Let the masses wait for the ball to fall.
There's another way to ring in the new year -- and still be out in the chill air.
Dr. Phil's New York Talks and Walks is offering a Brooklyn Bridge Walk Into the New Year.
Groups will set out from the Dunkin Doughnuts at 132 Nassau St. between 10:15 and 11:15 on New Year's Eve. Registration starts at 9:45 p.m.
For $50 cash that night or $40 if you prepay by credit card, you'll get a chance to party with the hearty.

There were so many moments never put in print. Turkish men steeped in tea and talk about changing times in a border town set a few miles north of Syria. A Norwegian fisherman dragging traps deep from the Barents Sea in search of king crab. Nuns in Sucevita serving soup to villagers outside a stone monastery near Romania's border with Ukraine. The young mother pushing a stroller through a manicured park in central Minsk.

And countries never visited. Bosnia. That was an early consideration as this year's "At the Edge of Europe" project began to take shape. My goal, simply, was to explore the figurative and literal edges of the continent. It was not to be scientific. Rather intimate. To connect with places and people in a way that could, perhaps, show readers back in Boston and around the world some of the joys and hardships, simple rhythms and complex contexts of life in dynamic and diverse terrain.

There is often a sense that travel should be an escape. I have long preferred to see it as a chance to engage with the world. At the least, it is interesting. At the best, it brings understanding.

I wrote about this in more detail six years ago in an essay, my first piece for the Globe travel section.

My soon-to-be 6 year old told me today that we were late decorating for Christmas. He hasn't even been in a store since Halloween, so what's got him thinking like the rest of the world? Ah yes, it is the rest of the world, including the neighbors with their Christmas Vacation light displays that has him saying out loud, 'Mom is late!'. Little does he know, that I am never late for this season - as it is, I decorate in full by the 1st so we can listen to Elvis' Christmas while staring at the twinkle of lights all over, for almost an entire month. But he's got me thinking now...it really does go too fast. Just like every other day, how can we simplify in order to slow it all down? The answer this season just may lie in Woodstock Vermont's Billings Farm.

Christmas at the Billings Farm will start this weekend from 10 am-4pm, and continue every weekend of the month until Jan. 1. Bundle up the family with no more than a change of clothes, visit the Farm, and experience the simple traditions of a 19th century Vermont Christmas.

The Farm will also feature a little something extra on Dec. 7, 8, & 9 - Woodstock's Wassail Celebration - Come ready to craft and make a historic Christmas ornament. Horse-drawn wagon rides will be offered on Friday & Sunday, and join local Will Danforth in the farmhouse for traditional holiday music on Saturday.

When it comes to over-the-top holiday gifts it's hard to beat the fantasy gifts in the Neiman Marcus catalog, but Andrew Harper has come up with a strong contender.
Harper, editor and publisher of the Hideaway Report, is offering an Ultimate Paris itinerary for those with money to burn.
The seven-night extravaganza includes a private jet, the Imperial Suite at the Hotel Ritz, reservations at restaurants like Le Pre Catalan or Le Voltaire, and a private museum tour.
And it doesn't stop there. Guests will also get a session with custom-perfume designer Francis Kurkdjian, a couture fitting at Chanel or Dior, and so much more.
And the cost for this holiday treat? Well, rates start at $300,000.
Too pricey? Try giving a bottle of fine champagne.

Did you know the top marriage proposal season is between Christmas and Valentine’s Day? If you’re pondering how exactly to pop the question and your loved one happens to be fond of Ireland and expensive timepieces, pay attention here: The luxurious Merrion Hotel in Dublin is offering a Will You Marry Me package for about $7,000 per couple that includes a deluxe room, a welcome bottle of champagne, a full Irish breakfast for two, and rose petal turndown service (spelling out ‘‘will you marry me’’ if desired). But wait: You also get a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Lady watch with case, engraved with ‘‘will you marry me.’’ The hotel says the watch has a retail value of about $7,000, thereby canceling out that chunk of change you just spent on rose petals. An engagement ring is not included, but the hotel says it will scheme with grooms about the creative delivery of one. Who says romance is dead?

