One incredibly delicious reason to be grateful to Mexico

Are you the type of flier who's learned the name, hometown, and five-year plan of all the passengers in your row (and maybe a flight attendant or two) by the time you de-plane? Or are you of the "Headphones on. Do not talk to me" variety? Planely, an air travel-focused social networking site that debuted in late 2010, is on a mission to make the friendly skies…well, friendlier. The service connects Planely users to one another by allowing them to register their upcoming flights on the site. It then alerts travelers to fellow Planely passengers that are on their flight, or passing through common departure or arrival airports. (For a glimpse of why Planely might just be onto something with this, check out their Twitter feed chronicling "people bored at airports over the world."). To help get the word out, Planely launched a contest that deemed Cebu Pacific Air, a Philippines-based carrier, The World's Most Sociable Airline. 142 airlines (among them JetBlue, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, and Delta) were tallied in the ranking, which had Norwegian Air Shuttle in second place, Swiss in third, American Airlines (the top U.S. carrier) in eighth, and Binter Canarias, a Spanish airline, pulling up the rear at number 121 (as one of 22 airlines that booked a single flight). All flights registered on Planely between April 13 and April 20 were tabulated, and after a Twitter campaign that corralled their more than 150,000 followers, Cebu Pacific, the participating airline with the most flights registered (an impressive 913), was crowned the winner on April 22. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('bbedda30-44fc-4ef7-af84-45e790fc5f4a');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)While skeptics will (justifiably) say that Planely's premise has the potential to veer into the cheesy (mixers in the airport lounge, anyone?), there is something to be said for the benefits of their communal approach to traveling. Having a network of contacts not only makes the world an easier place to navigate, but it lends itself to budget-mindedness as well. In a conversation with Planely's CEO, Nick Martin, interviewer Phil Campbell described looking forward to "the day—it might be a way off yet—that I get into an airport and manage to share a taxi with someone into a city…this whole process of sort of sharing the cost is starting to take off more and more." Would you be interested in connecting with other travelers through a social networking site like Planely? MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: What's the best social network for travel? How travelers can complain effectively with social media. Denmark launches a social media site for travelers.

We're not flush yet, either. But that doesn't mean we're staying put. We continually scan the horizons for romantic places to visit, no second mortgage required. Portugal's City of the Seven Hills is one of our current finds. It's where you can feel as if you're a visiting celebrity, even if you don't appear on lists compiled by Forbes. Feel retro-chic glamorous as you stroll around the cobblestone streets of this small city of 490,000 people. Sip cappuccino with a view of a majestically restored medieval fortified cathedral. Then glance at your better half in disbelief, because you can spend the night in an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century house for about $140 a night in peak season. Pousadas de Portugal, which translates roughly as "inns of Portugal," are 40-odd country former castles, monasteries, fortresses, and palaces, ranging in size from 9 to 51 rooms. Some inns are located in restored monuments. Others are hybrids of modern hotels and historic properties. Learn more at the site of Pousadas de Portugal. Standard hotels are even cheaper. Upgrade without breaking the bank. As we predicted in our Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2011 story, Portugal's debt crisis is leading to bargains for tourists in what has long been a relatively affordable Western European nation. Most Portuguese speak decent English (unlike their neighbors in Spain or France), reports ABC News. The weather's typically lovely in Lisbon year round. Late spring, summer, and autumn have only a few days of rain each month on average, though in August temperatures can reach the 90s. The shopping is old-timey fun, especially in the neighborhood called Príncipe Real ("Prince Royal" in English), with its independent shopkeepers reclaiming townhouses painted in crimson and pale yellow. For more details, let me quote shopping-obsessed New York magazine: In Chiado, rediscover nearly extinct brands at A Vida Portuguesa, like Oprah's favorite all-natural Claus Porto soap or whimsical Bordalo Pinheiro plates. Treat yourself to a proper pair of gloves at the tiny Luvaria Ulisses, open since 1925. Get your hands massaged and measured, then choose a pair (or, at $88, two!) among a selection of fine-leather styles. What about the food, a critical part of any vacation? Let me just quote ABC News about the cuisine: Hearty Portuguese meals features dishes such as feijoada (bean stew) and cabrito (goat), and basic local restaurants called tascas offer up the best lunch bargain across the nation. The menus usually feature plenty of fresh fish out of the Atlantic as well as dried, salted cod. (bacalhau) How about the nightlife, you ask? It's true that centuries of history still weigh down the old town, but that doesn't stop local residents from looking toward the future. According to Monocle, the city's artists, young musicians, and entrepreneurs, are making (port-flavored) lemonade out of the lemons they've been handed by the financial crisis. Concerts and theater performances are up by double digits as venues such as Nimas, a converted cinema, draw indie acts. Fashion and design museums lie at the heart of urban renewal projects in refurbished historic buildings, such as in the Parque Mayer theater district. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2011 Portugal: Two Friends Explore Lisbon and Beyond Algarve, Portugal: Where the Guinness Man Goes on Vacation

