Author Archives: windcityf

Perth Australia-June 2016

Leave a comment Standard

After my little situation in Kuala Lumpur, I was not so eager to continue my schedule trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia.I really just wanted to go “home”. I still had another week before I needed to back in Brisbane, so I decided to head to Perth.

I am really proud myself these days, I’ve learned to be less of a control freak and more of a go with the moment type of person. Which is great to a point. Not so smart was booking a flight to Perth, without considering the weather. It’s winter in Western Australia, and I arrived with shorts and sundresses.   First stop was Target to buy some pants.

I had not done any research on what to do in Perth. I just walked around and enjoyed the views. I have to imagine it’s pretty spectacular in the warmer months.

A positive note I found a hair salon that uses my hair products, so I was able to get my hair done. While flying to Perth is not ideal, at least it’s an option.

I took the train out to Fremantle. What a fun town. I forgot I was in Australia. It was highlight of my trip. It’s a port town with a rich history, including the jail that used to serve all of  Western Australia.

I did some some retail therapy at Debra Corbett Studio and  The Laced Dutchess.  While I may not rush back to Perth to just visit Perth, I would for sure be back to explore more of Fremantle.

 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- June 2016

Comment 1 Standard

Hello 50!
IMG_0517

After spending a few days in Phuket, I was off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was super excited because this would be my 50th country. I was not excited to fly Malaysian Airlines.
When I tried to book a ticket, I was overwhelmed with all the options. I thought Ryan Air was bad about fees. I ended just paying double, $120, for a business class ticket because I could not figure if out if the $60 ticket included a seat or checked bags. I get that Southeast Asia is backpacker heaven, so low cost is King. But man I felt like I needed an advance degree in travel language to figure out how to book that ticket.

The airport is bit out of town, so the easiest option is to take a train to Sentral and then a taxi to your hotel. I would suggest if you need a taxi, prebooking the KLIA Express  with the VIP treatment. I did not and when I got to Sentral, I overpaid for taxi to my hotel.

I booked into the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur.  The hotel is located quite close to the Petronas Towers and is walkable to other tourist sites. The hotel was amazing. I highly recommend it, if you will be visiting KL. In  fact, I’ll go with you.  One of the nicest features of the hotel, was the huge bathroom. I was able to do laundry. Something I had not thought about when I took off traveling for 3 weeks.

After rain bound for days, I was excited to get out and explore KL. I originally was going to walk, but the hotel concierge convinced me to Uber to start my day. I should have stuck with Uber.  My day took my to Chinatown, which honestly could have been any country in the world.

It’s funny since I’ve been living in Australia, I’ve become climatized, the heat no longer bothers me as much. So I walked and walked and walked, 10 miles later, my back started to hurt. I ended up at mall about 1/4 of a mile from my hotel. I had pinched a nerve in my back and at that point I just needed to lie down. I finally found a taxi stand, only to realize I did not have enough cash. I would have ordered an Uber, but I could not figure out where to go for a pick up. So I hobbled back into the mall, found an atm and back to the taxi stand I went. I made the mistake of sitting down. I almost passed out from the pain. It hurt. When a taxi finally showed up, I did not care that it like small clown car, I was just happy to heading back to hotel.  ***I really had to think about if I wanted to share what happened next. I was worried that if by sharing someone might be less inclined to visit Kuala Lumpur. It’s an great city and stuff like this could happen anywhere. *** The driver saw me limping over and opened the front door of the car. The driver was horrible.He started out quite chatty, asking me to direct him to the hotel. He kept touching my arm, on purpose. Without going into too much detail,  he keeping touching me, to the point where I ended up jumping out of the taxi, pinched nerve and all.

When I finally returned to the hotel,the staff immediately assisted me in contacting the authorities and reporting it. I had been able to take a picture of him touching me, which helped in providing my side of the store. It was quite the unpleasant experience. Much appreciation to Rachel, with the concierge, who arranged for me to have a massage the next day. I was not so excited about being touched, but turned out to be just what I needed.

I realized I could not hide in the hotel forever, so I ventured out the Skybridge at the Petronas Towers.

Kuala Lumpur was interesting place to visit. I would go back, but probably not alone. I barely scratched the surface on what there is to see and do.

