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5 Best Cars to Rent for a Road Trip

May 23, 2017

Renting a car for a road trip is a really great idea for certain people in certain circumstances. Maybe your daily driver isn’t that reliable, comfortable or spacious. Maybe you live in the middle of an urban area and don’t even own a car. Renting a vehicle means that you can get a 4-wheel drive SUV if your daily driver is a small 2-door coupe so you can hit the trails on your trip. You’ll not only save wear and tear on your everyday car, but it’ll feel even more like you’re on a special vacation with a vacation vehicle!

If you want to rent something for your road trip, here are 5 of the best cars for that. We included a variety of sizes from sedans to vans, all with great to above average gas mileage, and a focus on comfort. All are incredibly common at rental car locations so you shouldn’t have an issue finding any of them at the rental place near you.

 

Pick the perfect car and then start planning your road trip!

 

Ford Focus

 

If you’re looking for a really comfortable, basic vehicle that has a smooth ride, is great on gas, and can fit up to 4 of your friends and their stuff surprisingly well, go with a Focus. There are a few different models, so check to see what’s available from your preferred rental company. The hatchback will give you more room for longer or oddly shaped items you may bring along or want to take home, but the sedan may be preferred if you’re taking more people along. Both have lots of legroom.

 

You can get up to 38 miles per gallon on the highway so you’ll be able to cover so much ground without killing your road trip gas budget too fast.

 

Hyundai Tucson

 

Hyundai consistently tops the list of most rented cars in America, and you can easily find all different types of models at most car rental places, including the road trip-read compact crossover Tucson. This small but capable SUV can be found with all-wheel drive for covering any type of terrain you want to cross. You’ll get an impressive average of 32 mpg, which is better than some sedans.

 

Premium interior features and lots of added-in compartments for maps, drinks, electronics and other road-trip necessities make this such a comfortable car to travel in. Your passengers will love the spacious back seat, or fold down the seats and you’ll have about 62 cubic feet of cargo space back there.

 

If you need more room for things like snowboards, dogs, camping equipment, friends or anything else, consider renting a Tucson. You won’t end up spending much more in gas, and the extra room and comfort will be priceless after hours on the road.

 

Toyota Corolla

 

Toyota cars are so commonly rented out because they’re so reliable and efficient. What more would you want for a road trip vehicle? This basic but favorite sedan has everything you need, and nothing you don’t. With room for up to 5 people comfortably, about 34 mpg on the highway and little touches like USB chargers, satellite radio and built-in personal storage cubbies, the Corolla is an excellent car to rent for a road trip.

 

RAV4

 

Another excellent small SUV that’s easily rentable and excellent for a road trip is the RAV4. Tech-based comfort features like dual-zone climate and cruise control help keep everyone comfortable. An average mpg of 30 on the highway will keep your gas budget in check. You can tow up to 1,500 pounds so whether you want to take along a motorcycle, some kayaks or anything else to play with on your road trip, you can do it with ease in the RAV4.

 

Dodge Grand Caravan

 

If you want to bring along a lot of people, a lot of stuff, or both, the Grand Caravan is a seriously grand option for you. These vans are so popular and because of that they’re practically everywhere and should be easy to find at most car rental places. They definitely aren’t fancy, but they’re reliable, roomy and pretty good on gas given all the space you get, averaging 25 mpg on the highway and a still-impressive 17 or so in the city. You can easily fit up to 7 passengers, or fold down the back seats and have room for cargo storage.

Culture

How to Have a Great Date with a Food Lover

April 28, 2017

A date in a restaurant is an ideal date for the beautiful half of humanity. And for a girl who likes to eat it is just perfect. So, if your girlfriend is a food lover, then it’s even easier for you because you don’t have to think where to invite her. You just have to choose the place where you can eat.

  1. Coffeehouse

Perhaps, it is one of the most suitable places for a date. There she can order a cup of coffee or tea, and some dessert – a cake or an ice cream. In addition, such a place is very romantic.

  1. Restaurant

It is better for you to choose a familiar restaurant with a familiar menu. There she can order different dishes. Most likely she will order a salad, fish or meat and a side dish to it. You should order a bottle of wine or any other alcohol beverage. This will help relax and defuse the situation.

  1. Fast food

This is one of the best places where you can eat cheap food. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, French fries, Coca-Cola – all of it is so harmful, but so loved by almost all the girls. But if you look for Russian girls for marriage, it is better not to invite them in such places. It is unlikely that you will be able to impress them by hamburgers, even if they love it so much. These girls want you to invite them to a more romantic place.

