During my first trip to Disney World in 2005, I had dinner at Chefs de France, which I was a little nervous about (there’s no bartop dining here, and I wasn’t sure if the restaurant would be filled with couples and families). As it turned out, it was one of the best solo dining experiences I had at Disney World, and the food was divine.-- Solo Friendly

I confess, I got a little irritated when I clicked through to read this post on Travelblogs: Do Solo Female Travellers have it Easier than Guys Travelling Alone? I sputtered over the title alone -- I couldn't decide if it was a joke or not. Solo female travelers having it easier than guys?

I love love love fishing through the blogroll to find new-to-me reads,to see what other travelers are up to, to see pictures of far away places, to learn that yet another person has lost her heart to a foreigner and is wading through the trials of expat life (you have my heartfelt sympathies). Here are a handful of new reads that I've enjoyed.

The pilot of a Continental Airlines jetliner died midflight on Thursday morning as the plane, carrying 247 passengers, was en route to Newark from Brussels, the authorities said. Two first officers took control of the plane, a Boeing 777, which landed safely at 11:47 a.m. at Newark Liberty International Airport.

For a lot of us, Iran is no man's land. We'll never make it beyond that border because we're women, because we're Americans, because, most importantly, we're afraid. Afraid we won't be able to get out again, afraid we'll surrender our rights in customs, afraid that the crazy rhetoric of the Iranian government reflects what's going on in the heads of Iranian nationals. We're right, but we're also oh so wrong. There are a handful of intrepid travelers who defy the zeitgeist and head for Iran. Earlier this year I followed the adventures of The Little Travelers with great fascination.