Blogging from 30k feet...

So I'm sitting here on a flight and I had a thought for my blog. Yes, the blog that I've been horrible at updating but really love. I promise I have 3 or 4 half written posts on my computers. They just get stuck there. And never, never move.

I've decided to figure out how to get back on track for the 2 of you who actually read this. (Thanks Mom! Just kidding - Mommy doesn't actually read the blog. But she would. If I ever remembered to mention it. Cuz she's the coolest retired mom on the planet... and now I'm getting back on topic.)

First step is a bit of diversity. I've started painting myself into a corner topic wise (fab and frugal tips) and couldn't get out. Remembered just now that it's my blog and I can write about anything I want to. So I will. ;)

Anyway on to my travel thought for today - how do you choose your next adventure? I've shared before that every year I start with a rough idea of where I may want to go or have to go. My destinations may be inspired by a magazine or newspaper article I've read or by my friends and family. I also typically have 2 trips already on the calendar before the year begins. And I'm finding that a significant number of the trips I've taken in the last 6 months have been inspired by fan activity/meetup events. But that's another blog post. (Hey Disney peeps!)

The book I'm reading on this flight, though, reminded me of a goal I set for myself last summer - to visit all the states in the union by the time I'm 40. I think I'd like to visit every continent on the planet except Antarctica before I'm 70, too.

And this has made me super curious about what goes into the plans of others - how do YOU choose your next adventure?

So, new take on the blog content/format and new travel goal. Super excited. The air up here is doing wonders for my state of mind.

My “TripTip”:
Inspiration for travel can come from anywhere! Open your horizons and get inspired! I wish you safe travels.

Trip Planning

I’ve decided to dedicate this post to trip planning. I honestly believe one of the biggest ways to save money and time (which equals money in my book) is with a good plan. Note: I’ll admit upfront for my “Type B” people that this blog post probably isn’t for you. Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.

I think of trips as an investment. They make us better, happier, and enriched people if we’re lucky. And luxury travel, even on the cheap, is a big investment. So a HUGE pet peeve of mine is spending thousands of dollars on a vacation and then getting to your destination and wasting the little time you have there figuring out what to do. You wouldn’t buy a washer/dryer or plasma TV without doing some level of research, would you?

I’m all for being flexible – we’ve had great experiences by being willing to get great advice and changing our plans as we go along. I also try not to be TOO structured or over plan and to give everyone in my group choices, but I REALLY need to know my options before I hit my destination.

Some trips require more planning than others. All a beach trip requires for me is deciding what swimsuit to wear and where to eat dinner. But I’ve learned that we have the best time for more involved trips when we’ve done a bit of research ahead of time. Places like Walt Disney World (especially during peak crowd seasons) require a decent of amount of planning and structure, but that time is paid back ten-fold in terms of less time spent in long, hot lines with tired cranky people we don’t know, lol. And it allows us to come back from what could be a very tiring vacation very happy and relatively rested and relaxed.

Here are three things you can easily research online that make a BIG difference on a trip:

Dining –as I have family and friends who are vegetarian, considering where and how we eat is always a biggie for me. Do we always stick to the plan – NO! We quite often change our plans. But I have a good handle on which fish are kosher and can ask about vegetarian dining in 3 languages.

Tours – are you going to do a lot of walking? Will you need different clothing and most importantly good SHOES? How much are tours going to cost? I must be the only person in the universe who didn’t know when I went on my first cruise that excursions and SODA were extra. I thought once you got to the boat everything was pretty much free. I was disabused of that notion minutes after boarding.

Weather – have you checked the forecast preceding you trip and considered indoor and outdoor activities based on weather? Nothing’s worse than getting stuck outside in inclement weather. I learned last Fall that packing flip flops (my shoes of choice on vacation) can work against you in 50 degree weather! I now own the most amazing pair of flat shoes EVER made (God bless Clarks) that are cute enough and kept my feet covered and VERY comfortable this Spring in Barcelona.