I’ve learned that booking a flight in English isn’t always the best way to go. Recently, I was searching for a round-trip domestic flight from Santiago, Chile, to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in Chile and the main jumping-off point for Patagonia (right), which was my ultimate destination. I looked on LAN Airlines’ website , since LAN runs flights to, from, and within Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador.
What I discovered was that if I booked my ticket in English, the cost for my round-trip ticket would be $485. If I booked it in Spanish, the cost dropped to $195. The reason? Booking in English, I was only given a choice of “flexible” and “fully flexible” tickets, whereas if I booked in Spanish, I also had access to “promotional” and “economy” tickets — ones that had more restrictions, but were significantly kinder to my budget.
I figured there must be a catch, but a LAN representative confirmed that the promotional and economy tickets are available to travelers of any nationality. Since I don’t know Spanish, I got a Spanish-speaking friend to help me navigate LAN’s website and purchase my $195 economy ticket.

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

Fifteen minutes ago got an email that said this:

"Thought you'd be interested in this article on some guy's stay at an infamous local-area Boston establishment."

It included a link which led to this.

It is a two-part story about a night in a bed & breakfast in the house where a lady lost her head, then her parents did too.

The story comes with photos, including this:

And a paragraph deep near the end that says this:

"I’m actually in Lizzie Borden’s room right now writing this one lone paragraph. I’m at a facsimile of her writing desk, in the exact spot where she kept her original writing desk, my posterior falling through a flimsy antique chair. My girlfriend is about to try on what is purported to be one of her dresses. When I write the rest of this article, I’ll stick this paragraph in it, hopefully somehow creatively. And without editing a single word. As a result, in a way this is the worst paragraph in the article because it lacks any art of composition. In another, it’s the best, because these words are literally being formed at the place they are describing. Between you and me, I wish I was more creeped out. And I mean by the room...not for the fact of photographing my girlfriend in a dead girl’s dress. I like that. I’d write more but I’m beat from a dragged-out séance. Oh, and if you’re from the B&B, we never did that thing I’m about to write about with the dress, regardless of the pictures I may or may not include in this article. If you’re just a reader, though, we totally did it. I’m definitely going to edit this paragraph."

Your eyes are bloodshot. Season is changing and you just can't wake up. You choke down your grande with shot of expresso (on second thought, make it a double, barrista). Thumb through the paper. There on page 2 of the Business section: American plans to sell its regional carrier, American Eagle. Who cares?
Shake yourself. You do. Or should.
You travel, right? At Logan, American is The Big Kahuna, with around 20 percent of the market, and American Eagle is a significant piece of that -- in fact, Eagle is responsible for nearly 40 percent of all regional flights out of Logan.
So what do we mean by regional? To begin with Eagle does 8 daily flights to LaGuardia. And then there are other high and low spots like Bangor; Columbus, Ohio; Raleigh-Durham (Go Tar Heels!); Toronto; and Reagan National in D.C.
What does this all mean? Listen, if I knew that I would be making mondo bucks instead of writing blog fodder. But it's a safe bet that it will matter to you. Stay tuned.

File this under Annoying Rich People Who Won’t Go Away: Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson (that’s Sir Richard Branson to you) is getting a little help from the Spice Girls in naming a new jumbo jet that will be christened in honor of their Return of the Spice Girls world tour. Posh, Sporty, Ginger, Baby, and Scary have a short list for fans to choose from: Spice One, Girl Power, or Spice Girl. Yes, I’m not even kidding. Fans can vote for their favorite name on the official Spice Girls website. One winner, who will be picked at random, will get to meet the band and see the aircraft in a naming ceremony. The competition closes Dec. 5. Go. Vote. May the spice be with you.

One of the special pleasures of travel is discovering a bookstore that
embodies the spirit of the place. For my taste, Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii
in Honolulu takes the cake for local interest. Located in the Ward Warehouse
shopping plaza out at 1050 Ala Moana Boulevard, Native Books is completely
devoted to Hawaiian life, language, song, and culture. Not only is it jammed
with children's and adult books about Hawaiian history -- including
biographies of major figures, a history of tourism, and an illustrated book
on the development of Waikiki Beach -- it also has a vast collection of
Hawaiian music on CDs and a extensive CD listening station to sample before
buying. True, the shop does hawk some of the predictable flower shirts and
shell jewelry, but they sell the stuff to support Hawaiian artisans. In
fact, the operation serves as something of a cultural center, with free
Sunday afternoon concerts and free introductory classes in everything from
Hawaiian language to playing the ukulele to dancing the hula. That's about
as local as any bookstore ever gets. If you're bound for Honolulu, check
them out.