Stay tuned…….

Phuket, Thailand-May 2016

Leave a comment Standard

When I finally decided to move to Australia, I booked into some temporary housing. I figured that I would find a more permanent place when I got settled, so I only booked into the end of May. Mid May was fast approaching and I was about to be homeless. Since I only had a few weeks, I figured why not go earn some hotel points. A quick check of where my frequent flies miles could take me and well, Hello Phuket!

June is the raining season in Phuket, so I was able to find a fantastic rate at the Hyatt Regency Phuket. The sun did happen to make an appearance every now and then, though.

I was pretty lazy in Phuket, it helped that it was rainy must days. I was able to catch up on lots of stuff that I been putting off.

I did make trip to closet little town, with the swimming beach.  But the ocean just looked angry.

I opted to people watch instead. I guess it’s tourist thing to do, hire photographer to take honeymoon/wedding pictures. I guess I am just missing the romantic side of these streets.

Phuket was exactly what I needed. A few days of downtime and relaxation. There is something to be said about just watching the rain.

Happy Travels!

Adventures in Australia-May 2016

Comment 1 Standard

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I have become lazy about travel. I think it’s the air here in Australia. Or the beauty or something. I just do not feel the need to jump on a airplane at every turn anymore.

BUT I realize I am living in Australia and I’ve only seen like 1 mile of it. So I decided to take a quick trick up to Cairns. BAD IDEA. Normally I would research the crap out of a new location before booking a trip. Since I’ve been to Cairns before, I did not for this trip. OOPS.If I had bothered to research my trip on the day I booked it, which was 2 days before departing, I would have seen the weather forecast. It was not ideal for a trip the Great Barrier Reef. The clouds were cool for flying…..

But for taking a boat trip to Green Island, not so much. Thank goodness I did not opt for the trip the Outer Reef. And for having the foresight not to eat. It was not pleasant. This is the only picture I took. And that is not a filter

File_000 (1)

It’s safe to say,  I did not find Nemo.

The next day I had  super early wake up call to go up the Atherton Tablelands. Where I checked another item from my bucket list, a Hot Air Balloon ride.

I did 60 minute ride and I probably would have been ok with a 30 minutes. Apparently my motion sickness is no joke. The best part of the ride was when my friend Dawn called on Facetime, with Quinn and Olivia. So fun that I got to share it with friend in Dallas, Texas while I was flying somewhere over Mareeba, Queensland.

I am sure I’ll make it back to the Reef one day. At least I now know I need to load on motion sickness cures beforehand.

Until next time, safe travels!

 

 

Adventures in Australia-April 2016

Comment 1 Standard

Before deciding to move to Brisbane, I had only spent 3 days here.  The first day I arrived I went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the 2nd day I went on a tour of Gold Coast, and the 3rd day I did Hop On Hop Off bus.  So basically I did not do much.  When friends would say oh I am going to come visit you in Brisbane, I said ok, not sure why there is not much to do. OOPS. I have not even began to scratch the surface of all the things there are to do in Brisbane. My friend, Katy had a trip planned to Perth to see her Dad, so she added on a side trip to see me.

Even though Katy had been to Australia numerous times before she had not taken her requisite koala photo, so off to Lone Pine we went. We were there for about 2 minutes and my fearless friend was making new friends.

After a tiring morning of avoiding getting attacked by random animals, we took a cruise along the river. By cruise, I mean we hopped on the river bus for a scenic tour of the Brisbane. For a $1.25  it’s a great way to spend a few hours.  Even if your friend is wearing Koala ears.

IMG_0210

We got off the bus boat at South Bank Parklands  It’s a quite enjoyable area with a man made beach. ( Totally reminds me of Centennial Beach in  Naperville). It was quite surreal to have been in the “wild” in the morning, out to “sea” for lunch and then be transported to another world by the afternoon. And we never even left Brisbane.

The more I discover around Brisbane, the more I am enjoying it. There is just so much to see and do.
Now this blog post would not be an official adventure of Katy and Flo without some craziness.  On Friday, we innocently got into the elevator at the Hilton, with a really tall guy.  Apparently, I was quite obvious in my attempt to read what that logo on his clothing said. I said Rugby? Yep, New Zealand Highlanders. Then 2 more of his team mates go on the elevator. And we did what anyone in our situation would have done, selfie…..

