Embarrassing but True

This is incredibly embarrassing, but after being married on 11/24/2007, I just ordered a wedding album last week. Yea, that is awful.

Truthfully, I’ve had it made since we got our photos back, but I was a) procrastinating and b) it sort of felt incomplete, but I wasn't really sure why.

I used MyPublisher, and back when I originally compiled it, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea that I couldn’t use color in my album. I am, after all, a person who loves a lot of color (as you’ll notice when you see our location). Finally, about a year ago, MyPublisher came out with a version in which I could add color. Perfect! So, I changed the album to my liking, and then….well, just sat on it some more.

Last week, I got an email from the folks at MyPublisher saying they were offering an incredible deal. They launched a new album cover type (photo finish), and you could have your very own (wedding) album for $20 with unlimited pages! This was a savings for me of $75 per album! With one for me, and one for my parents, that was a total savings of $150; definitely not chump change!

So, I finally ordered the album, and let me tell you—it was worth the wait! The new cover type is my favorite of the cover options (it has a very professional look), and the bold color came out beautifully (and true to what I expected it to be)! (FYI: this deal is on for one more day (ends tomorrow), so you have time to make your own! Use the coupon code “PHOTO20”. )

And, since I was a horrible blogger, and never got around to showing off more of my wedding pictures, here’s the link to my album instead. Enjoy!

Location: The beautiful Compass Point Beach Resort
Arriving via: The super fun Carnival Fascination (no longer docked in Miami)
Photographer: The absolutely incomparable (seriously) Kristyn Hogan Photography

Change

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I’ve written. Truthfully, due to my lack of involvement, and mostly by default, I had just decided I was going to retire this blog. However, on this rainy morning in Georgia, I felt the need to write, so here I am.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the past year lately, and decided that I missed having the log of my life that this blog represented, and missed all of you. But, should I just come back here? Start something new? Find another way to log my life?

I started thinking about it, and I decided to come back here, but I would expect this blog is going to manifest itself in a slightly different way. When I titled this blog “Life, Love, and the Pursuit of the Next Great Vacation”, I had intended to make this a mix of a blog of my life and, of course, travel. Truthfully, though, I’m not sure my life was quite exciting enough living in small-town upper Midwest, while going to school. School, work, school, work, the occasional vacation. :)

Life has changed a lot, though, in the past year. I graduated with my MBA, and for the first time in my life, wasn’t in school anymore. I moved across the country, leaving behind that small town upper Midwest life, and moving to a former confederate state (talk about a culture shock!) and into a big city. I started a new job, for which I lived out of a hotel for four months, and have been having a lot of fun doing it (the job that is. Not the commuting). I have watched my sister find out she was pregnant, suffer through a BRUTAL pregnancy, and then give us the greatest gift my family has ever received—my sweet little niece. Then, I stood beside her as the matron of honor in her wedding. We’ve visited several countries, cities, and states, and have flown over 32,000 miles in the past three months alone. We’ve met new friends, and set up a little life in this city (well, as much of a life as airline employees set up in any particular city, that is).

This has been a year of change, so I think it’s time for this blog to change a little too. While before my focus was on pretty hotel photos, I rarely search for pretty hotels anymore. Non Rev (non revenue=free travel=employees and their associated family members) travel means booking whichever hotel is available when you find out you’re getting on the airplane at the airport via your IPhone (don’t worry—I haven’t forgone my standards! It’s just that the research is now very last minute). And while I would previously spend months (maybe even years!) researching a big vacation, it’s now “Hmmmm…which flights are open this weekend?”, and then reading a few pages in a guidebook on the flight over.

So, how will this blog change? First of all, it’s going to more of a blog of my life. If you’re thinking “Well, Ashley, what about the travel?” Don’t worry, my friends. Travel is not only a huge part of my life, it’s a part of who I am. Instead of the pretty hotel photos I previously mentioned, you’ll be my seeing trip photos and real life reviews and tips. Additionally, I’ll be posting favorites from my new city (in case you ever visit!), writing about friends, family, every day life, maybe throwing up some decorating photos (another thing I’m pretty interested in), and just generally trying to get back to loving blogging.

If you’re still out there (I’d be shocked if you were!), I hope you’ll stick around to follow things around here. Hopefully you’ll find these changes to your liking, and I’ll be much more active.

I’ve missed you, after all.

http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007/5/24/design-can-change.jpg

::Waving hi::

A new year a new start. Well, that was kind of true. I said I was going to write when I felt inspired, and, truthfully, the inspiration was lacking. Between job hunting in this economy (depressing!), work, school, etc, inspiration was hiding, and quite cleverly, too!

But, what a difference a few months makes! How about, “A new life, a new start”?
It’s hard to believe that I’m saying this, but I’ve landed my dream job! Literally and truly my dream job.

And, to top that off, without going into too many of the details, my husband and will be making a major relocation and starting over in a new city (yes, city!).

What does this have to do with this blog, you ask? Well…..

I’m now an airline employee! (!!!!) Which means free flights to anywhere in the world! Ha! Oh, the dangers of this for my pocketbook. Although, having lived in a small market for my entire life, not having to pay $1500 for an airline ticket (what we paid for our tickets to Greece EACH) frees up a lot of cash for hotels. ;)

Anyway, bottom line--you can expect to hear a lot more from me in the coming months. As we make a valiant attempt to circle the globe, I’ll be trying to post any helpful information I gather along the way here. :)

It’s going to be a bit slow here for a little while, though, as I attempt to finish up my masters degree, have a full time job, a part time job, and commute between cities (and states) for work/school (that was exhausting just typing it!), but in the meantime, I’ll try to post some pics from some recent vacations (we’ve been busy bees!).

Anyway, if you’re still out there, I hope to be much more active around here! :) ::waves hi!::

A New Year, A New Start

September 25—the last time I wrote. I could give you the typical blogger’s sob story about how busy I’ve been, etc, but I’ll spare you. Mostly, I was beginning to feel like this had become another job for me. The fun had slipped away, and I felt guilty every time I didn’t fulfill my blogger’s duties. So, I decided to take an indefinite break.

However, as time has passed, I’ve begun to miss my modest little blog. I’ve missed the diary of my life that it had become, the log of travel info for my personal use at a later date, the excitement that blogging a trip brought about, and of course, you, my dear readers.

So, we’re back and live. However, this year’s blog is going to be a bit different.

Don’t worry—the travel focus will still be here. However, 2009 is going to be the year that I start blogging for me. And, hopefully, this will result in better results for you.

I’m going to blog when I’m feeling inspired, when I have something exciting to report, of when I’ve come across something fabulous in the world of travel. I’m going to blog a bit more about my life (this year there will be plenty to report), and a bit less out of obligation. I’m going to blog 2009 from the heart, and for my love of travel.

I’m looking forward to it, and if you’re still out there somewhere, I hope you are too.

Travel Toy(s)!

For those of us who live in cell phone coverage no-man’s-land, Apple's ridiculous contract with AT&T stinks. :( No iPhone for us. :( (Although, I will say that I did not necessarily miss it until I discovered my new toy. Suddenly, I’m irrationally angry at Apple for this decision).

So, what’s the next best thing? An iPod Touch.

Oh, how I love thee, so, iPod Touch. ;) Your applications to travel are endless, and that makes for a very happy travel addict. Your WiFi capabilities, your ability to turn into a compact portable DVD player (without, you know the dvd’s), your handy little translation and currency converter applications, your downloadable Frommer's Guides, your trusty little weather forecaster, your MP3 capabilities, your ability to map my location—oh, how you make me swoon. I do not doubt that your utility will well exceed the $220 I spent on you.

And, since I needed something to protect you from the harsh realities of the outside world (and because every girl needs a fabulous pink dress!), my precious, I have purchased this super adorable case for you (also available for iPhones) from Etsy seller, Oh My Guiles!...

And so I do not sell your sound capabilities short (and hear the family of bouncing/screaming children that are inevitably seated right in front of, behind me, or right next to me), I’ve purchased these beauties.

I can’t wait until my next trip to utilize you to your full potential.

That Didn't Take Long

So, yea. As per my previous post, we were feeling a bit of indecision regarding our last day of our trip. Stay in the Plaka and take a cab to the airport at 3:00 am, or stay near the airport and take the metro to the Plaka for the last day?

Based on some advice I got from some fellow travelers, we have canceled our reservation (for the last day only--we can't wait to stay there for the first two nights in Athens!) at the Athens Gate Hotel , and booked at the Sofitel Athens Airport.

The beauty of the Sofitel is that it's literally right next to the airport--as in, you can walk. This will save me precious minutes of sleep (those of you that know me are very aware that I am NOT a morning person).

But, don't be fooled--this is no typical airport hotel. It's luxurious and hip! We've also stayed at a Sofitel before, and it's one of the few chain hotels that I actually really enjoy. :) We had an outstanding experience, and the TripAdvisor reviews seem to support our previous experience.



Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, stand by for some non-greece related posts! I'm sure you're ready! :)

Rounding Out the Trip

As our trip comes to a close, we’ll head back to Athens for a night, awaiting our 4:50 am flight back to the US (sick, right?!). Since we arrive back in Athens at noon that day (plenty of time to spend further exploring the city), but leave at such an obnoxious hour, we struggled a bit with where to stay. We looked at two options near the airport (the Holiday Inn Attica Avenue
and the Sofitel Athens Airport), but decided against both, and ended up back at the Athens Gate(for now…I’m still not 100% positive about this decision. Any feedback out there?).

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The upside to this absurd flight time is that we will get an extended layover in Amsterdam—just enough time to peruse the city and get a tiny taste of the city.

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Amsterdam was originally on our itinerary as stopover on our trip, but the silly airline seems to be rearranging flight schedules daily (booo!), so we couldn’t get the schedule we wanted a reasonable price. :( So, for now, our short layover will have to do, and we’ll definitely plan on returning sometime very soon to really dive into the city.

And that, my friends, concludes our brief trip outline. :) I cannot wait for May. :)

Realizing the Dream

You’re probably thinking that’s a bit dramatic, huh? I'm not disagreeing. But, friends, we must remember who we are talking about here. ;) My love for travel is not something that has developed over the past day, week, year, or heck, yearS, but rather, something that’s traceable back to early grade school and my mom. We won’t get into the background, but let the record state that my addiction is actually a genetic disorder. And, said genetic disorder causes me to measure my dreams in terms of travel. (It's not my fault.)

Anyway, back to the task at hand.

Realizing the dream…

It may sound dramatic, but one of my earliest memories of actually longing to go somewhere (prior to that, my mom would tell me where I was going and I would nod and probably ask for a juice box or something) was after seeing a beautiful picture just like this one. I distinctly remember staring at it (If I remember correctly, it was a poster on the wall of a travel agency), and deciding that I must go there. I could not have been older than 8 or 9, and that vision and feeling of longing have stuck with me all of these years.

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::cue dramatic music::

We’ll be spending…

4 Nights on beautiful Santorini:

We’ll be spending 4 nights/5 days on the beautiful island of Santorini. We plan on filling our time diving, hitting up wineries, exploring ancient sites & villages, laying on the beach, and enjoying the famous Santorini sunsets—pretty much my dream mix of vacation activities.

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I’ve blogged about Santorini hotels a couple of times on this blog here and here, but, ultimately, we ended up choosing another hotel, and couldn’t be more excited about it!

Located just outside of the village of Imerovigli, the charming Anastasis Apartments hotel is not only gorgeous, but pretty reasonably priced for Santorini, as well. And, for the icing on the cake, it’s also known as having outstanding service. In fact, it’s the number one rated hotel on TripAdvisor on all of Santorini.

Next Stop...