Posted by David Lyon, Globe Correspondent

We had the opportunity to visit Hildene, the home of Robert Todd Lincoln and his family, last summer. A trip to the Manchester, Vt., estate in December provides a couple of potential added benefits: seasonal cheer and a respite from the frenzy that accompanies the holiday of today. Florists and home decorators from across the region contribute to making Hildene a Victorian Christmas showplace. The simple elegance of the period enhances the 24-room mansion and gives guests the chance to ponder whether we have indeed improved on the ways of 100 years ago. Candles, pine garlands, wreaths, and winterberries provide the visuals, and on the evenings of Dec. 28-29 from 4 to 6:30, holiday music will accompany guests as they tour the home and grounds. It's no wonder Mr. Lincoln was reluctant to leave Hildene in the winter months, even for warmer climes. http://hildene.org

Big weekend ahead people...Saturday makes the month of December official and that means you start to get anxious about crossing those names off of the Christmas list. No fear with extraordinary events like the Christmas Crafts Expo & Winter Wonderland Festival at the Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford.

This Expo features master artists and craftsmen offering pottery, jewelry, leather, photography and much more. There is daily entertainment [so bring the not-so-enthusiastic-husband], music [so bring the kids with seemingly undying energy] and free parking [so bring the tight Father]. Running from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 it costs $6 with children 14 and under free.

There is definitely something about the seacoast at Christmas time, with its lights twinkling on the water, the shingles adorned with wreaths and cobblestone walks dusted with snow. And the charm of Portsmouth, N.H., is always a holiday draw with its unique shopping and jammed packed arts calendar.

This Friday, the Players' Ring presents A Christmas Carol at 8p.m. The Players' Ring is the area's community theater group, dedicated to presenting quality theater at reasonable rates by providing an affordable performance space for local artists. A Christmas Carol starts Friday and runs through Dec. 23, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 3 p.m. An important note is this small group takes reservations ONLY BY PHONE and does NOT take credit cards.

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre is a not-for-profit, award-winning professional theater and school for the performing arts, and they offer a very Dickens A Christmas Story this Friday at 8p.m., which runs through Dec. 30.

Get a pencil. JetBlue launched a four-day sale today for travel in January and February.
They're flogging fares from Logan to the Bay Area (which includes Oakland, SF and San Jose) for as low as $139.
The fine print: Flights must be booked online at the airline's site by midnight Friday; require a 14-day advance purchase; take place between Jan. 8-Feb. 13; and be on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. There are other restrictions if your travel involves New Orleans, Aruba, Cancun, Nassau, or St. Maarten. There are also blackout dates.

Used to be that whenever pals would come back from Europe all you would hear about would be how great the food was, how cool the clubs/clothes/music are, and generally how much better their lives are than ours (especially in August).
But with the dollar sucking wind, well....you still hear that stuff but it can be tough to make out the words as they echo in the high, empty walls of your pals' now empty bank accounts.
Anyway, our friends at the Los Angeles Times suggest before your next trip across the pond you check out EuroCheapo.com, which can help you find bargains on hotel rooms in two dozen cities, including New York.
They say you can find rooms starting at $80 in London; $72 for a place advertised as a three-star in Paris. But they offer this caveat: While the site claims the recommendations are vetted by their editors, LAT found that some listings are merely hostels (nothing wrong with that), and some selections were whacked by TripAdvisor.com visitors.
Worth checking out.

What to get those hard-to-gift people who already have everything? If they’re remotely interested in paleontology, throw ’em a bone! A dinosaur bone, that is. Through the Adopt-A-Bone program at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, patrons can can adopt bones from their favorite fossils in support of the renovation of the museum’s Dinosaur Hall. Adopters receive a personalized certificate of adoption for each adopted bone (it will take a few weeks to arrive) and name recognition on a donor plaque in the new exhibit hall. Hurry, the good bones are going fast. Get as fancy as you like: The skull of a tyrannosaurus rex will set you back $10,000; a rib on a triceratops is $250; a neck vertabrae of a baby apatosaurus is $50; a tooth of a stegosaurus armatus is $25. (Bonus: the adoption fees are tax deductible.) It’s also a good time to visit your adopted bone: the first phase of the museum’s way cool $36 million permanent exhibit ‘‘Dinosaurs in their Time’’ is complete; the second phase of the exhibit will be finished in the spring. And remember, nothing says ‘I love you’ more than the right fibula of a diplodocus!

