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GLOBAL SHORT RENTALS

Travel Tips

The 10 friendliest cities in the World

The 10 friendliest cities in the World

Mónica Boixeda

Recently, the travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler revealed the findings of a research intended to discover the most comfortable holiday destination in the world. The results are quite unexpected in some cases, because of the absence of some of the most popular holiday destinations. Florianópolis by Fernando Dall´Acqua Let’s start at the 10th place with the city of Chiang Mai – northern Thailand, a city famous for its amazing landscapes and friendly people.   On the 9th and 8th place (With the same points) we find the cities of Kilkenny in Ireland and Ubud in Bali, which two different ends of the world but with a common charming: their people and the dominant green landscapes within their territory.   Number 7 is found in Southeast Asia, Mandalay – Burma, the second largest city in the country and a great alternative to its hectic capital city Yangon, its wonderful traditions and breathtaking temples are simply magnificent. At number 6 we have Paro – Bhutan and Margaret River – Australia. These two cities could not be more different from each other as Paro is a city built on the side of a mountain and Margaret River is located at a wonderful beach, perfect for surf lovers. The Top five starts in the United States with Charleston – South Carolina, a student city that has sea and the good vibe of the youth and uniqueness of its landscapes.   At position number 4 is Queenstown in New Zealand, which counts with impressive landscapes of snowy mountains looking over the bay.  At number 3 there is Thimphu, capital city of Buthan, a small lovely...
How apartments help you save on a city break

How apartments help you save on a city break

Mónica Boixeda

Everyone wants to travel more, and one of our raisons d’etre is to help make travelling better value for money so that our customers can do just that. We know that our clients are big fans of online tools to help find the cheapest flights to European cities, but how far will your budget go when you’re there? And how much does staying in an apartment really save you, and how does this work out city by city? Photo: Jeff Belmonte To answer these questions, we decided to spend most of August (or so it felt) researching the costs of 16 weekend essentials – such as dinners out, travelcards, a beer in a bar – all over Europe. We compared the costs of self-catering and eating out for every meal – knowing that it’s essential to hit the local bars and restaurants, we factored in eating out for half the lunches and dinners. As it turns out, the difference means a saving of average €92 over just two days – take a look at the infographic to see how that breaks down. As we all know, the best things in London, Paris or Stockholm – just like in life – are free, so the prices we’ve researched have little to do with how much “value” in terms of experiences and memories we get from a destination. Plus there are always other ways to save money – free wifi, museum entry, etc. But reminding ourselves of how well you can live in Lisbon, Porto or Budapest does make us think “hmmmm” and start researching those flights… What about you? Where did you get most...
Japan’s strangest vending machines

Japan’s strangest vending machines

Hans

Vending machines are a very important part of everyday’s life in Japan, because they are the most practical way to purchase products anywhere you go. There are over 5 million vending machines in Japan, which means that there is 1 vending machine per 23 people. These machines are protected with a security system that sends a signal to the police if they are attacked. Technology rules the vending machines in Japan to the point that it is possible to use rechargeable smart cards to buy products. All you have to do is recharge a card, touch the card to the sensor and voilà you have purchased a drink. The modern vending machines are equipped with touch screens to select the item you want to buy. Besides this, these machines are able to suggest you a beverage; as a camera on the top of the screen can detect your age and sex, as well as the current weather. Photo: Ben Garney Japan has one of the highest concentrations of vending machines in the world, so it is actually possible to get a wide range of products that go from bananas to women´s underwear from them. Let´s take a look at the weirdest of all: 1. Lettuce Vending Machine It is common to knowledge that most of the vegetables that are available in the vending machines are not as healthy as the fresh ones you could get in the market. However, many Japanese people love the lettuce vending machine called “Chef´s Farm”, which not only sells lettuce, it also grows them, in fact it can grow up to 60 heads of lettuce...
Holiday Depression – Are you suffering from post-vacation blues?

Holiday Depression – Are you suffering from post-vacation blues?

Miss Moci

Just like every year, the end of August is also the end of the summer vacation period for most of us. Returning from a vacation one of the first things that come to my mind is this quote from the movie Juno:   “I never realize how much I like being home, unless I’ve been somewhere very different for a while.” I look forward to sleeping in my own bed again, not living out of a suitcase anymore and other little luxuries of life that only your own home can provide. However, I usually also can’t shake some feelings of what can be best described as holiday depression: The dreading thought of going back to work, having to wear clothes other than your holiday attire that consisted of a bikini and flip flops, the fading tan that you worked so hard on. As it turns out there even is an entry on Wikipedia about post-vacation blues which lists some of the common symptoms. Photo: gnuckx Here are 5 signs that you are suffering from post-vacation blues:   1. Denial about having to go back to work. 2. Already planning your next trip. 3. Tiredness. 4. Loss of appetite. 5. Strong feelings of nostalgia.   Are you experiencing any of these signs as you are reading this post? If this is happening to you right now, don’t worry vacation blues usually wears off quickly. Our remedy is to start planning the next trip, maybe a city break – a short getaway in one of our main destinations.   On our website you find great places to stay in Lisbon , Paris,...
App of the month: Postagram

App of the month: Postagram

Miss Moci

It seems like an eternity ago when people were still sending letters and postcards from their holidays. Thanks to advances in technology messaging or communicating over the distance in general has become much easier, particularly thanks to smartphones. This development over the past years has lead to the drastic decline of actual mail. To capture memories from our trips the camera is an indispensable companion, but nowadays less people print out their pictures and they stay “digitally locked up” on our computers or phones. Since August is the epitome of the holiday period, we think it is time to bring postcards back! This month we chose Postagram as app of the month, an app that allows you to send your pictures from your phone, computer and even social media accounts as real postcards. This review is by Laura, digital marketing analyst. Photo: Postagram My view: My sister lives with her family in France and I live in Spain, like our parents. My nephew is nearly two years old. Since he was born pictures of him are being sent via email and cell phone almost on the daily between all family members. At the moment my sister is here with her family to visit. Her husband’s parents live in Canada and they don’t get to see my nephew all the time. My sister was actually the one who pointed this app out to me as they’re using it to send personalized postcards to the grandparents in Canada. It is a very cool way not only to send postcards, but also to share pictures. Over the weekend we took some really good...