A lot of people, when they travel to Paris, Italy, Scandinavia, etc. spend a lot of time picking out hotels.   One way to select a hotel is to go by the government assigned star rating to hotels.   Does that mean a 5-star hotel is better located than a 1-star?  Does it mean a 4-star have more space in the rooms than a 2-star?   Not necessarily.  Check out today's blog post to find out more about what star ratings mean in European hotels.

Every now and then I go on a "fishing trip" to check out possible new tour opportunities.  The Traveling Professor just returned last night from a short holiday in Bavaria, Germany.   Take a look at my blog post and see my recap of the trip and if "The Christmas Markets of Germany"  will be a Traveling Professor Small Group Tour in 2016.

People always ask me for recommendations on Christmas gifts for their traveling friends or even for themselves.   Sometimes I recommend travel guides, travel clothing and even a copy of "The Traveling Professor's Guide to Paris".  But the best travel gift I can recommend for the holidays this year is posted in today's blog post.

Let's face it, airline travel is a hassle.  Long lines, grumpy passengers, lack of TSA and security staff can slow down the time it takes to get through the security queue.   Learn from me, I book over 100,000 air miles a year and have been in many security lines.    I have found ways to make the process go faster.  Check out The Traveling Professor's blog post to find out how with his 7 Ways to Get Through Airline Security Faster.

I watched the Bruce Willis classic, "The Sixth Sense" the other night.   After waking up after a few nightmares, I dreamed up some Paris "I See Dead People" tours myself.   It's not really a horror story, but it can be a lot of fun to do this offbeat tour next time on vacation in The City of Light.

I used to travel alone, especially to Paris, quite a bit.   I loved the freedom of not being tethered to a schedule and go wherever my legs would take me.   To be honest, traveling alone to Paris really was the way I learned the city.   I probably took 15-20 trips to Paris alone before I ever ran group tours.   I've traveled alone to Italy also.  Read my blog post for tips on traveling solo.

If you ask me, anytime is a good time to travel to Paris.   I have been there all four seasons and each one has it's advantages.   In today's blog post, I break down the benefits of traveling during different times of the year and leave it up to you for the best time to travel to Paris.

One of the joys of traveling is experiencing new and different cuisine.   For instance, I love escargot in Paris.   There is not enough pasta to satisfy me in Venice.  I'll even go for bangers and mash in London and reindeer in Norway.   I've had piranha in Peru and alpaca in Bolivia.  The bratwurst in Bavaria is fine with me.   But there are some local foods that, as much  as I try, I can't seem to get used to.  For more, see my blog post.

A big complaint The Traveling Professor always hears is that it can be very difficult to redeem accrued award miles for flights.  I agree that airlines do conspire for us to redeem those awards.  For instance, when traveling from North America to Europe, American Airlines seems to want to route you through London as much as they can.   I feel the reason for this is because taxes and fees going through London are so high, it discourages people from redeeming miles when a purchased ticket does not cost a significant amount more.  And of course, the big problem is that flights are simply not available.  However, I have discovered a tool on American Airline's site that makes it easier (not necessarily easy) to find award flights.

Travel is all about trying something different.   We might try escargot in Paris.   How about radicchio lasagne in Padua?   Lomo saltado in Peru, or maybe even wild boar in Tuscany?   We all know each place The Traveling Professor visits has different foods, but what about different cocktails?  Read my blog post and find out The Professor's favorite cocktails, including the recipes.

By the end of the year, The Traveling Professor will have made 118 blog posts on topics ranging from airfares, hotels, trip advice, insurance, itineraries and a bunch of other stuff.  In my last blog post of 2015 I am going to post links to my top blog posts of the year. These posts are loaded with time and money saving trip ideas.   Best wishes for a Happy New Year from The Traveling Professor.