July 21, 2014 is the day new TSA security fees go into place. The new fees are more than double the old fees, and Homeland Security has removed the $10.00 cap on fees per round-trip. So, now each one-way flight will cost $5.60 and it will cost $11.20 per round-trip. Keep in mind that if travelers have layovers over four hours between flight segments, the $5.60 fee is charged again for that next segment. You can thank your friendly Congressperson for these new fees, courtesy of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. For a complete accounting of how these fees work, visit TSA.
These new fees should change how travelers plan their flights. In the past, direct flights were always the way to go, if only for the savings on the security fees. Now, everyone pays at least $11.20 for one round-trip itinerary. The key to saving money on fees now will be limiting layovers to under four hours. If you sit on the ground for longer than that, the $5.60 fee is added to the next leg of the journey.
I don’t mind funding something that is a necessary evil, though there have been times I wonder about the effectiveness of the TSA. Anyone who has experienced TSA has stories of folks getting “contraband” through, from full size bottles of shampoo (oh the horror!) to news reports of weapons slipping through the x-ray machines.
Hopefully this fee will help pay for training for TSA agents or upgrades to some of those airports that are in dire need. It’s hard to tell since according to the law, the receipts for the fees collected are deposited into the general fund and are not targeted to any transportation projects.
To comment on this regulation, visit www.regulations.gov. Surprisingly, there are only 471 comments as of this evening posted on the website.
On Saturday my husband, a friend, and I went downtown on the light rail to see the new Union Station makeover. It was a nice Saturday afternoon, and we headed downtown to be among the first to see the new hotel built at Union Station.
The outside of Union Station in Denver, COThe interior of Union Station in Denver Colorado
Union Station in downtown Denver has been a hub of Amtrak activity for about 100 years. The California Zephyr pulls out at about 7 a.m. most days, headed West to San Francisco. If you’re headed to Chicago, the train leaves around 7 p.m., headed East. This building used to be in the worst part of town and had become neglected and avoided.
In the past few years, developers have been working redevelop the property around the train station and create a consolidated transportation hub. They have succeeded admirably.
The refurbished train station has a Victorian charm with a current twist. The the chandeliers invoke an old-world elegance, while the new vendors work in updated spaces. This building is now a centerpiece of lower downtown, a finishing touch to the years of work rebuilding and re-imagining the City of Denver.
The Oxford Hotel
Within a few blocks of the train station is Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies. Down the block from the front door of Union Station is the Oxford Hotel, one of the premier boutique hotels in Denver. Great restaurants and bars are also nearby, particularly if beer is your beverage of choice. Denver is home to many great breweries and we stopped at one of the most popular, the Rock Bottom Brewery on the 16th Street Mall. With a bit of the brew and some nachos consumed, we were refreshed enough to ride the mall shuttle to Union Station and head for home.
The official grand opening of the new building, including the transportation center, will be at the end of July 2014. We can’t wait to go back and join the party!
What’s it really like to participate in one of those English-language immersion programs in Spain?
I’m nervous and chilled standing outside a non-descript office building in Madrid. It’s first thing in the late November morning, and folks are gathering with their luggage and looking around wondering what we do next. A friend and I have volunteered to be native English-speakers in an English-language immersion program in Spain, and the group of about 40 folks is gathering on this sidewalk during the Madrid commute. Soon, we board the bus and leave the big city behind for the quiet of Northwestern Spain, about an hour south of Salamanca.
As the bus smoothly moves into traffic, the directors give us the first of several sets of instructions. The most important instruction: no Spanish allowed. Although the bus is quiet now, a few moments ago the low murmur of twenty or so conversations had filled the space. Each English speaker, or Anglo, was sitting next to a Spaniard having a conversation in English. This is what we’ve volunteered to do, and being nervous or uncomfortable is not an excuse to avoid talking.
There are several of these volunteer programs available in Spain. Native English speakers apply to volunteer for a week at one of several different resorts around Spain. Once accepted, volunteers are required to speak English for the entire week, following the instructions and the daily program outlined by the directors. This sounded very appealing while back in my office in Colorado and now it just sounds daunting.
