The Great Affair

Please help me out!

2009-09-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

I entered a travel writing competition, and have made it to the semi-finals. To move on the the next round, my entry needs to be one of the top ten, according to number of votes received. To vote, create an account (quick and easy if you just sync with Facebook) and then click "add to wishlist". You can only vote once and need to do it by September 13th.

My entry can be found here.

The prize is $10,000 and a two-week writer-in-residence contract in NYC.

Thanks for voting!

Fly-by Summer

2009-08-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

When did it become August? Actually, when, and how did it become August 13th already? Isn't it still May, or at the very least, June? No, it's really August. Summer is nearly over (now that in Chicago, it's only just begun as we've finally seems temps climb above 80). So what have we been doing this summer? Well, a whole lot actually.

There have been parties with friends, weddings, great meals, visits from family, and this weekend - Dan's 31st birthday.

In early July, Dan's step-sister Carmie got married. It was the culmination of a year of planning by her mom, Sue, and everything came off perfectly. Carmie looked absolutely stunning, the venue was lovely, the food was good, the dance party was hopping, and a great time was had by all. Dan's dad, who fronts the 60's cover band Van Hammel, even performed a few songs!

Last weekend, Carmie was in town for work and we were able to hang out and hear a little about her amazing honeymoon to Cabo. The week before that, Dan's cousin, Elizabeth, came in with her boyfriend and we all went out to dinner and for drinks, and of course, talked travel (they recently returned from Belize).

We found a new apartment that we'll move into at the end of the month. Just as nice as our current apartment, it's a bit smaller (one bedroom with a smaller kitchen and one great room as opposed to our current one which has two bedrooms, a huge kitchen and dining room, a living room and den) and nearly half the price.

And me, well I've been busy. Busy working, busy writing, busy making plans. We've got several trips coming in the next few months: a press trip for me to Lake Geneva next weekend, Costa Rica over Labor Day, Denver in September, Kentucky and Washington DC in October, and if I have any say in it, we'll squeeze in one or two more overnights before heading off to South Africa for Christmas.

As busy as the summer was, it looks the fall may be even more so.

A Day at the Races

2009-07-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

With 3 blissfully work-free days looming ahead of us and no 4th of July travel plans (sad), Dan and I decided it was time to head out of Chicago to the Arlington Park Race Track. While we could have enjoyed a leisurely two hour ride on the Metra, instead we invited along one of our more mobile friends who offered to drive.

The first race was at 4pm, but we arrived around 3, assuming that would be enough time to get oriented, get a drink, place our bets, check out the horses in the paddock area and find a seat.

As it turned out, we barely made it to the rail in time to watch the horses leap from the starting gate. Despite the fact that we weren't about to strike it rich off our wagers (we'd bet $2 each), the race was still really exciting. We watched in awe as the horses pounded down the stretch, their taut muscles rippling under shiny coats. I, of course, had placed my bet on the longshot, who came in second to last. Dan's horse, the favorite, was the lucky winner.

Over the course of about 4 hours we watched several more races, spent several more dollars, and enjoyed several more drinks. Of course the one time I decided to sit out a bet, the horse I planned to bet on won (I would have won $22). Our biggest win was $18, but it was more about the excitement of the race than any anticipation of winning big that made the day so fun.

While there we did learn a few things though, so if you are planning a trip to Arlington, here are some things to consider.
- Arrive a few hours early, especially if you want to score a good seat or a table.
- Bring a cooler with some snacks and drinks. Everything there was overpriced and mediocre.
- Bring a blanket or some patio chairs.
- Place all your bets at once. You won't have to fight the crowds to bet after each race and can instead check out the horses up close in the paddock area. This will also stop any "let it ride" impulses you may have it you get on a winning streak.
- Buy your tickets online and save a few dollars each.

Working for the Weekend

2009-06-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting the blog, I know. But it's only because I've been so busy with paid writing gigs, so it's actually a very good thing. I've been blogging like crazy for Cheap Europe, continuing to submit a few articles per week to Europe up Close, writing several times a month for BootsnAll, and trying to find time to pitch to new outlets as well. I recently wrote a piece for Galavanting and have had two pieces published on Matador Nights and two on Matador Trips. On top of that, I've been working my day job and trying to increase my workouts and shed the last 10 pounds of my Chicago "winter weight".

We've also taken a bit of a travel hiatus in the last few weeks, an unfortunate trend that will continue over the next few months (with the exception of a quick jaunt to Detroit next week for a wedding). We're moving into a new apartment in a month or so and saving up up the big South African adventure in December so funds are limited.

So our weekdays are pretty boring, but we're trying to spice up our weekends with a little (cheap) local flavor. We've been shopping for fresh produce, artisanal bread, and locally produced cheese at the Green City Market. We showed our support at the annual Gay Pride Parade last weekend. We're planning a trip to Arlington Park Race Track and hope to hit up the party-atmosphere of North Avenue Beach soon. Luckily, Chicago is packed with fun and exciting things to do on a tight budget so, as long as we can find the time, we'll have plenty of opportunities to play tourist in our own town.

Family Fun in Florida

2009-06-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Dan and I spent last weekend in sunny Florida with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, mom and step-father.

We stayed at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, where my sister was hosting a fundraising weekend for her work. As I was battling a nasty toothache and popping vicodin, it wasn't the best weekend for a visit, but we still had a great time.

We rode bikes, cruised around the club in our golf cart, hung out by the pool, drank delicious pina coladas, and got in lots of face time with the family.

Each night we attended the event's dinner dance, enjoying great food and fruity drinks, competing in trivia and raffles, and dancing with the kids.

The event ended Sunday morning. My mom and Lou headed back to their home in Tampa while Jenn, Dave, Dan, the kids, and I drove back to Jenn's house near Fort Lauderdale. We relaxed on the couch and hit the hay early, as we had to be up at 4am for our return flight. It was a very short trip, but it was wonderful to spend some time with the family and relax.

Photo Friday: Red Rocks

2009-06-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

In an effort to burn off a few of the beer calories we consumed in Denver, Chrissy and I decided to hike through Red Rocks Park. The park is home to an amphitheatre where bands perform, but it's also used by locals as a place to hike, bike and jog.
According to the website, the full hike through the park takes about two hours. We lost the path and ended up on the road a few times, so we only did a small portion over about 45 minutes. It had rained a lot that weekend and parts of the path were muddy - my suede flats weren't the best footwear choice, but we still enjoyed the scenery.

We wandered the paths, made sure to stay off the rocks (!),marveled at the unique rock formations - including this one that looked like a turtle face to me - and just enjoyed the monumental beauty of the park.

This is the First - er, 730th - Day of My Life*

2009-06-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, Dan and I got married. We're officially past the point where people tell us "the first two years are the hardest", to which we'd reply, "really, then the years after must be REALLY easy, because this wasn't 'hard' at all!"

I still remember the day I met Dan. He came strolling into the office of the radio station I was interning at and I just instantly thought "wow, this guy is cool". He made me laugh and I wanted nothing more than for him to find me funny too. We hit it off and got to know each other over countless hours spent idling at promotional events. We each bought our fist cell phone at an event and began a flirty text relationship (thank you Verizon Wireless!) which we credit with bringing us together. We eventually started hanging out as friends outside of work, until this fateful night in September (2002)-

when Dan ambushed me as I was coming out of the bathroom, pushed me up against a wall, and slurred "hey, I like you" before planting a slightly sloppy kiss on my lips. With smooth moves like that, how could I resist? I was smitten too.

Christmas Eve - he'd told me he loved me. I told him he could take it back in the morning if he wanted to. He didn't.

By May we'd moved in together in Detroit and the following December (2004) we decided to move to Seattle. That was a year of emotional ups and downs where we discovered how to build a life together on our own. We broke up, quickly got back together, and Dan began to talk about marriage. But I wasn't ready.

Then one day, after an afternoon spent lying in bed with a cold, thumbing through bridal magazines I'd covertly purchased over the past month, I realized I was ready. By the time Dan came home from work, I had a plan. He walked in to find me surrounded by magazines, in my pajamas, with greasy hair and clammy skin. "You can ask me now", I said.

A few months went by. I waited, and waited, and waited. One day, I decided to get snoopy. I checked his drawers and his backpack, searched the closets and the cupboards, and came up empty-handed. Maybe he wasn't going to ask.

That night, we went out for happy-hour margaritas and I confessed my snoopage. Dan was outraged when I told him I'd looked in his bag and continued to harp on me for it as we walked home and entered the apartment. "I can't believe you did that", he said, picking up the bag. "You actually looked for a ring in my bag" (as he pulls out a small velvet box) "and DIDN'T find it!" I cried, Dan got down on one knee, and then rest is a happy blur.

A little over a year later we were married in Detroit, surrounded by friends and family. Despite plenty of little hiccups, it was a wonderful day. And while it was romantic and beautiful, I think we managed to keep it completely "us".

In the last two years - in which we've made new friends, faced new challenges, welcomed a new nephew/godson, and seen six new counties on two continents (over 10 total tips) - we managed to stay true to our vows of loving and caring for one another and making each other laugh, every single day.

In the mythology of us, somewhere along the way we decided we would be together for 70 years - no more, no less. (Since we were 27 and 28 when we were married, we're clearly assuming we'll be living a looong time.)

Two years in, I can't wait to see what the next 68 will bring.

* - "This is the First Day of My Life" was our first dance song. Though technically, since we've been together two years now, I suppose the number is a little higher than one.

Photo Friday: Denver Botanic Gardens

2009-05-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

One of the few non-alcoholic exploits of my Colorado trip was a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens. Admission is $12.50 for adults, but well worth it. And I imagine that caring for and cataloging all those plants racks up some pretty big bills.

The space is huge and divided into multiple smaller gardens: the fragrance garden, the Japanese tea garden, the herbal garden, etc. We wandered around for an hour or so, just taking it all in - the riot of colors, the delicious smells, the intricate beauty of the flowers, the tranquility of the surroundings, and some of the plumpest bees I have ever seen.

Colorado Tips

2009-05-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Like California, Texas, New Mexico and many other states, there are multiple cities in Colorado worth visiting. You could spend a week or more exploring the state, but with just three days, we decided to stick with Denver and Boulder. Denver of course had a more big city feel, though I actually preferred Boulder.

Unless you plan on staying only in Denver (and really, if you are coming to Colorado you should explore more outside the city), you will need to rent a car. Even if you do only plan to stay in the city, it might be more economical to rent anyways. At something like $20 per person, each way for the Super Shuttle, it would have cost us nearly as much as our car rental. We paid $134 including insurance, for 3 days from National through Orbitz. And here's a tip: if you are ever offered a hybrid for no upcharge - take it! Our gas bill for 3 days, nearly 150 miles of driving, was $3.42!

Public transportation, we were told, is great in Boulder. In Denver, not so much. We did take the bus during the day from our host's house on the west side to downtown, but were told we shouldn't at night. It was easy to catch a cab in LoDo, but we rarely so any in other areas of the city. There is also a light rail system, but we didn't use it. Overall, Denver seems to be a driving city. Unlike Boulder, we saw very few people walking around the central downtown area. I was surprised by how much it looked like Detroit, with it's vacant streets and wide lanes. We also saw a lot of panhandlers, though we never felt unsafe.

Happy hour is illegal in Chicago (you can't price a drink differently at different times of day) so I was overjoyed at the happy hour options in Colorado. To save money on food and drinks, definitely plan your meals around happy hour.

Approximate Trip Cost:
1 nonstop flight from Chicago to Denver (bought on Orbitz, flying on United there and Frontier back) - $170
My half of 3 days car rental (booked with National through Orbitz) for 3 days plus gas and insurance - $65
Lodging - $0
Misc. (tour of Gardens, bus fare, cab fare home in Chicago) - $45
Food and drink for 3 days - approx. $150
Total cost for 3 days in Denver - $430

Taking a Beer-cation

2009-05-27T12:49:00.001-07:00

My friend Chrissy and I just returned from a Memorial weekend excursion to Colorado. We wanted to get away for a bit, hadn't seen each other in a while (since our trip to New Mexico in January) and the short hop to Denver was only $170. Throw in the fact that Colorado is home to an astounding number of breweries, and I was sold.

On the way there, the counter agents asked for volunteers to be bumped to the next flight. I wasn't about to do it until I heard that the next flight left in just 30 minutes. I ran to the counter to volunteer, and in exchange was given a voucher for a free ticket anywhere in the US that United flies. And my flight ended up arriving only about 15 minutes after the first one was scheduled to land. Chrissy and I met up, picked up the rental car, and drove about 20 minutes to the west side of the city to meet our Couch Surfing host.

By 1pm we were back in the city via the bus, ready to get our weekend of beer, beer, and more beer (oh and some sightseeing and all that) started. Unfortunately, the place we'd picked for lunch (Oceanaire) wasn't open until dinner. So we continued on, taking a scenic tour of downtown Denver, and growing hungrier by the minute, until we arrived at Dazzle. I'd chosen it based on its great rating on yelp, and its delicious-sounding and cheap happy hour pricing.

The place was empty but the bartender was super friendly, pouring us a few sample drinks. I opted for a single pulled-pork slider for $2 and a $5 bowl of creamy mac and cheese, while Chrissy went with two salmon and guac sliders and some crab stuffed mushrooms. Add in three drinks (for a grand total of $25 for lunch and drinks for two) and we were off to a great start on our cheap and tasty weekend.

We wandered back through the city, checking out the capitol and some big art instillations by the convention center and art museum, to the Great Divide brewery, where we had planned to take a tour of the facilities.

Instead, we grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered up two pints of a delicious chocolatey porter. The bartender asked if we wanted to take a tour and told us it was free, so we accepted. He told us it would be just a few minutes, as they wanted to get a few more people to go.

We waited and waited and then decided to partake in some of the free samples. Of course, that was when the tour started so we grabbed our little glasses (who were we to waste beer - even free beer?) and listened as the art of brewing and the history and methods of the brewery were explained to us.

Afterwards, we indulged in a few more samples - I discovered an IPA I loved - and then headed back to wander the streets again.

By this time it was nearly 7pm, so we made our way back to Oceanaire for dinner. Anyone who knows me has heard me rave about the crabcakes at Oceanaire. They aren't cheap at $31 for an entree of two cakes, but once you eat them you will be spoiled for the rest of your life. No filler and not flattened or fried, these giant balls of lump crab are legendary. With a salad, some fries, and two beers, our bills was on the high side at $65, but it was completely worth it.

On the reccomendation of our bartender, we then set off for Falling Rock Tap House in LoDo. If there is a beer heaven, this is it. The entire lenght of the bar was wall-to-wall taps dispensing craft beer from around the world.

I wanted to try everything (luckily I didn't attempt to, I may not have been able to move for the rest of the weekend). Chrissy and I chatted with some friendly locals and tried a variety of beers until finally hopping in a cab and shuffling home around 1am.

Sunday morning, determined to see more of Denver than the inside of a brewery, we headed to a mediocre (but buy one, get one free) breakfast at Govnr's Park and then wandered the beautiful Denver Botanic Garden.

Then, as it did off an on all weekend, it started to rain. As the rain began to come down harder, the sky darkened, and thunder rumbled. We decided to seek shelter at the house and ended up napping for about two hours.

That night we headed out to Buenos Aires Pizza, another yelp find, where I was hoping the empanadas and pizza would remind me of Argentina. Well, they weren't quite as good and cheap, but they were still delicious. After dinner, we took a stroll around the (in my opinion, overrated) 16th Street Mall, which was pretty much just a collection of chain restaurants and stores. We popped in for a quick drink at the divey Horseshoe Lounge and then went back to Falling Rock to sample a new variety of beers. Exhausted by midnight, we headed home.

Monday, our last day in Colorado, was to be spent exploring the great outdoors, and of course, drinking more beer - this time in Boulder. We started with a hike at beautiful Red Rocks, with me impractically dressed as ever.

From there we continued on the see the Flatirons in Boulder but again, rain thwarted us so, not up for hiking through mud, we instead settled in for lunch at Mountain Sun brewery.

This was another of my favorite stops in Colorado. The staff was super friendly, the food was delicious (my medium rare burger was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy), the beer was excellent (I tried a sampler of 6) and again we were amazed at how cheap it all was - drinks, soup, sandwich, fries, chips and guac, and a burger totalled just $28.

Obviously, a place this great brings in a big crowd. When we left it was packed with a long line, but the awesome staff was handing out free beer and food samples to the hungry masses.

By this time the rain had mostly let up, so we wandered around Pearl street, full of cute shops and boutiques, rode the Pirate Ship at a little carnival (yes, I am a child) and then made time for one last stop - the Walnut Brewery.

Not nearly as cute and cozy as Mountain Sun, Walnut still had a nice selection of beers and a friendly bartender. I opted for a delicious black lager and then, when happy hour rolled around, Chrissy and I nibbled on some soft pretzels (half off and huge enough to share and have enough to eat for dinner on the plane), before climbing back in the car and making the 30 minute drive to the airport.

The weekend went by in a blur, and I am a bit ashamed to say that we didn't really see all that much of Denver outside of pub walls, but if culture in Colorado equals beer, then Chrissy and I may have been the most cultured people in the state. Two days later and I'm still detoxing. . . and trying to convince Dan we should go back in September for the Great American Beer Festival!

Texas Tips

2009-05-21T12:08:00.001-07:00

Texas is big, really big. You could easily spend a week or more road-tripping around the state, exploring smaller towns. If you only have a few days, stick to one or two major cities and the surrounding areas.

We really liked Austin and wish we'd have spent more time there. One day gave us a little taste of the city, two would have been much better. Though unless you plan to do a lot of outdoor activities (there are tons of places to go tubing on rivers, horseback riding) or want to explore more of hill country, I think more than 4 days would be too much.

In Austin, definitely check out the little Airstream trailers that sell food like cupcakes, crepes, pizza, tacos and empanadas. If you love grocery shopping or have a thing for markets, be sure to check out the Whole Foods flagship store, and if you have time and love wine, a trip (about 60 miles away) to Fredricksburg would be worthwhile. If you are in Austin on the first Thursday of the month, be sure to check out the aptly names First Thursday Art Walk. And of course, don't miss the emergence of the bats from underneath the Congress Bridge.

We weren't such big fans of San Antonio, so I wouldn't recommend more than two days there. Other than eating, drinking, and shopping for kitschy souvenirs, there isn't much to do on the Riverwalk and it can easily be covered in about an hour, as can the small but interesting Alamo. If you like old houses or history, a walk through the King William area is must. Other than that, we didn't find much to do in San Antonio.

We saw lots of trolleys transporting people around San Antonio, but didn't really notice much public transportation in Austin. In fact our couch surfing hosts said they drive everywhere. We also saw very few cabs, so unless you are staying right downtown (and even then if you plan to explore more) you will need a car.

Don't speed in Texas, by the way. I was pulled over the night we landed as we were driving from San Antonio to Austin. I explained that I was tired and just trying to get to Austin, had just gotten into town for a wedding, etc, and the officer was nice enough to let me go with a warning. A hefty fine and a ticket would not have been the best way to start off our trip!

Approximate trip cost:
2 round trip flights on Southwest from Chicago to San Antonio (minus a $150 gift certificate - thanks mom!) - $350
2 nights couch surfing in Austin - $8 in beers we bought for our hosts
2 nights hotel in Boerne - $220
1 night hotel in San Antonio - $90
5 days car rental (Avis, through Priceline) plus taxes, insurance and gas - $300
Food and drinks in Austin - $70
Food and drinks in San Antonio - $40
Food and drinks in Boerne (included at wedding, or graciously paid for by Dan's dad, probably would have been about $100) - $0
Total for 5 nights in Texas - approx. $1080 (value of about $1330)

San Antonio, Texas

2009-05-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

We also had some time on our big Texas adventure to explore San Antonio and Hill Country. After we left Austin, we drove southwest to Boerne, where the wedding was to be held.

Along the way, we stopped at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards for a wine tasting. For $7 each we got to taste 10 Texas wines and munch on some crackers and spicy pepper jam.

