Fly Me to The Moon...

Well, I'm not going to the moon. I AM however, going to Chicago! The week of Thanksgiving. Finally purchased the plane tickets for my highly anticipated 4 night/5 day vacation away from work. YES! So. Excited.

I decided to go to Chicago. I've been trying to go for about a year now and it just hasn't worked out. I've been so busy at work that I haven't really been able to think about even purchasing the tickets until now. Now that I have purchased the tickets, I know it's official. :-) Now I just need to figure out what I can't miss while in Chicago.

Any thoughts?

Next Trip......Seattle!

Hey Travel Peeps!

Just a quick note to let you know about my next confirmed trip! I'm going to Seattle, Washington! I've never been, so it should be fun. It will be another long weekend trip. 4 nights total. If we get our passports renewed in time, we may go up to Vancouver for a day. Fingers crossed. :-)

I have no idea what to see there so I will need to do some research. I know a few people that have been and will be giving me lists of their must sees.

This trip will be next month (November). So, with that said, I better get me some rain boots!!

***Any suggestions on things to do in Seattle from my fellow Travelers??

Travel Girl on a Budget: I found a round trip ticket from Long Beach to Seattle for $159 after taxes!! Awesome deal! I booked through American Airlines via www.Kayak.com. A good tip is to be as flexible as possible for your dates. A lot of the websites show when the cheapest deals are. I modify my trips to get the cheapest flights when possible!


Travel Girl Movie Picks for Seattle:
Sleepless in Seattle

Travel Girl Books for Seattle:
Twilight


See you in Seattle!!

Carnival of Cities

Hey Travel Peeps!

I was featured on a cool Carnival of Cities blog. Basically it features a ton of different travel blog entries that are dedicated to specific cities around the world. One of my New York/New England posts is featured. I even found a few new travel blogs to follow. :-)

Check it out!
http://missus-emm.blogspot.com/2009/08/carnival-of-cities-blog-carnival.html

A Room With A View

I think one of the first things I do when I get to a hotel room is to check out the view. Sometimes I'm disappointed and sometimes I get views like this.....



The first one was my very first trip to New York City. Can you believe that view of Times Square?! We were sooooo excited! We stayed at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.






This next view is from my hotel in Paris. Hotel Eden Montmartre. How gorgeous is that!





Makes me feel very lucky that I've had the opportunity to check out these cities and had such great experiences.


Anyone else have any "rooms with a view"??


Bonne nuit, travel peeps! (Good night)

Countdown begins!

1 Month until DC!!!!!

I'm getting excited!!!!!

It's about time I start researching where I want to go while there. I bought a book and have a list of suggestions from some friends.

Can not wait to be in the airport. Airports mean fun times are ahead.

Speaking of airports.....I'm driving my friend to LAX tomorrow in RUSH HOUR!! WTF! Bad planning on her end. haha. Actually, you don't have much choice when you are flying to Berlin. Not many flights to choose from. Her trip will consist of Berlin, Prague and Vienna! Can't wait to hear all about it and see the pictures. I will be living vicariously through her on this one.

Ok, Happy Sunday world travelers!

San Diego Zoo

Working at a hotel has it's perks. Sometimes you get free stuff. In this case... tickets to the San Diego Zoo!

San Diego is about 1 1/2 hours south of Orange County. I loved this zoo. I haven't been in years so it was great to visit. There were lots of babies and most of the animals put on a show for us.

Things I Learned At The Zoo:

1. Hippopotamas' are ginormous!

2. Baby monkeys get in trouble by their mama's too.

3. Gorillas are amazingly human like. Especially when they interact with their babies.

4. Big cats like to sleep alot.

5. Baby Bears and Koalas are hilarious when they try to get comfortable in a tree.

6. Polar Bears like carrots.

7. The San Diego Zoo is very hilly.

***A GREEN TIP- The San Diego Zoo does it's part to Recycle. They have tons of recycle bins for cans and plastic containers. You can also recycle your old cell phones there.

Here are a few pics from the day.

This is the most action we saw out of all the big cats.

Look at the way he is sitting. So human like...it's scary!

You see a lot of reflection from the window but how cute is this little guy playing with his mom or dad. His face is priceless. You may need to click on this one to see his face up close. Adorable.

This guy is in charge.

These guys were swimming all over.

About to take a swim.

This is a cool pic.

This position didn't work too well. His paw is soooo cute! ha ha.

Maybe this position is better.

Now it's the Koala's turn to get comfy.

Focused.



Ciao Travel Peeps!

Orange County: Beaches, Beach Cruisers & Balboa Bars

Orange County: Beaches, Beach Cruisers & Balboa Bars!