We arrive at the resort
After a stop near the walled city of Ávila, we arrive at Abadio de los Templarios. The group from the week before is finishing up their farewells. They seem to be so sad to leaving one another. Will our group be like that at the end of our time together? The directors gather us for room assignments and we are put two to a villa, the Anglos downstairs and the Spaniards upstairs. The villas are very nice, though not luxurious with common living quarters and separate bedroom suites. We don’t spend much time there anyway as we drop our luggage and head back to the dining room for lunch. Luckily, we already know at least one person in the group. Unluckily, for the timid among us we’re asked to sit four to a table, with someone we haven’t yet met. It’s time to get social.
Lunch is three courses with wine and by the time lunch is over folks are much more relaxed. More rules of the road are announced, including requests to be on time for meals and to have patience as everyone gets used to the program. The directors ask the Anglos to work with the Spaniards on common language errors, and to be gentle. The Spaniards look much more anxious than any of the Anglos, and they are working very hard to maintain their side of the English conversation. I can see frustration on a few faces.
The schedule
The each day starts at 9:00 in the morning with breakfast and goes nearly non-stop until about 11:00 p.m. There are a few hours break from the activity mid-day. I find myself looking forward to the late afternoon siesta for a quick nap and some downtime. It also turns out to be a good time to get to know the other Anglos in the group. Since the Anglos are always paired with Spaniards, we only spend time getting to know the other English speakers during mealtimes.
It can be as difficult for the Anglos to listen to Spanish-accented English as is it for the Spaniards to discern our English inflection. The program brings together Anglos from around the world, and in our group we’ve got folks from Britain, Wales, Australia, Canada, the U.S., and Malta. In Spain, English is taught with a British twist, so our Canadian and U.S. accents are puzzling for some of the Spaniards. As a group of English speakers, we try to speak carefully to help our new Spanish friends understand.
La Alberca Sign
As the week progresses, we take a few field trips from the beautiful resort. The town of La Alberca is a short walk away, and we spend an afternoon there learning about small-town Spanish life and the famous “jamon” (ham) of the area. We’re all getting much more comfortable with each other, and the nerves are receding. Sitting in the town square having coffee in the warm November sunshine, the group watches the community pig snuffle around the table for a handout, and then the owner of the café shoos the pig away. After the stress of the first couple of days, it’s fun to unwind in town.
Our own brand of crazy
After the first few “one-on-one” conversations, we’re all starting to enjoy the process. No one could have convinced me before I got here that one could speak to an emerging English speaker for an hour and not have many awkward silences. We talk about our families, our work and jobs, and the Spanish economy. Conversations flow about online classes, gathering mushrooms, what it’s like to live in the U.S, and the best shopping in Madrid. The Anglos huddle to come up with an explanation of the idiom “to be cheeky.” Members of the group do funny skits, play games, and tell stories into the night. The Spaniards are required to prepare and present two different talks during the week, and the Anglos spend time with each presenter perfecting their English to sound as natural as possible.
By the end of the week, we’re like a crazy family. The Spanish women have taught several Anglos the Sevillanas, a local folk dance. Our resident guitar player has entertained us during breaks and parties with traditional Spanish ballads. Our new friends arranged for a trip to the top of a nearby mountain to visit a centuries-old monastery during a siesta, rounding up enough cars and drivers. And a small group played hooky just long enough to buy some jamon from the best butcher in the area. We gathered between activities at the fireplace to warm up when it was cold and rainy. We truly bonded.
The week was a grand success. Those of us who were anxious forgot our fears. As we laughed with our friends through the final skit of the program, we were sad that it had to end. Spaniards started to realize that they really did understand the Anglos much better by the end of the week. One of the Spaniards mentioned that as he packed to leave, he realized that he had actually heard and understood the English-language songs coming over the radio. Invitations to visit families flew around.
Wrap-up
The next morning, we all gathered to say our goodbyes to those driving home and climbed on the bus for the trip back to Madrid. Back on the sidewalk in Madrid we all said good-bye one more time and headed off to our next adventure. Between the photo-sharing sites, social networking, and email we’ll keep in touch and remember our week of “no Spanish allowed.”
Want to volunteer as an English speaker in Spain? Contact Diverbo or Vaughn Town to apply for their programs. Your resort stay is free and transportation is provided to and from Madrid.
Now that you have your budget estimate, it’s time to see how to bring it in line. There are lots of ways to do this. Here are my top five tips to saving money when planning a trip.