On the way to the airport to catch a flight to my mother’s near Tampa, Fla., I told my husband, "I have this feeling I’m forgetting something really important. Well, whatever I’m missing, I can get it there."
Not quite. What I couldn’t get was another driver’s license. Arrrrgh!! Just before reaching the ticket counter I discovered that my driver’s license was nowhere to be found.
Southwest said I could fly without a non-government-issued ID, but that I’d get the full pat-down and search. Then I thought about my rental car. This would not be good. Once in Tampa, the Dollar clerk said, "Sorry, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t rent you a car without your license in hand."
Meanwhile, I counted my blessings that I could get a $25 Super Shuttle van drive to Mom’s doorstep.
Later that day, I had a brilliant flash of one more place to look -- my bicycle rain jacket, which I’d luckily packed. Yep, there it was. I’d had it all along.
Because I travel often, I keep a packing list. At the top, in large letters, is my reminder to "take Swiss Army knife out of purse!" Now I’ve added: "Check for license!"

Posted by Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

Seems like it was just yesterday (probably because it was) Priceline.com said it had cut a deal with low-fare airline JetBlue Airways Corp. that will give the bargain-hunting website access to all of JetBlue's published fares, schedules, and inventory.
A little earlier yesterday Travelocity also said it had cut a deal with JetBlue. Likewise Orbitz Worldwide Inc. revealed it had agreed to distribute the discounter carrier's fares through its Orbitz, Cheap Tickets, and Orbitz for Business sites.
OK, now pay attention. This is what the most annoying people you know call “a teachable moment.’’ There will be a pop quiz later. Let's say that on Sunday morning, before clearing the requisite cobwebs from Saturday night or constructing your 17th leftover turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sandwich (light on the mayo), you tried to book a cheap seat online for a flight to sunny Tucson.
You perhaps assumed that the travel site search engine was scanning all possible airlines, including JetBlue (Don't make me repeat that thing your Uncle Henry used to say about why you should never assume). If your favorite site happened to be one of the aforementioned, obviously, you likely would’ve been wrong.
Remember, search engines on travel sites only sift through the fares of airlines the sites have agreements with. What this means is that before you start doing research on the Web for fares you need to look into who has deals with whom. Or at least count on doing a good bit of comparison shopping.
Nuff said. Now, let’s dig into some of Mom’s Thanksgiving chili surprise.

When my boys were in their 'train phase' years ago, thank goodness they were just as impressed by any train car as they were Thomas. So one, December we decided that Santa would come early and we would keep them up past their bed times, drive over an hour to get to Carver, Mass., for Edaville USA's famous Christmas Festival of Lights...let's just say it was well worth the nightmare tantrums the following day for staying up 3 hours past bedtime!

So there is time still to see this spectacular display of lights while also on a train. From Nov. 23-30, and Dec. 1-31 (closed Christmas Day), from 4 pm-9 pm Mondays through Fridays, and 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with additional fireworks every Friday around 8:30 pm, there is ample opportunity to squeeze in this kiddie dream. Personal advice, dress for the Arctic, you can always strip layers off and bring some cash as the gift shop and candy depot suck you right in!

It's time for your much-awaited trip! You board the plane, wrestle your way
down the aisle and into a seat that was blindly assigned to you -- or, heaven
forbid, that you personally selected from your airline's nondescript,
black-and-white, online diagram -- and you discover that you're in one of those
seats that can't recline. Or that's located next to the lavatory. Or, say it
isn't so, that is the middle seat in the last possible row. Yes, it's going
to be a long flight.
To avoid this scenario next time you fly, check out SeatGuru or SeatExpert. These websites have colorful, detailed seat plans for hundreds of airplanes and rates the best and worst seats onboard.
Let's say you're flying on Continental's Boeing 767-400. Look up that
specific plane and you can see, for instance, which seats are located in
nice, spacious exit rows and which ones have power ports. You can also find
out how wide seats are and how far they recline, and whether the plane
offers audio, video, food, and other in-flight services. You may not get your
seat of choice, but at least you'll know which seat to request when booking
your flight or at check-in.