The wines were all very interesting: I called them “Texas party wines” because they were all smooth and drinkable and seemed like they would be great to enjoy on a hut day with a backyard barbecue. But at $17 a bottle, we felt they were a bit overpriced.

The rest of the day Friday was spent hanging out with family, but early Saturday we all piled into cars and made our way to San Antonio to explore. We started at the Alamo – actually we were the very first people inside when it opened at 9am.

It was a lot smaller than we had all anticipated, but the tour was informative and we enjoyed learning about the history of the building and the famous battle. We took a quick walk through the very overpriced kitschy gift shop and then wandered around the gardens. We spent more time strolling around the beautiful grounds than we did inside the actual building.

From there we headed to the Riverwalk. I had been very excited to see it and I have to say, it was a bit disappointing. Someone in our group commented that it was very Disneyland and we all agreed that there was something “It’s a Small World After All” about it.

There were tons of bars and restaurants lining the Riverwalk, along with souvenir shops selling the mandatory cowboy hats and humorous shot glasses and t-shirts. We browsed around for a while, walked up and down the Riverwalk, and then began our search for a place to eat that would satisfy all 9 of us. I had read that many of the Riverwalk restaurants were touristy and overpriced, but after a while we just wanted to eat (and figured they were mostly the same) so we picked the next Tex-Mex spot was saw – the Republic of Texas – which actually turned out to be quiet tasty and reasonably priced. They even had a special deal – a small portion of nachos and two beers or margaritas for $8. Several at our table took advantage of that, while Dan and I split an order of quesadillas.

On Sunday, we headed back to San Antonio. We had really wanted to eat at Dough, listed in Food and Wine Magazine as one of the best new pizza places in the country, but it was closed on Sundays so instead we headed for more Mexican at La Margarita Oyster Bar in Produce Row, a little pedestrian block full of shops and restaurants.

We shared some fajitas and a cheap and refreshing pitcher of margaritas and then checked into our inn, the King William Manor.

The inn was very cute and the staff was helpful. We picked the place mainly because it had a pool (which we didn’t end up using) and was in our price range at $90 a night. I’m so glad we stayed there as it ended up changing our opinion of San Antonio to be much more favorable. The inn is located in the King William area of the city – a residential area of tree-lined streets and stately mansions that are on the register of historic places in Texas. We had a map of the more notable ones and spent some time admiring them as we walked along the quiet riverside (which, at some points, was looking pretty funky and stagnant) until we got back to the Riverwalk.

We took a quick spin around and then headed back to hit the hay – we needed to wake up at 5am the next morning for our flight.

Returning the rental car was a nightmare. After several wrong turns, two stops to ask for directions, lots of cursing, and with only 20 minutes to make our flight, we finally got back to Avis, tossed the keys to the agent, hopped on the shuttle, ran through security, and made it to our gate with about 8 minutes to spare.

We didn’t spend much time in San Antonio, so I feel bad making a judgement about it. But overall, I wasn’t too impressed. I really liked the King William area and would consider coming back to tour some of the houses (they open to the public in December) or explore more away from the Riverwalk. But my preference would be to spend more time in Austin instead.

Photo Friday: Scenes from a Texas Wedding

2009-05-15T12:29:00.001-07:00

When Dan and I were first invited to Nicole and Alex's wedding celebration (they were actually married in April of last year) and told it would be a casual affair at a dance hall in Hill Country Texas, we knew this would be like no other "wedding" we'd ever seen. We were expecting a weekend of wild and crazy Hammel fun and we certainly got it.

Everyone convened at the surprisingly nice Hampton Inn in Boerne (pronounced Bernie) on Friday afternoon. Shortly after we hit the pool, the rest of the family arrived, bringing with them plenty of libations. There was lots of chatting, laughing, catching up, drinking, swimming, and even funny-hat wearing.

We were finally kicked out of the pool area around 11pm, an hour after its official closing time. But no worries - we just loaded up the "party cart" and moved to one of the suites.

The next morning a group of us headed into San Antonio to explore, returning around 1pm for more poolside fun - so much that the huge steer in the adjacent field wandered over to get a better look.
Around 4pm, we boarded the party bus that would take us to the Nelson City Dance Hall, 10 miles away. As soon as we pulled up, we knew this multi-building complex with the indoor dance hall, outdoor seating, and plenty of Texas kitsch would be a lot of fun.

After a delicious dinner of heaping plates of barbecue, the country band took the stage and got the party started. From there, the night went by in a crazy, happy blur.

We tried on silly shirts and hats.

We watched couples two-step on the dance floor,

and watched Nicole and Alex take their "first dance".

We drank Lone Star beer and margaritas.

We, or rather Dan, did the "Chicken Dance".

I traded shoes with Mary, who hasn't worn heels in years.

I got on stage with the rest of the women to sing along to "Mustang Sally",

and watched as Nicole rocked out on a flaming bar to "Sweet Home Alabama".

And of course, Dan and I showed off our sweet dancing - er, flailing - skills on the dance floor.

By the end of the night we were exhausted, but it was one of the most fun and unique weddings we've ever been to.

A Little Taste of Austin

2009-05-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed to Texas for a wedding celebration in Hill Country. We decided to make a little vacation out of it and spend some time in Austin and San Antonio as well.

We arrived late on Wednesday so we really only had one day in Austin. It wasn't much time to get to know the city, but the little taste we had has enticed us to return.

We started out with a trip to the legendary barbecue joint, the Salt Lick, in nearby Driftwood. We picked up some beers (it's BYOB) and prepared to stuff our bellies. We opted to share a platter and it was more than enough to satisfy the two of us. We enjoyed the brisket, sausage and ribs, all covered with Salt Lick BBQ sauce, along with potato salad, coleslaw and soft bread. Even with dessert of pecan pie and ice cream (hey, when in Texas. . . ) our bill was a minuscule $15.

From there were headed into the city to explore. We parked near the Congress Avenue Bridge (from whence the bats emerge at dusk) and walked along the river and up Congress to the capitol building.

It was close to 100 degrees and we'd come from temps of around 65 in Chicago, so the heat took its toll on us. We stopped a few times to cool down in some air conditioned stores and then went to visit foodie mecca - the Whole Foods flagship store.

I really wish I'd taken some pictures, because words can't do justice to just how massive this place is. Vegetables are stacked like art, bins overflow with herbs you've never seen before, and "beer alley" is stocked with brews from around the world. We wandered around, mouths gaping, and drooled over the sushi bar, the sandwich counter, the seafood station, the pizza counter, the salt bar, the bbq restaurant, the smoothie and gelato counter, the bakery, the pastry shop, the make your own peanut butter station, the nut bar, the bulk food bins, the cheese counter, and the displays of chocolate truffles and assorted toffee.

With just a bit more time to kill before we met our couchsurfing hosts for dinner, we decided to head for a beer at a place known for its wide selection - the Draught House. It did not disappoint. With what looked like 100 beers on tap, the selection was amazing. Dan quickly settled on his favorite Oregon brew, Mirror Pond, and I opted for the house-brewed Vanilla Porter (which was only $2.25!).

We sipped our pints in the sun and declared we'd move to Austin just for this bar, and then headed back to our hosts.

Around 6:30 we joined Enid and Isaac and drove back to the city for dinner at Guero's. Dan and I just shared a combo plate with some standard Mexican food and each had a margarita. We wandered along Congress, taking the sight of all the people hopping from bar to bar, enjoying live music at Guero's outdoor space, or lining up for food at one of the many Airstream trailers set up serving food like crepes, tacos, pizza, and cupcakes. Then we made our way down to the river to watch the bats emerge from under the bridge.

As the sun set, the crowds grew until the grassy slope we were sitting on was nearly packed with people and there was a crowd lining the edge of the bridge.

We waited about 30 minutes and then. . .there was one bat, then another, than another. For several minutes only a few bats at a time would emerge and then gradually the mass exodus began. I had anticipated it being over quickly, but I guess it takes a pretty long time for 75,000 bats to emerge. We watched in awe for close to 10 minutes - as we left the bats were still streaming out from beneath the bridge. (unfortunately, my pics didn't really turn out well)

We were having a great time with our hosts so we decided to head back to the Draught House, since they had never been there. Where the place has been busy when we'd come earlier, now it was completely packed.

Every seat on the patio was taken and locals had even brought their own lawn chairs, which they'd parked next to their cars. We snagged a table inside and enjoyed a few more beers before finally calling it a night around 11pm. The next day, we took a quick drive around Zilker Park and then headed off to Hill Country.

Photo Friday - La Boqueria Market

2009-05-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Barcelona's La Boqueria Market is a carnival for the senses. You could easily spend an hour wandering and browsing, and create quite a feast with ingredients purchased here.

For instance, you can get:

Candy

Chocolate
Jamon, of course
Lobster
Squid
Eggs
Pate
Clams
Prawns

MushroomsFurry rabbitFowl, feathered . . .and not

Plus about a million other varieties of fish, fruit, meat and several fruits and vegetables I've never seen in my life.

Summer in Chicago

2009-04-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Temps in Chicago today are expected to hit 80 degrees. It’s currently a sunny 75 downtown and I am, as always, inappropriately dressed for the weather. But as I sweltered on my lunchtime walk, I couldn’t help but get excited for all the good times that summer in Chicago brings.

Beer Gardens and Al Fresco Dining
There’s nothing like sharing a few beers with friends on a sunny Saturday afternoon or enjoying a cold glass of pinot grigio by candlelight as twilight comes. Some of my favorite places for outdoor indulgence are:

Halsted’s Bar and Grill – This little beer garden oasis is the perfect place to sip a few beers with friends. The music is fun, the umbrellas provide ample shade from the hot sun, and they have great specials every day.

Rock Bottom Bar and Grill – Yes, it’s a chain, but the rooftop beer garden is a guaranteed good time. The food is basic bar food, but good and there is always a tasty beer on special.

Big Chicks – Gay or straight, it doesn’t matter at this laid back bar with a great outdoor patio. Pitchers of Miller Light are $8 every day, and on Sundays there is a delicious free barbeque spread.

Angelina – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Angelina has the best brunch in Chicago. $20 gets your unlimited mimosas and an entrée like eggs Benedict, salmon and lox, frittata or pasta. Add in the fact that in summer you can enjoy this on the streetside patio and I say, who needs church? I found my heaven right here!

To Avoid – Flatwater Grill – Right on the Chicago River, this looks like the ideal place to relax after a day of loop excitement. Too bad the service is awful, the food is mediocre, and the prices are far too high for what you get.

Summer Concerts and Movies in the Park
Settle in under the stars to watch movies or listen to the Chicago Symphony at Grant Park or get your groove on with free lessons to live music at Summerdance. It seems like there’s always something going on, and most of it is totally free. Ravinia, just outside the city, hosts a concert series featuring local and international acts. Watch from the lawn seating while munching and sipping on treats from your picnic basket.

Festival Season
It seems like every weekend there is a festival in Chicago. They celebrate cultures – like the Turkish Festival and Celtic Festival - neighborhoods – like the Sheffield Garden Walk and Andersonville Midsommarfest – foods – like the pizza fest and wine fest, or the mother off all, the Taste of Chicago – and lifestyles – like the Gay Pride Parade.

Outdoor Adventure
Okay, so it’s not really “adventure” but Chicago does offer plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. Bike or run along the lakefront path, cruise down the river or on the lake, or sun-worship at one of the city’s 29 beaches.

We’ve got big plans for this summer. From June – December we won’t be taking any major trips (I’m in travel withdrawal already!) so we are going to try to make the most of summer here. In addition to the activities outlines above, we plan to spend a day at Arlington Race Track and take a few nearby road trips – maybe to Madison, Wisconsin, or back to Southwest Michigan for more wine-tasting. We'll also be celebrating Dan's birthday in August - hopefully I can top last year when I invited friends over to barbeque and then announced to Dan that we were going to Argentina!

I’m sure the temps are going to plunge back down again next week, but for now this unseasonable warmth has got me looking ahead to the fun-filled days of summer in Chicago.

Photo Friday - Mendoza, Argentina

2009-04-17T07:24:00.001-07:00

Early spring in Mendoza may mean there are no grapes on the vines, but it also meant no crowds and this beautiful sight of the snow-covered Andes mountains in the distance.

Because We're So Cool. . . .

2009-04-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

At the risk of seeming a little attention-whorish, I just want to point out the interview Dan and I did with the awesome Melanie of Travels with Two.

If you haven't checked out this blog, do it now, because in addition to profiling traveling couples like us (blush), Melanie chronicles the trips she takes with her husband, offers up some great destination recommendations, and provides helpful tips for smooth traveling as a couple.

My Life List

2009-04-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

I recently read somewhere in the online universe about the importance of having a "life list". What some might call a "bucket list" or what I, in my infinite 17-year old wisdom (I was so ahead of the times) called my list of "101 things to do before I die". That list was long ago misplaced but I do remember that it contained such lofty goals as "get a tattoo" (check!) and "be on tv".

I've re-written my list now and while I won't bore you by listing all of the 225 (and growing) items on it, I will share this:

117 are places I want to go - Zanzibar, Jordan, Turkey, The Grand Canyon, Cuba, New Orleans, Croatia, Paris, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, Colombia, Brazil, Quebec, the Maldives. . . .

55 are location-specific activities (things I want to do in a certain place) - ride a donkey on Santorini, ride a camel in the Sahara, see the bats in Austin, go on a safari in South Africa, bike the Golden Gate Bridge, go wine tasting in. . well, a whole lot of places, do a long-distance walk in Scotland, drink beer at Oktoberfest, truffle-hunt in Italy . . .

3 are career goals - be a full-time travel writer/freelancer, be published in Budget Travel magazine, and own a bed and breakfast or tour company

9 are what I consider personal goals - reach and maintain my ideal weight, become conversationally fluent in three languages, learn to bake, run a 5k race . . .

The remaining 41 are things I want to do at least once - shoot a gun (at a shooting range only!), swim with sharks, surf, ride a motorbike, sleep on a beach, walk behind a waterfall, drive cross-country. . . .

I'm hoping to cross off eight of these items by the end of 2009 and other 15 or so within 12 months. Though I'm sure, faster than I can cross them off, I'll be adding more!

Iceland Tips

2009-04-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

We used the only guidebook on Iceland that our local Barnes and Noble had, the Rough Guide to Iceland. It was pretty good for getting historical information and context on the area and major sites, but that’s about it. We got most of our information online from various forums, tripadvisor, and the Reykjavik city website. Once we arrived we picked up a few brochures from the tourist office.

I think six days was the perfect amount of time for staying in one place. Had we decided to venture out from Reykjavik, we could have easily filled 7-10 days exploring the country. But since we didn’t, six days was ample time (had we done less activities, 4-5 would have even been enough), any more and I think we would have started to run out of things to do in the city.

Things in Iceland really weren’t as expensive as we’d thought, with the exception of alcohol. If you are on a tight budget, book a hotel with kitchen facilities to save a bit of money. And no matter what your budget, it just makes sense to stock up on alcohol at the airport’s duty free. Also, be careful when you order beer - I almost ordered a non-alcoholic beer a few times (I should have wondered why it was so cheap). Most menus list each beer's alcohol content next to the price.

If you head to the Blue Lagoon, be sure to drench your hair in conditioner before and after or you’ll end up, like me, looking like the creature from the Blue Lagoon. You can combine your ride to the airport with a stop at the Lagoon. They have lockers that can accommodate carry-on luggage, so if you’ve packed relatively lightly, your bag will fit.

And speaking of packing, I somehow managed to both over and under-pack. Again I brought too many sweaters, yet I was sorely lacking in the outdoor gear department. Here’s what you need to bring for your trip to Iceland:

- one pair of heavy wool socks for every excursion you plan on doing (winter and summer) plus one pair of socks for each other day (in winter)
- bathing suit (year round)
- one to two pairs of jeans (year round), for men swap one pair nice pants for going out at night
- one dress or skirt and trendy shirt for going out on Friday or Saturday plus heels (I saw girls in open-toed sandals in March), or more practically, dressy boots (in winter) or flats that are also comfortable for walking around the city during the day
- hiking boots
- one sweater for every two-three days plus long/short sleeve Ts for layering (heavy wool/turtlenecks in winter, lighter/v-necks for summer nights)
- one water-proof windbreaker with hood (year round) plus fleece insulator and one pair long johns and thermal t-shirt (winter)
- one pair of (I have no clue what the technical term would be for this) some kind of outdoor pants that will keep you warm and dry and which you won’t mind getting dirty say, crawling in a cave
- hat, gloves, scarf (winter and probably spring and fall too)
- umbrella (it rained for at least a few minutes almost every day) and sunglasses (and then the sun would come out!)

Icelandair operates from New York, Boston, Minneapolis, Toronto, Halifax, Orlando and (coming soon) Seattle. We found the best flight by booking on Icelandair from JFK to Keflavik and then separately booking from Chicago to New York, rather than trying to get a package deal on orbitz. Icelandair still offers its “free stopovers” program where you can book a few nights in Iceland on your way to or from Europe, but their fares to Europe can be expensive. Iceland Express has great deals from Iceland to several European cities, so as odd as it sounds, you may be able to score a better deal by traveling to Europe first and then backtracking.

If you plan on renting a car for only a portion of your trip, arrange to pick it up at the airport and drop it off in Reykjavik - getting back and forth from the airport is expensive.

Summer is understandably the most popular time to go, with long daylight hours and warm days. But it’s also the most expensive. If it’s out of your price range, consider going in spring or fall or even early/late winter. Prices are much lower and we still had an amazing time. Even in the dead of winter, temps in Iceland don’t get much colder than those in New York.

Photo Friday: Get a Load of This Guy

2009-04-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

Because I just can't get enough of the Icelandic horses.

Outdoor Adventures in Iceland

2009-04-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons we were on such a small food and drink budget for Iceland was because of all the activities and tours we were doing. We figured we couldn't visit a place with as varied topography and beautiful landscapes as Iceland and not get out and make the most of them.

Most activities are available year-round. Tour companies will take care of all the details and provide transportation and equipment, and many activities can be done nearby the main city of Reykjavik. In addition to our visit to the Blue Lagoon, our morning ride on the Icelandic horses, and our drive of the Golden Circle, we went snorkeling, caving, and dog sledding.

From the moment I saw a picture of a snorkeler in Silfra (a lake in Thingvellir, the place where the tectonic plates meet) , floating in absolutely crystal clear water, I knew we had to do this. Despite the fact that I have never snorkeled and am not really a fan of deep water, we booked the trip at $250 for the two of us.

The day before we were supposed to go, the company called and asked if we would mind also having lunch and then doing an underground cave tour for free. Of course we accepted.

After a 30-minute drive we arrived at Thingvellir, along with two girls from New York, and our guide Goddi. Goddi explained all the gear we would need to put on to make sure we stayed warm and dry - our first layer (for Dan: thermal shirt and long underwear, for unprepared me: tights, sweatpants and a turtleneck sweater), followed by a puffy down snowsuit, followed by an oh-so-unflattering dry suit, followed by boots, wetsuit mask, and gloves.

Getting dressed was difficult but entertaining. Especially once we put on the dry suits, which suctioned to our wrists and necks to keep water out, and had to then bend over and try to squeeze out any excess air. We each laughed as we pulled on our necks and whoosh of air was let out. Finally we waddled over to the entry point, a small staircase leading into the water. We got in one at a time, pausing to put on our flippers and masks, and then bobbed in the water as Goddi pressed on our suits once more to let the last of the excess air out.

I put my face in the water (freezing at first but eventually I barely noticed the cold) and was amazed by what I saw. I could see all the way to the bottom, probably one hundred feet or more. The water was completely crystal clear. I held my gloves up to my face; the red was as vibrant as if they were being illuminated by the sun.

We snorkeled around a chain of connecting inlets, marveling at the collection of rocks and the giant crevices below. Every once in a while a sheer wall would seem to rise in front of my eyes (I freaked out one time, thinking it was about to hit me in the face - it was impossible to judge distances in the clear water) and then as I floated over it the bottom would drop out and I would once again be left breathless, hovering as if on air above a 120-feet deep crack.

