Wanna know a cheaper way to get from the West or Midwest to Philadelphia or Washington? Here’s what I do: * Buy a cheap Southwest Airlines ticket to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. * For another $1.35, take a light rail train to the Pratt St. (Convention…Read More

Wanna know a cheaper way to get from the West or Midwest to Philadelphia or Washington? Here’s what I do:

* Buy a cheap Southwest Airlines ticket to Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

* For another $1.35, take a light rail train to the Pratt St. (Convention Center) stop and have dinner at City Lights or another of the superb seafood restaurants along the Inner Harbor.

* Take the light rail, bus or Metro to Penn Station, then take the first Amtrak train that comes along to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Your Amtrak ticket will be honored on a commuter train from there to Philadelpia City Center.

You obviously can’t do this if you work until 5 p.m. But if you have a free afternoon, you’ll have a more varied travel experience, enjoy a waterfront dinner instead of airline food, and probably save enough money to make the roundabout itinerary worthwhile. This alternative is especially attractive when other airlines are matching Southwest’s fares.

You don’t HAVE to visit downtown Baltimore to enjoy the city’s cheaper airfares. There’s a free shuttle bus from the airport terminal to the nearby BWI Amtrak station. Service is reasonably frequent to Philadelphia and Amtrak service to Washington is supplemented by MARC commuter trains. For Amtrak schedules, click on this web address:
http://reservations.amtrak.com/jumppage.htm .

My last two visits to Baltimore have been stopovers for dinner while en route to somewhere else. My most recent hotel stay there was in 1998, not recent enough to justify a full-fledged review. Here, however, are brief recollections of properties I’ve used in the…Read More

My last two visits to Baltimore have been stopovers for dinner while en route to somewhere else. My most recent hotel stay there was in 1998, not recent enough to justify a full-fledged review. Here, however, are brief recollections of properties I’ve used in the past and, after reviewing a more-current hotel directory, could probably recommend:

-The Clarion at Mt. Vernon Square, 612 Cathedral St.
-Days Inn Inner Harbor,100 Hopkins Place.

The Clarion, stayed at in 1998, is only a few minutes’ walk from the light rail line and, if you like walking, within walking distance of downtown. It’s within reasonable walking distance of Penn Station (AMTRAK), but, alas, the walk isn’t safe at night. My principal memory is arriving in a heavy rainstorm, hungry, and being told that since the hotel didn’t have a full-service restaurant for dinner, I could have their courtesy van take me to a restaurant of my choice. When I was done for the evening, I was invited to call and have their driver come fetch me. Class. I paid approximately $90/night at the Clarion in 1998 but a Year 2000 directory shows their rates for a single starting at $109.

The Days Inn is barely a quarter-mile from Harborplace and the restaurant I like so well there. It’s a seven or eight minute walk from the light rail line and there’s a ‘Metro’ station about the same distance away. It’s not convenient to downtown but one of the next-to-last stops on the bus from downtown to BWI Airport. My stay there was in 1992; I recall it as being about what you’d expect of a high-rise Days Inn in a downtown location in a major city. My year-old hotel directory shows their published ‘rack’ rate for single rooms as $59-139. I’m dubious about the $59 figure but, since I’m not staying there anytime soon, didn’t call to test its availability.

It would be very pretentious of me to pretend to be a restaurant critic. I’m just a person who likes crabs. It would also be pretentious of me to pretend to be a native. I’ve only lived here for 25 years.…Read More

It would be very pretentious of me to pretend to be a restaurant critic. I’m just a person who likes crabs. It would also be pretentious of me to pretend to be a native. I’ve only lived here for 25 years. So I’ve decided to award claws (crab claws of course) for my ratings, with five claws being practically perfect and one claw being pretty poor. I’ve picked the following categories to evaluate:

TASTE: The crab mustn’t have any "fishy" taste at all. It should taste sweet, mild and fresh.

ABSENCE OF SHELL: Well-picked crabmeat is vital. Bits of shell are nasty and unpleasant.

SIZE OF LUMPS: Good backfin or lump crabmeat conveys the best crab flavor, and mixing it with the seasonings and binders without breaking it up too much is a real test of culinary artistry.

SEASONING: Subtle, subtle, subtle. You want to taste that lovely crab. As far as Cajun blackened crabcakes, or other seasoning oddities – well, we won’t even go there, Hon.

ACCOMPANIMENTS: French fries, coleslaw, green salad, potato salad. Take your pick, but you probably won’t have room for much. Beer? Absolutely.

KINDLINESS OF WAIT STAFF: Kindliness sums it up better than efficiency, I believe. The people taking care of you should be ready to discuss whether the crab looks good that day or if maybe you should go with something else. They need to remember to bring you some red cocktail sauce (prepared on the premises, of course), to be sure you have a few saltines to go with your meal, and to keep your beer replenished—or your iced tea if you have to go back to work.

ATMOSPHERE: Not very important unless you’re visiting or trying to impress someone.

All of my crabcakes were broiled and served as "crabcake sandwiches," which basically means that you get saltines with the crabcake and probably only one vegetable. I awarded selective claws for restaurants where we didn't dine on crabcakes.

Little Italy, (or, as you might hear in Baltimore, "L’il It-ly"), just a few blocks east on Pratt Street from the Inner Harbor, is one of Baltimore’s most famous ethnic neighborhoods. It is a natural way to start your behind-the-scenes tour of Baltimore. Here, away from…Read More

Little Italy, (or, as you might hear in Baltimore, "L’il It-ly"), just a few blocks east on Pratt Street from the Inner Harbor, is one of Baltimore’s most famous ethnic neighborhoods. It is a natural way to start your behind-the-scenes tour of Baltimore.

Here, away from the modern architecture and glitzy displays of Charles Street and the Inner Harbor, you’ll be able to get a close-up look at this Italian enclave. The main attraction here in Little Italy are the many authentic Italian restaurants, but the area is mainly a residential area, and it's fun to capture the flavor of everyday Italian-American life as you linger at the outdoor Bocce (bowling) court or appreciate the splendor of St. Leo's Church. Wander down Albermarle, Fawn, High, President and Exeter Streets, and you will probably see residents sitting in on their immaculately clean marble steps in front of their brick and brownstone row houses. Many have been in the same family for generations.

In Baltimore’s Little Italy you will find a treasure trove of authentic Italian food just waiting for you to sink your fork in and start twirling. Spaghetti, of course, is only the beginning. All the Italian classics--from massive antipasti planners--to frothy cappuccino are here.

In restaurants such as Da Mimmo’s, Vellegia’s, Boccaccio’s and Ristorante Della Notte, you’ll find a vast array of authentic Italian dishes. From Antipasti to whet your appetite to creamy, layered Zuppa Inglese (similar to an English trifle) for dessert, the restaurants in Little Italy can temporarily transport your taste buds back to the old country. Reservations are highly recommended for these popular places. The ice cream creations and Italian pastries such as creamy cannoli at Vaccarro’s are spectacular, so be certain to save some room to really treat your sweet tooth.

BALTIMORE city located in MARYLAND with nearest Washington D.C. Baltimore is the most visited tourist spot in USA. You can visit that city in every early month. All time you can get more adventure and entertainment and fun. I was surprise when my friend booked…Read More

BALTIMORE city located in MARYLAND with nearest Washington D.C. Baltimore is the most visited tourist spot in USA. You can visit that city in every early month. All time you can get more adventure and entertainment and fun. I was surprise when my friend booked my tickets for Baltimore with us. He is the best friend ever and ever. He is my childhood friend and he shares your all moment, thinks and all. In Baltimore have more great things to do are fishing and I love seafood. Before visited that city I want more information so I get more and more information at wikitravel.org, travel.yahoo, and reserved our hotel rooms at hotelsatanywhere.com, all are online travel sites which give all information to most visited city in world. You can read and get more information if you read travel experiences on those sites. What ever, I tell you all tour experiences in Baltimore city. Johan and me arrived that Baltimore beautiful city at 6pm. Stayed there 2 and half hours for our luggage. Received and went to our hotels. In way, views of that city were so extraordinary and beautiful, about 1 hour we arrived our lowest and luxury best hotels. Really, it’s a very beautiful, sensational and lowest hotel. Which offered more great facilities and amenities. Hotels rooms were very attractive and very big at our knowledge; windows open to front of beautiful water locations. Both of us were very happy that tours all time. We made plan for visiting that city, its 6 days tour so I want to saw all things that time, so decided first days were going for art museum, Maryland zoo, Patterson Park, second days, Harbor of Baltimore, Fort Mchery, Federal Hill, Baltimore Maritime Museum, and third to fifth days going for fishing, boating and some camping tour and last days going to shopping. In late night took our delicious dinner at hotel restaurant then take a beautiful dream on hotel bedroom. Early morning went for museum and art galley and got more adventure and information at that museum. It’s a great time when went to Maryland zoo, there were located more animals and birds which could not see at our city or any place and we got also received a fabulous lunch near street museum restaurant. Seafood of that city was very fine, I was going to very excited when bite that meal. Both of us visited that street with walking, it was good experiences at street. Late night both of us took a beautiful party at bar of that hotels, both were invited that party so enjoyed there with dancing and drinking and went to sleep at midnight.
Next early morning, hire a taxi and reached to Baltimore harbor, So outstanding look at harbor port. Everywhere ship, boat located in blue water, and we were hungry for boating at harbor. Hire with 2 hours boat and going for deep water at sea. We did not bring our fishing rode so I feel so bad. Mostly visitor take fishing at our hire boat but we did not mind this and feel its moment and went to other destinations after two hours.
Baltimore is well known also a fishing town because all dudes went to fishing area in early morning and enjoyed that time.
Third day, we called our taxi driver came our hotel at early morning for fishing. Woke up at very early morning and packed our breakfast, lunch and went to fishing area at Baltimore. At that time more crowds created and after one hour it’s going very large, what ever, hire a boat and went to deep-water area and fishing. Both of us caught more fishes at noon. Boat had kitchen also, so driver of boat was also cook and he made our lunch with fishes. Got a beautiful and fabulous dinner at boat all of us. Really it was great time for us, three days we took more enjoyment and adventure, fun.
Last day, my friend and me visited street great shopping places it was so extraordinary and fabulous and very cheapest market. Purchase some clothes, bracelets, t-shirts, and other things for our family. All days we surfing shopping market and take a beautiful movie at near theater. Totally it was a great trip for us, get more enjoyment and fun at that city. It’s a really a beautiful and most visited city in USA. Both of us thanks to that city and I thanks to our friend for that trip. It’s a really outstanding trip in Baltimore city.
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This is a secret that I have been using for the last 5 years or so, and I feel that it is time to let the cat out of the bag. With climbing gas prices, decreased gas mileage, increased toll prices and high concentrations of…Read More

This is a secret that I have been using for the last 5 years or so, and I feel that it is time to let the cat out of the bag. With climbing gas prices, decreased gas mileage, increased toll prices and high concentrations of congestion on highways, the cost of driving is getting out of control. But have no fear, there is an affordable answer right in front of you: the Chinatown Bus.

The Chinatown from New York to Baltimore is a decent $35 round-trip and the ride isn't too bad. It really depends on the bus and the driver. The ride can either be fast and enjoyable or long and unbearable. There is nothing in between, but the price and the convenience are unbeatable. Now the bus leaves New York and stops in Jersey somewhere usually for a restroom break, then straight through to Baltimore, then onto D.C. I used to take the bus to D.C. because the Metro is right there and it's easy to get around, but my brother moved to Annapolis and the Baltimore stop is easier to get to. The only problem with the Baltimore stop is that the it is in the middle of a bad area, so if you have to go there, get there before dark. Trust me!

Anyway, if you find yourself on your way to the D.C. or Baltimore area, try the Chinatown bus out. Just go to Google and type in Chinatown Bus and see what comes up. There are buses that go all over the country, so find what you are looking for and take the chance, it's worth it most of the time.Close

Three New Englanders headed off to beautiful Camden Yards to see a Red Sox away game. Many very cool things to do in Baltimore—aquarium, paddle boats, little malls, duck tours. And then of course, Camden Yards. The baseball field, like the rest of Baltimore,…Read More

Three New Englanders headed off to beautiful Camden Yards to see a Red Sox away game.

Many very cool things to do in Baltimore—aquarium, paddle boats, little malls, duck tours. And then of course, Camden Yards.

The baseball field, like the rest of Baltimore, was family friendly and friendly-priced. Fans could bring food in with them. The park is a great design and reminiscent of old-style stadiums. Baltimore has ample public transportation and is just a hop, skip, jump, and security check to D.C.

Be sure to see:

1. Edgar Allen Poe's grave

Be sure to consider:

National Dental Museum

And you know what? The trip cost only slightly more than it does for a trip to Fenway, including airfare!

One of us managed to catch our shoe on one of the beautiful cobblestone streets in Fells Point, which unfortunately caused a torn sole. That required us to find a new pair of shoes immediately and the only place we could find anything under $100…Read More

One of us managed to catch our shoe on one of the beautiful cobblestone streets in Fells Point, which unfortunately caused a torn sole. That required us to find a new pair of shoes immediately and the only place we could find anything under $100 was in the Galleria at a Foot Locker! Realizing we were tourists and could have perhaps found other places via taxi or car, we coughed it up without dispute. There were so few choices on a Sunday. Our only complaint is that the actual harbor shopping is designed for tourism, so be warned: if you don't want to pay tourist prices for shoes, take extras, even if you think you won't need them!

The restaurants and nightlife are definitely well worth visiting in Baltimore, not even counting the cultural things this city has to offer. And if you are a baseball fan, choose a date when the Orioles are in town for an extra treat.

Beyond Inner Harbor, there is much to see and do off the beaten path and you need more than just a weekend to experience it all. For us who live close to it, a weekend jaunt is just the ticket!

Anyone visiting this fair city has to make sure they save at least a portion of one day for this wonderful aquarium. It is multi-leveled and includes many areas of interest, from sting rays and sharks, freshwater pond life, rain forests, the ocean, and…Read More

Anyone visiting this fair city has to make sure they save at least a portion of one day for this wonderful aquarium. It is multi-leveled and includes many areas of interest, from sting rays and sharks, freshwater pond life, rain forests, the ocean, and so on. You won't be disappointed or bored. The only thing that might put you off are the crowds, so arrive as early in the day as possible. They generally open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. Admission is $17.50 for adults, $9.50 for children, and $14.50 for senior citizens (60 and over). The Aquarium has its own food/snack facilities inside, or you can get your hand stamped to get something to eat in the Harbor area, and then return to finish your tour. It is self-guided, but there are special tours which you can pay extra for that take you behind the scenes of the Aquarium. These usually include breakfast or lunch. It will give you a chance to see the behind-the-scene workings and avoid some of the crowds, also. The Aquarium is located on Pier 3 at 501 E. Pratt St. in Baltimore. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time through TicketMaster or the Aquarium Ticket Center, up to 30 days in advance using the Automated Ticket Teller Machines, or at the Will Call window. Close

We headed into the Inner Harbor to see the tall ships that had come down to celebrate the USS Constellation's birthday. Anyway, the kids were all wound up with anticipation as we boated our way into the Chesapeake Bay. The perfect day was about to unfold,…Read More

We headed into the Inner Harbor to see the tall ships that had come down to celebrate the USS Constellation's birthday. Anyway, the kids were all wound up with anticipation as we boated our way into the Chesapeake Bay. The perfect day was about to unfold, at least for us. We saw some men wearing those orange life vests, and I thought to myself, "Two single guys and a day on the bay on a boat - and they chose to wear those ugly vests. TSK, TSK." But on the way back into the dock, I suddenly realized why. BOAT SINKING!!! I will post some of that boat action as well.Close