A is for America

If you are considering doing a travel blog and you decide a good starting point to direct your posts is the alphabet then don't start with A for America! Yeah there's a lot to be said but that's the problem, there's too much to say!  But as I start to plan my 4th trip to America I’m wondering what is there left for me to do, what can make this trip exciting for me.  And so I am reminiscing on past trips, to try to figure out what the next one will involve…

Trip 1:

Date - December 2001

Purpose - Friends wedding in middle of nowhere Indiana

Approx duration - 3 weeks, but the first week was to save me massively on the flights due to change of seasons (always keep this in mind when booking trips, a week can make a big difference to cost). $1000 was better spent with me in the US than spending another week at work.

Budget - cheap, cheap

Travel style - staying with friends mostly, 15 hours on a greyhound bus... That sort of thing.

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Best Memory – staying in Santa Monica, it was summer, so staying a block from the beach was fantastic, and there were lots of bars and restaurants around.  I really enjoyed walking from Santa Monica to Venice Beach and watching the world go by.

Further thoughts - The worst thing about this trip was it was 3 months after September 11. It was a bit too soon; airports and airlines were very wary (and therefore security queues really long), the dollar was at .48 -  I've not seen it that low since, New York wasn't ready for tourists, I'm not sure the US was anywhere...

Thoughts for the next trip – there’s a lot of don’ts i.e. don’t catch a greyhound bus for 15 hours, don’t forget it will snow in some places at this time of year, don’t leave cash in your backpack at backpackers…  But after 14 years I will head back to Minnesota (where I caught the greyhound bus) to spend time with friends and enjoy a real American Thanksgiving.

Trip 2:

Date - August 2008

Purpose - 10 year high school reunion in LA (I went to an international high school and the best chance of getting people there was to have it in the US)

Approx duration - 4 weeks

Budget - it wasn't as cheap as previous but looking back I realise most of my money was spent on having fun out with friends not travel related things...

Travel style - stayed with friends, 3* hotels, road trip from LA to New York - sleeping in the car to save time.

Best Memory – It’s hard to find one, but I do remember New Orleans well.  The sites where Katrina hit affected me, 3 years after the event there was still so much devastation.  But then the heart of the town, and the French Quarter still had this buzz to them. 

Further thoughts - this was a dream come true and i'd do it again. There's definitely things that I'd change but then that's probably what made the trip...

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Thoughts for the next trip – I’m going back to New York, this trip only included 3 days, and as much as they were jam packed, there’s still so much more to do.  First and foremost I won’t stay at Times Square, as much as it was great for a short visit to the big apple, I want to be a bit more authentic, I’m thinking SOHO for the next trip. 

Trip 3:

Date - February 2010

Purpose - Work trip. The conglomerate my agency used to be a part of took an annual award winners trip.

Approx duration - 2 and a bit weeks

Budget - no budget, but then I didn't have to pay for much, that being said I was in my 20's so it wasn't over the top.

Travel style - cruised to Mexico, 2 short stays LA, side trip Miami and Barbados

Best Memory – Ok, not allowed to mention Barbados as this is not about Barbados.  I’d have to then say Miami, it is really multi-cultural, and so many different feels in one place, from the ever-glades to the beach, to the rich houses on the water, and the salsa dancing outdoor clubs…

Further thoughts - By the time this trip came around I was much more experienced at travelling and for half the trip I was travelling with a group of travel agents...

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Thoughts for the next trip – Oh I wish I could do the Caribbean on the next trip!  I would love to go back there.  But sticking to the US, my thoughts go to LA, first hotel was the Andaz in West Hollywood, a great location for being near enough to get places and not spend a fortune on cabs (although the traffic is notorious).  Second hotel was smack back in Hollywood, the W a block from the Kodak theatre.  Fantastic place to stay for a short stop to see the big sights, not a great place to stay on Oscar week (as a lot of places are fenced off) and it didn’t feel like true LA. 

The problem with America, like many places, is there is so much to do.  So I’m thinking Vancouver, Toronto, Minnesota (for Thanksgiving), New York, LA (staying in Santa Monica)…  Will let you know what actually happens! 