My “TripTip":
A good plan goes a long way in saving you time and money on trips. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Google is your friend. Lonely Planet, guide books, unofficial guides, online forums and articles are abundant for most destinations – so whatever it is, wherever you go, spend time making sure your time is well spent.

Vive La France!

Okay so it’s taken me forever to write about my trip to France here. Partly because I’ve been this weird combo of lazy and busy. But mostly because it was too cool a trip to put into words. So I’ve decided to type up a few observations as they come to me.

I heart France. Maybe not as much as Spain, but still quite a bit. The language barrier wasn’t so difficult (thanks to earworms learning, podcasts, and a dictionary) and it turned out to be a just like any other major city in terms of getting around. (I even have a great stuck in Paris when the Metro was closing story.) People were nice enough (hey, I’m a NY’er) the food was great and it was beautiful! I can’t wait to go back.

Get out on the open road! I didn’t drive in Paris, but did throughout the countryside. Thank God for countries that drive on the same side for the road as us and universal signs. I also used a European car rental company to get a GREAT deal on an automatic.

Hot bread! I honestly don’t know how I survived this long without a neighborhood patisserie in my life. It was so great to start my day with a REAL croissant and pick up a baguette on the way home. And it should be against the law to pass off the crap some places call croissants in this country.

Make new friends! We met an American who worked at our resort and he was a HUGE help to us. We made way better day trip choices due to his quick and easy insight and saved time and money with his advice. He also helped us navigate a customer service issue during our stay to our best advantage.

Speaking of our issue I am reminded again to ALWAYS speak to a manager when you have a problem and keep at until you’re properly recompensed. My friend got 90,000 hotel points because our hotel couldn’t remember to replace our towels every day. Sound trivial but when it’s 9pm and you’ve returned from a cold, wet and dirty city and all you want is a hot meal and shower as you stumble into your place but there are no towels (AGAIN) and the lid to the trash can is on the counter where you prepare food…. you get the picture. BTW, 90,000 points with Marriott amounts to almost a week’s stay and it can be used worldwide.

Why am I still dreaming of and going on trips in the midst of these harsh economic times? Opportunity is knocking. Airline fares are the lowest they’ve been in YEARS. I just spent a third of what I did two years ago on airfare to Spain. Hotels & restaurants want your business and are offering sweet deals to get it. Pay your bills, save some money (for now and later) and if you can – go travel! I doesn’t have to be for weeks at a time, it doesn’t have to be to Europe, but go!

My “TripTip”:
Use your miles/awards points. Never spend a dollar without seeing how you can get the most out of it. We stayed at a $400/night Sheraton in Paris for $20 using Starwood points. I used credit card rewards points to stay at a Ritz Carlton in New Orleans last summer.
Renting cars from local companies can save $$$ overseas. Especially if you’re the typical American who doesn’t drive a manual (like me, LOL). Make sure to compare the prices on their local sites to the us versions.
Sign up for weekly airline and travel discount emails. Between a cheap flight and using points you can have a quick and fun getaway for a lot less money than you think.

Luxury Travel on TV - Bravo gets it!

Okay, so I don't know if anyone but me watched Bravo's "First Class All The Way" due to its tragic time slot (Monday at 7pm, seriously?) but this show was so great!

Sara Ryan Duffy is now my hero and may have supplanted Samantha Brown as overall travel goddess and who I wanna be when I grow up. I have stayed green with envy watching each show.

But the best thing about this show has been the added content on Bravo's website. And I am going to devote a few posts to some great tips Sara and her team shared online that I thought were great and fit the idea of my blog.

So here we go... I can't embed the video but it's worth the click through.

Traveling on a Budget

And here are a few of my "TripTip's":

• Don't assume you can't get a great deal at a high-end hotel. The NYTimes has had quite a few articles about all the recent bargains in luxury travel. They're losing corporate business fast an furiously.
  

• Book with the hotel directly and don't be afraid to ask for a lower rate or to know what special promotions they have. They want your business - they NEED your business.

