Let's try a new spin...

I have been deep within the search for all the most fascinating cruises one can enjoy. I wanted to get away from normal, you know the whole four day cruises around the Caribbean with three stops one always being in Mexico. Yes they are all amazing cruises and you see some of the most breath taking scenery in the world. But it's been done, a lot. It's time to branch out, go for something that is outside of your comfort zone (Ha! Someone has said this to you before, must have been a genius). There's so much to discover and to pigeon hole one's self because you know it a good time from the fifteen times you've all ready done it, well you're robbing yourself.

River cruise, I know they sound a little 'eh' because when you're from this country, rivers are meant for white water rafting, fishing, or providing a ridiculously long word to learn for your third grade spelling bee. But river cruising in Europe and Asian is something to behold. It's one of the ways to see Europe untouched by modern day. You travel down these canal and rivers and see the world as it was ages ago. And the history you learned about as a child is right there. At your finger tips. Not to mention, it really fine cruising, and by fine I mean high end. The restaurants are five star dining, and the cabins are some of the finest accommodations I have ever seen anywhere, and the ships are not filled with thousands of patrons, they're small, and you have this intimacy you cannot get on an ocean liner.

Now let's say, you want an ocean experience, but you're willing to step outside of the box. There's a vast amount of options for you out there. One of them is cruising north to places like Alaska. One of my favorite cruise companies explains cruising around this area is like seeing the world before it was touched by the human footprint. You can see glaciers, go whale watching, even see the aurora borealis. Again, it's top of the line. There's no cramped cabins, packing in a family for four into a closet. No these places are meant for lavish luxury, and the ship fits the bill. It's the perfect marriage of experiencing top end, luxury travel and witnessing nature in it's truest, untouched setting.

So that's two options of two very different types of cruising. And the options are really limitless as to where you can go, what you can see, and what sort of cruising you want to do. It's a matter of know who to contact so they can help you find it. Like I don't know, maybe your favorite wide eyed traveler.

The list is life.

Ok I know it's wrong to use Schindler's List as a title to a blog, but it's gonna be a good, blog! You'll see.

I wanted to start my bucket list off with a bang. Something that when people read this, their jaws would drop and nod silently, awestruck by the flooring discovery I had brought to them, something they too must visit before their end of days. It's a tall order if you think about it, I mean just writing about random thoughts is hard enough but this, this is some heavy hoo-ha. So the only place I can picture living up to such a grand challenge would have to be an oasis of awesome.

I found Emirates Palace Hotel when looking though some of my favorite sites for fascinating locations. It is so astounding that I am contemplating breaking off my love affair with the Augustine to devote all my love and attention to this magnificent desert rose. It's this completely self sustaining morsel of perfection. Allow me to explain.

It took three billion dollars to build this and that's not with a "mmm" it's with a "bah", billions! When you go to most resorts in the world, it's wonderful because you're at the beach, all your needs are met, you can just kick back and relax. Take that philosophy and multiply it by a bajillion and you have the Palace. Unlike most resorts with let's say ten (I'm being generous) places to chose from for your dinner, this place has one hundred and twenty-eight! Where most places when you lay out the staff is happy to get you a refreshing beverage from the bar, this place has a staff who will bring you a cool towel for your face and rotate your umbrella for you to protect you from the sun's devious rays. And it's gorgeous, really, I am happy just to stare at the pictures all day, heck I'm writing this blog so I have another reason to stare at it some more. I'm having a virtual vicarious relationship with this place, yes my very own VVR!

This place is like being taken to another world, a whole new world if you would. I understand that most don't consider Abu Dhabi when they first think of luxury resorts, but I assure you, it's leading in the way of luxury. But it's not just luxury, it's becoming a real hub for every sort of tourism you can think of. From some of the most fascinating ancient archaeological site dating back thousands of years to the world's largest indoor theme park Ferrari World. There isn't a narrow minded view when it comes to travel, if you can imagine it, they probably have it.

Yep, I'm Special!

Today I am faced with a hard, hard challenge. An even harder challenge than planning the perfect family vacation.... The task that faces me, and stares me down is a complicated one in more ways than I can fathom. I have to write a bio about myself for our travel site. 

You would think, yamming about how amazing you are and letting the world know that you are the best for whatever their needs would be cake walk. But you're wrong. There is a huge obstacle facing you in a challenge like this because as you begin to type you start realizing that all your short comings are not short or meek they're these skyscraper size hurdles that you can never conquer and all those people who said you'd never amount to anything are right! Oh the humanity! Ok, so maybe not so intense but it is a big unforgiving mirror being shown to you. 