So on Friday, I was so excited that I was going to have 4 days off of work. 4 days!! Monday being Memorial Day and Tuesday being an extra day off to "save money" for the company. I have plenty of paid time off so I was happy to take the extra day off. However....friday at work all of a sudden I got a sore throat. No way! Seriously, I just got over a 3 week cold. This cannot be. Well I woke up Saturday morning and it was definitely a cold. Not cute. So I spent all weekend (and most of Monday) sleeping off this rude cold.

Today (Tuesday), I decided I'd had enough of my house and bed so I decided to venture out on a drive. I live in Orange County. Besides the hiking posts, I don't think I've done anything on Orange County yet.

Being that it was such a beautiful day, I decided to do some of the beaches. I started at the nearest beach to where I live which is Laguna Beach. It was still a little cloudy but still nice.

Heading North on Pacific Coast Highway, the next stop is Crystal Cove State Park.

A must stop is the Shake Shack! Located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's on the left (if you are driving north on PCH) right before Crystal Cove State Park.

This is the historic district of Crystal Cove. They are currently renovating some of the cottages within this district. You can rent one of the updated cottages per night. Right on the water. Amazing views and some movie history as you'll see a few pictures down. http://www.crystalcovebeachcottages.org/

Does this view look familiar? Check out the cottage on the left.

Up close. Well, it may not look like much now. But this was the cottage used in the movie Beaches! Seriously! I know, it's not so cute now but still pretty cool. And who knew it was located in Orange County! I believe this is one of the areas that will be restored once more funds are available. Hopefully they restore it to it's old movie star days!

**They also filmed scenes for the movie at the Balboa Fun Zone! Balboa Fun Zone is a waterfront amusement park located on Balboa Peninsula.

Next stop is Corona Del Mar. Located in between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Mainly residential with amazing houses and amazing views. From PCH, take a left on Poppy Ave. This dead ends at a beutiful view. Make a right at the dead end onto Ocean Blvd. State Beach is on the left. Tons of celebrities live in this area. I didn't want to be a stalker so I didn't take pictures of the amazing houses around this view. But stop by and you will see. :-)

Wow!

Check out the top floor of this house! I wonder what it looks like from the water!

Last stop of the day was Balboa Island. Continue going North on PCH. Make a left on Jamboree Road which turns into Marine Ave. Marine Ave. is the main street of Balboa Island. Very cute little beach town. Quaint restaurants and beachy shops surrounded by cute (million dollar) houses. Lots of people drive golf carts around since parking can be tight and not plentiful.

A MUST have while on Balboa Island: A Frozen Banana or a Balboa Bar! Yummo!


This path surrounds Balboa Island making a really nice walk!

From Balboa Island, you can take the ferry (by car or walk on) over to Balboa Peninsula where you can access Balboa Pier/Beach and Newport Pier/Beach. Also on Balboa Peninsula is the Balboa Fun Zone which is a boardwalk/waterfront amusement area.

There is also another way to get to Balboa Peninsula without taking the ferry. From PCH continue going north and make a left on Newport Blvd and merge onto Balboa Blvd.

Normally, I would continue driving North to Huntington Beach which is a few miles north of Newport Beach but I didn't have time since I got a late start. Most people would probably start in Huntington Beach and go south to Laguna. But since I live south, I went backwards! Huntington Beach is a fun busy beach. If you make a right on Main Street, that is the central hub. Tons of restaurants, bars and beachy shops. On the beach you can rent beach cruiser bikes. When I lived in Huntington, I used to ride my beach cruiser from Huntington to Newport. It's a nice fairly flat ride. My favorite part of living in HB was utilizing my beach cruiser! If you live in HB you must own one! :-) Huntington is great for people watching too. Crazies!!

So if you are in Orange County, you must check out the beaches. Even if you just do a drive by. Have a nice casual Southern California day!

**Check out Newport Harbor Tours to see where your favorite celebrities live and hang out. Some celebrities you will hear about are: John Wayne, Dennis Rodman, Dean Koontz, Jean Claude Van Damme, Michelle Pfeiffer, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Shirley Temple, Bette Midler and more! Check out their website! www.seeing-stars.com/live/newportbeach.shtml

Movies to See:

Beaches of course!!! ha ha.

Online Travel Tip

Hi Travel Peeps!

Just thought I'd share a website I use to check flight prices when I'm researching a trip. I use http://www.kayak.com/ . You just load your dates and destinations and it searches direct airlines and a bunch of discount websites such as Priceline, Expedia, Cheap Tickets, etc. When it's done searching, you end up seeing all of the available flight options. This lets you know which website offers the cheapest rate. Once you've selected the flight you want, just click on the one you would like to book and it takes you directly to the website offering that rate. You are not purchasing your tickets through Kayak. Kayak is just your "search engine".

