Day Trip to the Strawberry Fields

I know I know I haven't posted in a long time.  I figured let me put some of my free time to good use today.

Last Sunday I setup a family day trip out to Long Island for some strawberry picking!  I've never done it before and the extent of my picking has always been confined to apples.  This was so much fun! There was a bunch of farms to choose from and since I didn't want to pay any tolls I stuck to Long Island and ended up at Patty's Berries and Bunches.  The drive was pretty much all the way out to Long Island Wine Country.  The drive there was pretty fun since we sang our hearts out to the Les Miserables sound track, but the drive home was a different tiring story.

When we got to the farm it was pretty straightforward. You pay $5 per person, they hand you a container and a basket and you are free to go to pick your strawberries! It was such a blast. You really had to get in there searching through the vines for which ones you wanted.  There was no shortage. There were thousands and thousands of berries.  Thank goodness for the little gusts of wind we experienced because boy was it sunny!

After about 2 hours of picking and hanging out we ended up going across the street to Harbes Farms and had a nice little picnic lunch that we had packed.  But we could not resist buying their fresh made apple cider donuts and grilled corn.  Thank goodness this was across the street.  The strawberry fields had no place to sit or use the bathroom. Harbes Farm is pretty cool if you have kids.  There were animals you could see. You can pet the horses and feed the goats. If you pay extra for a kids activity bracelet they could participate in games like potato sac races, pig race race and other things.  Or you and the family could opt for a hayride for $5 per person.  Definitely a really cool place to stop by with the family.

Ok strawberry picking down.  Which fruit shall I conquer next?

Throwback Thursday to Madrid and Amsterdam

This time next week Angel and I will be in Amsterdam.  (As long as no freaks snowstorms cancels our flights.)  Last time we were there was 2006.  Ten years seriously goes by in a flash.  It doesn't seem like that long ago.  I've barely done any research so when I started yesterday I got super duper excited!  Since today is Thursday I wanted to write a throwback post to my first time in Amsterdam.

Day 1:  This takes place from March 19-25, 2006. (I still have all of my boarding passes.)  I was 19 years old and in my last semester at Baruch College.  Angel went to Pace University and his spring break was coming up.  His friend Sameer has a dad who used to work at Continental Airlines.  I decided to play hookie from school for a few days.  Don't worry I was on top of my school work.  Angel and I packed our bags drove to Sameer's house in Jersey and had no idea what was going to happen next.  We were all going to fly on standby so we just had to pick a destination.  Sameer wanted to go to Amsterdam but I don't think there were any seats left.  I mentioned that my friend Julie was studying abroad in Madrid and I'm sure she would love for us to visit.  I was able to get in touch with her and she was super duper excited.  Just like that we had our destination.  The only problem was that there were no seats on the flight either.  Hmmm what to do?  Well we some how decided to get on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal and we would figure out how to get to Madrid, Spain once we landed.  Remember this is a time before Swarm, before Yelp, before touch screen phones, before internet on our phones.  Thinking about this now it was pretty ballsy.  Flying into one country figuring out how to get to another without any plans, any maps, nothing.  But we did it!  We took an overnight flight to Lisbon.  

Day 2: Once we landed we decided to try and take a bus to Madrid.  We had no idea how long it would take or how much it would cost.  This definitely the definition on winging it.  We found a bus company simply enough, bought tickets and that was it.  It was seriously that easy.  We got on the bus and saw beautiful glimpses of Portugual.  After a few hours we got to stretch our legs and have a nice little lunch.  We had no idea what time we were going to get to Madrid.  Julie over in Spain was waiting for us but had no idea when we would show up and we had no way to contact her.  All she knew was that we got in a plane.  Around I think 10pm we made it to Madrid in one piece!  She took us to a little cafe to grab a light dinner and introduced us to her roommates who were super nice!

Days 3 and 4: Julie took the next two days to show us around Madrid.  I wasn't much a trip planner back then so I had no idea what to expect.  We hung around the Plaza Mayor.  We saw the Royal Palace of Madrid.  We went and checked out art at the Prado and the Reina Sofia.  My favorite artist is Salvador Dali so I was happy to get to check out some more of his works in person.  Of course as a foodie  you know we had to get some paella!  Soooo yummy!  Julie also showed us around the night life.  I wasn't into all that house music back then that has been so popular in Europe since forever.  But it was cool just checking it out.  It was really nice of Julie and her roommates to be so accommodating to us for a few days.  We told Julie that our original plan was to go to Amsterdam but we just decided to go to Spain and visit her instead.  She said she totally would have just met us up in Amsterdam!  We were all like damn we should've just done that.  Right then we all decided to just book flights to Amsterdam for the next day!

Day 5:  We packed our stuff and headed out for the next few days!  We took Vueling airline which was dirt cheap!  That little 2.5 hour flight was probably one of the worst I have experienced.  There was no turbulence or anything like that.  The cabin pressure was just so extreme.  I felt like needles were being jabbed into my forehead, my brain was going to explode, and I couldn't stop crying the whole time.  Landing couldn't have come sooner.  We had finally made it to Amsterdam!  Since we didn't think we were going to end up there we didn't pack warm enough jackets and it was damn cold!  Okay the first thing we decided to do was try to find a place to stay.  I was not lying when I said everything was winged!! Being broke college students our only options were hostels.  We just started walking into any that we came across and asking if they had availability.  I believe we were turned away from the first few but then we stumbled upon the Marnix Hotel (still a hostel).  They only had room for us for the night so the following day we were on our own.  We were totally fine with that, it seemed to go along with the theme of the trip.  

Once we dropped off our stuff we went straight in tourist mode.  First stop was the Anne Frank House.  I remember reading Anne Frank's Diary when I was in junior high so if felt pretty surreal climbing up those narrow stairs behind the book case.  I could remember reading all the words and felt all the history as I was there.  It was pretty powerful.  I always tell people who are visiting Amsterdam for the first time that they have to put it on there to do list.  After we left there we went to lighten up the mood a bit and stopped by some coffee shops.  I didn't know what to expect.  There were whole menus that I of course did not understand.  This was Angel's second trip to Amsterdam so he knew the deal.  He did all the ordering. Of course after we left we were starving and ended up at a middle eastern restaurant.  All I can remember was everyone got their food and it felt like I was waiting for an hour for mine and I was serious HANGRY.  If you know me you don't get between me and my food.  

We walked around and took in the sights of the city.  It was soooo clean.  The canals were beautiful.  The people were nice.  I was in love with this small city.  The next tourist spot we hit up was the Heineken Experience.  I am not a big beer drinker but I definitely wanted to check this place out.  I had heard it was super fun.  It did not disappoint.  They gave us all these Heineken tokens and we could redeem them for pints throughout the tour.  I could barely get through one.  When you leave the factory everyone gets a free mini pint. Super cute!  I'm sure I still have mine somewhere.

I remember we had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant.  Don't ask me the name I have no idea.  These were the days before Swarm!  I specifically remember not being able to choose between two dishes so I ended up getting both. Ha! Yup #fatgirlfoodie since day one!  Someone had the idea to pick up mushrooms for the night.  I remember at the store they had sooo many different kinds and all these different potencies.  It was overwhelmingly and a bit scary.  We ended up going with Mexican mushrooms since it was for beginners.  We went back to the hostel to eat them.  Let me tell you when you open the pack there were about 20 fresh mushrooms with blue mold on the bottom of them.  I think the pack was meant to be eaten by one person but we split it between four.  I probably only ate one or two of them. I couldn't stomach the taste.  Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods, but this was absolutely gross.  Eating the mold was...ugh there were no words for how nasty it was.  I couldn't eat anymore.  I know Julie felt the same way.  She hasn't eaten mushrooms since.  Since we were newbs we had no idea that we were supposed to eat them on an empty stomach!  With me eating two full dinners there was definitely no hallucinating for me.  Julie and Sameer said they did trip out a bit and did not enjoy it.  After a long day of tourism and debauchery we called it a night.

Pretty much the only pic we got in the RLD

Day 6: Our butts had to find another hostel to stay at.  We found one easily enough, but it was completely different.  At the Marnix Hotel we had 2 separate private rooms with bunk beds but this one was a room with 20 beds laid out next to each other.  Easily enough though no one else rented a bed in our room that night.  We all  went to a coffeeshop shared some space cakes and headed over to the Van Gogh Museum.  We were just staring at all the paintings in deep appreciation.  At some point in the day we wandered into a supermarket and came across the dessert that would change all our lives....the stroopwafel.  Gloriously thin waffles with caramel in the middle.  Even though they are pretty common here nowadays thinking about the first time I encountered these bad boys makes me drool.  Don't worry Julie I promise I'll bring you some home next week!  At night we went to check out the infamous Red Light District.  We walked around for a while.  There were drug dealers every few feet offering to sell cocaine and who knows what else.  I know prostution is legal there but I felt so bad for all the women in the windows.  Everyone talks about the Red Light District like it was so cool and fun.  I just remember it feeling very seedy and grimey.  Once we had our fill we grabbed some huge waffles and headed back to the hostel.

Day 7:

Time to head home!  It was an awesome trip on the fly.  Compared to the way my trips are so meticulously planned nowadays writing this posts makes me realize sometimes the funnest part of traveling is in the discovery of the unknown. So many awesome memories!  Can't wait to relieve and create new ones next week!

It's the Thought that Counts

This past Friday I had a business lunch and girly catch up with my good friend Katelyn.  She surprised me with this memory box she had seen at Michael's a while ago.  She said once she saw it she thought of me and had to get it.  She said it wasn't a big deal, it was only a few bucks.  But to me I don't care that it costed next to nothing.  It seriously is the fact that she thought of me on a random day.  She obviously knows that I love traveling!  It was so sweet and I am so thankful!  Thanx Katelyn!!

Poconos in a Pinch

So my first official getaway for the new year was a quick weekend getaway to Mount Airy Casino in the Poconos.  My friends Chris and Roz wanted to get away with their kids and a few friends to celebrate Roz' and her son Jack's birthdays.  They all took went in their car and Angel, Allen, Christine and I went in my car.  We stopped The car ride wasn't bad at all.  Life has been keeping us all busy so it was nice to catch up in the car ride.

We stopped at Shop Rite to pick up snacks and drinks for the night.  When we got to Mount Airy I was pretty impressed with it.  I have gone to the Poconos a million times since I was little and I have always stayed in one of those time share type villas.  I felt like I was right in Atlantic City.  Roz had a nice spacey suite next to our room.  It was so nice just to lounge around, sip some drinks and catch up with friends.  It was so relaxing, we wore sweatpants and leggings the whole time.  No make up, no heels, just good times.  The hotel was really strict with checking IDs.  If you were going to eat at a restaurant you had to wait for someone to personally escort you and anyone underage to and from the restaurant since you had to go past the casino floor.  Every time you left the floor and went back you had to be IDed.  Even if they saw you 20x.  I mean I was only there one night so I wasn't bothered but I could definitely see how that could be annoying for families if they were staying there for a whole weekend.

After a few hours we all got dressed and headed to the Get Wet Ultra Pool.  Which by the way was really really nice.  I forgot to pick a bathing suits so I just lounged around in a day bed along with baby Ava since she was too little to go swimming.  She was such a sweet baby.  Not one peep the whole weekend.  I was even able to put her to sleep.  We stayed until the pool closed and then got ready for dinner. 

We ended up eating at Guy Fieri's restaurant.  Let me tell you if you don't eat meat there are not too many options on that menu.  Which I didn't really care but it was just a little shocking to me.  The table got nachos and truffle fries to share.  I went with a blackened pasta.  It was supposed to have chicken with it but I substituted it with the only vegetable side dish they had.  They were totally cool with the substitution.  All of our food portions were HUGE!  We were definitely all in the food coma when we were done.  I was so bad I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I knocked out for the rest of the night.  Everyone else knocked out too but they were able to rally and make it down to the casino in the middle of the night.  I went for the full night's sleep. 

Photo Credit: @Chriscruz24

Baby Ava in all her cuteness!

The next morning we were heading out.  Angel and I had previously plans to attend the New York Times Travel Show.  I didn't want the tickets to go to waste so we agreed to make it for the last two hours of the day.  Angel and Allen went downstairs to squeeze in a little morning gambling.  Honestly I have no idea if Angel won or lost that weekend.  I stayed upstairs to get a little extra QT time with Roz, Christine and the kids.  

We all went to Hickory Valley Farm Restaurant for brunch.  I had been picking at my pasta leftovers all morning so all I had for brunch was mozzarella sticks.  Which by the way you can never go wrong with.  All the portions were huge again.  Everything came nicely presented in big skillets.  I tried to keep my appetite down but Roz shared her French toast with me and it was damn good.  

From there we parted ways with Chris, Roz, Jack and Ava who were staying a few extra days.  It was such a good time I wish we could've stayed a bit longer.  Thank you Chris and Roz for setting everything up and taking care of everything.  You guys are the best.  Can't wait to make more memories with you guys again in the future.

Photo booth at the Travel Show.

By the time Angel and I made it back to the city, found parking ten blocks away and then made it the Javit's center we were DEAD effin tired.  We were so glad we went for the last two hours.  We could barely pick up our feet.  We walked around for a bit.  I'm glad we didn't end up going super early because it wasn't as fun as last year.  I wanted it to be a bit more about the countries and the cultures but it mostly tours companies trying to sell you stuff.  Blah.  After that Angel and were so exhausted we stopped by Spa 45, one of our fave massage spots in the city.  It was sooooo worth.  It felt so relaxing and amazing.  Totally worth it.  Made it back home in time to watch the Golden Globes and that was a wrap on the weekend!

More Posts for 2016

Ok ok we are well into the first month of 2016!  You know what a new year means?  New travels!!  I told myself that this year I wanted to save all my pennies and just do international travels.  I know that sounds so snooty but I don't have unlimited time and money for every trip.  Gotta pick and choose.  Well two weeks into the new year and I already broke that.  I went to the Poconos. Hahaha.  But I'm actually glad that I broke my so called resolution.  You can fun anywhere in the world as long as you have good people with you.  So you can't call me snooty!

This weekend I was supposed to do another domestic trip and head to South Carolina with my parents and Angel to visit a cousin living there.  We all wanted my sister to come along for the trip to but she was being stubborn and just gave us a hard no.  The rest of us were ready to pack up and head out for our road trip but bleh there is this big east coast snow storm coming this weekend and we would've gotten stuck in it on the drive back home.  My mom was apprehensive about going.  Especially since reports were saying that it is going to be a lot of snow and heavy winds.  I love me some road trips but I need clear roads ahead!  I can't drive 11 hours braving the elements.  So last night we decided to reschedule our trip.  My cousin was sad.  He was really looking forward to us visiting.  My mom reassured him we would come in a few weeks time.  Hopefully the weather agrees.  Also this weekend my cousin has to leave South Carolina anyway at some point to make it to Memphis for The Voice open call auditions.  I told my mom I don't want him to think he has to cater to us and risk getting to Memphis late or tired and his audition won't be the best.  I want him fully rested and at his best so he could kill it in those auditions.  Break a leg Rizo!

Sometimes trips work out and sometimes they don't.  The weather canceling this trip reminds me of last year when a snowstorm cancelled our Valentine's trip to Boston!  Grrr weather please do not cancel my Valentine's Day trip to Amsterdam this year!  I spent good money on my plane tickets and AirBnB.

I closed out 2015 with some new travel goodies for 2016!  My family and friends really know the way to my heart!  Julie I promise I will use the journal to take notes on my travels so I can upload my blog faster.  I know you're my one reader! Hahahaha

Winter Road Trip to Montreal

Okay I wrote this whole lengthy post last week and after two hours in I accidentally deleted it, then the blank page got back up, then I closed it and voila...post vanished.  I was soo freaking annoyed.  Ten minutes prior Angel accidentally tripped over my power chord and he thought it was his fault that it got erased.  So I let him think that the rest of the night and he was just trying his hardest to make it up to me!  Let me now try my 2nd attempt at this post.

Angel, Michelle and I left NYC early morning on a Saturday in March.  We had to meet up Alex, Sam and his cousin Kenzie in Jersey so we could all fit into one vehicle.  My brother Kris originally planned to come as well but work obligations kept him in NJ.  It was a good thing he didn't go however because we were packed to the brim with bags and snacks.  The 6 hour drive there would have been uncomfortable with another person.  The drive itself wasn't bad at all.  We had lots of snacks to hold us over along with lengthy Game of Thrones conversations.  Alex wanted to be the only one to drive, which I was fine with.  I figured because we were borrowing his mom's SUV he didn't want anyone to be liable.  I'm sure Angel agrees that the drive was smooth because he slept the whole 6 hours.  That boy can sleep through anything!

We crossed the border and got to Montreal without a hitch.  Once we were there I was glad I wasn't driving because most of the signs were in French.  I do dabble with the language but I'm not that fluent to translate and drive at the same time.  We rented an apartment through AirBnB.  The place was nice, in a great location and our host was really cool.  We dropped off our bags, claimed our sleeping areas and went to walk around the town.  We walked around the popular Rue Sainte Catherine for a little bit.  We to a liquor store to stock up for the weekend.  If you know me I'm not much of a drinker but I was going to try and hang.  Angel and I walked into a deli and I found a bag of ketchup flavored Doritos.  I know, I know it sounds so totally weird.  But when I was doing my research for the trip I read that Canadians loved ketchup flavored chips.  Forever A Tourist right?  As for the taste itself it really tasted like a mouthful of ketchup.  Everyone had about 1 chip and it took me about the rest of the weekend to finish the bag.  As we walked around the town I noticed there were strip clubs everywhere.  I know Montreal is world renowned for their strippers but it wasn't that kind of a trip.  It was a family trip guys!

Alex and Sam's brother Jon met us up and brought us to Boustan for lunch.  It's this tiny small and crowded Lebanese joint on Rue Cresent.  Oh man it was sooo freaking good.  I think it was the best falafel sandwich I have ever had.  Everyone was in foodie heaven.  What was even better was that the food was only a couple of bucks.  When you add in the currency exchange rate it was almost nothing!  It definitely fit into our budget friendly weekend.

Once we got back to the apartment we took a nap and then it was time to pregame!  I thought I was really holding my own with my glasses of my moscato and shots of fireball. HA!  I was totally fine with calling it an early night but of course no one else shared my point of view.  We met up Jon at this bar called Korova.  The drinks were pretty cheap there so we kept them flowing.  Since we were all pretty lush at this point we all got on the empty dance floor.  No one else was dancing but we didn't care.  Each one of us was dancing to the beat of our own drums.  Everyone at the bar was just staring at us.  They probably thought we were all weirdos but we didn't care.  We were having the time of our lives.  We were so uninhibited that people slowly started joining us on the dance floor and joining our dance party.  Next thing you know the dance floor was packed with people just waving their hands wildly in the air.  We were totally a hit.

By the time we left we were craving for some late night snacks.  Down the block we found Patati Patata which happened to be on my foodie list of places to try.  We all ordered poutine to go and ate it ravenously back at the apartment.  Angel was so drunk that he had no idea he ordered vegan poutine so he didn't actually have any cheese or gravy.  The next morning he just told us he didn't really enjoy that place so we had to break the news to him.

The next morning was my touristy planned day!  We started off with brunch at Beautys Luncheonette.  I found out about this place on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.  I had a bagel with cream cheese and lox since that's what he ate on the show.  Being from New York I love bagels.  Bagels in Canada it turns out is a very different event.  They are much thinner and the whole is huge.  Would I say they are better or worse then our own bagels? Hmm I would say it's like comparing apples and oranges.  Both are fruit but don't taste anything alike.  I did enjoy my brunch very much.  After that we headed to Old Montreal for the rest of the afternoon.

We went into Maple Delights.  I read that they have free maple tastings and a maple museum.  Before we could do any tastings we had to check out the museum first which we were totally okay with.  It could've been a glass case in an exhibit in a museum.  But I wouldn't call that a museum.  Everyone just gave me a look of "Is this really what you planned?!"  It was free so we couldn't really complain.  It took me about 5 seconds to read through their museum then I pushed everyone went upstairs in hope that the sampling made up for the lack of museum.  The free samples definitely made up for it by far.  It was pretty intense.  I had no idea there were so many different flavors and uses for maple syrup.  It was so much we were bursting to the seams.  We couldn't even get through all the samples!

In the front of the store they were selling so many different maple flavored pastries and ice creams.  Even though I was stuffed I wanted to leave with more food.  The fat kid inside me never stops.  I was trying hard to figure out what to get when Angel pointed out something near the register.  It was called tire d'érable.   It looked like a spread of crushed iced laid out on a table, and the workers would spread out maple syrup letting it harden up, then you were given a stick and supposed to roll it up into what resembled a lollipop and placed into a cup of ice.  Yup I was definitely the fat kid in the candy store and I was definitely going to go with that.  My inner tourist was doing the truffle shuffle.  Since it was the middle of winter and we were going to walk around with a cup of ice we made sure to buy a cup of maple coffee for the walk outside.

