Keep in mind that the health advisory issued by the US State Department on March 31 still stands. It instructs US citizens to avoid all international travel due to COVID-19 while the CDC lectures “travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19.”

As Coronavirus cases in the United States passed the five million mark, more and more people sought the need to get out of the house at the worse times—protests, going back to bars and parties, and family vacations. The majority of U.S. citizens are opting to stay local, choosing to stay off airplanes and opting for shorter road trips instead of international air travel and for good reason. Absent from the European Union’s list of 15 countries whose tourists are allowed to visit is the United States.

Once one of the world’s most formidable travel credentials, the power of a USA passport has withered in the haze of the coronavirus, with borders looked down tighter than that vaults that contain all of the conspiracy theories of what is the real deal with COVID-19. With almost 200,000 deaths credited to the virus, most countries now view the United States and their tourism dollars with apprehension, proving that it doesn’t matter how much they want American greenbacks when US travelers could be carrying the deadly virus with them no matter how asymptomatic they appear.

Now with constraints easing up for some destinations, Americans are still on the restricted list for approximately 200 countries, but the Big 12 that left their doors open offer simple entries [think a temp check before and after boarding and a COVID-19 test before getting your passport stamped] into foreign land. It’s worth pointing out that anyone that boards an international flight should check with the airline and the US Embassy prior to finalizing travel plans, and oh, pack a couple of comfortable, full cover masks.

So without further ado, here are the nations where US passport holders can visit without quarantining for days or weeks and jump right into living it up in a new land.

Albania

Albania

Perhaps the most underrated Mediterranean destination in the entire world is Albania, which sits just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, The former communist country recommenced international commercial in June. Known for its scruffy mountains, glistening beaches, and fortress towns, Albania was closed to foreigners for much of the 20th century. The first set of inquisitive travelers found a land where ageless codes of conduct still held influence and where the wind shrilled through the exhausted remnants of half-forgotten ancient Roman and Greek sites. A quarter century later after throwing off the constrains of communism, Albania’s gorgeous mountain are the perfect backdrop that rivals any other Mediterranean country.

Antiqua & Barbuda

Antigua & Barbuda

Their tourism site screams, “Escape 2020 and visit Antigua and Barbuda, where we’ve got the sun, the sea and plenty of much needed space.”

Antigua’s ribbed coasts embrace dozens of picture-perfect coves splashed by mesmerizing powder-blue water, while the secluded bays provided sanctuary for everyone from pirates and yachters. If you can pull away from that plush beach towel, you’ll unearth divergent English overtones to this island including the humming capital of St John’s, in the splendid English Harbor, and in the bygone forts that pay homage to its colonial past. At the same time, you will discover that Antigua classic Caribbean, full of story-inspiring villages with a liquor-infused smoothness that make the wide-smiled locals even that much more appealing.

The flamingos of Aruba

Aruba

U.S. citizens who want to escape our bitter winters have catapulted Aruba into the most visited island in the Southern Caribbean. The inducements are apparent: abundant all-inclusive resorts, miles and miles of famous white-sand beaches, and the delightfully condensed capital of Oranjestad. Now it’s welcoming Americans who want to escape the coronavirus lockdowns. Here is all about fun in the sun.

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

With magnificent mountain panoramas, desert backwoods, redolent colonial construction and beaches everywhere, The Dominican Republic is one of the most geographically diverse countries in the Caribbean. The coastline defines the DR and doubles down on its diversity with palm-lined white-sand beaches in some spots and rocky cliffs in others. You also get your fair share of dunes landscaped by the winds and placid mangrove bayous. With plenty of resorts that can deliver your every vacation need, the aquamarine waters showcase the temperature seas where migrating humpback whales play where pirates once ruled. Add unbeatable scuba diving and water sports and you have a grand vacation awaiting you.

Kosovo

Kosovo

Europe’s newest country, Kosovo is an enthralling destination at the heart of the Balkans. The country happily gives visitors implausible hospitality, delightful mountain towns, grand hiking expeditions, and Serbian monasteries awash in medieval art…and that’s only the beginning.

When Kosovo professed its independence from Serbia in 2008 only half of the world’s countries diplomatically accepted it with nearly 100 unaccepting. The past tragedies are hard to miss with their roads peppered with memorials to those killed in the 1990s and NATO forces present to guard the monasteries. For the naysayers who have never set foot in Kosovo will tell you otherwise, it’s entirely safe to travel here. Because of this reputation, Kosovo sits as one of the final off-the-beaten-path destinations in all of Europe.

The Maldives

The Maldives

Maldives has perhaps the finest beaches in the world. With an immaculate beach on nearly every one of the nation’s 1200 islands, you might be inclined to be bored with such perfection. To a person, most agree that you won’t find whiter-than-white powder sand and incandescent aqua-blue water like this anyplace else on earth. This truth alone easily produces one million plus visitors annually to this petite, secluded and otherwise little-known Indian Ocean utopia. Unparalleled luxury coupled with a remarkable underwater world makes the Maldives an understandable selection for a genuine vacation of a lifetime.

