Generator: Europe’s Hip Hostels
The days of having to spend the night in a sketchy hostel while exploring Europe are long over. Generator has eight fashionable and reasonably priced hostels located in hot spots like London, Dublin, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Venice, and they’ve just opened a new hostel in Barcelona, Spain. Each hostel features stylish design and a variety of rooming choices ranging from private single or twin rooms to dorms. Ladies will find that their rooms feature dressing tables, vanity mirrors and hair dryers. Other amenities include free Wi-Fi for use on your own device, in-hostel cafes, luggage storage, laundry, a bar, help in planning your city tours and reception 24 hours a day for when you get in late. Most importantly, lodging with Generator is inexpensive; beds in Copenhagen start at about $27, and $11 for a bed in Berlin. Frequent visitors to Generator Hostels can collect destination stamps to earn free nights, T-shirts, food and drink. Make reservations at www.generatorhostels.com.

Albuquerque’s Bikes & Brews Cycling Tour
Albuquerque’s Routes Bicycle Rentals and Tours has put together a special tour for cycling enthusiasts who also happen to love beer. Participants in the Bikes and Brews tour will cycle to at least three of the city’s craft breweries where they’ll explore each establishment and, of course, sample the wares. A support vehicle comes along on the 3 ½ -hour tour, so if you want to purchase a growler of your favorite microbrew to enjoy later, they’ll carry that for you. Packages including bike rental are $45 and only $35 if you bring your own bike. Bikes and Brews tours take place on the third Sunday of each month, but if that doesn’t align with your visit to Albuquerque, Routes also has lots of other tour options available on a daily basis. Check out www.routesrentals.com. To plan your trip to Albuquerque, visit www.itsatrip.org.

Take a Road Trip, Eat Chicken
Foodie website The Daily Meal has just published this year’s edition of The Great American Fried Chicken Roadmap, a guide to finding the best fried chicken in 30 cities across the country. Some of the eateries have amusing names to go along with their good fried chicken: in Brooklyn, stop in at Pies ‘n’ Thighs, come hungry to Mama Dip’s Country Cooking Restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack is the place in Nashville, and Ma’Ono Fried Chicken and Whisky represents for Seattle. If you happen to be near Joplin, Mo., a side trip up to Chicken Annie’s in Pittsburg, Kan. is a good idea; the Travel Channel adores their chicken, and the joint has been named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas. For Los Angeles, the roadmap recommends Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. Find the Great American Fried Chicken Roadmap at www.thedailymeal.com