A Monday morning treat

For our 10th-anniversary issue, we enlisted readers to write and photograph our June issue. I hesitate to make fun of any of our readers, but...a few of the pitches we got were kind of funny. Here are the top six stories we didn't assign: "China. Most challenging restroom facilities. Especially for women. Title: Bathrooms I have Known." "I would like a get away from it all--especially automobiles. I have been hit three times within a five year period. After recovering from injuries, I would like to go celebrate and truly feel like I can relax away from our auto based society." "My dream trip to Tahiti turned out to be a disaster. I vomited on the French man beside me." "I always thought it would be really cool to make a coffee table book about toilets around the world. Everyone needs them, uses them and they are such a cultural thing... I've heard of the places that are just a hole you stand over. And, since this could be a monumental project... but you would pay the tab... I say we choose a venue that would over a lot of toilets, yet not be a round the world trip. Toilets of the Orient Express. I think it has a nice ring to it..." "My friends always ask for my travelogues after my trips. They say reading them is almost like being with me. They even request my work trip stories from pig farm tours." "Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, and Belgium: The best destinations for your final days. A story about death tourism, or the practice of some persons choosing to die in a country other than their own, would certainly grab the attention of readers."

Silverjet airlines stopped flying today. The airline offered business-class, transatlantic flights out of Newark, connecting the U.S. with London and the Middle East. The explanation--high fuel costs, shrinking business travel--is the same as it was for Eos, a rival airline that closed recently, too. About 10,000 ticket-holders are stuck, says the London Times. Virgin Atlantic will offer reduced fares for customers who can show Silverjet tickets they've already purchased and can no longer use. Call Virgin Atlantic at 866/258-0951 for details. (Hat tip to LA Times Travel Deals Blog] In other news, Alitalia continues to struggle. Potential bidder Aeroflot has backed away from its offer. And the European Union is expected to fine the Italian government for violating international agreements by giving Alitalia a surprise 300 million euro loan. It seems like the Italian government will swallow the fine, but eventually, that loan will be used up by the poorly managed Alitalia, and a bidder must be found. Agence France-Presse hints that the government may become more open to re-starting negotiations with Air France and other foreign carriers. Italian competitor Air One may benefit from Alitalia's turmoil.

Bus trips between Northeastern cities now cost as little as $1 each way through Megabus.com, which is a sister company of Gray Line New York Sightseeing and is owned by Coach USA. The company uses brand new buses with comfortable seats placed high for a sight-seeing feel. Today, Megabus launched service the between New York and Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Buffalo, Atlantic City, and Toronto. As Erik Torkells blogged in advance, "there will be a handful of $1 fares, though they must be purchased very far in advance, and of course prices go up the nearer you get to the date of departure." The bad news: What Megabus giveth it also taketh away. In L.A., the company has stopped taking reservations for trips out of Los Angeles to Las Vegas, San Jose and beyond in later June. Uh-oh. The company says that profitability is strong in the Midwest, and that it will grow its business there and along the East Coast, according to a report in the L.A.Times. MORE The discount bus craze nationwide, and which buses you can try.

We recently asked you about your most travel-inspiring books. For the tween market, Atlas Travel is making it easier for families to replicate adventures set in Simon & Schuster’s Beacon Street Girls (beaconstreetgirls.com) book series, which targets girls between the ages of 9 and 13. Atlas Travel has partnered with the Jamaica Tourist Board to create family-friendly, land-only packages that coincide with the release of Katani’s Jamaican Holiday, which hits bookstores June 3. The Jamaica package includes transfers, four all-inclusive nights at a hotel in Montego Bay, Negril, or Runaway Bay, plus the choice of tubing or rafting through Chukka Caribbean Adventures. Airfare is not included. Participating hotels include Sunset Beach Resort & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort, Half Moon, Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Montego Bay, and Riu Negril, Grand Lido Negril, and Beaches Sandy Bay in Negril. From $545 per person, 800/878-8626, atlastravel.com/vacations/BSG.htm Atlas Travel already has packages modeled after Beacon Street Girls books set in Paris, New York City, and Hollywood. If Jamaica isn’t in the cards this year, the tourism board is also sponsoring Jamaica Day at New York City’s South Street Seaport on Monday, June 2. The free concert, which stars singer Sean Kingston, celebrates Caribbean American Heritage Month. Learn more at NyJamaicaDay.com.