Originally, the husband and I were going to do an Italy/Greece combo trip. We had been looking forward to it for months. Then, one day, I thought to myself, "Self, maybe you should just double check your school calendar before you book airline tickets." Good call, self. We might have had a major problem if I hadn't. You see, school ends a week later than normal. :( Due to some family commitments, we were unable to extend our trip past our original end date, so we had no choice butto cut our trip.

Tears were shed, temper tantrums were had.

Deep within the depths of my depression, I decided to research alternative options in Greece (our original time span in Greece for the Greece/Italy combo trip was only about 6 days). Well…you know how the best way to quickly get over an ex is to get a "current"? Well, I had found a new boyfriend, and my new boyfriend's name was Crete.

Stop 2: 3 Nights in Crete

When researching Crete, we quickly realized that the capital city of Iraklion wasn’t a great fit for the type of vacation we were looking for. Our solution? Go west, young man.

We’ll be spending all three nights in the beautiful Venetian port of Chania. This little city on the west coast of Crete has managed to maintain its old world charm, while also being an excellent base for additional exploration of Crete.

greece-holidays.sunvil.co.uk
www.homesgofast.com
http://www.ellada.net/

Unlike Athens, our hotel choice in Chania was immediately apparent. The absolutely beautiful, charming, and reasonably priced 600 year old Casa Leone, located on highly desirable Chania harbor, just steps away from the old town, will our be our home base for our three nights in Crete.

Besides the amazing (and healthy!) Cretian food, there’s one major highlight I’m looking forward to exploring outside of Chania: Elafonissi Beach.

I don't really feel like any explanation is necessary here.

http://theworldwithme.files.wordpress.com

Yaaaa!

So…did you guess?

For those of you who don’t know, the picture below is of the Greek god, Zeus.

What the heck am I talking about? We’re off to Greece, my friends!

Well, not exactly. At least, not yet. But, we’ve booked Greece, so we will be off to Greece (in May). This is an extremely exciting thing for my husband and I! We’ve been trying to go to Greece for a few years now, but it has never panned out, primarily due to time constraints (18 hours of travel time one way for 7 days total just didn’t seem like the best of ideas for us). If we had a list of "dream trips",I’m fairly confident this would be on it!

Ok, I’m done yammering about my excitement. ;) On to the info. :) I have enough info to fill a few posts, so we’ll start with stop number 1.

2 Nights in Athens

We arrive in the late afternoon after 18 hours of what is sure to be nightmare-ish time in coach on one of my “favorite” airlines.

I did extensive research on hotels in Athens, and it was originally a toss-up between Hotel Fresh and The Eridanus. Both hotels stacked up well on Trip Advisor, but I continued to look, because, as you’ll soon see (if you haven’t already figured it out), I’m a sucker for a view, and I just wasn’t convinced that either hotel was “the one” (and yes—I do liken choosing a hotel to choosing a spouse). :)

Then, I stumbled upon our hotel of choice, The Athens Gate Hotel. It rates VERY well on tripadvisor, has a HECK of a view (if you’re willing to pay for it), is very affordable (even if you are willing to pay for aforementioned view), and you just cannot beat the location (as indicated by the view). I cannot wait to sip Greek wine on my balcony overlooking the Acropolis or the Temple of Zeus!

Worst.Blogger.Ever (And trip announcement)

So sorry about the delay, friends! Aforementioned job has been INSANELY busy (I'm working in academia, and it's the beginning of the school year, so it's a double whammy for me--busy at work and busy with school).

Anyway, I've got a super exciting trip announcement coming this weekend (once I receive all of my confirmations). :) We'll be taking one of our "dream trips", and I can't wait to share it with you!

Until then, a hint...





Image from FanPop

I have an excuse (or 20)!

Ok, it’s 11:03 PM on a Sunday night, and I’m up composing what will be ½ apology/excuses and ½ of a life post. I’ve been a busy bee since my last entry on July 3oth, and now I’m back, tail between my legs, ready to get rolling again. Hopefully my life update will semi-explain my absence and you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.

