This month’s issue of Global Traveler has a wonderful article on London, with plenty of great suggestions on what to see and where to stay and dine. I shared the piece with daughter Jenny, as she and her fellow students would be spending a month in the area during their study abroad experience. Our family had actually stayed in London for several days a number of years ago when Jenny’s big sister was studying in England, so she had already had the opportunity to experience some of that delightful city’s offerings. We visited St. Paul’s, the British Museum and the National Gallery, shopped at Harrods and took in a play in the West End. There was not enough time to see everything we wished, so Jenny has been looking forward to getting back to London.

 In just the last two weeks on daytrips in to the city, she has toured the Tower of London (and has decided the jewels alone would make it worth being Queen of England), spent some time in the museums, visited Harrods (again!) and thoroughly enjoyed a production of Sister Act: The Musical at the Palladium Theatre. That is not all she’s taken in, though. No, as a nursing student, Jenny has also visited some lesser-known attractions in London that have been, at the very least, eye-opening.

First stop was the Hunterian Museum, located at the Royal College of Surgeons. John Hunter, an 18th-century surgeon, collected and preserved thousands of specimens of plants and animals (and assorted human body parts) in order to better understand anatomy and improve medical treatment and surgical techniques. His original collection was purchased by the government in 1799, given to the Royal College and grew exponentially over the decades. Even though a large portion of the collection was lost during the bombing of London during World War II, Jenny was amazed at the number and variety of items on display.

They then proceeded to the Old Operating Theatre, dating back to the 1820s and the oldest in all of Europe. It’s actually located in the attic space of a church which adjoined St. Thomas’s Hospital — convenient, I guess, whether the surgery was successful or not. Actually, a large skylight just above the operating table provided good light, and the gallery gave apothecaries and physicians-in-training the opportunity to observe and learn. This was, of course, in the days before anaesthesia was available (except for opium and alcohol, that is), so speed was important. Jenny’s group saw a demonstration of how an amputation might be done, including the knives and other instruments used. Her one-word assessment: “Gross!” Usually, these modern nurses-to-be would also visit the Florence Nightingale Museum, also located at St. Thomas’s, but it is closed right now for updating.

Just this past Wednesday the group took in a little more medical history when they visited St. Mary’s Hospital and the lab where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Fleming had been working with staph bacteria before he’d left on a two-week holiday. On his return, he was clearing away Petri dishes that had become contaminated with mold and happened to notice that the bacteria in those dishes seemed to have been killed by the mold. Jenny found this quite instructive and deduced a few nuggets to live by: Taking a break from work can be good for you in unexpected ways, and perfection in housekeeping could be detrimental, also in unexpected ways. (I would say that when she was a teenager in our house, she had already embraced that last philosophy!)

It just goes to show that there are always fascinating places to see and new things to learn that are often off the beaten track from the usual tourist destinations in the cities we visit. Follow your own interests and inclinations, grab a map or Google a bit and create your own personalized tour.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

After warding off several colds this season, I thought that, perhaps, I would finish the winter with a record-breaking immune system. Unfortunately, I have succumbed to the sniffles and congestion. Being snowed in and bedridden last night, I thought it would be an opportune moment to practice my home cooking.

Whenever someone was sick in our house, my Filipino grandmother always made a popular native dish known as arroz caldo. Packed with ginger, chicken, rice and garlic, arroz caldo is the best remedy for a cold and the only Filipino dish my mom agrees to cook in the house because it doesn’t make the kitchen “stink like fish.”

This was my first time attempting to cook Filipino cuisine in my Brooklyn apartment. The aroma immediately took me back to the days when my Grandma would prepare wonderful Filipino dishes for us. The arroz caldo was a hit, and it almost tasted just like my grandmother’s. I highly recommend this recipe for anyone with the sniffles.

– Courtney Centeno, account executive

This holiday season brought many fun memories for me — and one I’m happy to soon forget. The day after Christmas, my entire family was struck by a virus that kept us down and out for two days. Luckily, there were no travel plans in the works since none of us were able to leave our beds to even answer the phone. Being bedridden allowed me to catch up on some movies, and I caught one of my favorite classics on Sunday night, The Sound of Music. That sure helped nurse me back to health.

