Why the hell are you going to Qatar?
It’s no secret that we play the miles game, or that we love to travel and want to see All.The.Countries. When people heard about our most recent trip, instead of the normal, “oh that’s awesome!”, many of the comments we got were – “Why the hell are you going to Qatar?” The answer to that quite simply is, “because I want to go everywhere and I got a really good deal!” If you had asked me this time last year, I could not have told you anything about Qatar. Not what the capital was, not what the people were like – all I would have been able to tell you…
Exploring Amsterdam one Stroopwafel at a time
Our points strategy has always been to try and find economy seats for the least amount of miles so we can take as many trips as possible. Since Deb’s back and ankle surgery, our strategy has changed and now we are looking for international flights with lie-flat seats for the least amount of miles (getting older is NOT for sissies!). While pouring over the chat rooms and forums looking for points deals, I came across an ad that Jet Blue was adding a new route from JFK to Paris, and they were going to have a 2-day sale for the inaugural route. Jet Blue’s international business flights have Mint Suites,…
Mamma Mia – Here we go again!
Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Greece I want my daughters to experience the world, so for each milestone (16th birthday, high school graduation and college graduation) I offered to take them on a trip. They would tell me where they wanted to go, and as long as I could find a good deal, I would make it happen. Our youngest daughter turned 16 and our middle daughter graduated high school in 2021 during the pandemic, so we weren’t able to take them on a celebratory trip – but now that travel is in full swing, we decided to take that make-up trip! Our oldest daughter and her fiancé, my…
Cruising in Style on the Scarlet Lady
A cruise with no kids, all specialty dining, free gratuities, free fitness classes, free basic beverages and free WiFi – sounds like a dream, right? Well now your dreams can come true on the Scarlet Lady, the new cruise ship from Virgin Voyages. Owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin invites sailors to expect the unexpected and unleash your wanderlust. We originally signed up to sail in October of 2020 for my 50th birthday celebration, but we all know what happened that year and the launch of the Scarlet Lady was delayed. When cruises started up again in 2021, we decided to give it another try. At the time all…
Alaska – Land of the Midnight Sun
I told each of my three girls that when they graduated high schooI, I would take them on a trip to somewhere that interested them. My oldest Kaleigh went to Ireland, as she wanted to learn more about her roots. My middle daughter Brynna is a budding photographer and wanted to see the Greek Islands for her graduation trip – but, Covid had other ideas. We were very fortunate in that we were all able to get vaccinated earlier in the year and decided that we would find a destination in the United States where we could visit yet be socially distant. Alaska seemed like it might fit the bill. …
Craigslist Rentals – Scam or Bargain?
My girlfriend and I had some amazing vacations planned in 2020, all to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus, or what we loathingly call it – The Rona. Our first vacation was a dream trip to Bali, Singapore and the Maldives, with a scheduled departure date of March 20th. Of course, everyone knows the world came to a screeching halt that week and everything closed, hotels, flights and even entire countries. We had a second trip scheduled in July to go to New York to see some Broadway shows, and since New York is the world’s largest Covid-19 hotspot – that was cancelled as well. We love to travel but…
Miami Culinary Tours
For Christmas my best friends and I all get each other an experience rather than an actual present. We’d much rather get the chance to spend time together, and the holidays are the perfect reminder to stop and enjoy the company of the people that you love. This year my friend Liz got us all tickets to Miami Culinary Tours (MCT). MCT is an award-winning Food Tour in Miami, Florida, that has several different options including a Little Havana Food & Cultural Tour, a Little Havana Culture & Bites Tour, a South Beach Food & Art Deco Tour, a Wynwood Food & Art Tour, a Coconut Grove Food & History…
B Bakery Bus Tour
When we went to London, I knew we had to partake in the longstanding tradition of afternoon tea, but it sounded a little stuffy and boring to me. Then we found B Bakery Bus tours. I love all things quirky, and what could be quirkier than having afternoon tea on one of the iconic red double-decker buses?!? The B in the B Bakery Bus stands for Brigit’s Bakery and along with tea you enjoy a good assortment of Brigit’s baked goods. The experience combines afternoon tea with a tour of Central London that takes you by Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St James’s Park, Hyde Park, The…
Christmas Time in London
Last year in October, we took a trip to London and I fell in love with this amazing city. Every time we go on vacation, I buy a Christmas ornament to commemorate our trip and London was no exception. I bought a (very expensive) red phone booth ornament from Harrods. I hated paying that much, but to make it authentic in my mind, it just had to come from Harrods. I was so excited to put it on the tree that year, that I told the kids I had to do it myself because if they broke it, I would be upset. I got on the step ladder, put it…
Is the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card worth it?
Up until recently the only travel card I had was the United Explorer Plus card. It gave me extra miles for purchases, free baggage on United flights, and the ever-popular Excursionist Perk. I had perused the miles forums and noticed that all the experts were getting cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Amex Platinum, but I had trouble swallowing the idea of $550 a year annual fee. Recently though I took the plunge and it turns out, that in reality – the card isn’t going to cost me much more than my United Explorer card that has a $99 annual fee. Actually, it’s ended up costing me less. …
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