Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

New bridges ease Fort Myers, Sanibel traffic

The barrier islands off the southwest coast of Florida are among my favorite vacation places. Even in the dead of winter, sunshine heats most days into at least the 70s on Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers Beach.

The main problem for vacationers: From Christmas to Easter, heavy highway traffic to the beaches and golf courses.

This winter season, the drive to the islands is easier.

A new bridge to the causeway from Fort Myers to Sanibel and Captiva is open and stunning with its high views of the bays and marshes along the coast. The old bridge, the one that held up traffic while the drawbridge opened to let sailboats pass on the Intercoastal Waterway, has been replaced. The causeway still has some construction, so you need to drive carefully, especially at night.

Traffic flows smoothly. At least it did during Thanksgiving week when I drove to Sanibel one night for dinner at McT's Shrimp House and Tavern, an old family favorite for shrimp and crab, then again on Sunday for a grouper sandwich and the huge picture windows facing the Intercoastal Waterway from the Green Flash on Captiva.

Bridge toll: $6 on the way from the mainland to Sanibel. Free on the return. For frequent visitors, get a Sun Pass.

Other important highway improvements this year for island traffic include bridges at the turn from Gladiolus onto Summerlin and at the intersection of Summerlin and San Carlos. Both were traffic bottlenecks. Not now, as cars move continuously toward Sanibel through both intersections on what the locals call "flyways."

Planning a trip to Southwest Florida, CLICK.

Molyneaux is editor of TravelMavens.net. For articles on Florida, cruising, Europe and adventure, CLICK

Hello St. Pancras, goodbye Waterloo, where security exposed my undies

Your rail journey from London through the Chunnel to Paris and Brussels just got easier and quicker. Finally, after years of projects that cost billions of dollars, the speedy Eurostar train now departs London from spacious St. Pancras station instead of its cramped and crowded quarters at Waterloo.

The change in stations will speed the trip by about 20 minutes. London to Paris nonstop is now 2 hours, 15 minutes. London to Brussels is 1 hour, 51 minutes.

The best result of the London station change will be a more comfortable boarding process for many of the 8 million passengers a year who use Eurostar to travel under the English Channel.

The Eurostar moves at speeds up to 186 miles an hour. The train is a relaxing, comfortable ride, with an opportunity to eat a first-class meal, to settle into cushioned seats and to stare out big picture windows at telephone poles zipping by in a blur. Sightseeing in not the attraction of fast trains. Better to bring a book or a few magazines.

When you get to the English Channel, there's nothing to see. The tunnel arrives and departs with such a small whoosh that the only indication of your movement is feeling air pressure changes in your ears.

Once you've taken the fast train between London and Paris or Brussels, you may never go back to the hassles of flying such short distances in Europe. Round trip fare to Paris starts at about $160. Check with Rail Europe for Eurostar, other Europe rail tickets and passes.

Unsuitcasing my unmentionables

Alas, my last ride on Eurostar was in October, before the change in London stations. No St. Pancras for me. Like Napoleon (in 1815), I left some of my dignity at Waterloo.

On a busy Friday morning, lines were long and slow at Waterloo's cramped security checkpoint, where all passengers and suitcases were examined. Don't know whether it was dumb luck, but my suitcase was flagged. Perhaps the scanner operator questioned all the wires I was carrying for my month in Europe -- chargers for computer, camera, two cell phones and a razor, as well as an extension cord, a voltage converter, an external mouse, a surge protector and an extra hard drive for storing photos.

My full suitcase inspection took place next to the moving scanner belt where every other passenger could get a good look at what I packed to wear, to read, to work and to play. The security man removed all of my belongings, examined each and slowly piled them on a table that began to look as if it belonged at a garage sale.   

When he reached my laundry bag, bulging after two weeks on the road, out came my dirty underwear, piece by piece, as well as smelly shirts from hiking and muddy socks from playing golf in the rain.

If I looked nervous that day in London, it was not at the intrusion of the security guy, who for safety's sake was examining soiled garments and electrical apparati, but at the public unveiling of my mentionables and unmentionables.

Did any other Eurostar passenger care what was in my suitcase? I doubt it, but I thought I heard at least one "tsk, tsk." Should I care what anybody thinks of what I pack? Probably not. But, like Mr. Bonaparte, I will remember Waterloo.

David Molyneaux is editor of TravelMavens.net

Life at sea on a big, new ship

While sitting in the Caribbean sun atop the massive new Liberty of the Seas, you might get an afternoon hunger for ice cream.

But which ice cream? And how much do you want to pay?

You could saunter inside and take an elevator to the middle of the 4,000-passenger Liberty, world's largest cruise ship that is big enough to be a small city. Royal Caribbean's signature indoor Royal Promenade, longer than a football field, features a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop with a nice little set of tables and chairs for watching other passengers stroll past. Most items are less than $5 a portion.

Or, you could tootle aft to the popular indoor/outdoor Johnny Rockets diner for a  milkshake at $3.60, though you would have to queue up in a constant line of passengers bent on buying burgers, ogling enormous onion rings as they wait for a seat.

Or, you could amble over to the free soft serve machines on the pool deck, taking the tack that it's hard to turn down free ice cream after paying a thousand dollars or more for your week at sea out of Miami.

This is the new world of cruising on the competitively priced big ships, where the joys of options on the newest vessels come with the need to make choices, particularly about how you want to spend your time and money.

Whether it's ice cream, burgers, coffee or dinner, you may feast for free because such sustenance is included in the cruise price. Or, you may choose something a little special at an extra cost. And if you want dinner in the top specialty restaurant, you'll need a reservation, perhaps days in advance.

Read MORE on TravelMavens.net
and:
How to budget for a cruise

David Molyneaux is editor of TravelMavens.net

Check out the travel auction

From kayaking in Peru and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to luxury resorts and weekend getaways, travel packages with bargain possibilities are Up For Auction at a Website managed by the Society of American Travel Writers.

Each year, SATW, an association of travel journalists and public relations people in the travel business, invites the public to bid on a selection of trips and destinations donated to SATW.

The 2007 SATW Online Auction includes travel valued at more than $110,000, including such destinations as the Maldives, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Mexico and Costa Rica, ski resorts at Beaver Creek and Jackson Hole and a Maine Windjammer cruise.

The auction will end at staggered times between November 15-17, 2007.