Your focus goes from everything you accomplished in your life to every opportunity that seems to have passed you by like a bullet train. Not to mention somewhere in the back of your mind is the fact that eventually after you finally get the emotional strength to pull yourself together and write what you think is the most jaw dropping bio written on a person ever, your boss is going to attack your personal Pulitzer prize winner with a weed whacker. 

But to hell with feeling like a nobody, and to hell with worrying if you're not good enough. I'm going to put on my big girl panties, suck down my body weight in caffeine, munch on some chocolate, blast my favorite tunes, and write a bio that's worthy of having my name attached to it. I am the self proclaimed Queen of Halloween and Paranormal vacations. I got to write a review (that is now highly respected) about a hotel I once dreamed of. Those are just a couple things that I have already accomplished and I have only been in the travel business for six months, image what goals I'll reach after a year or even a decade. The Augustine might be my dream now, but the whispers I hear calling out to me will be answered, and I'll be taking so many people on beer excursions through Prague that it won't be a fantasy, it will feel as at home to me, as Italy feels to Harold. Perhaps you should take a look in the unforgiving mirror, push past everything, and write your own stellar biography, make yourself your own inspiration. 

What dreams may come.

I know I know, I'm a bad blogger, I promised a next day blog about the advantages of vacation rentals by owners. But when I came in today Harold my brilliant enlightened boss (that's five bucks!) sent me some information on a really interesting hotel in New York. This sparked a new blog idea for me as I looked over the  new awesome Yotel New York. I have an obsession with hotel's in general. I think they are these fascinating venues where you can leave the world behind you and relax. It's (for me) a means of really being able to escape what stresses you out in day to day life and completely allow yourself to unwind.

Now, even though there's an incredible amount of really awesome NOT super unique hotels out there in the world, today I'm going to focus on those with an insane 'WOW" factor, especially those found in the United States. First of course is the Yotel New York. It's this crisp clean brand spanking new hotel in NYC that is modeled to accommodate luxury, fun, excitement. But let's get down to what makes it so cool. The lobby to start off with has a robot to store your luggage. I don't think I need to go on from that, because we live in an age obsessed with simulating the images people from the fifties thought was how the future would look like now. So luggage toting robot army thingy, check! Now there's all the awesome decor to go with it, it really feels like a hotel that the Jetson's would have booked for themselves, minus the air travel tubey things. The hotel of the future is here today my friends. Finally the rooms aren't rooms, they're cabins. They are brilliant constructed floor plans to make a usually confine space seem roomy, like taking a room that looks like it's meant for two and suddenly the couch converts into a set of bunk beds. Yep I'm impressed.

As for the person who saw "The Hills Have Eyes" and thought to themselves "Hey, I want to live in the face of a desert cliff and be little spooky", I have a place for you too. Kokopelli's Cave, this place is freakishly awesome. Let me give you a brief description of the abode, located in New Mexico it's a 1,650 square foot one bedroom house, carved into 65 million year old sandstone 280 feet above a river. Don't tell me this doesn't sound amazing. It's so cool! It's unique and a little frightening. It is probably the only place in the US where you have to descend into your room, and sign a waver that you won't sue them should you die at the location. But no one who has ever stayed there said it was anything less than phenomenal or amazing. It's the first hotel I have ever researched that has zero negative ratings about it at all. The place is huge considering you're literally staying in a hole in the wall. There's a waterfall shower, a hot tub, and pretty much any luxury accommodation someone could ask for... except food, there's no room service here so bring your grub with you.

Since I gave you a place from the future and another nestled in prehistoric rock, I thought the last place should be... Well I can't say in the middle because 35 million years ago is still ancient. So something a little older, but still modern enough. Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon is listed as one of the world's most unusual and unique hotels. It earned that title by being said to be the most beautiful light house in the world and is adjoined by a luxury cottage that is also the hotel. The hotel is actually a Light Keeper's Cottage, the inn only has a capacity for 14 at a time, and because of how small and cozy it is, it's known for being one of the most romantic bed and breakfast. There isn't a room that you can't see something breath taking out of your windows and the prices are actually pretty affordable considering the high quality of the hotel.

There's so much out there to discover, and maybe my love for finding these crazy accommodations is silly, but I don't want to be someone who doesn't take the opportunity to go explore and see the world from a new perspective, be it a robotic run hotel, or a romantic cottage that looks like it was made for a Nicolas Sparks book. Don't settle for normal when you travel, don't be that person who only seeks out the usual hotel because the waffles are free and you know they have HBO. Find somewhere that makes your heart skip a beat, and if you can't find it on your own, call me at Epicopia Culinary Journeys and I'll find you something.

By interesting you mean generic?

