You crave it when you wake up in the morning, throughout the day and before you fall asleep at night. The more you do it, the more you want it, and theres no such thing as too much. Its travel. We here at Independent Traveler have heard some crazy stories of travel addiction from friends and relatives, and of course weve got a few of our own. But now its your turn.

Do you spend so much time at the airport that you know the TSA officers by name? Do you have more bottles of free hotel shampoo than you do pairs of underwear? If so, we want you to finish this sentence: You know youre addicted to travel when ____.

Leave your submission in the comments below. Well gather your ideas, take the best of the best and craziest of the craziest, and compile them into a list that will have you seeking the nearest 12-step program. And, as an incentive, everyone who provides a submission will be entered to win a set of two shoe bags, perfect for keeping those nasty hiking boots or running shoes away from the rest of your wardrobe while traveling. Well choose a winner at random on Friday, January 13. (Be sure to include a valid e-mail address so we can contact you in case you win.)

Here’s the deal about autumn in New York: visitors love it there. On the flip side, many locals locals seize on the season as the perfect time to get out of town. Either way, these two fare sales have you covered.

Continental Airlines’ Be a Part of It sale serves up substantial savings on roundtrip passage. Taxes and fees are not included. Here are some sample fares to New York/Newark and return:

• Los Angeles flights to New York/Newark are $338.
• New Orleans flights to New York/Newark are $258.
• Orange County, Calif. fli

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Cold weather haters abandon the UK for sunnier climes.

As the weather in the UK begins to get gradually colder, more and more Brits are buying travel insurance and heading abroad to catch some winter sun and top up their ever fading tans.According to car hire specialist eRentals.co.uk , the drop in temperatures in the UK has led to an increase in the number of rentals it has seen in its sunnier destinations.The company says that places such as the Canary Islands, Florida and the south of Spain have seen rises in visitors chasing the late December sun.ERentals.co,uk has reported a 20 per cent increase this month in the number of British holidaymakers heading abroad and renting its vehicles.Briony Fairbairn of eRentals.co.uk says: “Since the temperature dropped in the UK theres been a jump in the number of travellers coming to us for winter sun destinations. Read full post…

Martin Luther King Jr. Day A federal holiday since 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year is on January 16th. Throughout the U.S., there will be parades, marches or tributes to celebrate the life and accomplishments of the honored Civil Rights activist.

The calendar of events list below is compiled by AAA travel editors. Search for additional event listings at AAA.com/travel.

ALABAMA
Jan. 16 BIRMINGHAM Martin Luther King, Jr. HolidayThe museum offers free admission and events throughout the day.Location: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Read full post…

One of the great advantages of having local friends in Barcelona who are “foodies” is we get to eat fabulous food  at great prices and learn more about the food and culture of Spain and Catalan cuisine. They speak both Spanish and Catalan which helps immensely in Barcelona. These snails are called “Cargols a la llauna” and taste quite different than the escargot that one eats in France and they are served in a very different way as well. Mozart ate her first snails as escargot in a fancy restaurant in France when she was 5 and we began our world travel, so gobbling these up with her Spanish best friend came naturally to her.

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