The Crave Guide is a shopping guide for a specific geographic area that lets shoppers know about women owned businesses in their area. Each page of the Crave Guide profiles a women owned business.

Be sure to get your Crave Guide as many of the businesses offer special discounts and bonuses for Crave Guide readers. I will have the guides available for sale in mid May on the Pangea Collection website for $20/each.

The photographer, Richelle from Conception Design, who took Pangea Collection photos for the guide wrote a lovely article to give you a bit of a sneak peak on some of those women owned businesses that will be profiled in the book.

Check out Richelle’s blog, business and other GTA businesses featured here at Conception Design.

1. Flights:
i. Use Points
Use points wherever possible, you will still have to pay the taxes but you can often save significantly and get a higher class level. Another option is to use points to upgrade from a lower class seat, just make sure when booking a lower class seat that it can be upgraded using points or an upgrade certificate. Airlines often have a lot of restrictions on these.

ii. Book In Advance Or Last Minute
If you have the time to plan in advance you can often save significantly on flights. Alternatively if you are flexible and don’t have your heart set on a specific destination you can save by waiting for last minute deals. It would not be recommend to try this last minute tactic during peak travel times.

iii. Travel Off Peak
This will not only save you on flights but likely everything else, accommodation, attractions etc. Another non cost benefit of this is less tourists, which should not be undervalued.

2. Accommodation:
Hotel accommodation is expensive even if you stay at a so called inexpensive hotel and then you usually can’t make your own meals. Opt instead to choose one of the following:

i. Stay With Friends Or Family
This is the least expensive option, usually a nice thank you gift is sufficient payment. There are some personal costs to this though such as loss of privacy and let’s face it sometimes Uncle Harry can be down right annoying.

ii. Rent A Flat
This will likely in the long run be less than a hotel room especially if you are cooking your own meals rather than eating in restaurants. Generally there is a minimum stay period so if you are only staying for a day or two this will not likely be an option for you. Another benefit of renting a flat is that you feel more like a local and less like a tourist.

iii. Use Points
If you are lucky enough to have points that can be used for hotels, use them. Often if you are a higher level member of a hotel point program you will get access to the lounge where you can have a continental breakfast, snacks during the day and cocktails at night. This can be a big savings. Also you will likely have access to the internet – another savings.

iv. Use A Home Exchange Service
If you have an apartment, house or cottage you can list on a home exchange you can save on accommodation costs by swapping your abode for someone else’s home. Generally this takes time an preparation so plan ahead for this.

3. Food
i. Make Your Own Meals
It can be as simple as some bread for breakfast which you can do even if you’re staying in a hotel and don’t have access to cooking facilities.

ii. Eat Out At A Different Time
Choose to eat out for breakfast, lunch or tapas instead of dinner. Often you will find this is less expensive and you won’t miss out of the local dining experience.

iii. Use The Lounge
As mentioned above, if you are staying in a hotel where you have access to the lounge, use the lounge for breakfast, snacks and/or cocktails.

iv. Eat In Residential Areas
Eat at restaurants outside of the “tourist areas”, opt instead to eat in more residential areas. This has more than an economic benefit, often the food in tourist areas is less authentic and not as well prepared. Plus wouldn’t you rather be eating with locals than tourists?

v. Buy Prepared Take Out Meals
Purchase prepared meals you can eat as a picnic. Instead of eating in a restaurant buy a sandwich from a bakery or some other prepared meal that you can eat on a park bench or somewhere with a good view. In some cities the best food is from a street vendor.

Buy bottled water or carbonated soft beverages etc from a grocery rather than a restaurant.

vi. Eat Like The Locals
Often following the patterns of a local, who knows the best food places and deals can save you on dining/food costs.

For example, the cost of a glass of wine is often the same or less than a coca-cola in a restaurant in France. In Bangkok for example most people eat from street food carts.

vii. Check For Restaurant Specials
This could either be a certain time of day or a special pre-fixed menu. Savings can be significant over the regular menu prices.

4. Getting Around
i. Travel Like The Locals
If taxis are cheap, travel by taxi but if they are expensive, take public transit.

In most European cities taking public transit such as the metro is one of the most efficient and cost effective ways of getting around. However in some other cities taking a taxi is a great way to get around.