In my search to find inspiration for today's blog, I did a search of fascinating places. The search engines all pulled up the same old same old. I agree that yes, Rome, Paris, and New York are all wonderful places that everyone should visit, but interesting thinking outside the box travel locations... No not really. It's like going somewhere and looking for the best kept secret of burgers in the big apple and being referred to Corner Bistro. It's a magnificent restaurant with some of the most mouth watering burgers ever created, but cutting edge? the newest thing?.... No.

 I want to challenge my clients I want to show them a whole new world of excitement they didn't realize existed, not send them somewhere they saw in a romantic comedy. Instead of doing the usual trek around Rome, why not go to Puglia? Puglia is this gorgeous part of Italy filled with olive trees, houses called Trulli's you'll never see anywhere else, and cliffs that are strikingly breathe taking. But I worry that rather than experience something so exotic, people would fixate on the fact that Rome is their comfort zone and never step outside the box. Cruises are the same way. The huge ocean liners that only troll a certain set of ports is far more popular than the Orion that takes you on an adventure around South Pacific.

There is so much to see in the world, I'm going to set a challenge. For your next vacation, step away from what you usually do and seek out an adventure. Don't go do something dumb and dangerous, but try something new, go somewhere you have never been before. If you need an idea, I know some pretty excellent people who can help you.

Food so good, you need to ask for forgiveness.

Well it's Tuesday, just a few days to get all my ingredients for my delicious dish of Ropa Vieja for my Cuban dish party. I cannot wait. Every time I think about how wonderful it's going to be my mouth starts watering. All those slow cooked dishes... It's sinful. Cuban's have mastered the art of making food divine in two very spectacular methods. The first (I'm making it first because this is how the dish I'm making... is made) is slow cooking. It is this art of putting all the most savory ingredients in a pot (or crock pot) and letting them do the cooking nasty all day till it's like tasty velvet. It's WONDERFUL! You can't go wrong, and unless you cook it for days you can't burn it, it just gets smoother and yummier. It looks a little scary I will admit but you quickly forgive the appearance once you taste it. Just pour over some rice and devour, I mean it! If it wasn't frowned upon to shove food in your face with your bare hands I would with Ropa Vieja... Oh how I would.

Now the second method is a very true and very Cuban method of making sure whatever it is you are cooking has the utmost delicious factor. It's the thought that if you smoosh something as flat as it can go the taste will reach it's most delicious potential. I was always amazed at how wide my Abuelita's dinner plates were. Now I realize that it wasn't because it was due to us receiving so much food, we got the same size dinner as anyone else was getting served by there families, but rather our food was so wide and so flat. The flatness seemed to bring out the rich garlic flavors and Caribbean feel to all our favorite dishes. It's the kind of food that makes you moan in happiness when you can smell it coming from the kitchen.

I figured something fun for my favorite readers would be to give you a couple great recipes to try out at home. Of course this is assuming I have readers...

First comes to you from my Abuelita's cook book.

Congri

• 1 16oz can black beans
• 1 small onion (my grandmother used white, I like sweet yellow)
• 1/2 green pepper (I also like to add yellow and red peppers) seeded and cut into strips or chunks.
• 2 garlic BULBS browned in olive oil.
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups rice

Blend everything together when the water begins to boil. Cover and cook for 30minutes.
On a side note, I like to add bacon too, it gives it a good extra "umph".

Tostones by Hector Rodriguez 

• 2 green plantains
• oil for frying
• salt

1. Heat oil to 350
2. While the oil is heating up, peel the green plantains and cut into 3/4' slices.
3. Fry the slices in the hot oil for 3 mins. They should be a light golden color and semi-soft.
4. Remove the plantain slices with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
5. When the plantain slices are cool enough to handle (about 1 minute), smash them into flat rounds.
6. Fry the rounds in the hot oil for 3 minutes. They will turn crisp and golden brown.
7. Remove tostones with the slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel. Salt to taste.

ENJOY!

I think I'm a bad travel agent...

When I book a vacation, I try to find the best way to stretch my buck; leave on an early day to have cheaper airfare, get cheaper room and board so I can afford to eat at the best restaraunts and see the best locations. But when I book for my clients I treat them like I treat my own travels. I really make the dollar stretch as far as it can reach. I do my best to make sure they can do all they want and then some within their budget. See, that makes me a bad travel agent.

So I am not a bad travel agent, I'm a great travel consultant. I really seek out the value of the trip. I learned that if you have a range of one hundred dollars a day to three thousand, I can find you the best way to spend that budget no matter where you go or what you do. I can make a trip custom fitted to everything you like and nullifying all the little things that irk you about travel (except for TSA security checks, I can't make them not make you take off your shoes. I know I hate it too). But when I was a green little fledgling in this office looking around like an awestruck child, diving into the books on destinations like they were the first fairy-tails I ever read, I thought our job was to make you give US your budget. I didn't know I'd be so helpful. That by helping someone take their dream vacation to New York, I too would feel some since of over whelming joy knowing I made that happen. So damn, I guess this isn't all about being a money monger, more concerned about raking in the dough, it's about loving what I do and making sure I have clients who are so happy they don't want another consultant other than me.