Our next destination was the Notre Dame Basilica.  From all the research I did before hand I knew this was the place to see in Montreal for any tourist.  We walked through Old Montreal to find it and it was so beautiful.  Everyone took loads of pics outside.  When it was time to go in however no one wanted to go inside.  No one wanted to pay the $5 entrance fee.  I was soo taken aback.  This is the crown jewel of Montreal and everyone was letting a few dollars stop them.  I mean I'm all about budget but this was tourist blasphemy!  No one wanted to pay to get into a church.  They knew Angel and I really wanted to go in so they didn't mind hanging outside while we took our time to explore inside.  I was really glad that we ended up inside.  The far wall was simply stunning with all all it's shades of blue.  No one wonder so many people make it a point to stop in there.


 Later on Michelle had told me she would've went but she didn't have any cash on her.  I wish she would've said something.  We would've had no problem paying for her!  She doesn't like to travel too often and so I really wanted her to experience some new things with me.  At this point everyone was cold and tired so we decided to recover back at the apartment until it was time to meet up Jon again at night.

We met him at his school Concordia.  He writes for the school paper The Link.  It was cool checking out where he spends most of his time.  From there we went for something quick to eat.  We walked around and came across a bar that was hosting a trivia night.  If you know me then you know how much I love my trivia.  But this place asked questions that were so ridiculously hard it was not even fun to play.  We tried to stay as long as week could but at one point we just got up in the middle of the round and had to walk out.  I didn't want to end the night on a boring note so I got some Boustans to cheer me up real quick. 

Top: La Banquise
 Bottom: Patati Patata

The following morning we went and got lunch La Banquise which was on the top of my foodie requests for the trip.  I mean it's listed as a poutinerie on Yelp how could I turn that down?  Most of us got some ODed versions of poutine.  It definitely fulfilled my cravings for cheese curds for a while.  While at lunch I got an email from my agent saying that I had a callback for a commercial at 9:45 AM the next morning.  Yay I love callbacks!!  Since we were in Canada and a good 6 hours from home we decided to wrap up our trip a day early and head back to the States.  It was still early enough that we had a little more time to squeeze in some exploring.  

We got into the car and headed straight to Jean Talon Market.  It was another place I saw in No Reservations.  It was a cool fresh food market that offered very generous samples. Other than that we got over it real quick.  From there headed to the St Joseph's Oratory.  I had a feeling everyone else was fine with skipping it but I reassured them that it was free and would be worth our time.  I'm glad to say everyone enjoyed the oratory.  It wasn't crowded at all since it was cold and the oratory was covered with snow.  We had fun climbing and slipping on all the steps to the top.  The oratory is pretty huge so there is a lot to discover.  I would definitely recommending stopping by if you are ever in Montreal.

We still had enough time to check out one more site.  Jon brought us to Park Du Mont-Royal.  We ended up at a scenic overview of the city and just talked.  Jon wanted to show us a place that had an even better view.  There was a staircase near but it had a huge DO NOT ENTER sign right in front due to snow.  We looked around and saw no other way so we blew through the sign and started climbing the stairs.  Uh yea it was pretty dangerous.  The was snow and ice everywhere and we kept ending up on our asses every few steps.  For some reason that didn't stop us and we had to use massive upper body strength to get up those stairs.  From there we were in the heart of the park.  Even though I knew we were in the middle of a big city it felt like I was hiking in the middle of Vermont.  I feel like at home we don't normally go to the park after it snows a couple of feet.  But it doesn't stop them in Canada.  For them they just break out the cross country skis!  I thought that was so hardcore.  I just can't picture people doing that at my corner park.  We finally reached the point Jon wanted to show us.  It was so picturesque.  It was like we hiked to a whole new city.  The skyline was so close and so huge.  It reminded me of the surrealness of NYC when you stand in the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.  We just sat there for a while soaking up the views.

Finally it was time to call it a wrap on our trip.  We all decided the best way to close it out was to get Boustans.  Of course I got one for the road was well. =P  I'm so glad our first sibling trip was a success.  I love traveling and I hope to share doing the thing I love with the people I love more often.  I am looking forward to many more in the future. 

Planning a trip to the Emerald Isle

Hey guys!  I know I know I am the absolute worst.  I haven't posted anything for most of the year.  Since I am pretty much the only person that reads this it's okay I forgive myself.

But now let me write about something not as exciting as the trip itself but close enough to it...the planning part.  Some people hate planning and would rather just have someone else do the work.  IE. Angel can't plan anything to save his life.  Lucky for him I don't mind it at all.  When it's just the two of us I have carte blanche when it comes to our trips.  He's pretty chill and is willing to try and see just about anything.