Job Hunting
Sometimes life/fate works in funny ways. You see, it wasn’t all that long ago that I met and hit it off with one of my best friends in the world, Stacy. Strange things brought us together as friends, but I have no doubt that she is someone who will be in my life in a big way for the rest of my days...and that the higher powers that be had a plan for our meeting!

I’m sure you’re thinking, “You’re rambling. What does this have to do with job hunting Ashley?” And you’d be right—I am rambling. ;) But, to answer your question--Stacy has a wonderful friend. We’ll call him Tom.

Tom happens to work at my dream company in what turns out to be my dream job. Tom and I connected, hit it off, and thus began my launch into my possible dream career.

I know, I know. You’re wondering how that consumed so much of my time. I started typing out a step-by-step timeline for you, but it was insanely boring, so I will just say that in a matter of two weeks’ time, I went through about 5 steps of the recruiting process. Which leads me to….

Our mini getaway
Since said recruiting process was moving along, I decided to set a date to meet the division of the office that I am interested in. What started out as a casual coffee meeting with my contact at that office, turned into a lunch interview with three people in the office. I came, I saw, I’m praying that I conquered.

This meeting/interview also gave my husband and I an opportunity to get away for a few days to one of our favorite cities—the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. We had a great time with my family in the area, and spent time all over the cities—Downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul, the Southern ‘burbs, the Northern ‘burbs, Bloomington (home of the Mall of America), etc. Needless to say, it was a busy, busy, busy (and at times, quite stressful!) trip.

While we were there, though…

We started house hunting
If all goes well in the job department for us (and that is a BIG if), we’re considering purchasing our first home when we move. We figured that while we were in the twin cities, along with enjoying some reasonably priced sushi (it’s insanely expensive in my little city!), we would take advantage of the time we had, and start checking out areas we were interested in living in. When all was said and done, we had been in eight (yes, EIGHT!) different cities in the twin cities area checking out property/getting a feel for the various cities.

While we’re not entirely sure if we’ll end up renting or buying when we do relocate, the trip was extremely productive in that we really narrowed down the area that we want to live in--a huge accomplishment, as far as I’m concerned. ;)

Then, when we got back, I….

Left my old job, and started a new one
Since I hadn’t given my notice at my old job, I had been waiting to announce this here, but since I’ve clearly given notice and moved on, I think it’s safe to finally spill the beans. ;)

I have started a new position with my university as a graduate teaching assistant, which is tremendously exciting for me. Along with a terrific resume builder and an opportunity to learn from some extremely bright people, there are a ridiculous amount of perks with this new position.

1) FREE TUITION!
2) Free Health benefits!
3) I’m making about 1.5 times what I was at my old position, working a little more than ½ the hours I was working at the old job.
4) When I’m not in school, I’m not working (but still getting paid), which is fantastic for my husband and I, since, as you may have heard, we really like to travel. ;)
5) I’m really enjoying the work that I do, and making terrific contacts!

I told you I’ve been a busy little bee! Add to all of this the fact that we just found out that two of my friends are pregnant (!), it’s been a very exciting few weeks! And, heck, while we’re doling out excuses, I’d like to throw out there that the beautiful upper Midwest late summer/early fall weather has made me want to be away from the PC and out in the world as much as possible!

However, all good things must come to an end, and it’s time to buckle down and get kickin’ in school. I’ll be laying off of the leisure time, so hopefully I’ll be more disciplined here, as well! It’s going to be a busy year (job, normal class load, thesis-writing), but there’s going to be tons of fun to be had too…

And, of course, plenty of travel.

Oh, and since blog posts suck without pictures, for good measure, here's one of beautiful downtown Minneapolis.

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Travel/Life Goals

I've been meaning to do this post for a while, but I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. Would you think I was weird? Do other people do this?

Then, this morning, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Fruit & Bread, and I realized I am not the only crazy person....Kristyn is equally as crazy. ;)

Anyway, the topic at hand: Travel and Life Lists.

