If you’re looking for an excuse to plan your first trip of the year that won’t set you back a ton of money, Norwegian Air has a deal for you.
You’re going to have to move fast because this deal is only available for a few days. The European airline is offering flights to Europe starting at $134 one way.
For example, if you live in Los Angeles, you can fly to Barcelona for $159. New Yorkers can fly to Rome for $134 and those in Chi-Town can head to London for $140.
Other U.S. cities with departing flights under Norwegian’s deal are Austin, Boston, Denver, Miami, San Francisco, and Seattle. European destinations include Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, and Rome.
Dates available for travel are from January 14th through March 31st and from September 1st through October 24th. The offer does not stand for those traveling on weekends or public holidays.
Special codes aren’t needed for the sale fares, the prices will be available upon searching on the site.
The sale is running from now until January 12th at 11:59 p.n. ET.
Before booking, be aware that your ticket will not allow changes, reservation of seats or included meals.
We may have just celebrated the arrival of a new decade, but
for those of us who remember a simpler time of VHS tapes and Game Boys, another
year around the sun can bring back feelings of nostalgia. If it hit you hard
this new year, here are a few hotels that will bring you back to your Kris
Kross jumping, VIBE magazine reading,
Lauryn Hill miseducating good old days.
The Curtis Denver — Denver, Colorado
Nothing says throwback like a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of cold milk. Guests are greeted at The Curtis Denver with this timeless indulgence at check-in, but if that doesn’t take you back to your childhood, then the retro video games and Barbie and Marge Simpson-themed rooms surely will. The hotel’s Five & Dime store brims with treats from the past and each guest floor is designed to reflect a pop theme from TV to music to art or sports and beyond.
Arlo Nomad, near Murray Hill, contains 250 thoughtfully designed rooms combining custom furniture with efficient storage spaces and a range of playful touches. In short, this hotel has bunk beds. Whether you loved them or hated them as a kid, bunk beds are certainly a nostalgic and playful touch that brings back memories of a simpler time.
Photo via arlohotels.com
Hotel Preston — Nashville, Tennessee
Pet fish, lava lamps, and board games for the win. Hotel Preston takes playful accommodations to the next level. The hotel aims to give you an experience that is “delightfully uncommon and filled with warm Southern hospitality.” Enjoy the evening in your suite playing your favorite childhood board games with your personal wet bar always within reach.
The June is “a throwback to the good ol’ days.” Targeting millennial women, this Instagrammers paradise is decorated with pastels, floral wallpaper, and neon signage. The super-hip, 16-room, roadside motel is located in Canada’s wine country and features plenty of wine-inspired amenities to go with your nostalgia.
Perhaps you’re putting international travel on a back burner and concentrating more on exploring what the U.S. has to offer. You’ll be surprised to know how many historical and adventurous getaways our country has waiting to be discovered by more travelers.
Not only is New Orleans a great destination to visit during Mardi Gras, but it has an abundance of festivals, delicious foods, and music to get you on your feet all night long.
This year, the city will be hosting the Women’s Final Four games and the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship — so if you’re a sports fan, New Orleans is the place to be this year.
Foodies should head to Bourbon Street where in addition to great food, there’s plenty of drinks and jazz music.
If you’re into admiring beautiful homes, head to the Garden District where you can also find boutiques and antique shops.
Vail, Colorado
Vail is perfect for family travel because everything can be found in one central location. Vail Village is a great town to visit and has heated cobblestone streets, coffee shops, eateries, and bars.
The largest free transportation system in the country runs frequently here so you can travel from Vail Village to Lionshead Village and anywhere in-between seamlessly.
If you’re into skiing, head to Vail Mountain which is open from November 15, 2019, until April 19, 2020.
Hudson Valley, New York
New Yorkers love getting away from the hustle and craziness of the city to Hudson Valley for fresh air and relaxation. Located less than two hours away from NYC, Hudson Valley is comprised of small towns located east of the Hudson River.
For amazing food, head to Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, where the chef-owners secured a nomination for the Best Chef: Northeast James Beard Awards last year.
Legoland New York Resort will be opening this year for travelers to enjoy 50 rides and the New York City skyline made out of Legos.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a great city to visit if you’re an avid music lover. Visit the Stax Museum which honors artists who created music that current artists are influenced by.
This year, the Hattiloo Theater, known as the only freestanding Black repertory theater in five surrounding states, will open for its 15th season.
Greenville, South Carolina
Although the U.S. has 35 Greenvilles, residents don’t want you to be confused. Greenville, South Carolina’s residents have so much pride and its home to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
It is also home to the only BMW museum in North America and delicious homemade sourdough bread at Topsoil restaurant.
Orlando, Florida
Orlando, the home of Walt Disney World, is amazing to visit no matter what age you are. There will be new attractions debuting in 2020 and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge just opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios last month.
