Barcelona is a nightlife-lover's paradise. Between the city's thriving music scene, liberal drinking laws and the generally hedonistic social attitudes of many Spaniards, you're almost assured a good time when you go out. I have spent many a night wandering the narrow streets of the Barrio Gotico neighborhood, hopping from one tiny bar to the next while enjoying a few mojitos with friends.

If that's not convincing enough, an article in today's Guardian points out that nightlife-lovers have yet another reason to visit Barcelona - a growing trend of "hidden" bars. In recent years an estimated 40-some-odd illegal drinking establishments have sprung up, thanks largely to the okupas, Spanish squatters who occupy the city's many empty buildings.

Spiraling housing costs have put buying or renting apartments out of reach for many Spaniards, who have taken to occupying empty buildings as a last resort. Some of the more enterprising squatters have created bars with their space, earning themselves some extra cash. A few spots to check out include:

• El Mariachi - a favorite hangout for the city's musicians, this quirky spot is nothing more than a few mismatched pieces of furniture. The real highlight is the cocktails, which include the Hydro-Miel, the house specialty mixed with honey. (Corner of Carrer dels Codols and Carrer d'en Rull, Barrio Gotico)
• El Armario - another tiny spot in the El Raval neighborhood. The name in Spanish means "wardrobe," which is accurate: you literally walk past the owner's clothing collection to get inside. (Carrer de la Riereta, El Raval)
• The Front Room - this bar, which does not seem to have an "official" name, occupies a small front room behind a tiny metal door on the Carrer d'en Carabassa. (Metal door opposite 5 Carrer d'en Carabassa, Barrio Gotico)
  

If you want to visit these places, be prepared and be patient. Most don't have signs or set hours of operation, usually opening after 2am when Barcelona's other bars are shutting down. Furthermore, their illegal status makes them targets for closure by police. In other words, have some back-up drinking options. But if you're headed out with an open mind and little bit of persistence, Barcelona's hidden bars look ready to offer a uniquely Spanish "night on the town."

Everyone is looking forward to the Olympics. It is expected that well over half-a-million visitors will descend on Beijing during the Games. While all those people will probably contribute to the excitement and energy of the event, it going to be crowded. Imagine trying to visit The Great Wall of China or the Forbidden City in mid-August. The crowds will make a packed weekend at Disney World look like a trip to one of the monasteries where the monks aren't allowed to speak.

True, many touristy sites will be engorged with sightseers, but Beijing is a huge and wide-ranging city with plenty of corners that will go unnoticed by the visiting masses.

Here are a few places that are well worth visiting but will most likely end up under the radar of the average Olympic tourist.

In celebration of the new season of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the travel channel, Gadling is giving away a free, autographed poster of Mr. Bourdain to one lucky winner.

Have you been following along this year? We're now three episodes deep into the season and blogger Jeremy has been following the unfolding debauchery closely. Take a look at his recaps if you'd like to catch up.

Think that poster would go great above your headboard? Just leave an entry telling us where you would like to see Tony travel next in the comments below and we'll draw a lucky winner by this Friday, July 25th.

Good luck!

• To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us where you think Anthony Bourdain should travel next.
  
• The comment must be left before Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 5PM Eastern Time.
• You may enter only once.
• One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
• One Grand Prize Winner will receive a free, original autographed poster of Anthony Bourdain
  
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
• Poster is valued at $20.
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Location: This week's episode takes us to Saudi Arabia, where Tony is guided by the winner of the No Reservations FAN-atic contest, Danya Alhamrani. The master of strange destinations heads to the land of camels, deserts and oil to take a "peek behind the veil" of one of the world's more mysterious destinations.

Episode Rating: Three bloody meat cleavers out of five.

Summary: Last year, No Reservations put together a contest to find Anthony a co-host for one episode. After sorting through more than 1300 entries, ranging from creepy, to boring, to downright strange, Mr. Bourdain settles on his winner, Danya, who plans to take Tony on a grand tour of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia was certainly an interesting episode - it is well off the beaten tourist path, allowing for interesting insight into a country not particuarly well-known by many Americans as anything but a source of oil and terrorism. Tony and Danya set out dispel such notions with a journey into finer points of Saudi cuisine and daily life.

