Traveling on Christmas?

The holiday season is upon us, and for many that means traveling - either to spend time with friends or family or to capitalize on time off and see the world! I personally love to spend the holidays with my family, but as a professional tour manager, I've had to travel over holidays several time. With younger groups, they are often on vacation right over Christmas and New Year's so that's when we travel!

Traveling on Christmas Day
I've traveled internationally on Christmas Day twice - once from Baltimore to Spain and once from Holland to Spain. Both times were fairly uneventful. While definitely not as crowded as the days surrounding Christmas, it wasn't exactly empty either. Flights tend to be a bit cheaper on Christmas Day as opposed to the days leading up to or immediately following Christmas, which can be tempting for many flyers. For me, I was a bit sad to have to be out and about on Christmas. I much prefer a Christmas Day filled with family, naps and plenty of relaxing. If I didn't have work obligations, I probably would have opted to spend a bit more money and enjoy Christmas properly.

How to Make the Most of a Traveling Christmas
I've spent one Christmas abroad. I knew I had to be in Barcelona on Christmas day for work, so I decided to make the most of it! I have a family friends in Amsterdam (from when my family lived there), so I was able to spend the day with them! I enjoyed a dutch Christmas filled with tasty treats and plenty of laughter. I'm very lucky to have the friends and family that I do to make Christmas so special.

Vacationing on Christmas
Taking a trip on Christmas has become a yearly tradition for many travelers. Whether you are not close with your family or just want to take advantage of your time off, there's no shame in going on an epic adventure over Christmas! I know families who even take a trip together. Whether you want that perfect, snowy Christmas or you head to warmer weather, it can be fun to shake things up! And if you're going internationally, it gives you the chance to experience Christmas in other cultures! For example, I got to learn about the Catalan Tio de Nadal... AKA the poop log. Seriously, it's a thing. 
If you want to make the most of your holidays, I'd love to help! MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

The Travel Tag! (30 Questions)

1. Where are you from in the world?
I was Born in New Jersey, USA, but I spent my childhood in Holland. We moved back to the states when I was still young, but we still moved around a bit. I guess I consider my "Hometown" Mt. Airy, MD since that's where I spent my high school years!

2. Have you been overseas? When/Where?

I have! I actually have been to over 20 countries in the last 4 years, but when I was little we traveled to even more places! Some of my favorites are:  Spain, Ireland, Germany, Holland, South Africa, Thailand and Singapore!

                                       

Blankenburg, Germany

3. Do you prefer summer or winter? Why?
I guess Summer, but Christmas trumps all! Especially in Paris! I love Christmastime in Paris - oh and Barcelona too!

4. Summer or winter fashion?
Winter - I'm all about the boots.

5. Where is somewhere you would love to travel to?

I'd love to go to Iceland, Japan and so many more places

6. Name your essential makeup items for the beach
Sunscreen!

7. Are you currently saving up for a trip?
We are getting ready to book our honeymoon to Portugal this fall!

8. Do you like/dislike travelling?
Absolutely LOVE it!

9. Name a place in the world you would love to shop.
I'm honestly not a big shopper.

10. Who is your favourite beauty guru and where do they live?

Zoella - Brighton, UK

Ingrid Nilsen - California, USA

11. What accent in the world is your favourite to hear?

Australian

12. How many countries have you visited?
More than 20

13. Why do you travel
I've always traveled and it's just a part of me!

14. Favourite city or country?
Barcelona!

15. Most memorable experience abroad?
Probably swimming with elephants in Thailand or bungee jumping in South Africa

16. Best item purchased abroad?
I got some awesome soccer shoes in Barca.

17. Advice for those who want to travel but think they can't?
Just start saving! I promise you can do it :) 

18. Travel accessory you always pack?
Adaptors and converters
19. Can you recite your passport # from memory?
No... probably should though

20. Preferred method of travel: planes, trains or automobiles
Probably airplane because it's fastest, but I love trains too.

21. Top 3 Travel items?
Converter, Good walking shoes and a camera

22. Hostel or hotel?
I love hostels!

23. Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places?
I would absolutely be happy to revisit places, but I want to explore new places as much as possible!

24. Do you read up on your destination for culture, history or safety or do you wing it?
I absolutely do! Did you know you can be caned for spitting gum on the streets of Singapore?? Research people!

