Having spent some time in Munich back in January when Matt and I were en-route to the Maldives, I figured we could retrace some of our steps and get a taste of Munich with our 8-hour layover. We hopped the train, got a little off-track, and ended up in the city center. Kayla and I had a lovely dinner at a Thai place that accommodated our gluten-free restrictions and her vegetarian requirements. It was the perfect meal before our late-night flight to Cairo. And a beautiful fall day in Munich.
Countries
Welcome to my adventures. Happy reading!
I spent a few hours today with one of my besties planning our trip to Egypt in October. In less than 3 hours we scoped out the itinerary, booked (bougie) hotels, and even an overnight train. We’ll be hitting up Cairo, Luxor, and Alexandria. While we’ll be on the move, there’s still plenty of relaxation and downtime in each locale. Never underestimate the time spent planning your next adventure. Can’t wait to see the sights, experience history, shop the markets, and take in the Mediterranean.
One of my toxic traits is booking trips while on a trip. However, whilst on my Munich – Dubai – Maldives adventure in January, I refrained from doing just that. Instead, I focused on relaxing, enjoying the here and now, and reading 8 books. So, the next adventure was long overdue with few airfare deals to be found. I still have the unused ticket from Greece that requires travel to be completed by December and unfortunately work travel and obligations present a scheduling nightmare. Figuring out where to go is dependent on airline schedules and affordability. My bucket list is long and with 100 countries now as the goal – the possibilities are endless. Using google flights, selecting for Star Alliance partners, I did a blanket search from Denver to Europe in August and October to see what deals were available. While rebooking Greece was top-of-mind, avoiding summer crowds is also a goal – so October quickly became the focus. Schedules, flight upgrade possibilities, and travel destination plus affordability all rose to the top of the priority list – and so did Egypt! I can’t wait to embark on this 10-day adventure.
Since I’m nearly at my goal of 60 countries by age 50 (#60by50) – and I’m a few years from 50 — it was time for a new goal. I’ve heard from many people how my travels have inspired them to get out there, set a goal, finally throw caution to the wind and book that trip! It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone and just Netflix and chill. Or get sucked into your normal routine, caught up in the day-to-day, and not make time to take a break. I challenge you to break free – get out there – go see this amazing, beautiful, exciting world. What’s the worst that could happen?
The new goal is 100 countries by age 70! It’s doable, and achievable. Sure, I could stop work, cash in the 401K, and knock off all the countries on the list in a year or so. But, I love my work, my boys, my life here. In-between home improvement projects, and dog events, and work trips – fitting in these travel goals just gels. Finding airfare deals to far-flung places such as Mongolia or Suriname, and seeing if the timing works with my life – that is part of the fun. Getting an email that details the perils of travel or lists CNN’s latest “hidden gems,” sparks my interest. Reading through people’s adventures or catching a glimpse of a picture of somewhere I have to go – adding to my ever-growing list of places to visit. Then, integrating the travel into my life is the adventure and planning makes it part of everyday life.
As the Emirates plane flew closer to Male, the island housing the main airport in the 1,190 island nation known as the Maldives, I captured several images out of my window seat. (Side note: if you have the chance to fly First Class on Emirates, take it! I splurged for the 5ish hour flight and it was well-worth it!)
The water is as blue and clear as blogs describe, pictures show, and my mind imagined. It’s been a long journey, and many failed attempts to get here. And, we still have a few more hours before we reach the Westin and our over-the-water villa.
But for now I’ll enjoy the wonder of this view, that doesn’t even seem or feel real.
Few places rival the juxtaposition of Dubai: man-made white sandy beaches set against a backdrop of an overgrown city skyline. I took this picture as I lounged in the warm January sun, recovering from a long travel day that included an 8-hour stopover in Munich. Our flight was direct from Denver to Munich, and I was lucky enough to secure a complimentary upgrade to Polaris. Once we cleared immigration, we checked our hand luggage at the airport, hopped the train to the city, and began exploring Munich. The overnight flight to Dubai meant we arrived at 7am – check-in at the Habtoor Grand Resort was flawless and we were treated like royalty. The room was outstanding with a lovely view of the sea. After a long shower and unpacking, we were off to lounge on the beach: napping, sampling some drinks, and getting some much needed Vitamin D. Then of course planning our evening out in Dubai. We only have a couple days here before we’re off to the Maldives, so balancing relaxation and sightseeing is paramount.