Chitzen Itza in Mexico

Mexico

Mexico’s pre-Hispanic peoples erected some of the world’s boundless archaeological shrines, including Teotihuacán’s soaring pyramids and the superb Maya temples of Palenque. The Spanish colonial era left stunning towns full of tree-shaded arcades and opulently-chiseled stone churches and homes, while the modern Mexico has seen a swell of abundant art from the likes of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. World-class museums and galleries detail the country’s intriguing history and its endless creative vitality. Popular culture is just as vibrant, from the visionary fusion cuisine and street art of Mexico City to the breathtaking handicrafts of the indigenous populace.

Serbia

Serbia

A landlocked country in the center of the Balkans, Serbia is pleasantly off the tourist track and offers a little something for everyone. The art nouveau town of Subotica revels in its Austro-Hungarian heritage; the unconventional Niš reverberates to the clip-clop of Roma horse carts, and minaret-dotted Novi Pazar prods the most blessed of Serbian Orthodox monasteries. Time-honored wine regions and thermal spas clasped in rolling hills date back to Roman times. On the slopes of Zlatibor, Kopaonik, and Stara Planina, ageless customs coexist with après-ski bling, while the scenic Tara and Đerdap National Parks overflow with the prospects of rafting, hiking, biking, and kayaking.

Tunisia

Tunisia

Although its place on the map is a slender wedge of North Africa’s massive horizontal expanse, Tunisia has plenty of history and varied environmental beauty that would envy many a larger nation. With a temperate, sand-fringed Mediterranean coast, fragranced with sea breezes and jasmine, Tunisia is an elite land for a forthright sun, sea, and sand experiences. Outside the beaches is an electrifying, unappreciated destination where divergent cultures and implausible extravagances of landscape—the Sahara and forested coastlines—can be explored in just a few days.

The Blue Mosque in Turkey

Turkey

Located in the Mediterranean and connecting Asia and Europe continents that are separated by famous Bosphorus, Turkey is a unique destination that welcomed last year about 40 million tourists. The country that has always been a hub for cultural interaction and home to varying climates inspires the visitors today with its history, nature and gastronomy that reflect the diversity of civilizations for centuries. Located at the crossroads of cultures, Turkey has a distinctive understanding of art and fashion, which is the synthesis of tradition and modernity.

The post Itching to Travel? There’s 10 Countries That Still Want U.S. Travelers appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Okay, so where am I?

Up until 2007—when they joined the European Union—Bulgaria has never really been on its own. Twenty seven hundred years ago, the Thracians ruled, who were then followed by the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turks and then, finally, the Communists. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, it took quite a while for Bulgaria to get rolling. Now the country has emerged and casting its own shadows. Where the old Lenin monument stood, a statue of Sofia’s Patron Saint now casts its own shadow of protection. Under her gaze, the dark princess is said to embody the city’s East-meets-West, old-meets-new allure of reimagined Eastern Europe.

After Bulgaria gained its independence in the late 19th century, Sofia was chosen as the country’s new capital. It’s now been capital for 140 years sitting the heart of the Balkan Peninsula.

The city’s appearance today has been widely shaped by the twists and political turbulence of the 20th century. Bulgaria was a parliamentary monarchy prior to World War II. Its architecture was influenced by the examples of German, Austrian, and French. The second half of the 20th century saw Bulgaria firmly entrenched behind the Iron Curtain, dependent on the USSR’s influence and aid. It was in that time that Bulgaria’s architecture and urban planning was re-conceptualized to fit the structure of the communist ideals. Once the Soviet blockade was released in 1989, the country started its transition into democracy and is now a member of NATO and the European Union.

There’s a Bulgarian expression: B мЂтнА вода леcho ca лoви. Which means, “It is good fishing in troubled waters.” Or to the layman, by taking advantage of chaotic conditions one can easily serve one’s own purposes. In short, this think and survivalist mentality united to construct the unique blend of culture and style that personifies the nation today.

Sofia’s Patron Saint overlooks the capital.

Lots of Third Reich and World War II memorabilia at the flea markets.

There’s a huge farmer’s market underneath these ruins.

The National Theatre

Communism sculpture has been replaced with ones of love and hope.

A photographer’s delight.

Momento Park

Fresh fruits at the farmer’s market.

Communism buildings and lifestyles still permeate.

Buy a train ticket can be challenging.

Inside the gypsy ghetto on the outskirts of Sofia.

Abandoned market en route to Plovdiv.

The snow closer to the Balkan Mountains can be formidable.

Welcome to the Bulgarian Communist Party Headquarters in Buzludzha, located in the Central Balkan Mountains: Elevation, 5,000 feet. I visited here twice on the same trip: before and after the snowfall. You get two dynamically different views of this amazing journal of Communist Grandeur. Construction began in 1974 and was opened in 1981. It was built by the Bulgarian communist regime commemorating the secretly organized movement by Dimitar Blagoev in 1891 that led to formation of Social Democratic Party, the precursor to the Bulgarian Communist Party.