IMG_0224The whole team was quite lovely and friendly. I perhaps see a trip to New Zealand in my future to catch a proper game. I will say this riding the elevator in the Hilton provided quite good entertainment.

Until the next time, safe travels……

 

 

Adventures in Australia-March 2016

Comments 4 Standard

Australia is a fascinating country. It’s roughly the same size as the United States but only has 24 million people vs 319 million. Of the those 24 million, 85 % live with in 50 km’s of a coastline.

I am currently living in Brisbane, which is in the state of Queensland. It located in the northern half of Australia, and has moderate tropical feel all year round.

Since leaving the snow and gloomy winter days behind in Chicago, I have been trying to embrace my new city’s blue skies and lush vegetation.

IMG_0078

I am staying near the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens. On Sunday mornings, they have a Garden Market.

Brisbane-City-Botanic-Gardens-Map.mediumthumb

I was up early and headed out to walk the Garden before the market opened. I entered at Albert St. and turned left and took the path along the river, with full intention of heading back towards Albert St, which where the markets are. Now I remember seeing the Mangroves but I am not quite sure where I went off the path. I was so lost in my music, that it took me a while  for me to notice that I was no longer in the garden. I was a bike path along the River. I kept walking until I figured out a way to get off the path.  I finally saw a crazy set of stairs and a elevator ( lift).  Just was I was approaching the elevator, a lady was pushing the up button. I guess it was stairs for me. Luckily,  she turned saw me and held the elevator. I thought wow we could totally be friends.

Well my new BFF agreed and we started chatting. I told her about my misadventure and how I was new to town and learning my way around.  She introduced herself as Helen and invited me to go the movies with her and husband, Steve, that afternoon. I left safety of my comfort zone and said sure why not. Well then she said OK, we will pick you. The paranoid neurotic American in me tried to rear it’s ugly head. I just smacked it away and said Great!

Now Helen had the same thoughts as me, called me and said here is, my information, you can google me. And upon arriving to pick me up, providing business cards of both her and Steve with someone just so they knew who I was with.  I told her I knew we would be friends when you held the elevator for me. We went and saw The Reverent.  Which was grizzly but it was nice to have people to talk about it afterwards.

I am slowly acclimating to living here in Brisbane. I do miss a lot of things from home, but I embracing the change.  I am definitely learning to eat healthier, an American medium is as Australian large. I am learning to live with what I have, given that I still living out of a suitcase. I am surviving with my extremely crazy hair, ponytails have become my BFF.  I am digging the no tipping culture. I am getting my fill of vitamin D on a daily basis, rather then have to take a tablet.  I am living without a DVR oh and a TV. I would like to see how Downton Abbey ends but it will show up eventually here. I don’t take my phone everywhere, I am embracing being unplugged, well that and nobody is really calling me.

While so far this journey has not been all rainbows, I am taking it for what it is, one day at time.

 

Brisbane, Australia- February 2016

Leave a comment Standard

Pages from MA2016xI think I’ll move to Australia, I thought one day.  Wouldn’t it be great if life was that easy. The universe has conspired to have me move to Australia. I am still waiting to find out why, but I am enjoying the adventure so far.

Booking a one way ticket is kind of a pain. For some reason, round trip’s tend to be cheaper. But if you don’t take the return, it’s considered a throwaway ticket. And well the airlines, frown upon that.

Since I was planning on being in Australia for at least a few weeks,  I tried to fly with one of the airlines I have status with, so I could utilize my additional baggage allowance. I ended up booking my flights on Fiji Airways. I would be flying Chicago to Los Angeles to Nadi to Brisbane.

For some reason, something kept telling me that I would not be flying on Fiji Airways. A few weeks before I was leaving,  I even started looking for alternatives. Which was quite odd because my ticket was non-refundable. I finally accepted I was flying Fiji Airways and decided to make the best of it.

