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• 8 modern speakeasies: New wave of U.S. bars taps into an old secret
• 10 classic American experiences
• Ultimate checklist for returning U.S. expats
• Most bike-friendly cities in the U.S.
• Show's over: Cirque du Soleil tumbles out of Macau
• Shanghai's best museums
• Life and death on the Sydney tourist trail
• 10 ways to get a cheaper holiday
• Best of Rio de Janeiro
• Eating trend: 'Dark dining' shines a light on flavor

8 modern speakeasies: New wave of U.S. bars taps into an old secret Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:58 AM PST by Jennings Brown These days, every major American city seems to have a modern rendition of a Prohibition-era speakeasy -- secret clubs where illegal alcohol was sold during the booze-ban days of 1920-1933. Speakeasies might not be technically illegal nowadays, but their dated decor, hard-to-find entrances and innovative cocktails attempt to recreate an age when flavors were mixed to overpower the repulsive taste of rotgut hooch. Which begs the question: why try to recapture the Temperance Movement? "Sure, most [Prohibition era] speakeasies would be pretty awful," says Christine Sismondo, author of "America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops." "Some of them had dirt floors, they were in dark basements with inadequate lighting -- complete fire traps." read more

10 classic American experiences Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:46 AM PST by Jennings Brown Afraid of returning to the States and feeling out of sorts?  Arriving on North American shores for the first time and wondering where to start "experiencing" the United States?  You're in luck -- we know how to get your Yankee Doodle mojo working. "We can derive great comfort from visiting a state fair or rodeo, and enjoying traditions not far removed from those of our great grandparents," says Kurt B. Reighley, author of "United States of Americana: Backyard Chickens, Burlesque Beauties, and Handmade Bitters -- A Field Guide to the New Americana Roots Movement." From Reighley's rah-rah to road trips, rebel yells and roller coasters, here are 10 experiences guaranteed to connect anyone with the classic American spirit.  read more

Ultimate checklist for returning U.S. expats Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:28 AM PST by Jordan Burchette Depending on how long you've been abroad, your transition back to the U.S. could be as stressful -- perhaps even more so -- as your initial expatriation. When you arrived in your foreign home, you likely had to undergo an understandable period of culture adjustment. What you may not expect is the inverse upon your return; the expectation of the familiar derailed by the degree to which things have changed. Change isn't a bad thing, it's just something you'll want to prepare for. After consulting with a number of repats, here's our checklist for re-Americanization. Setting up the basics You'll have to satisfy fundamental necessities quickly in order to function as an adult. Here are the major items to take care of. The show is over for Blackberry. Cell phones/plans Blackberry is dead. The company can no longer compete with its chief rivals, the iPhone and Android-based handsets, and it doesn't even do well anymore what it used to; a new Blackberry works worse than one from two years ago. Three of the four major carriers -- Sprint, Verizon, AT&T -- carry the iPhone, and all service providers offer some form of Android-based phone. Check BillShrink for the plan that best suits you. You may be able to use your existing phone on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks, which operate on the GSM standard. Finance There are four U.S. banks now: Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citi. And they're looking for any and every way to disgorge you of the money you keep with them, including a recent failed attempt to charge monthly for debit card use. So you might want to check the Internet for places to store your war chest, find where rates are most favorable and fees are fewer. High-yield savings, which, before the financial collapse, reached annual rates upwards of five percent, is now defined as anything above zero. But check Fat Wallet.com for the best of what still passes for interest. Housing: Buy or rent? It's bottoms up in the housing market. Interest rates are at their lowest in modern history. Couple that with a weakened housing market and, if you're returning permanently, you have good credit and anything together for a down payment, this is a good time to consider purchasing a new property. Especially since the paradoxically crowded housing market is driving up rents in many major cities. "Even though in many cities there are very fewer (housing) listings now than in previous years, it's still a buyer's market," says Brian Brink of Brink Appraisal in Portland, Ore. "Although some people still believe we haven't seen the bottom of the real estate market, there are signs nationally that the market is stabilizing and has seen its low point." Everyone has less money now, but everything costs more Economic experts insist that inflationary pressure in the United States is low, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the prices of some of the most common items. Since 2008 … read more

Most bike-friendly cities in the U.S. Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:16 AM PST by Jennings Brown Ernest Hemingway would love modern Portland. Or Boulder. Or Austin. No, not because of all the great local beer. Though surely he would have guzzled his fill of that. What the cranky author really would love about these cities is the biking. "It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them," Hemingway wrote. "Thus you remember them as they actually are." We asked nationally recognized bike advocates across the United States, and reviewed information from the League of American Bicyclists, Alliance for Biking & Walking and the U.S. Department of Commerce to determine the best U.S. cities to discover by bike. read more

Show's over: Cirque du Soleil tumbles out of Macau Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:17 AM PST by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor Cirque du Soleil has pulled its show "Zaia" out of Macau due to disappointing ticket sales. The curtain came down on the final show on Sunday, meaning "Zaia" completed only three and a half years of its 10-year contract with Sands China Ltd., according to Cirque du Soleil's senior director of public relations, Renée-Claude Ménard. The end of "Zaia," staged at The Venetian Macao gambling resort, is seen as more proof Macau is not quite Las Vegas, even as its gambling revenue consistently surpasses the American city's. "We knew the (Macau) market was not shifting from 'gaming only' to a 'destination' market ... we knew it would become an issue at some point in time," Ménard told The Gazette. Also on CNNGo: Best of Macau read more