This building is an example of Brutalist architecture. Raw concrete and massive, fortress like structures were popular with Communist governments and institutions. it was not considered a style but an expression of “moral seriousness.” “Let generation after generation of socialist and communist Bulgaria come here, to bow down before the feats and the deeds of those who came before; those who lived on this land and gave everything they had to their nation. Let them feel that spirit that ennobles us and as we empathize with the ideas and dreams of our forefathers, so let us experience that same excitement today! Glory to Blagoev and his followers; those first disciples of Bulgarian socialism, who sowed the immortal seeds of today’s Bulgarian Communist Party in the public soul!” -Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov, at the opening ceremony of the monument.
The collapse of the Soviet Union caused Buzludzha’s closure in 1989.

The post The 43 Postcards Project: Bulgaria appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Okay, so where am I?

It was time to go north of the border to help out with some family things, but also to continue to doing research and interviews for my Kontinental Hockey League book. This time my travels took me once again to Montreal, Canada.

Maybe you don’t know Montreal. Maybe you think it’s that crazy city in that crazy provence that wanted to cede from Canada. Maybe you don’t care at all. I do, because Montreal is the Mecca of all hockey. The home of the greatest concentration of championships in the National Hockey League. Anywhere there’s hockey finds me an invites me metaphorically to explore the city and take in a game. But there’s more to Montreal than just hockey.

Montreal is a city with considerable French colonial history dating back to the 16th century. It began as a missionary settlement but soon became a fur-trading center. The city’s St. Lawrence River location proved to be a major advantage in its development as a manufacturing, financial, and transportation center. Montreal was the largest metropolitan center in the country from 1867, at the time of the Confederation of Canada until Toronto overtook it in the 1970s. It stands as the second largest French-speaking city in the world (after Paris).

The city has been a immigrant destination and is widely considered to be a cosmopolitan celebration of Québécois style. Montreal remains a city of great charm, vivacity, and gaiety, as well as one of unquestioned modernity. In short, Montreal is c’est si bon.

Fans enter the Bell Centre for the Montreal Canadiens game.

Bonsecours Market in Old Montreal.

The iconic hearts sculpture outside the Musee des Beaux Arts.

Rinkside at the Montreal vs. Carolina NHL game.

Love is in the air.

The Monument à George-Étienna Cartier

Outside of Parts, Montreal has the world’s finest French food.

Unique single-wind walk up stairs line the city.

The Basilique Notre-Dame is a confection of stained glass.

The post The 43 Postcards Project: Montreal appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

It’s been a good year for the Media Guy Struggles. As the leading lifestyle media brand for those curious about the life of a modern (M)ad Man, the website is growing faster in unexpected ways. August marked the best month of all time for readership, advertising, and elevated Q ratings. To celebrate, I took to the road looking for the best food, drink, travel, and places to stay in the world.  The result is the Month of Travel where I tell tales and wax poetic about only the very best in the world. I’ll take you to Russia, Mexico, Lebanon, and Canada. At the end, I hope it inspires you to weave your own story through the fabric of travel. Today, I take you to Montreal and how one of the best hotels in downtown made all of my 4:30 a.m. paranoias go away. 

Okay, so where am I?

I’m in beautiful Montreal at the luxe Sofitel Golden Mile. I’m working on my hockey book and in town to interview some former Kontinental Hockey League characters and tour one of the Meccas of Hockey: Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens.

The only problem is that the player I am interviewing insisted to meet at six in the morning which left me with an ungodly pickup time to arrive in time. So I get up at 4:30 a.m., which quite honestly is one of the most ridiculous time on the clock ever conceived. I mean its it night? Is it day? What the heck is 4:30 a.m., anyway? I don’t really care who you are, whether you have to wake up at 4:30 or you have been awake until 4:30, it it utterly ridiculous. Of course if you’ve been up all night and it’s 4:30, you have other problems that I mustn’t get into here. If you’re that close to sunrise and you haven’t slept in 22 hours, that’s another whole level of “I need to make better life choices.” Yet I digress…

So there I am at 4:30 a.m., barely away and I realize that I forgot my toothbrush and toothpaste. One part of my inner dialogue is censuring myself with, “You fool, you travel one hundred days out of the year, how could you forget about your oral health? How are you going to go another fifty years without a cavity like you did the first fifty would a toothbrush?”

Then a second inner dialogue kicks in and says, “hey take it easy on yourself, things happen!” Then the two inner dialogues go at for a while like two Japanese betas in the same bowl until finally my post-caffeinated logic kicks in and I realize that I am in a fancy French-Canadian hotel and I probably can call the front desk and ask them to send up one of those oral hygiene kits. But then I remember that the last time I did this in Melbourne what I received was like a half a toothbrush. You know, one of those plastic sticks with forty bristles that don’t do anything but splash water around and frustrate you. But just as that scenario plays out I remember again that I’m at the Sofitel Golden Mile and with a name like that, they have to have good toothbrushes.