I absolutely love this site. It's so much easier and faster than my previous ways of searching. Me, being the careful shopper, used to check all of the different websites on my own. This just makes it so much easier.

Sometimes when you select your dates, you will notice a pop up calender on the right which shows the cheapest dates to travel to your destination within your travel month. This helps if you are flexible on your dates.

Try it out and let me know how you like it!
http://www.kayak.com/

Good Night Globe Trotters!!

Madame Tussauds- London

Madame Tussauds- London, England

A fun place to see if you have some extra time in London is Madame Tussauds wax museum. Entrance is about 25 pounds but the museum is so much fun. I thought it was quite worth it. So did my friends. I could barely drag them out of it to see the rest of the London sites! :-)http://www.madametussauds.com/

Madame Tussauds also have locations in Las Vegas, Washington DC, NYC, etc. I have been to the Vegas one and that one is smaller but still really fun.

Each Madame Tussauds location has different sports, political, musical, television and movie celebrities. The fun thing about this wax museum is that you get to pose with them and take as many pictures you want. You can be "interviewed" by Oprah, hug Brad Pitt, stare into George Clooney's eyes, etc. You will see a few examples below. :-)

They also have tv's showing how they make the wax figures. When they have the celebrity there, every inch of their body is measured, perfect eyes are matched, hair is matched, etc. So much detail is involved in one of these. It really is amazing.

So if you ever see a Madame Tussauds and have some extra time, definitely check it out!!

********

Getting There by Tube:

2 Minute walk from the Baker Street underground station.

**Tip: You can get discount tickets if you purchase your tickets online.

********

Check out some of my fun pics:

Me & William. I know, he's super tall!! (i'm not short!)

Running from Harrison Ford! (& charlie chaplin....& someone wearing feathers)

Saved the best for last.....

Me & George! <3>

Check out some of my previous London blogs:

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/05/london.html

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/06/excerps-from-travel-journal.html

Credit Cards, Trips, Birthdays and Plants!

Bonjourno!!

It's been a while! I've been keeping it low key. Paying off credit card bills and other bills. Also got my tax money (woo hoo!) which of course went mainly to pay off bills. Now that the bills are paid, I can focus on saving again. Saving for a trip maybe??? That's my intention!

This year I am focusing on getting organized. Organizing my finances, organizing my house, organizing my closet.....you get the picture. I figure the more organized and "in control" I am, the more at peace I will be. Which will make me happier and more accomplished. So far so good! I'm very proud of myself for getting my finances organized. Yes, I've had no life, but I have paid off the bills which will now allow me to save for a rainy day and a trip or two. And possibly some condo renovations. I'm all about HGTV at this point. Sabrina Soto is my new favorite person. She has her own show on HGTV and guest stars on lots of others. (including the HGTV Green Home special.) I love that she is like Miss Fix-it. She knows all of the little house hold tricks and she does everything on a budget! I want to be like her. ;-)http://www.sabrinasoto.com/

I'm starting to get the travel bug again. I'm thinking about taking a small extended weekend trip again like my Nashville trip last year. Hmmmm where to go..... Maybe Chicago? or North Carolina? or Boston? Maybe sometime in the next few months. My birthday is coming up and I would LOVE to take a small trip. It's the big (get ready for it...) 3-0!!!! Noooooo!!!! I can't believe i'm almost 20-10! (aka 30!) Gosh. I definitely deserve a vacation for that. :-)

Since I haven't taken any trips, I thought I'd share a few pics from my "garden". The plants are actually on my front ledge since my back balcony doesn't get very much direct light. I am growing two sets of tomatoes and bell peppers! I love my plants and am super excited for them to start producing some yummy fruits/veggies.

My first baby bell pepper!!!

Here he is up close.

My Asian Lily.

One of my Tomato plants.

My other tomato plant. Where ever there is a yellow flower, there will be a tomato!



My baby bell pepper is getting so big! A recent picture of him. With a few baby ones.

Sorry this post has been so random. I promise to have more "real" travel posts soon. :-)

Happy traveling....travel bugs!

Where to stay in London?

I love London! I could definitely live there. London has always been my "hub" while traveling in the Europe/UK area. I always fly in to London and then go from there. Whether I'm going to Paris, Scotland, Ireland or a Contiki Tour accross Europe.

While in London, I've stayed at major hotels (Marriott's of course since I work for Marriott and get a sweet discount!), bed & breakfasts and once I also rented a room for a few weeks. All of my accomodations have been different and amazing in different ways.


Marriott Hotels:
It's nice to stay at these hotels every once in a while because they are much bigger than your typical "European" hotels. So if you've been hosteling it or staying in little European Inns where you've been sleeping in a tiny twin beds, this will be a nice luxury. However, I definitely endorse trying out a bed and breakfast at some point for some English charm!