What felt like only minutes was actually an hour and all too soon we were done. But Goddi had one more surprise for us - jumping off a cliff into the water.

Goddi jumped first and then everyone followed, but I was scared. It wasn't the jump so much as the cliff itself. I'm notoriously clumsy and the path to the jumping-off point was muddy. What if I slipped along the way? Goddi held my hand and helped me off the rock and then, heart pounding, I jumped. Due to the buoyancy of the dry-suit, the moment I went underwater I was pushed back up again like a geyser. Before I even opened my eyes I was shouting "That was awesome!"

We all hiked back to the van and then struggled back out of the dry suits, surprised to find that we were all indeed completely dry except for our hands and hair. We ate a quick lunch in the car and then drove another 45 minutes to the lava fields for our cave tour.

As we made our way along the fog-covered winding roads of a mountain, the wind began to howl. Soon we could hear nothing but the rushing wind, pushing and pulling the van sideways on the road. Goddi explained that extreme winds in this area were common and often reached hurricane force. We reached our destination, marveling at a full rainbow in the distance, and then strapped on helmets and headlights. I was surprised to find that unlike on the other expeditions, we would not be provided with special clothes. In my knee-high black boots, skinny jeans, and black wool trench, I was severely over-(or under)dressed for this.

We made our way across the moss-covered lava field, occasionally being blown off-course by the whipping winds, until we came upon our cave.

Snow covered the entrance but we wiggled in and began our tour. Honestly, while the cave was very cool to see (my first) and sitting in the dark sipping cocoa was a unique experience, the main thing I got out of it was that I really see no reason for me to ever go in a cave again.

Maybe I would have felt differently had I been dressed appropriately, but stooping, crawling and crouching through a dark cave as water dripped on my head wasn't my favorite experience of the trip. I'm glad we did it, but I'm also very glad we didn't pay for it. In my opinion, seeing the lava field and the rainbow and experiencing the intense winds was much more exciting and memorable.

Dan's contribution to our activity schedule was dog sledding. I originally balked at the $500 price tag, but the idea of such a once-in-a-lifetime experience won me over. Unfortunately, the experience didn't live up to the hype for a variety of reasons. First, our guide picked us up at 10am and promptly informed us that we would meet the dogs an hour away at 2pm. In the meantime, he would drive us to Thingvellir, to see a waterfall, and to stop for coffee. I immediately had flashbacks to the great mountain tour hostage situation of 2008 (in Mendoza). But our tour guide was very friendly and incredibly informative and we did get to see some things we would not have seen otherwise.

We arrived at the black sand and volcanic ash beach near Vik just before 2, shimmied into insulated snow suits, and climbed on the "sled" which was actually a cart with wheels.

We set out along the desolate beach until we could no longer see the road behind us. In front of us stretched the seemingly endless beach.

Here's what you don't realize when you think about the romantic notion of dog-sledding. Without cool scenery around you, it's just an hour of staring at a dog's behind.

Luckily our guide was very entertaining, telling us stories of his home in Denmark and all about the dog's training. There was a puppy in training in the group who also made us laugh with his antics - he kept licking his mother in the face and trying to play.

After about 30-minutes we came upon the hull of an old Navy plane that had crashed in 1974.

In the distance we could finally hear the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, but it was foggy and slightly drizzling so we couldn't quite make it out. After a short break we turned around and headed back, climbed out of our suits and set out to return home.

It was 4pm, we were an hour away, and we needed to go pay for our snorkel tour before the shop closed at 6pm. But our tour guide wanted to stop at his favorite place for soup. I hated being rude but I told him we just wanted to go straight to the city.

As much as I adored the dogs and enjoyed the opportunity to see the black sand beaches, I was somewhat disappointed in the dog sledding. I felt like they decided to charge $500 and therefore had to make it seem more worth it, so they picked us up hours early and made it a full day tour. The actual dog sledding only lasted an hour. I would have much rather had a shorter tour with a smaller price tag. We also regret that we didn't get to experience the sledding on actual snow, but oh well, we can always try again.

There were several other activities we considered doing, like a glacier walk, but it would have stretched our time and budget too thin. Overall we were very happy with the experiences we had, but we both commented that we had never before been so bruised, battered and sore on a trip!

The Blue Lagoon

2009-04-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

The Blue Lagoon may be what most people first think of when they think of Iceland. A popular misconception is that it is a natural hot spring, and while the country does have many, this is not one of them.

The water actually comes from a nearby geothermal power plant. The hot water comes from underground and is used to create electricity. The Lagoon’s creators actually thought the run –off water would just soak back into the earth, but the silica in the water forms a bottom layer on the ground and keeps it from doing so. They decided to capitalize on the situation and turn it into a spa and bathing area. The water gets its color from the rich mineral and sulfur content and it steams because, well, it’s hot. The water temperature averages about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, though as you move around you’ll discover hot and cold spots.

We visited the Blue Lagoon on our first day in Iceland. We thought it would be a great introduction to the county, and a nice way to relax after a long flight (not to mention a good way to kill time until we could check in at our hotel). We arrived around 9am, an hour before they opened, and rested in the car while we waited. As we walked in the doors a few minutes before 10, a tour bus pulled up, dashing our hopes of being the only ones inside.

We waited in line to pay – you have the option of paying in kronur or euros, we’d already exchanged our money and would get a better rate with the kronur so we paid in cash. It was around 7000 kr. for admission for two plus the rental of two towels.

The building that the Lagoon is in is quite large, they have a café, restaurant and spa services. You can also book spa services to take place in the Lagoon so you can soak as you receive a massage. The locker rooms are spacious with small lockers for your clothes and larger ones that can accommodate luggage. Make sure to take your shoes off when you enter and place them by the rack- I didn’t notice it until I was on the way out.

Be sure to shower before you get in (I showered in my suit) as not doing so is a major faux-pas in a country that places a heavy emphasis on hygiene. Slather as much conditioner into your hair as you can. I neglected to do so and for two days after my dip, my hair had a consistency that could only be described as “chewy”. I couldn’t get a brush through it and had to take five showers before it returned to normal. From there, just make a mad dash to the Lagoon and enjoy the steaming waters. Make sure you explore the whole thing - it’s fairly large and full of little alcoves, a cave and a waterfall. Many people also like to put the silica on their face as it’s said to cure skin ailments. They sell the silica in the shops; bring a small container into the Lagoon with you and you can take some home for free.

I’m sure soaking in the Lagoon in summer is nice, but our experience there made me so glad we went when we did. Sure it was frigid running in and out (luckily the door is close) but sitting in the steaming, bright blue water of the Lagoon while big fat snowflakes collected in my hair is an experience I’ll never forget.

Iceland's Natural Beauty

2009-03-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

Iceland sits at the meeting point of the North American and Eurasian continental plates. The plates are slowly moving apart, which means that the country is slowly, by just a few centimeters per year, growing wider. The rift runs diagonally from the southeast corner of the country to the northwest and makes Iceland a hotbed of weird geological activity. Geysers that shoot water into the sky, geothermal hot springs provide electricity for the country and heat Iceland’s many public pools, and volcanoes explode and form underground caves, black sand beaches, and even entire new islands.

We were also surprised to learn that the country experiences earthquakes every single day, usually every 3-4 hours. After we returned from a day driving the Golden Circle, I checked my email and noticed that the homepage on the guesthouse’s computer opened to the website of the Iceland Meteorological Office, which has a section devoted to earthquakes. The whole area we had just been visiting was covered on the map with various colored dots, denoting how long it had been since the last earthquake. While we had been exploring, the area had experienced 3 separate quakes. Of course, each one was of a very small magnitude (most of the country’s quakes are under Magnitude 3) so we hadn’t even noticed.

We had originally wanted to drive the Ring Road, the main road that encircles the whole country (which is roughly the size of Ohio), but time and weather concerns kept us based in Reykjavik. If you are planning on driving, check conditions on the road webcams. If not, you can still see some of Iceland’s natural beauty close to your home base.

The Golden Circle is the name given to the route that connects three of Iceland’s most famous attractions – Geysir, Thingvellir, and Gullfoss. The route can be covered almost all year round in just a few hours. According to a guide we had later on the trip, in summer there can be as many as 90 tour buses making there way along the route in a single day. It made us very glad we visited when we did.

We set out on our second day, around noon, and returned by 6 p.m. Make sure you have a full tank of gas, and pack a lunch if you are on a budget. Gas stations are few and far between and while there are options for dining, (like at the Geysir Hotel) they can be expensive. We made sandwiches from Olivers & CO. for around $10 and brought plenty of bottled water.

Starting from Reykjavik, head first to Thingvellir National Park. In summer it’s a popular place to camp, horse-back ride, fish and swim. While we were there, it was blanketed in snow and very quiet. We would go almost an hour without seeing a single car.

Thingvellir the site of the world’s first Parliament, formed by Vikings in the 10th century. The Icelandic people are very proud of this fact. They aren’t as proud of the fact that women (who were thought to be witches) were also brought here to be drowned. Thingvellir is located directly on top of the continental rift and it’s here that the splitting of the earth is most visible, in the cracks and crevices that dot the land.

You can actually walk between them in Almannagjá canyon or dive in the crack in some of the clearest water in the world at Silfra Lake (which we did).

From Thingvellir, continue on to Geysir. The original geyser and the one from which all others take their name, Geysir is actually dormant now. But Stokkur still regularly erupts, shooting scalding water into the air every few minutes as smaller hot pots hiss and boil nearby.

We got up very close to watch it explode twice and then, as we were leaving, watched a group of Asian tourists get soaked standing exactly where we were just minutes before!

From there, it was just a few more kilometers to Gullfoss, one of Europe’s largest waterfalls.

Take in the view from above, or make your way down the steeply inclined path for a closer look. When we were there the path was covered with a layer of icy slush. We made it about a quarter of the way down, hanging on to the flimsy rope guardrail before giving up and heading back up top.

We stood and watched a bit longer as several more brave souls slide their way down.

As we drove back to Reykjavik that day, we stopped several times to snap some photos. We came upon a field of Icelandic horses and I spotted a driveway and decided to turn off to get some pics of them grazing.

As soon as I walked up the fence two horses came up to me, nuzzling for attention.

I’d read that Icelandic horses are very friendly, but I wasn’t prepared for this!

Of course, then the rest of the herd came over and a little fight broke out. Eyeing the insubstantial fence, we reluctantly backed away. We didn’t want to be the Americans who let some farmer's horses escape.

A few days later on the way to our dog sledding tour our guide stopped at Seljandfoss, another waterfall.

Not nearly as wide and powerful as Gullfoss, Seljandfoss may actually be more impressive. It looks more like a traditional waterfall – just one big curtain of water making a significant drop.

You can get right up almost to the base or take the rickety steps up and behind the falls. We weren’t exactly dressed appropriately, so we contented ourselves with the view from the front.

On our dog sledding, snorkeling and caving adventures, we got to see even more of the country’s amazing landscape . . .

Come Fly with Me

2009-03-30T07:22:00.001-07:00

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. ~ Anais Nin

Back in February, for my birthday, Dan bought me a flying lesson with Palwaukee Flyers. (The flight was rescheduled due to weather three times, so I finally did it this Saturday) Most of the people who read this blog have heard (if not seen firsthand) that I am not very comfortable with flying. I have cried, sobbed, hyperventilated, passed out, and buried my head in Dan’s lap repeatedly asking “are we still okay?” on many a flight. Despite the number of planes I have been on in the last 2 years, I’ve not gotten better. Dan thought this would be a great way to help me get a handle on my fear.

Here’s where I would love to say he was completely right and that after my amazing flight, during which I handled all the controls, I no longer have any fear. Unfortunately, that would be a lie. Here’s what actually happened.

We woke up Saturday at 6am, since we had to be there at 8am and we still needed to pick up the borrowed car, put gas in it, and make the 30 minute drive to Wheeling. Of course we ended up running late, and I started to freak out a little (okay, a lot). We eventually made it, about 10 minutes late. I met my instructor Scott, who seemed all too nonchalant about the fact that we’d soon be 2000 feet above ground in a tiny four-seater plane. Scott explained that I would do 98% of the flying, including take-off, but that he would walk me through it all. He would have his hands on the controls the whole time and there would be nothing I could do that he couldn’t undo. I wasn’t sure I believed that last part.

After a quick tour of the office, and a chance to peek inside the really cool flight simulator, we drove over to the airfield to check out my plane.

Scott walked me through the safety check that gets performed before every flight and then, legs shaking uncontrollably, I climbed into my plane. We all (Dan was in the backseat) put on our communication headsets. I flipped the on-switch, pressed the fuel pump button, and started the engine. The propeller jumped to life, raising the plane’s nose off the ground just slightly and I could feel the power of the plane ready to be released. Scott explained how to control the plane on the ground using left and right foot pedals, and as he cleared us for take-off with the tower, I maneuvered the plane (or more like clumsily weaved the plane) down the runway.

Scott explained that there were some significant cross-winds so take-off might be a little rough, but it was nothing unusual. He told me that when I was ready I should depress the engine power (it has a fancier name, but I forgot) button and then when he told me to, pull back on the hand controls to lift off. I tried to control my violently shaking legs and get my breathing to slow. I pressed in the button and tried not to pass out as we began racing down the runway. “Pull back now”, Scott said. I pulled back and we lifted off. We were weightlessly floating for a second, reaching about 800 feet. But just as I started to think “I can really do this”, a violent gust of wind grabbed the plane and the square box that was my view of the sky turned about 45 degrees to the left. I let go of the controls and the nose of the plane dipped. Scott quickly reacted, brought it back up and we resumed our climb.

“I’m sorry,” I squeaked. “I’m so sorry. I can’t do this. Dan, I’m so sorry.” I was so afraid that Dan would be disappointed in me, but I wanted nothing more than for Scott to turn the plane around and land. They both assured me that it was okay. We continued to climb and my heartbeat started to return to a normal pace. “You actually did really well”, Dan said. I laughed and realized that, considering that it was the first time I’d been on a plane without being heavily drugged in about two years and I didn’t even cry, I had to agree. We cruised toward Lake Michigan and I took in the scenery briefly before concentrating on the controls ahead of me. “When you’re ready, “ Scott said, “you can take the controls back.” I shook my head. Not ready. “How about you just hold them while he controls the plane?” Dan suggested. “You can just feel what’s happening”. So I did, feeling along as we lightly bounced along Lake Michigan and then, all too soon, turned towards home.

As we headed in for a landing, I took the controls for a few minutes, holding the plane on course as we slowly descended. Once we were about 400 feet above ground, Scott resumed controls and brought us in for landing. As the wheels touched down, I felt a pang of regret. I wish I hadn’t freaked out during take-off. I wish I had taken the controls more than I did. As I taxied the plane back to its slot, I expressed my regret. “Well,” Dan said, “You can do all that next time; now you now what to expect.”

I don’t think I am completely cured of my fears. But I made it through a flight on a tiny plane without drugs, without tears, without hysterics. I am planning on taking another lesson, and this time, I’d like to take control for the whole flight.

Photo Friday - Iceland Lava Field

2009-03-27T13:35:00.001-07:00

Following in the footsteps of some of my favorite bloggers, every Friday I'll be featuring one of my favorite travel photos.

If there is anywhere on earth that elves exist, this is it.

Reykjavik City Guide

2009-03-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Reykjavik is Iceland’s capital and largest city. In fact, of the approximately 300,000 people who live in Iceland, about 200,000 live in Reykjavik. Situated on the harbor, in the shadow of snow-covered mountains, it has a very small town feel. But don't let the quaint brightly-colored aluminum-sided houses and quiet side streets fool you, this little city still offers plenty to do - from shopping at trendy (and very pricey) boutiques to exploring the country's Viking history.

Where to Stay
Any address in "the 101" will be in the city center within easy walking distance to everything you'll want to see. Accommodation options range from the Salvation Army Guesthouse, the ultimate budget option, to the swanky Hotel 101. We wanted something centrally located, quiet, clean and of course, cheap. We chose Guesthouse Sunna and opted for a room with shared bath for 4800 kr. per night (translated to $380 for 6 nights). The room was small but functional, we never had to wait for the shared bathroom (one bathroom per 2-3 rooms) and we loved having access to the kitchen (one per 3-4 rooms) for storing our food and drinks and cooking a few light meals. The staff was friendly and helpful, the lobby had a computer with internet for guest use, the daily breakfast was delicious, and there was a cheap laundry machine onsite. We would definitely stay at Sunna again.

Sunna

Our room
Sink in our room
Shared kitchen and sitting room

Getting In, Getting Around

If you aren't renting a car, you'll need to take a taxi or the Flybus from Kelfavik airport, which is about 40 minutes from the city.

(At the airport, make sure you hit the duty-free and stock up on alcohol if you plan to be drinking. We picked up 2 bottles of wine at around 900 kr. each and a liter of Reyka vodka for 2100. At the state run store in the city, the same bottle of vodka was 6100 kronur!)

Taxis are very expensive from the airport(around 10,000 kr.). The Flybus is still a bit overpriced at 1700 kr. per person each way, but it's really the only other option. We took the 2:30 p.m. bus (it was packed) for a 5 p.m. flight and arrived around 3:15 p.m. with plenty of time to check in and relax before our flight. Alternately, you can book the Blue Lagoon/Airport combo which will drop you at the Blue Lagoon for an hour or two before or after your flight.

Iceland Express runs low cost flights within Iceland as does Air Iceland (they also have some great package tours).

The Flybus picks up and drops off at the BSI bus terminal, a 5-10 minute walk from Hallgrímskirkja, the big church that serves as an easy identifying landmark for the start of the city center. If you are taking a domestic flight in Iceland, it'll arrive and depart at Reykjavik city airport, which can be reached by a cheap taxi ride in under 5 minutes.

Most of the sights you'll want to see in the city can be reached on foot. For things a little further out, you can take a taxi (easy to hail, and relatively cheap during the day) or the city bus. Routes are easily identified and drivers are friendly and helpful. The current cost is 280 kr. per ride and exact change is required.

Reykjavik streets

Things to See and Do

Hallgrímskirkja Church - Visit the big church and ride to the 8th floor for great views of the city and harbor. The church was under construction when we were there, but the view was still impressive. Cost - 400 kr. each.

Interior

View of the church, under construction, from our window

Views from above

871, The Viking Settlement Exhibition - In 2001, as a new building was being constructed, the remains of a Viking longhouse were found underground. The city decided to excavate, preserve it, and turn it into a museum. The exhibit is fantastic. It's incredibly informative and highly interactive. It's 600 kr. each to get in, but definitely worth it.

Longhouse remains

Take a walk down to the harbor, see the Viking boat sculpture, look for whaling boats (you can tell them by the big H), chill out at one of the city's many pools, explore other museums like the Saga Museum and the Culture House, check out the zoo and botanical gardens or (in season) go whale watching in the harbor.

Viking boat sculpture

Boats in the harbor

City pond

Shopping

Laugavegur is the most famous street for shopping, but really there are shops on every street in the city center.

Laugavegur by night

There are countless souvenir shops and wool stores selling the quintessential Icelandic wool sweater, the lopapeysa, which start at around $200 US. If that's a bit out of your price range, head to the weekend flea market (Kolaportid) by the harbor.

In addition to a plethora of vintage clothes, used DVDs, toys and stuff that one might just consider junk, they also have several stalls selling quality, handmade Icelandic sweaters at a deep discount. Dan picked up his for just 8900 kr. My wool hat was 2500, about half what it cost in the store.

And it wouldn't be a trip to Europe for us if we didn't stop at Zara. This one was located in the Kringlan shopping mall. It's a short bus ride or about a 25 minute walk from the city.

Anytime you spend over 4000 kr. in a store, make sure you get a tax free form. Fill it our (before you get in line at the airport!) and you'll be entitled to 15% back. If your forms total more than 5000 kr. in refunds, you'll need to get a special stamp before you go to the refund desk. The stamp place is on the first floor, the refund desk is on the second, once you pass security. Don't bother getting in the long line with the rest of your bus mates. Hang back for about 15 minutes and there will be no wait.