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

A crazy thing happened before my recent nonstop Delta flight from the Durham, N.C., to Boston. The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:25 p.m. I got an e-mail at 1:25 p.m. saying "we have just been advised of a time change." The flight was rescheduled for 5:36 p.m. On the way to the airport, around 4 p.m., I got another e-mail and an automated call to my cell saying there was another time change -- to 8:42 p.m. I headed back home.
Around 7 p.m. I checked the status online, only to learn that my plane was on the runway awaiting takeoff!
I called Delta and was told "we're sorry for your misunderstanding. You should have gone to the airport at the time your flight was originally scheduled to depart." Now that’s ridiculous.
I had to rebook for the next morning, greatly inconveniencing many people and missing a meeting.
Later, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said in an e-mail, "occasionally we are able to recover from the delay more quickly then expected.... In certain situations, and it is not often, customers can find themselves with circumstances where they are unable to make their flight."
There was no "misunderstanding." I did the right thing, which turned out wrong.

Posted by Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

Photo by Richard Unwin

Or a Canada goose over Somerset, England; twin boomerangs over El Teide, Tenerife; an elephant above Modena, Italy.
These are just a few of the images on more than 3,000 photos posted by members of the Cloud Appreciation Society on their website.
Some of the best, including Richard Unwin's Grim Reaper over Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are included in a surprising booklet, "Hot Pink Flying Saucers and Other Clouds,'' edited by Gavin Pretor-Pinney (Penguin, $10).
If you believe as the group's more than 10,000 members do that there's more to life than just "blue-sky thinking,'' then a cloudy day on your vacation won't get you down. Just grab your camera. You never know what you'll see.

The flat fields of the eastern steppe of Ukraine spike with coal shacks and elevator sheds in and around the city of Donetsk, center of an industrial region that once fueled the Soviet Union and is still a major part of Ukraine's economy.

Even on a calm day, above ground, it is clear that all this industry is set upon a perilous subterranean foundation.

Confirmation today that the death toll from the latest mine explosion climbed to 100 people has briefly turned attention to the eastern edge of Ukraine.

In the dead of winter 2000, I stepped from a 15-hour train ride from Kiev into the station at Donetsk. Over the next few days, I bargained with mining officials and schemed with union leaders to get a look at the wheezing world beneath the surface.

I think now of "Aleksandrovsky," the narrow coal seam a kilometer underground in the Oktyabrskaya mine where I crawled alongside miners.

You can find a news story here that I wrote about that visit that explains the explosions and miners' plight in terms of the long swing from communism to capitalism. (Alas, an archive fee is required to view the article.)

For a more personal account, you can find a description of the underground journey in a story I wrote for The Atlantic Monthly online, here. (A subscription is required for this one. Not sure of the logic, by the way, of charging for something old, while giving away the new.)

Farms aren't just for pumpkin-tossing any more! Join Santa Claus, Carlton the Mouse, farm animals, and real reindeer at Charmingfare Farm in Candia, N.H. for a fully decorated Tractor Train Ride. Running on December 1 & 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. [Santa shows his rosy cheeks at noontime], the train ride only takes 20 minutes, but families should plan about 2 hours of fun as the kids can also take pictures with Santa and hand their carefully drawn up Christmas lists to Santa himself. Admission is $11 per person (Children 1 year and under free) and an additional $3 for the "Tractor Train Ride" with Santa at the wheel! [you can also shop for your Christmas tree here...]

South Shore resident Maggie Melanson, who operates a health conscious
catering service, has just published "Fly Fit" (HRD Press): a book of tips and exercises
to help airline passengers preserve their mental and physical well-being. Few
travelers need to be encouraged to dress comfortably (Melanson recommends
sneakers and workout stretch pants with a loose-fitting top), but it's also
worth heeding her advice to arrive early at the airport to cut down on
stress. Those long security lines are a lot easier to take when you're not
listening to the last boarding call for your flight. So what to do with all
that extra time once you've reached your gate? Melanson suggests taking a
brisk walk around the terminal. Even "casual running" won't seem out of
place, she says, since passengers are always hurrying to catch their
flights. She also recommends a few turns up and down a flight of stairs --
two stairs at a time for a better aerobic workout. I'll try it. But I'm not
sure that I have the flair to do pliés in the restroom or claim a quiet
corner of the terminal as a "personal yoga space." Melanson also offers a
lot of simple stretching exercises that you can do in your airplane seat or
while waiting for your luggage. (She's much too polite to tell you what to
do if your bag doesn't arrive.) Check out Melanson's website.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent