-
The inevitable meltdown–Aruba Vacation (Day V)
In all my travels abroad and in the US, I have never actually been embarrassed to be an ‘American’ tourist, I suppose there is a first time for everything. As we sat quietly waiting for our dinner at a lovely restaurant in Aruba, Sam and I wished we could simply snap our fingers and be ANYTHING but American!! Sam’s lucky he can pass as ‘non-American’ with relative ease simply due to his coloring…me on the other hand….it’s not so easy! Many countries rip on American tourists–France is notorious for their dislike of Americans and the British Customs agent I encountered with Sam on our trip to London in 2009 was…
-
Riding off into the sunset–Aruba Vacation (Day IV)
Well it’s midnight on our fourth day in paradise and I can’t sleep. Normally I would wait until I got home to start my blog but considering the loud ass neighbors in the next room, I am inclined to start my blog early in the hopes that it helps me fall asleep….or they pass out….which ever comes first!! Not only are they loud they are two or three Puerto Rican girls (probably on spring break) listening to Pitbull (aye papi) and a long list of other Reggetone rappers. So I’ll maybe pop a Tylenol PM and blog while praying for Daddy Yankee to sing me to sleep….como chingas!! Well at…
-
Death by ATV–Aruba Vacation (Day III)
Today I actually PAID to almost commit suicide!!! When I woke up in Aruba this morning, I didn’t actually know that I would PAY someone a shit ton of money to almost die!! This ‘adventure’ as the company so wittily called it was an ATV ride around the island. Now when they say ATV they literally mean ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE….in EVERY sense of the word…..highways included…..and YES, again I want it noted we did this ‘adventure’…..on an ATV. As you probably gathered, I am not an ‘outdoors-y girl’. I don’t know how to swim (yes I know, ironic that I would go to an island where most activities involve…
-
Traveling Part II–Aruba Vacation (Day II)
This morning we woke up from our ridiculously expensive three star hotel room in Philly to catch our early morning flight to paradise…..Aruba. The airport wasn’t too busy, though the security screening took FOREVER!!! Who only has two lanes open for international flights??? And then they ran out of those little bin things and we had to wait FOREVER for them to bring more….come on now, at least be prepared airport peeps!! So after we check in and do our thing, we realize we aren’t sitting together….again. But we did get the exit row right by the door so we were first to get off and had a ton…
-
Traveling Part I–Aruba Vacation (Day I)
We are off!! Today is the first official day of our vacation to Aruba!!! Friday was the longest work day EVER and honestly I don’t think I got any work done since I have been on ‘island time’ for about three days now LOL. Sam weathered the vacation fever fairly well but I tell you what on the last day of work (we work together by the way for those of you who don’t know) Sammy was on the testy side….both of us were ready for some much needed Vitamin D and relaxation. Typically we stay up at the airport in a hotel when we travel since it’s an hour…
-
When did the world stop accepting paper money?
Well many of you may be wondering what mom and I learned from this whole experience….besides the fact that we will never take another vacation together as long as we live LOL (kidding!!) We learned all kinds of things….revelations….things to ponder….and some things were are still wondering about (our WTF thoughts). After we got home mom ended up in the hospital (the day after we got home) with chest pain and dizziness….no blood clot and no heart attack just some ‘pulled muscles’ in her chest supposedly and all around exhaustion…..nothing major. She also had an inner ear/sinus infection which was causing the bouts of dizziness etc. I managed to survive…
-
Shrink wrapped luggage apparently is the way to go
Graphic Art by Sara A Mendez On our last night in London I laid in bed anxiously waiting to find a solution to my suitcase issue. After I decided NOT to spend ridiculous amounts of money on new luggage (especially in a foreign currency that I can’t convert to save my life) my worst nightmare came true……my bag would not survive the trip. The only thing I regret about our trip is that I didn’t take a picture of my suitcase before we left. Ode to my Samsonite knock-off, may it rest in peace Smashed in the turn style at Charles de Gaulle airport Drug up and down endless flights…
-
Cheap canvas suitcases are a hot mess–Invest in good luggage!
Today was our all things Victoria and Victorian-ish themed day. After a relatively good day at St Paul’s and Kensington Palace/Gardens yesterday, mom and I woke up for our last full day in London. Not entirely confident that it wouldn’t rain, mom and I both opted for close toed shoes and sweaters. Mom totally lovin the city of London! On the agenda for the day was the British Museum and our night time Jack the Ripper walking tour. However our big treat for the trip was going to Buckingham Palace to see the Victoria and Albert museum exhibition. I really wanted our trip to be special for both mom and I,…
-
Feed the bird tuppence a bag-on the steps of St Paul’s
View of St Pauls from the Thames Anne to starship command….come in starship command….we have established a connection with the outside world! Finally on the sixth day of our vacation my mom and I were able to reach the outside world, thought it was still a primitive connection. We still did not have internet access however the hotel did manage to get us two TV stations: one which played the British version of Jerry Springer all day and the BBC which was able to provide us with SOME kind of weather update. We woke up on this day earlier than the previous and decided we would again try the more…
-
Anywhere in London with the name ‘Circus’ attached to it should be feared!
After an excruciatingly long day and night, mom and I woke up around 9:00 am London time. We both felt more rested and a little more ‘human’ than the previous day. We decided to hell with the whole vacation planning thing and just go with the flow and see what we could rather than continue with my rigorous ‘plan’ as it was CLEARLY not going anywhere near ‘as planned’. The London Eye, take II Keep in mind we still have no TV and no internet….the hotel room TV was broken (eventually they did fix it though). We had no idea what the weather would be like (again) so judging from…