.
• Even if you can go on a weekday, get there as soon as World Showcase opens (which is usually 1-2 hours after Future World opens.
• Go hungry. We had a light breakfast so we would be starting fresh when we hit the food. Bites may be smallish, but several can make a meal and can fill you up.
• Be nice and share your table if you have free chairs. Tables fill up quickly and trying to balance food and drink and eat while standing up is not fun. We offered to share our table with people and they were immensely grateful, plus you meet new people. On the other hand, people are nice, so are probably into sharing their table with you if you ask.