So, it’s been a while. And unfortunately, we haven’t had much time for traveling. Lots of work, school, and family stuff happening.

This winter has been surprisingly mild; the Farmer’s Almanac predicted a terrible winter with lots of snow. We’ve only gotten snow a handful of times and I believe there was only one week that got into the teens.  And yet…I still wanted a spring break. We wanted a less expensive trip than what we’ve done in the past, so of course we booked a flight/rental car combo…for southern Florida. Without looking at hotel prices. So yes, our “cheaper” vacation certainly ended up being more expensive. But, it was kind of nice to get away from the all-inclusive resorts – we were able to go where we wanted, when we wanted, and eat the food we wanted, and didn’t have the “trapped” feeling we sometimes get at resorts in foreign countries.

Our first four nights we stayed at the Bahia Mar – a Doubletree in Ft. Lauderdale. The hotel was right across the street from the beach, and it even had a walkway over the road to the beach. The beach itself was aquite nice – and even when it was windy, the sand wasn’t blowing all over and making it uncomfortable. The water was very pleasant and the sunshine was awesome. So nice to get away from the grey Michigan skies.

After exploring the beach for a day, we traveled down Las Olas Blvd to Ft. Lauderdale’s Riverwalk district.  It wasn’t as impressive or as lively as we expected; it was a nice quiet stroll along the Tarpon River. Most of the nightlife was further north along Las Olas. However, there was one impressive part of the Riverwalk: the yachts. I’ve never seen such big boats in my life. In fact, there were a couple that I’m pretty sure are 2-3 times bigger (square footage wise) than our house.

We also checked out South Beach and the Art Deco district in Miami. Of course it started raining so we didn’t have a lot of time to check it out, but we got some great pictures and had breakfast at a nice little cafe.

Probably my favorite, though, was Everglades National Park. I’ve always wanted to go there, and it was super neat to see all the alligators and other wildlife. It was really interesting to learn about how even an inch of elevation difference can impact the sorts of plants that can grow.

This hotel seemed to always be busy in the lobby however the wait at the front desk was never very long. We had to wait a bit for a room to be ready for us. However, we did arrive a couple hours before the check in time. The staff was friendly and polite however the level of service was just not at the level expected for a hotel of this standing. It seemed a bit impersonal.

Our room was on the 21st floor and faced the City. The view was spectacular. The furnishings were modern and the king bed was very comfortable. The sink area in the bathroom was a little cramped. The room and bathroom were both spotless.

All in all, this is a very nice hotel. Our only issue being the wait at check in (again, we did arrive before the 3pm check in time). We would probably stay here again, but not at full price.

We arrived a couple hours before check in, so we stored our bags and started wandering through the old streets of York. We returned to the Black Swan later in the afternoon and were shown up the awesomely leaning staircase to the “Stag” room.

Our room overlooked the street in front of the hotel. Street noise was noticeable, however after about ten o’clock, it quieted down. We had a lovely queen-canopy bed and the rest of the room was furnished in dark woods. The lighting was fairly dim and certainly lent to the ambiance of the place. The bathroom was nicely renovated with a large tiled shower and ample space on the ledge next to the sink for all of our stuff. We also had another room with an extra single bed in it which we did not use.

A full English breakfast was included in the rate. The breakfast was delicious, and was so monstrous it kept us full until almost dinner time.

The rest of the inn/pub on the lower level is just as dark and atmospheric. We ate dinner here one of the nights as well and it was just as delicious as breakfast. The bar area of the pub is in a low-beamed room with a massive fireplace taking up one side of the room.

We had absolutely no issues at all during our stay here. The staff was friendly and accommodated our need for an earlier breakfast our last morning.

We enjoyed our two-night stay here, and would definitely stay again.

We found the location of the hotel to be fairly convenient for our sightseeing purposes. It is located in between Trafalgar Square and the City. Covent Garden is about 3-4 blocks away. The closest Underground stations are Covent Garden (Piccadilly line) and Temple (District and Circle lines). Either station is about a ten minute walk. While we did not find the distance to the Underground stations to be very far, we could see this being an issue to some people. There is a bus stop in front of the hotel that serves the regular London busses. I believe the hop on – hop off tourist busses also stop here. We did not use any sort of bus transportation during our stay.

We had a spacious room with a queen-sized bed and large bathroom. We faced the back of the hotel, so street noise was not an issue. The room was decorated in a modern style. As this is an older hotel, there were some things that added to the character – squeaky floors, and low beams in some of the hallways.
Breakfast was included in our room rate. It was mainly buffet-style with a nice selection of items. Guests could also order off of a small menu for an additional charge. If breakfast is not included with your room rate, I strongly recommend going somewhere else as the prices were quite high.

In other news, we are also taking a trip to Seattle in October to check it out for potential living area. It looks like I will be graduating next December (hope hope hope) so we still have to check out North Carolina and the DC area….hmmm.

Any suggestions for places in either London or Seattle that are must-see but not well-known?

But this blog is not about school. It’s about traveling.