  1. Sushi restaurant

This can definitely be called one of the favorite places for girls. A Peking duck, different rolls and sushi, rice with seafood, noodles and this is not the whole list of what your girl can order there.

How to behave

Before you invite her to a restaurant or any other place from the list above, learn the rules of etiquette by heart: who should go first, how to behave in a restaurant and who should pay for a nice evening.

Young happy couple celebrating with champagne at picnic

Open a door for her

If you are a real man and you are going to somewhere with a woman, then you have to know that a woman should go ahead of you. It must be anytime and anywhere, not only on the way to a restaurant.

You have to open a door for a woman for she goes into a place first. But then you have to be ahead of her. What for? By the rules of etiquette, you have to enter the hall first. Doing so you protect your girlfriend from unexpected collisions and you get a real opportunity to warn her about some steps or a threshold. Remember that she is no longer just a woman beyond a threshold, she is a lady. Don’t forget to give her hand and hold a door.

Choose a table

There may be a head waiter at an entrance of an elite restaurant, who has to meet you and follow to a table with you. He or she will offer you a free or an ordered table.

In an ordinary restaurant, you simply will be asked to choose a table by yourself. Remember that choosing of a table is your privilege. Don’t shift this process to woman’s shoulders, but listen to her opinion.

Treat your girl

When a table is chosen, then pull out a chair and ask a lady to sit down. It is preferable that you let a woman sit in the most comfortable place, for example near the wall or in the middle of the hall. Sitting there she can see the greater part of the hall. And don’t offer her to sit in the aisle in any case. It is better if you sit on the left of your lady or in front of her.

At the end of a date

Here everything repeats: open a door for her, let her go ahead, and show her a way to the lobby.

Leaving a restaurant, give your lady a fur coat or any other outerwear and only then you can put on your coat. But some sources recommend do it in the opposite way. In any case, you simply have to help her put on a coat. And don’t wait until a cloakroom attendant offers to do this. You will feel uncomfortable in such a situation. And you can wear a hat and gloves only on the street.

Finally, leaving a restaurant you have to let a woman go ahead.

Who pays

If you invite a girl to a cafe, then you have to pay for her. A man must be a support, and a strong shoulder, and in financial terms as well. If you have some relations, a woman always wants to realize that next to her a man who can solve any problems.

Culture

Three Places to Visit for the Most Memorable Dining in Tokyo

February 16, 2017

Whether or not you are visiting Tokyo for business or pleasure, there simply is no excuse for missing out on the finest, authentic Japanese cuisine. The sprawling megalopolis has earned its spot in the culinary spotlight by its varied, and sometimes eccentric, dining culture. At its heart is a centuries-long devotion to craft and precision. Here are three must visit locations for your next visit.

Fu-unji in Shibuya is the go to place for Tsukemen. In Tokyo the best dining experiences are found in the tiniest establishments, such as Fu-unji, where dining truly is an intimate, personal affair. What sets Fu-unji apart is the rich quality of the Tsukemen, a chicken-based broth. The soup has remarkable complexity and heft, and the creamy broth clings evenly to each noodle. The noodles are chewier than typical ramen, so they are more than substantial enough to withstand the most potent soup.

The best Tendon is to be found at Masaru in Asakusa, hands-down. Masaru has been perfecting its craft for over 50 years. Each morning, the chef selects the finest locally-caught fish from the Tsukiji Market. The standards are so high at Masaru that if the mornings catch doesn’t meet expectations, the shop will remain closed for the day.

Visit on a day when it is open, and Masaru will serve you up the most perfect Edomae Tendon you’ll ever taste. Each chunk of seafood is battered and cooked in sesame oil until golden brown with a tender center. The rice is dampened with soy sauce, and the soup is a complex blending of rich, smoky, and nutty flavors, turning an ordinary meal into a meditation on craft. Perfection!

At the end of the day, having sampled some of the finest culinary choices in Tokyo, you’ll want to experience for yourself why Tokyo has become known as having the best cocktail bars in the world.

Bar Ben Fiddich in Shinjuki provides an experienced unmatched by any. What distinguishes it from the others is the vast collection of absinthe bottles, some nearly 100 years old. Served from a traditional absinthe fountain, cocktails are made using hand-selected spices ground into a powder with mortar and pestle to achieve the highest quality of flavor.