Keep your travel dates as flexible as possible.
Hotels and flights eat up most of your travel dollars. By keeping dates flexible, you can arrange travel on the least expensive dates for your trip. In general, traveling in the middle of the week is cheaper than the weekends. Traveling mid-winter is often cheaper than traveling mid-summer, and with fewer crowds. Sometimes, seasons make the difference. For example, we had planned a trip to Puerto Vallarta with another couple in October when the flights were in the $600 per person range. Unfortunately, something came up and we needed to re-book the trip. We ended up re-booking for the week before Christmas, and the flight costs dropped by half. We ended up having a marvelous time in the Mexican town, joining the Saturday night street fair and parade celebrating Advent. There were fewer people on the beach, and the weather was great.
Use rewards points or mileage accounts
I’m not a big fan of spending money just to accumulate rewards points. If it’s convenient to use that credit card or that rewards account, by all means carry on. I know that many folks are corporate travelers, and this is how they build up those points accounts. If those accounts are yours, use them. The airlines have a habit of reducing the value of the points over time, so accumulating points is not always the best move. I’m planning a trip to Panama in October, and we used my husband’s points to get him there and I paid for my ticket. Once there, we’ll use my hotel points for at least one night stay in the city. These two accounts save us nearly $1000 between the airfare and the hotel stay.
For accommodations, look beyond hotels
Hotels have gotten into the business of “fees”, the most noxious being the “resort fee.” Las Vegas hotels love their resort fees, charging as much as $50 extra per day over and above your room rate for amenities such as pools and fitness centers. The most noxious part about this is that guests have no choice whether to pay this fee – but that’s another post. Check out other available accommodations such as VRBO.com or Airbnb.com. These options can be very cost-effective, particularly for larger groups or multiple night stays. In Spain, my friend and I stayed in two bedroom apartments, complete with kitchens, living rooms, and washing machines for less than it would have cost us to stay in a hotel. We were very comfortable and the hosts made a little extra money. Everyone wins! Pay attention to locations. It doesn’t save you any money of if you spend lots of time and money getting to and seeing the attractions you want to experience.
Do you really need a rental car?
In many parts of the world, renting a car is more of a hassle than it’s worth. Here in the United States, it’s almost a given that you will need a car. I’ve traveled in Europe and in Latin America, having never rented a car. In Europe taxis and trains are usually much more cost effective, particularly if you’re staying in one place for awhile. For our trip to Panama in October, we will be renting a car for the first time outside the U.S. We’ll be driving from Panama City to Coronado, using the car for day trips. Since neither my husband nor I speak good Spanish, we didn’t want to brave the bus system quite yet. Rental cars pose their own set of issues, and there are plenty of complaints about overcharging for extra insurance and phantom damage to cars. If possible, take time and date-stamped pictures of your rental before you leave the parking log, including the windshield. Return the car to the agency during the day, when you can talk with the staff and get a signed statement that the car was returned in good condition.
Travel light
Avoid overpacking. Most people take too much on their travels. There are many different sites, including www.onebag.com, that explain how to get the most from the room you have in a roll-aboard or carryon. In the United States, most folks are spending about $25 one way to check a bag, depending on the airline. At the end of the flight, folks are milling around a luggage carousel instead of hopping in a cab or on a train and starting their adventures. I spent 10 days in France in May taking just a carryon. Most places have laundry facilities close by or in your hotel. In Spain, I rented apartments that included a washer and dryer. You don’t need any many things as you think you do. Or take your older clothes, wear them overseas, and then throw them away or donate them. Get rid of clothes you no longer want and lighted up your suitcase as well.
How do you save money when travelling? Let us know in the comments below.
Icelandair is offering great package deals to Reykjavik, starting in November. Depending on the hotel and the time frame, packages start at $854 per person for 6 nights, including air and hotel. Iceland is a small country with glaciers, beaches, and impressive landscapes. Go hiking, explore caves, or climb glaciers before relaxing to watch the Northern Lights in the evening. Visit Icelandair.com for more information and to book your getaway.
Earlier this month, my husband and I jumped in the car and hit the road for Palm Springs. From Denver, the drive is about 15 hours straight through. We had decided we wanted to do a getaway, and after adding up the numbers to fly and rent a car in Palm Springs, California, we decided to drive. Our intent was to find some warm weather, and get in a few rounds of golf.
