Archive for October, 2010
Learn To Bargain With Airport Parking Fees
You will find two types of people in this world: The first type drives up to airport in style turn up before the ticket machine and cough up the parking price at a turnup rate. There is another group of people who bothers to do their home work and pre book airport parking and this is this latter group of people that gain monetarily. How? Simply because the turnup parking fees are almost 30 higher than the pre booking fees in almost all leading airports in the world.
So pre booking of airport gives you a definite financial edge over the others and help you to save on your total travel expenses. But you can reduce your expenses in the area of parking even more and that is by learning the tricks how to bargain effectively to grab the best deal. Here are some of the bargaining secrets that will help you to seal the best deal in airport parking at any corner of the world.
Why not take the help of web? You have already made good researches on the internet to find out discount hotels cheap flights budget car rentals and what not! Then apply your searching skill to find out the best airport parking rate too. There are a number of websites that will pop up before your eyes to flood you with the price charts and online comparison tools. So shop around to find out the best possible quote.
If you want to get better result from the researches you can take help of the aggregator a web company that will save your efforts on making researches on the airport parking rates. They will give you result on the basis of their price comparison of different car parks but without any bias towards a particular car park.
But taking aggregator’s help has one limitation and that relates to the fact that aggregators will not provide you the rates of all the car park companies operating in a particular airport. They will offer you the rates of those companies which they have agreement with.
To overcome this limitation stage a simultaneous search on the internet to compare the quotes of multiple companies at a time. You can also approach the parking companies in an airport directly; most of them have their own websites and will offer you a competitive rate for pre booking.
However the best part of the bargaining is to get what you pay for plus seizing extra something that you do not pay for. This happens when you bargain for the space in VIP lounge. Just think of the luxury of relaxing in the VIP lounge in the middle of waiting for the connecting flight! So try to grab such extras as VIP lounge pass a service of a chauffer or facility of parking under cover and so on. Believe me; in most of the airports a pre booking rate along with these extra will cost lot less than the fees at a turn up rate.
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La Casa De Los Sabores Cooking School In Oaxaca Mexico
If visitors to Oaxacan cooking school La Casa de los Sabores came away with nothing more than great recipes and a gastronomic meal rich in unique herb and spiceaccented flavor combinations that are the hallmark of Oaxacan cuisine they would leave fully satisfied. But a visit with owner and chef extraordinaire Pilar Cabrera also inspires and sates travelers with a sensual daylong immersion into sights sounds smells and yes tastes and timetested recipes of southern Mexico.
As always a recent culinary odyssey with Pili as she is known began at La Casa de los Sabores first thing in the morning at 9:30 a.m. Over the next few hours she introduced me and the others in the class to the wisdom and experience of her great matriarchal culinary tradition. Pili learned the basics and the subtleties including the mysteries of the famed seven moles from her grandmother who learned from her grandmother before her. She is a Oaxacaborn master of southern Mexico cookery as well as international epicurean trends capable of sharing the secrets of preparing the most multifarious meal with novice and expert alike in English and in Spanish.
Our day began with Pili’s informal talk about the menu and the foods she was going to introduce us to in one of Oaxacas colorful markets. The extra attention to the key ingredients of Oaxacan cuisine kept us spellbound. What we will achieve today with the chilis” she told us “is hot and tropical with the Chile de agua you will see we use it not only for flavor but color as well and I will teach you how we keep this beautiful brilliant green.
Once prepared with this knowledge we all embarked on a shopping trip to the wellknown marketplace Mercado de La Merced armed with multihued bolsas market bags to carry the compras purchases. Pili had readied a partial shopping list but she advised us she always adds “surprises” such as fresh foodstuffs which peasant women from the mountains sometimes bring down.
When you have a chance to find something real special or unusual you buy and incorporate into the comida” she explained. “Today for instance we look for mushrooms because they grow so beautifully in the rainy season. Also we will see what kind of fresh fruit we can use for the dessert.