• If you can afford it, take advantage of overseas travel NOW. The dollar hasn't bought this much in Europe in years. Things are completely reversed from a year ago. That was then.
  

Enjoy!

An Affordable Hotel in London? Brilliant!

Other than being my ongoing love letter to travel, the major point of this blog is to advance the idea that you can have extraordinary travel experiences at somewhat reasonable prices.

One of the hardest places to do this? London. Our weak dollar has made travel to Europe in general tough and travel to the UK simply painful. Most things just have a 50% markup. Burger and fries lunch will cost you what, $12 at restaurant in the US, right? Well that's still 12 in the UK, except that makes your meal cost $24 dollars. For a burger and fries!

Nowhere does this CRAZY pricing structure become more evident than when you try to book a hotel. It is incredibly difficulty to find a good hotel in London for under $300 a night, let alone something trendy like a W. And VIP traveller's just don't do hostels. Or trust the definition of a three star overseas.

So imagine my delight when I saw this article in the Times:

Check In, Check out
London: Base2stay
By BENJI LANYADO
Published: August 31, 2008
The boutique hotel could rightfully charge a queen’s ransom for a night’s stay, but doesn’t.

Frommer's Review
Down in Kensington a new concept in hotels has emerged, offering great value by providing "a synthesis" of what guests really need and use -- minus the frills. The fluff has been edited, but what you get is a stylish, comfortably furnished accommodation with a small kitchenette. The cheapest rooms contain bunk beds for 2, and accommodations are rather flexible here, including suites that can be made by interconnecting rooms. Living may be stripped to the basics, but this is no hostel, as there is a 24-hour reception service as well as daily maid service.

A nice hotel in great area of London for under $200. 200 American dollars?

Oh, wow. March 25th I find out I belong in London (see below). Meet family and rekindle friendships with people in London over the last few months. Today I find somewhere to stay that won't bankrupt me. Sounds like a research trip is in my future...

2008 Planning Update

I figured this would be a good point in the year to take stock of my travels for 2008. I had big plans on the table on January 9th. How am I doing?

So London has become Paris with day trips to London and Brussels (ummm, chocolate). New Orleans was so much fun that we did South Beach two weeks later to keep the vibe going. (And the Ritz, South Beach, and I have totally made up and are BFF now. Seriously, I didn't leave the hotel until it was time to go home.)

Disney's still on the agenda for December, but I didn't get to Chicago before my two free nights expired. That said, I have a new "in" for Chicago that should make up for it.

No Oregon, or Montreal, but I just got back from Pasadena (never been there) and enjoyed a beautiful weekend trip to celebrate my cousin's nuptuals. The Westin there is GREAT, but that's another post.

The biggest update is that I (by virtue of my NEW JOB) have become a true road warrior and have been living in hotels for business more than pleasure for the last two months.

This has made Denver my 2nd home (luv it), allowed me to sample amazing Italian in Boston and enjoy some time on the water there. And I finally get to go to Charleston, SC.

Lastly, trying to plan a BD trip to Montego Bay for a long weekend and then to balance a possible Christmas/Mom's BD and Retirement trip to Orlando with a friend's wedding in Phoenix a few days later. We'll see how poor I am after Europe hmmm?

The things we bring

Ok, had to blog about this new gadget because it had me thinking about technology and trips.

I'm one who almost always packs my:
laptop
digital camera
ipod
fm transmitter for ipod
hard drive (for my 70G of music & video)
cell phone(s) - (have to add the international phone when needed)
various cables and power cords
flat iron (ok, not technology per say, but it plugs in and is vital)

So clearly this FAB new gadget by Belkin caught my eye when I read about it in the New York Times last month. Surge protector, usb charger and SMALL to boot?

No more hunting for the other outlet in my hotel room as I struggle to check my e-mail while charging my phone and ipod? No WAY! No more using the outlet in the bathroom to charge my phone because I've got to plug in the iron? Stop teasing me!

I'll tell ya how it goes.