It was a blast. We spent the first night at our friends in Prescott, Arizona. From there we headed out to the Coachella Valley and the Southern California desert. We learned a few things along the way.
Arizona has some beautiful landscapes. We cut across southwestern Arizona on our way from Prescott to I-10. There were some pretty desolate areas we passed through on our way.
Coming into the Coachella Valley is a beautiful drive. Quite frankly, I-10 through the desert is not all that interesting. But once over the ridge on the way into the valley, the views are spectacular. I wish there had been somewhere safe to stop the car and take a few photos!
Palm Springs seems to have a golf course on every corner. It seemed like quite a dichotomy that this city in the desert had all these green golf courses. I’m sure that’s a discussion the residents are having as we speak.
The Tahquitz Golf Course – Legend Course. Hole 4
The Palm Springs Follies, an institution in town, is closing this year for good. This show has been going on for 25 years. The performers are all over the age of 55 and do a great show. The Master of Ceremonies, who always manages the show, was happy that the shows were sold out through the end of the run but he wondered where everyone was the past few years!
The drive through Utah on I-15 and on to I-70 is still stunning. This drive passes two national parks, Capital Reef and Canyonlands, as well as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Dixie, Fishlake, and Manti-LaSalle National Forests. You’ve got to stay alert as you drive through the passes. Luckily, there are plenty of overlooks to rest and enjoy the views. If you haven’t made this drive, put it on your list.
I’ll be posting additional posts on this trip over the next few weeks, but these are my first impressions.
Budgeting is a dirty word to many people. That word conjures up deprivation, counting pennies, and overall unhappiness. Folks often feel that if you need a budget to travel, you don’t have enough money to have a good time. Fortunately, that is not true.
Determining the budget is an important part of trip planning. There are a few steps to determining your budget. Pull out a piece of paper and a pencil and work through the next few steps.
1. Think about how much money you can spend on this journey. This is different for everyone since each household has different monthly expenses. A quick glance around the Web leads me to believe there is no one perfect rule of thumb for a vacation budget. My thought is that the budget should start at about one week’s salary. If you can’t spend one week’s salary and still make all your bills for that month, re-evaluate your plans. Make a note of your first budget number.
Avoid using credit cards to increase your budget unless you can pay them in full when you return. This is not a personal finance blog so I won’t go into why using credit cards that you can’t pay when the bill arrives is a bad idea. Trust me on this.
2. Consider that for many decent vacations, budgeting around $100 per person per day for food and lodging – not counting transportation costs – is a good starting point. This amount won’t set you and your family up at the Ritz or the Four Seasons, but you should be able to find a decent hotel and eat well on that amount in most vacation destinations around the world.
If your heart is set on New York City, Paris, London, or San Francisco at Christmas then $100 per day may not be enough. Be reasonable. Write down the number of travelers times the number of days you expect to be gone and put two zeros on the end. For example: 2 travelers x 5 days = $1000.
Note for those with small children. Many hotels don’t charge for small kids when they stay in the same room as the parents. They also don’t tend to eat much. Adjust daily costs accordingly – say to $20 for each kid under 6.
3. Add transportation to the $100 per person per day budget. The biggest part of most vacation budgets are transportation and lodging. Airfare can be difficult to budget, but most destinations stay in a specific range most of the year. For example, from Denver to Detroit, airfare usually runs between $250 and $300 per person, round-trip. I happen to know that in January, the fares can run half that. I’ve gotten fares between Denver and Hawaii as low at $495 per person, round-trip, direct. However, I also know that city pair is usually in the $700 range most of the year. Do a little digging. Set a fare alert on FareCompare or Adioso and track the prices. The typical round-trip fare becomes apparent. Do a bit of math and come up with a round number on how much transport is going to cost. Write it down.
Sometimes, particularly with families, it is really too expensive to fly. U.S.-based airlines are not sympathetic to families sitting together or boarding early, charging fees for each passenger that asks for special treatment. Consider a road-trip if the distances allow. This could be a different, though cheaper, version of insanity but you’ll still get there. Think about fuel costs, wear and tear on your car, and any hotel stays when calculating these costs.
