Dear God, I wish I didn’t see this. Can someone please get this woman into rehab? (Or my bikini waxer?)

With airline ticket costs soaring, some people are coming up with more creative ways to travel.

Thank God for United States Postal Workers; delivering our mail…and finding old ladies trapped under cars.

Mini Me isn’t so mini…if you know what I’m sayin’.

Women aren’t the only ones with a biological clock.

Everyone loves bacon!

Retro Sexy: Dita Von Teese does it best

Corey Haim just can’t win.

John McCain hates bloggers. Well, Mr. McCain: we hate you too.

Part of the brilliant thing about music is its ability to transport you anywhere; the past, future, your ex-boyfriend’s bed, graduation, drunken evenings in Cabo… Whatever. Just like scents, when certain songs climb into your ears they take you on a journey.

I’d like to make that journey a little more literal and give you some of my favorite city-specific tunes. Start packing the suitcase, this gypsy’s taking you with her!

1. Is It Safe- Matt Pond PA [let’s go swimming in Philly]

2. Pachuca Sunrise- Minus the Bear

3. This Place is a Prison- The Postal Service [watch water “cascade down Puget Sound”]

4. Lubbock or Leave It- Dixie Chicks [take a trip back to Texas]

5. Lights- Journey [see the lights shine in San Fran]

6. Boston- Augustana

7. 8 Mile- Eminem [takes you to his hometown of Detroit]

8. La Cienega Just Smiled- Ryan Adams [takes you on a drive in Los Angeles] Read More »

Planning a trip this summer? Short on cash? Here’s a quick guide to make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck.

1. Shop Around.
Sometimes the so-called “value” sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz will give you the best price for plane tickets, but often these sites have been paid by airlines and hotels to promote their fares and rooms above all others, even if they aren’t necessarily the best deals.

Instead, use an aggregator like Momondo or Kayak that searches literally hundreds of travel websites in order to find you the best deal. These sites also feature flights from smaller airlines and airlines like Southwest that don’t actively participate in online travel booking sites. Also, aggregators don’t collect a fee like most value travel sites.

2. Going to a big city? Skip the Hotel.
If your vacation plans are to live it up in the lap of luxury at an expensive hotel, then obviously these alternatives are not for you, but if you are looking to have some money left over once you’ve booked your flight and paid for your hotel, you should look into these options. Read More »

- CollegeCandy & TuitionBids.com $500 AMEX Gift Card Giveaway! -

If College Candy was to give you a $500 American Express Gift Card what would you buy?

Your parents might suggest that you put the money towards your education (tuition, books, food) or savings, but this is your money to blow on whatever you want!

You want to go to Paris for a night? Go to Paris! Thinking about getting a lower back tattoo? Go for it!

Below are 9 Things Your Parents Would Get Pissed About If You Spent $500 On. College Candy wants to know what should be #1 on the list. Leave your suggestion in the comment section below. The person that submits the best idea will receive a $500 AMEX gift card courtesy on TuitionBids.com - all submissions must be received by Friday, May 2nd at 12PM. Read More »

I’ve been on the road in Colombia for a month now and, believe me, the thought has crossed my mind to “cheat” a bit and just finish the job in the quickest way possible. I’m getting paid only $25 a day to research and write about hotels, restaurants, and activities for what? Maybe I could just look up something online and write about it instead of actually going there. Who would know the difference?

My days often look something like this: Wake up and write as much as I can from the notes I took the previous day. (Morning is the only time my mind is fresh). Head out around noon and do some research — visit hotels, eat at restaurants, and participate in some activity that I can write about. Come back to my dorm room in the evening and jot down notes from my day. Go to bed.

Rarely do I go out, rarely do I feel like this is an authentic vacation. This is a job, just like my previous job as a high school English teacher. This is my new profession — one that doesn’t even pay for itself right now. I remain hopeful that it will one day.

Travel writing is not a glamorous job, as Thomas Kohnstamm, a Lonely Planet writer, explains in his new book, Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? Kohnstamm goes so far to detail his life as a travel writer that he admits he wasn’t paid enough (tell me about it!) to go to Colombia, so he never went and just wrote the book in California. For another assignment in Brazil, he sold drugs to supplement his income. Read More »

I’ve had my share of eccentric travel companions, but none can top my alcoholic ex-boyfriend. On our trip to Italy, his antics epitomized the disgusting reasons why we are called Ugly Americans. The list below clearly catalogs ten reasons I now choose my travel companions wisely.

