Just off the south end of the Hippodrome and literally in the shadow of the Blue Mosque, the hotel is also walking distance from the Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace and the underground cistern. The Sultanahmet tram stop, which provides easy access to the Galata Bridge and a quick connection to the airport metro, is a short walk away.

Our room was spacious, clean and adequately appointed. The staff we encountered were friendly and eager to help. The hotel’s breakfast offering was standard European fare; cold cuts, breads, boiled eggs and the like. The hotel’s rooftop terrace provides great views of the Blue Mosque, especially at night when the towering minarets are bathed in light. There are also numerous restaurant choices just a few streets away.

My only note of caution would be to request a room away from the street, especially on the lower floors. Traffic noise might just be enough to bother a light sleeper.

Blue Mosque from the rooftop terrace

But something must have stuck, because the city and its struggles have always intrigued me. That’s why I couldn’t miss the opportunity to travel to Belfast as a day trip from Dublin when we visited the Irish capital.

In our travels, my lovely wife and I have been in a location or two where we felt uncomfortable and maybe even a bit unsafe, and that’s exactly what I expected from Belfast. While my rational mind told me this was not the Belfast of the 1980s, my irrational mind did its part to create concern.

We were most interested in exploring the city’s famous murals which are painted to express both political and religious views. The murals are spread out, so we decided to hire a cabby to show us the city. We hired our driver through Belfast Attractions. A 1.5-hour tour guide cost about $45, a decent travel deal. He picked us up at the train station and our Belfast travel trip began there.

Our tour included the murals on Falls Road and Shankill Road as well as Milltown Cemetery. We also visited a few gardens of remembrance which were built to honor the lives lost during “The Troubles.”

I was captivated by what our driver called the Peace Wall. Built to divide the Falls Road and Shankill Road neighborhoods, our driver told us the wall’s gates are still locked at 6 p.m. to prevent cars from passing between neighborhoods at night. He also showed us that the homes which are built close to the wall have defensive fences to protect the windows from objects hurled over from the other side. Our driver was Catholic so we only spent a little time in the Protestant areas, especially Shankill, because he said he was “not comfortable” there.

The Peace Wall

Defensive fencing on homes near the Peace Wall

In spite of what my irrational mind was trying to tell me, I never felt unsafe in Belfast. While many of the murals espoused violence and revenge, the people with whom we dealt were friendly and nobody really gave us a second look.

After our tour we walked to Sandy Row which greets visitors with a chilling reminder that the violence may have subsided, but the scars of the city’s sectarian divide are far from faded.

Our room was average in size for big-city lodging, but tastefully appointed and quite comfortable with a large bathroom, desk and flat screen TV. The staff we dealt with were friendly and helpful. And, most importantly, our room was clean.

It’s easy to spout off the reasons to visit places like London, Rome, Tokyo or Seattle, but ask someone to name the tourist attractions in Lisbon, Portugal, and you’ll probably receive only a blank stare in return. While the Portuguese capital many not be high on many travelers’ must-see lists, it ranks among my favorite places in all the world.

Why Lisbon? That’s easy…

Neighborhoods – The Baixa is Lisbon’s old downtown, the winding streets of the sailors’ quarter are called the Alfama and you can look down on the town from the Bairro Alto.

Bairro Alto

Belem – The Monastery of Jeronimos’ breathtaking cloisters, the soaring and inspiring Monument to the Discoveries and the island fortress of Belem Tower.

Monastery of Jeronimos

Food – Hidden in a crappy-looking building along Rua das Portas de Santo Antao, Casa do Alentejo offers hearty meals and a charming atmosphere. Above the main square in the Bairro Alto, Cervejaris Trindade serves homemade brew and meals in Lisbon’s oldest beer hall which is housed in a former monastery. How’s that for history? If the weather allows, sit outside in the cloisters.

Casa do Alentejo

Sidewalks – Where else can you find pattern-tile sidewalks that themselves are works of art?

tiled sidewalks

Sintra – Hop on the train and spend the day in this former summer city of Portugal’s kings and queens. The Royal Palace with its unique twin chimneys is interesting, but it’s whimsical, Ludwig-esque Pena Palace that’s Sintra’s star. You can also see the ruins of a Moorish castle and views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pena Palace

Public Transit – The hilly city uses trolleys, funiculars and elevators like the Elevador de Santa Justa, designed by a student of Gustav Eiffel, to move locals and tourists around. Much cooler than buses and subways.

