Guest: Audrey Huttert, General Manager of The St. Regis Venice

Water taxis, soft pastels, and a view that steals your breath—our Venice journey starts inside the St. Regis Venice, a historic palazzo reimagined with contemporary art and quiet, personal service. We sit down with General Manager Audrey to trace the hotel’s path from Europa Regina and Britannia days to its 2019 rebirth, and we unpack how design choices—Scarpa-inspired lines, Monet-hued rooms, and curated installations—turn a storied address into a living gallery on the Grand Canal.

Food lovers get their moment on the heated terrace at Gio’s, where Venetian ingredients meet a Puglian soul, while night owls follow us to the St. Regis Bar for the signature Bloody Mary and then to the Arts Bar for bespoke cocktails served in hand-blown Murano glass. We talk location strategy too: steps to Piazza San Marco, a stroll over the wooden Accademia Bridge to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and evenings at La Fenice. If you’re timing a trip, we weigh the case for winter’s hush, October’s golden calm, and the high-energy pulses of the Biennale and the Film Festival.

To deepen the craft story, we ferry to Murano and bypass the tourist shows for the oldest working glass factory, Barovier & Toso. Watching masters shape molten color reframes every glass on your table, and a night at NH Collection Murano Villa—tucked behind historic doors with modern lofted rooms—lets the island’s rhythm slow you down. By the end, you’ll know how to choose a suite with the right view, where to book, when to come, and how to explore Venice with intention so the city gives more back.

Love travel stories that double as a guide? Follow, subscribe, and leave a quick review to help others find the show—and tell us your perfect Venice month so we can tailor future tips.

CHAPTERS:

• 0:00 Welcome And Venice Tease
• 0:49 Meeting The St. Regis GM
• 2:32 Hotel History And Rebirth
• 5:55 Arrival By Water And First Impressions
• 8:50 Dining At Gio’s And Bars
• 12:45 Suites, Views, And Design
• 16:40 Venice Then And Now
• 19:10 Neighborhood, Museums, And Access
• 21:06 How To Book And When To Visit
• 25:10 Collaborations, Art, And The Garden

For more information:

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/vcexr-the-st-regis-

venice/overview/?scid=f2ae0541-1279-4f24-b197-a979c79310b0

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Want New York City without the New York price tag? We brought in Pauline Frommer to show exactly how to make it happen, with practical strategies that stretch your budget while keeping the magic intact. From rush seats on Broadway to off-season hotel wins, this conversation is a masterclass in traveling well without overspending—or getting fooled by AI-driven pricing.

We dig into the Frommer legacy and why real, on-the-ground reporting still matters in a web full of influencer hype and fake reviews. Pauline lays out a clear playbook: visit January through March for hotel deals that drop by hundreds, lean on rush tickets and TodayTix for theater savings, and time your attraction visits at mid-day to avoid AI’s hourly price surges. She also shares a crucial tactic for fair pricing everywhere: use a VPN. By switching your search location, you can sidestep geographic price profiling and reveal fees upfront like EU shoppers see.

There is fresh excitement in the city too. Times Square is adding a new observation deck with a quirky “ball experience,” complete with crystal wishes woven into New Year’s lore, plus LAVS—yes, a floor of paid bathrooms designed for real convenience. The Studio Museum in Harlem unveils its striking new home, the Jewish Museum’s reimagined core exhibit spotlights artifacts with powerful stories, and the Frick’s reopened second floor reframes Gilded Age life with intimacy. We round it out with dining trends—like Korean-forward wine bars on the Lower East Side—that locals love and visitors rarely find without a guide.

If you value honest recommendations over algorithmic guesswork, this one is for you. We talk tools that actually find cheaper flights (hello, Momondo), how to avoid AI-generated guidebook spam, and why turning off ad blockers helps keep real travel journalism alive. Subscribe, share with a friend planning a trip, and leave a review with your favorite NYC money-saving tip—we might feature it next time.

CHAPTERS:

• 0:00 Introducing Pauline Frommer
• 1:33 The Frommer Story And Mission
• 5:15 Why Trusted Guidebooks Still Matter
• 9:05 New York On A Middle-Class Budget
• 13:15 How To Score Discount Broadway Tickets
• 16:50 Hotel Strategy And Off-Season Wins
• 21:00 What’s New In New York Culture
• 27:10 Times Square Deck, Ball Experience, And LAVS
• 31:00 Museum Revivals And Hidden Stories
• 35:20 Dining Trends And Secret Finds

Guest: Jenny Gowan, Special Events Manager at Wilderness Travel

Looking for travel that does more than check boxes? We sit down with Wilderness Travel’s special events manager, Jenny Gowen, to unpack how truly adventurous journeys are built: small groups, local leadership, and a guiding principle that we’re not spectators. From the company’s pioneering roots in 1978 to today’s topic-driven itineraries, Jenny shares how curiosity and humility turn a trip into a deeper experience.

We dive into eclipse travel that sells out in hours, including why 2027 Egypt is a standout with six minutes and twenty-two seconds of totality over Luxor. Jenny reveals how they balance maximum totality, historic cloud cover, and the cultural story of a place while partnering with expert astronomers like UC Berkeley’s Alex Filippenko. You’ll hear the strategy behind short, flexible event trips in Europe with smart add-ons, plus longer, immersive routes in destinations like Egypt, Patagonia, and Mongolia.

If you’ve wondered how to pick the right adventure, we break down Wilderness Travel’s trip rating system, the benefits of small groups capped at 15, and why even level-one journeys involve authentic walking and real access. We talk logistics in remote regions such as Namibia, included meals and scheduling that reduce friction, and the upside of traveling with an outfitter that keeps funds local and opens doors independent travelers rarely reach. Jenny also shares practical booking advice: use the website’s search bar, join interest lists, act early, and flip to the back of their stunning annual catalog to spot new itineraries. With generous cancellation policies on most small-group trips, you can plan ahead with confidence.

Ready to chase totality, reconnect with family, or revisit a place with new eyes and expert context? Hit follow, share this episode with your favorite travel buddy, and leave a review to help more curious travelers find us. Safe travels!

• 0:00 Meet Jenny From Wilderness Travel
• 1:45 Origins And Ethos Of Adventure Travel
• 3:35 Travel With Purpose And Local Impact
• 5:36 Eclipse Travel And The Expert Factor
• 8:10 Why 2027 Egypt Is A Standout
• 10:30 Trip Lengths, Add-Ons, And Flexibility
• 13:20 Small Groups And Trip Ratings
• 16:15 Scheduling, Dining, And Remote Logistics
• 19:30 Value, Access, And Stress-Free Planning
• 22:45 Booking Early, Catalog Secrets, Waitlists
• 26:00 Topic-Driven Travel And Renewed Wonder
• 28:20 Family Travel And Generational Legacy
• 30:00 How To Book, Deposits, And CTA
• 32:30 Host Closing And Follow Us

For more information:

https://www.wildernesstravel.com/

2025 Eclipse trip in Northern Spain:

https://www.wildernesstravel.com/trip/total-solar-eclipse-2026-northern-spain/

2026 Eclipse trip in Luxor, Egypt:

https://www.wildernesstravel.com/trip/total-solar-eclipse-2027-luxor-egypt/

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►LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wilderness-travel/

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► Email: roundtripc