There are many such hidden gems in Tokyo if you take the time to find them. When you’ve had the opportunity to sample various locations, some will begin to stand out above the others for producing the tastiest dishes and most memorable experiences. In time you’ll have your own “go-to” list of the finest eating in Tokyo.

Around The World

What To Eat In China: A Candid Traveler’s Guide

January 16, 2017

China is a global destination, for business and pleasure. The vast landscape, unique culture, and the unmatched history make for a truly unique and memorable experience. However, what most people do not realize is the richness in culinary diversity.

The culinary landscape in China is one of the most diverse. With 23 provinces and 56 ethnic groups, China never runs short of variety when it comes to food. The country has everything in the flavor spectrum. Any taste that your mouth (or heart desires) you can rest assured that you will get in China.

Furthermore, you need not go to the fanciest/expensive establishments to enjoy authentic and tantalizing dishes. Even small and modest eateries serve delicious Chinese delicacies. However, it is a tad difficult to pin down expressly on the best foods to try whilst touring China. Therefore, in the absence of a list of the best foods to try, we will delve into the must try foods in this what to eat in China read.

#1. The Tang Cu Li Ji/Sweet & Sour Pork – This dish features a sweet and sour flavor that leaves your tongue yearning for more. The dish is akin to Chinese takeaway dishes found in America. The dish goes well particularly with rice, owing to the mouthwatering sauce.

#2. Bamboo Shoots – While in the west, bamboos are mainly used as decorative plants; in China, bamboo is a delicacy and a very delicious one. More specifically, bamboo shoots. Harvested early in their development, usually a day old, the shoots are soft enough to cook and thereafter consume. Bamboo shoots retain a crunchy feel even after cooking and yield a milky feel too. The shoots taste is quite similar to the cooked baby corn.

#3. Tofu/Jia Chang Dou Fu – The jia chang dou fu is one of the mainstay dishes in Chinese restaurants. The interesting bit about the dish is that it tends to be prepared differently in every restaurant, but does retain the tofu foundation. Therefore, you get to enjoy a different version of the same dish whenever to take to a new restaurant.

#4. BBQ/Kao Rou – This is one the street dishes that you have to try. Mostly found in the city of Xi’an, Western China, this delicacy is delicious and easy to access as they are found on many streets. The dish is spicy as the different spices added to the meat give rise to unique taste among the different vendors.

#5. Soup Dumplings/Xiao Long Bao – One of the most popular street foods in China, the soup dumplings are a must try whilst on a visit to China. With the richly flavored filling made of ground pork, and savory soup (which contains ginger, Shaoxing wine, and scallions) encased in dumpling wrappers, you are left craving for more. Luckily, many vendors sell the delicacy. You need not search the length and breadth of China to enjoy some.

There are other delicacies to explore in China. However, the above dishes represent some of China’s unique culinary offerings. Be sure to try them. You most certainly will fall in love with them!

Food

These Are The Top Five Indian Dishes You Must Try

January 16, 2017

Indian cuisine is delicious, full of spices and often spicy, too. There are so many great dishes that selecting the top five is a little bit tricky. What are your favorite Indian food dishes? The great thing about Indian food is that India itself is culturally diverse, so that means top food dishes are also diverse and made using a variety of cooking techniques. Not only that, but addictive street food is also a thing in India, just like in say Thailand and for a stateside example, New York.

Any tourist destination has street food, but it is part of the culture in India. Let’s get down to these top five food dishes so you can start whipping up the recipes for dinner. You might have to go buy some ingredients though because you’re talking dishes of the eastern world, like the first pick for the top five, Chicken Stew and Appam.

This dish almost looks like what you would expect a creamy chicken noodle soup to look like. It is nothing like it though, and a real description would be chicken chunks in gravy with Appam. The gravy is a spicy coconut gravy, which makes it sound absolutely delicious.

The second dish that makes the top five is going to make your mouth water if you like lamb. Lamb is a delicious meat used in many Indian recipes. The Kakori Kabobs are lamb kabobs, and of course you can guess that all kinds of great spices are used.

The third dish that makes the top five is Rogan Josh, which some would say is #1. It is a dish that is again known for its special spices and is from Kashmir.

It is fun to learn where the dishes are from in India, too.

Coming in at #4 is a dish called Butter Chicken, which calls for a marinade of spices and yogurt.

At #5 is Dhokla, which you can’t pass up if you are learning about Indian cuisine.