By now you know, dear cheapos, a “Friday flip-through” wouldn’t be the same without a reference to an animal. Last week we reminded you about the frog festival in Louisiana, today we celebrate cats (no, not the musical).

Feline friend- 

Our friends over at Trippist, when not telling stories about Amsterdam’s public transportation or spending the summer in Rotterdam, are practicing their best Dr. Dolittle. Apparently, there’s a neighborhood cat one Trippist writer sees often. A photo on their site today, titled “furry friend”, made us smile. We have our own office cat (Oliver aka Prince Olaf: Scroll down to the bottom of ‘about us’), so we’re big feline fans.

Celtic care- 

The May 2008 issue of “International Travel News” (ITN) is chock full of some juicy travel tips. Among them, one writer’s take on how renting an apartment in Paris can save you lots of euros—and a fabulous list of interesting accommodations worldwide. In London, The Celtic Hotel is the latest property from the family that brought us the St. Margaret’s. One of ITN’s correspondents stayed there for a week last December and loved the location (in Russell Square), the great rates (£40 for a single), and the friendly service. 

City-score! 

This week was a slow week for snail mail in the EuroCheapo headquarters (ValPak anyone?), but then our copy of “CityScoops” arrived. We’ve never been able to figure out how often the little magazine, with interesting takes on New York City living, is published. We just know we’re fans.

This month’s issue includes a story on doggy dating (there we go again with the animal references!) in NYC, all the subway stations where you can see pop art murals and fine art paintings. And, finally, two personal favorites—a how-to guide for doing Broadway on a budget followed by a story on snagging cheapo spa treatments. The best part? A quick web search for “CityScoops” put us on their homepage, where we learned you can download the entire May ‘08 issue. City-score encore!

One last (dog-related) thing-

Finally, and we promise this will be our last reference to pets, there’s still time to enter our photo caption contest. We’ll announce the winner on Monday. 

Have a fabulous weekend, cheapos!

Six recent stories that made us smile and chased away the rain:

1) 5 ways to get even cheaper in Europe

Christopher Cook, of noambit.com, posts this week in Vagabondish about “5 simple ways to beat your travel budget.” His tips are solid and speak to every Cheapo in Europe. In short: Eat cheaply, walk, be flexible with dates, consider more budget-friendly destinations, and think twice before paying for a museum. Nice tips, Chris!

2) 33-cent beers in Vietnam

We don’t normally cover destinations outside of Europe, but we’re following former EuroCheapo staffer TJ DiChristopher as he showcases his skills in Saigon, his new hometown. Today, TJ shares five ways he’s keeping it cheap in Saigon, from budget beer to iced green tea and pirated movies.

3) Italian tourists in Venice

Venice is really crowded right now. According to About.com’s James Martin who was in the canaled city last Saturday, Venice’s narrow streets are packed to overflowing. But with whom? Italians, who were celebrating the May Day weekend (a national holiday). Martin heard mostly the native language being spoken, and hardly any English. Just watch which boat you get on, James!

4) Hungry pigeons in St. Mark’s Square?

Speaking of Venice, Elisabetta Povoledo reported yesterday in the International Herald Tribune that the city has outlawed pigeon feeding in St. Mark’s Square. It turns out that the practice has been banned in the rest of the city for the past 11 years (who knew?), but had been allowed in St. Mark’s because of its iconic, photogenic role in the city’s history (and tourism trade). The result: Protesting birdseed sellers and a switch to feeding the birds potato chips. (We’ve heard that the switch hasn’t Ruffled any feathers…)

5) Daria Werbovy!

Thanks to Holly for correctly identifying the model in the new H&M ad across the street from our office. We couldn’t identify her when she was just a forehead… and, it now turns out, for good reason! Nice job, Holly. We’re sending out your copy today of the Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget.

6) American destinations from Smithsonian

Again, we don’t typically cover non-European locales, but we are loving this month’s (May 2008) issue of Smithsonian Magazine. The mag’s theme is “Destination America”. To croak—er name—a few stories: short takes on The Frog Festival in Rayne, Louisiana, the Chicago blues fest, and a fabulous feature on Acadia Country.  

Have a great weekend, Cheapos.