                                 

                                                                      Singapore

25. Favourite travel websites?
Lonely Planet, Hostelworld.com

26. Where would you recommend a friend to visit? City and why?
Barcelona! Soccer, food, beautiful architecture! LOVE IT

27. You're leaving tomorrow, money is no option, where are you going?
Probably Australia and New Zealand.

28. Favourite landmark you have visited?
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel tower or Notre Dam.

                        

29. Beach holiday or travel/explore holiday?
Travel and explore! But I do enjoy a good beach day

30. To travel is to...

adventure

I own a travel company called MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com and would love to help you coordinate your next adventure!

Here's where I got the questions! http://www.fashionarttravel.com/2014/09/the-travel-tag-30-questions.html

City Highlights - Barcelona

I'm starting a series where I'll be covering the highlights of some of my favorite cities. To kick things off, I thought I'd dive into one of my absolute favorite cities: Barcelona. There are so many places in Barca that are worth checking out, but here are a few of my favorites!

#1 - The beaches! Even in the wintertime (which is predominantly when I've spent time in Barca) the beaches are absolutely gorgeous. You can relax and soak up the sun in the summer, or in the cooler months just take a stroll and enjoy the view. There are even spots along the beach with make shift soccer goals set up and workout equipment.

 

 A shot of some beautiful beaches during sunset - taken from a train

#2 Ice Barcelona - If you are into the night life, Barca has several unique clubs and bars, but my favorite is the Ice Bar, aptly called Ice Barcelona! It's a lot of fun! The walls, chair, bar and even the glasses are made of ice. They give you fun, puffy silver jackets to wear along with some gloves. It was a ton of fun!

Hanging in Ice Barcelona around Christmas time

#3 La Sagrada Familia - The legendary Barcelona Artist, Antoni Gaudi designed several structures throughout the city, and arguably his most famous work is La Sagrada Familia. This breathtaking (and enormous) church is an absolute must-see; just be prepared to see some construction since it will be another 10 years or so before the church is completed.

The beautiful (and hard to photograph) La Sagrada Familia

#4 Park Guell - If you want an idyllic view of the city, Park Guell is the place to visit! Like the Sagrada Familia, it was designed by the magnificent Gaudi. The tiling is beautiful and there are some beautiful hikes as well. The outer area is free, but if you want to get the best views you'll have to pay just a few euros to enter the center area.

Park Guell at sunset is my favorite

 #5 - Camp Nou!!! - FC Barcelona, the professional soccer team of Barcelona, is the heartbeat of the city. If you don't have a chance to go see a game in person, at the very least it's worth touring the museum and stadium. Soccer is a huge part of the culture in Barca, so even if soccer isn't your cup of tea, I still recommend checking it out!

Down on the field during the tour

I had the time of my life at El Clasico! If you're not familiar, it's a legendary game between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The atmosphere was unlike anything I've ever experienced.

I'd love to help you plan a trip of a lifetime to see the sights of Barcelona. Give me a shout at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

My Favorite Places in Barcelona

I have been spending quite a bit of time in Barcelona as of late. I feel like I’ve really come to learn the city. I know where things like the grocery stores and Laundromats are and I have favorite hot spots and restaurants. I really feel like I know if better than I know Baltimore or DC which Iived 30/45 minutes outside of for almost 10 years!

I can list off the best tourist sites and the slightly hidden gems. I know the best fresh juice stand at La Boqueria (open air market of La Rambla) and which one over charges you. I can get around the metro like its my job (it kind of is haha) and I just feel comfortable. I can understand super basic catalan signs and speak well enough Spanish to make dinner reservations and coordinate with bus drivers and soccer team facility managers. I have picked up tickets for concerts, tours and soccer games in various locations around the city. I know which streets are a bit dodgy at night and which sections aren’t so bad. It’s a really cool feeling to have a city so far from home that I feel so comfortable in.

Some of my absolute must see spots are:

La Sagrada Familia – The massive church a little ways outside the city designed by Gaudi (Who tragically died when he was hit by a tram on one of his daily walks. They thought he was a homeless person for a few days before he was identified as the city’s greatest artist). It’s beautiful beyond all belief and MASSIVE. It’s still under construction and won’t be finished for another ten years or so.

FC Barcelona’s Stadium Camp Nou – I love this stadium. I love this team. Let’s go Barca! So much passion and history behind this awesome place. Definitely a must see museum/tour. And holy gift shop! Three floors!

Park Guell – Another Gaudi influence. This park is so pretty with tons of trails that you can hike for free. You can enter the main sector for a small fee and the view is breathtaking! Though the line can be long so buy tickets ahead of time!