So, like the brave person I am at 4:35a, pre-dawn with not a soul visible from my wonderful city view, I decide to call down for my toothbrush request. Wouldn’t you know it, no one answers the phone. That continuous ringing—something that you never heard past the mid 1980s when everyone had at least an answering machine—is not only a lonely feeling, but also sets up a paranoia mindset of epic proportions. Why? Because there’s always someone that answers at posh French-Canadian hotels. That’s why you stay there, for the service! So on the seventh ring or so, the first thought was; “VAMPIRES.” It wasn’t even a delusion, it was a real cognitive thought and I know my thoughts were real.

That initial real thought was followed by my 4:37 a.m. analysis… “How many more are there like me? Do I need to stockpile garlic? What time does the sun come up? Are they wearing special rings to make it so they can still go our in the sunlight? Is the Vampire Diaries” streaming on the CW website to get one of those witch’s spells to ward them off? Can I fashion a wooden stake from the desk in my suite? Did I pack a turtleneck?” …and on and on it went until I took a deep breath, one of the deepest in my life and came to the serious revelation that no (!) I could not summon my inner Lawrence of Arabia and push back the Great Vampire Revolution of 2019.

Just then the front desk picked and that the very pleasant voice on the other end apologized for letting the phone ring six times—yes, my 4:37 a.m. mind was losing it after only six rings—and I promptly overreacted and shrieked, “What in the holy hell is going on down there? Why didn’t you answer? I was going insane up here because we are in a world of trouble!”

She asked what the problems was, and still in full paranoia tilt, I screamed, “I need a freaking toothbrush, because of vampires!!!!” It was then I was horrified that I actually said that to an actual person and needed to make her understand what I had experienced in that six ring marathon of a call and said, “Sorry I need to interview a goalie in 82 minutes” like that would be a totally rationale explanation of why I would fear vampires before daybreak. I’m sure she hung up and said to her colleagues that there’s some dud on the seventh floor who is having a bad trip. Anyway, the toothbrush arrived in five minutes and what a toothbrush it was! Bountiful with full medium hard bristles with a healthy and generous tube of Colgate toothpaste.

All this brings me to why I’ll always return to the Sofitel located in Montreal’s Golden Mile (if they will have me, that is). It has 258 rooms and suites and stands proud on posh Sherbrooke Street just a few blocks from Mont Royal Park. McGill University is next door and the Bell Centre is less than a mile away. If you want artsy sophistication, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is there as well. I loved my luxury suite with its Impressionist-style paintings and black-and-white framed photographs with plush goose-feather bedding and the best beds in the world. The floor-to-ceiling windows will lure you to the hustle of the city and a perfect spot to brainstorm those big ideas. Le Renoir, the upscale restaurant serves seasonal French cuisine with locally sourced ingredients. The concierge and bell staff is amongst the most pleasant I have ever had the pleasure to know and they are more than happy to help arrange a ride (that’s never late), theatre tickets, or even a behind-the-scenes tour of Bell Centre, including VIP access to the Canadiens dressing rooms.

The location at the Golden Square Mile, which remains the champion of Montreal’s glitz and glamour scene since the 19th century. Today, this very area is the flashpoint of the excitement of downtown, blending celebrated magic with cultural gems and tourist destinations.

Artsy and sophisticated rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Marbled, spacious bathrooms.

Incredible front office staff.

Sublime Cuisine.

The Maurice Richard statue at Bell Center.

Me and Howie Morenz at the Bell Centre.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The post Month of Travel: Vampires in Montreal appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

It’s been a good year for the Media Guy Struggles. As the leading lifestyle media brand for those curious about the life of a modern (M)ad Man, the website is growing faster in unexpected ways. August marked the best month of all time for readership, advertising, and elevated Q ratings. To celebrate, I took to the road looking for the best food, drink, travel, and places to stay in the world.  The result is the Month of Travel where I tell tales and wax poetic about only the very best in the world. I’ll take you to Russia, Mexico, Lebanon, and Canada. At the end, I hope it inspires you to weave your own story through the fabric of travel. Today I take you inside the Ararat Park Hyatt in Moscow and their incredible spa.   

Okay, so where am I?

My travels to Moscow centered on a continuing my trip around the Kontinental Hockey League arenas for my new book slated for a 2021 release and a visit to the Moscow City Days to take in all of their festivities and events. I’m no stranger to the inner workings of Fairs and Festivals having spent fifteen plus years promoting county fairs back in my agency days. The average county fair brought in anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 people a day and my clients were always happy. As I was soon to find out, this attendance total was small potatoes. Very small.

This year, Moscow celebrated its 872nd birthday with a lavish and vibrant festival throughout the city center and Russia’s main exhibition center, the VDNH (loosely translated as the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy). The scene was wild with street performances, flash mob dances, circus acts, ziplining, high-wire walkers, private concerts, guided tours at Cosmos Museum, every Cold War Era vehicle you can imagine on display, and a special visit to the Pushkin Museum. The best thing is every last bit of the City Days was free. Three million people attended the two-day festival. Three million! Even on my best day, my record attendance for any festival was 32,091. Three million people is a mind blowing attendance number.