Still loving the little towns of Germany

I recently sat down to try to remember the times I’d been to Germany.  I love it so much I keep going back.  My first time I flew straight into Munich, and toured with a friend, Marc, from southern Germany to Salzburg, Bad Tölz, Lake Konstanz and Villingen-Schwenningen, where his parents lived, and Berlin.  The next time was only 18 months later when we were on a tour around Germany including Ulm, Strauburg, Munich and Freiburg.  Then only 6 months later I was back again in Bad Tölz, Munich, Freiburg and Berlin.  Then two years later I went back, but this time was extra special -   Marc my friend was getting married just out of Freiburg, and to be honest, I was ecstatic to have an excuse to go back again!

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I can’t tell you what I love about Germany, but it just keeps pulling me back.  Bad Tölz is a bigger town, and an easy train ride into Munich, it’s a great place for families to stay with shops and restaurants all there but the ability to do the touristy sites of Munich or even Salzburg easily.  Marc and I stayed there on the way from Salzburg to Konstanz to break up the journey, but he’d never been there before either, it was a chance find that was fate as I later went with my family.  Berlin has an amazing history, and this feel about it, I can’t even explain.  It’s old and new, stuck up and grungy all in one city.  Two visits have still not been enough for me.

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But now I really want to talk about Freiburg.  This was my third time visiting but my first real experience of Freiburg.  Here’s a map.  This is the bottom west corner of Germany, over the grey line to the left is France, a bit further North West is Luxembourg, South is Switzerland and South East you have Liechtenstein and Austria.  (For anyone who doesn’t know where Lake Konstanz the start of it is the blue dot just below ‘Singen’).  And that big green area that Freiburg is on the edge of is home to Belle and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast) otherwise known as the Black Forest.  Freiburg is around a 2 hour drive from Zurich, a few hour train ride from Munich and Paris. 

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Freiburg itself is quite a big town, with lots of shops and restaurants surrounding a cobblestone square where the Freiburg Cathedral is, a large Gothic Style cathedral which has been under a lot of reconstruction for the last few years.  I spent most of a day just walking around looking at the quaint old buildings interspersed with modern buildings.  This photo of the cathedral is taken from the top of one of the more modern buildings where there is a rooftop bar/restaurant which is really popular in summer months. 

I’m not sure this is going to help give credit as to why I love Freiburg so much, but one of the most famous things in Freiburg are the bächle that run through the old town. It is said these drains, that flow with fresh water through old town, used to be the town water supply.  Be careful not to step in one though, as the locals will tell you that if you accidentally step in one you will marry a Freiburger…

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I didn’t stay in Freiburg, I stayed about 15 minutes by train out in a small town called Kirchzarten.  The most charming town with only a couple of restaurants and the basic shops.  The townspeople were all lovely, and I felt that the tourists here were more local tourists, rather than Freiburg where there were tourists from around the world in different groups.

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No trip to this part of the world is complete without a visit to the Black Forest, and of course a piece of Black Forest Cake… The day after the wedding we headed up into the Black Forest and were delighted there was a bacon festival happening.  I actually didn’t see any bacon, but we were able to line the street of the town as people from different parts of the area walked through in traditional outfits, then we headed up to the market area where we ate Currywurst (Curried sausages), and other ‘delicacies’. 

From this particular town we were able to work off our lunch by walking up into the bush a little and discover one of the many waterfalls in the Black Forest.  The Black Forest, unfortunately, is really touristy, I’ve not been anywhere were the souvenir shops don’t abound, and so it’s good for a day visit, but it’s probably one of the main reasons I like to stay in other towns, that are less touristy. 

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Having had all of these different experiences staying in towns and cities, I would recommend to anyone going to Germany to take your time, it’s a big country with lots to see.  And make sure you head out of the city a little.  Most people can speak basic English, and with a little bit of German you can make it work.  Everyone is friendly, and the beer is good, my one piece of advice though – don’t go to Germany if you are on a diet, the amount of carbs in their food makes me wonder how there are so many thin people there… 

To end here is a photo of the 3 Aussies with the Bride and Groom:

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A fresh look at Paris

I love Paris, don’t get me wrong.  It’s so…. Parisian.  The quaint little streets, people sitting outside cafés drinking carafes of wine at all times of day, the buildings, the language, the beautiful people everywhere…  Looking back on my time in Paris I picture myself with one of those cloudy lenses on the camera.  All very romantic and joyous.  And in many ways that’s what my two day trip to Paris was...minus the romance. I honestly wasn’t really looking forward to going though, I’m glad I did, but prior to going I honestly told people I was ‘just going to check out some hotels’.  I did do that, but I also allowed myself some old and new adventures.

I’m not a museum person, I love seeing the big things, but once done, I’m happy to leave.  For some reason buildings affect me more, as in I get a thrill looking at old buildings and their interesting quirks.  So I’m not going to mention how little of the museums I have seen, nor am I going to mention the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame or Arc de Triomphe.  All incredible sites that I have explored before.  So what did that leave in Paris for me?  Lots of aimless walking, beautiful meals, and lots of wine…  And one special day trip.

Lets start with the meals, I had been recommended two restaurants, by a friend who had lived in Paris for 6 months and her boyfriend is Parisian.  They were fantastic, Dans Les Landes a tapas style restaurant on the left bank was first, they presented the food really interestingly, and there was much more than we expected.  They don’t have any English on their website, but there was an English menu and we could figure out our order from there.  It’s not in a common area for tourists to head to, but that made it all the more authentic.  I’d recommend taking the time to find it. http://dansleslandes.fr/

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The other recommendation from those friends was Comptoir De La Gastronomie, with a name like that I could guess that they were all about the food! And they were, traditional French dishes in a small café/restaurant.  The staff were so lovely, and really helpful.  They also helped with my wine selection, of which there was a lot to choose from.  And our dishes of escargot, French cheese, fois gras ravioli did not disappoint.  Dessert of crème brulee, sorbet and chocolate fondant were pretty amazing too!  I can’t remember how much this cost, but it would have been under $50 each for a 2 courses and a half carafe.  And it was so worth it, it again is not the easiest place to find, but that could have been our taxi driver who seemed to be a little lost down every street.  This is now my number one tip for people heading to Paris.  http://www.comptoirdelagastronomie.com/

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The other meal I had was kinda touristy, but overdue.  Laduree, a Paris Icon that has started spreading its wings around the world, on the Champs de Elysees.  My French toast (of course) with rasperries and vanilla cream was amazing.  As expected the coffee wasn’t the best by a Melbournian’s standards, but when you are surrounded by beauty like this it doesn’t matter.  

I did eat other meals, and have my half carafe outside a café near my hotel, I even enjoyed a quesadilla in the 18th arrondissement.  But the above three were my highlight.

Beyond food I enjoyed walking around the city, and was able to see three hotels Bel Ami, Victoria Palace and Hotel Powers.  Three different hotels, in different areas, that I’d recommend.  All are smaller hotels with a boutique feel.  Bel Ami, is in St Germain, and very hip and cool.  The rooms are smallish but they have very cleverly used the space.  Victoria Palace is an old favourite, surrounded by shopping, not far from Montparnasse.  It is very French, and that won’t be to everyone’s taste, but that for me makes it better (makes the difference between one hotel in one city to the next), and the staff are so friendly and helpful.  Hotel Powers is new to my list, the rooms are large and the location is amazing a block from Champs de Elysee, with amazing views over the city from the higher floors, several have small balconies which I could have easily seen myself sitting on with a glass of wine soaking in the city around me.  It is an old building, and they’ve done a great job of keeping the heritage while updating features to make it fresh and liveable. 

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So, food eaten, hotels seen, what else?  The one thing I did this trip, that I’ve wanted to do my last two trips is head to La Fayette on Boulevard Haussmann (up near La Opera).  I had been so close before but never made it in, and almost ran out of time this time, but we were able to head to the top floor and to the deck and see the amazing views this shopping centre has to offer.  The inside of the building is beautiful as well, so the overall experience is really worth it.