In Bangkok for example, it is not uncommon to take a taxi to the sky train even if it is only a few blocks. The taxi driver won’t mind (actually they like it because the shorter trip is more profitable for them – and not very expensive for you) and you’ll save yourself from the heat. In Paris however the taxi driver will throw you out of the taxi if the ride is not long enough.

ii. For Intercity/Country Travel Check For Local Transportation Companies
If you are travelling between cities within a country of to a neighbouring country check to see if there are airlines trains or buses that go to your destination. Often the local airline will be less expensive than a major international airline. This can be especially true in Europe where there are numerous low cost airlines.

5. Culture/Entertainment
i. Do Your Homework
Before you go on your trip do a little homework on the top cultural and entertainment venues/sites for your destination. A little investigation in advance can save you a lot of effort and money while at the destination.

ii. Check For Free Events
Some cities offer a lot of cultural events that are free. Paris for example has a number of free city run museums which are free (except for special exhibits). London also has a number of free museums.

There are also a number of concerts held in Paris churches which are free. Picking up a Pariscope when you arrive in Paris will tell you all the events and costs happening in the city that week. Many other cities have these features in local papers or on websites, check around.

iii. Be Open To “Off Broadway” Type Performances
Don’t just be stuck on the idea of “Broadway” – top shows or drawn into the tourist performance. Often you will find that some of the lesser known theatres/entertainment can be fantastic and more authentic.

For example when in Buenos Aires rather than paying to see a tourist Tango performance so out in the evening to one of the Tango bars visited by locals and watch (or participate if you dare) in authentic Tango in an authentic atmosphere – way more interesting and a lot less expensive.

iv. Check For Free Sites
Often the best things in life are free a very true cliche – especially when it comes to architecture and landscape. Many destinations offer beautiful architecture which you can soak up just by walking around.

6. Shopping
i. Know The Specialty
Figure out in advance for what the place you’re visiting is known. For example buying silk in some parts of Asia, precious and semi precious stones in Brazil etc.

ii. Comparison Shop Before You Go
Know what is the best value and check out the prices of similar items at home before you go that way you’ll have a comparison in mind and know what great value is.

iii. Avoid Tourist Areas
Avoid shopping in tourist areas, you are less likely to find authentic goods and are much more likely to pay more. Find out where the locals shop and shop there.

Best advice overall for traveling less expensively – when in Rome… Basically if you follow the locals (not literally of course) you’ll have a more authentic and less expensive trip.

Bon Voyage

The following will outline the city’s open air markets and what you can expect from each:

Feria de Plaza Francia
In my opinion this is by far the best market to visit while in Buenos Aires. If you love crafts and handmade items which reflect local culture plan the rest of your trip around this market.

The Plaza Francia market is the city’s largest and is set up in the park beside the Recoleta Cemetery, it will be marked on your hotel map. The market runs on Saturday and Sunday.

All of the vendors on the interior circle are supposed to be the artisans who handcrafted the items themselves. On the outer area closer to the Design Market you will find other vendors who are not necessarily selling items that they crafted themselves. You will most likely be able to spot that yourself.

Francia Market Jewelry Vendor

You will need a good couple of hours to visit this market and it is worth it. The market is full of interesting handicrafts from leather goods, jewelry to eco handicrafts using recycled materials. We even saw an older gentleman who recycled metro tickets into home accessories.

Francia Market Jewelry Vendor

A visit to this market will not leave you disappointed.

Cabildo Patio Market
The market is located in the small garden behind the city hall (Cabildo) and runs on Thursday and Friday from approx 11 am to 6 pm. You can visit this charming little market in about an hour (unless you really get caught up in a conversation or decide to have a snack in the garden).

I’d suggest you plan a visit to this market on the same day you plan to visit Plaza De Mayo (just don’t forget but you must do that on a Thursday or Friday when the market is open).

In this tiny little garden market you will find pretty handcrafted jewelry and other crafts. The feeling in the market is warm and friendly and it is not over crowded.

Plaza Serrano Market
The Plaza Serrano market is held in the (tiny) square at Calle Serrano and Honduras in the heart of Palermo Hollywood. The market runs on Saturday and Sunday from approx 10 am to 6 pm.

It’s a small market but worth a visit as the area and shops are very charming. At this market you will find jewelry, clothing and other handicrafts.

If you go I’d suggest going in the late morning visit the shops in the area and stop for some lunch in one of the area’s many charming restaurants.