Moscow City Days: Three million attendees!

I spent sixteen hours walking around Moscow those days and rubbing elbows with three million people didn’t feel like that. I feel more claustrophobic at Staples Center watching a Kings game with 18,000 fellow fans than I did with 166 times that amount of people. I immersed myself in the culture of Russia and all of those stereotypes a typical American who lived through the Cold War and the fall of the wall might (and did) bring into Russia. At the end of it all I was drinking Vodka and Georgian Chacha with new friends I met along the way. Someone in the group dubbed me an honorary Moscovite (more on that another time!).

All of this hobnobbing came at a price and mainly that was my back, feet and legs. Walking 22,000 steps every day for a week takes its toll but luckily I had chosen the perfect hotel rest my weary head, the Ararat Park Hyatt.

Close to Red Square and 1,000 steps from the Bolshoi Ballet, this elegant hotel has notably good service and is home to the Conservatory Restaurant & Bar, a place with a summer terrace that serves caviar worth getting on a plane for. But it was their spa that hooked me.

Between the fifty miles walked in five days along with the discomfort of cramped airline seats and the nasty process of getting through security and on the plane, I needed some immediate relief. On Saturday, my itinerary had an open afternoon slot and the folks at my hotel scrambled to find me an appointment at their in-house Quantum Spa nestled on the fourth floor.

What resulted from my 3:30pm session was pure bliss and the eradication from several chronic conditions that had haunted me all year. This is in no small part to the incredible work and care given by Victoria, the spa’s superstar therapist. Her “Russian DPS” massage made all other previous spa therapies in other countries pale in comparison. She meticulously picked the correct oils from my skin and worked her way from head to toe wiping away all the knots that had built up over the months.

A massive tip of the hat to her as she found the rock-hard, fist-sized ball of nonsense that had afflicted my sciatic nerve since that 40-floor hike to the top of Puerto Vallarta locked it all earlier this month. In one magical hour, all of my stress and muscle issues disappeared.

I owe you, Victoria! (Also George at the front desk too!)

After the massage, I was delivered fresh brewed green tea poolside before a sublime sauna session and a dip in the best jacuzzi you could ever imagine. An extra note about the tea—a departure from the tepid cup of spring water that typically greets you after a massage—it was truly special as well. This wasn’t a bag of Lipton thrown into a cup of water that forces you to wish you opted for another good-for-you beverage. This was steeped from locally-sourced tea leaves and served with an organic cookie. Sipping tea by the pool was therapeutic maneuver that left me dreaming that these moments of mental purity could be bottled and opened up each time client decides to “follow their gut” and torpedo your carefully crafted media buy you spent an entire quarter constructing. Yet, I digress…

I guess the moral of the story is that if you find yourself in Moscow anytime soon, book at appointment with Victoria at the Quantum Spa and your life could very well be changed much like mine was. At the very least, book your stay at the Ararat Park Hyatt where their amazing rooms guide you to a layer of happiness not soon forgotten.

The post Month of Travel: Pure Bliss in Moscow appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

It’s been a good year for the Media Guy Struggles. As the leading lifestyle media brand for those curious about the life of a modern (M)ad Man, the website is growing faster in unexpected ways. August marked the best month of all time for readership, advertising, and elevated Q ratings. To celebrate, I took to the road looking for the best food, drink, travel, and places to stay in the world.  The result is the Month of Travel where I tell tales and wax poetic about only the very best in the world. I’ll take you to Russia, Mexico, Lebanon, and Canada. At the end, I hope it inspires you to weave your own story through the fabric of travel. Today, I take you to Paris of the Middle East, Lebanon and the Four Seasons Hotel Beirut with the best rooftop surprise in the region.

Okay, so where am I?

I’m in Beirut, a city of paradox. It has a opulent French-influenced history, a proud culture, with affable and hospitable. Yet, they city has been traumatized from extraordinary political turbulence over the preceding four or five decades and it shows. A robust military presence saturates Beirut and you cannot escape the sight of crumbled buildings when exploring the historic avenues interspersed between the beautiful mosques and churches, the myriad of outdoor cafés, and the burgeoning marina the city is known for.

But seriously, none of this should detract you from visiting Beirut and soaking in its history. With its mixture of religious culture and a rather liberal social scene, Lebanon is the distinctive country in the Middle East and remains extremely safe today. There’s no place on earth even vaguely like it. Everything that’s great is co-mingled with all the world’s troubles all in one magnificent, screwed up, enchanted, exasperating, splendid city. I love it there in spite of everything. After visiting 32 countries in my lifetime, it remains my favorite, even after a half a dozen longish visits.

Each time I have rolled into Beirut, I’ve found a fine hotel with an inspiring view of the Mediterranean. My stop this time was no different as I found myself at the lavish Four Seasons.