Drinking and Dining in Reykjavik

2009-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Iceland is known as being a very expensive place to eat and drink, and at the trendy places it certainly was. But for every see-and-be-seen upmarket restaurant, there were plenty of more affordable, but still delicious options. Here are our favorites:

Icelandic Fish and Chips
It’s tasty, it’s inexpensive, and it’s actually healthy! Icelandic Fish and Chips is a semi-self-service place (you place you order at the bar, get your own utensils and water, they serve the rest at your table) that offers a rotating selection of incredibly fresh fish, like cod, wolf fish and haddock, that is fried in a spelt and barley batter (also available baked). For around 900 kronur you get 2-3 fairly big pieces that are enough to share if you add in an order of chips (fries) that are baked, not fried, for 450 kronur. Deep fried veggies and salads are also available. The entrees come with dips called skyronnaise – made with the super healthy low-fat Icelandic yogurt skyr – that come in a variety of flavors like honey mustard, ginger wasabi, tartar and mango.

Beer here was among the cheapest we saw as well, with bottles of the delicious Kaldi going for 500 kronur. We ate here twice, both times splitting some amazingly light and flaky fried fish, chips, and the dip sampler for under 2600 kronur (around $24 with the exchange rate).

Tapas Barinn
We went to Iceland and had tapas? Yes we did, because in addition to offering a few Spanish traditions like patatas bravas, this place also has an immense selection of Icelandic specialties and tons of seafood. Portions were small, of course, but so were the prices. No single dish was over 1000 kronur (roughly $10) so it’s a great place to come to try some of the more daunting Icelandic dishes like puffin and whale (both delicious by the way – whale looks and tastes like steak!) without committing to a whole pricey entrée. Wine was also on the cheaper side here. At every other restaurant, the cheapest bottles of wine I saw were around 4500 kronur. Here they offered several bottles of house wine for 4000 kronur as well as a very tasty pitcher of sangria for 2990 kronur. We ate here twice as well, sampling a huge variety of dishes and having drinks, and never paid more than 6000 kronur. The wait was around 40 minutes on weekends, so make reservations.

Puffin in Brennevin sauce

Whale

Eld Smidjan
Icelanders love their pizza and there are a ton of places to get it, but we liked this place the best. The pies were reasonably priced, they had a great selection, and the pizzas were delicious. We shared a small proscuitto, arugula and cheese pizza and a small cheese bread for 1500 kr and had enough to take home and eat for lunch the next day.

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

The name translates to “the best hot dog in town” and it really is. We waited until Friday night, post runtour (pub crawl) to sample one. We joined the line and tried to figure out just what was on these things. Turns out it’s raw and fried onions, remoulade, some kind of gravy-like sauce, ketchup and mustard on a lamb dog. Dan got one with everything and I got one with everything but onions. They were so good we got right back in line and got another to share. We went back the next day to have one to cure our hangover and then had one last one Sunday for lunch before we left. The hot dogs are 250 kronur each so get two. . . or three.

We made a large baguette sandwich at Olivers & Co. one day to take with us on a tour and the guesthouse we stayed at had a kitchen so we cooked in a few nights and munched some snacks for lunch a few times.

We ate the provided breakfast each day and had bought some alcohol at the duty free to drink in our room. We did try to have one “splurge” night, but it was Food and Fun Week – kind of like Restaurant Week in Chicago or NYC – and most of the nicer places were only offering a 6400 kronur prix-fix. We tried several places and weren’t enticed by the menus so we gave up on that. We also ate a place called Vegemot where we shared a 2700 kronur monkfish plate that was good but not amazing. The restaurant was a bit too much of a “scene”. We also checked out the famous "Ice Bar" and were not impressed.

It was 3000 kr. for the two of us to go in, which included one drink. We opted not to do it.

The only night we had a significant number of drinks was on Friday for the big runtuor. We headed out around 11pm and, as promised, found that the clubs (many of which were cafés and restaurants just hours before) were packed with smartly-dressed revelers dancing and drinking.

We stopped at B5 for a drink and then moved on to an un-named place down the street. From there we went on to Thorvaldsen, pausing to watch the frugal partiers drinking on the street before entering the clubs, and then headed back to B5, where we stayed drinking until almost 5am.

When we return to Iceland, hopefully soon, we won't be doing so many excursions and won't be in such a money crunch. We're looking forward to eating at more of Reykjavik's many restaurants - which, it turns out, aren't really that expensive after all.

Iceland Budget Wrap-Up

2009-03-26T07:54:00.001-07:00

So, how did we do on our Iceland budget? Were we able to enjoy ourselves without spending a fortune in what was once (and maybe still is?) known as the most-expensive country in Europe?

Absolutely.

Here's how our budget broke down:
flights - $1300
hotel - $380 (a little more than budgeted)
car rental plus gas for two days- $250 (a little less than budgeted thanks to shopping around at the rentals desk)
dog sledding - $500
snorkeling - $250
horseback riding - $100 (less than budgeted thanks to a better exchange rate)
Blue Lagoon - $70
additional museum fees - around $20
duty free purchases (1 liter of vodka and 2 bottles of wine) - $40
groceries for the room, misc (bottled water, etc) - $40
bus from city to the airport - $30
drinks and dining - $330
Total - $3310

Our original goal was to spend $2000 once we arrived. As it turns out we spent $2010 in country (not including $200 in shopping) over the course of 6 nights, 7 days.

Of course, that doesn't include the $50 we spent on food at ORD in Chicago and then at JFK waiting for our international flight, nor the $90 we spent on cabs (we had to transfer from LGA to JFK both times, and we were so tired we took a cab home when we arrived). So we learned a valuable lesson about budgeting - when we plan our budget, we need to remember to figure in cabs and what we are going to inevitably spend in the airport.

But overall, I'd say we did pretty good.

I Will Never Be One of the Airport's Beautiful People

2009-03-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Waiting for our flight from JFK to Iceland, I took a look around and noticed that many of the people milling around the international terminal looked more like they were about to go to dinner at a trendy restaurant than like they were about to be cramped and crammed into a flying tin can for the next 6 hours.

Many of them had on stylish clothes - skinny jeans and stiletto boots - with perfectly coiffed hair and flawless makeup.

Then there was me.

I don't look like a slob when I travel - you'll never see me with the words "juicy" written across my velour-clad bottom - but I definitely dress for comfort, especially on an overnight flight. I combat jet lag by using my flight as the time to get a good night's sleep. Sometimes that means wearing a comfortable heavy cotton dress with tights and flats, other times it's presentable yoga pants, a hoodie, and flip flops. I rock my glasses because sleeping in my contacts turns my eyes red, and I go without makeup because hey, I'm just going to bed right? By the time we arrive, 6-9 hours later, I'm slightly rumpled, my eyes are red anyways, my skin is pale and dry, and my hair is a tangled mess.

I look around at the beautiful people again. They look glamorous and fresh. I look like something pulled out of a drain. Even after I hit the airport bathroom to clean up, I still look what I like to call "travel ugly". I've been through something, and it shows.

Maybe there's a secret to looking good while traveling long distances. If so, I hope someday I can figure out what it is.

It's All Happening

2009-03-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

Dan and I have been dreaming of going to South Africa for about 2 years now. Every time we came close to buying the tickets, they would jump up in price to an unaffordable level. For the last 3 months, I have been terrified that it would happen again. Before we left for Iceland, tickets from Chicago to Johannesburg were around $1140 each on Iberia. I wanted to buy them before we left, but I also wanted to have a cushion of money while we were traveling, just in case. So we tried to be very budget-conscious while in Iceland so that we could buy them as soon as we got back, terrified all the while that by the time we returned the price would have risen beyond our reach. Well, the ticket price has gone up, but only by about $40 each.

Yesterday I bought the tickets.

So we are really, truly, officially going to South Africa from December 16th to January 1st. We'll actually be on the plane for New Year's Eve, but that saved us over $500 and it'll give us an extra day to recover before we head back to work.

Let the planning begin!

Expecting the Unexpected

2009-03-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

This time next week (give or take a few hours) we'll have just landed in Iceland and will be heading out for a morning soak in the Blue Lagoon. I'm starting to get really excited for this trip, though I'm also really unsure what to expect. I kind of feel like I'm about to take my first international trip again.

With our last few trips, we followed a similar pattern. We spent some time in the city and some time in the country. We relied on public transportation to get around and we visited 2-3 different cities or regions. We did some wine tasting. We took a cooking class. We saw a museum or two and admired nature from a comfortable distance but spent the majority of our time and money just wandering around, eating and drinking, basically spending our time as we think we would if we lived there. Despite being foreign countries with a different language, culture and customs, the landscapes we saw were familiar ones - rolling hills, vineyards, pastures, and farmlands.

I'm betting Iceland is going to be completely different.

For one, we're renting a car. It's absurdly expensive (about $300 for two days because I can't drive stick) but tours were equally as pricey and this way we'll have the freedom to explore on our own. But I'm never driven in another country before (Dan is sans license at the moment so it's all me) and just a little freaked out about it. Secondly, I don't think anything about the landscape of Iceland will be even remotely familiar. We're also not moving around much, but rather staying in the same place and the same hotel for all 6 nights.

We're concentrating the vast majority of our budget on outdoor excursions and activities. Here's how that breaks down:
Car rental plus gas for two days - $350
Dogsledding - $500
Snorkling - $250
Horseback riding - $120
Blue Lagoon - $60
Additional admission fees (museums, etc) - under $20
That's $1300 right there.

Add in $350 for 6 nights of our hotel and that brings our total to $1650, leaving $350 in the budget for eating and drinking for 6 nights, 7 days. $50 a day will not gets us far in Iceland, not when a 3 course meal with wine at any "nicer"restaurant will run $150 alone and drinks at the average bar are rumored to be around $10 each.

To stretch our dollars further, we've decided to cut back a lot on the amount of dining out and drinking that we normally do on a trip. Our hotel has a kitchen for guest use so we'll be hitting the grocery store our first day to stock up on snacks and some ingredients for easy meals we can make in the room. We're also going to buy a few bottles of wine at the airport duty free to enjoy in our room. We plan to spend $50-$60 on this, leaving us with just under $300 for dining out.

$200 of that is going to be concentrated on two splurge meals. We both really want to eat some great seafood and try some puffin (Dan's up for whale and reindeer as well) so we're willing to trade that experience for eating out more often. We also plan to eat some hot dogs (at around $3 each), grab a pizza dinner one night, and a meal of fish and chips. The rest of the budget will be put aside for drinking at the famous Friday night runtour (the massive pub crawl that happens every Friday and Saturday and last until 5am). Of course, the cost will be offset by having a few pre-drinks in our room before we head out around midnight.

Of course, when we return, we'll see how close we stayed to the budget and how this trip stacked up to others.

Please Vote for Me

2009-03-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I entered an online contest called "Name Your Dream Assignment". The premise is: you come up with a photography assignment, covering any topic anywhere around the world, and detail it online. You get your friends and family to vote for it. Several of the assignments with the highest number of votes will be reviewed by the judges and one person will be selected to go on their dream assignment. They'll be given $50,000 to complete it.

So I've come up with two (and am working on a third). Please take the time to visit the sites and, if you think they are good ideas, please vote for them. You can vote for more than one.

Idea #1 - Following Blue Highways

Idea #2 - Couchsurfing Around the World

If you decide to enter the contest as well, please post a comment with the link and I'll check it out and cast a vote in return.

Oh and if you could pass this on to everyone you've ever met, that would be great too.

When is a Deal Not a Deal?

2009-03-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Every month, Budget Travel (my favorite magazine and the only one I subscribe to) publishes a list of the best travel deals in their magazine and online. This month, a trip to Iceland caught my eye.

$545 was the listed price. The description underneath said that covered airfare from Boston or New York to Reykjavik and 3 nights hotel accommodations. The fine print said that additional taxes and fees added up to around $250 per person. So the grand total would be about $1600 for airfare and 3 nights for two people. But, that didn't include the additional airfare from Chicago to NYC or Boston to get the deal. Adding that in, the total coast for this trip would be about $2000.

Curious to see how our trip compared, I did a little math.

flights from Chicago to NYC for two - $400
flights from NYC to Iceland for two - $900
hotel for six nights - $350
Total for our trip = $1650

Our trip not only worked out to be almost $400 cheaper, but includes 3 extra nights.

I'm not saying that the deals listed by Budget Travel, or any travel publication or website, aren't good deals. Often they offer great discounts on the original price. But just because something is a deal, doesn't mean you are getting the best possible price. Before you jump on one of these so-called deals, do a little research to find out how much the trip would cost if you booked it on your own.

Making Plans

2009-03-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Compulsive planner that I am, one of my favorite things to do is make lists of places I want to visit next. Last night, as Dan and I made yet another list of upcoming trips, he suggested that it might be easier if I categorized each trip in an excel spreadsheet. Of course, my response was, “already done.”

Yes, I actually have an excel spreadsheet of every trip I want to take, listed along with the number of days required, best time to go, and estimated budget, so that if I want to, for example, sort trips that can be taken in summer for under $5000 for around 10 days, I can. I know - it’s a sickness.

Speaking of sick, I spent the weekend curled up on the couch in my stinky sweats watching Veronica Mars and 30 Rock, a pile of used tissues on the table, and a Kleenex jammed up each nostril. By Sunday evening I was stir-crazy, so in between eating an entire bag of honey-mustard and onion pretzels and about 24 handfuls of peanut butter chips (that we had used in a batch of chocolate chip muffins, also ingested over the course of the day), I decided it was time for us to make another list of upcoming destinations.

Here’s what we settled on:

2009
March – Iceland for 6 days, already booked, leaving in less than two weeks!
May – Texas for a wedding for 5 days, already booked
July – Detroit for a wedding
August (Labor Day weekend) – Cedar Point because we haven’t been there in about 5 years
November – Detroit for Thanksgiving
December – South Africa for 2 weeks over Christmas- hopefully buying the tickets in two weeks!

We’d also like to go, budget permitting, on 2-3 overnight weekend trips: back to Southwest Michigan, or exploring Illinois, for winery tours; Madison, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana just because the megabus tickets are cheap and there’s an outpost of one of our favorite seafood restaurants there. We’d also really like to get to Florida to see my family sometime over the summer.

2010
January – my work conference is in Orlando
March – Charleston, North Carolina for the weekend
May – Croatia for 6 days over Memorial Day weekend
August – Russia for 6-7 days over Labor Day weekend
October – Memphis or Louisville for the weekend
November – Detroit for Thanksgiving
December – Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam for 2 weeks over Christmas

2011
February or March – New Orleans for Mardi Gras
May – Turkey for 7-9 days
August – Peru for 8 days OR September – London or Paris for a long weekend
November – Detroit for Thanksgiving
December – India for 2 weeks over Christmas
Plus 1-2 more long weekend trips

We also sketched out a rough idea of our major trips that we’d like to take each year through 2015, figuring on two major international trips each year. Even looking that far ahead, it seems like it will be such a long time before we’ll even put a dent in the long list of places we want to see. And I’m sure a lot of this will change. Plans shift, flight prices rise and fall, and I read about some random place and instantly have to go there so everything gets rearranged. But it’s nice to have a plan, and dreaming of all the places we will eventually get to experience certainly helps pass the time on a snowy (and sickly) Sunday evening.

Beware the Travel Scam

2009-02-23T08:50:00.001-08:00

A few days before my birthday, I received a flyer in the mail from a company called Global Travel. I honor of my special day, I was invited to a travel seminar on saving money. In exchange for attending, I would receive, completely free, two round trip tickets to anywhere in the US. I knew there’ be a catch and that it was most likely a scam, but in the spirit of research, and on the off-chance it was legit, I decided to go.

We borrowed a friend’s car, drove 30 minutes out of town, and arrived at a non-descript office park. We found the building, noticed the only sign designating it as the Global Travel office was a little plastic sign of the “for sale by owner” variety stuck in the lawn, and went inside. A trashy bleach-blond woman started the presentation by talking about how rock-solid the company was. In business for 30 years with a single owner, they started as an Amway-type discount retailer. So many members wanted travel deals that they branched out and now Global Travel is their largest division. 10 years ago as a travel agent she listed to this very presentation and was so impressed she joined the company.

Then she goes around the room and asks each of the 12 or so couples where their last vacation was. Most answers are Florida, Vegas, cruises. We say Spain and she says “ooh, exotic”. Then she says, if money was no object and you could choose anywhere in the world, where would you go and for how long? One couple says “Aruba” (whoa, dream big!) and others say Ireland, Hawaii, Greece. We say the Maldives and “travel agent” woman has no clue what we are talking about. The she goes back around the room and asks each person how much they think that dream trip would cost. Aruba people say $6,000 for 6 days? Dan and I look at each other with alarm and try to contain our laughter. Europe woman say $20k for 4 weeks (I know people who have done around-the-world trips for that price), Ireland woman says $10,000 for 2 weeks.

Then she starts talking about what you get in your average hotel room – just a bed, bath, balcony and a tiny table that you can barely fit McDonald’s take-out for a family or four on. (Let’s pause here: WHY are you getting McDonald’s take out on your Hawaiian vacation? And maybe YOU can’t fit all your McD’s on the table because you are ordering too much?) But with Global Travel, you get a one bedroom condo with a full-kitchen! I start to feel like I am in one of those infomercials that makes the easiest of tasks look incredibly difficult. Cut to woman struggling to stir soup. “I used to have such a hard time stirring soup!” She pushes the spoon, tips over a vat of boiling liquid, falls over and cracks her head open. “But thanks to the electric soup-stirrer, just 2 easy payments of $19.99, it’s a breeze!”

So we learn all about how great these rooms are at the 5-star only resorts and condos. We see pictures of these places in Florida, Cancun and Jamaica that Global Travel offers. We learn that these rooms cost just $119 per week in the US and $189 per week internationally. Amazing right? How can this be? Well Global Travel works with timeshares and resorts and condos to help them fill extra inventory. They won’t make a ton of money on the weekly rate but they at least fill the room and make money on you spending for food and activities on the resort. Once people start asking for specifics, it becomes a little tricky. Because Global Travel has such a huge inventory that changes based on availability, they can’t tell you right now what will be available when you go to book. But they do have the most resorts in Florida of any travel provider. Someone asks about Oregon and sales lady says they might only have one in Oregon, BUT don’t worry because if they can’t get you a room at the weekly rate, Global Travel can still get you a discount. When you join you become a member of the Access Alliance (shows us magical card) that gets you discounts of 50% at hundreds of thousands of hotels around the world (doesn’t say which ones). Plus they get discounts on cruises, flights and car rentals at 30-50% off.

For about an hour she tells us all the perks of the Global Travel program. How when you are only paying $119 a week for your hotel, you’ll travel more. You’ll take longer weekend trips, you’ll have more money to spend on entertainment and you can go farther away because if you aren’t spending $300-$400 a night for your hotel room (umm, WHO is spending $400 a night on a hotel? Not me) then having a more expensive flight isn’t an issue. I see people eating this up, nodding agreement. Then she gets down to details.

It’s a $189 one-time processing fee, $14,900 membership fee (but that gets you membership for life, and you can pass it on to your kids!) plus a $389 yearly “activity fee”. If you don’t book a trip that year, you don’t pay the $389. Of course, if you do book only one trip, that $389 is added on and could cancel out any savings. In exchange for that, you get 2 peak weeks or 4 off-peak weeks at the weekly rate. These must be booked 2-4 months in advance. You also get 2 weeks booked last minute (less than 60 days advance) that cost the weekly rate plus a $200 booking fee. You also get unlimited use of their travel agents to help with discounts on flights and booking the 50% rooms with the Alliance Access card. Global Travel will never charge a fee for this service. . . oh, except for the $389 yearly activity fee.