La Boqueria – This is the open air market off La Rambla (often referred to as Las Ramblas by the locals). It is so neat! There are tons of fresh fruits, juices and candies. It’s also right next to La Rambla which has some neat shops, street vendors and of course Crepes! The Crepes on La Rambla are probably my favorite crepes I’ve ever had.

There’s so many sights worth seeing but those are probably my top 4!

The Beautiful Game - Live!

Over the course of my trip I have been lucky enough to see 5 live matches including seeing FC Barcelona 3 times, Manchester City twice and Real Madrid twice! I even got to watch El Clasico live! SO COOL.

I think some of my favorite things are the songs and the craziness of the crowds. There is one section devoted to the super fans and they have so much fun throughout the match. There is usually a leader who calls out the cheers and he usually spends majority of the match with his back to the pitch! Apparently his priority is directing his “choir” haha!

Some of my favorites include what appears to be wordless chanting to the tune of the theme song from Pippi Longstocking, I kid you not. It is so entertaining! That and at the English match when the opposing team section (who is blocked off separately – more on this later) left early the  whole stadium started singing “IS THERE A FIRE DRILL?” It was such an experience!!

As mentioned previously, the away team fan section is completely separate from the rest of the stadium. And when I say completely separate, I mean completely separate. They are sometimes put in what actually looks like a cage! In every instance they are put in a specific block and surrounded by neon security guards! They even have to stay seated until all the home team fans have left the stadium.

El Clasico was far and away the coolest match I got to witness – Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona at Camp Nou (FC Barcelona’s home stadium). Prior to the game I got to witness my first riot of sorts. It looked sort of controlled but there were definitely flares and chanting and loud bangs which I can only hope were more fireworks rather than gun shots. But oh the spirit! I love Europe and their enthusiasm for the beautiful game! In the US, even if the National Team were to win the World Cup I don’t think you would see such passion.

At several games I saw full grown men jump up and down and hug and kiss each other after a goal was scored. One fellow was so invested in the match that when the opposing team was awarded a PK he actually left the section. He couldn’t stand to witness an opposing goal. He literally was openly crying when Barca won.

In another instance I got to witness a man and his son have the absolute time of their lives. If it hadn’t been for their appearances it would be hard to distinguish adult from child just by their mannerisms. Both yelled and sang and cheered with unabashed passion.

I love the beautiful game and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. Women’s World Cup coming this summer. LET’S GO!

Laundromat Adventure - Making New Friends

I had to do laundry in a Spanish laundromat, and boy was it an adventure. There isn't one close to our hotel so I had to take the metro and explore a bit. Then when I found the laundromat they were out of detergent and so was the market next door. I then had to go around the corner and get more but I got horribly confused about what was detergent and what was softener. After a lot of confusion I bought the world's biggest bottle of what I thought was detergent and headed back to the laundromat where I met the friendliest woman on the planet. She helped me get my clothes going but asked where my soap was... oh no. Yup. Sure enough it was in fact softener I had bought. ACK. Luckily they had loaded detergent into the softener dispenser and my new friend knew that so she helped me out and we got my clothes going.

I then had my very first prolonged actual spanish conversation!!! We talked about the weather, how we missed summer and the beach. We talked about food (I pretended to like seafood because I know a lot of sea vocabulary, haha) and it went pretty darn well! There were times I was just nodding along, but for the most part I knew what she was saying and could respond when she asked me a question! I'm pretty darn excited about this and I think my Spanish is really improving. Who knows - in three weeks when I head home maybe I'll be super awesome at Spanish! We shall see.

Sometimes it's the little experiences that stick out and for me this was one of those. It was so cool to just interact and get to know a stranger in a strange place in another language. I hope this is the first of many such experience

Barcelona Baby!

I love this city. Upon arrival we did a lot of recon around the hotel were the team would be staying in Placa Espanya. I'm slightly exhausted from running around so much, but it was great to get to know the area.

Since we've been in Barcelona we have hit all the hot spots: La Rambla, La Sagrada Familia, the Olympic village/ port and I even got to see an FC Barcelona game in person! It was every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. I got to see Messi score three times! It was phenomenal.

Tomorrow we are off to Park Guell (One of my favorite spots) and to tour the FC Barcelona stadium. It should be a good day.

I'm loving this city, but boy am I tired! My knees and legs are slowly giving out. I'm hoping to get some serious sitting time done in the relatively near future so I will be ready to go for Madrid!

Malena

New Adventures!

Hello again everyone!

I know I haven't been updating this lately, but that's because I have had so much going on! Not the best excuse, I know, but there it is.