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Finally, possibly the highlight of my trip was not in Paris.  It was a day trip out of Paris, to the beautiful town of Versailles and the famous Chateau Versailles.  I did the tour with Fat Bike Tours, and as the name suggests we rode the town and grounds of the Chateau by bike.  You meet your guide and tour group in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower, before catching a train (ticket included in the price) 20 minutes out of the city.  After another short walk you are at the headquarters of the tour company in Versailles and it’s time to get the bikes ready.  Versailles is a small town, and they are used to lots of tourists so they were all understanding of us on our bikes, we headed to the market where we were given advice and time to go through the markets and purchase food and wine for lunch (at own cost).  Then we headed into the grounds of the Chateau Versailles and to the women’s areas from previous kings, before heading to Marianne Antoinette’s famous working village within the grounds.  There’s lots of time given for you to explore and take photos.  In the end it was the time spent riding the grounds, and exploring these other areas, and of course my lunch of cheese and wine, that I enjoyed the most.  Rather than the chateau itself.  The gardens of the Chateau are beautiful, but the fountains weren’t on and I think because of that they lost a bit of their flare.  There was a large number of tourists at the Chateau, so I was quite quick walking through, as much as the paintings and rooms interested me lots of people squashed in small places doesn’t.  After a while we all met back out front of the Chateau to head back to Paris.  It is a long day, so be prepared.  But there was something about the whole day that made it the highlight of my trip. 

3rd time's a charm in London

What do you do when you’ve been to one of the big destinations of the world a few times before, have done all the sites, and are by yourself (and you’re a travel agent?)… You eat!  Check out hotels, and you try to find something different.

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Hotel #1 – The Mayfair, I’d heard about it and I wasn’t disappointed.  Due to a bit of confusion with my booking I did have to wait a couple of hours before I could check in as my room wasn’t ready, but that gave me time to try out their onsite restaurant.  Given the area and the quality of the hotel the restaurant didn’t surprise me, it’s not cheap, but the food is really good, and the service impeccable.  It’s a steak and seafood restaurant, so after my big meal, with more time to wait, I went for a walk to check out the neighbourhood.  It’s probably a 15-minute walk to Oxford Street, if you do it tourist speed, but it’s a lovely walk with lots of designer shops and old buildings to look at on the way.  The hotel itself is on the bigger side for the area without being one of the big branded properties, but it’s not a purpose built building, like many in the area, so you wouldn’t overly notice the size except if, like me, you had to walk up several corridors to get between the room and the lifts.  The service was always lovely, and it’s obviously a popular hotel for tour groups, so be warned if you are in a rush to check out.  Otherwise, this property would be near the top of my list for London hotels.

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Restaurant #1 – Fifteen - For me finding restaurants I wanted to visit to book in advance was easy, but with 4 nights in London, I didn’t want to overbook myself, especially when a good friend was due to have a baby any day and I wanted to make sure I had time to see them.  So I enjoyed dinner at Fifteen, Jamie Oliver’s restaurant.  And Lunch at the Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsey.  Dinner at Fifteen was lovely, I was joined by a friend, grateful they accepted my last minute addition, and we enjoyed a 5 course Chef’s menu with wine pairing.  I’m not here to talk about food, but at a cost of £85 I’d say it was worth it, the first two courses weren’t big winners with us, but by the Agnolotti I was sold.  And really for the amount of wine you are served you do almost feel like you are going to roll out of there.   I’ve included a bad phone photo of the menu (sorry!).  

Hotel #2 – Indigo Earls Court – a fantastic little hotel, the rooms are quite small, so be prepared, but again it’s not a purpose built building so you may end up with a bigger room.  They have fantastic quirks in this hotel, like their colour themes or their 007 room!  I am a bit of a breakfast snob, so wasn’t overly impressed with breakfast here to compare with Melbourne, but for a hotel restaurant it was really not bad, and the feel of the restaurant did make me think I was in Melbourne at a local café.  The location is what gets this place, you feel like you are a part of things, and you are close to a big tube station.  If you can get it reasonably priced I’d stay here. 

On my walk back I saw the location of another popular hotel, Number 16, I kind of wish I’d gone inside to check it out, but I’ve had many clients stay here and recommend it so I just wanted to know about the location, and again, it was fabulous.  What I really liked was it was not super easy for me to figure out which building was the hotel, it could have been an apartment building.  It’s not far from the Indigo, so you really do have that central London yet suburbia feel around you.