Yes, the $14,900 is a big investment. How many trips do you think you can get for that much money, she asks the room. We say 4-5. Most people say 1-2. One person says 1 (seriously people?). So, she says, if you just took that money and put it into the Global Travel program, it would pay for itself after 2 trips. If you used the money just for trips, you are coming home with NOTHING. If you invest it in the program, you are saving on every trip you take for the rest of your life and you own something. (I beg to differ. You don’t own anything. You have a membership.)

Then the regional sales director comes in, pitches some more about how great the Global Travel program is. He tells us that it’s the 20th anniversary of this location (really, then why don’t you even have a permanent sign?) and therefore they are rolling the price back to $11,900 for the membership. He also says that their renewal rate is so high, 93%, that if they never sign up another client they’ll still take in $65 million a year. Then we’re each paired up with a sales person and taken back to a large room with multiple small tables with three chairs each, a “tiki-bar” (wow, it’s like we’re on vacation already!) and blaring music (so the other tables can’t hear your deal). Our sales guy “Shalom” tells us we have to have something to drink or he’ll get fired. I accept water and Dan takes a coffee and then we get down to business. Shalom looks over our questionnaire with our salary info, occupations, and info on how often we travel and our budget on it. I wanted to provide a challenge so for our next trips I picked places I highly doubted they could help us with – Russia, Laos, Iceland.

Shalom tells us all about himself and asks about us. We say that while we think the Global travel idea is good, it’s not right for us. We never stay in one place for a whole week and we hate large resorts and megahotels. The places where you get the weekly rate have like 1000 rooms and the places that will accept that Alliance Access card are not going to be the small B&Bs that we love. Shalom keeps trying. Do we agree it’s a good deal? Yes. Do we agree that we’d never get a room for $189 a week in another country? Yes, mostly. So then why don’t we want to sign up? We say again that it doesn’t fit our travel style because we don’t stay in one place for a week. So Shalom says well, we can use it to just stay a few days and it’ll still be cheaper. So we compares how much it would cost to use 4 weeks to stay 2 nights each 4 times with how much we usually spend per night ($50-$100 – which he cannot believe) and our way is actually cheaper. We say no thanks, he shows us pictures of some of the Global Travel properties. We say nice, but no thanks.

Shalom says he needs to get his manager for our official decline. Manager asks why we’re not interested. We explain our reasons again and make the fatal mistake of also saying that $11,900 is more than we are willing to invest right now. Manager pulls out a second option. The investment is only $4,500 for one peak and one off-peak week. We put down $450 and then it’s only $120 a month. We still say no, he says just put down $100 now and we can pay the other $350 later. We still say no. He says he’ll waive the first year’s activity fee. He’s starting to get desperate. Regional manager stands up and says that the first two couples to sign up will get an additional $1000 off. All the sales people “wow” and clap. What a lucky day we’ve chosen to come! We still say no. Manager and Shalom leave for a minute. Shalom comes back with a folded piece of paper and says manager told him not to open it. We open it and it says $2500, $250 down, no 1st year activity fee. Shalom lets out a low whistle. Manager comes back and says that no one else has even been a given such a deal from Global Travel. He would just hate for us to walk out and regret not joining. For a split second, I actually think about it. Manager sees my pause and says if we bring in 10 referrals, he’ll cut the price in half. 20 and it’ll be free. Now, I’m slightly sickened by the smarmy desperation. I say a firm no.

Suddenly, Shalom can’t wait to get us out. He tells us we really should have taken the deal, pulls out our “free gift” and tells us we basically got screwed because this voucher is so hard to use. We stand up and I notice there are only 5 or so couples left. Either they got suckered and said yes, or they were better at saying no. He leads us out the back door wordlessly. We get in the car and Dan reads the conditions for getting the free tickets. We need to send in $50 per person deposits, pick 3 possible dates (which can not be within 7 days of any major holiday and not within 45 days of each other), we must depart on a Monday or Tuesday (no mention is made of maximum layovers) and if we do not use the tickets, we forfeit the deposit. Basically there is no way we can use these tickets.

Today I googled the company. The first result that came up was a link to the website The Rip Off Report. I should have known it would be a waste of time. I feel bad for anyone who does get suckered in, but I think you’ve got to be pretty naïve to ignore all the warning signs. Of course, those people who thought it costs $6000 for 7 days in Aruba may have been just naïve enough.

Grounded

2009-02-20T14:46:00.000-08:00

Due to massive storms predicted for tomorrow, my flying lesson has been postponed until March 7th. Well, I guess that gives me a little more time to prepare. . . or freak out!

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-02-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

I turn 29 today. Without getting too introspective and self-indulgent, I wanted to take a look at where I've been (literally and figuratively) and where I hope to go.

I've lived in 3 states, 8 cities and 18 apartments/houses in my life. I've visited 7 countries on 3 continents and been on countless planes (and survived!). I've stumbled my way through 2 foreign languages, tasted wine in 5 states and 3 countries, and eaten McDonald's chicken nuggets in 4 countries. I've ridden with gauchos, tasted wine from a barrel, eaten dinner in a vineyard, and learned to cook pasta, empanadas and paella. I've married a man who makes me laugh every day and pushes me to take risks even when I am scared and I've grown from a self-absorbed, insecure, extremely shy girl to a slightly less self-absorbed, more secure, still kind of shy person who occasionally feels like an adult. I've struggled through 4 different pay-the-bills jobs in 5 years and finally figured out what I want my career to be.

So in my 29th year, I have a few things I plan to accomplish. My list of travel writing opportunities is growing (I'm starting two new projects this week) with more possibilities out there. I'd like to work on getting published in an actual magazine and get closer to freelancing fulltime. I'd like to continue my quest to get healthy and stop this pattern of losing and gaining the same 10 pounds every year. I'd of course like to travel more. We're headed to Iceland in March, Texas in May, and South Africa at the end of the year. And, I'd like to work on my fear of flying.

And to that end. . . for my birthday Dan bought me a surprise flying lesson with Palwaukee Flyers. When he told me the surprise, I almost had a panic attack and my first instinct was a resounding NO. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. I'm 29 now and it's time to stop letting my fear keep me from having an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to snow on Saturday, the day we had scheduled my flight. So, we may have to push it back a few weeks. It may not be how I kick off my 29th year, but it's now definitely something I'd like to accomplish before my next birthday.

The Joy (and Sorrow) of Off-Season Travel

2009-02-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

Budget travelers that we are, Dan and I usually travel in a destination’s off season as that’s generally when we can find the best deals. Ireland in April, Argentina in August (their winter), Spain in December, Iceland in March. Traveling in the off-season has its rewards, but you generally have to give up a little too.

The Pros
Traveling in the off-season = deals. Our tickets to Ireland (granted this was 6 years ago) were $300 each. Our tickets to Spain last month were $600 each. And at almost every hotel we’ve stayed at in the last 2 years (with the exception of our honeymoon) we’ve received off-season discounts. In addition to getting a cheaper flight and hotel, the experience may be better. On a partially empty flight your chance of being upgraded (or just being able to move to an empty row where you can sprawl out) increases. In a hotel that is not at capacity you may get a better room and it may be quieter. And if it’s a shared bathroom situation, there will never be a line for the facilities.

Fewer crowds mean shorter lines at attractions. In Spain, we walked right into Sagrada Familia and only waited about 10 minutes in line for the lift. Guell Park and La Ramblas were really crowded so I cannot even imagine what they are like in high season! In Buenos Aires we didn’t see another person for a good 30 minutes as we wandered Recoleta cemetery; we were in our own little labyrinthine world. And in Rioja we were the only people on our two wine tours – one tour guide told us during the harvest they have as many as 70 people on one tour. Standing there in the quiet of the ancient wine cellar is an experience I would not trade just for some warmer weather!

This is crowded enough.

Alone in Recoleta.
Imagine this room filled with tourists. No thanks.

I have no scientific evidence to back this up whatsoever, but I feel like traveling in the off-season provides a less touristy experience and is a little safer. The city isn’t overwhelmed with tourists so you get a chance to see what it would be like to live there. Walking down the street is just easier as your aren’t constantly being stuck behind the family who insists on walking 5 across at a snails pace. Also, if there are generally fewer tourists around and you dress like a local, you won’t immediately be pegged as a tourist, which mean you might not be so easily targeted for pick-pocketing. When we went to Buenos Aires, everyone cautioned me to not carry a purse, wear my money on my body, etc. I carried a purse, I dressed like a local, I tried not to be conspicuously tourist-like and I never once felt the slightest threatened. It’s easier to pickpocket someone in a crowd. With fewer crowds around, that becomes more difficult. Maybe the reason we never felt unsafe is because no one ever got too close – it would have been odd had someone bumped into us when we were the only few people on the street and that would have alerted us to something fishy.

The Cons
Traveling in the off-season also has its downside, one that most comes in the form of bad weather and missed experiences.

In Ireland it rained quite a bit, in Argentina it was only around 55 degrees most days and San Sebastian the 55-60 degree weather, though sunny, wasn’t warm enough to allow us to take advantage of the beautiful beach. Of course, we also go to experience the walled town of Laguardia covered in fog and while we couldn’t white water raft in the Andes near Mendoza, we did get to see the mountains covered in snow. For our trip to Iceland in March, the snowy conditions means we won’t be able to drive up to the north of the country, but I’m hoping the dog-sledding excursion we’re going to will make up for it. The beautiful beach in San Sebastian.
Laguardia - we'd never have seen this in summer.

In off-season, you also run the risk of some attractions being closed. We found out too late that many of the wineries we wanted to visit in Rioja would not be open over the holidays and that all of the places to taste Cava south of Barcelona were closed until well after we would be gone. In San Sebastian we wanted to take the train up to the amusement park but it was closed as well. Some attractions just aren’t available at certain times of year. For our upcoming trip to South Africa in December, I would have loved to have gone whale watching but it just won’t be the right season.

We give up a little when we chose to travel in the off season. But with the deals we find and the great experiences we have, I never feel like I’m missing out.

New Mexico Tips and Links

2009-02-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

There’s so much to see and do in New Mexico outside of Albuquerque (in fact ABQ was my least favorite place) that you’ll need to rent a car to get the most our of your trip.

Tips and Links:
- There’s a new train that runs from ABQ to Santa Fe, the Rail Runner. So if you are stuck without a car, you can still get from ABQ to Santa Fe.

- We stayed at two places in the Heritage Hotels family and really liked them. They have several other properties in the state that look equally as nice and are under/around $100 a night.

- I was very surprised to learn that New Mexico has quite a few wineries with tasting rooms open to the public. And the wine is pretty good!

- Santa Fe is very small. If your hotel is near the main plaza you’ll be able to walk anywhere in town. In ABQ you’ll more likely need a car or have to take plenty of cabs as the city is pretty spread out. The Nob Hill area, on Central Ave (Route 66) is a lively are by the university with lots of bars and restaurants.

- Taos is even smaller than Santa Fe, but it worth a visit to the Taos Pueblo. There are also several skiing areas nearby.

- If you plan to visit Pueblos like Taos and Acoma, check the times carefully. Even if they are still “open” they may not be taking in any more tours after a certain time, or they may be closed for special ceremony days. You’ll need to pay a camera permit fee if you want to take photos. Taking videos is not allowed. Be respectful of the fact that you are touring a community – don’t go poking around someone’s house like I saw one couple doing!

- New Mexico is very strict on drunk drivers. Not that you’d want to be drinking and driving anywhere, but you really don’t want to get caught doing it here.

Other than visiting ABQ and Santa Fe and checking out some Pueblos and wineries, things to see and do in the area include:
- Sandia Peak – there is an aerial tram that is the longest in the country and take you to the top of the mountain.

- Casinos – every reservation has one, but these small casinos are nothing like the ones in Vegas

- Tent Rocks National Monument – pretty cool rock formations with hiking trails.

- Hot springs - there are several scattered throughout the state.

Other towns to visit include Jemez Springs, Las Vegas, Las Cruces, and Truth or Consequences

Total Trip Cost:
Round trip flight from ORD to ABQ on American - $260
5 nights in hotels - $725 (this is more than I would normally spend, but I had to stay at Tamaya for my conference)
5 night Enterprise car rental plus gas - $200
Spending money for food and drink for 5 days - $200
Pueblo admission fee, wine tasting - $20
Total for 5 days in New Mexico - $1405

New Mexico - January 2009

2009-02-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

I met Chrissy at the Chicago airport before our 10:30 flight. While she had a little breakfast snack, I drank a glass of wine to calm my nerves. It would be my first flight without Dan in a year. It went fairly smooth until we were arriving in ABQ. The landing was a little hairy, but soon enough we were on the ground, in our rental car, and on our way to Santa Fe!

We checked into our hotel, Hotel Plaza Real, right on the downtown Plaza and headed out in search or margaritas. The place I initially wanted to check out, The Shed, was closed between lunch and dinner so we stopped at the Blue Corn Café instead where we shared a bowl of cheesy crab dip and a few margaritas.

From there we continued to the Cowgirl BBQ and Grill. It was a sunny 55 degrees so we sat on the patio and enjoyed some porter beer. The manager/owner came out and started chatting with us about where we were from, let us know there would be a live band that night, and invited us to stop by later for a beer on her!

We finished up there and, on our way back to the room to freshen up, wandered into Del Charo. Lured by the promise of “Santa Fe’s best margaritas” we ordered two and were delighted to find that not only were they exceptionally tasty, they were served in huge martini shakers for only $6!

We decided to skip the trip back to the hotel and asked our bartender for a recommendation for dinner. He suggested the popular Tomasita’s for authentic New Mexican cuisines. The line was insane but we managed to snag a table near the bar and ordered another round of margs and our entrees. I had a combo plate of a tamale and enchilada that was okay but not the best and the margs were a bit too sicky sweet for us so we left our half-finished food and wandered back to the Cowgirl for that promised free drink.

We watched the band for a few minutes and then made our way to the pool-hall side were we danced to the jukebox and made friends with some of the locals, including a well-known Native American artist.

From there we decided one more Del Charo margarita was in order. As soon as we walked in the door, we were invited to sit with two guys from Texas who were entertaining and friendly. We finished the night chatting with them about our towns, skiing in New Mexico and the one guy’s new baby and then tottered back to our hotel around 1am.

The next morning we were a bit hungover so after we checked out we filled our bellies with carbs at Rooftop Pizza and then did some shopping around the square. I picked up some spices and chile mix at the Chile Shop and drooled over a beautiful pair of $3500 cowgirl boots at the Santa Fe Boot Co.

We drove the hour south to ABQ and then headed east to Acoma Sky City, an historic Pueblo built on the top of a mesa. But we got there too late for the last tour, so we had to content ourselves with a few pictures from afar.

We checked into the Nativo Lodge, a few minutes north of downtown ABQ and then drove to the Nob Hill area, on Route 66, for dinner. We snacked on chips and salsa and some local microbrews at the Nob Hill Bar and Grill and as we were heading in search of dinner, walked by a sushi restaurant that suddenly induced a craving in both of us. We shared a few rolls and then retreated to our hotel, still a little tired from the previous night’s adventures.

Sunday I drove Chrissy to the airport and then set out alone for Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited dwellings in the world. Native Americans have been living here for over 1000 years and still live as their ancestors did – without running water or electricity. I wandered around, took a ton of photos, browsed the curio shops and bought some fresh baked cookies and tasty fry bread, and chatted with some residents.

On my way back to ABQ and my conference resort, I passed a winery and decided to stop for a tasting before continuing on the long but beautiful drive.

I checked into my resort, the Hyatt Tamaya and settled in for my conference. The resort was nice, but very isolated. I had to drive quite a way for my delicious dinner of tamales and enchiladas (much better than the first round at Tomasita’s) at Sadie’s. If I had the choice, I would not have stayed there as it was too far from ABQ and Taos (20 and 30 minutes, respectively) and more expensive than the average hotel I stay in at nearly $200 a night.

Overall I enjoyed my trip to New Mexico. The land near ABQ didn’t look anything like I though it would and I wasn’t a fan of the suburban sprawl around the city. But Santa Fe was a charming little place, the people were all so friendly and welcoming and the drive between there and Taos was breathtaking. I would consider coming back to revisit that area, to make a second attempt at Acoma, taste some more wine, and eat some more delicious New Mexican food.

Solo Travel

2009-02-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a five day trip to New Mexico. I was sent by my job for a conference that ran from Sunday – Tuesday so I begged my friend Chrissy to join me for a few days of exploration the weekend before. I had a great time with Chrissy, but she left Sunday morning and then for three days and three nights, I was on my own.

During that time I learned a valuable lesson about traveling alone.

I don’t like it.

Actually, it wasn’t so much the “being alone” part as it was the “not having someone with me” part (yep, there's a difference). I didn’t mind the nearly three-hour drive from ABQ to Taos to visit the Pueblo. I relished being alone with the thoughts in my head, being able to turn the radio to whatever station I wanted, and sing along in my out-of-tune way at the top of my lungs with no one there to hear. I enjoyed the quiet solitude of the Pueblo and wandering alone, not just as the only person in my party, but as one of only three other tourists I saw there the whole day. I think the quiet made it more sobering and meaningful experience. I was even invited into the home of one of the residents, something I don’t think would have happened had I not been alone (of course, since I was solo I declined the invite, a decision I now regret). Even stopping to taste some wine and later dining at a local restaurant on my own didn’t bother me one bit.

What I disliked was that I experienced all those things alone - that later, though I could tell Chrissy what she missed and explain to Dan how I felt while there, I didn’t have anyone to share in the experience with me. I have pictures that prove I was there, but since no one else shares the memory with me, it feels like it could have just as easily been a dream. Without sharing the experience with another person, it seems like it only took place in my head.

I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to explore a new place alone again in the future. And I’d rather go solo than not go at all. But while there are some people who prefer the freedom that comes from traveling alone, I realize that I am just not one of them.

Spain Tips and Links

2009-02-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

Links
When planning our trip to Spain the following links were incredibly helpful.

- Maribel’s Guides – in-depth guides to various regions and cities in Spain
- Movelia – a website that aggregates schedules and prices for multiple bus companies in Spain
- Renfe – the Spanish train system

Tips
- Buses are often cheaper in Spain. We used buses exclusively because they were cheaper and offered more convenient schedules for us. In the smaller towns they were often the only option. We used Vibasa, Alsa, and La Estellesa. We used Movelia to find the tickets and then booked directly with the bus companies.

- Hostels in Spain are often just as nice and pretty much always less expensive than hotels. There are also several companies that run stylish and cheap apartment services, like Barcelona30.

- The best tip I received when planning our trip was to not try to see it all. Spain is a huge and diverse country and trying to pack it all in on one whirlwind trip would not do it justice. We plan to go back at least twice – once to combine the north and San Sebastian with southern France and one for Madrid and Andalusia. We’d also love to return to Barcelona some day. We had four days in the city and still don’t feel like we saw enough, plus we didn’t make it any of our planned day trips!

Barcelona, Spain - January 2009

2009-01-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

After a brutal 7 ½ hour overnight bus ride, we arrived back in Barcelona. All we wanted to do was shower and sleep, but we knew we couldn’t check in until 2pm at our hostel, Solyk. We could drop our bags. . . .but first we had to find it.

Reminiscent of the great Venice map debacle of 2007, we were armed with less than stellar instructions. We wandered around the Barri Gotic streets for nearly an hour looking for our hostel. Nothing was open, and in Barcelona, when a business is closed it pulls a metal grate over the door. With nothing open, all the business covered with graffiti –splattered metal grates, and no one around but one mumbling old lady, the neighborhood looked pretty sketchy. I was ready to cry, give up, and head to the nearest internet café to start searching for a new hotel, but Dan persevered. He found a youth hostel nd asked them for directions. Our hostel was on the street we had walked down a million times, only it wasn’t marked with anything more than a tiny metal sign about 10 feet up on the door.

Looking down our street. The view at night.

We dropped our bags and headed out in the grey, slight rain to the Eixample neighborhood to see the Gaudi masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia. The line was insanely long so we opted to come back in a few days to go inside and instead walked by his other buildings, Casa Battlo and La Pedrera.

We stopped for a pizza and then browsed Altair, Europe’s largest travel bookstore, before heading back to the hostel.