After you return home from your trip to New York City, what are people going to ask you? Did you see the Statue of Liberty? Did you ride the subway? Did you eat at one of those restaurants?

Your answers in order might be: Yes, yes, and it was just too damn expensive.

Eating in New York is pricey, especially if you want to go for the complete experience at the high end. For the remainder of July, though, more than 200 of the city's restaurateurs will celebrate NYC Summer Restaurant Week by making their product more accessible to the hot-dog-cart-frequenting, subway-riding masses.

Meal prices are set at $24.07 for lunch and $35.00 for dinner. Sadly, that does not include beverages, tax, or tip.

The best aspect of Restaurant Week is that it is not confined to one neighborhood of the city or one type of cuisine. Diners can try funky fusion dishes at Vong's in Midtown, rub shoulders with New York tend-setters at the TriBeCa Grill, or swirl pasta on their forks at Centovini in SoHo.

It's probably best to get reservations at one of the many participating restaurants. That is unless you are prepared to pay a hefty bribe to the maitre d'.

Those who don't care for the heat of New York in summertime can wait for NYC Winter Restaurant Week, which is normally held in late January.

Photo via Flickr user Plate of the Day

I can't remember the precise destination we were working, but what I do remember was the shocked look on my coworkers face when he came running up to the first class galley and exclaimed, "There's a naked woman in coach!"

"What!" two of us cried in unison.

Needless to say, the breakfast service was now on hold. How could we serve bagels when there was a nekkid lady aboard the flight? Into the oven the bread went, and off and running we went, ignoring any passengers who may have tried to wave us down as we headed straight to the the back of the airplane, a blur of four dressed in blue.

"There she is. The last row," said one of my coworkers as we neared the last row.

"Oh my god," I remember thinking, or saying, I can't remember, it was just too crazy to remember. What I do remember is she was young, cute, and naked. College aged, I'd say.

Now this was pre 9/11, so the flight was empty, and the thought of terrorists were the furthest from our minds. The only thing on our minds, besides this naked lady, was why in the world the lady would get naked on the airplane in the first place? Unfortunately, we would never find out.

Road rage is so twentieth century.

Try coffee rage instead. According to the much-publicized story of Jeff Simmermon, it sounds quite satisfying.

Simmermon, a blogger from Brooklyn, walked into Murky Coffee, a coffee shop in Arlington, VA earlier this week and asked for his summertime drink of choice: a triple espresso over ice. The barista looked at him and said "I'm sorry, we can't serve iced espresso here. It's against our policy."

Puzzled, Simmermon asked for a triple espresso and a cup of ice instead. Barista had no choice but to comply. He handed him both cups and said: "Hey man. What you're about to do ... that's really, really Not Okay."

Amidst coffee rage, Simmermon looked him right in eyes and poured the espresso onto the ice. (This is the satisfying moment, in case you are new to the coffee rage concept.)

For most coffee shop patrons accustomed to getting their signature drink at will, this would have been the last time they ever ventured into that coffee shop. Not Simmermon. An hour later, he walked back into Murky Coffee and asked for "the strongest iced beverage the policy will allow."

The barista offered "an Americano with four shots and light on the water." He filled up a plastic cup with ice, filled it 3/4 of the way with water and carefully added four shots of espresso. Apparently, diluting espresso with ice is not OK. Diluting it with water and ice is perfectly fine.

Simmermon went back home and ranted about this experience on his blog "And I am not lying". His post quickly made it through cyberspace, generating thousands of comments and inspiring even the Washington Post to write a piece about "coffee rage."

Finally, the owner of Murky Coffee made an official statement on his website:

"No modifications to the Classic Cappuccino. No questions will be answered about the $5 Hot Chocolate (during the months we offer it). No espresso in a to-go cup. No espresso over ice. These are our policies. We have our reasons, and we're happy to share them."

I don't know about you, but this whole coffee culture thing is getting a bit out of control. I don't exactly know who to side with here. The angry customer who, on one hand, wants to boycott Starbucks by giving business to small local coffee shops and, on the other hand, cannot handle not getting exactly and promptly what he wants? Or the staff of the small coffee shop which comes across as a pretentious bunch of posers?

