Officials in Venice are fed up with trashy tourists and are distributing leaflets and putting up posters with a new set of rules.  It is now forbidden to sit or recline under the porticos or on the steps along the Procuratie Nuove or the Ala Napoleonica, the buildings that ring St. Mark's Square.   It is forbidden to stop to eat or drink anywhere other than at tables set up out by public restaurants, to litter or leave behind wastepaper, cans, bottles and any other type of solid or liquid waste.   The sale of takeout food is being banned around St. Mark's Square. Officials are also looking at directing foot traffic through the Square.  Decency patrols are enforcing the new rules and visitors who litter, eat in un designated areas or loiter under impermissible porticos may be find up to 500 euros.   

Rate the hotel loyalty programs.  A great chart at http://tinyurl.com/3dktfc

China prepares for the Olympics.  The Chinese government is attempting to educate the citizens of Beijing to adopt better manners.   Beijing is a city of spitters and the government wants to avoid embarrassing visitors with its citizens behavior.   The city has mobilized thousands of volunteers and paid workers to conduct surveys, send out text messages, herd people into queues, warn against spitting, distribute brochures and study pedestrian behavior.  The 1th day of every month has become voluntarily wait in line day when bus and subway patrons are urged to queue properly at their stops.   The campaign slogan is "Its civilized to queue properly, its glorious to be polite."   The government has distributed 2.8 million pamphlets on etiquette training to 870,000 people in the service sector, including wait staff, bus conductors and taxi drivers.   Having just returned from Beijing, I can say that, to the surprise of many of the Chinese themselves, this campaign is working.  Little spitting was observed and many queues in the subway every day, not just on the 11th of the month.

Lost luggage.  The limit domestic travellers can claim for lost luggage increased this year to $3,000 but note that the amount of items the carriers will not pay for has expanded over the years.    Most airlines contracts of carriage specifically exclude heirlooms, cash, electronic equipment, any work-related samples or items, antiques, computer equipment and related items, documents, film, fragile items, irreplaceable items, jewelry, keys, manuscripts, medication, paintings, or one of a kind works or art, perishable items, pets/animals, photographs, photographic equipment, securities, silverware and watches.  Especially note that you need to know what is packed in your bag if it is lost.  On international trips that originate in countries that have not ratified the Montreal Convention, passengers may obtain up to 1,000 SDRs per passenger.  An SDR is an international currency that is equivalent to about $1.50 US.  Those countries that fall under the Warsaw convention are limited to $9.07 per pound.

Checking charge. Before you fly be sure to double check how much you can check.  Just as airlines reduce the amount you can carry on some, like Spirit Airlines, are charging a fee for even the first checked bag.

Flying at the end of the month.  Again this summer we are seeing airlines cancel flights at the end of the month because of a shortge of pilots/and or flight crew with enough hours to staff the aircraft. Be careful when choosing flights the last few days of each month.

The Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral hosts a daily "Lunch with an Astronaut" program, where you can get a chance to talk with a NASA astronaut over a meal.  For more information go to www.kennedyspacecenter.com .