We met Philippe, the owner, who gave us a map and some recommendations and then took a nap until nearly 6pm. For dinner, Dan lead the way to a place selected from our guide book, Taller de Tapas. It was a sit down tapas place; we opted for the bar and we served by a very nice girl who spoke great English. We shared a bottle of cava, some grilled octopus, sautéed spinach with garbanzo beans and pancetta (I am going to make this at home), some fried artichokes, and some amazing grilled chorizo served in a Basque cider sauce, all for under 40 euros.

We stopped at a local café, Schilling, for some people watching and a few cheap glasses of cava, and then headed off to bed.

Saturday we rose early for our cooking class at Cook and Taste. We met the instructor, Theresa, and the 7 other students (from France, Norway, Seattle and Chicago) and took a tour of the beautiful gourmet market – La Boqueria – where you can get anything from exotic fruits to amazing chocolates to live lobster and shrimps to a leg of jamón to a whole rabbit.

We bought some ingredients for the class, and then got to cooking.

We were to make 4 dishes, so we divided up into groups to make each course. There was a cold tomato soup topped with aioli, pesto and cheese (very tasty), a traditional grilled bread topped with roasted veggies (not for me), paella with monkfish, cuttlefish, langoustines and clams (amazing) and crema catalana, a dessert that is a cross between crème brulee and flan. Dan and I made it and, if I do say so myself, it was pretty tasty!

We all had a great time cooking, chatting, and drinking some wine, and then sat down to enjoy our delicious meal.

From there Dan and I headed the crowded champagne bar, Can Paixano, that I was determined to try.

We managed to squeeze in and ordered a 3 euro (yep, about $5!) bottle of cava and found out that you must order food in order to do so. So we sprang for two sandwiches; we picked at one and took the other home to eat as a pre-dinner snack.

Dan and I had read about a place called Tapioles 53 in a few guidebooks and in several magazines. All raved about the great homey cuisine so, though they had no online menu, we made reservations to go for dinner. We stopped for two beers on the way and then arrived at 9pm, at which point we found out it was a three course set menu (but they didn’t tell us the price). We shared cauliflower soup and a delicious pulled pork appetizer and then I had risotto (tasty but not amazing) and Dan had a pork belly dish that he loved.

We each had dessert and shared a 12 euro bottle of cava. We braced ourselves for the bill. But it was only 80 euro (about $120). Not what we had really wanted to spend, but it could have been worse. Had we known the place only offered the set menu, we probably wouldn’t have gone though. We stopped off at Tinto Roja, a very cool lounge, for one drink. On the way home I got us a bit lost so it took nearly an hour to get back to our hotel. We decided to just go to bed rather than head to another bar.

The next morning dawned sunny and warm so we headed to Guell Park which was more crowded that I had hoped, but still a very cool place, filled with Gaudi’s whimsical touches.

We took plenty of pictures, picnicked on some sandwiches, and then headed back to Sagrada Familia where we were pleased to discover there were no lines!

We paid 27 euro for entrance and the ticket up in the lift, and it was worth every penny. Words really can’t describethe magnitude, so here are some pictures.

We took the lift to the top of one of the spires, and I instantly got vertigo. Unlike an observation deck in the states, here there is no protective railing, no mesh screen keeping you from falling off the building, or dropping your $700 camera. I cursed the vanity that kept me from putting my camera on a shoulder strap around my neck, hung onto it for deal life, and attempted to get some pictures and keep my shaking under control.

Heading back down on the stairs was another adventure. These twisty turny stairs have no handrail and dropping my camera down the center hole was a real possibility.

There were plenty of spots to stop off and look at the great views, but once I tried to refocus my eyes on the stairs (which were not lit) I couldn’t adjust. I finally fumbled my way to the bottom, heart pounding, in complete awe.

We headed back to our room, napped and then set out for what we thought would be a quiet night. We stopped at another place Dan selected from our guidebook called Milk. They had happy hour cocktail prices so we enjoyed a few, then decided to splurge for a bottle of cava (11 euro).

From there we headed back to Taller de Tapas. We don’t normally eat at the same place twice when traveling, but there was so much more on the menu we wanted to try. Of course, then I had the spinach dish again and we couldn’t resist getting the delicious chorizo once more. We also opted for some foie gras and a dish of steamed mussels, before closing the place down at midnight with a pitcher of sangria.

We didn’t want the great night to end so we returned to Milk for another bottle of cava and chatted with the two bartenders (one from France, one from Ireland) who kept the bar open for us. It was after 2am when we finally passed out; we slept in until noon the next day.

We decided to take it easy on our last day. We had a few options for day trips lined up, but decided to stay in town and head to Montjuic park for the views instead.

We hiked up what seemed like a hundred stairs and then took the aerial gondola up the rest of the way.

I of course, was terrified.

We got falafel for lunch (yes I went all the way to Spain to try falafel for the first time, and now I’m hooked), took a long nap, packed up our stuff, and the went out for our final dinner – a slightly overpriced steak (but good), salad, soup, and pitcher of sangria – and then stopped at a crepe stand for a delicious dessert. We were back in bed by 11 and up at 6am the next day for our flight. It was smooth and mostly uneventful, though it was delayed by nearly an hour due to traffic and bad weather. We finally got home to our apartment around 6pm on January 6.

San Sebastian, Spain - December 2008 - January 2009

2009-01-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

Logrono had been grey and chilly (about 45 degrees) so we were hoping for nice weather in San Sebastian. Our bus ride was scenic and uneventful, but as we came into more hilly country, the grey skies turned to blue, the sun came out, and we got excited for our stay in this beach resort town.

Turns out “town” is a bit of an understatement. While not a huge city, San Sebastian was bigger than we anticipated. Rather than try to find our hotel, Pension Bellas Artes, we hailed a cab and gave him the address.

We actually could have walked as it was only a few blocks, but the fare was cheap so we didn’t mind. We checked in and were immediately overwhelmed by the hospitality shown to us at the B&B. The woman at reception, Olatz, pulled out a map and told us where to go, what to see, where to eat, the best routes to take for the best views, and offered to make us any reservations or arrangements we needed. We dropped our stuff in our room and decided to set out to explore right away.

We walked down to the beach (me in heels!), took a ton of pictures, explored the old town and then decided to indulge Dan’s craving for hamburgers and beer at a busy café. The burgers looked good and were cheap (and decently tasty) but as I bit into mine I felt something hard crunch against my tooth. At first I thought it was my tooth. I spat it out and it was hard and white. Dan told me it was probably a chunk of salt that hadn’t been ground; he later confessed that he thought it might be bone. Sick, but hey, I’m still alive.

We wandered around town, browsed the high-end shops, stopped into another Zara, and then retreated for a nap. We got up around 6 – too early for dinner – and Dan picked up a baguette and some cheese and jamon at the local store for us to enjoy with a bottle or the wine we bought in Rioja as a little appetizer.

We met Leire, the Pension owner, and her mother who were just so excited to have us, so sweet and enthusiastic. We adored them and they really made the place so great to stay at. Around 8 we headed down to old town, which supposedly has the highest concentration of bars per square foot in all of Europe, for some tapas hopping on 31 de Agosto street.

Every tapas bar is different. In Logrono, we pointed to what we wanted per-piece from a case on display, or ordered small portions from a menu. At the first place we went to in San Sebastian, the items were all on display, but not in a case. We just asked for a plate, picked what we wanted and then told the bartender what we had when it was time to pay. They are really big on the honor system there.

We had a piece of salami with cheese, a deep fried shrimp, a deep fried cheese ball, a jamón y queso pastry, and a chorizo and cheese eggroll at a few different places. We also tried Basque sidra (cider) which was quite good but more vinegary than expected. I loved it and had plenty more in the next few days.

Then we headed to La Cuchara de San Telmo, a place recommended to us by Leire, where you order off a chalkboard and everything is prepared fresh. We had excellent risotto and an amazing, delicious, huge piece of foie gras that was only 3 euro (about $5)! We vowed to come back the next night for New Year’s Eve. We stopped on the way home for a beer, took some pictures, and then crawled into bed around midnight.

The next day we walked back down to the beach and planned to take a funicular (a kind of train) up the mountain for the incredible (or so we were told) views, but it was closed for the holiday. We soon learned we would run into that problem a lot. We spent some more time near the beach, marveling at the fact that alongside people swimming (it was about 60 degrees and sunny) were people in fur coats!

We shopped some more, stopped for pizza (another craving) and some amazing sangria and then retired to the room to plan out our New Year’s Eve night.

We were disappointed to learn that many of the tapas places (including our beloved San Telmo) would be closed that night. We didn’t want to spend a ton on a fancy dinner, so we decided to take our chances, wander around and see what was open. We had some baguette and wine in the room for a snack, and then went to leave at 9pm. When we walked out of our room, we found that Leire had arranged a little New Year’s Eve party for all the guests, complete with champagne and party favors. We drank, chatted with the other guests from Spain, France, England, and Japan, and learned how to say Happy New Year and toast in 4 languages (those, plus Catalan, which is different from Spanish and spoken in Barcelona).

We tapas hopped, drank tons of champagne, talked with people on the street and had a great time. We met more Spanish people, lots of French people (the border was only 30 minutes away) and some Italians. We counted down to New Year and then partied in the street until nearly 3am, which actually made us the early birds, as the party went on until about 5am!

New Year’s Day we woke by 12 for check out. We had to kill time until our 11:30 pm overnight bus to Barcelona so we debated about taking a different bus up to Bilbao (about 2 hours away) to wander around, but ultimately decided against it. We had some tapas and cider for lunch, strolled the beach, saw a movie in Spanish and then had dinner before going back to our Pension to check out and make our way to the bus station.

Looking back, it didn’t seem like we really did a whole lot in San Sebastian. Just as in Cinque Terre, Italy, the place where we did the least amount of sight-seeing ended up being our favorite.

DAN: San Sebastian is probably one of my favorite places. It’s part city and part smallish town. I love the food and the beach and the people and just most everything about it…I have nothing negative to say about the place and even before we left for Barcelona I was already planning our trip back.

More Travel Writing

2009-01-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, I've been doing a bit more freelance work.

I've also been writing for Europe Up Close, Cheap Europe and a few more elance clients. I'm still submitting to Trazzler, hoping they'll select me for further freelance work.

Surviving a Plane Crash

2009-01-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

The sea is dangerous and it’s storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to stay ashore ~ Ferdinand Magellan

I am terrified of flying. A plane crash is my worst fear in the world, not only because it would mean I would die, but because it would mean I would know I was going to die, possibly for a few minutes of unimaginable terror, before it happened. But I love to travel, and flying is the fastest and cheapest way to go long distances, so I take my chances and medicate heavily.

I've always been one of those people who pay no attention to the safety instruction at the beginning of the flight. I have a vague idea of where my emergency exits are and I know, in theory, that my seat doubles as a floatation device. But I've always figured that in a real plane crash, none of that would matter because if my plane went down, that would be the end.

I was wrong. Yesterday, a plane performed an emergency landing on the Hudson River after a flock of birds (birds! and the more disturbing thing is: it happens all the time) knocked out both engines. Everyone survived.

Turns out, 96% of all people involved in a plane crash survive.

Guess I better start paying attention during that safety lecture.

Rioja, Spain - December 2008

2009-01-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything. You only have the most rudimentary sense of how things work; you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses. ~ Bill Bryson

We took off from Chicago on December 26th around 7pm, had a short connection in the Zurich airport (one of the most organized I’ve ever been to) and landed in Barcelona around 2pm. The flight was smooth and on time, we had an extra seat to spread out on, and I was able to get some sleep. From the airport, we rushed to Barcelona Nord station to catch our 4pm bus to Logrono.

Around 9pm, after 5 hours on the bus, we finally arrived and walked the 5 minutes to our hotel, Marques de Vallejo, in the center of town. We checked in and headed up to our room, where it took us a good 10 minutes to figure out how to turn the light on. Turns out we needed to insert our key into a slot – this ensures you won’t leave the lights on when you aren’t in the room. It’s a great “green feature” but it certainly confused us!

The hotel was basic but nice, with a commom area with internet access so we could keep in touch with family and friends back home.

We washed up, got our second wind and headed out to take part in the old town’s famous Saturday night tapas crawl. We turned a corner on Calle Laurel and couldn’t believe the crowds of people eating, drinking, and socializing in the streets.

DAN: After long hours of travel and after crossing time zone after time zone, running from plane to bus, walking half-lost in search of a hotel in a country where you can only make out every third word and only if spoken very slowly (p.s. - it never is), looking for streets that aren’t on the map, any map and let’s face it you probably have at least 4 maps of varying size in your bag, it’s easy to get distracted and forget that you’re on vacation and even forget that you are in a completely different country…exhaustion and frustration start to take over and your body starts to ache and you begin to wonder if it’s really worth it. Than, by some luck, you find a warm bed by which to drop your bag and drag yourself back into the world hoping for some sort of reassurance that it’ll be okay…

“Turning the corner” as my wife wrote was a great way to put it, both actually and more so for me, figuratively. I can’t begin to tell you how amazing and invigorating it was seeing the narrow cobble stone side-street filled with people eating and drinking. I instantly snapped back into a good mood and was reminded that it is after all indeed “worth it”. I couldn’t wait to find out what lay ahead.

We hopped from place to place, trying to figure out what all these yummy looking things were and how we went about ordering them.

We had a few language issues but figured out that pointing to what we wanted along with a few key words worked fine. We had some patatas bravas, croquetas, chorizo, a slice of omelet, and lots of cheap (about $1.50 a glass) Rioja wine. We stopped in one place that only had shrimp and pineapple kebabs. Dan convinced me to try a piece of shrimp (my first time) and I loved it.

Then we went back to our original place for profiteroles for dessert. In all we had about 6 or 7 glasses of wine each and 6 plates for about 30 euros.

We slept until noon the next day and then set out to explore Logrono. We wandered the streets, did some shopping, and grabbed a lunch on the go.

We took a short nap before the nightly paseo (when everyone - old, young, families – comes out for a long walk down the streets before dinner) and then headed for more tapas. This time we had calamari, more patatas bravas, bruschettas topped with egg, and a jamon stuffed artichoke, with of course more Rioja wine.

Monday we took a 2, 50 Euro bus to the nearby medieval walled town of Laguardia. It was built in the 7th century as a town to guard the neighboring, more important, town of Navarra. There is more space under the city, in the form of tunnels, than above.

In the 14th century, when the town was no longer needed to defend Navarra, the tunnels were sealed off and used as wine cellars. We toured two of them – Bodega Fabulista and Carlos San Pedro. Bodega Fabulista was the more exciting of the two, with a better guide, and more tasty wine, but both were enjoyable and we learned a whole lot about Rioja wine, which is made very differently than other wines we have tasted.

The town itself was amazing. There are only 4 entrances into the walls and it is very quiet. The day we were there was very foggy, giving the whole town a mysterious atmosphere.

It was a bit cold but we still had a great time exploring, taking pictures, and stopping into a few cafes for more wine while we waited for our bus (which we missed, and had to wait for a later one). We finally got back to Logrono around 5pm, shopped at the local Zara for a bit and then went to a sit-down dinner of pork in puff pasty with Roquefort sauce (very good) and grilled chorizo (excellent) with wine and dessert. We called it an early night, since we had to be up early for our bus to San Sebastian.

How Did We Do?

2009-01-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~ Susan Heller

There's really no better travel advice than this. We over-packed, and went a bit over budget, but only because we could. Had we only had a certain amount, we would have spent that. But after 7 days of eating cheaply while standing up, I wanted a few sit down dinners in Barcelona, and those turned out to be the budget busters.

So here’s what we spent:

Lodging
9 nights in hotels, plus foreign transaction fees for taking the money out of ATMs - $760

Transportation and Sightseeing
Train tickets (bought in advance) - $200
Additional bus fare for day trips, plus taxis and metro fares – about $40
Sightseeing and wine tasting fees (plus the purchase of two bottles of wine) - $120
Cooking class - $200

Food and Wine
We were doing really well in Logrono and San Sebastian. We grabbed a bit on the go for breakfast and lunch and we had tapas and very cheap glasses of wine for dinner 4 out of the 6 night. But we got to Barcelona and though, well we’re doing okay on money, and we’re sick of standing to eat, so let’s splurge. We had 2 really great $60 dinners that were worth every penny, one $120 dinner that I would take back if I could (it was good, but not $120 worth of good) and one overprice $80 dinner on our last night. Had we just grabbed a tasty sandwich or one last jamon y queso sandwich (my favorite) and some drinks, we could have spend about $150 less. Our total food and drink spending was about $900.

So we went over budget by about $220.

Airfare
Round trip from Chicago to Barcelona on Swiss Air, with a connection in Zurich - $1200

So for 10 days in Spain we spent a grand total, not including shopping, of about $3200.

Now, when it comes to clothes, we way over-packed. Of the 3 short-sleeve shirts I brought, only 2 saw the light of day (once each) and of the 6 sweaters I brought, only 4 were needed. Both dresses were worn at least once, as well as the jean skirt and boots, but the heels were a waste of space. And both Dan and I brought one pair of non-jeans pants that we never ever considered wearing. And each of us came home with one pair of boots, and I found two new winter coats. I need to always remind myself = pack less and I can shop more!

Making a Budget

2008-12-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions. ~A.A. Latimer

We leave for Spain in 5 days. I'm finalizing the budget and getting a bit nervous. We're attempting to spend 10 days in a gastronomic paradise and only spend $1800. Here's how that's going to break down.

Lodging
9 nights in hotels = just under 500 euros, which as of right now is coming out to about $700

Transportation and Sightseeing
We've already bought our bus tickets to get between major cities (for $200), but may buy a few more tickets for short jaunts and day trips. These should be under $20. Add another $30 for taxis and city transportation in Barcelona.
We're planning on about $50 in museum entry fees and wine tasting costs.
We have a cooking class scheduled which will cost about $200.

Food and Wine
This, of course, is where we spend the most of our money.

As luck would have it, unlike most of the hotels we try to stay in, our hotels in two of the three cities do not include breakfast. Since Dan isn't a big breakfast-eater anyways, to help save money I'm packing some power bars that I can munch for breakfast some days. We'll try and get by on about $20 (15 euros) for breakfast for the whole trip.

That leaves us just under $800 for food and drink for the 10 days, or about 550 euros.

We figure three of the days we'll want to do a nicer dinner (once in each town). On those days we'll need to balance that out with either a cheaper lunch, or compensate by eating more cheaply on another day. Luckily, it seems that for every amazing culinary temple, there are several options for cheap eats. We're looking forward to filling up on round after round of $3 cava and tapas.

We never figure shopping into our budget but are taking an extra $200 or so to hit Zara, my favorite discount retailer (which is based in Spain). Of course, the less money we spend on food, drink, and sightseeing, the more we have to shop!

We'll see how we did when we get back!

Two Cool Vacation Ideas

2008-12-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

I've already discussed my disdain for tours. But if I was going to do a tour, and if money was no object, I would consider contacting In Touch Travel. The premise is that there's no better tour guide than a local. Rather than operating a standard superficial tour, these local guides get in depth. A sommelier in France will take you wine tasting at various wineries and then show you the best wine bars in town. A personal shopper in Milan will show you the best boutiques, take you to a fashion show or get you after-hours access to a designer's store. It's pretty pricey, but I think some of the experiences could be worth it. And the tours are private - just you and the guide.

Another neat trip idea is offered by Vocation Vacations. This tour company gives you the chance to test drive your dream job. Common dream careers like actor, chef and model are represented along with a few more off-the-wall choices like pro-wrestler, dude rancher, and swordmaker. Guests spend a few days with an expert in that field. They watch the person work and get coaching on how to break into that particular field. it's not my dream job, but I'd love to spend a weekend learning how to be a cheese-maker, if only for all the free samples I'd get!

Jet Lag

2008-12-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

The time to enjoy a European trip is about three weeks after unpacking. ~ George Ade

So far in my travels, I've done pretty well with avoiding jet lag. I tend to think of it as a mind-over-matter thing, and the fact that I can sleep pretty much anywhere, anytime definitely helps.

