April 21, 2012

Travel Dispatch

Are Travel Agents Back?

By MICHELLE HIGGINS

In the age of apps, travel agents can seem a bit quaint. Yet the industry is showing signs of growth. We profiled six rising stars to learn why, and to find out what they can do for you.

Q&A

The Tech-Savvy Traveler

By RACHEL LEE HARRIS

Ever heard of Uber or Highlight? They're just two of the apps Soraya Darabi, an adviser for digital start-ups, is using these days for travel.

PRACTICAL TRAVELER

Flying Through Airport Lines

By CHRISTINE NEGRONI

How to trim the time you spend in line next time you travel.

CULTURED TRAVELER

Trailing a Master Photographer in Los Angeles

By SAM LUBELL

Julius Shulman photographed some of the most iconic structures in Los Angeles, including Case Study House 22 and the Eames House. Here's how you can visit them.

Slide Show: Visiting the Sites

How to Hunt Bigfoot

By AMANDA PETRUSICH

With doughnuts, headlamps and feral howls, the author joins a sasquatch stakeout.

36 Hours in Puebla, Mexico

By FREDA MOON

A vibrant array of colors. The New World's oldest library. Cuisine that includes mole, corn fungus and cactus. Find it all during a weekend in Puebla, Mexico.

FRUGAL TRAVELER BLOG

A $100 Weekend in Melbourne

By SETH KUGEL

Melbourne, Australia's graceful, lively and remarkably clean second city, might be an expensive place to live, but it offers some great opportunities for a frugal visit.

Share Your Thoughts

Fried chicken at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar in Miami Beach, Fla.

BITES

Restaurant Report: Yardbird in Miami Beach, Fla.

By STEVEN RAICHLEN

Fried chicken is paired with waffles. Biscuits emerge from ovens every half-hour. Budget drinkers consult the "Yard Sale" wine list. And this is Miami Beach?

At the newly expanded Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Ore.

HEADS UP

Bend, Ore., a Brewer's Town

By LUCY BURNINGHAM

A city of 80,000 people and nine breweries, Bend has one of the highest brewery-to-resident ratios in the country.

CHECK IN, CHECK OUT

Hotel Review: Boca Beach Club in Boca Raton, Fla.

By DONNA PAUL

This hotel sits on a private beach, features an infinity pool in the lobby and provides access to a historic resort.

LETTERS

Letters to the Travel Editor

Readers respond to an article on when to buy a plane ticket.

Multimedia

SLIDE SHOW: A Tour of Puebla, Mexico

Puebla's namesake dish, mole poblano, is rich and complex, just like the city itself.

SURFACING

SLIDE SHOW:Independents in Washington

Artists, actors and shopkeepers are turning a once gritty stretch of 14th Street into a creative corridor.

Cucao Beach, Island of Chiloé, Chile, March 14, 2012 For me, traveling is a social experience of exploring untouched natural places. It's a way to enrich the spirit. After a drive bordering the immense and beautiful Huillinco Lake, we arrived at the isolated beach of Cucao on the Pacific. With the strong sound of breaking waves, I felt the power of nature. I felt free and at the same time, insignificant, in the vast and endless beach. After a while, my husband, son and I walked to one another, took hold of one another's hands and silently walked to the horizon. My sister was there and at that precise moment shot the picture. With its year-round green landscape and hills and strong folklore, it was the perfect destination to show my American husband the south of Chile, my native country. ISABEL MARGARITA LONG, Arlington, Va.

SLIDE SHOW: Why We Travel

"With its year-round green landscape and hills and strong folklore, it was the perfect destination to show my American husband the south of Chile, my native country."

Submit Your Photo

4/24/2012

The New York Times, April 21 2012