Hotels #3, 4 & 5 – I’m not counting Number 16 as I didn’t go inside.  These three properties, all Radisson Blu and all really close to Oxford street are some of my most booked hotels.  For the fashion industry, because of its location, but also for leisure clients.  It’s super easy to get from here to anywhere in the city, you have two big tube stations within a short distance, soon there will be a direct train from Heathrow, and there’s Oxford street shopping.  Also, just back from Oxford Street are some fantastic little alleyways and boutique stores which I enjoyed meandering through.  Back to the hotels…  I do like booking bigger branded hotels sometimes as you know what you are getting, and although these three are different they have a familiarity to them.  The Sussex has the smallest rooms of the three, but then the rates for those smaller rooms are cheaper, so my recommendation is to pay that little more for the extra space.  Set back a block from Oxford street, it has a great restaurant on site that I tried on a previous trip. 

The Berkshire, the only hotel with an Oxford Street address, but it can be hard to miss as you enter from a side street.  This place is truly in the thick of it, but luckily you don’t hear much of the noise from outside.  The building is oddly shaped, so even though the rooms are a bit bigger than the Sussex you never quite know what you are going to get.   The Bloomsbury was new to me, and a real delight, it’s at one end of Oxford street, which some may like, some may hate.  But it’s back a block as well so you don’t get the noise, and the rooms seemed that little bigger that it’s two brothers nearby (well there’s a few more nearby, but I only saw these three).  This is definitely going to take a place on my list of hotels to consider in London.  All three hotels are making changes to their restaurants to offer Al a Carte and Buffet breakfast, and they each have nice restaurants on site for dinners (which I have learnt to appreciate after getting a late flight in and just wanting to eat and go to bed).  They all offer complimentary wifi which is a big plus given the rates some hotels can charge.  Unfortunately all of these visits came at great expense as I burned a hole in my pocket getting between them on Oxford Street.  But let’s be honest, that was going to happen whether I visited the hotels or not…

Sightseeing #1 – When looking for what I could do different in London I came across Alternative London Tours http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk/ and I’d really recommend them.  I did the East End Pub tour and LOVED it.  I met some lovely people on the tour, tried a range of beers, and learnt a lot about the history of London and especially this area.  There are so many photos and stories I’d love to put here, but I can’t, so here’s a couple, and for the stories you’ll just have to do the tour yourself!

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Restaurant #2 – Savoy Grill, there’s not much I can say here that will do it justice…  For the Savoy it was as expected, service, food, surroundings.  Superb quality and so worth the visit.  Given I was by myself, and I’m always worried how I will be treated I am especially grateful for the friendly staff here who happily chatted to me despite being busy. 

Hotel #6 – Mandeville - Unfortunately for me I spent more time in my room than I would have liked having to deal with some work issues.  But it was a nice room to do it in.  A little on the smaller side than some of the others I’d seen certainly not bad for the location!  I know I keep talking about location, but that’s the thing with hotels, the area is just as, if not more important than the hotel itself.  The staff here were really helpful, and I enjoyed a meal at their restaurant, and was surprised by the range on the menu.  I also like the proximity to Oxford Street (about 2 blocks back) and the cafes and bars I passed on the walk back from my extra bits of shopping. 

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Sightseeing # 2 – So there was lots of walking in London for me, as there’s few sights I haven’t seen before.  I love taking in the historical buildings and just walking around, there’s something cool around every corner.  But I finally decided to do a typical touristy thing and take a cruise down the Thames, on my first visit to London I had a ticket for this but we ran out of time (and the weather wasn’t great) so it’s been something I’d wanted to do, just for a different view.  I bought my ticket at Tower of London stop and chose the direct option, no stops just a round trip.   There’s no official guide, the crew of one (plus the driver) give you information on the way.  The jokes are a bit on the side of being dad jokes, but I’d rather that than a pre-recorded audio especially somewhere like London where you’ve seen/heard a lot of it before.  I enjoyed this trip more than I expected, so I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t done it before…  And for me I hadn’t seen the Tower Bridge open before so that was pretty exciting!

And so with a suitcase filled with new clothes, a few new hotels for my clients to experience, and over indulged tastebuds it was time to say goodbye to London.  But not before meeting Miss Maya born just in time for me to have a quick visit!​