Mobissimo

Travel can be stressful.  Holidays can be stressful.  Traveling during holidays is probably the worst.  Time constraints, big crowds, end of year blues can all add up to a huge headache, here's how to combat that.

The airports are crowded, the weather is dodgy, and stress levels are high. Here's where to go and how to get there with your sanity intact.

It seems like every worthwhile destination is overcrowded and overpriced around the holidays. Can you recommend some reasonable ways to avoid overpaying?
Christmas and Hanukkah are wholesome family holidays, when most people want wholesome family destinations. So one idea is to be contrarian and go where demand is weak. Consider heading to a party town like Las Vegas or New Orleans. The Big Easy has a long tradition of offering discounted hotel rates, free concerts, and free cooking demos during the first three weeks of December; check out fqfi.org/christmas for event schedules and special hotel deals.

Tired of paying hundreds of dollars for a ticket to an event?  Check out free festivals like this one - the Edinburgh Fringe.

What’s on in Edinburgh this August? What isn’t! The Scottish city really gets festive in August 2009, with a jam-packed line-up of events in Edinburgh. First up, there’s the Fringe, a celebration of up-and-coming music, drama, dance and comedy – the largest arts festival in the world and the number one tourist attraction in Britain. Then there’s the International Book Festival, the Jazz and Blues Festival, Foodies at the Fringe…the list of Edinburgh events is exhausting!

For something different, head to Australia for the aboriginal Barunga Sports and Culture Festival.  We're probably guessing you haven't been to this yet, so check it out.

Barunga Festival is one of Australia's longest running Aboriginal festivals, located four hours away from Darwin.

Held every year over the June long weekend with community people welcoming visitors from Friday until Monday afternoon for the alcohol and drug free event.

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks on earth.  The Empire State Building, the Golden Gate, the Hagia Sofia are probably other well known man-made wonders.  Check out more about the 120 years of the Eiffel Tower here.

The city of Paris is now in celebration mode as the Old Gray Lady turns 120. Adoring articles are running in the local press, and Parisians are making plans to visit a new exhibition at city hall (Hôtel de Ville). The Gustave Eiffel, magician de fer exhibition will retrace the career and personal life of the renowned iron wiz. In addition to celebrating the Eiffel tower, the show introduces some of Eiffel's other remarkable works, from the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty to the locks of the Panama Canal. The show runs May 6–August 31 and is open from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. every day but Sunday. Admission is free, and crowds are expected.

Back in the founding days for the United States, well even way before 1776, New York was a backwater, the grounds for trappers and riches seekers.  The Hudson Valley was a major waterway, but little explored.  Today, the Hudson Valley celebrates 400 years of discovery, read more here via Yahoo!

ALBANY, N.Y. – When explorer Henry Hudson got as far north as he could go on the waterway that would later bear his name, he didn't stick around long or wander much beyond the riverbank.

"They did not venture far from shore," said William "Chip" Reynolds, captain of the Half Moon, a full-scale replica of the ship that Hudson, an Englishman, sailed for the Dutch during his 1609 voyage to the New World.

The Mobissimo Team wants to wish all MobiFriends around the world happy holidays today and this weekend.  Be safe and allow plenty of time for travel and as always, you can get last minute deals on Mobissimo anytime.

- The Mobissimo Team

Valentine's Day can be a great event or a lousy one, here's a post about making it a good one.

In today’s world, the occasion provokes as much cynicism as gushing emotion, but the 14th of February is actually a day of weighty historical substance that includes Christian martyrs, a lady named Ester Howland and the Al Capone-driven Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.

There are two Christian martyrs who apparently ‘gave birth’ to Valentine’s Day: Valentine of Rome (martyred February 14th, AD 269) and Valentine of Terni (martyred February 14th, AD 197), although it’s a matter of debate as to precisely whom (if indeed either) supplied the day with its romantic connotations.

New Year's resolutions are a time tested tradition.  Here are some geared for the travel set, take a look, read more here via Gadling.

The year is almost over, so after looking back at some of the best and worst the year had to offer, it is now time to look forward at the new year.

I've collected ten ways that can help you make the best of your trips, and may even help you collect some extra miles on the way there.

Jazz, you think of New Orleans, San Francisco, even Tokyo, but Madrid Spain?  25 years strong the Madrid Jazz Festival is going and going.  Check it out, more here via the official site in Spanish.

In 2008, the event is held in memory of Tete Montliu, commemorating ten years since the jazz pianist's death, and the line-up is as impressive as ever. A range of jazz legends travel across the Atlantic to perform, including Harry Connick Jr, Dianne Reeves, saxophonist Ornette Coleman and four-piece group The Manhattan Transfer. European artists include Madrid-born Joaquín Chacón and the Vienna Art Orchestra.

Another year older, another great party, another fresh start on the new year.  We wanted to thank everyone who came to the Mobissimo 5th Anniversary Party last night, you made it a very special event.  In addition, we wanted to thank American Airlines for providing generous gifts for us.  Nanos, Flamenco, free drinks, what more could you want?

Update details, 2 flights from American Airlines, 2 Mobissimo engraved Ipod Nanos, and the whole MobiTeam, can't miss it.

5 years.  We've seen our officemate's kids grow up, the housing bubble burst, a blind man summit Everest.  But all that pales in comparison to 5 years of Mobissimo.  While the current economic market may be bleh, Mobissimo has never been stronger, the most international sites in the most languages, we are growing by the minute,  no dot com bubble here, we're bigger than ever and want you to join us for our birthday party.  To all the millions of Mobi users around the world, a big thank you, come join us and celebrate what you all have helped us build - the ultimate travel search engine.