Her insights into the unique stores and small factories enriched the short walk to the market. A rich bouquet drew us into a mill that was making chocolate from scratch. As Pilar told us about the ingredients cacao cinnamon almonds and sugar the owner welcomed us with do you want to taste?
The lesson began in earnest when Pilar began methodically searching through the indoor and outdoor portions of the marketplace and exchanging pesos for its plethora of fresh produce.
Look at that lady sitting there what she has in those bowls” she said. “She just brought those raspberries and blackberries from the Sierra Juarez. We can use them for the dessert. Notice how fresh and beautiful. The mushrooms beside them see the size how big and the bright orange color this is the time of year but not for our recipe today Over here we dont buy the big green tomatillos. I prefer the little ones grown locally because they are not acidy like the others and they have much more flavor perfect for the salsa we are preparing today.
She encouraged us to smell the herbs as she explained their use in particular Oaxacan dishes. Today we use this hierba santa for the mole she said as she was examining samples of the fragrant leaf until she’d found the best and freshest for storage in one of our bolsas. But we also use it to wrap fish and make tamales.
Lynet who had been in Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan coast for six months expressed the wish of many as she lamented I wish Id been in this class at the beginning of our trip.
Our enthusiasm and our appetites grew once we returned to Doa Pilis wellequipped spacious kitchen. Its wide counters food preparation island and eightburner gas stove opening onto the lush courtyard dining area made this cocina into an ideal classroom.
While we were reviewing printed recipe sheets for the dishes we were about to prepare she displayed our purchases in baskets filled with the components of each recipe to help us learn why we bought what. Then we spent the next two hours preparing a sumptuous fourcourse meal.
Mary her souschef did preparatory work such as halving limes slicing chilies and preparing chicken stock and poultry for the mole freeing Pili to teach us the rituals and secrets of Oaxacan culinary seduction. Sparks from Pilars hearth of experience ignited even the most learned in the class as she pointed touched and passed around each item we purchased telling us how it would be incorporated into the meal.
Once the actual cooking began she put her bilingualism to good use giving instructions and asking questions in one language then repeating it in the other as required by some of her visitors. Necesito otro ayudante para quesillo I need another helper for the cheese. Pilar might as well be a Maestra de Espaol a Spanish teacher to boot.
Everyone learned each task and participated in the preparation of virtually all menu items. And as the group peeled diced and sautd Pili’s gems of information flowed on.
We learned much more than how to achieve flavor. Pilar taught us techniques on how to attain desired tones and textures: A lot of people ask me about cleaning mushrooms she said at one point demonstrating the correct technique. Now watch to see how we clean and seed this kind of chili she pointed out while preparing chile guajillo for the mole. Once we start cooking these chile de agua we need to remember to always check them and turn them constantly.
Look for the hot part of the comal now this is when you know when to turn it over she said while demonstrating the art and science of making tortillas.
Every once in a while a new recipe rolled off the tip of her tongue as we worked other dishes we could prepare with this particular mole; different fillings for the quesadillas such as potato chorizo or huitlacoche the exotic corn mold … the texture we would want for the corn masa if we were making tamales rather than tortillas.
Soon aprons removed we were ready to feast. But first now before we sit down remember in the market I told you there were two types of gusano worm? Here they are so who wants to try?” she asked. Now know about mezcal. Taste this one Alvin brought and tell us how it seems to you. Heres another kind. What do you think is different about this one?
We sat down at a table exquisitely set with local handmade linens dishes and stemware. Bottles of Mexican and Chilean red wine were already breathing. The fine music of Oaxacan songstress Lila Downs serenaded us in the background.
Pilar reminded us that her grandmother and other relatives usually prepare their comidas with meat and all vegetables mixed together in the mole a plate of rice on the side and a bowl of broth. But our meal like all the recipes she prepares with visitors at La Casa de los Sabores would be her modern take on all the elements and flavor combinations of the best that contemporary Oaxacan cookery has to offer.