Other than visiting this epic theme park, head to Sixty Vines, a wine bar offering over 60 wines on tap.
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is known as the first ski resort in the U.S. and has been open since 1936. The town is still known for skiing today with the addition of restaurants, hotels, art galleries, and music festivals.
Indiana
Indiana Dunes National Park will be opening this year, making it the newest national park in the U.S. Travelers will be able to discover beaches and the sand dune mountain, Mount Baldy.
If you’re traveling with young ones, check out the Children’s Museum. The Madam Walker Legacy Center is another great museum to visit and honors Madam C.J. Walker, the first female African-American millionaire.
Martha’s Vineyard
Hop on a 30-minute ferry from Cape Cod, Massachusetts and you’ll be transported to the beautiful town of Martha’s Vineyard. A hot spot for celebs like Spike Lee and the Obamas, the town is filled with high-end boutiques, art galleries, and fresh seafood.
Key West, Florida
With a nickname like “America’s Caribbean”, Key West is perfect for a laid back getaway.
Embark on a 90-minute sail to the Great Florida Reef with FuryWatersports where you can snorkel and experience the third-largest coral barrier reef system on the planet.
You can also take a tour of the first legal rum distillery in Key West which is located in a former Coca-Cola bottling plant.
St. Louis, Missouri
Besides Nelly, the most known landmark is the 630-foot arch which can be spotted above the Mississippi River.
Travelers should visit the recently renovated Gateway Arch National Park, which recently went under a $380,000,000 renovation.
For bomb food, try Rooster, whose brunch will satisfy your tastebuds. Clementine’s Creamery has delicious handcrafted ice cream and you can even try some of their spiked flavors.
While here, you can experience 50 waterfalls, lakes, rivers, mountains, six national forests, and active volcanoes. Best of all, the sites are either totally free or inexpensive.
Denver, Colorado
In 2019, there were 32 million visitors to Denver. The city is known for its food truck culture, street art, and live music.
It also is in close proximity to hiking trails and bike paths.
If you’re a beer lover, there are hundreds of breweries and more pop up every day.
Southern Utah
Zion National Park has recently celebrated 100 years of being open and is the gem of Southern Utah. Another great place to visit in this are is Bryce Canyon National Park, the second oldest national park in the state of Utah.
Southern Utah is only a few hours away from Salt Lake City and is close to Las Vegas so you can travel to multiple places while vacationing here.
Lake Tahoe, California
Lake Tahoe was the host of the 1960 Winter Olympics and known for its top of the line ski resorts and relaxed mountain culture.
Lake Tahoe is perfect for those who love nature and also has luxury resorts, casinos, camping, fishing and golfing.
The state of Idaho has everything you can ask for: nature, adventure, and great beer. Located about an hour away from Boise, McCall has about 3,200 residents and is great for biking and zip-lining.
Luckily, McCall isn’t a common area for tourists yet, so you can truly enjoy the authentic essence of this charming city while visiting in 2020.
Philly is a great city for art, fashion, eateries, and history.
Miami, Florida
Miami has been a hot spot for years but this year the Raleigh Gardens will be hosting an art experience by the beach, making it the largest-ever outdoor public show by artists Claude Lalanne and Francois-Xavier Lalanne (Les Lalanne). Admission is free and you’ll see over 40 sculptures and objects by the artistic duo.
Another art space is El Espacio 23 which has thousands of paintings, sculptures, videos and photographs collected by billionaire Jorge Perez on his travels around the world.
The Museum of Grafitti recently opened in the artsy area of Wynwood and it’s the first museum to honor the pioneers of graffiti.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
2020 will be the continuation of the celebration of the 5000th anniversary of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.
El Distrito will be opening this year and will offer a multi-sensory experience. Spoon Food Tours will offer travelers a foodie experience through Old San Juan or around the countryside on a party bus.
There will be festivals and events this year to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing at the Plymouth.
You can tour the Plimoth Plantation and see a replica of the Mayflower, which brought the colonists to the U.S. in 1620.
Today’s Plymouth is filled with boutiques, restaurants, and views of the harbor where pilgrims once lived.
Los Angeles, California
Known for the infamous Hollywood sign is the city of LA.
Don’t sleep on the food scene in LA, 12 restaurants in West Hollywood were given Michelin awards in 2019. It is also home to Gilles @ Montage Beverly Hills, a restaurant opened by the youngest chef to receive a Michelin star.
Looking to catch a show on
your next getaway? Consider supporting these black dance companies that hail
from all corners of the country.
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
Chicago, IL
According to their website, Chicago’s
Deeply Rooted Dance Theateris
rooted in traditions of American and African-American dance, storytelling, and
universal themes that spark a visceral experience and ignite an emotional
response in diverse audiences worldwide.
