Travel Tip

For long plane rides, pack your slippers in your carry-on bag. Slip them on during the flight to keep your feet comfy and warm. Whenever I travel my UGG slippers come with me!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate...

I love the show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-best-thing-i-ever-ate/index.html) for several reasons. First, Michael Symon is often a featured chef and gives lots of shout outs to some awesome Cleveland restaurants. Second, I love food. But third, and probably most importantly, the show gives great tips about where to go for excellent food while you're traveling. I'm a firm believer in "word of mouth" for dining. Always remember the locals know best when it comes to finding good grub. And don't be afraid to ask! But I would caution you when asking for restaurant advice at hotels. Of course they're going to promise you that that hotel restaurant has the best steak you've ever had and the bartender makes a great martini, blah blah blah. In the hospitality business reputation is everything and hotels have working relationships with area restaurants and therefore will recommend them. While I wouldn't recommend approaching strangers on the street and asking where to get a good burger, I would keep your eyes and ears open. Look around and see if a place looks to be filled with locals or tourists. Listen in on conversations...people talk about food...a lot. And if you're comfortable enough, just ask someone where they would recommend eating...say while you're waiting in line at a shop or in an elevator.

So I was watching the tail end of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" this evening and it was all about burgers...so I thought I would share a great (and unexpected) place to grab a lunchtime burger in Cleveland...

WP Burger at Washington Place in Little Italy (http://washingtonplacelittleitaly.com/)

Probably not the first place that comes to mind when you think about a burger...but it is a-maz-ing! The secret? Quality ingredients put together for a delicious, simply prepared, mound of yumminess. The burger is cooked to order with grass-fed Swiss cheese, grilled red onion, and roasted garlic aioli on the side. My advice is to ask for an extra side of the aioli for french fry dipping. The restaurant is located in a recently renovated building that also houses and inn and offers great ambiance.

Travel Tip

Don't want to bring a large bottle of perfume on a trip? Spritz cotton balls several times with perfume and place in a small Zip-Lock bag. Just dab and go!

Surprise Delivery!

How happy am I right now? Very! 2012 National Geographic Trip Catalog arrived today! I can't wait to read about all the fabulous trips!

Cruise Time!

So last summer my cousin, Cindy, mentioned that her friends were thinking about going on a "girls weekend" cruise. She said the cruise package was a pretty good deal and was put together by a local travel agent with a great reputation. Well this immediately sparked my interest as I'll go anywhere, anytime, as long as I have the funds to do so. Well my cousins and I got to chatting about the cruise and decided we all wanted to go, so its become a family girls weekend for us. I'll be going with my sister and four of my first-cousins. While I've traveled abroad to some very cool places, I've never been on a cruise and I've never been to the Caribbean. So I can't wait!

We depart this September (which seemed very far way when week booked last year). Now that we leave in 8 months I'm starting to get excited. I'll be doing lots of research on cruise travel as we prepare. Because I'm not in charge of booking I don't have a lot of info on the cruise itself. Those who know me, know that I'm a bit of a control freak about the details of traveling. I like to know all the who, what, when, where, why info well ahead of time. So I got online this morning and started looking up info about the cruise itself. What I do know, is we'll be on the Disney Dream which sailed for the first time in January 2011. From the looks of www.disneycruise.disney.go.com/ it looks like a fabulous ship...though I don't have anything to compare it to! lol We're doing a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas and will have 2 stops in Nassau and Castaway Cay. I heard from another cruise traveler that the Disney beaches are fabulous so I'll be excited to see them.

I love the ocean and anything nautical so I'm not worried about the sea travel. Of course I'll be bringing the precautionary pharmaceuticals just in case. I learned that lesson when my sister and I traveled through England/Scotland by bus.

So where do you begin?

As I was sitting here creating this blog, I wondered where exactly do you start? Sure I have lots of ideas of things to share, but where do you begin? Well first I thought how did this idea come into being? Well, I was recently "hired" on by a friend to pack her for a 3 week study abroad trip to Europe. (I say "hired" because I only asked to be paid in Belgium chocolate) While I was telling another friend about the packing session she must have sensed my passion (or craziness) and said "you should blog about this"...so here we are. I'll be offering my own perspective on travel, packing, & organization while sharing my favorite resources and personal travel experiences.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -Henry Miller