It was a celebration of every ingredient. We began with wild mushroom onion tomato chili and cheese stuffing in the quesadillas de championes mushroom quesadillas complemented perfectly by smoky salsa verde asada green sauce from the grill served in its molcajete. Then it was time to calm our palates with bright yellow crema de flor de calabaza cream of squash blossom soup garnished with a drizzle of real cream toasted calabaza seeds and indeed fresh squash blossoms. The main course or plato fuerte was mole amarillo tender slices of chicken breast atop a sea of aromatic deep saffroncolored mole accompanied by a medley of crunchyfresh steamed vegetables. To conclude arroz con leche rice pudding speared with a length of wild vanilla bean and crowned with berries that had been picked only the day before.
I left convinced that the grandest chefs at the most trendy Manhattan beaneries would be hardpressed to compete with this petite Oaxaquea’s ability to marry the regions complex cooking with postmodern attention to color texture and flare. For Pilar Cabrera it comes naturally. For the rest of us it comes with a visit to her home.
La Casa de los Sabores Cooking School is located at Libres 205 in downtown Oaxaca. Maximum class size is 8 with private lessons available upon request. You can register for Pilars classes by calling 9515165704 or emailing her at: bbsaboresprodigy.net.mx
About the writer: Alvin Starkman received his Masters in Social Anthropology in 1978. After teaching for a few years he attended Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto thereafter embarking upon a career as a litigator until 2004. Alvin now resides in Oaxaca where he writes leads small group tours to the villages markets ruins and other sites is a consultant to film production companies and operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed Breakfast. http://www.oaxacadream.com .
Knowing The Malaga Airport Spain
The Malaga Airport knows how to process large numbers of visitors and rightfully so. Most of the people who are arriving in Spain to visit the Costal del Sol region use the Malaga Airport.
Malaga Airport Tips
Since this airport is used to a large amount of traffic they also know that travelers need a number of services and they strive to offer them. Once you get into one of the airport terminals look for an information desk. They will be able to give you a rundown of all the services that are available.
While there are two terminals at the airport terminal two is the most commonly used one. Since this is likely the terminal you will be using for your flight home make sure to give yourself plenty of extra time before your scheduled flight to check in clear the security checkpoint area and make it to your departure gate.
Malaga Airport is a popular airport for flights from all over the world so if you are looking at flying into this airport chances are you can find a pretty good deal on airfare. Over 120 airports offer service to Malaga Airport.
Transportation to Your Destination
After you have landed and gathered your luggage it’s time to get out of the airport and on to your travel destination. There are a number of options to consider for your ground transportation.
First you may want to hire a car. This will let you have a vehicle of your own for your stay so you can come and go as you please. There are a number of car hire companies located at the airport itself. Or you can choose one in your destination town. They will pick you up at the airport and take you to your car then return you to the airport when it is time to go home. This is a very popular method of ground transportation so you will want to book a car far in advance to make sure you can get the size vehicle you prefer.
If you don’t need to travel too far once you reach your destination you may want to consider a taxi as you transport. How much you will pay for the ride will depend on whether your final destination is a town nearby or if it’s quite a trek to get there.
A rail option is also available from the airport. There is a train that takes riders from the airport to the city on 30minute intervals all day long.
Bus transportation options are threefold. First the Malaga Airport bus which is a public bus that will stop at a number of locations along the way. Next is the public minibus. This is best for larger groups of travelers. It will stop at a series of 10 destinations along the Costa del Sol and you will pay by the distance it is to your destination. If you are in a smaller traveling party there is also a shuttle coach that travels to the coastal resorts in the Malaga area. If you want to use the shuttle bus you need to book your seats in advance.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;”Tina Halford” is a Senior Writer Journalist working with TripMama.com a fare compare website.
Tina writes articles with special focus on the Travel Industry besides sharing tips and nuggets on booking cheap flights hotels and travel packages.