Did I mention that I'm working on a fabulous trip to Tasmania....

What I learned this weekend.

Good morning little gnomes, I hope your weekend was wonderful and filled with fun. I did a huge boo boo this weekend I assumed that this little ole town of Rockwall was no big attraction, so waiting till the day of to book my reservations at the Hilton Bella Harbor wouldn't be such a bad idea. And like the time I thought it was cool to make smoke rings by waving a tissue above a candle, I found out I was wrong. It was BOOKED. Woe is me! I didn't get my poolside day or an umbrella drink! What a shame.

 I made it up to myself by devouring far to many crab legs and buying more movies than I could watch at the movie trading company! I feel that the lesson here is, that in no way should you put off booking once you realize what you want to do with your free time. I think it's important to get out and relax, and thanks to my poor planning I missed out on a great opportunity to do so. I think it's important to know this as someone who is going to be consulting people about their travels. I'm a "grab the bull by it's horns" girl now! Or perhaps a "get off your bottom and book it while it's available" girl.

Local Leisure? Really?

What does one do when they live in Dallas and all they want is it to lay by some gorgeous water and drink some fruity umbrella drinks? Where do you find the sultry escape like in the photo below (look now).

I know I said in my first blog that I now dream of the Red Square, but it doesn't mean that I don't still drool over a white sandy escape where I can float around all day and just relax. Yes my eyes have been opened to the fascinating world of travel where a diving board and a cabana boy aren't always present, but it's hot in Texas and I need my splashy escape pronto! Well rather than just flail around in my office chair pouting adorably about how I'm so hot and I want a resort-ish get away I hit the computer and did what I would do for any of my clients... RESEARCH!

Listed below you will find some of the most tantalizing poolside get-aways in the Dallas area: 

Hotel Zaza Dallas

First we have the luxurious Hotel Zaza. The fancy boutique hotel is known for it's social poolside interaction. All the sexiest and hard bodies of Dallas can be found in this quaint 4ft deep pool. It may not be ideal for those looking to swim some laps, but it's got great scenery and I'm not just talking about the palm trees surrounding the pool. 

Palomar Pool

Next on the list is Hotel Palomar, a Kimpton hotel. When the words Kimpton are attached to a hotel I am sold, it's horribly bias I know and I apologize for my great faux pax, but it is true, Kimpton does it right! They are luxurious and classy, they know how to bring together a fresh feel on hotels while making them feel cutting edge yet still lavish and refined. I am saving all my pennies and dimes so I can afford to stay at one when I finally wrangle my boyfriend into settling down. But to be honest I would have never suggested this hotel had it not been listed on the top hotel swimming pools for 2010. It's earned it's right to be on my blog! 

Now I could continue to list pools like the ones above all being small and intimate great for laying out and drinking while getting that bronze glow. But these are not what I considered the best pools to swim in. Are they divine and have amazing views? Yes, but they don't have the feel of a pool you can play chicken in with your friends (yes I can appreciate a 5 star restaurant and good game of chicken, I'm versatile). With that said I offer you the last two pools with the Wide Eyed stamp of approval. 

Award Winning Four Seasons Dallas

First up, the award winning (I don't know what award exactly but it says that on all thier headers) Four Season Hotel in Las Colinas. It's a beautiful resorts with pools made in the mindset that it's intended for family. And family fun means big splashes and lots of swimming. I love the fact that it's HUGE it's a massive pool area and you can always find a cozy spot just for you and your's, and if you get there early enough you can have the whole pool to yourself. 

Hilton Bella Harbor

Finally we move onto the last but not least in the slightest, the Hilton Bella Harbor. Right in my back yard is the wonderful lake front Hilton resort... ish.  I only say "ish" because there is no spa there, and sorry Bella Harbor I love you bunches but you don't get the resort stamp until I can get my mani/pedi's in a zero gravity chair at your location, it's just not right! But the pool is AWESOME! It's a massive fun pool with a walk up to the circular indoor bar, or you can just go get a fantastic umbrella drinks from the cabana, which you don't have to even walk up to, because the cabana boys will come to you as you float in the water. It's a great addition to the Rockwall community, and it's a great get-away for those who can't afford to fly away from the metroplex.

So there you have it, my little underpants gnomes. Four great watery get-aways just next door. Enjoy your weekend, I will see you all Monday a little tanner than today!