Bienvenido a Miami

My 27th Birthday in Miami at the Fountainebleau... The expensive pitcher of mojito, amazing. Watching the awkward McLovin' enjoy the spotlight in a nearby cabana, funny. The sun and the scenery, trendy.

And I found a nice spot to spend the next birthday... my own private cabana island. I wonder how the waitresses get your drinks to you?

It's been a long time since I came around...

Hello friends and fans! I'm back! I took a bit of a break after a hard end of year (and difficult beginning of year), but I'm here and I have lots to share! I've been a busy travel bee so far in 2011...

• South Africa
• Montreal
• Philadelphia
• Washington DC
• Miami
• Memphis
• London

And I'm headed to Montreal and Hawaii in the next couple weeks.

Happy to be writing again - it feels good to be back!

The Ultimate Ticket

This may be a bit sentimental for a travel journal, but I have a sister who is a year younger than me.  After battling cancer for two years and two months, she passed away last night.  As I think about it, I am devastated, because I loved her and I miss her incredibly.

But the other thought that keeps creeping in my mind, is, where is she?  Where did she go?

I've heard that when your time comes, you go to a place called heaven, and you are an angel.  I can guarantee my sister would be the best angel.  She would win over anyone who crossed her path with her charm, interest, and sense of sarcasm.  She is very generous, and loves to shower those around her with gifts, attention, and care.  She is protective.  But where is this place she resides, this heaven?  I guess since no one knows the answer, I can decide for myself.

I image that she is at a resort, with multiple swim up pool bars and all her favorite celebrities are there.  Amy Sedaris, The Fat Bachelor, Carnie Wilson.  They have the same drink list as Cheeseburger in Paradise, and all the Steak n Shake chicken fingers (with honey mustard) one could imagine.  She can smoke a cigarette while floating in her own root beer float pool, and I bet she flew there first class. No, I imagine she took a cruise there, that took a leisurely float around Alaska, the one place she always wanted to see.  And I image there is a perch, made of gold (but she would decorate it with green streamers), where she can stand and watch me, and laugh with me as I take on new adventures in life.

Lucky girl.  I look forward to the day I can fly there first class, and see her again.  At least I know I'll never be afraid when my time comes, because wherever it is that we go, she will be there waiting for me.

My Travel Highs & Lows of 2010

I have already started to think about the travel adventures I am highly anticipating in 2011, the places I am hoping to see and the airline miles I hope to accrue (I realize it's only December but I am already planning!).  But what about 2010?  It was a good travel year.  It deserves some reflection.  I almost made it to my resolution to visit one new place each month (fell short in January, February, and July - shucks!).

What lessons can I learn from my 2010 travels, that I can apply to what's coming in 2011?

1. It's OK to take a risk and embark on a last minute trip, as long as you have the right company by your side.  Over the past year, I learned that traveling with someone can break your ability to tolerate them, or it can enhance the enjoyment you experience together.  I won't name who I did not particularly enjoy my time with, but I truly appreciate how lucky I am to share my time away from home with understanding and loving people.  And, I was blessed to find my travel soul mate "down under."

With the man who owns my travel heart, Ian Groff! Sydney, Australia

2. It's OK to leave some wiggle room.  On any typical trip, I plan, plan, and plan - researching restaurants, events and festivals in the area, and reaching out to acquaintances or friends who have recently visited the place in mind.  But on many of my quick weekend trips over the past year, I left some big chunks of un-planned time, and they turned out to be some of my best memories.  Such as enjoying a bar crawl around New York City and having one of the finest meals imaginable at a restaurant suggested after one too many beverages.  Also, in New Orleans, I had a dinner reservation planned at a top notch restaurant, but plans changed last minute to a more low-key, less known spot called the Green Goddess.  Heaven in a meal, and I have raved about the experience ever since.