This year, we skipped our annual Memorial Day trip. We just had a patio put in, so we decided to be frugal and spend the weekend doing yardwork. It’s definitely strange: last year we went to Pittsburgh; the year before, San Francisco; and the year before that, Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. We slept in a wigwam there – but that is a topic for another blog post.

At any rate, I’m definitely getting the travel itch again. Luckily, I’ve planned a wine weekend on the Leelanau Peninsula with some girlfriends. It will be a much-needed break, but not the traveling time with my husband that I’ve gotten used to.

I realize this is somewhat rambly, but bear with me, I do have a point. And it is this: once I graduate, we intend to move. I have lived in Michigan almost all my life, and while the Mitten State certainly does have its charms, I’m ready for new horizons. Unfortunately, the only places it seems possible for us to agree on (I love the hot-muggy-sticky summer, he is more inclined towards mountains of snow) are somewhere in North Carolina, or the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been to NC once but not with the intent of moving there, and I’ve never been to Washington or Oregon. We are thinking of taking a trip this fall to investigate one of these locations. My questions for any readers are as follows:

1. Where would you go, and why?

2. Have you ever scoped out a potential new neighborhood? If so, how do you go about it?

3. Any other tips about either location, or other similar locations that we have not thought of are welcome.

P.S. New England is out as is NOLA (  )

I can’t wait to see where our next adventure takes us!

OH wait…I forgot…it’s London

Chris:

underwear (1 pair per day plus one extra)

socks (1 pair per day)

jeans (1 pair)

undershirts (1 per day)

button-up or polo shirts (1 per day)

dress pants (if he must)

dress shoes (ditto)

running clothes (1 set)

toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shaver, razor

and he’s set!

me:

underwear (at least double what I need)

socks (ditto)

running clothes (2-3 sets)

running shoes

bum-around shoes

1-2 (or sometimes 3) pairs of nice shoes

sandals

shirts (1 per day plus at least 2 extra)

jeans (1 pair plus the ones I’m wearing)

bras (1 per day)

toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, flossers, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, razor, shave gel, hair gunk, different hair gunk, other hair gunk, perfume, q tips, more hair gunk, flat iron, cuticle cream, eye shadow, foundation, blush, lip gloss, at least 2 kinds of eyeliner, mascara, and probably at least 5 other items that won’t leave the makeup bag), comb, brush

personal pharmaceutical company (small pill bottle containing Excedrin, Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, and allergy pills)

1 dress (that I won’t wear the entire time)

1 skirt (ditto)

camera (prolly doesn’t leave bag if we’re going somewhere we’ve been a lot)

iPod (won’t get used unless I run…and we all know how likely THAT is)

pajamas

However, with all of these items…I will still forget to pack a sweater, even if it’s May and we’re going to San Francisco. Please note that the red thing I’m wearing is a sweatshirt I got that says “San Francisco” on it. And yes, it was just a bit brisk.

We have an upcoming trip to London and York planned that we’ll talk about in detail at some point. Miranda just got off the phone with an inn in York. We have a reservation to stay at this ~500 year old inn. It is supposedly haunted. With my wild imagination, I am already planning out my nightmares. At least Miranda will be there to laugh at me.
The Black Swan

I have to say that many things make me feel like an ignorant American – not being fluent in another language (or even knowing more than the basics), really not knowing about other cultures and history, geography (see New Zealand post) but I felt positively brilliant next to certain of my countrymen (and -women) when I told them I was going to Austria. “Oh Australia! Isn’t that fun! I bet that’s a long flight!” Et cetera, et cetera. I was so embarrassed for them that I didn’t even correct them; I just smiled politely, nodded, and told them how excited I was.

So imagine my somewhat smug amusement upon arriving in Vienna (or Wien [really pronounced VEEN even though I want to say "wien" and finish with an "-er"]) and seeing this plastered all over t-shirts, mugs, and other paraphernalia in the tourist shops: I almost bought one for my hairdresser.

 We were lucky in that my parents enjoyed taking us places. We were not the world conquerors like some of my classmates, but we were allowed a satisfactory examination of the state of Michigan and the major tourist destinations of the United States. Many people I have talked with grew up like this. And to them, it is enough. For me, it was not enough. My parents had limits. They were very careful to keep my sister and I sheltered from the American urban life of the 1980s and 1990s. We visited many American cities during this period, but they were short visits. I used to think my parents were paranoid regarding big city crime back then. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t. To me, it was the forbidden fruit. Travel without my parents’ limitations. Travel without my parents. I was no longer an enthusiast. I was and am an addict. My parents were the pushers that nurtured and developed my habit. I guess it could have been worse.

Like any addict, the hunger is always there. It fades for a while after a fix – whether it is a short and furtive half day examination of rural Michigan, or a week long bender of rococo ramblings and European extravagance. In between fixes, intensive studies and research feed the habit.  My personal library is filled with travel guides and maps to places I have never been, and language and customs references that I have yet to actually put to practical use. Eventually they will be put to good use. For now, they remain my drug of choice until I can experience the reality of those places.