Hosted at the Cantor Film Center in Greenwich Village, the two-day event featured panels, presentations, and readings featuring travel bloggers hailing from the US and abroad, some coming to town from as far away as New Zealand. The schedule was jam packed from mid-morning through late afternoon, allowing the more than 300 guests to learn from one another, compare notes, and discuss the intricacies of the travel blog industry with their peers.

In other words, it was the perfect weekend to throw a big party!

To celebrate the occasion, we collaborated with our friends from BootsnAll.com and invited all conference attendees to join us in the East Village on Saturday night for an evening of “anything goes.” What follows is a photo recap of an enjoyable, loud night in New York City.

(Note: We’re missing the names and Web sites of many partygoers pictured in the photos. Please help us out by emailing us the names, Twitter handles, and Web sites of those not named. You can also post the information in the comments section below. When sending a name, please include the corresponding photo number. Many thanks!)

1. First start with an interesting conference full of fun attendees: Here’s the crowd lining up to get in to TBEX 2010 on Saturday morning.

2. Then wait about eight hours and usher everyone to a lounge in the East Village. We had chosen The Professor’s Loft.

3. Next, add personable hosts for the evening: Tom Meyers and Sean Keener.

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The post Photo Essay: The EuroCheapo and BootsnAll TBEX Party appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Spotted–A few Budget Travel divas, Worldhum‘s Canadian correspondent extraordinaire, lots of dedicated Sosauce staffers (we co-hosted the party with them), a host of EuroCheapo correspondents, freelance journalists, bloggers, some Travel Blog Exchange peeps, our favorite New York Times’ columnist, and more.

Stay tuned if you missed this one. We’ll be hosting another party once the weather turns warm.

Warming factors-

And, speaking of feelin’ the heat, it’s the last day of February. No leap year. Just one more cold ‘un before we turn into the Ides of March. So we thought we’d take this opportunity to point out a few recent travel stories that are making us warm and fuzzy all over:

-BootsnAll posted about the 12 most amazing pools in the world. Care for a dip?

–Eva Holland’s reached her boiling point over the Slumdog hype.

-Michelle Higgins anchored in a bunch of cruise discounts in a Times’ piece a few weeks ago. Cheapo overboard!

-Our own Alex Robertson Textor offers up a few great posts on his recent trip to San Fran. We especially love the mention of “Sunset” mag.

-Finally, a dear friend of EuroCheapo is living and working on a farm in Italy. You can follow his narration here. (Catch the classic mention of “cheapo” standards. I mean, working on a farm in order to live abroad? Very Good Cheapo!)

The post Friday February Farewell: Post-party edition appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Yes, we did!

On Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn is as the 44th U.S. President and the world will be watching!

We’ve put together a list of places – that we currently know of – hosting inaugural day events in Europe. Fortunately, for all Europeans, the inauguration should be available in high-def at many locations.

We’ll keep adding to the list as Tuesday approaches. And, let us know – Do you still need to find a place to watch the event? Do you have another idea for a city we haven’t covered or an additional location in an existing city listed here?

Signed, sealed, delivered!

In Paris: The American Church in Paris hosts a prayer service at 7:30 PM followed by a viewing of the inauguration (one hour behind the live events) and a wine and cheese reception. Stop by and you might just see our Ed-in-Chief Tom Meyers! More info is here. You can also email Arlene Gross, the coordinator of the event, at arlbru2004@yahoo.com

For more ideas on where to hang your hat on inauguration day, check out this great forum on the Fodor’s Paris site. Other ideas include the Havane Cafe, at 70 Bis, Boulevard Auguste Blanqui (near Place d’Italie).

According to the Paris Expat Meetup group, the American Library has inauguration events planned. More info here.

In Berlin: Our friends over at BootsnAll first broke the news that Berlin would be partying down on inauguration eve. As they so aptly reminded us, it was Mr. Obama himself who said, “People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time.” Rock on! Head to Goya Nightclub for an evening of celebration or head to the Amerika Haus, where they’ve been celebrating Black History month for weeks already. Check out what they have planned here.

In London: A host of events are planned in Her Majesty’s great city. For a list of a bunch of them, visit Time Out London’s web site. Might we recommend the “Bye George” comedy celebration at the Southbank Centre on the evening before Obama takes office? By George, now that’s a pleasant thought!

For a real down-home feel, check out what the Chicago Rib Shack has planned. Just for the record, this is exactly where the other resident Cheapos would be if on the other side of the pond next week! They’re in Knightsbridge, near Harrods. For more info, email info@thechicagoribshack.co.uk

In Amsterdam: One of our favorite places to catch great entertainment and share laughs, Boom Chicago, has lots of fun stuff on the docket Tuesday night. Get in the mood earlier with a comedy show called, “Bye Bye Bush!”. For more information on the inaugural fest, go here.

In St. Petersburg: Fellow Cheapo “Liz” suggests trying the folks at the Grand Hotel Europe, where events are planned. Contact: desk.concierge@grandhoteleurope.com

Other suggestions: Check out sites like Democratic Underground, your city’s local Expat Meetup site, or Democrats Abroad for ideas.

Where will you be?

Tell us where you plan to watch the inauguration and – Help! Do you know of places in Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and other major European cities where inauguration events are planned? Please leave us a message in the comment section below. We’ll be updating our results as next Tuesday approaches.

The post Where to Watch Barack Obama’s Inauguration in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.