Enjoying a drink with Eva and Scott, fellow road warriors I adore! New York City

3. Don't be afraid to try something new.  I would never describe myself as athletic, and I am usually a big, fat scaredy cat when operating outside of my comfort zone.  This past year I shivered and shaked at the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Would I do it again, no, but I found a new understanding for my fear of heights.  I tried snorkeling, even though I was worried about my little ear drums, and loved it!  But it doesn't stop there!  With the help of an angelic instructor, and the encouragement of my boyfriend, I learned to snowboard this year.  And I wouldn't trade those solitary moments on the slope, in a deep snowfall, amongst tall pine trees and peaceful winds, for anything.  It was worth what I paid for it - $500 and three weeks later, I still have an aching tailbone!

I may be smiling but I am sweating and shaking under that climb suit! Sydney, Australia

4. Spend the cash, if loved ones are involved.  The two meals I described in #2 were pretty pricey, and worth every penny because I was able to share the delicious food with some amazing people who really make me smile.  But more importantly, my weekend excursion to San Fransisco with my beloved sister really wrecked havoc on my wallet. I believe I walked away with a $1500 tab.  But the memories I have, involving tranny's, sea lions, scary dance moves, scary movies, laughs, tears, chicken nuggets, a bridge, cellulite reducing gel, and sweating head to toe after pushing a wheelchair - are truly priceless.  If doling out the cash really gives you a belly ache, shave money from other items during the year (no more taxi's for me!) and put it in a travel fund.

Enjoying good drinks and good entertainment with new friends. San Fransisco, CA

5. Enjoy a stay-cation!  Some of my best weekends of the year were in Chicago, particularly the weekend when my good friends from Indianapolis came to visit me, and so did a dear friend from Germany.  We had the best time looking at Chicago through the eyes of a tourist, checking out a jeans sale at Union Station, enjoying new restaurants and neighborhoods, dancing our hearts off at a rave or at a nearby 80's late night spot, and laughing or telling stories over a fantastic, home-cooked breakfast, complete with yummy espressos.  But, best of all was watching the sun rise on my balcony and wishing the city a loud "Good Morning!" with my best friend.  Beats any weekend at a beach!

We were dancing hard during my stay-cation! Chicago, IL

6. Appreciate each moment.  Given the year of ups and downs with my sister's health, I learned the most important lesson of all - to appreciate.  You may be on a trip that's not quite going as desired, and you may be a bit hungry, tired, and irritated. But breathe.  You are somewhere new.  Look around you.  You are lucky to be able to travel and enjoy your life, and you have good health which allows you to be active and move, smile and laugh.  Don't take a second of it for granted.  You never know when everything could change and you won't have such lucky opportunities in front of you - so enjoy.

Embarking on new adventures with my beloved sister. San Fransisco, CA

That's all for 2010.  Can't wait to start writing about 2011. :)

A More Sophisticated, Experienced Version of Me!

Today my friend Will turned me on to this travel blog.  The guy is a genius!  It seems he has a better travel budget and higher tastes than I do, which makes for dreamy stories about first class lounges, service on fancy airlines, and boutique hotels with excellent restaurant menus.  Definitely worth checking out!

And, he's happy to clue in his followers on any deals he finds on travel or travel gear, which makes him one of my new best friends!

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/

Brilliant!

Like most well-seasoned travelers I know, when traveling for personal purposes, I always find myself staying at the hotels I frequent for business purposes, in order to best utilize my points!  Usually, that keeps us road warriors in the big-names like Hilton, Starwood, or Marriott.  We are chained to these brands and the benefits they provide us, which is actually quite smart on their part!  But the world of the big brands is about to be shaken...

Stash Boutique Hotel Rewards Points has launched!  It's a new program started by a former Expedia executive, who had the balls (excuse me) to bring the boutiques and small hotels together to form a union, of sorts.  Most of the hotels signing up are chic, or historic, all of them providing a much more unique experience.  The program is simple and rewarding.  You earn one free night per five stays and there are no blackout dates!

Want more details? Check out the link below. And if I can lend any well-seasoned advice, hurry up and sign up for it - you could win 100,000 points just for joining!
http://www.stashrewards.com/

Dining for Kings and Queens... Or Goddesses!