Impromptu Baez Market
We did not find anywhere marked on our map or listed in any of the guide books a single mention of this market so I cannot be sure that it is a regular

ongoing market. It may have been a special event.

The market was at night at the end of Baez (in a dead end court). Lights and music were set up and this was a fabulous market for artisan jewlery and clothing designers. I actually really loved the selection here.

My suggestion is that you will want to go to dinner on Baez, in my opinion, the best place to have dinner and cocktails especially if you fall into a younger age group.

We were on Baez on a Thursday night and that’s when the market was set up. Definitely worth a check see when you plan for a dinner or cocktails on Baez.

Florida Street
Okay it’s not a market but the street pretty much turns into a market every afternoon. Independant vendors set up their wares on blankets down the middle of the street right from the beginning at Plaza San Martin all the way to Plaza de Mayo.

This is not a predicable shopping “market” however as the vendors are setting up illegally. You may find different vendors from day-to-day and they may be schussed away by the police, although generally speaking the police seem pretty lax about letting the vendors stay.

In terms of what you will find – everything from nail clippers, yes I am serious to beautiful handcrafted jewelry. The area closest to Plaza de Mayo seemed to consistently have the most authentic handcrafted jewelry and a lot less of the head massagers and nail clipper “junk”.

San Telmo Market
I’ve included San Telmo market on the list as it would be odd to not have mentioned it since in every guide book this is the must visit market of the city.

In my opinion, unless you love antiques, skip this market. If you love antiques however you will likely love this market and surrounding shops. Personally I found it to be way to touristic and I’m not that interested in antiques so I felt like I took time away from other markets which would be more interesting to me – for example another visit to the Francia market.

Here are a few details if you decide to go. The San Telmo market is held every Sunday from approx 10 am to 5 pm. The heart of the market is in Plaza Dorrego however all of the shops and streets leading into this area are equally filed with antiques. The open air part of the market is actually not that large but the whole area including the shops and covered antique market are quite large. You would need most of the day or at least half to see it all.

Here too you can watch Tango dancing (street dancers do this on a small board placed on top of the cobblestone streets. Again my sense was this added to the touristic feel of the market – but most tourists seems to like it.

Copper and Chile are almost synonymous. Copper represents a significant export for Chile and the fair trade jewelry designs using cooper are stunning. As you may also know Lapis is the national stone of Chile so you will find a number of pieces with Lapis.

In addition to Copper and Lapis jewelry, there are a number of fair trade jewelry pieces in the Chilean Fair Trade Jewelry Collection which feature hand blown and painted glass jewelry designs.

This was also the day that we departed Santiago. A note on the Air Canada affiliate lounge in the Santiago airport it’s pretty lousy. It looks like it was decorated in the 1960s or earlier.

The airport shops are pretty good for picking up last minute souvenirs even if not the least expensive. In the airport you will find a number of copper jewelry pieces as well of course of lapis jewelry.

Read Other Posts In This Series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
Part X
Part XI
Part XII
Part XIII
Part XIV
Part XV
Part XVI
Part XVII
Part XVIII
Part XIX
Part XXI

One of the first stops was to visit Cerro Santa Lucia. This is a stunning old building with an even more stunning view of the city and water fountain as well.

Cerra Santa Lucia

Cerro Santa Lucia

We tried to visit the Bellas Artes museum unfortunately it was closed. I was really disappointed as the building looked amazing and of course I love visiting museums. This is a tip for all travelers, you would always check before heading out to make sure whatever you plan to visit that day is actually open. As you will know if you read my previous post even that does not always guarantee that it will be open but it’s the best you can do. Anyway here are some shots of the Bellas Artes from the outside front and back. Stunning architecture.

Bellas Artes Museum

Bellas Artes Museum

We then went to Patio Bellavista for some lunch and more market style shopping. This is a wonderful market area. There are fantastic shops for jewelry and other souvenirs. I highly recommend a couple of hours there plus it’s a great place for either lunch, cocktails or dinner. There are many cool restaurants and bars in the area.

Patio Bella Vista in Santiago, Chile

After lunch and of course some ice cream we headed to another great place to shop called Chilean Contemporary Design. It’s located in a beautiful old building and the clothing and jewelry inside is a fantastic example of eco friendly, recycled products which are also highly contemporary and fashionable. If you are in Santiago make sure to take a visit – keep in mind there are only a few stores but it is well worth the visit.