Shanghai's best museums Posted: 19 Feb 2012 08:14 PM PST by Angela Doland Shanghai sometimes gets dismissed as a shallow city, a vortex of shopping, snacking and spending, but rewarding cultural explorations do exist in China's commercial center.  Here are six of Shanghai's best museums to add to your travel itinerary, from a comprehensive state-run establishment to a hidden-in-the-basement private institute. 1. Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆) Impress the ladies with your knowledge of batik and embroidered textiles. Visitors might be tempted to avoid the Shanghai Museum, the city's most official temple to Chinese culture. For starters, it's ugly -- the 1990s construction on People's Square looks like a massive bathroom sink. Get over that first impression and you'll find treasures inside. One highlight is the ceramics collection and its Tang Dynasty (618-907) tomb guardians, including a ferocious beast that seems part dragon, tiger, horse and goat. read more

Life and death on the Sydney tourist trail Posted: 19 Feb 2012 07:26 PM PST by Ian Lloyd Neubauer When you buy a 170-year old hotel and start digging around, you're bound to come across a few surprises. That's what happened to Shlomi Bonet while unearthing an old landfill at his heritage-listed property in Breadalbane, a small village southwest of Sydney that just happens to make a fine day trip out of the city. Standing on the Old South Road -- the first thoroughfare linking Sydney and Melbourne -- the Breadalbane Hotel was an alehouse, post office and staging post for Cobb and Co, the legendary 19th-century stagecoach company. The hotel's license to serve alcohol was temporarily revoked in 1865 after the then-publican Thomas Lodge was charged with harboring "The Gentleman Bushranger" Ben Hall, whose gang spent the night there after holding up another hotel down the road at the town of Collector. What lies beneath? Thousands of bottles were consumed at the Breadalbane Hotel until it was converted into a homestead a century ago, most of which were thrown into landfills that now pockmark the property. Over time, some of this glass has found its way to the surface, creating a colonial-era hazard for the current owner's young family. read more

10 ways to get a cheaper holiday Posted: 19 Feb 2012 07:00 PM PST by Hiufu Wong We work all year with nary a break to speak about, then blow whatever we've saved on 10 days in a motel some place, somewhere. With just a little extra research, there are ways to get that dream holiday far cheaper. Also on CNNGo: 10 cities, 100 amazing free attractions Feel free to watch my TV and feed my cats. 1. Book a home, not a hotel With accommodation often accounting for a huge chunk out of your travel budget, it's one of the easiest ways to cut your costs. read more

Best of Rio de Janeiro Posted: 19 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST by Joe Robinson Travel fantasies don't always live up to the reality, but the "marvelous city," as Rio de Janeiro's citizens call their beloved hometown, can knock even the most jaded travelers off their seen-it-all perches.  Dress appropriately, it can get extremely hot in Rio.The marvels range from singular settings -- primo beaches surrounded by jungled slopes and granite monoliths -- to some of the best music on the planet, to a lifestyle that invites all to slow down and sample life at a beachside kiosk, sidewalk bar or juice stand. Famed for girls from Ipanema and Carnaval, the best of Rio is all that but a lot more.  The party goes on year-round in the cultural heart of Brazil, from the samba renaissance in the Lapa District, where you can choose from an array of great clubs, music and restaurants; to Carnaval rehearsals at local samba schools that redefine the word "celebration."  As it prepares for the Olympics in 2016, the city has launched a massive security program that's finally addressing long-standing safety concerns. The best of Rio beaches of the Zona Sul are heavily patrolled and many other areas -- especially those troubled by crime and drugs -- have been cleaned up. read more

Eating trend: 'Dark dining' shines a light on flavor Posted: 19 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST by Clay Hemmerich, with additional reporting by CNNGo staff At dine-in-the-dark restaurants, there's need to worry about whether you're using the right fork. Unless someone is pointing a creepy night-vision lens at you. Ever taken a bite of something with your eyes closed -- a carrot, a slice of grapefruit -- then had trouble identifying the flavor? That surprise you felt at finding out you'd actually bitten into a peach, not a banana, is behind the increasingly popular "dark dining" phenomenon. With roots in Europe and North America, the playful concept is fast spreading across Asia. There's Senses restaurant in Hong Kong, Blind Art Restaurant in Seoul, Trojan Fairy in Beijing and Bandung's Blind Cafe and Restaurant in Indonesia.   This month, Bangkok joins the list with the opening of Dine in the Dark (DID) in the Ascott Sathorn Hotel. Secret menus, intensified flavors  Roughly following the worldwide script, a meal at DID goes like this: diners are welcomed by a hostess, who helps them choose the type of cuisine they'd like to try. Then they're led into a pitch-black room where visually impaired guides help seat them at a table. read more

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