In some areas of the U.S. trains are an option. Unfortunately, they are not a good option for most locations from Denver, but those on the East Coast have more opportunities. Calculate the fare, including any overnight berths that are available or necessary.
Write down the estimate of your transportation costs. You should now have three numbers on your paper:
Your initial guess
Lodging/food number
Transportation estimate
Add the second number to the third and compare it with your initial guess. Hopefully the sum of two and three is less than or equal to your initial guess. If not, then something has to change. Reconsider your initial guess, review your transportation costs, then reconsider the lodging and food amounts. The goal is to come up with a reasonable amount for the basics of the vacation. Only then can the rest of the trip be added in – excursions, side trips, theme parks, lift tickets.
We’re about half way through determining a budget for your journey. There’s more, but spend a day or two thinking about these items before going on to the next steps.
Remember, you’re planning to enjoy yourself. This process helps. In the next post, we’ll talk about finalizing the budget and ways to do more with less money.
Like this article? Subscribe by adding your email or by clicking the RSS link at the top of the page to get the latest information by email when it’s published. For more fun deals and information, follow Deb on Twitter at debtalkstravel.
If you haven’t read the first part of this series, go here to start.
So, you’ve had some time to think about where you want to go and what your transportation, lodging, and food might cost when you get there. Hopefully the number you came up with is not completely out of the park for this vacation, and now we can begin to add in some fun activities to make this trip the best ever.
1. Research the activities you’d like to do while on your vacation. Don’t worry about how long anything takes or how many days you’ve decided to stay. Pull together a list.
2. Prioritize that list. Look at each item and determine whether or not it’s a deal-breaker to see that sight or participate in that activity on this trip. For example, on a recent trip to Spain, I determined that I must see the Familia Sagrada in Barcelona. It didn’t really matter if I d id anything else while in Spain for two weeks, as long as I visited this church. It was my number 1 priority. Number two seemed to be visiting Seville and experiencing the classic Andalusian hospitality. We ended up doing both.
Pick your must-sees and put them at the top of the list.
3. Estimate the cost of those sites or activities and make sure they are available when you plan to visit. The internet is a great resource for the costs as well as the times and dates that the sites are open.
4. Look at your prioritized list and start fitting your must-do activities into your planned time frame. Remember that many sites are open late on certain days of the week, making them less crowded. In some cases, sites close for maintenance or special events. Hopefully your important activities fit into your stay schedule. If all your important activities don’t fit, then start at the lowest priority and eliminate activities. Or, you could increase the length of your stay.
5. Finally, compile your lists. Add the excursions, activities, and sites you’ve decided to your lodging and transportation list. Put your estimates in a column and add them up. You’ve got your first cut at a budget!
Lodging
$500
Transportation
$500
Activities
$200
Total
$1,200
What if your original estimate is lower than this final number? In our next post, we’ll explore some ways to lower those costs.
Like this article? Subscribe by adding your email or by clicking the RSS link at the top of the page to get the latest information by email when it’s published. For more fun deals and information, follow Deb on Twitter at debtalkstravel.
Following the Colorado River as if flows into Glenwood Canyon, the terrain abruptly shifts from green valleys and rolling hills to severe rock walls with the thundering river below. Rafters and kayakers bob in the water, steering their craft through the boulders and white water. This is the last section of the highway before entering Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Glenwood Springs is a great getaway from the Denver area. There are plenty of low cost and no cost activities to experience in and around the town. Take the family and try some of these.
Hiking. There are many miles of hiking trails in the Roaring Fork Valley. From the paths along the river to those up Storm King Mountain, there are trails for every level of adventurer. For those who like to climb mountains, the 12.6 mile round-trip track to the top of Mt. Sopris is not a technical climb, though it is for the advanced hiker and can be done in a day. The 4-mile round-trip hike up Storm King Mountain ends at a memorial to the firefighters who died in 1994 fighting a wildfire.
Hiking trail
Biking trails. Biking is a great family activity and there are trails for every skill level. For the hardcore mountain biker, there are steep, technical trails on Red Mountain. For a bit tamer ride, the Glenwood Canyon track follows the river and has stops at the rest areas along the highway including Bair Ranch, Hanging Lake, No Name, and Grizzly Creek. The Rio Grande trail connects Glenwood Springs and Aspen and follows the old railway between the two towns. For those who prefer a downhill ride, catch the RFTA Bike Express for a ride into Aspen. Then unload the bikes and ride the mostly downhill 44 miles back into Glenwood Springs. The Bike Express runs on weekend mornings from May to early September. For more visitor information about the bike trails around Glenwood Springs, check out Visitglenwood.com.