Upstart distillers are reviving the craft-spirits scene by combining old-world techniques with modern recipes. Even better, they give visitors a seat at the tasting-room bar. Brooklyn, N.Y. You might call Brad Estabrooke's cleverly named Breuckelen a micro microdistillery. After all, it produces only one type of gin and the full tour takes all of 20 paces. Fine by us. That leaves more time to sniff out the rosemary and ginger notes that set this year-old drink apart. brkgin.com, tours free, tastings $3. Park City, Utah Producing spirits since 2007, High West Distillery & Saloon is Utah's first legal distillery since 1870. A more amazing first: It's the only ski-in distillery we've seen. High West offers three tours a day and an on-site gastropub with hearty fare to soak up the label's eight spirits. highwest.com, tours free, tastings $20. Columbus, Ohio A two-year stint in Switzerland inspired Greg Lehman to open his vodka- and gin-based Watershed Distillery last year. It also led to the distillery's unofficial pastime: Hammerschlagen, a drinking game involving hammering nails into a log. Is that really a good idea? watersheddistillery.com, tours $5. Madison, Wisc. At Death's Door Spirits, you can do one better than a distillery tour and actually help kick off the production process. Each fall, fans take a weekend and trek 200 miles north to wooded Washington Island, where they pick wild juniper berries for next year's gin. deathsdoorspirits.com, tastings by request. Portland, Ore. Since it opened in 2004, trailblazer House Spirits has produced aquavit, gin, and whiskey—and inspired a slew of local competitors, like Bull Run Distilling Co., opened by an HS founder in 2010. Guided tours run only on Saturdays, but the tasting room is open five days a week. housespirits.com, tours and tastings free. —Beth Collins MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 10 Smallest Bars in the World A Barfly's Guide to San Francisco The Czech Republic's New Brewery Hotels

Lately, whenever I open my facebook account, scores of photographed meals beckon invitingly from photo albums with such "creative" titles as "Food," or "Delicious Food," or "Yummy Delicious Food." Facebook and Flickr, among others, seem to promote food worship with (aptly named) groups like I Ate This and Natural Cooking Food Photography Club. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('335bb7f4-6067-4e83-ab17-c0ac8de39740');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)Indeed, hundreds if not thousands of websites and blogs (one favorite: parlafood) are devoted to photographing food. Food porn—that is the glamorized styling of food—is very big right now. According to the New Yorker "The point is to get very close to what you are filming, so close that you can see an ingredient's "pores" (you should believe the dish is in your living room). Travel shows like No Reservations and Bizarre Foods are dedicated to the glorification of food. Even travel blogs dedicated to showcasing meals seem to be popping up left and right with a goal of taking you on the road, one juicy mango-and-lamb shawarma at a time. There are food photography courses, food photography fan clubs, and food photography books. We document everything from our gourmet cooking feats to our romantic candlelit meals to our adventurous culinary trysts. Traveling in particular seems to warrant the immortalization of meals. I even see this in the small Austrian restaurant in the West Village where I wait tables. At times the cameras are discreet—iPhones and blackberries disguised as texting tools—and at others they are ostentatious digital numbers that capture every crumb. But what is it about food that makes us want to snap photographs like there's no tomorrow? The French philosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." By that token, perhaps in photographing our food we are creating a history of where we have been; a timeline of who we are over the years captured in meals. Foods we eat while traveling mark adventurous and daring periods in our lives. Our culinary battles at home indicate a nurturing, protective era, while our expensive restaurants dinners mark those special, once-in-a-lifetime events. But even if this is so, I'm guessing who sees the photos has a lot more to do with it. Eating is such a social affair, that bragging about the food we eat seems like a natural extension of the communal dining experience. Or maybe it's just easier than ever to take photos at meals now that every practically phone comes equipped with a digital camera? What do you think? Do you photograph your food when traveling? At home? Why? Are you sick of seeing food photos or do you lust for more? — Madeline Grimes MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: How to Take Better Food Photos Food Photography Advice from a Food Photographer The World's Best Street Food