Well 2 days before I was scheduled to leave, Virgin Australia posted on Twitter that due to Cyclone Winston, they were suspended flights to and from Nadi. **Twitter is a traveler’s best friend.  Hmmm I should check Fiji Airways. All flights for that day had been cancelled. A waiver was in place and I would need to call. And let the games begin.

I had made my booking with Orbitz. So I called them first. I was told I could cancel the reservation, but I would need to call Fiji Airways. I called was on hold for 15 minutes, got an agent and soon as I told my issue, the call was disconnected. So I then started looking to my options for another flight. I called United Airlines, oh sure we have a seat for you for $8,817.  I called American Airlines and I was able to book a flight in coach but us an upgrade for business for $1400. I could not provide my credit card fast enough. So new flight booked, I tried my luck with Fiji Airways again. After 45 minutes on hold, I gave up and called back to Orbitz.

After a quick hold, I explained to the agent my issue and asked could my itinerary be cancelled. He said no that I had to fly or lose the value. I tried to explain that the flights were not operating and so what were my options. He called Fiji Airways and they told him that if I wanted to change my flights I would have to pay a fee?  I said well that contradicts their website. He said I was misreading. Really?

So of course I asked for a supervisor. She called Fiji Airways and tried to feed me the same line. I politely referred her to Fiji Airway’s own website.  She came back and said, well the guy is now saying ok maybe they can put you on Qantas direct from LA to Brisbane, but they had not for sure cancelled my flight yet so I would have to call back. I said no, either cancel my ticket or deal with American Express. I’ve had enough. The supervisor came back on the line and said I was good to go. I had been rebooked on Qantas. And if I had any further problems with my ticket, to please NOT call back to Orbitz, but deal with Fiji Airways myself.

I have used Orbitz, a lot in the past, especially when I dealing with a weird itinerary. I’ve never had a problem, but I must say I would reconsider using them in the future after this little fiasco.

I can tell you with absolutely certainty, I will be avoiding Fiji Airways in the future. I am sure they are lovely airline, when things work.

My new home, for now…….

IMG_0016

Stay tuned for future travels from Down Under.

New York, NY- February 2016

Leave a comment Image

Have you seen the a TV show, Younger? It’s about a 40 year old pretending to be 26 to get a job in publishing. I felt like I was re-enacting an episode of Younger with a weekend trip to New York with my friends Jana and Whitney.

l love visiting with my extended family. So when an invitation come for a baby shower in New York, I booked my ticket before sending in my RSVP. I then mentioned it to Jana and Whitney, and boom girl’s trip to New York.

Seeing the value in losing a vacation day, Jana booked a 6 am flight. I just laughed, silly gal, said I’ll see you about 6 pm, when my 3 pm flight lands.  Then Whitney booked a 6 am and well, not one to miss the party, I moved to a 6 am too… BAD IDEA.  Surprise surprise, there was weather in New York. United pushed my 6 am to 7 am the night before, so thankfully I did not have to show up early for no reason. Whitney’s original flight cancelled, her re-booked flight cancelled as well. She was put on a 1 pm flight from Norfolk. So much for our 6 am’s.

It’s funny no matter how many times I visit New York, I always discover something new that just surprises me. We took a walk down a walk down 5th Avenue and checked out the flagship New York Library. Its just beautiful inside. We watched the ice skaters in Rockefeller Plaza and awed at the beauty of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Whitney arrived with a broken foot, so we just kept our dinner plans simple. We were staying in Koreatown, so Korean BBQ was a no brainer choice. My friend Rebecca, who lives in Manhattan, was able to come join us.

The next day we headed off to Soho for Cronuts at Dominque Ansel’s.  It”s the only place in the world you can get a real cronut. Forget that crap you may have had at Dunkin Donut’s.  Lucky for Jana and I, Whitney really wanted to try a cronut, so she had placed an order a few weeks back to ensure we got some. There is only 1 flavor and you get what you get. I think it was blackberry? Whatever it was, it was messy, so don’t wear a pretty outfit if you are planning on eating some cronuts.

 After that filling feast, we headed over to the 9/11 memorial. It’s an sad part of US history. We then headed over to the Times Square, the gals were able to get tickets for the matinee of Chicago. I was heading to Brooklyn for my cousin’s baby shower.