Anyway, back to the point of this post - I am going on an adventure! I will be taking a very last minute work trip to Europe for 5 weeks! 5 weeks. Dude, I know. 

I will fly out Wednesday evening, stop in Copenhagen Thursday morning before making my way to Manchester. I have some business there, then I'm off to Dublin to meet up with the team! The first part will be training, so I'm only around for half a tour. I will be with the team in Dublin, Manchester and London but then I'm off to Barcelona. 

I did not think I would be back in Barca so soon, but hey! I'm not complaining. From there I'm off to Lake Como, Venice and Milan in Italy. 

I close out my trip bopping back and forth between Barca and Madrid. Craziness.

This trip is coming up so fast and I still have a lot I need to do. I worked a ton at the radio station this weekend and its my last weekend with my boyfriend for a good long while so I've been trying to find a balance. Ah! Oh well. I know it will all come together soon. 

I am currently trying to figure out if I want to pack in carry-on only or if I should just bite the bullet and bring a bigger bag. It is 5 weeks after all.  My plan is to just figure out what I need to bring and then pick a bag based on that. I want to be comfortable, but not overloaded because goodness knows I won't be in one spot for any length of time.

Malena

Spain: The Recap

Once I landed in Barcelona it was quite a whirlwind... So much so that I hardly got a chance to sleep let alone blog. Basically the tournament went well, but as with any event, there were some hiccups.

Here are the tour highlights:

Park Guell was absolutely phenomenal. Megan, another staffer, came with me to help and it was a good thing too! We made it by like 30 seconds!  I had to run ahead but we got in. Park Guell has super strict windows of time for groups.

In the end the run was totally worth it. The sight was breathtaking. It looked out over the city and the wall itself was inspired by Gaudi. It was so beautiful. I had a great time taking pictures and helping the teams. There were little paths that went off that were fun to follow too!

FC Barcelona Stadium Tour 

I did this last year, but it was fun! It was really neat to get to go through it again. I do love soccer but what's cool is that it touched on other sports in the club as well - like hockey and futsal!

28-30 Tournament - Pretty much just worked!

30 evening - Outing to Girona

Girona was beautiful. It's a little town 45 minutes outside of Lloret de Mar which is where the tournament is. It has winding little streets and is definitely a place that I would love to get lost in for a day. The parents got to shop and the kids got some insight from an expert on futsal. I think we will probably keep this stop on the tour for next year.

31 - Today was mad busy. Training and transfer to Barcelona first thing, then we went on a beautiful bus tour that was truly phenomenal. I love to learn the history of things! Then we got to explore Las Ramblas which is always fun :) We ended the night in quite a fancy NYE party! There were 4 glasses - white wine, red wine, water, and champagne! The food was top notch for sure. It worked out very well!

1 - This was an easy shopping day - except that the soccer store wouldn't open. My goodness. Spanish time can be frustrating because they don't really pay start times much mind, but it all worked out in the end and I even wound up with 2 new pair of shoes! We capped off the trip with a stop at the Ice Bar for the parents. It was great last year and I'm glad we decided to go back! Everyone seemed to have a blast and I'm overall happy with how the trip went.

2 - NO SLEEP FOR ME. I was up late at the Ice Bar and got up to send off both teams at 4am AND 7am... needless to say I straightup slept till noon after I got back from the airport. I met up with the other staffers for one last night in Barca. We walked all over the place! I love to experience a city up close. We ate at Les Arenes which was neat - its an old bull fighting ring that was turned into a mall. The restaurants are on top of the mall on a terrace. We then explored around the Olympic Stadium before heading back to the apartment the group had rented. I managed to do my laundry and headed back for  bed - I had to catch my airport shuttle at 5 the next day... yayyy

Arrivals Day 12/26

Today was a stressful and busy but successful one. No ones flight was delayed and everything went relatively smoothly. There were a few minor hiccups, but none that were our fault so all in all a good day. We even made it the Park Guell on time! Though I had to literally run to get us scanned in by 5 which was our hard deadline. It was a 4 minute walk and we had 3 minutes to get in, ha. But we made it! All was good with the world. We got to look out over the city and it was just magnificent. I love to travel and places like this makes it so worth it.

My ipad is not the best at adding pictures but I assure you I will go back through and add tons from my nice camera :)

After Park Guell, we came back to the hotel for a lovely dinner and then time for bed! Well almost... I had a meeting to attend where we finalized everything for the next day. Tomorrow we are off to FC Barcelona stadium, Placa de Catalunya and finally to Lloret for the tournament!

