There are a lot of things I could be doing, sitting here this third morning of business travel in my $229/plus tax/night room at the Marriott Providence Downtown.

I could look out the window at my view of the Mobil Station with the majestic rise of the highway just beyond. I could be reading about "Weekend airport woes" in my complimentary copy of USA Today (and wondering how this particular newspaper has wrapped up the hotel market). I could, as I drink my Gourmet Bean coffee from its filter pack, splashed with two Mini Moo's of Half & Half, review my Express Checkout "Guest Folio."

If I was more energetic, I could compare and contrast my Hilton Garden Inn, Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts and Marriott Express Check-Outs printouts. If I pay attention, I will note that at the Hilton Garden Inn I had a "Zip-Out Check-Out."

Recently, the New York Daily News ran an article about saving money on international travel. It suggested that travelers to Europe should cut down on expenses by packing their own meals, avoiding shopping, and buying package deals from tour operators. On one level, this is really good advice: by minimizing contact with Europe's economy, travelers could save a great deal of money. If one must visit the old world right now, then this is probably the way to go.

On the other hand, though, it seems like this sort of vacation misses the whole point of international travel. Maybe I'm alone here, but when I shell out huge amounts of money to go overseas, I do so with the intention of experiencing a totally different culture. This means that I want to buy all sorts of weird, exotic foods, talk to strangers, and pick up various bizarre gewgaws. I don't want to fly all the way to Paris just to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while gawking at the Eiffel tower with my tour group. Given a choice, I think I'll save my money for a time when I can afford to do Europe properly.

Have you ever checked out of a hotel, and been astounded by your final bill? You knew what your room rate was, but by the time they got done adding all their fees and taxes, the total skyrocketed!

It's not uncommon at all. In fact, the sneaky fees are the way that hotels make a ton of money. In many respects, a hotel room is a commodity. After all, you need a place to sleep and the rest is largely optional. Sure, chains have been trying to differentiate themselves with extra-super-special beds and other comforts in the rooms. But there is only so much a traveler is willing to pay for a hotel room, and there are about a zillion options.

So the real money isn't necessarily made with your room fee. It's made with all the extras, which are often almost all profit for the hotel. Some of them are easy to avoid: If you don't want to pay $8 for a bottle of beer, you don't touch the mini bar. Others aren't so easy to avoid because they're often hidden in fine print and guests don't know which they can refuse and which they can't.

I know that it's not politically correct to single out groups based on their minority status. It's barbaric, repressive, and generally not very nice. That having been said, I have one question: what if you're singling them out to say something nice?

This isn't an idle question. You see, I really enjoy vacationing in "gay" areas. Yes, this is a major generalization. Here are a few more: based on my exploration of San Francisco's Castro district, Provincetown, Fire Island, and Dupont Circle, I'd have to say that, generally speaking, gay-friendly spots tend to be beautiful and clean, have great food, offer an outstanding music and arts scene, and are often reasonably priced.

Now that I'm out of the rainbow tourism closet, I'll go a little further. Of all the "gay" spots that I've visited, my favorite is Provincetown, Massachusetts. Situated at the very end of Cape Cod, the directions to Provincetown are exceedingly simple: get on Route 6 and drive until there isn't any more road.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a long, luxurious weekend filled with food and fun in New Orleans, where locals were gearing up for Mardi Gras. The festivities start early this year, culminating on February 5th, Fat Tuesday, the final day of Carnival.

If you can get away for a few days, there's still time to get a few last minute travel deals. Visit www.lastminutetravel.com and take a chance with one of their "off-the-record" hotels, which start as low as $102 a night this weekend and $57 midweek. The prices get steeper as Fat Tuesday approaches, but rooms are still available. Also try www.hotels.com and the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, which also has information on parade routes, restaurant recommendations and what else to see and do in the Big Easy. Finding a flight might prove more difficult, but try www.orbitz.com or www.expedia.com.

Tourism has been a bit slow since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August, 2005, but revelers turned out in droves for the BCS Championship game and the Sugar Bowl in the past month. Mardi Gras 2008 is also expected to draw tourists back to the Big Easy, and visitors can look forward to the same old spirit and hospitality from the city. But don't expect to see hurricane damage because the touristy areas -- especially the French Quarter -- were largely unscathed by Katrina. But if you ask any local, they'll be happy to share their storm stories and a tour of the many areas still recovering and rebuilding may be the only sobering experience of your trip.

Everyone wants to be King of the Road, it seems.

Ken and Daria Dolan's recent piece on four ways to travel for free struck a cord in lots of wander-lust-smitten WalletPop readers. Many have written asking for more information on how they can tap into getting paid to drive RVs around the country. Sounds like a great gig to us, too.

Stay tuned. The Dolans are preparing a hard-driving post that will answer all your questions. Are we there yet? No, but soon. Count trucks on the highway in the meantime. I mean it. And don't make me come back there. Your father and I are trying to drive...

I'm a travel junkie.

Given a choice of ways to spend money, my first impulse is generally to eat something bizarre and potentially toxic. My second impulse is to travel somewhere exotic. Of course, once I get to where I'm going, I make a point of eating something bizarre and potentially toxic, thereby combining two of my favorite things. It's like having raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

The only trouble, of course, is that travel is really expensive. Even if you know people who live in exciting, far-off lands, and even if they are nice enough to let you sleep on the floor, you still have to go through the trouble of traveling hundreds (or thousands) of miles. Then, once you're there, you have to pay for all your meals, cover transportation costs, and shell out for all the myriad incidentals. Better yet, after you're done sightseeing, you have to play Russian Roulette with the local restaurants, banking on the hope that the place you choose will be a memorable little bistro, not an overpriced swill hut with unrecognizable meat and surly, porcine waitresses. While my travels have brought me to some of the most amazing restaurants imaginable, they have also dragged me through some sleazy, sweaty joints that would give William S. Burroughs the heebie-jeebies.