FOOTNOTES
a free bi-monthly e-newsletter to budget travel in New England.   October 15 2005

Hello,

Like the rest of America, I 'm hearing that "we are living in an age of uncertainty – caused both by natural disasters and those human-made." But uncertainty can also mean sudden changes in your personal life. A sudden loss of work, health, housing or loved ones can change your life's path dramatically.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with these things, but for me, what works best is to embrace what I do have, and to help others less fortunate than I. And for those who know me personally, they know that that usually involves travel!

Yes, I am off on an adventure again...stay tuned for a report in next issue! If you haven't already taken your "summer" vacation...no worries, October and November can be a wonderful time to travel, here in New England, as well as abroad.

Enjoy!
I look forward to hearing about your thoughts and responses.   

Sophie Barbier Director of Seasonal Hostels

Local News:

~ We've moved our business office!
No longer on Commonwealth Avenue, our new digs are in Davis Square, at 218 Holland Street, Somerville, MA 02144. If you need to buy a membership and don't want to do it online, or if you just want to come by and say hi, we are conveniently located on the Red Line.

~ Wednesday, November 9 - Be There!
Please join us for Hostelling International - USA, Eastern New England Council's
Taste of the World,
Annual Meeting and Reception
Featuring live jazz, a Silent Auction with very cool items, a performance by Group Capoeira Anglo, an Afro-Brazilian martial arts and dance tradition and Foods from Across the Globe. Come and spend the evening meeting fellow hostellers, ENEC staff and Board, and just have fun eating different foods and mingling with like-minded folks.
6:00PM ~ 8:00PM
Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center
85 West Newton Street, The South End, Boston

$20 Members, $30 Non-Members, $50 Individual Sponsors
RSVP by November 1st to 617-718-7990 or info(at)usahostels.org. You can also mail payments to
Hostelling International
218 Holland Street
Somerville MA 02144
MC, VISA, Cash and Checks accepted.

~ Jonathan Harada is back from South America and joins us as our Educational Programs Coordinator mission (at) bostonhostel.org . Jonathan is currently working on the Boston Hostels's Travel Scholars program, a program aimed at building a new generation of global minded citizens. Jonathan is actively recruiting groups to participate. For more information, give him a call at 617-536-1027.

 Fall Travel to:

-BOSTON and LITTLETON

 - NH and VT

- A BIT FURTHER AWAY

-FIELDTRIP TO
HONG-KONG

By now the secret is well out that traveling in the fall is a real deal. The weather is crisp, sunny and dry, off season rates apply to almost everything, airfares temporarily drop and the streets and beaches are void of August traffic.

• Boston and its surroundings. Haven't walked the Freedom Trail lately? Want to catch a Red Sox game, visit the Isabella Gardner Museum, the New England Aquarium or the Museum of Science? How about a concert at Symphony Hall? Well, all are easy and fast to get to from the Boston Hostel. Looking for a super cheap getaway with someone special? Visit Thoreau's Walden Pond and go apple picking near the Littleton Hostel.
  
• New England in all its glory! Ok, so fall is prime time in New Hampshire and Vermont...but it is so big that you won't find mobs of people. Just try and avoid driving up Friday night and back south on Sunday night and you'll do fine. You can stay at the Albert Lester Memorial Hostel in Conway NH, or Burlington VT. You can even fly from New York to Burlington for a mere $54 one way! Bring your bike to both places and see the foliage up close.
  
• All that driving, walking and cycling will get you hungry. Check out the following eateries!

In North Conway, NH, definitely check out the Moat Mountain Smokehouse for inexpensive, terrific food and beer - both made in house, right there on Route 16!
In Burlington VT, have breakfast at Penny Cluse Cafe and dinner at A Single Pebble, a gourmet chinese restaurant that is so wildly popular, that you need a reservation! In Somerville, if you haven't been to The Paddock, it's worth seeking it out. Its entire menu is terrific, but people go back again and again for its famed pizza. Have you found eating gems in your travels in New England? Let us know and we may share it (or keep it to ourselves!).


• A bit farther away...Feel like Walking in Memphis? Only $54ow on AirTran. Dominican Republic? Just $79ow from New York on JetBlue. Spain in gorgeous fall weather? Go-Today.com have amazing fly and drive packages for only $439pp for 2 people, 7 days. Hostels in Spain are abundant, well located and you get the warmth spaniards are famous for.

Every month, FOOTNOTES takes a virtual field trip to a hostel. Since airfare wars are bringing us Hong Kong at good prices, we've picked the 169-bed Jockey Club Mt. Davis Youth Hostel (Mau Wui Hall), on the top of Mount Davis on Hong Kong Island. (Check out China's Hostel website just for the fun of it, and move your mouse around...groovy, weird, alien? )

The hostel charges HK$65 (US$8.45) per night for a dormitory bed and under US$20 for a private double. Relax in the tranquility of Mt. Davis after your full day of shopping, eating and exploring. Things not to miss include the Dim Sum restaurants for breakfast and/or lunch. Have a seat and check out the steaming bamboo baskets that coming passing through on carts. Each basket has a few pieces of dim sum and you pay by the basket, about $2-$4. Try City Hall's Maxim's Place for good food, good prices and easy for beginners, with photos and an english menu.

Something else not to miss, and I wish they had these in every country, is HK's Meet the People program. It is a free program that offers tours and lectures by local experts. Subjects include everything from pearls to feng shui to tai chi and many other cultural traditions. All FREE! Stop by the Hong Kong Tourism Board's Visitor Information & Services Centres for more info.

There are tons of other wonderful things to see and do, so make sure you do your homework before you leave...and don't forget to send us a postcard - at our NEW address!