Some items of note that flashed across our screen this week…

Cheap eats in Roma

It turns out we’re not the only ones blogging this week about cheap eats in Rome (read our post). Budget Travel’s blog is talking up cheap lunches in the Eternal City. Erica Firpo writes from Rome that we should say “Basta! to pasta” and reach for something a little less filling for lunch. She recommends picking up some triangular tramezzino. We’ll take two.

From Stansted for £4? 

Checking in with “Less Than a Shoestring,” poetloverrebelspy has landed in London and is full of Cheapo-advice. First off, book that coach trip from Stansted into the city early, and use either easyBus or Terravision. On easyBus it’s possible to snag a seat (booked in advance) for as low as £4.25 each way!

Furthermore, we’re reminded that the Tate Modern and Tate Britain are not only free, but they offer free guided tours. Join in!

Dinner in London for £5 

Meanwhile, Olivia from “High Culture on a Low Budget” is thinking London budgets, too. In this week’s installment of “Ask a Local“, she asks Mike from London where he would find dinner for £5 and £10. (Hint: The Best Turkish Kebab or an Amy Winehouse haunt.) Nice job with this series, Olivia!

Athens in 36 hours 

Sunday preview: The New York Times takes us along for “36 hours in Athens.” We’re impressed by how much Joanna Kakissis can fit into a day and a half, including museum hopping, brunch taking, ruin walking, sunset strolling, restaurant sampling, bar hopping… But we have some better ideas for affordable hotels in Athens.

And, regarding our “Name that celebrity” quiz on Wednesday: We still can’t figure out who she is. Stay tuned for the answer and our winner.

Happy Friday, Cheapos! Should we all just head to Athens for the weekend?

 
Sebastien Tellier is representing France in Eurovision this year.

It’s sunny again today! Here are some of the things we’ve taken a shine to this week:

On Wednesday, Amsterdam became the World Book Capital for one whole year! Thanks to Trippist for reading up on this, and getting us excited about the city-wide book fair scheduled for May 18th!

Meanwhile in Paris, Heather Stimmler-Hall recounts in her “Secrets of Paris” blog her tale of wine dating on the 56th floor of the Tour Montparnasse. What is “wine dating,” you ask? It involves tasting three types of wine, mingling with available Frenchmen, cold cuts, and a towering view. Sign us up.

And then there’s the flight news! Less Than a Shoestring got us all knotted up about UK and Irish airports charging surprise, unavoidable airport taxes. And from a vending machine, no less!

Meanwhile, BudgetTravel alerts us to Cheapo-friendly fares in May from NYC to Rome, Naples, and other Italian cities on Eurofly. Fares are from $499 and don’t include $75 in taxes.

And finally, thanks to Alex of Spendthrift Shoestring for swinging by the office to play us some official entries in the Eurovision 2008 contest. We’re especially excited about Sebastien Tellier (pictured above on a boat), Jelena Tomašević, and, of course, No Angels.

What a way to kick off the weekend!

What are the Cheapos reading over lunch today? Here’s a quick Tuesday flip-through:

Flight Reading

When we can’t hop on a plane and jet to Europe, we tend to pick up a good read to quell the urge. So, we were happy to be reminded by The Intelligent Traveler that “The Best American Travel Writing”, 2007 edition, which hit bookstores last fall, is chock full of essays that will take you there.

Travel Gal Pals

We’re excited for the launch of Budget Travel’s new magazine, Girlfriend Getaways. The first issue is out on newsstands now and includes a cheeky article by Ann Hood about how she and a few friends went searching for George Clooney while visiting Italy’s Lake District. We tried to find George too, while at ITB Berlin. But, only got as far as this wax figurine.

Budapest Bets 

Last week, Daily Candy emailed us about Budapest. Not only did they dish up ideas for where to get drinks, soak up the entertainment factor, and eat our hearts out, but they also recommend a few spas. Who wants to play chess in a sauna? We do!

Local Listings

We’re loving Olivia Giovetti’s (aka “High Culture on a Low Budget“) feature “Ask a Local.” This week, she asked Mike from Munich about his cheapest thrills and where he gets his doner kebab. We’ll definitely be following this series!