IMG_0228

We met up with Rebecca again for dinner at the BarBacon. Who doesn’t love a bit of bacony goodness?

The next morning we headed off The Highline, a park built over old railroad lines. After which we head to the famous Katz’s Deli. Where I got see where a scene from one of my favorite movies, was filmed.

We then so unwisely walked back to the hotel. I underestimated the time and well I missed my flight.  Luckily there was a seat on the next one and it was leaving an hour later.

I had a great time visiting with my friends and family.  But as always the time was too short.  It was great to be able to squeeze in one last trip with my friends before the “Big Move”.

Happy Travels………….

 

London, England January 2016

Comments 2 Standard

Fare Sale, London, Done.
I love me a good coupon. What I can I say, I am a sucker for bargain. So last October, when some airline started a fare war, I jumped on it. I showed restraint and only booked 1 trip to London. I figured I would pop up to Edinburgh to see my friend Katy. Lucky for me, Katy was willing to pop down to London ( I am not sure I would have survived connecting international to domestic at Heathrow).

I was scheduled to fly out of O’hare at 4:10 pm. I boarded the plane at 3:55 pm. I did a “Flo-Jo” thru the airport.  Not sure what my issue is as of late,but I’ve been cutting it close for boarding.  I was flying United, which I was oddly excited about since I had not flown them in months. Well that excitement disappeared as soon as the grumpy flight attendant offered to hang my coat. He asked me for my ticket, I said I don’t have a paper one, I used my phone. I got a weird look, I think he thought I was a standby.  The flight was fine, until I landed. My phone would not turn on. When it finally did decided to cooperate, it had a factory reset. COMPLETE RESET. I have no idea why. I could not get it back to normal until I was able to get it on wifi. Luckily, United has an arrival lounge in Heathrow.  I was able to refresh while my phone was restoring.  I checked my email on my iPad and had a message from my bank. My credit card had been stolen. Great it was the credit card I had brought to London.  ** My American Express card had been stolen earlier week and their crappy customer service took 5 days to replace my card, so I had a Chase Visa with me.*** Chase customer service as 5 stars. They left the card turned on for me to use in London and sent me a new card, overnight to Chicago.

I had originally planned on going a museum while I waited for Katy to arrive, but when I arrived at the hotel my room was ready. So I took a nap.  We spent the afternoon tooling around London, drinking and just enjoying the sights. I would post some pictures but honestly we are just had some much fun, I would hate to make others jealous.

I like to collect art on my trips, specifically street scenes with umbrella’s. I thought it would be fun if Katy and I were the “art”. So I hired a photographer to take tourist shots of us. I found Andrew with Simpson Shoots via google. I was able to connect with him over email and get everything scheduled.

I decided to make it a surprise for Katy. I originally started to tell her, but she said no a surprise would fun. For about 5 minutes and then she asked me again. I refused to tell her anything, but I did ask her friend Helen for help.  As the time got closer, she was trying to guess her surprise. She kept asking for clues. Helen had told her to bring accessories. I kept throwing out random things, like bring a pen, maybe some snacks, oh and some Ziploc bags.

IMG_0059

Katy and her Ziplocs

We had an absolute blast taking pictures for 2 hours with Andrew.

If you happen to be in London and looking for something different, call Andrew.  It was a priceless experience.

The weather was fantastic, it was sunny for our photo shoot, which was ironic given we had umbrellas. When were done, we had a coffee outside in January, in London. So bizarre.

We had to head back to the hotel to change our shoes. And then I made the mistake of introducing Katy to Ted and Muffy (formerly Duo Boots).  Oops…..

We met up with with my friend Michael for tea on Sunday. Katy asked how me met, and he was like oh we met in Germany, in fact I am going in July….. yes Michael that would be for my birthday in July.

As always the visit was too short. I love that my many adventures have brought me so many wonderful people all over the globe.  I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life. From the pool in Dar Es Salaam to the Jetty in Hamburg, life is sure interesting.

Stay tuned for further adventures. Next up, a weekend in New York with Whitney and Jana.  Not sure if the old lady can hang……….