Up front I have to say that every five-star hotel is not the same nor do they provide the same level of service. Trust me when I say I don’t tolerate a bad room or a crummy hotel. I’ll leave just a soon as I arrive, but something about the Four Seasons Beirut that made it so I never wanted to leave, ever.

Maybe it was because all of the 230 guest rooms have balconies. Or that the beds were the perfect blend of soft and firm or that every painting (yes, real oil paintings), every chair, lamp, fixture, was so lovely and perfectly selected for each environment. Maybe it was the designer soap that looked like it would be more at home in a palace bathroom rather than one in a hotel. Everything was high quality from massive thread-count linens to the cushioned balcony chairs and plush bathrobes and slippers.

Little did I know the best was yet to come.

A special dinner was waiting for three colleagues (and me) on the 26th floor rooftop. Here is where I was caught off-guard and where the hotel immediately became my must-experience for any return trip to Beirut: the sweeping panoramic views of the city. On a bustling Tuesday afternoon, there was a total sense of peacefulness and harmony that overwhelms you and that’s before the delectable spread of food was served.

In the 1950s, Beirut was awarded the moniker the “Paris of the Middle East” for its cultural and intellectual life along with the culinary delights that took the best of Parisian dining, simplified it and dipped it in a vat of hospitality. The 26th Floor captures that nostalgic essence and takes it to dazzling new heights serving scrumptious Pan-Asian cuisine including black cod, miso chicken gyoza, and impeccably spiced bao buns.

I spent the next few hours lounging on the roof, and partaking in handcrafted  spirits and Partagas cigars selected from their vast humidor inside The Bar & Lounge. Somehow everyone on duty anticipated my every need. That special evening was the anecdote for the ball of stress I had become during the week-long trip filled with intense deadlines. A traveler could be used to this kind of thing.

The hotel features an intimate spa that incorporates local-sourced organics—sea salt, olive oil, cedarwood—into their treatments and a fitness center with stylish smartphone-compatible treadmills (just plug in and control it from their main screens), and the centerpiece amenity, the top-floor pool with 360-degree views of Beirut, the Mediterranean, and the snow-capped Lebanese mountains.

Four Seasons hotels are legendary for their five-star service and style but it’s the Four Seasons Beirut that elevates the brand. This is exactly what you get when you cross Four Seasons with renowned Lebanese hospitality. They handle the little extras everything from the doormen at the front to the location, décor, and incredible staff. This luxury property is worth the trip alone.

The post Month of Travel: A Panorama From Beirut appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

What am I always doing? Looking for that big idea. The ever elusive big idea. I get about two a two and one of them usually works out. I find those big ideas typically when I’m getting ready for a trip or actually on a trip. Traveling is my happy spot. My creative spot. The place where the juices flow and the ideas are crystalized.

Why is that you wonder?

It’s as simple as traveling will change your life. It’s as simple as when you’re traveling, you experienced that tingle…that sensation of being reconciled with life itself. That tingle is is because when you when you travel, you open your mind. You become more tolerant. You’re able to understand your prejudices and give yourself time to unravel it slowly as you live through your new vision of the world around you.

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Travel is the most authentic way to get to know the world, but also to really get to know the prejudices we carry around with us, without blinding ourselves to them . We automatically assume that our way of understanding life, our day to day living, is the correct one. And when we travel we discover “how strange” the other people are, and how “strange” we can be too.

“What strange customs these “foreigners” have!”, “Why do they do that?”, “He’s making a fool of himself…” These are phrases you’ve probably heard a number of times, or they might even be phrases that you yourself have pronounced.

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The biggest prejudice: “mine is right, yours is wrong.” We tend to have a kind of bias when we interpret the information we receive all around us. Whatever is our own, whatever is familiar to us, whatever we are used to seeing and doing…that is what we consider to be “normal”. Whatever doesn’t fit in with our own customs is “strange”. It’s as if there’s a dividing line between what is right and what is wrong. Between the proper way of doing and understanding things, and the strange, bizarre way of doing them.

To understand this better, let’s give an example. If you are a calm and composed person, think about how you felt at some point in your life when a sudden burst of anger challenged your powers of self-control. You probably felt strange and awkward at the same time, because people who don’t often get angry, often do not know how to get angry.

The truth is that even if we are normally calm and composed, anger is still a part of us, ready to explode. Our different nuances form and shape us. We shouldn’t try to deny or cover up essential parts of our being simply because they aren’t what we normally express.

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Whatever is our own, whatever is familiar to us, whatever we are used to seeing and doing, that is what is “normal”

Our culture shapes us, but it does not define us. Something similar happens when we travel. We shouldn’t claim that only our understanding of things comes from common sense, and that of others’ comes from a meaningless stroke of luck. People and their customs are shaped from their cultural heritage, social environment and surroundings.