I wish I could transport back to this magical place, Posada Ayana, in Jose Ignacio Uruguay. A resort filled with beauty, serenity, and the most lovely people. Sure, the journey was a bit tenuous with a nearly missed flight due to passport control taking almost 2 hours to reach the gate in Buenos Aires – luckily we made the flight as nothing is efficient with flying in Argentina. A short 35-minute flight should be relatively uneventful, it was anything but due to severe thunderstorms, an aircraft that had pieces of the internal furniture falling apart, and a bounced landing of a 737 – yikes. Once we landed, immigration took mere minutes, as did the luggage, and we ventured to get our rental car at Hertz. As a long-time Presidents Circle member (thanks to all my work travel), my overseas car rental experiences tend to be quite good. I was treated well, told we received a free upgrade, but that sadly only manual transmission sedans were available. Spoiler alert: I can’t drive a stick! That’s ok – I do enough driving stateside – so off we went. The “upgrade” we received was nothing short of bizarre – not only was there nothing automatic or electronic in the car aside from the radio, it lacked CarPlay which would make navigation a major challenge. The window crank, the lack of power steering – all became hilarious over time. We had a 30 minute drive well-past midnight to make it to our hotel in Montevideo in the DRIVING rain – which made the poor excuse of windshield wipers quite laughable. The tenuous journey lasted an hour, yet we made it unscathed. We stayed at the lovely aLoft in an upscale area of Montevideo for the night. Then, in the morning we took off for the 2.5 hour drive north, along the Uruguayan coastline, towards Jose Ignacio. It was a beautiful drive and an even more stunning destination.
One of the most amazing things about our seaside resort, Posada Ayana, was the sunscape installation. Neither of us had ever heard of it – and I will write a post about the surreal experience as well as meeting the Austrian owner of the resort. Our room was phenomenal, the resort was breathtaking, and the sunsets even more so. A much appreciated experience despite the rental car and traveling horrors. I will be back to this awesome resort!
Argentina came at a busy time for me at work yet I didn’t want to miss this trip we had planned for 8 months. We started off flying into Buenos Aires, where within 5 hours of landing, Matt’s phone was unceremoniously stolen off a table at an our door gluten-free steak house (apparently no good deed really does go unpunished.) Sigh. Without a way to get him a phone, we continued our trip to Mendoza aka Aregentian Malbec country. It’s spring here in Argentina and the days are longer, the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the afternoons bring beautiful thunderstorms. Winery visits were a must in Mendoza – and Alta Vista, the one featured in the picture, did not disappoint. In addition to visiting wineries and tasting their offerings, we stayed at a working winery. A stunning location within walking distance to some shops, restaurants, and of course more wine. The winery we stayed at featured cats and chickens milling about the property and often in our room and the on-site restaurant. It was a bit too cool to swim in the lovely outdoor pool but that didn’t stop me from dipping my toes in after a long day of traipsing through the vines.
As a lover of the ocean and all things beach, a warmer getaway, in winter, is always on my mind! Since the grand trip to the Maldives was cancelled, I wasn’t into planning anything – just feeling meh about travel. But, Matt really wanted to go somewhere in the Caribbean. So, since I love cheap flights so much I booked Turks & Caicos first ($385 round-trip from Denver), but was less than thrilled at the cost of accommodations – let’s be real, I love a good deal for a swanky place. The must-haves for a beach vacay are places that are right on the beach! The prospect of watching sunrises and sunsets by the water are the driving force behind this ideal. With that in mind, I looked at other destinations and found a better deal to Trinidad & Tobago ($325 round-trip) – with instant upgrades to FC! From there, Matt took over the planning and landed beachfront accommodations on both islands – Trinidad is the main island, and Tobago is just a 25 minute flight away (or 4-hour ferry.) The place in Tobago looks fantastic – our own villa with a private pool and full kitchen. And, now we have a little January getaway to warm up and decompress after 2021! Sometimes last minute really pays off.
One of the things I’ve learned from this pandemic is that the sting of disappointment is lessened with each subsequent incident. Sure, I was looking forward to crossing the Maldives off my bucket list. Yes, I was thrilled with booking an over-the-water bungalow complete with a pool for next to nothing (thank you Marriott points!) Plus, I was excited to travel on a 17.5 hour flight to Bangalore – direct flights are the best. And to cross 2 countries off my list so early in 2022 – another point of excitement. Yet, when the flight was cancelled, one leg at a time, I wasn’t as disappointed as I thought I’d be. Perhaps with each cancellation I’m simply numb to it. Besides, there’s a lot more important things going on in the world. And, having just been to Peru, I could use some downtime at home. Moreover, this is just a blip and I’ll get there someday! Matt, otoh, was thrilled as the prospect of a long flight didn’t thrill him. Our couple friends that we were destined to travel with were understandably disappointed. One thing I know is that there will always be a flight deal and a plan that works out. Perhaps letting go of expectations is the true way to happiness.
by