Hmm, tough one. Based on my experience with coffee shop patrons, I am going to have to root for the coffee shop, I think.

Years ago, I actually worked at a Starbucks. Yes, I hate to admit it. It must have been one of the worst weeks of my life. The patrons of Starbucks, and probably of any coffee shop, must be collectively the worst customers of any customers out there. Imagine a group of A-plus personalities at 7am, before they get their morning coffee.

No, they don't tend to be morning people. They get to the coffee shop already pissed off. Then, they get more pissed off because they have to wait in a line, because they have to wait at all, because they coffee is too hot, lukewarm, not sweet enough, too sweet, you name it.

I once had a woman who ordered a triple-grande-skim-light-on-the-syrup-caramel-macchiato or whatever, which I made. Clearly, not to her liking. She obviously wasn't having a good morning. She tasted the coffee, looked at me and screamed: "THIS IS NOT WHAT I ORDERED," and threw the coffee in my face. Literally. I can still remember the taste of the caramel syrup dripping from my nose.

She continued screaming: "At $5 a cup, this is not even worth it!!! WHY AM I EVEN HERE???"

That was a very, very good question.

If you happen to be near Helena, Montana, here's an option for an outing you probably can't find in your own back yard. I wouldn't have known about it myself if I hadn't picked up Section D of today's The Montana Standard this morning while staying at my friend's house in Butte.

The article on The Last Chance Ranch caught my attention. The ranch offers an old-fashioned wagon ride through the forest to dinner in one of two tipis. The dinner, a home-style cooked prime rib feast, includes a performance by Bruce Anfinson who is well known in these parts as the Charlie Russell of music. Charlie Russell was a western style artist whose work now fetches thousands of thousands of dollars. I mean thousands.

Anfinson says that he aims to give people a slice of the real Montana that he loves. Songs reflect Montana history and culinary traditions. Expect huckleberries. The ranch, now owned by Anfinson, is 102 years old, and according to the article, this is a well-worth it western experience.

Here's the Web site link for the ranch with info about how to register for the dinner.

As a chronic over tipper in restaurants I've always been a bit confused when on a plane. While very occasionally an attendant will accept a tip, most often they move off before you can even try. Sometimes they outright won't accept a tip. I've been in union jobs where the union disallows tipping in order to get a higher wage. Is this the case? I tip at the very least a dollar a drink at a bar, and I figure an attendant deserves even more than that. What gives?

Cliff F.

Before I can address Cliff's question about tipping flight attendants, I have to say that I want you, Cliff, on one of my flights! Please let me know when you're traveling again and I'll trade onto the trip. Why? Because you sound nice. Because good passengers make good trips. Trust me, I'm not saying this because you're a big tipper, but because you understand the plight of the working class. As for your question about tipping on flights, flight attendants, at least the ones at my airline, are not supposed to accept tips. Why aren't we allowed to accept tips? I'm not sure - exactly. But my guess is it has something to do with the higher wage flight attendants make opposed to other service industry workers, like Cliff mentioned. Even though I do not accept tips (it's my job to serve you that drink!), that tip, the one I did not accept, is greatly appreciated. So thank you, Cliff, for thinking of me. And I'll be looking for you on my next flight.

Heather Poole

If you've ever wondered exactly how Jelly Belly jelly beans are made, you can do more than just watch candy being made through observation windows. The Jelly Belly Candy Company in Fairfield, California has opened its doors for exclusive tours called Jelly Belly University Tours. The tours are reservation only and cost a pretty penny.

For $47 you'll get to don a white coat, gloves and a hairnet for a personal tour through the actual factory. Reading about this reminded me a bit of Willy Wonka, except when you taste the good stuff and the experience won't turn you into a blueberry, shrink you to a tiny size, or have you taken away by squirrels.

The reason why the tour is so expensive is that it's exclusive. Only six people are taken through at a time so you'll have an up close and personal experience while surrounded by the sweetness.

If you don't want to pay this kind of cash, you can still take the company's free factory tour but it doesn't give you that personal touch. Here's the link to factory tour information.

For anyone who loves Jelly Belly jelly beans, the store would be a blast. All those flavors. My son, though, would need some coaching beforehand, or he would go totally nuts with the excitement of seeing such splendor.