Chilean Contemporary Design

Stores Inside Chilean Contemporary Design

Read Other Posts In This Series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
Part X
Part XI
Part XII
Part XIII
Part XIV
Part XV
Part XVI
Part XVII
Part XVIII
Part XX
Part XXI

Pangea-Collection.com offers a distinctive selection of handcrafted fair trade and artisan jewelry from around the world. Starting from just $20, the site’s mother’s day gift guide has a perfect gift selection for every personality. Moreover, many of the pieces on Pangea-Collection.com are exquisite works of jewelry art created by artisans, the majority of whom are women.

Opportunity International is a microenterprise development organisation. They provide small loans – sometimes as little as $50 – and training to help entrepreneurs in the developing world start a business. As business grows, the entrepreneurs develop steady incomes, enabling them to feed, educate and provide for their families. By giving the entrepreneurial poor a “hand up” instead of a “hand out”, Opportunity International helps uplift entire communities through job creation. Founded in 1971, Opportunity International now serves over 1.2 million loan clients. Loan repayment rates are 98%; about 85% of loans go to women. On average each loan supports five family members.

Pangea-Collection.com is on “Mission Mom” honouring mothers but also Fair Trade Day which falls on May 9th, the day before Mother’s Day. There is a meaningful connection here: According to the Fair Trade Federation, 70% of the fair trade artisans are women, who are often the sole wage earners in their homes. Of all the impoverished, women are the poorest. The UN says women do 67% of the world’s work, earn only 10% of the world’s pay and own only 1% of the world’s property. Women are paid 30-40% less than men for comparable work. Women in developing countries work an average of 60-90 hours a week.

Whenever possible, Pangea-Collection.com is committed to working with Fair Trade organisation worldwide, as is witnessed through the variety of Fair Trade Jewelry collections available through the site.

Shop Pangea-collection.com from April 20th to May 4th 2009, and $1 from online orders will be donated to Opportunity International. Offer mom an alluring piece of the world, and cascade it to moms around the world.

As Patricia Pinkney creator of Pangea-Collection.com states, “After years of working in the corporate world, I wanted to do my small part to help enable artisans around the world, especially women. It is especially meaningful on Mother’s Day and Fair Trade Day to recognise the privilege we have living in this wonderful country while at the same time acknowledge that there are mothers around the world who are struggling to support their families. Together we can help them achieve the art of self reliance.”

Florida Street at Christmas

Casa Rosa

As we had noticed our first night on Florida Street many independent artisans and vendors selling everything from interesting handicrafts and jewelry to cheap junk randomly set up on Florida. This mainly occurs in the late afternoon, early evening. The area closest to Plaza de Mayo often has artisans lining the street during the day as well. They simply take a blanket, place it on the ground and put their handicrafts on it to sell to pedestrians.

Cabildo Patio Fera
Our first stop was to visit the craft market – Cabildo Patio Fera in the garden patio behind the Cabildo (old city hall). The quality of crafts here was interesting although the market was very small. The market runs on Thursday and Friday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Historical and Political Buildings
After visiting the market, we walked around the main buildings with a stop in the Cathedral which was pretty but not spectacular, you’ll find more interesting churches in Europe. Next stop in the square was a look at the Casa Rosada to see window from Evita’s famous address to her adoring public. Outside the Casa Rosada you can see historical political images of the country’s presidents with other nations’ leaders. We were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t go in the Casa to see the inside (I think we just couldn’t find the right entrance – but the guards told us there was no entry)

One thing we read which we found interesting is that the pink colour of the Casa was selected as a compromise between the two political parties. One political party’s colour is red and one white – the combination of which creates pink.

Taking A Break For Lunch
We had lunch at a café right in the main square called the Gran Victoria. It was bustling with local business people. The Plaza de Mayo is the political centre of the city but also where most of the main banking offices are located. The food was not exceptional but the experience was. We shared a sandwich and watched the locals. I love the way some of the coffee is served. They serve it with little containers of whipped cream, sugar and dolce de leche. Our waiter presented the amount of our bill by writing it on a cocktail napkin. We never actually received a bill.

Cafe Victoria Coffee

Diagonal Norte to Lavalle
After a lunch break we walked to the monument Diagonal Norte and down Lavalle, another pedestrian street which we hadn’t visited our first time on Florida.

