Elise Park's ePortfolio

So now a days people are into bringing their pets abroad and bringing their furry companion with them on a trip. There are many things that are taken to consideration when taking your pet on flight. Shots are needed to be given, there are different types of baggage claims, cargo services, and assistance. The expenses of taking pets on flight range up to $6,000! In the article, the author’s dog had to go through so many steps and visits to be eligible to be on the flight. So his dog had to get his rabies shot and had to get a special international microchip inserted into his neck.
Is this taking it over board?
I personally think that this should only be for a special occasion because although the pet might be medicated and relaxed, they will probably be stressed with getting adjusted after they land.

http://prezi.com/gsl95lvarz8f/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Now-a-days when we travel, there are people who do not know about public space!
Take a look around you. There will be kids crying, parents yelling, and now there are people who takes of their shoes! It might be a long flight and people want to get comfortable, but is being barefoot the right thing to do?
Air travel used to be a social occasion because people used to get settled in, talk to the people around them, and eat together. But now, everybody is in a rush to get to their seats and leave as soon as possible by pushing and shoving while the whole ride, they are confined in their seats with their technology. While they are busy trying to get comfortable, they do not realize that they are causing a disturbance to the person sitting next to them.
I personally think that taking off your shoes is a bit too much, whether it may smell or not. I think that the world has become less social, which I can understand why because people are afraid to meet people. But in the end, I think it is because everybody is only thinking about themselves these days and they would be cruel, sneaky, and rude if they have to. Now-a-days, people do not care what others think and it comes off as being rude and having no social etiquette.
But lets think about this the next time we catch a flight and get all comfy and snuggled up in our seats. Let us think about the people around us and how we all can be respectful of one another. Air travel etiquette!
(And maybe it might be nice to talk to the person sitting next to you. May be a really nice opportunity!)

There is a Twitter Experience Hotel, a.k.a Sol Wave House in Majorca, Spain. So in this hotel, you follow them before you get to the lobby and you receive a free bottle when you walk-in. In the bathroom mirrors, are stickers and hash tags that you can use for your Twitter. The vice president for a global brand strategy of Meliá, Tony Cortizas, says that it is completely normal that they are using this strategy. It is something that we see everyday and everybody is on their phones.  (In the United States, 56 percent of adults own a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project surveys ; Rosenbloom, Stephanie NYTimes.)

Mr. Cortizas says that they chose Twitter to differentiate themselves, Twitter is very popular in Europe, so why not? Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, owned by the Palladium Hotel Group, uses Facebook.
Last winter the Marriott and Renaissance Caribbean had designated zones where they were not allowed to use all of their technology devices  for “tech-free pursuits.”

Those were two very strong opposing sides, but is there a limitation to this?
There are so many people who are hooked on their electronic device and they get too attached and it is affecting their lives tremendously. It is common to see those people these days, who are losing so much precious time of their lives because they are too attached. So many people just aren’t able to control their temptation of picking up their smartphones. So, is there a limit to this? Should a limit be necessary if this is becoming a branding?

Here is the link if you are interesting to read into the article:
(http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/travel/a-hotel-room-with-140-characters.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=travel&)

I’ve read an article about Norma Kamali, a New York City Fashion Designer’s olive oil obsession. She has a childhood of always having olive oil around for everything due to her mother’s use of olive oil for hair, furniture, skin, and edibles. She started to take road trips from Barcelona, coast of Spain, and into France and Italy. Her favorite place was in Provence, in the South of France. She says that it is the best olive oil in the world and she describes the place as heaven. (Isn’t it crazy? An olive oil heaven!)
She returns to Provence for the quality of the oil which is the taste of the oil. To know if it is a high quality oil, there are many factors that are implied. Such as the sun, terrain, and the neighbor. As in neighbor, the olive oils’ neighbor would be lavender!
To Kamali, olive oil is a spiritual thing. She talks about how it takes it back to the Bible and history in all. Her favorite activities for olive oil is “orchard hopping”. So they go to a vineyard and if you bring your own empty bottle, you are able to fill it up with wine or olive oil (Le Moulin Forutne Arizzi). Harvest time is in November and December, so you can actually participate in the harvesting and help out the workers.
She even eats olive oil ice cream that are sold in the local stores. (“It’s salty and sweet at the same time”, Ms. Kamali).
Her souvenir is stocking up on olive oil but also she sells these olive oils online! In her store located in Manhattan, the customers can actually try it on popcorn! This November, at her store, she is planning a free harvest-time olive-oil tasting which is interesting because she will be going through the differences in the flavor and popcorn and strawberries. I think that it is a weird combination because we aren’t used to the face that we will be eating strawberries with olive oil, powdered sugar, and mint leaves. But, I think that it would be an interesting experience! Using olive oil for a massage would sound very lovely though.
I think that it is interesting to have these certain obsessions and to actually let people know about why it is addicting and why it is something that everybody might want to consider in their lives. Ms. Kamali is actually showing her love for olive oil and is presenting them to the customers to enjoy it as well.
Maybe we can all go to her November festivity of olive oils!

Ignacio Mattos is the chef and co-owner of Estela, a restaurant in New York (47 E Houston St. New York, NY 10012). Ignacio Mattos did a short interview of his native country Uruguay of what is special to eat there. I thought this article was interesting because he is giving his perspective of his country’s food. He first takes us to a barbecue (asado) in Uruguay. It’s very traditional and ceremonial because they use the whole animal by grilling everything and even making sausages, blood sausages, and something called “chinchulines” which is the intestines. I think that is amazing because if an animal is sacrificed, then they should use everything! Then he takes us to a restaurant on the beach called Parador La Huella, which serves grilled seafood and meat. A place in the woods, he would take us to a place called Marismo and over there, they serve everything that was cooked in a wood-fired oven. Imagine the taste! All the tables are in the sand, and that just adds to the scenery and the vibe of the restaurant.

The most interesting part of the article was the street food in Uruguay that Ignacio takes us through. For street food there is something called the “chivito” which seems interesting. It’s a steak sandwich! He says that there are many stands that serve chivito, but they go crazy and serve it with many meats and vegetables and all sorts of things to make the sandwich bigger. He says that it is the true taste of the thin sliced meat and the bread that they serve it in, not how much they stuff that sandwich with. The bigger, the worse! I think that is true. A lot of places these days are serving things in big portions and adding a lot of extra ingredients, but it isn’t about how big the plate is, it is about how it’s truly suppose to taste. Sometimes, simplicity can be the best way to serve certain things.