Perhaps it was the songs that helped me relax, maybe it was the beautiful scenery of Austria, or perhaps I was thankful that I don’t live in pre-World War II Austria. Either way, the movie made me remember there’s a world worth getting healthy to see! It also reminded me of my most recent trip to Vienna this fall. While the Sound of Music showed us a pre-war Salzburg, I found a taste of modern hospitality in Vienna at the Das Triest Hotel. The service at the hotel, designed by Sir Terence Conran, is hard to beat.

Das Triest is a modern boutique that caters to the stars. However, if you’re not of rock star status (like myself), you will still be treated like one without any pretentious attitude. Its warm and welcoming staff balanced the award-winning minimalist design. From check-in to checkout, the hotel staff went out of their way to make sure every need of mine was met. I started off each morning with a 5-star breakfast. I was centrally located in Vienna and could get anywhere I needed without traffic or trouble. While my stay was for pleasure, I saw many guests traveling for business, and I would make this property a must-stay on my list for any future trips to Vienna.

Now that I’m back on my feet and ready for the New Year, I look forward to upcoming travels for Global Traveler taking me to the Middle East and Asia. Stay tuned for stories from GT as we report to you on the best of travel throughout 2010 from all around the world. Happy New Year!

– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher

This weekend I took a short trip to China to play golf. I had been conducting business all week in South Korea, and this week I am in Thailand. I thought a short excursion to China would be a welcome break. Plus, I had never played golf there.

I played at Weihai Point Golf Club and Resort, which is owned by Kumho Asiana Group (also the owner of Asiana Airlines). The course is one of the most interesting and challenging courses I have ever played. Move over Pebble Beach, which has seven holes  on the water. The Weihai course runs the holes along a peninsula, with 14 holes directly on the water and the rest just a stone’s throw away.

The weather was an issue as the temperature had dropped to 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind (as I had predicted) was gusting at 40 m.p.h. So, take the best of Pebble Beach and merge it with the wind aspects of the Old Course — and you have Weihai. I am told that in the warmer months, there is very comfortable weather, as this region of China has minimal rainfall and virtually no humidity. Make sure you keep an eye out for my GTee golf report on Weihai coming soon.

I was also pleased to see how dedicated the Chinese government is being to keeping tabs on the H1N1, or swine flu, outbreak. I think I had swine flu three months ago. When you arrive in China, passengers are required to complete a lengthy health questionnaire. While this is reviewed, they scan your temperature from behind the desk. It all happens so quickly, though, that you really have no idea what is going on! The Chinese government was harshly criticized for the poor efforts during the SARS and Bird Flu outbreaks, which appear to be far more serious than H1N1. The criticism has forced them to be more diligent.

On the way out of China, I was able to rate the immigration inspector as Great, Good, Fair or Bad by pressing a little button. After my passport was stamped, I looked up at the rather serious gentleman in his official uniform and I said “Great” and hit the button!

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

As if the economy is not causing enough trouble, we now have this over-inflated threat of swine flu. Even the Vice President of the United States (often known for winning the foot-in-his-mouth award) has suggested avoiding the subway, crowded places and other people. He particularly fears flying. Hogwash!

In order to gain more viewers, TV news channels have made this the hot topic, while people continue to suffer from lack of travel and even more reduced spending. Now that’s a great stimulus plan, Mr. Biden!

This panic for naught has caused great hardship. GT’s local representative in Mexico City tells me that some of the resort hotels are at 10 percent occupancy rates. People who need to work to feed their families are now in a serious situation. How does this help our border situation?

I am shocked that I have had very intelligent people ask me about flying or wearing a mask while on a plane!

Five to 15 percent of the U.S. population will contract the regular, everyday influenza in a typical year. 30,000 to 50,000 people in the United States will die from the flu every year. Wow, so why are we up in arms over swine flu, which appears to be far weaker? It’s hype!

And as far as travel is concerned, I’ll take the flip side of the argument. The cause of the pandemic flu of 1918-1919 was isolation. Anywhere from 20 to 50 million people lost their lives globally — 650,000 in the United States alone. Lack of travel keeps people isolated and keeps bodies unfamiliar with foreign strains. The more exposed we become makes us stronger and less likely to succumb to these unfamiliar strains in the long run. Perhaps we should be applauding global travel as the reason this swine flu outbreak is not more deadly.

-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO