Touring Done Right-10 Tips from An Avid Traveler (Guest Blogger)

I've invited my first guest blogger to my site, Jennifer, of My Fabulous Code. She and I both love to travel and we were recently talking tours. Are they worth it? I asked her to share her wisdom on the subject.

To Tour or Not to Tour

I’m Jennifer Jane a fellow blogger at My Fabulous CODE (http://myfabulouscode.com) and I’m also an avid traveler.  I wanted to lend my perspective on Kandice’s latest topic:  should you take a tour? Well first let’s define tour since there are so many different types of tours designed to serve a myriad of purposes. I will discuss the types of tours that are familiar to me.

Travel Group Tours

There are travel group tours where you book your entire trip around an agenda put together by the tour organizer. These travel groups are generally made up of several people who may or may not know each other. I think these are great if you’re traveling solo or internationally to a destination you’ve never visited, or have visited but still not totally familiar. On the flip side they can be limiting and not customized to the degree that it will suit everyone’s needs and desires. For this reason, travel groups don’t always suit me. I know I can be particular about where I sleep, where I eat, what I eat, where I go, what activities I participate in and what experiences I hope to gain. In addition, I may not want to be tethered to the same group of people for the duration of my vacation. I think getting out and meeting the locals is necessary for a fulfilling vacation (especially when traveling internationally). Funny enough, I consider myself a go-with-the-flow kind of girl, but I have to approve of the flow.

Activity Based Tours

Activity based excursions can include restaurant, shopping, clubbing, wine tasting and more! Now these I like! Because they are restricted to a window of time, you are only committing a portion of your day to the tour. In addition, it’s usually a native to the land who organizes the tour so you learn about the little hidden neighborhood gems you may have otherwise overlooked.  I really like these because they are specific to the experiences I want to have. For example, I probably would not select a tour aimed at fishing or hunting, but I would totally take a wine tasting tour. 

While on a recent vacation in Madrid, Spain, I participated in a fantastic tapas tour. For $65 each, my boyfriend and I along with four other tourists met up with our local tour guide, Ishmael, who prearranged for us a sampling of popular tapas dishes at five different restaurants in Madrid’s town square. It was one of our favorite experiences in Madrid.  Oh, I forgot to mention the tour also included wine at every stop!

SightSeeing Tours

This is a great way to learn the city you’re visiting. Neighborhood tours, architecture tours, museum and park tours are just a few that give you a real inside look into the history and evolution of a city. I prefer walking tours over bus tours because I like to get close and personal with my surroundings, after all that’s what I came for. I still take advantage of the bus tours because it covers a greater distance and so I get to see more of the city.     

Here are my rules for tours when I’m on vacation:

1.       I schedule tours the first couple days of my vacation so I can get a lay of the land and decide which places and activities I want to incorporate into my itinerary.

2.       I schedule tours early in the day so I can see everything in the day light. The exceptions to this rule would include dinner or clubbing tours.

3.       I confirm tour details the day before.

4.       I print off any tour or confirmation documentation.

5.       I always talk to the tour organizer to get recommendations on where to hang out, shop, eat, party, etc.

6.       I don’t select tours that take up more than half of my day.

7.       I have a backup plan in case I need to abort a tour gone awry.

8.       I always carry my own map for jotting down places I want to return to later.

9.       I tip the tour guide especially if they have given me a great experience and some recommendations to check out.

10.   Always leave with a great story to tell.

Los Angeles, CA: The (Touristy) Right Way To Go

Headed to Hollywood, baby

 

When I turned 30 many years ago (I'm kidding it was five years ago) I went on a trip to Los Angeles with four of my good friends. It was a dirty thirty trip even though nothing even remotely dirty happened. We only had a weekend to see the city and a major part of my reason for going was that there was a vintage expo being held in Santa Monica. If I have never mentioned this in previous posts I will tell you now that I love fashion so a trip for that purpose was a worthy trip indeed.

Now I notice that many travel sites will tell you to avoid certain "tourist traps" when visiting popular  destinations (check out this link for a briefing), but I don't always agree with that sentiment. In fact when I went to L.A. my friends and I proceeded to do some of the cheesiest things possible and had an incredibly fun time. Here's where we headed:

Hollywood Bouleveard
After the hotel it was straight to the legendary Hollywood Boulevard. Let me tell you that we got embarrassingly excited as soon as the sun started to go down. Remember the movie, "Pretty Woman" and the opening scene? Well, that's exactly how it looked and felt. I can't say for sure if we saw any pretty women, though there are some strange characters that inhabit the Boulevard. My friend, Erika, actually stopped to take a picture with Elmo. No, I do not know why Elmo was on Hollywood Boulevard and we weren't smart enough to ask.


Erika and the mysteriously present Elmo

Hollywood Wax Musuem
We giddly  handed over our money to go into the Hollywood Wax Museum that has been described as a "waste of money". Nope, not to me. I got a huge kick out of critiquing all of the statues and rating the celebrity likeness quotient. They didn't do Angelina Jolie justice in my opinion.

Kaniese with Samuel L.(waxed) Jackson

Ripley's Believe It Or Not

This was inevitable because I have always loved Ripley's since I was a kid. As soon as I saw it I couldn't resist popping in. I looked in some strange box and a woman was blinking up at me. Yowza.

Kim, plus a few pounds!

 

 



 

Frederick's of Hollywood

I don't know. I really do not know why we were so keen to shop at Frederick's of Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard, but it really seemed like something we needed to do at the time. Period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Home Stalking/Sightings

Okay, say what you will, but this was totally worth it. We bought an over-priced map from a very gentlemanly sounding man (he charged more than the price on the map) and we gassed up the rental and headed to Beverly Hills and beyond. Let me say that Beverly Hills is a beautiful area full of hills, trees, and of course, gorgeous homes. Driving through it was a real treat and we spent hours looking for and at properties.

 

However, any celebrity worth their salt had a gate as high as the Berlin Wall. We saw nothing. Well, we did see Jennifer Lopez's cleaning lady heading into the house if that counts for anything. We also must have stumbled upon someone truly famous in a SUV because when they saw us driving towards them, they ducked under the steering wheel. My friend Melody said it was a woman. We drove for blocks trying to guess who it could have been:Jennifer Anniston? Drew Barrymore? Paris Hilton? It remains the mystery of the headless woman.

 

 
Side Trip: Santa Monica,CA

 

How I loved Santa Monica. I have never been very impressed with beach towns, but this one got under my skin.The Third Street Promenade is officially one of my favorite places in the U.S. The boutiques, shops, and sights are fantastic. The area has the feel of a small town with an upscale vibe.  Bonus: we found a diner that served some of the best breakfast I ever had, and I'm sorry I can't tell you the name of it. 

So, yes, in one weekend I tried to do as many touristy things as possible while in L.A. Am I ashamed? Not even a little bit. I had a great time. Sometimes it's just fun to go to all the places you've heard about and experience it for yourself. Does that make you a bad or unsophisticated traveler? Not at all. Forget the rules and do what feels right for you. If it makes a great memory, then it was a worthy trip in my book.

The Usual Suspects Taking Over Hollywood

(yours truly on the left with my necklace hanging weirdly over my breast)

New York Saga Pt. III : Sex and the City Tour

One of my favorite shows about friendship

On my second day in New York I headed out for the Sex and the City tour. We met at the Pulitzer Fountain across from The Plaza. Of course, I got lost on the walk there and ended up being late; luckily, the tour guide waited for me.  As expected the tour was packed with women with the exception of two men, who clearly had been dragged alone for the ride by their sweethearts. Right from the start the tour guide was feisty and hilarious-she actually cursed and hit the bus driver because of a malfunction-and kept everyone in stitches. We were supposed to watch clips from the actual show, but the  bus's VCR wasn’t working (hence, the mini beating the bus driver took). So, the tour guide ad libbed which was still entertaining.

A big part of what made the tour so enjoyable is that you actually see more of Manhattan in a matter of a few hours than one might accomplish in a few days. In doing this, the tour takes you to some of the key locations that were filmed in the show:

1. Harry Winston Jewelers where Charlotte and Trey purchased her engagement ring.
2. The Meatpacking District  location of Samantha’s apartment where she fought with some very noisy transsexual prostitutes

3. The famous Magnolia Bakery where Carrie and Miranda ate cupcakes and she divulged about her new crush, Aidan, “His name is Aidan. And I believe him to be very cute.” We were all given a

cupcake of our own to eat courtesy of the tour.

  4. To Carrie’s neighborhood where each person takes a picture on Carrie’s porch

  5. Shopping in Soho and Greenwich Village

  6. For a cocktail at Aidan’s Bar where I ordered a cosmopolitan. What else?

  7. The Pleasure Chest where Miranda took the girls to get their very first “Rabbit” (if you don’t know

        what I’m talking about, then quickly rent season 1). I will only tell you that I bought a coffee table  book that I absolutely l love.

Chilling on Carrie's Porch

Being on a tour bus with so many other fans of the show made it even more fun. We laughed at the tour guide;s impersonations, quizzed each other on episodes, and debated our favorite love interest for Carrie. The tour guide was very funny and extremely nice; she took great care to make me feel comfortable since I was alone.  Having the opportunity to actually experience some of the things like the cupcakes
and the stores and bars where the show filmed made the experience even more memorable. I would recommend that anyone who loves the show take this tour. 

Tip:
If you’re going to New York, but don’t want to take this particular tour, then Zerve has other very interesting tours of New York that are worth checking out. 

The New York Saga Pt. II: My Hotel and Love on the Streets

In my last post I told you how I decided to take a trip to New York alone. New York is full of so many great memories that it may take several posts to share it. Let me tell you a little bit about my hotel and how I navigated the city streets.

The Hotel

My little boutique hotel. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name but it was truly hilarious staying at this little gem. First, it was smothered between two other buildings, and it was so inconspicuous that I walked past it every time I tried to return after a day of sightseeing. I knew that if I reached the alley I had gone too far and promptly turned around. Second, I had heard that New York was notorious for its’ small hotels. However, I didn’t expect my room to be so small that I could lie on the bed and cross my ankles on the toilet. Oh and whenever I took a bath or shower my entire room steamed up so that I had to wait until it all cleared to take down my hair. Plus, there was one “engineer” that fixed everything from the TV to the heater.  I didn’t care, hell, I was in New York!  The service was great and I had no intention of being in my room except to sleep and bathe. It was safe, cute, clean, and a few short steps from Broadway.

The Streets Pulsate

Part of the allure of New York is that it lives up to its’ reputation as being the city that never sleeps. One night after I checked in with my friend to let them know I was safe, I decided I needed some Haagen Dazs ice cream. This was about 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. I put on my coat, waived at the desk clerk, and headed out. Everything was jumping and bustling. Since nothing seemed to be closing anytime soon I figured I’d pop into the bar on the corner and have a quick drink and then go get the ice cream. That’s just what I did. I had a drink and made small talk, which I am not good at, with a few people in the bar. It was fun. The ice cream was only slightly better than the bar company.

Exploring the City on Foot

On my first day there I couldn’t handle my excitement so I threw my bag on the bed and almost immediately headed out to explore. I had just made it to the corner of a busy street when I met a man. Yep, not in New York for two hours and already approached by a man; one staring at me so lustily and with a huge smile that my golden cheeks were actually blushing pink. He asked expectantly if I was married. I am not, but I nodded yes that I was married. He looked up at me with a big smile and said “damn”.  You might have just noticed that I wrote he looked up at me. This is unusual as I am only 5”2.  My admirer was a dwarf, I think, or maybe a midget. I have nothing against dwarfs at all, but I am partial to men that are taller than me. Consider it a character flaw.

Ice skaters at Rockefeller Center

Anyhow, after that fun experience I kept walking and stumbled upon Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, and later Rockefeller Center where I saw a postcard picture-perfect scene of people ice skating. Later that week on my third day in New York I went back to Rockefeller Center to Top of The Rock which was glorious. The ticket booth salesperson warned me that it was cold, but I assured him that I would be fine. “I’m from Chicago”, I said boastfully (for some reason strangely proud of my ability to withstand frigid weather). He said, “Oh, you’ll be okay then.”  The view of Manhattan was amazing and definitely worth it.  It was so cold that day (to NewYorkers) that the only people up there were me and the security guard. He was a sweetheart who offered to take a picture of me. I wonder if he thought I was alone because my friends abandoned me because I was crazy enough to want to go up there in the cold?

Times Square-Check out P.Diddy

During and after both of my tours I wandered around Manhattan. I can honestly say that it’s my second favorite city to get lost in after Paris. I walked up and down upper Manhattan window shopping at high end stores. I didn’t bother to go in-I just waved and smiled at the security guards. I didn’t see the point of creating unnecessary heartbreak for myself. I ventured over to Barneys and challenged myself to go on every floor. It was worth it. Even though it was winter I saw lots of women wearing Juicy Couture sweat suits and bared belly buttons holding tea cup dogs while appraising clothes and fragrances.

I also had fun pretending that I was going to buy a purse from the street vendors. I have to say that those purses looked pretty darned good-and I do know my purses- but I’m a purse snob and didn’t want to own an inauthentic anything. I did buy my cousin Aaron two of the nicest silk ties I’d ever seen from an old Jewish man for $10.

Did I buy any food on the streets? I didn’t. However, I did eat in a deli. Remember New York is a city full of delis and I wanted to try one. Question: Were they eating in a deli on Seinfeld? Anyway, it was pretty good. I had a sandwich that was so damned big I had to take half of it back to my room. Now that I think about it I also bought a muffin that was as big as my head and I was able to eat it for two days. You can probably tell I didn’t spend a ton on food.  My one food splurge, if you can call it that, was at Virgil's for barbecue and it was very good. When I told my father this he thought it was hilarious. He’s a food fanatic and travels to do two things: eat and gamble. The fact that I was in New York City and not eating like a mobster was beyond crazy to him. Hey, I had my priorities……shopping.

Next Post- C.Bradshaw, shopping tours, and Broadway