Taking The Metro/Subte
We decided to give our legs a break and take the metro to dinner. When visiting a city we usually try to whenever possible take public transit rather than rely on taxis. In the case of BA, taxis are not very expensive but we still like taking public transit.

The metro in BA is called the Subte. You will see the circular signs at the metro stations with the word “Subte” on them.

We purchased four tickets (two to get us to the street for dinner and two to get us back. The cost of one ticket $.90 pesos. A ticket or trip is called “viaje” and is a paper card more or less the size f a credit card. You can put multiple trips on a single ticket but we had read that the megnatic strip on the ticket can be affected by the humidity and not work. We opted to primarily purchase one trip at a time. Upon entering the station there is a ticket agent from whom you can buy tickets. Once you have the ticket you put it in the slot at the turnstile and it returns it to you out the top. If you bought multi trips you will want to keep the ticket, otherwise there is no need to do so. Unlike some metros you do not need to keep it as proof of purchase (at least this is what we were told).

An interesting note on the paper Subte cards, there is a man who has an artisan booth at the Feria Frances who makes things out of them such as desk organisers/pen holders and hot plate mats. It’s pretty cool and I like the idea that he uses old materials and recycles them.

http://www.subte.com.ar

Dinner and Market Shopping
Dinner at a restaurant on Baez. This street is packed with restaurants and lots of young people. At the end of Baez there was an artisan market set up. Not sure if this market happens regularly or not as we had not read about it in advance. There were about 20 vendors selling fashion items (mostly for women) and jewelry and even a band playing. It was a pretty cool market.

This street is a fantastic place to go for dinner. Pretty much every building on the street is a restaurant and most with patios out front. There are lots of great choices and the streets are bustling with young hip people. This was my favourite area for the evening. The restaurants are reasonably priced but many do not take credit cards so make sure you have enough cash for dinner and drinks.

We went to a casual pizza and pasta restaurant sharing a bottle of Rose wine and a pizza. Since we paid cash and I didn’t write it down, I can remember exactly but I believe total including tip it was under $20 CAD.

Argentinean Pizza
A word about pizza in BA and Mendoza, the style of pizza is not similar to North American pizza (nor Italian). The crust is a different texture, almost spongy, it’s not a thin crust but it’s not thick either and whatever variety you order is sure to have a ton of cheese on it. The cheese isn’t shredded cheese like NA pizza but it’s also not round pieces like Bononcini either. The cheese is so thick it’s like big slices that have been melted over the entire pizza. We tried pizza in a number of places and it was the same everywhere.

Read Other Posts In This Series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part IX
Part X
Part XI
Part XII
Part XIII
Part XIV
Part XV
Part XVI
Part XVII

BA Fair Trade Store Products

I had family members taking care of shipping orders while I was away and expected that work wise I would have very little to do while away. Wrong! Murphy’s law – I had an issue with my website the first day.

As a result of this issue most of our plans for the day were put on hold while I dealt with my web developer, hosting and software companies. What a fun way to spend your first day on vacation!

Since we got up early, I was able to send messages out in the morning to each of my partner/suppliers to get them working on solving the issue. At that point there was nothing else I could do until they responded so we went out to explore.

I had prearranged a meeting with a fair trade organisation with whom I had been in contact with via email for over a year but had not purchased any of their products. The meeting was at 12:30 pm so we had a little bit of time to go for a walk before the meeting.

Our concierge had suggested a nice walk from the hotel through Plaza San Martin, along Arreyo across Av. 9 Julio, apparently the widest street in the world, to Av. Alvear to Plaza Alvear. Here we could explore the area a little and walk back to the fair trade store for my meeting.

Of course as they say, even the best laid plans….We missed one of the turns we were to make and ended up walking to the end of the Av. 9 de Julio and by this time we realised we would not have to walk around the area we had planned and still make it to the meeting in time.

We decided to walk back to where the fair trade store is located and have a coffee. On our way back we walked past the French embassy, a truly beautiful French architecture building with a BNP across the street (a French bank). I had little chuckle at the irony of a pile of dog poop at the front of the Embassy – it almost felt like the streets of Paris – French architecture, French bank and dog poop!

After the meeting at the Fair Trade store we returned to the hotel to check on my work problem and spent most of the day resolving that.

Read Other Posts In This Series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
Part X
Part XI
Part XII
Part XIII
Part XIV
Part XV
Part XVI
Part XVII