Our surroundings shape and mould us from childhood. And so the experiences in which we relate to people who are different to us, when we leave our usual environment, travel and try out different routines – they are the ones that start to break our genetic mould. When we are able to look at what is “foreign” with the eyes of curiosity and not of prejudice, then we are taking a big step on the road to tolerance.

Claiming that our way of understanding life is the only correct and meaningful one is a very limited way of thinking and one that, rather than enriching us, will bring us poverty, poverty in our soul. We should understand that true wealth comes from the lessons we learn day by day in our lives. Lessons that make us more open and tolerant.

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Look at life with curiosity and with prejudice. If only we could stop contemplating our navel and take a look beyond – a look of generosity and healthy curiosity. A look that is a ticket to other souls, other ways of thinking, other ways of living. I rid myself of my prejudice and look at you, stranger, with open arms. With my soul ready to learn.

You will learn to examine your experiences. You will have time to continue to build yourself as a person, keeping what you want and getting rid of what you don’t want in your life. But if you relate to the world with your eyes closed, you will not be able to see anything. Only darkness. And sometimes a terrifying darkness at that. If you open them, you will see the light.

The light that opens you up to life … the light that will take you on the road to tolerance.

The post Traveling Will Change Your Life appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

I’m up late, late late, So many pressing projects…

• A college magazine to put to bed…
• My Los Angeles Kings Jewels From The Crown columns...
• Research on the next big idea for the next Clio Award…
• Planning the former Communist bloc holiday trip in two weeks…
• Christmas gift wrapping…

But then, I came across this from 2017:

Of course, great advertising also comes out around the holidays. Each year, the flood of Christmas-themed commercials is the earliest indicator that the holiday season is upon us. I’ve got my favorites. I’ve also worked on some great campaigns. Here are some of the best holiday commercials of all time.

Coca-Cola 
“Catch”


Coca-Cola cornered the Christmas market decades ago with their holiday ads featuring Santa Claus. Shoot, Santa started shilling Coke even before he took up smoking. Now the holidays and that hourglass-shaped bottle go hand-in-hand.

AT&T 
“Reach Out and Touch Someone”

Back before FaceTime and when long distance was $2.49 a minute, grandpa could read bedtime stories.

Hershey’s Kisses
“Holiday Bells”

Imagine if a tree shaped outline of chocolate could play “Jingle Bells”…

Folgers Coffee
“Peter Comes Home”

Peter plays Santa and brews coffee. Simple and heartwarming.

John Lewis 
“Man on the Moon”

We don’t get to see these here in the Stats, but across the pond, the ad folks over at John Lewis know how to make a Christmas commercial.

Campbell’s Soup 
“Snowman”

Before Olaf we had the Campbell’s Soup snowman…”M’m! M’m! Good!”

The post The Power of Christmas appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Recent United Airlines ad offering friendly service…

Just a few days ago, I wrote that Pepsi should have called the Media Guy before their ill-conceived Kendall Jenner ad launched. Apparently all that was needed was for another major brand to screw up royally in real time to have them breathing a sigh of relief.

In case you missed it, here’s the video Pepsi is quietly cheering about:

Before we go any further, you know what I am going to say…right? Yes, you’re right, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz should have called the Media Guy. As a matter of fact, Oscar Munoz should have me on his speed dial. When in doubt on your media campaigns or crisis, call the Media Guy.

Instead Mr. Munoz did it his way and made a public relations crisis a complete disaster:

Note to Mr. Munoz: I know you were named PRWeek’s U.S. Communicator of the Year, but even the best of us need some help. You know, “it takes a village…” and all. You should know already that you must offer a quick, unreserved apology when there’s video out there. Get in front of it and fall on your sword.

Click to view on Twitter.

I joked on Twitter that the bat guy from The Walking Dead going up and down the aisle on a United Airlines flight is the leading storyboard idea for the next big ad campaign for the positive media challenged corporation.

This is not really a laughing matter because 1) not only did someone get hurt (mentally and physically), 3) is a public embarrassment, but now 3) the stock price is down $1.4 billion after the video went viral.

No look at what you did. Instead, you only apologize for “having to re-accommodate … customers?” Seriously?

You came off callous and uncaring with little self-awareness. But then you doubled down and made it worse. You took pen to paper and wrote a letter to your employees, describing the passenger as “disruptive and belligerent.” So glad you let your workforce know that “employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this.” You know what happens when you do things like this? Clever consumers start posting these kind of videos:

Rupert Younger, a well known public relations expert (and director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation), agrees with me stating  “The apology by the CEO was, at best, lukewarm or, at worst, trying to dismiss the incident,” said Younger. “The CEO should make a better, more heartfelt, more meaningful and more personal apology.”

And now, besides the stock drop, the internet ablaze and United is struggling to contain fallout from the incident. The top trending topic on Twitter is #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos, with users suggesting slogans such as “not enough seating, prepare for a beating.”