Rafting down the Colorado River
Tubing and rafting on the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers. Tubing on the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers is a whitewater lovers dream. Put in your craft at Two Rivers Park and float down the river in the slow current. For kayakers, the town has one of the few locally supported whitewater parks. Rent tubes in town for about $16 each, bring your own boat, or take a professionally guided rafting trip with one of the many tour providers.
Fishing. For those who like to cast lines, Glenwood Springs is a great choice. With both the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers home to many different varieties of trout, it’s never a bad day to go fly fishing. The river is accessible, with many different locations where it’s possible to park and walk down to the water for wading and shore fishing. There are many different streams that feed the major rivers in the valley, including No Name Creek accessible from the exit about 1.5 miles east of Glenwood Springs. If brook trout are your quarry, try Grizzly Creek. This is also an exit off I-70 east of town. Visitors can park in the main lot and hike back to find your spot. If you prefer company, there are guides and outfitters available to rent equipment and find an out-of-the-way fishing hole.
With the rivers spilling out the canyon and the sun shining, Glenwood Springs enough activities to keep an entire family busy without breaking the bank.
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The sun shines in Colorado almost every day, and this was no exception. The morning was clear, and watching the antelope sway across the prairie and the horseback rider move cleanly up the ridge in the distance was worth the hour in the car. I was headed to Calhan, Colorado and the PaintedMinesInterpretivePark in El PasoCounty, about an hour east of Colorado Springs and about two hours south of Denver.
Rolling into the parking lot first thing in the morning, the view included the gently sloping hills and prairie in the distance. Grabbing my hat and camera, I headed down the easy trail toward the hills. The grade started to increase as I passed a family with a small child who was chasing butterflies and watching birds. Although the bench at the top of the hill looked inviting, I kept going and around the corner and the formations came into sight. It was amazing to see the white, red, and orange badlands appear suddenly from the prairie.
Overlooking the plains.
Winding down the wild-flower rimmed trail, the hoodoos and spires were more intimidating as I got closer. As I made my way around the north side of the area, the trail headed up again to an overlook. In one direction, the vast prairie laid out with trails. In the other direction, the stark white formations looking like frozen, rocky, milk. The pale rocky falls fronted the colorful rock layers in the rest of the park. I made my way to the rainbows in the rock.
The clay and sandstone formations are gently formed by wind, rain and blowing sand. The gullies and caves that are carved out of the rock form an intricate maze of color and shadow. This red clay found in these formations was mined to create pots and used as ceremonial body paint by the Indians. This was also a hunting ground for the first inhabitants because of the abundance of deer and bison in the area. In the early 1880’s the first settlers homesteaded the area.
There are about four miles of trails in these 750 acres. Around the formations, the trails are actually dry stream beds. In this area, the weather can change quickly and flash floods create the trails as the water runs off. The wildflowers are blooming wherever they can get a foothold and the paths are lovely. A frequent visitor to the park mentioned that often artists set up easels in the morning to paint the beautiful landscape.
The particulars: The Park is open from dawn to dusk 365 days per year and is free to the public. The hiking is considered easy here, though be aware that there are some steep inclines. The services include a few picnic table, a few benches along the trails and a toilet near the main parking lot. This park is not designed for wheelchairs. There are two additional overlooks to the park with short trails to small picnic areas that seem more accessible.
There is no overnight camping allowed in the park. This is a great park for kids, though climbing or disturbing the formations is illegal. Visitors should bring their own water and be aware that it can be quite hot on a summer afternoon and there is very little shade.
To get to the park, take I-25 to Highway 24. Go east on Highway 24 to Calhan. Once in Calhan, go south on Yoder Toad/Calhan Highway, then turn east on Paint Mine Road and follow the signs. For more information, visit the El Paso County website.
Deb Schaffer is a local Denver travel writer and golf enthusiast. Check out her articles about Denver travel deals on Examiner.com and golf course reviews at BoomerGolfBliss.com.