A few I've stayed at:

London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/londt-london-marriott-hotel-grosvenor-square/
I think this is my favorite one. Near Oxford Street (5 min walk) which has tons of shopping and restaurants. Closest tube stop is Bond Street. Great location.

London Marriott Hotel Regents Park
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonrp-london-marriott-hotel-regents-park/
I liked this one too. Closest tube stop is Swiss Cottage Station.

Renaissance Chancery Court London
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/loncc-renaissance-chancery-court-london/
For me, this one was a little out of the way. Renaissance is still a Marriott, but it's fancier. Closest tube is Holborn Station.

London Marriott Hotel Marble Arch
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonma-london-marriott-hotel-marble-arch/
I didn't stay at this one but my friends did. Still very nice. Closest tube is Edgware Road or Marble Arch.


Bed & Breakfasts:
http://www.londonhometohome.com/homes_central.html
(the one I stayed in is second on the website! my room was the one with the red twin bed!!)

I stayed at the "Kiln House" with my host Lee. She was super nice. I had a room on the main floor. The only room on the main floor. I had my own bathroom too. She had a continental breakfast set up for me each morning. However, she figured out what I'd actually eat and would just leave exactly that (instead of her huge spread of breakfast foods). She even made me hot water for my hot cider a few times! Her house is actually a historical landmark and has been featured in tours and in a book. Her house was an actual kiln. The kiln is now actually a dining room.

What I loved about staying at a bed and breakfast, is that you just get a whole different experience than if you were staying in a hotel. Just make sure your house is within walking distance to a tube station!

The "Kiln House"

A few more London Pics....

Tiffany's Taxi?!

Oh how I miss Pret a Manger!!




Ciao World Travelers!!

Train Rides to Scotland....

Rail Europe Travel….

I found a few pictures I had from traveling on the Rail Europe train. We traveled from London to Edinburgh, Scotland. You can check them out online. http://www.raileurope.com/ . They also have discounts for travelers 25 years old and under!

They have different classes of seating with different restrictions. We just got the economy seats. If the seats are not full, you can actually sit wherever you want. My friend and I got seats with a table to ourselves. Awesome!

I did find out that I can not face backwards while the train is moving. Nauseaus!! So I had to make sure my seat faced forward. Luckily my friend didn’t have that same problem so we were able to sit at our own table. And spread out our stuff. The views were great. Lots of green, lots of water and lots of sheep! They also have a snack car if you get hungry.

The train leaves from Kings Cross station in London. Kings Cross like in Harry Potter! Look for Platform 9 ¾ if you have some extra time. It does exist!


Gotta have your tunes on a trip like this. I'm not gonna lie, I totally have a Europe Trains playlist. Ha ha. Such a dork.



Train ride essentials: travel journal (my friend's), reading material & water of course. Oh and of course the previously mentioned iPod/Zune/etc.



Previous post on Scotland:
http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/06/edinburgh-scotland.html

Good Day Travel Peeps!!

Flying.....

Random pics of the day:



Can I tell you how much I love flying? I mean I really love it. I love airports and their little newstand gift shops. I love the excitement of knowing you are about to take a crazy trip and see new things and new experiences. I love knowing that I don't have to worry about work for x amount of days..... etc.

When I fly to London, I almost always use Virgin Atlantic. www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/us/index.jsp Each seat has it's own tv where you can watch movies, tv shows, track your flight, text message any guest on the same flight (seriously you can!), listen to music, meditate, etc. I would normally try to catch some zzz's while flying but I get so excited about all of the possibilities of catching up on movies and what not. I'm not gonna lie....I also kind of like the airplane food. Not always. But it's so cute on it's little tray with it's little wine glass and it's little salt and pepper. They also give you a little care packet with an eye mask for sleeping, ear plugs (just in case some people think it's happy hour and talk during the entire flight!), pen and paper, socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste! **sigh** It's the little things that entertain me.....

What I don't like about flying are the bathrooms. I mean seriously. Do I even need to explain why I don't like them? Anyways, here are a few pics from one of my flights to London.

Have a great day Travel Kiddos!





Previous London posts:

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/05/london.html

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/06/excerpts-from-travel-journal.html

I miss NYC....

Was going through some old pictures and thought I would start posting some of them randomly on my blog for funsies! (yes I said "funsies") Travel photos always cheer me up. They also make me miss all of the places I've been.

Oh New York, how I've missed you...



Some of my previous posts about NYC:

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-york-city.html

http://christinamg.blogspot.com/2008/06/excerpts-from-travel-journal.html

Have a great day travel peeps!! :-)