For most of my adult life, I've had an ever evolving list that includes goals, places to see, etc. But, the odd thing about this list is that it's completely travel focused....and I don't have a life list for non-travel related things. (I should probably get one, huh?)

Anyway, lists.... I don't really have a written "places to see before I die" because my "places to see before I die" is pretty much everywhere. I'm serious. I honestly haven't met a place that I'm not interested in seeing. My friend Rachel sent me a quote that she said reminded her of me:

"I haven't been everywhere, but it’s on my list"~Susan Sontag

(And yes, I do have that memorized). I think Susan (and Rachel) pretty much hit the nail on the head for me. ;)

I do, of course, have some priority places, but I'd rather you witness them as I visit them here on the blog than in list form. :)

The other list I have (a much more formal list) is a travel goals list. This one is more broad and generalized and encompasses things that I specifically want to work towards. Life goals, if you will.

1) I want to take my parents on vacation on my tab to someplace they probably wouldn't pick up and head to on their own (probably Europe).

2) I want to really visit 6 of the 7 continents (I grew up in ND, so I'm pretty ok without seeing the excessive snow, etc, in Antarctica...but if the right opportunity came up, I would probably take it).

3) I want to eventually be able to work from home, if only during the summers, and spend entire summers in Europe. I know this sounds like a crazy dream, but it's surprisingly affordable to rent apartments, so our three month vacation would cost about as much as a normal week-long vacation for us (assuming we continue to work over there).

4) Two words: African Safari

5) I want to take a substantial vacation with my best friend (other than my wedding).

Anyway, if you made it through this entire post, bless your heart. :) I'd love to hear what some of your goals/places to see before you die are! :)

Hello, Goodbye (money)

One of my favorite experiences in Vegas was seeing LOVE at the Mirage. Being the huge Beatles fan that I am, I was in paradise--bright colors, kicka*s music, and Cirque showmanship, oh my! It was fabulous, and if it had gone on for hours, I would have been ok with it. ;) Yes, tickets were pricey, but it was worth every penny--even my husband who is not really a fan of the music really enjoyed the show.

But, if you're looking to take your Beatles experience to a new level, check this out.

A Hard Days Night is a hotel solely dedicated to the Beatles in the band's hometown, Liverpool, England. And a fabulous hotel it is!

Each of the 110 rooms in the hotel feature boutique hotel amenities such as flat screen tvs, plush linens, and original artwork. If that's not enough for you, you can upgrade to a Lennon or McCartney suite with spacious sitting areas & tons of other cool stuff!

Unfortunately, the old Beatles adage, "All You Need is Love" doesn't really apply at A Hard Days Night--rates start at about 340 GBP, or about 671 USD a night. ;)

Oh well, it's fun to look at. Look away...

What Happens in Mexico...

I can't beleive I'm typing this, but with June upon us, it was time to start thinking about our anniversary trip. After being almost 100% positive that we were going to book a hotel in Jamaica, I was doing what I do (looking at various travel sites) and came across a sale for a resort we've been dying to check out.

For this particular trip, we were thinking short and sweet--we have a cruise planned for March and a huge vacation planned for May. Consequently, we were also thinking cheap. I'm not sure this vacation came out to actually be cheap, but we're satisfied with our decision, and I guess that's all that matters. ;)

We'll be spending a long weekend in November at Excellence Playa Mujeres north of Cancun. I've heard nothing but great things about the resort, and am especially excited about our room. ;) We've booked a rooftop terrace suite, which is a 2-story suite. The first story is the actual room with an indoor and outdoor access jacuzzi for two, a walk in closet, and a rain shower for two. The second story is well, a rooftop terrace. But, it's what's on the terrace that is super cool--a private plunge pool with an amazing view! We pretty much plan on only leaving our room to eat--heck, we made not even do that. ;)

The beautiful Excellence Playa Mujeres.

The interior of our room (jacuzzi & verandah behind where the photo was taken).

The private plunge pool on the roof of our suite!

If I do decide to venture out, this is where you're likely to find me. ;)

Or maybe here. ;) (the spa)