Upcoming shows take place in Brooklyn, their Chicago theater, and various locations throughout the city.
The mission of Dallas Black
Dance Theatre is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at its
highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational
programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities.
They have numerous performances throughout the year at various theaters across Dallas.
Photo via dbdt.com
PHILADANCO
Philadelphia, PA
The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) is a nonprofit organization that presents the highest quality of professional dance performance and improves the skills of emerging and professional dancers and choreographers in a nurturing environment while increasing the appreciation of dance among its many communities.
You can catch an upcoming performance in Philly, Las Vegas, Albany, and Cleverly, Maryland.
Photo via philadanco.org
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
Denver, CO
According
to their website, Cleo Parker
Robinson Danceleverages the universal language of dance to honor
African American heritage, explore the human condition, and offer a
transformative experience through physical movement.
They will be performing in Savannah and throughout local Denver theaters through the end of the year.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled
performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Now, one of
the most renowned dance companies in the world, Alvin Ailey has gone on to
perform for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71
countries on six continents.
The company will be performing across the globe in London, Netherlands, and Denmark through 2019.
Room service is one of the greatest luxuries of staying at a
hotel. But what if puppies came along with that bottle of wine you ordered? In
celebration of National Dog Day, Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Denveris
offering just that.
Their Puppies
+ Prosecco Package could be one of the greatest amenities ever and is
available when you book a night in one of their luxury suites. Simply let the
front desk staff know which day and time you would like to have puppies brought
to your room for an hour of playtime. You can expect 6 to 10 puppies to arrive
from Lifeline Puppy Rescue, a local no-kill rescue for young puppies throughout
the Rocky Mountain Region. And if you get too attached, you can take one (or
10) home with you since all of the puppies are available for adoption.
“At Hotel Monaco, we are always looking for advanced
elements of comfort and feelings of home for our guests,” said Chris Guse,
general manager of Hotel Monaco Denver to departures.com. “With that
approach, puppies have naturally been incorporated into our evening wine hour
program. The joy this activation has generated for everyone involved made it
apparent we needed to take the concept to another level but in a more intimate
setting.”
Denver is an outdoor city known for its world-class cultural attractions, thriving craft breweries, chef-driven dining, and music scene. If you find yourself in the Mile High City, here is one way you could spend an entire day supporting local black-owned businesses.
Morning
Coffee &
Conversation
Start your day at this neighborhood favorite, Coffee
at the Point in the heart
(Welton Street & 27th Street) of the revitalizing Five Points neighborhood,
a historic area in Denver. Come for the coffee and breakfast sandwiches,
stay for one of their many meetups and events including Writer’s Groups, Book
Clubs, Professionals of Color Networking Events, and Professional Women’s
Networking events.
Head to BFree
Mind Body and Soul Massage Studiofor a therapeutic Massage followed by
a treatment at the Body &
Soul Salon & Day Spa. Body & Soul is a salon and day spa
providing nail, hair, and skin services for men & women near Cherry Creek
in the Denver area. There is nothing better than starting your day with a little
self-care.
Afternoon
Lunch Stop
CoraFaye’s Caféis a quaint family-run parlor dishing up soulful Southern traditions, from frogs’ legs to homemade pie. Stop here for some home-style cooking featuring century-old family recipes and seasonings.
Some History
The Black American West Museum & Cultural Center
(BAWM) was originally founded to tell the story of “Black Cowboys”. The
museum has widened its scope to include the stories of early black settlers who
came west and performed as miners, soldiers, homesteader, ranchers,
blacksmiths, schoolteachers, lawmen and every other profession needed to build
up the West.
Nocturne is a modern jazz and supper
club that celebrates Denver’s rich jazz heritage through the art of
hospitality, and the combination of good food, music, and cocktails. There’s
nothing better than ending the day with great food and live music.
A Denver native is the latest American to die after falling ill while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
The family of Khalid Adkins is working to get his body back to Colorado, the country’s U.S. consulate told 9 News.
Adkins was vacationing with his daughter Mia on the Caribbean Island in what she said was supposed to be a “Father’s Day, father-daughter trip.”
During the trip, Adkins began to complain about a painful bump on his leg before Mia’s flight home. She told the news outlet that her father planned a longer trip than her because she had to return back to work.
Before her flight home, they stopped by their hotel’s medical clinic but decided against treatment unless the pain became worse.
By the time Mia returned home, her father’s condition worsened the following day and he booked an earlier flight home.
Unfortunately, Adkins was forced to disembark the plane after reportedly vomiting in the plane’s lavatory and dripping sweat.
His sister-in-law, Marla Strick, told 9 News that she got a message from Khalid on Facebook that read, “I was on the plane and shivering and I went to the bathroom to throw up and they kicked me off the flight.”
Adkins was transferred to a Santo Domingo hospital where he later died.