To avoid jet-lag, try these tactics:

- If you wear a watch, set your time to that of your destination as soon as you get on the plane. Banish any thoughts of "it's X o'clock my time". Your time is now the time of the place you are headed. Don't even think about what time it would have been at home. You aren't there so it no longer matters.

- Sleep on the plane on the way over. Not only will it make the journey go by faster, but waking up when you land at 8am in Europe will immediately put you in the mind set that it is morning. Your body clock will be re-set to the new time zone. If you don't think you'll be tired enough to sleep the whole way, try disrupting your sleep the day before - stay up later and then wake up early the next day so you are tired when you get on the plane. Or try a sleeping aid like some Benadryl or Ambian (my drug of choice, just try it once at home to see how you react. I sleep like a log for 8 hours off half a pill).

- Going the opposite direction (from east to west) is a bit more difficult. It's hard to wake for an 8am flight and then sleep on the plane. I try to make sure I'm a bit tired that day - stay out late and enjoy the last night of your trip (just make sure you don't overdo it and miss your flight!) so that you are tired enough to sleep on the plane. Again, Ambian can be helpful.

- Once you arrive in your destination, remember you are in that time zone now. The time it is back home does not matter. If you are absolutely exhausted or didn't sleep on the plane, take a short nap (no more than 2 hours) and the commit to stay up until at least 9pm. Get in some physical activity by taking a long walk to check out your new surroundings and then take a long shower to rejuvenate and rehydrate. By the next morning you should be feeling fine.

- On the way back, again it can be more difficult to adjust. If we land early I'll sometimes take a quick nap, but usually I just commit to staying up until 9 or 10 pm. Generally I have just slept 6-8 hours on the plane so you would think falling asleep would be difficult, but I have no trouble. Traveling tends to take a lot out of me, plus I think I was just gifted with an ability to sleep unlimited hours.

With a few strategies and the right mind-set, you can avoid, or at least minimize, the effects of jet lag.

Our Weekend in Detroit

2008-12-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving break Dan and I went back to Michigan to celebrate the holiday without families (well part of mine, as my sister and mom are were in Florida). While there we decided to play tourist and check out some of Detroit’s attractions.

Wednesday we drove around and took a million pictures. We went to the DIA- the Detroit Institute of Arts - to see the new expansion and visit some of our favorite works.

The facade of the DIA

Diego Rivera's mural

We had lunch at Cass Café, a cheap restuarant/bar popular with Wayne State students (and one of Dan's old hangouts) with our old boss from the radio station where we met, then visited the Detroit Historical Museum. Neither of us had ever been and we were very impressed. The model assembly line and other exhibits were neat and the famous “Streets of Old Detroit” exhibit (a whole floor made in to a replica of Detroit from the late 1800’s – early 1900’s) lived up to the hype.

The assembly line

The Old Streets of Detroit

Then it was on to the Museums of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) next to our old apartment on Woodward (where we saw the Thanksgiving Day Parade floats driving down the street to move into position for the next day) and to Sole Sisters, a cute boutique owned by a friend.

A preview of the floats

We checked out the demolitions progress at the old Tiger Stadium and got a few shots of the never-to-be-torn-down train station.

The Old Tiger Stadium, or what's left of it.

Looking down Woodward to the RenCen.

The train station

Then it was off to John King Books, home of over 900,000 used and rare books, to pick up some gifts.

Just one corner of one floor of John King - book lover's paradise

We stopped by the new gourmet Zacarro’s market, just to check it out, and then met up with friends at Slow’s BBQ. Dan had eaten there about a year and a half ago and loved it, but it was my first time. It was amazing! We had copious amounts of bourbon and lemonade drinks, and 2 apps, and 2 entrees (which came with 4 total sides) between 4 people and our bill was just over $100. And it was good! Pulled pork, creamy mac and cheese, and gooey cheesy waffle fries. The apple bbq sauce was so good, I snagged some to take home!

The day after Thanksgiving we did a bit more exploring, heading down to Eastern Market, a collection of gourmet stores and produce retailers, and the Heidelberg Project, an open air art instilation incorporating abandoned buildings and junk.

Eastern Market

The Heidelberg

That night we had wanted to go feather-bowling at the Cadieux Café but all the lanes were booked, so we settled for some beer and tasty mussels.

Other than that we got in a whole lot of much needed face time with family and friends.

The old “I want to move back to Detroit” bug that I always get when we are home reared its ugly head, but until the economy picks up or Detroit significantly upgrades it’s public transportation, that won’t be happening.

The pathetic people mover - for looks only

Ah well, at least we can visit often.

Where Have We Been?

2008-12-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well, Detroit for one.

But the reason that we (I) haven't been updating so much recently is because I was working on a few other things.

I did a block of 20 trips as a freelance gig for Trazzler (keep your fingers crossed that there's more to come).

I received two freelance contracts from elance.

And I spent some time putting together honeymoon ideas for Carmie and Steve (yes, I love planning even other people's trips!).

I hope to resume regular posting, starting with a recap of our time in Detroit, next week.

My Favorite Chicago Restuarants

2008-11-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

Tango Sur - BYOB
Cuisine – Argentine Steakhouse
Neighborhood – Southport (Lakeview)
Average Meal for Two – $50
Why I Love It – Tasty empanadas and huge juicy, tender steaks. Order the filet dinner for about $35 and you get two huge (probably at least 10-12 ounces) filets along with salads and potatoes. Desserts are yummy and it’s byob. There is always a line, but you can head down the street for a cocktail, or sit in the back room and open your wine.

Mixteco - BYOB
Cuisine – Upscale Mexican
Neighborhood – Lakeview
Average Meal for Two – $40
Why I Love It – Excellent mole sauces and new twists on Mexican classics. The guacamole and tamales appetizers are excellent. BYOB and always packed, but they do take reservations.

Angelina
Cuisine – Italian and Brunch
Neighborhood –Lakeview
Average Meal for Two – $50 with wine, brunch is $40 with unlimited champagne drinks
Why I Love It – Brunch is lively and fun and the champagne drinks keep flowing. The chicken and proscuitto alfredo pasta is excellent, as are the eggs benedict. Dinner is inexpensive but amazing – the balsamic marinated sausage with creamy polenta and the mussels are great. Wine is pretty cheap – about $5 a glass or under $20 a bottle.

HB - BYOB
Cuisine – New American
Neighborhood –Lakeview
Average Meal for Two – $50
Why I Love It – This is our go-to place when we have family in town. The service is phenomenal and the food is fantastic. We always start with the edam and artichoke fritters and way too much bread with truffle butter. I love the mussels and Dan has had good pork dishes there a few times. BYOB and small, so make reservations on weekends.

MK
Cuisine – New American
Neighborhood – River North
Average Meal for Two – $150 with wine
Why I Love It – This is a splurge for Dan and I. We came here on our anniversary and I am anxiously awaiting another special occasion so we can come back. The service was great, the cocktails were inventive and the wine list is fairly reasonable. We made reservations and said it was our anniversary and were treated to complimentary champagne, moscato, and dessert! The grilled octopus, lobster risotto and frites with truffle crème, and dessert were all out of this world.

Café 28
Cuisine – Cuban
Neighborhood – Ravenswood
Average Meal for Two – $60 with sangria
Why I Love It – Tasty, cheap sangria and excellent Cuban/Mexican food - lots of grilled meats, empanadas, plantains, and fajitas with a twist.

Hot Doug’s
Cuisine – Upscale Sausages
Neighborhood – Avondale
Average Meal for Two – $20
Why I Love It – “Encased meats”. All sorts of crazy sausages topped with fancy cheeses, amazing sauces, and even foie gras. Rabbit, duck, pork, and ostrich are just some of the meats used, and the duck fat fries are pretty tasty. There is always a line; you will wait at least 30 minutes outside. But it’s worth it.

Toro - BYOB
Cuisine – Sushi
Neighborhood – Lincoln Park
Average Meal for Two – $30
Why I Love It – The best sushi I have ever had in my life can be found here. It’s tiny (there’s always a wait) and service is pretty abysmal but the hot finger roll (spicy salmon deep fried) and other specialty rolls make up for it. Mitch, the owner, will even give you your own set of chopsticks if you come in enough.

Tac Quick - BYOB
Cuisine – Thai
Neighborhood – Uptown/Lakeview
Average Meal for Two – $20
Why I Love It – Cheap, delicious thai. Most dishes are under $9. The pad see eiw and beef curry are great and the crab Rangoon is the only kind I like that doesn’t actually use real crab. They also have a special secret Thai menu with more authentic dishes.

Quartino
Cuisine – Italian small plates
Neighborhood – The Loop
Average Meal for Two – $75 with wine
Why I Love It – They boast that their wine is cheaper than water – not quite but at about $15 for a carafe it’s pretty cheap. The veal meatballs, salads, and pastas are all really good, but the main draw for me is the nutella paninin for dessert. It’s always packed here, and really loud, but you can sometimes score seats at the bar with no wait.

Icosium Kafé - BYOB
Cuisine – Crepes
Neighborhood – Andersonville
Average Meal (dessert) for Two – $10
Why I Love It – Nutella crepe.

Orange – BYOB
Cuisine – Brunch
Neighborhood – Lakeview
Average Meal for Two – $30
Why I Love It – This place has some of the best, most unique brunch offerings around. The savor items, like the Popeye omelette (cheese and spinach, topped with truffle oil) are great but the real stars are the sweet items like cinnamon bun pancakes and chai tea French toast. BYOB makes it a cheap option for a boozy brunch, but expect to wait around 15 minutes.

Mon Ami Gabi
Cuisine – French
Neighborhood – Lincoln Park
Average Meal for Two – $80
Why I Love It – Cutesy French bistro atmosphere with reasonably priced food. You’ll be fine dressed up for a fancy night or going a bit more casual. The steamed artichoke appetizer and $20 hangar steak are both excellent, and you get free profiteroles for dessert on your birthday.

Rique’s - BYOB
Cuisine – Mexican
Neighborhood – Uptown
Average Meal for Two – $30
Why I Love It – Super cheap, authentic Mexican like chicken mole, served in portions big enough to share make this one cheap night out. Bring in a bottle of tequila and some mixer and make your own margaritas.

Schwa - BYOB
Cuisine – Multi-Course Tasting Menu
Neighborhood – Bucktown
Average Meal for Two – $200
Why I Love It – If you want to go gastro (gastronomic, that is) and do a big tasting menu, this is probably the most affordable place to do it. Jellyfish, gelee, lamb brains, and sweetbreads are typical dishes so you need to have an adventurous palate. Bring a few bottles of wine and the chefs (who double as the servers) will pair wine to each course. Getting a table is extremely difficult as they rarely seat the 10-table space to capacity.

Chicago

2008-11-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

For visitors to Chicago, the main things to see and do are:
- Millennium Park, Grant Park, the Bean, and Buckingham Fountain – all worthwhile to check out while downtown. In the summer, there are free movies and musical performances and in winter an ice skating rink is set up.
- Wrigley Field – good fun, if you can snag tickets. For a more unique perspective, watch the game from the rooftop of a nearby building. All-inclusive packages keep the beer and burgers coming while you cheer on the Cubs.
- Shopping on Michigan Avenue (the Magnificent Mile) – or more likely, window shopping. For stores you can actually afford, head south on State to Akira, Filene’s Basement, and H&M.
- A Double Decker Bus Tour of the City – kind of pricey for what you get, and on the long side at nearly 2 hours. View the city from the water instead on an hour-long informative Architectural River Cruise.
- Sears Tower – the iconic Chicago skyscraper. For my money, I’d head to the lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Building. For the cost of a cocktail, you get free admission and the view is just as good.
- Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Adler Planetarium, and The Art Museum – all great experiences, but check the website for free days as admission can be pricey. Or look into a Chicago Pass.
- Lincoln Park- beautiful park with a free zoo, lakefront paths, ponds and gardens.
- Chinatown – tons of shops filled with Asian knickknacks, foods stores with cheap Asian sauces, noodles and candy, Chinese restaurants and dim sum, antiques stores and herbalists.
- Boystown – Chicago’s gay neighborhood. Halstead Street is lined with sex shops and gay bars, and makes for a great night of bar hopping.
- Greektown – a few blocks of Greek restaurants west of the city.
- Pilsen – Chicago’s Latino community with great Mexican restaurants and colorful murals painted on many of the buildings ands storefronts.
- Navy Pier – In my opinion, it’s a crowded tourist trap with nothing to offer except mediocre overpriced theme restaurants (Bubba Gump Shrimp Company). Unless you are going on one of the sightseeing cruises that launch from the pier, run away.

Other things to do:
- Festivals - In the summer Chicago has a festival nearly every weekend celebrating heritage with Irish, Greek and Croatian festivals, neighborhoods like Sheffield and Andersonville, Gay Pride and Market Days, and food fest like Taste of Chicago and Pizza fest.
- Theatre and Comedy – Chicago has a lively theatre scene with the theatres like the Chicago Theatre, Goodman, Steppenwolf and Briar Street Theatre and comedy troupes like the Second City and Neo-Futurists.
- Exploring the Neighborhoods – Each ‘hood has its own feel. My favorites are Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Andersonville, and Bucktown.
- For info on weekly events and deals, check out the Red Eye, Chicago Reader, and Yelp.

Chicago Tips:
- Most visitors will want to stay close to the city. Hotels in the Loop may be marginally cheaper, but since it is the business district, it can get pretty dead after 5pm. Hotels on the Magnificent Mile or in the Gold Coast are a better bet. If you are willing to ride the Red Line about 20 minutes into the city, you can find cheaper hotels in Lincoln Park and Lakeview.
- Cabs from the airport to the city will run about $35 each day. There are a few shuttle services that will also drop you off, but the cheapest option is taking the Blue Line about 40 minutes into the city. The train runs right from O’Hare to the center of the city.
- Cabs are plentiful in the city, but the costs add up. The el and buses cover most areas of the city; maps and trip planners can be found online.
- 2-3 days is enough time to see the major sights in Chicago and get a feel for the city. If you have a few extra days, you could combine a few days in the city with a day or two in Madison or Milwaukee, Wisconsin or a day on the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail (Illinois has a few wine trails as well).

How Do We Afford It?

2008-11-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs. ~ Gloria Steinem

Dan and I make a point to travel on a tight budget. When I hear people who have no problem paying $300 a night for a hotel room, part of me is jealous and part of me feels quite superior for my bargain-hunting abilities. Then I think, no wonder people think they can’t travel - they don’t realize that it doesn’t have to be so expensive. Part of the reason we post our trip costs on the blog is so that people who read it see that travel can be affordable.

While we travel on a budget, $4000 for a trip is still a lot of money. Since I get a lot of “must be nice to spend that much on a trip” and “where’s your money tree?” type responses when people hear about our trips, I’d like to clear something up. Dan and I are not rich, by any means. I have no problem saying exactly how much we make, but I supposed that’s uncouth. So I’ll just say, together we make more than the average median income for our area ($50,000 a year) but less than what I would consider the baseline for upper middle class ($100,000). We are comfortable, not wealthy.

By the end of 2008, we will have taken trips 5 big trips (California, Las Vegas, Jamaica and Florida, Argentina, and Spain) totaling about $11,000.

How?

We make it a priority. We keep expenses low. We live below our means and we scrimp and save to make it work.

- We don’t have cars and we don’t own our own place. We spend $75 a month on transportation (the el).
- I get my hair cut two times a year (spend about $50 each time) and I dye my hair at home with a $10 box.
- I don’t get facials, manicures or pedicures unless it is a very special occasion and Dan cuts his own hair at home.
- We don’t buy clothes unless they are on sale, and even then most of them come from the Gap and H&M. We take old clothes to resale shops.
- We don’t have cable (we rent from Blockbuster’s online service), we keep our air conditioner and heat set on low and only use it when we absolutely must, and we buy a lot of our home décor at thrift stores, Ikea, and discount furniture places.
- We go out to eat or go out to the bar once a week at most. When we do go out to eat we try to pick BYOB places and keep the bill under $50. We bring our lunch to work each day.
- We sign up for free events on line and can usually score free drinks, cocktail parties and wine tastings at least once a month for a free night out.
- Dan quit smoking and neither of us have a daily caffeine addiction (okay maybe Dan does, but he drinks the free stuff at work).
- I go to a community gym that, while it may lack in state-of-the-art equipment, is only $10 a month.
- We budget out our expenses each month and stick to it.

After we pay rent and bills, buy groceries (at about $75 a week) and take care of other necessities, plus allow about $150-$200 per month for fun money for the two of us (shopping and going out to eat) we are left with nearly $3000 each month that we put into savings, use to buy plane tickets or take a trip, or use for major purchases for the apartment or the very rare splurge (like a birthday dinner).

Occasionally we do go off track. We spend a bit too much one weekend or I find some sale pair of boots that I absolutely have to have. So the next week we tighten our belts, prepare for a week of hot dogs for dinner every night, and make up the difference. As much as I’d love to be able to go out and shop without care and eat dinner out at trendy restaurants each night, my conscience (not to mention my waistline) just won’t allow it. A $400 “it-bag” to one person looks like a $400 plane ticket to me. A month of weekly cocktails at the local bar is 10 nights in a hotel in Argentina.

We prioritize what is most important to us. Sure we sacrifice some things, but we rarely feel like we are missing out. We live on a shoestring at home so we can travel the world on a budget.

Travel Insurance

2008-11-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Travel insurance can be a financial safeguard in the event that something goes wrong on a trip, or it can be just one more unnecessary expense. It’s easy to say “better safe then sorry" but when traveling on a budget, every dollar counts. How do you know if you really need to invest in trip insurance?

When you can take a chance and go without insurance:
- For flights booked on major carriers unlikely to go our of business overnight
- For weekend getaways, short trips within the US, and trips to major international destinations
- For trips for which you have not put our significant money in advance or for which the cost of insurance would be a significant percentage of the whole trip cost (why pay $400 for insurance on an $800 trip?)
- We didn’t get insurance for our trips to Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Argentina, or Spain, or any of our domestic trips as we felt the risks weren’t high enough to warrant the cost.

When insurance is a good idea:
- For any trip you consider “once in a lifetime” expensive (it’s probably a good idea to insure that $10,000 trip to the Maldives)
- For trips to very remote areas or volatile areas that might break out in conflict, requiring a premature departure
- For trips to areas with unpredictable weather, like the Caribbean in hurricane season, that might cancel your trip
- For trips where you will be engaging in dangerous activity, like mountain climbing, and may need medical attention or evacuation if you are injured
- For trips that have a chance, for any reason, of being canceled. When we changed our honeymoon destination we were able to get a full refund on the plane tickets, because we had insurance. - We will be purchasing insurance for our trip to South Africa. With flights costing nearly $4000 alone, insurance will help protect this considerable investment.

Where Do We Go From Here?

2008-11-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so now we're all caught up on the "Amazing Adventures of Katie and Dan" up until now.

So what's next?

We're heading back to Detroit for Thanksgiving and, in the spirit of research, are planning on exploring the city from a visitor's perspective. We plan to hit a few museums and check out some recent additions to the culinary scene, as well as squeezing in time with family and friends.

We'll be hanging out in Chicago for Christmas, and then on December 26th it's off to Spain for 10 days. We'll be in Haro for some wine tasting, San Sebastian for great food and then we'll finish with 5 days in Barcelona, exploring the city, gorging ourselves on tapas, and taking a few day trips for history, Cava, and art.

What will 2009 bring?
In January, Katie is off to New Mexico for work. March is the big Iceland trip thanks to a great flight deal (getting even cheaper thanks to Iceland's financial woes) and December 2009 will be our big trip to South Africa to meet up with Jill, explore Cape Town and go on safari. Money, and precious vacation time permitting, we may also spend long weekends in Texas (in May for a wedding) and Florida (in June to see my family).

And on a totally unrelated note....Katie was published!