Malena

A Unique Christmas 12/25/2014

First let me start by saying that I am very very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life and such wonderful friends that even on a Holiday when I have to be away from my family, I still found some amazing people to share it with.

I woke up in Rotterdam nice and late, just as a relaxing day should start. We threw in some laundry (OK Coletta did it... did I mention she's great?) and then went on a nice long stroll around the city. I had so much fun taking pictures at all the iconic places in Rotterdam! I even wore my shirt from the radio station I work for so they can get an international shoutout (pictures to come once I have a spare second, ha!)

Coletta's son came over and we had a declicious meal! It was a bunch of small dishes but they were so. good. It was a really fun time - we even played some Mario Kart!

Eventually I had to leave for Spain so Coletta and Erwin (And Pepper too!) drove me to Amsterdam Schippol and off I went. I had to get searched (both me and my bag, ha) but I had no real trouble catching my flight. I bought some impusle stroopwaffels because why not, man? The plane was for sure a budget flight...  no TP. NOT COOL. Luckily they had some paper towels, but ya know. I also sort of enjoyed the kareoke bar singer-song writer music they played for like 40 minutes (20 minutes each on take off and landing). I actually started laughing it was so bad. I tried to tune it out and read my book so the flight wasn't too bad.

When I landed I had to wait a bit for the shuttle, but it wasn't too long and I wasn't worried. There are always cabs! I got to the hotel no problems and met with my boss for quite a while. We finalized things and I headed up to bed!

The hotel is pretty nice. Very typically Spanish... except the shower is what I imagine standing in a hurricane would be like. Very chaotic with water seeming to come from everywhere...

Anyway, I'll update more tomorrow!

Malena

Planning Our Backpacking Trip Through Italy

Things are starting to seem real! This December I will be going to Barcelona and likely London. After the work portion of my trip I will be backpacking through Italy with a friend. I can't wait.
We started sketching a rough outline of our Italy trip! It's shaping up to be about 8 days of taking the Euro rail from the North to the South of Italy. We think we want to fly into Milan stay there for a day, head over to Venice the next morning and hang out there. Then we might go to Florence and combine cities that day and hit up Pisa the same day. After that we are Rome bound! After a few days in Rome we want to visit Naples for a day before going back to Rome for one last Italian day before heading home.
It is quite a packed agenda and is very rough at the moment but I'm glad we have started the planning process! We originally were toying with the idea of having a friend drive us through Italy, but it looks like we may just stick to trains for this trip. We will be staying in hostels which I am all for, so that should be fun and interesting. I have really been liking hostelworld.com for research and ratings. The hostel I stayed in, in London was only OK but other than that I have been happy with the hostels I've booked off that site.
I plan international trips for a living so this is just more of the same - except I have full control (with my friend's input of course) over what cities and sites we see :) I'm so excited!
I'll keep updating my blog more as I get ready for what is shaping up to be a month- long euro trip.

Malena

Disney and What's Next?

The past two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind - we just finished up a tournament in Disney World! It was a lot of hard work, but was so much fun.

The best part was that the tournament ended the day before my birthday! I spent my birthday celebrating with my coworkers in Universal Studios. We were pretty excited to visit Harry Potter World.

While I loved the location (minus the humidity!), my favorite part of the trip was networking and learning more about what could be in store next - Asia, Australia, London, Paris, Wales, Italy?? I can't wait! Bring on.

One thing is for sure -This December, Barcelona here I come! After that on to backpacking Italy then who knows!?

I'm going to Germany and London!

Now that the tickets are bought, I am officially going to Germany in April! I am going to be near Bonn for 7 days for work, then I am sneaking in a quick vacation in London for a few days before I come back home. I am currently planning out what I want to squeeze into my London trip. I know I will be staying at a hostel but I want to try to hit as many big ticket items as I can while I'm there. Some ideas are Big Ben, the Palace, the London Eye, and maybe a bike tour and/or a Jack the Ripper tour. I'm open to suggestions!
After that I'm home for a week or two and then its off to see my sister graduate from vet school in Iowa. We will be stopping by Cincinnati on our way there so that's a nice little trip. I'm also toying with the idea of taking a weekend trip to New Mexico later this summer, and I know I'll be headed to Florida for a week for work in August (Disney World!!!). There is also a slight chance I'll be heading to Brazil and Ireland this year. So many possibilities! I should also be heading back to Barcelona this December (for work), then I will probably backpack Italy in January (for fun!). As I've said, I love to travel. Anyway, I'll keep this updated as things start to finalize, but get excited for some posts about Germany and London coming your way soon!