There is no doubt when it comes to my love for food.  I live for it, pay a lot for it, and, travel for it.  Whenever I go to a new place, I always spend an hour or two researching the restaurants in the area.  On my Halloween trip to New Orleans, I did the same, and found a few recommendations that I thought sounded like a sweet treat.  But thank goodness I had the tact to listen to my best friend and our guide, the artistic and kind hearted Jamie Jo Frederick, or I would have never discovered the Green Goddess.

The Green Goddess provided me with one of the most unique and enjoyable dining experiences I have ever had.  From the moment we sat outside in the cool air, and the chef in his purple t-shirt, ruffled hair, and pajama pants introduced us to the menu, I knew this would be more interesting than a usual dinner with friends.  We decided on the tasting menu, a thankful choice, and the dishes kept coming, one after the other, each truly innovative and delicious. Some of my favorites included:

1. Banh Xao.  The perfect combination of sweet crabmeat texture, with fresh avacados and a sprinkling of local sprouts, and a spicy chili Vietnamese sauce.  Each ingredient offered the perfect amount of flavor and I couldn't help but be more and more surprised at how much I liked it, after each bite.  Was definitely the favorite amongst our group.

2. Blue Corn Crepes.  I am not a big mushroom or fungus kind of girl, and at first bite, I thought that this crepe with it's corn fungus and mushroom taste might be too much for me. But as I took more of the crepe with each bite, I began to love the dish. Just the right amount of musty flavor with the light sweetness of the crepe.  Like nothing I have ever tried.

3. Pumpkin risotto.  A perfect comfort dish for fall.  The pumpkin was not overpowered by the butternut squash, but it was cooked perfectly and warmed my taste buds.  Delectable.

I must also confessed that, as a Midwest, meat and potatoes girl, I loved the soup (cream of garlic, celery root, parsnips, and arugula), even though the combination of vegetables is not something I would usually dare to try.  And the coffee was outstanding.  What kind of magic do you put in the coffee?!

The Green Goddess is the perfect combination of relaxing atmosphere, good people passionate about their creations, delicious food, innovation, and reasonable prices.  Skip the high-class, famous seafood restaurants in the Quarter and try something truly unique, if you can find it down the small alley where it resides...

In their own terms, "To some people our menu probably reads like a fever dream: loaded with exotic terms and unfamiliar foods from almost every corner of the planet.  Even classic ingredients from Louisiana meet unusual flourishes, as when our crawfish cakes hook up with Spanish romesco sauce, crushed avocado and wasabi tobikko caviar.  To us in the kitchen of The Green Goddess, we simply want you to come along for the ride.  We’ve spent years exploring how to make everything under the stars, and we can hardly wait to share our favorites with our guests."

I could not agree more!

The Girl Who Learned to Snorkel

"Help! Help!"

I barely heard the yelps from under the warm, choppy waves, but I knew I heard something. My head popped up, and even in my foggy snorkeling goggles, I could see Ian. He had drifted about thirty feet behind me since the last time we checked in, and he was bobbing up and down, flailing his arms, signaling the boat about sixty feet behind us.

Well, here goes nothing, I thought. I'm a terrible swimmer. Ever since I started experiencing excruciating ear infections every time I jumped in a pool (or shower), I stopped learning. But I was now throwing my arms into the warm, kicking as hard as I could, fighting the waves pushing me further from my drowning friend.

I reached Ian, and he looked terrified with his flushed face and diluted, bloodshot eyes. I tried to extend the end of my noodle, but in all his fear, he grabbed a hold of me and started pushing me under, trying desperately to keep himself afloat. In my head, I was screaming, No Ian! No Ian! But with the snorkel in my mouth, and the water rushing around me, I couldn't make a sound. Ian's adrenaline had kicked in and all his strength was keeping me below.

Finally, an instructor reached us, and hooked Ian around the life saver, pulling him from his grasp on me and back to the boat. I paused in the water, pulling out my snorkel and gasping with words of comfort, "Ian you're ok! You're ok now!" He couldn't speak between his deep gulps of air and his white knuckled grip on the life saver.

It was only an hour earlier that I was anxious, pulling on my wet suit, shoving little tubes of Styrofoam into my ears. The waves looked dangerous and angry. Why was I doing this to myself? I couldn't swim, I hated water, I knew that there was sharp, piercing pain just around the corner if I jumped in...