Our trip to Italy began as most do: pleasantly, in romantic Rome. We had been dating for nearly a year and, for two months leading up to the trip, he quit drinking and limited his smoking! I was feeling optimistic. We spent the day walking to all the major sites in Rome except for the Sistine Chapel, which we agreed would be a nice culmination of our travels and saved for the end of our trip.

Reason #1: A Peroni in Florence
Walking along the main promenade our first evening in fiery “Firenze,” he was hungry and stopped by a pizza joint, ordering pizza and a Peroni. “I can’t travel in Italy and not drink at least one Peroni,” he insisted. He was hungover the next morning, and we were an hour late to our reserved date at the Uffizi.

Reason #2: A Moretti in Venice
We arrived in the maze that is Venice by train. Claiming he was hot and in need of a refreshment, he ordered a Moretti at a nearby café. Then, upon arriving at our hotel, he continued to drink at the nearby bar while I showered. Four beers later and much to my embarrassment, he jumped off a bridge into the contaminated channel. A passing resident scolded him and a fight nearly ensued. For the remainder of our stay, he was on a quest to find the highest bridge from which to jump. Due to a “mysterious” ear infection, he ultimately decided against it. Read More »

I never studied abroad as an undergrad–the programs my school offered always seemed pointless to me. Instead of sending us to a foreign school to meet new people or learn a new language, my college had set up satellite campuses around the globe. I’d have the same teachers, the same peers, even the same dorm life, just transplanted to a new city. And since I was an English major, that new city had to be London, because that’s where they offered the classes I needed.

I thought it would be fun to have a change of scenery for a semester, but I had heard many a tale of study-abroad-gone-useless: “I never went to class, I just got drunk all the time”. “I only hung out with other Americans”. “We lived with other English speakers, so we never even bothered to work on our French”.

So I decided to skip the whole semester abroad experience and go all out–after graduation, I’d go to grad school in another country.

I applied to a few universities, one in Dublin, Ireland, two in London, and one south of London in the seaside town of Brighton. Because of rolling admissions, I heard back from the three UK schools almost immediately–accepted! Yes! Having never been to England, however, I wondered how I could possibly choose. So…I flew to London. For the weekend. In a jet lag-induced haze, I wandered the city, taking photos, visiting campuses. I took a train to Brighton and tried to imagine myself at school there. I made my choice. I bought a London guidebook.

On graduation day, I got another letter in the mail. It was from Ireland, and informed me that I had been accepted to the school in Dublin. My well-laid plans were suddenly de-railed–the masters program in Dublin was exactly what I wanted, and the school had a bit more prestige. At the advice of friends, professors, parents, strangers, whoever…I changed my mind.

I moved to Ireland in the Fall.

When I arrived at Dublin airport on a sunny day in late September, my entire life packed in two suitcases, it was the first time I had ever set foot in Ireland. I knew no one, and my program wasn’t supposed to begin for another few weeks. I was entirely alone…

[I’ll be chronicling some of the best and worst experiences here, so stay tuned!]

Some of us might still be seeing snow outside our dorm windows, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start getting ready for our spring break getaways. Planning now provides more time to find good deals and makes for less scheduling stress as the departure date draws nearer.

Here are some travel tips to keep in mind:

Students can get cheaper airfare and train tickets than older adults by using travel web sites aimed at youth. StudentUniverse is a fantastic resource that provides young people with heavily discounted plane tickets as long as riders are enrolled at least part time at a college. The European railway, Eurail, also offers student fares. A spring break tour of France and Italy is only $250.

If planning to leave the country for spring break, don’t forget about getting a passport. It takes four to six weeks to process the order, so make sure to plan ahead so you get your passport in time to start getting those fancy stamps. Passports cost $97 unless travelers procrastinate. Expedited orders can jump to nearly double that price.

Then there is always the question of where to stay when we get to the exotic locations. Many of us might pony up for nice, or at least decent, hotels. However, youth hostels can be a very economically friendly and fun option. Read More »