Elevador de Santa Justa

To borrow, and butcher, a line from the Fresh Prince, “Lisbon lovin’, lovin’ Lisbon it’s all good, I’m lovin’ Lisbon it’s all good.”

Located near the intersection of Hildebrand and McCullough Avenues, Taco Taco impresses not with its decor, but with tasty breakfast tacos so good Bon Appetit declared the place as home of the best tacos in America.

Local friends tell me lines of hungry fans often snake around the restaurant on weekends just waiting to fill up on their favorites from among almost 20 different types of breakfast tacos. With homemade tortillas wrapping up your favorite ingredients, it’s easy to wait in line to dine on these heavenly tacos.

What I found was pretty standard: flight schedules, a place to view my reservations, a terminal map for a few of AA’s hub airports and online check in. You can even monitor your place on the standby list. What I didn’t expect were mobile boarding passes.

Maybe this is no big deal, but I’m not all that tech savvy (shocking I know) so I thought this was pretty cool stuff. The ability to check in online and print boarding passes from home has been around for awhile, but the AA app allowed me to create a mobile boarding pass on my handy-dandy iPhone which I just showed to the TSA folks and the gate agent. The app actually creates a scannable boarding pass right on my screen. Nothing to print, nothing to keep up with (other than my phone) no paper, no fuss.

Maybe every flier at the airport is already doing this and I’m just late to the party, but I’m glad I finally arrived.

But we’ll get back to that later.

When I travel to a destination city, I pick my accommodations based on four things; price, location, price and location. The Hotel Continental Barcelona hit the score on all four.

Located directly on Barcelona’s La Rambla, the hotel is convenient to many sites, restaurants and clubs. The Catalunya metro stop is right in front of the hotel and the Placa de Catalunya, where you’ll find the pick up point for the Aerobus to the airport and the tourist information office, is a just a short walk away.

It’s not the cheapest place I’ve ever slept, but considering its location, rates are quite reasonable. Our standard double room cost just €85 per night only a few months ago. Although tiny, even by European standards, the room was functional and included full bathroom facilities and an in-room safe. Guests have access to a 24-hour snack-type buffet that also includes soda, beer, wine, juice and water. The hotel has a couple of little patios, one that looks out on the busy tourist scene, and free internet access.

When planning your next travel trip, keep the Hotel Continental Barcelona on your list of lodging options.

Now, I promised to explain about the dizzying decor, but in this case, a picture is worth 1,000 words.

Sports fans who travel to British Columbia should take the opportunity to check out a unique and tasty bite of Vancouver that would surely grab the gold in any street food culinary competition.

If you’re too good to eat at a hot dog stand, stop reading now. But if an outstanding hot dog with a Japanese flair turns you on, then Japa Dog  is your place.

More than a hot dog, Japa Dog offers turkey, beef, pork and veggie sausages covered with creative and crazy combinations of Oriental garnishes like seaweed, Teriyaki and soy sauces, grated raddish, bonito flakes, fried cabbage, plum sauce, edamame and Japanese mayo.

It may seem strange to be in Canada standing in line for a Japanese take on an American icon, but it’s worth the wait. You can find the Japa Dog stand on the corner of Burrand and Smithe Streets in downtown Vancouver.

Very near the old city and just a short walk to the water, the little accommodation is clean and convenient. There’s a handy, but expensive, parking garage nearby and the tourist information office is only a few blocks away. The owner, (I think her name is Clara,) was on hand every day during our visit. The hostal also rents beach towels and chairs.

We ate breakfast on the rooftop terrace one morning during our stay, but found the fare to be a bit simple for the price. I thought 6 € was a tad much for bread, jam, orange juice and tea, but the views of the sea and the rooftops of Nerja were nice.

A great place to soak up some sun, Nerja has plenty of sand, restaurants and clubs to keep any beachcomber happy, and the Don Peque sits right in the middle of it all.

If you unwrapped an iPhone, iPod, e-reader or laptop computer, take a look at these useful extras.

The list printed in today’s Edmond Sun.