The family learned that he was having breathing issues and that his kidneys were failing.
Strick added that even though Adkins had undergone a kidney transplant several years earlier, he was in perfect health when he left Colorado.
Khalid leaves behind his daughter Mia and a son Khalid Jr.
Family members are unsure whether his death is connected to several other deaths of American tourists in the Dominican Republic, or if it’s a coincidence.
Authorities are conducting an autopsy and have launched an investigation to determine the official cause of death. The family said they did not receive any diagnosis, as reported in 9 News.
Questions still remain regarding the safety of the Dominican Republic after the deaths of at least nine other Americans, many who have died after falling ill.
Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García recently stated that the string of deaths of American tourists is not a mysterious wave of fatalities, but rather a medically and statistically normal phenomenon that’s been lumped together by the U.S. media, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Negative images of Black people in the media is what inspired the brand Melanin In America.
From pillows, passport covers, laptop cases, and more, Melanin In America founder Donna Hobley created the brand with the idea of celebrating the beauty of being Black people in America.
During an interview with Travel Noire, Hobley discussed what inspired her brand:
Melanin In America Founder Donna Hobley
Instagram | @melanin.in.america
Travel Noire: Was there a particular incident in media that inspired Melanin In America?
Hobley: When I started the brand in 2017, I just felt there were a lot of killings on the news of black people at the time. There was a lot of processing for me. Just constantly seeing that and not seeing the good and positive representation of Black people. There’s a lot of trauma behind it. So my thought at the time was, I will create something that is positive and more representation so that it’s not just Black people that see, but other people who can see it in a positive light.
Photo courtesy of Melanin In America
TN: Were there any particular individuals that inspired the images of your brand?
Hobley: I went to the University of Colorado. Obviously, I didn’t go to an HBCU or anything like that so the population on campus was mixed. But then we started getting more black people on campus and I started going to more groups where you find more black people and getting in touch with my culture.
I just wanted my brand to celebrate that positivity I saw on campus.
TN: What do you hope people will take away from purchasing Melanin in America?
Hobley: We are a light of positivity. We are an attempt at healing, change, and joy. We tend to see black people in a stereotypical light. I hope this is something that breaks the ice and opens a conversation for people to feel okay to talk about it.
I’ve had a couple of customers who were not black, who felt comfortable to come up to me and engage with me knowing that they have black friends and that they want to support.
This brand is all about making a statement that it’s okay to be black in America.
This is one of Frontier Airlines’ biggest sales of the year. This flash sale allows you to fly domestically for as low as $20.
If you’ve been thinking about a quick getaway or forgot to plan for spring break, then this deal is for you. Offers run until mid-April with the airline’s flash sale.
Here’s a roundup of what you will find.
From Atlanta
Those of you departing Atlanta will find Flights to Orlando and Sarasota for $20. Flights to Miami are running for $34. If you want to get out of the south, a one-way flight to New York is just $64.
Thinking something different? One-way flights to San Juan are $74.
From Charlotte
Flights to Tampa are $20, Orlando is $25, and Trenton is $34. Heading west? Flights to Denver are $64.
Jacksonville, Florida is the cheapest option with flights priced at $25. Palm Springs is on sale for $34, and if you have more to splurge, flights to Denver are $54.
From Denver
Denver is Frontier Airlines’ hub so it should come as no surprise that there are more options for travelers. Flights to Omaha and St. Louis are just $20.
One of the best deals Frontier is offering is from Las Vegas, where those of you departing from the popular city can head to San Francisco for just $20!
You have until March 20 to book a flight under this flash sale and your dates must be at least seven days before your departure date, according to the website.
In 2012, Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to allow adults over the age of 21 to use and grow small amounts of marijuana at home for both medical and recreational purposes.
Since the historic legislation, the cannabis industry is well on its way to becoming a $57 billion industry by 2027. There are a few black entrepreneurs in Denver working to create space for those that have disproportionately been arrested and jailed for using cannabis while their white counterparts smoke without incident.
With the rise of the business of marijuana, people of color are finding themselves shut out of the legal cannabis market, but there are two black businesses in the state that you should support the next time you make a pit stop in Denver.
Located in Denver’s hip LoHi neighborhood, Simply Pure was the first black-owned and operated dispensary in the Denver area. Wanda James and her husband Scott Durrah became the first black business owners to own a dispensary, a cultivation facility, and an edible company in America. As if you needed another reason to stop by, we heard they have a pre-roll happy hour.
In 2014, Al Harrington and Dan Pettigrew opened Viola Extracts in a 12,000-square-foot building in northeast Denver. Dan Pettigrew and his team grow their cannabis with the help of four extraction machines and ten ovens. Today, Viola Extracts is a nationwide leader offering vapes and extracts along with traditional cannabis products in the medicinal and recreational industry.
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