Why We Hate Tours

2008-11-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, we don't hate all tours (we've loved some private tours in Italy and Argentina). But in general, say the word "tour" to us and we go running in the other direction.

Why?
- Tours are, and I'm generalizing here, for people who want to see a whole lot of stuff in a short amount of time, who want everything pre-arranged and comfortable, who are willing to trade off having some more authentic experiences for the convenience of not having to do the legwork. That's just not us.

- On a tour your chances of being able to slow down, immerse yourself in the culture, and connect with the locals is pretty slim. You stay in tourist hotels, you eat meals at tourist restaurants, you are on a bus with other tourists, and you can't escape. While I do enjoy talking to other travelers and sharing stories, most of the people we've encountered on tours have not been the sort we want to talk to (again, generalizing). On our tour into the mountains in Mendoza there was a woman who kept complaining that they guide would tell all the stories in Spanish first and then English. And let's not forget the "I did not pay all this money to walk around looking at rocks!" woman in Italy.

- From what I have priced out, the vast majority of the time tours are far more expensive than booking on your own. Tour organizers have to make money somehow.

Sometimes tours are necessary. In some countries it's just not safe (say wandering in the jungle), or practical (wine touring - who wants to drink and drive in a foreign country?), or even allowed (travelers to Bhutan must have a guide), to travel independently. Sometimes having a guide or being part of a tour can also give you extra insight into a place, or get you access to areas you couldn't on your own.

If you are considering a tour:

- Decide if you need it or not. Get online and talk to other travelers to find out how they did it. See how logistically challenging it would be and decide whether freedom or convenience wins.

- Price out the trip on your own and through a few tour companies. See if it really would be a better value to go it alone or with a group.

Not all tours are inherently evil. So when you've realized that you do need a tour or guide for a trip? How do you avoid being stuck on the tour from hell with annoying companions?

Do your research:

- Read reviews on TripAdvisor, check forums on Lonely Planet, chat with other travelers and find out what tours they recommend.

- Look for companies that cater to independent travelers. Intrepid is one such company, and arranges more authentic immersion tours that combine the ease of having a guide with plenty of time on your own to explore. They are also very reasonably priced.

- When possible, book private tours. You'll get more one on one information, won't have to deal with annoying tourists, and will have an easier time blending in when you are part of a smaller group.

- Get full details on any tour you are planning to book. What exactly is included? Where are we staying, where are we eating? How many people will be on the tour? What sights will we see, how long will we stop, what is the exact itinerary, how much time will we have on our own? Other than the cost of the tour, what exactly will we need to pay for and how much will it cost? Asking these questions before our mountains tour in Mendoza would have saved us a lot of headache.

Not all tours are bad. In fact, some provide experiences that you just can't get on your own. But book carefully, do your research, and make sure the tour you select is the right one for you.

Argentina Tips and Observations

2008-11-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

We loved Argentina, but it’s a weird mix. On the one hand the architecture is stunning and it does look like a European country. On the other, you are definitely in South America and in a 2nd world country.

In Mendoza City there are all these irrigation canals in the streets; the government controls the water very tightly because it is a high dessert and is sunny 330 days a year (they had not had rain in 9 months!).

A man, a plan, a canal - Dan in a Mendoza irrigation ditch.

The water melts of the mountains in the spring and they use that all year, so each house has it’s own water tower on top of it and water is very regulated. In the city all of the houses have iron bars on the windows on the first level and in the country the houses either had bars on the windows, a huge pointy fence around the whole house, or they are part of a gated community with really huge beautiful houses that you would see in the US- - - but by gated, I mean topped with barbed wire fence! There are really cute stray dogs everywhere (though they were all friendly, I gave them all names like Empanada and Tostada) and there are a ton of open plazas and parks that they people are really proud of.

The city of Mendoza feels like a very small town. It took maybe 3 hours to find my way around and then we never needed the map. There were 3 main streets that had lots of bars and really trendy restaurants on them, one by a college. Dan said it felt like Ann Arbor, MI to him. Once you get the outskirts of town it instantly feels more rural – the streets are often dirt and no one has a yard (that whole desert thing) and I even saw several donkey pulled carts on the streets! Stop signs are pretty much suggestions, not really instructions, and no one wears their seat belt. And on the main streets the exhaust was pretty bad – I think there is no such thing as emissions standards here! Most of the cars are small and are like Peugeots and Citroens or old Fords and Chevys.

We instantly fell in love with Buenos Aires. Our new dream is to move here and open a small Bed and Breakfast. Though we had some low points, like our not so great B&B, Dan getting sick, and one night with bad weather, overall it was awesome. The shopping was great and so cheap and the food was spectacular (with the one exception) and wine was plentiful and also cheap- the exchange rate was just great. We saw so much and enjoyed the city, even though there is still a lot we didn’t get to see. When we come back, hopefully soon, we will definately tango, go to Teatro Colon (closed until 2010 for renovations), shop more in San Telmo, go to a nightclub, eat at La Brigada (a famous steakhouse), go to La Boca, and see a futbol game. We'd also like to go to Iguazu Falls, Salta, Bariloche, and Patagonia.

I really loved the city, not only for the great food and great prices, but also for the culture and the history. It was such a mix of old and new, beautiful parks and historic landmarks with the more gritty parts of living in a city. Everyone was very stylish (all the women wore skinny jeans and boots) and I never felt unsafe at all and carried my purse everywhere. The people were helpful and friendly when we asked for directions or tried to shop or order food in our broken Spanish. It pretty much felt like New York, with everyone speaking Spanish!

And speaking of, I’d heard that a little bit of Spanish was all that was needed so I didn’t bother to learn any, since Dan knew it from high school. Well I greatly underestimated how much we would need and overestimated how much Dan knew. It was tough at times but we got by. After a while figured out as long as we could convey verb and noun, we could get our point across, and not worrying about looking like an idiot helps!

People had also said not to dress flashy and not to carry a purse. I was prepared to follow that advice until I got here and saw that people dressed just like us, actually even a little more dressy. And every woman carried a purse. I had left my wedding rings at home (just to avoid the hassle) but other than that I didn’t really take any precautions. I put my money in an inside pocket in my purse and kept aware of my surroundings, but, I never felt unsafe and we had absolutely no problems at all. And I was mistaken for Argentine a few times and Americans came up and asked us for directions in Spanish.

And yes, everything is super cheap. You get $1 for 3 pesos and the average cost of a dinner entree is about 30 pesos, so $10. It did not take me long at all to get into the mindset of what a normal price was. It got to point that when we’d pass a touristy restaurant and the cost was like 30 pesos for a burger I’d be like “NO way that should be 15 pesos!” which is the difference between a $10 burger and a $5 one!

Tips:
- Argentina is a huge country, with no extensive rail system. Unless you want to take a 24-hour bus (which I read was actually quite nice) you’ll need to fly to cover any real distance. All domestic flights connect in Buenos Aires, and the intra-country flights are expensive. Our round trip from BA to Mendoza was $700. We flew on LAN, an airline out of Chile because though it was slightly more expensive, I’d heard they were much more reliable than Aerolineas Argentinas. And for both of our domestic flights, we did notice that the AA flights were all delayed.

- When you arrive in BA from another country you will land at the international airport, about 45 minutes from the city. If you are flying from BA to another city in the country, you will leave from the domestic airport, in the city. We were told the minimum connection time needed was 2.5 hours, though some people recommended even more. Our plane was 10 minutes early and we made it off, through customs (with just carry-ons) and into a taxi by the time our plane was scheduled to land. There was no traffic and we made it to the domestic airport in 40 minutes. We had pre-booked a driver service, but they did not show up so we arranged a taxi at the desk in the terminal.

- There is so much to see and do in BA, and so many side trips you can take for a day that you need about 4 days at a minimum, though you could easily spend 10 here and not see it all. We have a lot to see still when we return!

- Most hotels and tour excursions ask for payment in US dollars, but all the local restaurants, bars, and stores take Argentina pesos. When we went the rate was $1 equaled 3 pesos. A big steak at a nice restaurant was about 30 pesos ($10). We took some cash in US dollars for our hotels and excursions and then hit the ATM for pesos. The limit at most ATMs is 300 pesos ($100) which was found was generally enough to cover 2 days. A single person could easily get by on $30 a day for food and drink here!

- BA is huge, but incredibly easy to navigate. The Subte is safe, fast and cheap. It does get crowded at rush hour; just keep a hand on your bag or wallet and you’ll be find.

- We were constantly warned about pick-pocketing and scams in BA, but we had no problem. We tried to blend in, dressed like the locals, and stayed aware of our surroundings and we were fine. Don’t go flaunting your money, and just use common sense. Only take a “Radio Taxi” and when possible, have your hotel call one for you rather than hailing one on the street.

Lessons We Learned:
- When booking any tour find out exactly how many stops it makes, where, how much money you need to bring, and what time it ends. Getting this info could have save us a lot of annoyance on our mountain trip in Mendoza!

- If there is something you really want to do, do not wait until the last day to do it. As with my big night out and going to tango, that will inevitably be the night something goes wrong.

Approximate Trip Cost:
2 round trip tickets (via Mexico City) on Mexicana from Chicago to Buenos Aires - $1800
2 round trip tickets on LAN from BA to Mendoza - $700
3 nights hotel in Mendoza - $240
Wine tour - $130
Horseback riding - $60
Mountain tour - $60
Food and drink for 3 days in Mendoza – approx. $140
6 nights hotel in Buenos Aires - $360
Cooking class and transportation - $110
Estancia day and transportation - $220
Boat to Uruguay - $120
Food and drink for 6 days in Buenos Aires – approx. $180
Misc. transportation (Subte, cabs) - $20
Total for 10 nights in Argentina (not including shopping): approx. $4150

Buenos Aires, Argentina and Colonia, Uruguay - August 2008

2008-11-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person. ~Alec Waugh

Our flight from Mendoza to Buenos Aires was awful – so turbulent on take off because of the mountains. I sobbed onto Dan while the woman next to him grabbed her crucifix and prayed.

DAN: I’ve grown use to Katie and her fears of flying so it doesn’t really bother me anymore…the woman clutching her crucifix while her head was down in prayer however totally freaked me out! The fact that she lived in Argentina is what did me in…I gathered that she had flown many times before in this country and thus she knew something I didn’t, such as the many dangers of in-country flight and statistics on small aircraft survival rates, etc.

Listening to her mumbled prayer it occurred to me that the majority of the passengers and flight crew probably spoke Spanish as a first language, so that meant that the emergency procedures in case of trouble would first be given in Spanish. Would I be able to understand well enough to act quickly and then translate to Katie? I started running through all the Spanish I knew and I wondered why my high school Spanish teacher had never prepared me for this occasion, why she had spent so much time teaching me things like “I am tall”; “Her hair is long”. I mean really Senora Smith, when on earth would I ever need to point out such mundane and obvious things? Had she ever even been to a Spanish speaking country? And if she hadn’t why did she assume they were filled with blind people? I was concerned and starting to sweat profusely…then we leveled off and I ordered a beer ASAP!

But we landed safely around 4pm and got a cab to our B&B. It was the #2 or #3 rated B&B on TripAdvisor, but we were not very impressed with it. It was about a 10 minute walk from the fast, efficient, cheap and safe subway, but it was fairly in the middle of nowhere compared to everything else. It was only $60 a night so we can complain too much, except to say the bed wasn’t very comfortable and the owners were not very welcoming to us.

Our first night we wandered around the neighborhood and found a big mall with a Zara (my favorite store while in Italy!) and shopped a bit. We went out for pizza; I was “detoxing” so Dan just got his own beer and I had water and we shared a delicious 4 cheese pizza with a side potion of faina (a slice made of chickpea flour that locals put on top of their pizza – odd but really good!) then called it an early night.

The next morning we had our cooking class. We had a light breakfast, got picked up, along with two other couples from the US and driven about 45 minutes out of the city to Teresita’s house in the suburbs for our empanada cooking class. The class was so fun and the house was beautiful, the other couples were really nice and we all chatted a lot exchanging travel stories. Then we got down to business. We learned how to make the fillings for both creamed corn empanadas and traditional beef empanadas, how to make the dough, and how to roll them out, stuff them, and bake or deep fry them.

We ended up making about 100 to share between 6 people, and drank a ton of wine. When we were done, we enjoyed the tasty pastries for lunch and then all too soon the driver came back to pick us up.

When we got back, it was raining, cold, and windy out (the only bad weather of the trip), so we went to the mall to shop some more and then headed back to the B&B to rest up for dinner. We asked where to go to find a bunch of restaurants in a row and then walked around for an hour or so trying to pick a place where we finally settled on a busy Italian restaurant that was very good. Again, we made it an early night because of the foul weather.

Thursday we had a light breakfast and then went to see Recoleta Cemetery, where Evita is buried. It was like a maze of above-ground crypts, some very simple and some incredibly ornate and beautiful. This made me really glad that we came in the off season – for a long time we didn’t run into any other people so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves.

We wandered around for hours, taking pictures of the many statues, carvings, and of course the mangy cats that seemed to be everywhere there. Then we got hungry and went in search of lunch. I had read about a great empanada place, Cumana, a place locals go that was very cheap. It did not disappoint at all. We shared 3 delicious empanadas (ham and cheese – the most popular here, Roquefort, and beef) Dan had a liter of beer and I had a bottle of wine and then he got a huge calzone and I had a casserole of delicious gnocchi and our bill was only about $20.

We wandered around the Recoleta district some more and admired the huge houses and then went into the center of town to see Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosa (their version of the White House, except it’s pink) and then took the subway home and took a nap. By evening we were so tired we decided to just grab a pizza and some wine and stay in and watch some tv.

The next day we were up early for our day with the Gauchos. Luckily it was a beautiful, sunny warm day. Us and another couple, from Ireland, were driven an hour out of the city to the Pampas (plains area) to Estancia los Dos Hermanos, a working ranch that also hosts these days for tourists and has a few bungalows to stay in overnight. This was so much fun! We were fed a nice breakfast of croissants and coffee and then matched up with horses. There was a family that was staying there that also joined us. I was the most experienced rider of the group, and was given the best horse. About 15 minutes into the ride those of us who wanted to gallop (the family and me) went in one group and the other couple plus Dan went in another group. Once we separated our group took off galloping, and my wonderful horse always insisted on being in the lead. After 2 awesome hours of galloping around the property, we returned for lunch.

Beer and wine and juice and an appetizer of cheese, salami and bread and some empanadas were served and then we sat down to a feast! There was salad and bread and beer and wine, and then they brought out a sizzling grill topped with sausage and beef short ribs. Once we cleared that out….they brought another heaping grill of tenderloins which were absolutely to die for amazingly tender beef. And when we finished with that….strip steak. By then we were all stuffed, but they brought out a bread pudding with dulce de leche (caramel sauce) and coffee and then invited us to siesta for an hour in the hammocks before the afternoon ride.

The afternoon ride was just as fun and this time Dan joined my group and galloped with us. It was an amazing feeling to be galloping along the open pampas with a gaucho in Argentina – very surreal! After we returned, exhilarated, dusty and with very sore butts, we had another drink and then got ready to leave for the hour drive back.

We took showers and soon it was time for dinner. There was a trendy hotel that we had almost booked long ago that I heard had a great restaurant, so we went there for dinner. We shared a light salad and the split a duck breast (in malbec sauce of course) on top of marscapone risotto that was exquisite. We had really wanted to experience the famous “stay out all night” Argentina night life, but again after such a full day we were tired so we got back to our B&B around midnight and went to bed.

Saturday was our day trip to Colonia, Uruguay on a one hour boat. We got to the dock about an hour early, because we had to go through customs (it’s funny – the Argentina customs officer and the Uruguayan one sit right next to each other, so you get stamped out of one country and into the other in a row) and then arrived in Uruguay around 1:30pm.

The town is super cute, very small and all easily walkable within a few hours.

It is also incredibly sleepy – there was hardly anyone around and very few cars on the street. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and a UNESCO world heritage site. They say in high season it is overrun with tourists, but it was very quiet when we were there. Prices there were hard to get used to. 15 Uruguay pesos equal $1 and so it was unsettling to see a sandwich cost 100 pesos. We really wanted to rent a scooter (for a mere $20 a day) but stupid me had left my license back in Buenos Aires. So we wandered around, checked out all the little shops, had a light lunch, walked down to the waterfront and then up into the lighthouse and then at 5pm returned to the dock for the boat back to Argentina.

One back, we stopped off at another place, Pizzeria Guerrin, that had been recommended to me, one of the oldest pizza parlors in Buenos Aires. We each had a slice of pizza and some water (like Italy, you have to pay for water here, about $1-2 a bottle). We got home and showered and changed and got online to look for a nightclub to go to. The problem is, since people in BA don’t have dinner until 9 or 10, clubs don’t get busy until 2am, some don’t even open until 1am! It was going to be a long night. Then I started thinking about what I would wear….and realized I had nothing. I hadn’t brought anything really trendy, certainly nothing worthy of a swanky club. After a brief freakout, we decided to scrap the club idea and just hit the local Antares Brewery. We arrived around 11:30 and the place was packed – over an hour wait for a table. We finally settled in at the bar….where we stayed drinking until 5am when it closed. We made friends with the DJ, who spoke English and had a great time chatting with her before finally stumbling home (on the packed streets – there were still clubs with lines to get in!!).

They next day we slept in until 1pm and then headed to San Telmo for the famous Sunday flea market in Plaza Dorrego an area famous for its great shops and amazing street performers. This was awesome and made me wish we we’d brought several more suitcases…or a freighter! Stuff you would pay hundreds of dollars for in the states was incredibly cheap. The colored glass seltzer bottles were everywhere. We got two for $15 each; we’ve seen them in a store in Chicago for $100 each!

We would have bought so many amazing things had we only been able to get them home. After drooling over a few items, we stopped for lunch and then went into a leather shop where we bought Dan a gorgeous brown leather carry on (similar to my green one that I bought in Italy for $400) for only $200.

Around 8 we headed out for our big “last dinner in Buenos Aires” at a La Cabrera, restaurant famous for its amazing and huge steaks. We planned to follow that up with tango dancing until dawn at a popular milonga Confiteria Ideal, Well we should have known that so much pressure would mean the night would go horribly awry.

On the way there Dan started to get one of his migraines, but he thought it was just because he was hungry. We got to the restaurant and realized the vast majority of the people were speaking English---so not authentic as much as a tourist trap. But Dan was sure he’d feel better with some food, and the table next to us was served a gorgeous medium rare tenderloin so we had hope. I ordered a bottle of wine and Dan got a Pepsi to attempt to settle his stomach…to no avail. The appetizer came and was delicious - thick toasted bread spread with spicy mustard and topped with ham, cheese, and a fried egg. Dan took one bite and got sick again, but still thought he’d pull through by the time the steak came. No luck. He was still sick and the steak was overcooked to well done, not medium rare! Had Dan not been so sick, we would have complained or sent it back, but at this point we just wanted to get him home. So we paid the bill (about $50) and left. On the way we passed an ice cream shop and I decided to stop in. Of course, after a few bites Dan was feeling better and we thought about trying to go out and salvage the evening but instead just went back to the room.

Our last morning we woke up for a quick breakfast and then put our bags in the B&B office, since our flight wasn’t until 11pm and they had guests checking into the room. We wandered over to the Botanical Gardens, relaxing but not quite as beautiful as they surely are when the flowers are full bloom) and then to the beautiful Japanese Tea Gardens, which were tranquil and serene.

We went back to our favorite empanada place for lunch around 1, had some wine and then did some final shopping.

All too soon it was time to head back. Since our flight left at 11pm, we figured we should leave the B&B by 8 so we grabbed a small $4 pizza from a local place and a $3 bottle of wine from the store, ate on the B&B courtyard patio and then called a cab.

We got to the airport and through security quickly and our plane was on time. I took another Ambian and was totally out for the flight – it seemed like no more than an hour before we were landing in Mexico City. The flight from Mexico City to Chicago on the other hand, seemed to take forever and was very bumpy for the whole flight. But finally we were home, and already planning our return to Buenos Aires.