Brussels, Belgium- December 2015

Comments 4 Standard

Since Christmas fell on a Friday this year, I took advantage of the long weekend to head to Europe to visit some Christmas markets.  The markets in Germany close on December 24th, so I did a little research and discovered the markets in Belgium go thru January 3rd. Since I also have family that lives there is was a easy choice to make.

For various reason, I choose to fly Delta Airlines. I have not flown Delta since I was 4 years old. Having been exclusive to United/Star Alliance for last 4 years, I’ve been interested in seeing what other options were out there. I was actually looking forward to it. Silly me.

My first flight was Chicago to New York. It was middle of the day and Christmas Eve, so no surprise it was mostly leisure travelers. But there was something about this group that was just bizarre. Like we were being filmed for a TV special on strange airport/flight behavior.  It was like a seat assignment was a foreign concept, and why can’t I bring my kitchen sink in the cabin.  It was just weird. Even the flight attendants agreed. Maybe it was just holiday stress.

I had about a 3 hour layover in JFK, so I went to the lounge. Now this impressed me, it is one of the nicest domestic lounges in the US I’ve been to. They had real, edible, tasty food. Chicken in some sauce and roasted sweet potatoes. Yum.  All was fine until I got yelled at my some surly attendant for sitting in the “paid” section of the lounge.  I just wanted a table and I guess the middle section of the tables were for people that wanted premium drinks/food. I was told to move. It should be noted I was on the only one that was told to move,  even though the section was not full nor was anyone else asked to move. Including the lady sitting next to me, who had not ordered anything either. Christmas spirit and all, I just let it go.
I took the 500 mile walk to the gate, where general boarding had already commenced. I had priority boarding. I know from experience, people in general boarding are not interested in letting you cut the line. I was not expecting the red carpet when I boarded the plane, but I was little shocked at the reception of the flight attendants. Given the light load, there were a lot of standby’s on the flight.  Great for them, bad for me. I was virtually ignored. I am not complaining that I was not treated like the Queen of the Sky that I am. ( Totally kidding). I am just saying it was like they were being inconvenienced to have me on the flight. After having stuffed my face on sweet potatoes in the lounge, I declined the dinner service. This was before the door even closed. This was the last interaction I had with anyone until about an hour before landing. All I can say, Delta made United look like Emirates.

Brussels has great public transportation. Trains, Trams and Buses are a plenty. You can get from the airport to the city center by train or bus. I opted for the train, which takes about 18 mins and cost 8.50 euro. I booked in the Hilton Grand Place which is located right outside the Gare Centrale.  Little tip for visiting Brussels, book over a weekend. Hotels can be found extremely cheap due to the high occupancy during the week when the EU parliament is in session.

I spent Christmas Day with my aunt and cousins. It was quite nice. I also visited the Grand Place. It was nice and not so crowded.

IMG_0518

I would like to say the next day I did all this sightseeing. That would be a no. I just wandered around the city. I did make a new friend though. Howard of Howards Brussels. My wallet, however, remained a stranger to Howard which a good thing.
I just wandered around the streets of Brussels, taking in the sights and enjoying the wonderful mild weather.

At one point I tried to head back to my hotel and I discovered surprise surprise, Google did not work.  Notice the weird route it gave me.

IMG_0521

Now no trip to Brussels is proper without an obligatory waffle on the street.  Back in the day you had to look for them, now they drive to you.

IMG_0524

I guess it’s hard to resist a good waffle.  The Hop On Hop off bus driver, saw a truck and just stopped the bus. It was not even a scheduled stop, he just hopped off and got a waffle.
IMG_0528

On a fun note,  I found the same hut outside the church at the Christmas Market near the Grand Place. They were selling the same truffles that I fell in love with back in 2010. I found the market was not as magical without the freezing temperatures and falling snow. The heavy police and military presence also did not help.

I am glad I went and got to spend time with my family. Soon enough it was time to head home, and what adventure that turned out to be. Chicago was hit with a horrible winter storm and all flights were cancelled.  20 hours past schedule, I eventually made it back to Chicago. Delta handling of the situation took my by surprise.  I respectfully reverse my previous negative comments. I will chalk up my negative experience to holiday stress. I would probably not fly them again internationally unless the get more comfortable seats.

I hope all had a Happy Holiday!