Photo tour: Slum dwellers open their homes

Orlando receives nearly 50 million visitors a year. Many travel to the theme parks, of course. But Disney World alone can cost up to $75 per person per day. Here are a few tours that will show you what else the city has to offer—for free. The City of Orlando offers a free self-guided walking tour and map of the downtown historic district. The 11-page downloadable tour itinerary describes 28 historic buildings across 2.5 miles of downtown. From the 1927 Beaux Arts courthouse to the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church with bricks made by the congregation, there's plenty of local history to absorb. For some exercise, the local chapter of the Florida Trail Association offers free walking tours as well as some bike and paddle excursions. One of the most popular activities is a moonlight tour of the 1880 Greenwood Cemetery. The Winter Park Historical Association and Museum offers self-guided walking tours of 20 sites in this quaint suburb north of downtown. The neighborhood is home to Rollins College and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, with an extensive collection of Tiffany glass. First founded as an artist colony in 1938, The Maitland Art Center has hosted a number artists over the years including painter Milton Avery. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, its grounds feature Mayan and Aztec motifs on five acres of gardens. Admission to the gallery is $3, but the gardens are free. Come on the third Monday of each month at 3 p.m. (when many other local museums are closed) if you'd like to take an hour-long guided tour of the grounds ($3). A reservation for the tour is required. EARLIER Coming soon: Free admission to Disney on your birthday /theme_parks_get_the_lowdown_fr.html"> Interview with a theme-park insider

Some bulls lunge when you ride them. Others airwalk. Still other buckle like an earthquake. To appreciate the fine differences, you need to attend a bull riding competition. And I highly recommend the American Royal Pro Rodeo Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals, taking place this weekend as part of the American Royal, which is a five-week long celebration of the pioneer spirit at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Allow me to wax poetic for a moment: As a born-and-bred KC girl (go Royals!), I've spent many a fall day over the years attending the Royal with my grandparents. I think nothing says "fall" like a good old-fashioned rodeo, especially for a kid (or the young at heart). This weekend, in particular, is a great time to visit the American Royal. Bull riders, cowboys, cowgirls, and 4-H kids will descend upon Kansas City to watch regular Joes mainly from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska compete in seven events—two that will get your heart racing are bull riding and barrel racing. This Saturday is also one of two Family Fun Days. There are activities for agriculture enthusiasts: the American Royal Rodeo University (where your kids can learn to rope!), a piglet birthing clinic, and a colt-raising area. There's also the Western Marketplace, for those of you more inclined to shop. There are events at the Royal scheduled into November—including more bull riding. Kemper Arena, 1800 Genessee. Rodeo tickets start at $22; you can buy tickets online. Admission to Family Fun Days is $5 per person or free with any rodeo ticket. MORE TO DO IN KANSAS CITY The new $800 million, nine-block pedestrian cultural district The Truman Library in the Kansas City suburb of Independence offers a large collection of presidential memorabilia Check out the great blogger Kansas City Kitty for more ideas MORE TRAVEL BLOGS Visit travel.alltop.com

For the past 15 years, a trip to Beantown has meant maneuvering around the Big Dig: the massive public-works project that replaced the city's elevated highway with tunnels. With the Dig finally finished, people can now stroll where they once sat in traffic. The new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway (rosekennedygreenway.org) is a mile-long park that follows the path of the former highway all the way to the Charles River. —Alison Lobron *CORRECTION 12:31 p.m.: A typo in this headline has been corrected.

One of the largest problems with the typical drip coffee maker is its weak wattage. You need a lot of electrical power to heat water up to its ideal brewing temperature. Otherwise, you lose out on many coffee flavors and aromas. Most hotel room coffee makers aren't up to the task, but I have three workarounds for you to follow (below). CooksIllustrated.com, one of the best magazines out there, recently tested drip coffee makers. The editors pointed out that the typical machine's electrical juice is "divided among several different components, including burner plates and clocks and other electronic features, in addition to the heating element." In other words, the devices can't brew your coffee at the perfect temperature, which is roughly between 195 degrees and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Specialty Coffee Association. Is there anything you can do to overcome this handicap and brew decent coffee? Here's my first tip: Do a "trial run" of your coffee maker—without coffee—to heat up the machine. Pour the heated water back into the device and brew your coffee as usual. While you won't get the water to a perfect level of hotness, you will get it pretty darned close. A second problem with drip coffee makers is that they tend not to work fast enough, resulting in bitter coffee. I'll quote again from Cook's Illustrated: To extract the desired degree of flavor compounds from the coffee grounds, brewing time should be no more than six minutes. Longer brewing times (especially more than nine minutes) can make coffee taste harsh. But most hotel room coffee machines brew too long. What to do? Take the pot (or glass carafe) off the burner before the brewing cycle finishes. You obviously need to have a spare mug to put in place of the carafe while emptying it, or else coffee will splash out everywhere. Better to have a cup of coffee that's decent but only two-thirds full than a full cup with a harsh taste. And don't worry: A simple mug or cup can catch any excess coffee and prevent any splashing. One more tip: Brewed coffee has a short life when it's left on an electrical burner. If you leave brewed coffee in a pot or glass carafe for 15 minutes or more, it will taste like liquid ashes when you drink it. Avoid the problem by pouring the coffee into a cup as soon as it's brewed. [Thanks to Chris for suggesting a post on this topic.] Feel free to share your own tips below.