All day today the Travel Channel will be showing programs featuring spooky travel destinations. From haunted hotels to creepy attractions you can find the best places to go if you like being scared!

Travel Channel Halloween TV Schedule

Wired Magazine and Living Homes have joined forces and built a $4 million home in Los Angeles, California. The space showcases the latest gadgets and appliances while staying environmentally friendly. It aims to prove that luxury and sustainability can coexist.

From November 1-18th the house will be open to the public for tours. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online. Included in the admission price is a one year subscription to Wired magazine. A portion of the proceeds will go to various organizations which fight global warming and build green homes for low income families.

If you can’t jet to LA on such short notice, you can watch the house being built on the official website. A virtual tour of the home will also be available shortly.

Wired Home

Every year we hear stories of plane crashes somewhere in the world and it reminds us that flying involves some risk. The fact is that not all airlines are safe to travel with. Airsafe.com will help you make smart decisions by allowing you to view airline and aircraft accident statistics. It also offers plenty of travel tips and will link you to many government and consumer websites containing important safety information.

Source: Conde Nast Traveler

In the era of the iPod, radios may seem a bit obsolete, but sometimes there’s nothing like local music to get the flavor of a foreign country. Grudig’s Portable World Band Radio will tune you in wherever you are. It’s small and lightweight and comes with a travel case and earbuds.

$60 MoMA Store

Source: Sherman’s Travel

Have you ever wished you could speak a foreign language? You may be able to take classes at home, but why not combine education with your next vacation?

Languages Abroad represents over 150 language programs worldwide and they’ll help you find group classes or a private instructor so you can study French in Paris or Cantonese in Hong Kong. You’ll learn much faster in total immersion and come back from your trip with much more than some T-shirts and flashy souvenirs.

Source: Sunday Times Travel

One of my favorite places to take friends visiting New York City is Alice’s Tea Cup, a tearoom/cafe with three locations in Manhattan. Although the original location on 73rd Street has the most character, it is also the smallest and fills up very quickly. Reservations are only taken for groups so it’s best to visit during the week or early in the morning on weekends.

The menu is filled with delicious dishes but I like sharing the “Mad Hatter for Two” which consists of a three tiered tray filled with tea sandwiches, scones, cakes and cookies. The scones are absolutely amazing! They are moist and delicious and come in a variety of different flavors every day. The pumpkin scone is their signature and a must try. Of course, there is also an extensive tea list and the “Mad Hatter” includes two pots.

Alice’s Tea Cup

A lot of people like to play cards to pass the time while flying or just hanging out on vacation. With World Map playing cards, you can plan your next trip and play Go Fish simultaneously. In addition to the traditional numbers and suits, each card features a map of a different area as well as data on the location. There are also special geography themed games you can play if you tire of the typical card fare. Decks come in National Park, U.S. State, U.S. City and World versions.

Priced from $3.56 Universal Map

Source: Global Traveler

Flip Video is the first camcorder to produce instant web ready videos! Built in software allows you to take photos and video, edit, watch and e-mail your films on the go. After you finish, just plug it’s USB arm into your computer to upload directly to video sharing sites like YouTube. You can even bring it to a local photo processing center if you want a DVD. It’s ultra compact, comes with a wrist strap, carrying case and a TV connector cable.

$119.99 (30 minutes) Target

$139.99 (60 minutes) Target

Source: Global Traveler

The Rome Cavalieri Hilton hotel offers a special gladiator training fitness course complete with helmets and swords. Your group will work out Russell Crowe style for about two hours at which point you receive special medals of completion and a title based on your skill. The workshop costs 500 euros (about $710) for up to 8 people.

Rome Cavalieri Hilton

Source: MSNBC

No matter where your travels take you, you won’t get very far without clean water. When we find ourselves in places where the tap water isn’t safe to drink and bottled water isn’t readily available, the SteriPEN could literally be a lifesaver.

Just hold the SteriPEN into a glass of water and push a button to send purifying ultraviolet rays through the liquid. Forty seconds later, it’s ready to drink!

$99.00 Magellan’s

Source: Sky