Over the last few years I have turned it somewhat into a tradition to travel for Angel's birthday.  I mean what better excuse to book some plane tickets right?  Well my next big trip is coming up in October and I have been planning all week.  Over Memorial Day weekend I "accidentally" purchased a trip to Ireland from LivingSocial on my phone.  I've been wanting to go to Ireland over the last couple of years and I thought the deal I saw was interesting.  I had a coupon and was trying to finagle as much of a discount as I could, then I pressed buy by accident and there you have it.  I didn't think anything of it because LivingSocial has an awesome refund policy and I knew they would let me return it with no problem.  I told Angel that I bought it and he wasn't buying into the "accident" story.  He was kinda like whatever you bought it, if you really want to go we can think about it over the weekend.  So the cost of the trip on LivingSocial was originally listed for $1000.  The coupons I was trying to finagle was for 10% off trips, so that dropped the cost of the trip to $900.  After I spoke to Angel I called my cousin Gerard to see if he and his girlfriend Carissa would possibly be interested in joining us for this trip.  I told him he had 24 hours to think about it because that's how long the 10% coupon would be valid for.  He was very interested and would find out if he could get the days off.  Well it all worked out.  Everyone got their own deal from LivingSocial and we qualified for the buy 3 get one free discount.  After everything was said and done, the deal which included flight, car, 1 night hotel and 6 nights at Bed and Breakfasts came out too........$675pp!  At that price there was no way I was going to return that!  So Ireland here we come!!!

Fast forward to now close to the end of August and the planning must commence.  The only thing we had booked was the first night which is the hotel stay in Drogheda.  After that we get to choose BnBs from anywhere in the country.  So we really had carte blanche about what we want to see and do in Ireland.  I did a lot of cross referencing across travel books, blogs, websites, Instagram and Twitter accounts.  Ireland has soooo many stunningly beautiful places to see it was really, really difficult narrowing it down.  I wish we had a month to explore!  Since Gerard and Carissa are joining us on the trip, I wanted to make sure I wasn't being a nazi planner and making sure to do things that they would enjoy.  Luckily for me they are pretty laid back as well, they just wanted to make sure we can throw in a party or two and some hit up some good pubs.  My cousin mentioned he wanted to go to this party in Northern Ireland so I made sure to put that into the itinerary.  Angel was down for whatever, all he really requested was that we keep the car manuel which was what was included with the package.  To switch to automatic was an extra $160.  They don't really mess with that automatic stuff in Europe.  I was all for switching the cars because I love driving on roadtrips, but with stick shift that takes Carissa and I out of the picture.  Angel really wants to drive stick shift on the left side of the road with the driver on the right side of the car.  Oh boys. He also wanted to check out some Game of Thrones sites which I am all about.

Since we knew where and when the party in Northern Ireland was we at least knew which way we should head on our roadtrip.  Counter clockwise it is!  Carissa was really hands on in helping choose the BnBs after I chose what cities, towns and villages we would end up at.  After 7 revisions to the itinerary we now know what our days will be looking like.

Day 1: Catch an Aer Lingus flight from JFK. (Try to knock out during the whole flight due to early start the next morning.)
Day 2: Arriving in Dublin at the crack of dawn.  I set up a free 3 hour tour of Dublin.  According to Trip Advisor it's the best tour in town! With about 6,000 5 star reviews it was a no brainer.  After that we will definitely be stopping into the Guinness Brewery for the perfect pint.   I also want to do a quick stop at St Patrick's Cathedral.  Once we feel fatigued we leave Dublin and head out to our hotel in Drogheda.
Day 3: The Dark Hedges, Carrick-A-Rede Bridge, and The Giant's Causeway.  Staying in Portrush and party.
Day 4: Start our drive on the Wild Atlantic Way and make our way to the best hotel in the world at Ashford Castle for some afternoon tea. Then make our way to Galway for the night.
Day 5: Check out the Cliffs of Moher then end up in Kenmare.
Day 6: Spend all day exploring the Ring of Kerry and then stay in County Cork.
Day 7: Go castle hopping starting with Blarney Castle, Rock of Cashel and ending with Cahir Castle. Spend our last night in Kilkenny.
Day 8: Free morning (TBA) then back to DUB for our return flight

From all the research I was doing I was getting so hyped about this trip.  If I am missing any must die for spots please let me know so I can revise again.  One of my favorite kind of trips is road trips and this is turning out to be an epic one!