Ian pushed me right on in, laughing and shrieking with excitement. I cautiously started to paddle, lightly dipping my face into the water. It took quite a lot of kicking, and struggling against the waves, until I finally saw the first coral ridge. And then... it felt like the angry waves parted so I could drift along the calm seas, breathe coming easy so I could see the wonder below.

I felt like the Little Mermaid, bobbing with my blonde hair curling around me in the ocean water. Fish came up and graced my arms, swam almost between my fingers. The coral was the most beautiful shades of gold, orange, and red, the seaweed waved back and forth welcoming me to this beautiful new world. I saw a giant clam open to reveal a beautiful, soft, iridescent padding and I gasped at it's beauty.

Wait, I thought, panicking for a second. The boat! And Ian!

I pulled myself up out of this mysteriously beautiful world. Looked to my left, to my right, and there was Ian, awkwardly bobbing and adjusting his snorkel, spitting salt water like one of those stone cherubs in Italy. Relieved, I dipped my head back under.

A swarm of beautiful, small, yellow and black fish swam under me. I dove under, disregarding the pressure on my ears, and followed them. They swam slow against the current, and I was able to keep up. I'm not sure how much time had passed, as I swam along, daydreaming and smiling. The water felt amazing as I pushed it away from my arms, and I felt free, weightless. How had I missed this for so long?

That was when I heard the slight, muffled yelps from underneath. What could that be?

Ian and I had been friends for awhile. So far on our Australian excursion, he had been the adventurous one. On the top of the Sydney bridge, I was shaking, hyperventilating, crouched to the steal stairs and squeezing my eyes tight as can be.

He was the one who suggested ziplining, as I was content spending an hour in the massage chair. And here I was swimming like a little fish, while Ian was flailing and scared for life.

That's just how the Great Barrier Reef can change you...

Crock Pots and Rooftops: The Perfect Combination

I must quickly mention that upon stumbling upon this blog, I feel like I've found the holy grail...

http://www.crockpotsandrooftops.com/

Cooking around a huddled kitchen, sharing food and drink on rooftops? Yes please! I will be spending a great deal of time perusing these posts...

New York City: No Touristy Stuff

I recently shared my first visit to New York City with a new travel partner in my life, Scott. His directions about what I could and could not plan were very clear: "No touristy stuff." So I tried to sneak it in where I could... "Oh, you're hungry this late at night? Let's check out the street vendors in Times Square..." "Oh, your friends are at the Natural Museum of History? Let's meet them and walk through Central Park on the way..."

But I have to say, in the end, he was right. For the most significant adventure of the weekend was the day we spent, without any plans, moving from bar to bar, neighborhood to neighborhood, with two of our dear New Yorkers.

We started off at Lombardi's. The margherita pizza was pretty good, cheesy and thin crust and true to Napoli tomato sauce. Then we visited the oldest bar in Little Italy, adorned with sharks and weathered photos of patrons, drinking beers around a barrel... traveled through an Italian festival with canoli's and large, hairy Italian men... on to a cigar bar... wondering around the streets searching for perfume, frustrated with our google maps... marveling at small lockets and well woven scarves along the way... stopped to view a little bit of football... arriving at a dive in Greenwich Village where we met a friendly but diverse group... kicked out of a fine leather store and searching far and wide for the glassiest evil eye... finally ending up at the most lovely Italian dinner I have ever had.

You can see we left few casualties behind...

Fried zucchini flowers? Who knew you could eat such a thing? And after bottles of red wine, espresso, sambuki, tiramasu and lots of laughter... we found ourselves huddled around chalkboard tables, once again, enjoying some beer.

What did I learn about New York City? I learned that you understand more about the people who live there by talking to the waitors and hearing their stories, and poking around in dive bars and hustling through crowded festivals. I learned the food, language, and conversation varies by neighborhood but all seem to be binded together through pride of where they come from and pride for where they are.

I think Scott was right. Going forward, my new mantra is going to be, "No touristy stuff..."

But may I mention that I did really like Times Square and Central Park?