So Mr. Munoz, as Pepsi celebrates you for taking the spotlight off them and Air Canada smirks that their #AirCanadaSux hashtags are pushed back a bit, keep in mind that the Media Guy is here with a few tricks up his sleeve. I left you a voice mail…have your secretary ring me, morning, noon or night. If common sense doesn’t make you call, try looking at these before you go to bed:

The post UNITED AIRLINES: New Advertising Storyboards appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

Just who conceived this ad anyway?

Dear Air Canada:

Okay, I get it. It’s January and you’re hell bent on showcasing how to screw up a great start to 2017.

Before I get the what’s really bothering me, let me just say you need to get your freaking act together. I checked the flight board in my terminal and the majority of your flights seem to be either delayed or cancelled. That’s no way to treat your customers.

So yeah yeah “bad weather*” delayed your flight out of Toronto (to the tune of three plus hours), which also means my flight that’s supposed to be on the turnaround back to the Great White North is also delayed and my connection will be long gone. Translation? I’ll be sleeping in a crappy transfer hotel that smells like mold and eating equally crappy hotel food with airline vouchers that never quite cover a full meal.

*sigh*

Seriously? $44.95 for the day pass?

After boarding your 767-300ER plane with overhead bins just big enough to accommodate a couple of duty free bags and a jacket (no I’m not kidding), I settled into my hardened seat with no less than four pieces of leftover trash in the seat pocket in front of me and noticed something alarming: there were NO entertainment options on this flight.

-No monitors mounted in every seat (as promised on your braggadocios website). Not a series of miniature displays ready to motor down after we take off.

-Not a screen mounted on the bulkhead wall. No magazines or newspapers.

-No Sharper Image Monopoly boards to engage my chatty seat mates.

Nope.

Nothing.

I mean I could have purchased an all day wifi pass if I had $44.95 CAD to blow, or if there was a USB port to plug into after my battery waned. Jeez, who would have guessed that a scheduled 9 hour, 10 minute flight would have bubkis?

Certainly not me.

Just then a curious pamphlet screamed to me like a beacon through the seat pocket litter. It read simply: “Player”.

The pamphlet showed the standard smiling Caucasian blonde mother accompanied by her pre-requisite matching 9-year-old daughter in coveralls learning to maneuver on some kind of tablet. She was being helped by a well-appointed African-Canadian flight attendant who seemed eager to kneel down endlessly in the aisle to guide the entitled pre-teen.

(Seriously! Who casts these ads? This one screamed “clueless 1970s ad man” from the second I picked it up. White passengers. Black servers. C’mon already Air Canada! We don’t do ads like this anymore.)

Yet, I digress…

Anyway, this pamphlet solved the mystery…read along with me now, “We hope you are enjoying Player. Air Canada Rouge’s complimentary in-flight entertainment system. If you’d like the enjoy Hollywood new releases and popular games or if you left your device at home, ask your Rouge Crew about renting and Air Pad 2 for only $10.”

It was written in English AND French so it had to be friendly and true, right?

Yeah, thanks Air Canada!

So this is where I get psyched. I have so many devices that could conceivably work. Between my MacBook Pro, mini iPad, and iPhone I must have this wired. One quick ring to the flight attendant** should get me rolling so I could watch Ghostbusters or The Magnificent Seven or even the Christmas classic Die Hard.

And then the bubble burst. My flight attendant let me know that the complimentary portion of their player system was an app that needed to be downloaded prior to takeoff. It was casually suggested that I could download the app and set it up if I purchased the 30-minute wifi pass for $8.95 CAD. Ugh.***

I wound up purchasing the iPad rental for $10; don’t know why. A young Media Guy would have stood on principle and gone sans entertainment as a silent protest to the airline nickel and dime money grab. The older version just wanted to watch Bruce Willis save Christmas at Nokatomi Plaza.

Thanks Air Canada once again. Now I know why there over one thousand posts with the hashtag #AirCanadaSucks on Instagram.

And to top it all off? You lost my luggage even though I checked with your people three times in Toronto.

Get your act together.

With tough love and all due respect,
The Media Guy

P.S. Special shoutout to Mike Waring. He’s the manager at the Toronto Airport Air Canada connection desk. Despite having ample time to put me on a half-full Air Canada flight that wouldn’t take off for nearly an hour, he told me I was out of luck. He doubled down by letting me know there was nothing I could say to make him change his mind. Through a mock genuine smile, he reported that a lot of work was put into placing me on a flight tomorrow. In turn, I let him know that possessing a Napoleonic attitude was no way to run a transfer desk. I mean he didn’t even leave me time to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Although my high-brow insult carried excellent comedic timing, I think he won this battle. Thanks Mike!

————–

*-I’m still trying to figure out the bad weather thing since there was no snow or rain or icy conditions in Toronto, nor in sunny Spain where my flight originated. Ah, the airline industry, where lying is just a way of life.

**-By the way, there were no Canadian-African flight attendants as suggested in the pamphlet. Sadly, there weren’t any smiles either.

***-Air Canada, take a note: JetBlue is now giving all passengers free Wi-Fi.

The post CANCELLED: An Open Letter to Air Canada appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.