Withdrawals…

Posted on November 2, 2013 by agirltravels

That moment after you’ve returned from traveling, things have died down, you’ve settled back into your normal routine and you have no upcoming trips planned. Wine ~~bottle~~ glass or morning coffee in hand your mind wanders off to past adventures…..and then it hits you. Travel withdrawals.

Since my return from Europe, Boston, and DC my available vacation days from work have drastically diminished. In the Coast Guard (this goes for all military branches) you earn 2.5 days a month/30 days a year of vacation. I, of course, never hesitate to use my time to explore and see the world. After those last few trips though, I have 4 vacation days available. Yep 4 whole days. With trips to Arizona, Florida, and Costa Rica in the works for early 2014. I have to conserve my vacation days and allow them to build up again.

Last night at work during downtime the topic was travel- cruising, quick jet-setter trips, and weekend getaways. All that travel talk sparked the flame that burned all night as I reviewed my scheduled and eagerly began planning my next travel adventure. I will be maximizing my days off exploring the 5 boroughs in NYC and road-tripping to nearby cities – with the first stop being Montauk, NY tomorrow to explore the area and visit the lighthouse. I LOVE exploring lighthouses, they have such a majestic beauty and so much history. The Montauk Lighthouse has been on my travel list for a while, and this is the perfect time of the year to visit. Beach towns in the fall during the off season are so relaxing and you really have the opportunity to chat with locals, shop local stores and boutiques, and enjoy the town. This is going to be a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle, especially with the New York City Marathon going on all day tomorrow. I’m so excited to get on the road!

How are you spending your weekend? Staycation? Road-trip? Jet-setting to a new place?

Wishing you safe and happy travels! -xo AGT

Airline Review: easyJet

Posted on October 22, 2013 by agirltravels

“The I can’t wait to go generation. The early risers for the morning cab, last minute packing, full of excitement generation. The head first into water, wine, or work generation. The I don’t want to go home, let’s stay longer generation. The we’ve been coming here for years, but still fall in love generation. The everyone doing it their way generation. The more places, more choices, more often generation. This is generation easyJet” – www.easyjet.com

I LOVE that quote! It definitely speaks to the traveler in me. I flew easyJet roundtrip from Paris to Rome to cutdown on travel times and to maximize my stay at each location. I’d read several reviews about cheap airline travel around Europe primarily focusing on easyJet and Ryanair, with most reviews shedding a negative light on each airline. I opted for easyJet because there was a direct flight from Paris to Rome.

I purchased my flight about 2 weeks out and managed to get a ticket for a total of 186,50 EUR ($252.20 USD). Which seems pretty good to me considering the timing on my purchase. I could have gotten it even cheaper if I’d booked sooner, but since I was flying Space A to Germany I didn’t want to purchase a ticket too far out. I’d read somewhere that some people incurred surprise charges on the backend of their purchases, but the only fees that I saw were an aviation tax and an admin fee, which were included in the overall total. So everything was pretty cut and dry and there were no surprises.

Getting to ORLY airport in Paris was pretty simple and took about 1hr and 15min from the flat we rented off of AirBnB. You have to purchase a separate metro pass for the airport, which costs 11,30 EUR and the train stops at the South Terminal. Perfect, because this is also where the easyJet check-in is located. I arrived about 2 hours early in case of long lines at security. Since I’d checked in for the flight and printed out the boarding pass before getting to Paris. I opted to travel light and not check a bag, so I made my way through security and with my carry-on a proceeded to the assigned gate for my flight.

During boarding there were 2 lines; a speed line (for those who paid to board the aircraft first) and the regular line, and from there 2 lines were created for those sitting closer to the front of the aircraft and those sitting toward the back. Everything moved rather quickly and before I knew it we were ready to take off. The flight crew was awesome and very friendly, and of course multi-lingual to accommodate passengers. I actually scored a pretty sweet deal and had a whole row to myself :)

My Travel Buddies

Food and beverage service came through the cabin which costs an additional fee, but they had lots of options like soup, sandwiches, salads, quinoa, candy, alcohol, and non-alcoholic beverages. I went with the Tomato/Mozzarella/Basil Panini combo with came with chips and water for 8,20 EUR since I knew once we touched down in Rome I planned to hit the ground running.

On the return trip there were a few options for getting to Fiumicino Airport:

Leonardo Express Train – 14 EUR
Shuttle – 7 EUR
Taxi – 40 EUR

Of course I went with the shuttle. Once at the airport and through security the terminal was provided, but there was a wait for the gate assignment. During boarding time everything went smoothly as it had the first time.

I would definitely flight easyJet if the opportunity to arise again. The service was great, the flight was easy, quick, and clean, and they have excellent deals on airfare even for last minute purchases.The biggest challenge for me was finding a bag small enough to use as my carry-on for the plane and large enough to fit 5 days worth of clothes.

Wishing you safe and happy travels! -xo AGT

Travel Beauty Chronicles – Part 3

Posted on October 20, 2013 by agirltravels

From the Mouth of Travelers

Finding new ways to travel light whether its to avoid baggage fees, to have room for souvenirs to take home, or to simply have less to carry and weigh you down is something we all strive toward. In preparation for my trip to Europe I knew I’d need to find a way condense my clothes and travel items in order to make getting around easier. Moving from train to train around each city, up and down escalators in the metro stations, and flying from Paris to Rome meant wheeling around a monster suitcase was less than ideal. Plus, carry-on size restrictions for my flight from Paris to Rome are were much more strict than stateside travel. If your bag doesn’t fit you’ll be hit with a 40 EUR fee to have it checked at the gate.

Everything for a 5day/4night trip from Kaiserslautern to Paris, Paris to Rome, Rome to Paris, and Paris back to Kaiserslautern needed to fit in one duffle bag.It was a challenge, and one that I won. I managed to fit 3 pairs of pants, a long skirt, 2 short skirts, 2 cardigans, 2 scarfs, 2 tanks, 3 tops, a pair of booties, 1 leather moto jacket, socks, make-up bag, and toiletry bag.

Vera Bradley Traveler in Classic Black

Check out what these travelers have to say about traveling light:

Tea for Teri– keeps her hair relaxed so that it’s easier to manage and always keeps a hair clamp and bobby pins for a super cute up-do!

Around the World in 80 Pairs of Shoes – Never leaves home with her Aragon Oil and her go to style is a pony tail with her big floppy hat which is great for style and UV protection for her face and scalp.

Nicole – always carries her mini flat iron, mini shampoo and conditioners to keep her bags light, and to really add some extra space to her bag she uses space saver bags