Tag Archives: tour

First Timers Guide to NYC!!

Posted in Custom Maps, New York, NY by

How do you describe NYC in one word? Maybe vibrant, speedy, aggressive, stylish or modern? Overall, I think for a first timer, NYC can only be described in one word – overwhelming! There is a quick pace to NYC and at seems as though everyone is walking with a purpose. There’s also so much to see that it’s often hard to fit everything into one trip. My advice is that you see NYC in pieces. Start with the touristy stuff and expand from there to the little neighborhoods on each trip!

For all you first timers, I’ve made you a handy little map to get you through your first trip to NYC! It’s a collection of what I saw on my first few trips to NYC (some for fun, some for business). Here are some of my unique finds:

  • NY Public Library – offers FREE tours! It’s also where the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals are housed! (Located in the children section)
    • Right next to Bryant Park – also free! (Calling all Project Runway Fans!)
  • Russian Vodka Room – I’m not sure if we stumbled into this place…or stumbled out of this place, but it was fantastic! Belly up to the bar and talk to strangers! I met a news reporter who was waiting to interview a famous hacker (they never showed up)! Ohhhh how I love you NYC.
  • 2 Bros Pizza – As a true Chicagoan, I like my deep-dish, but I was on the HUNT for NY style pizza. Not saying 2 Bros is the BEST, but it was only $1, and you can fold it! Eeeekk! Also, if you go really late then you will find the BEST people watching. Seriously.

Travelers Tip: Make sure to sign up/follow NYC Food Gals! Their Instagram Site (@nycfoodgals) showcases yummy meals from all over the city!! 

Have you been to NYC?? What are some of your favorite spots?? Make sure to leave comments in the field below!

Under the Sea with Denmark’s Little Mermaid!

Posted in Denmark by

Disney’s The Little Mermaid came to theaters in 1989 and I, like many other kids, fell in love! I’m such a fan that a few years back my sister gave me a mermaid bottle opener for my birthday! Even when my pup, Lilo, was small, I gave her a mermaid toy that she still snuggles with often! We’re all fans in this family!

Since it’s still one of my favorite movies today, I couldn’t wait to go to Copenhagen, Denmark to see the real Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Anderson’s famous book!

Did you know there are actually two Little Mermaids in Copenhagen?? The famous one is a short boat ride away from Nyhavn, along the waterside at the Langelinie promenade. The other is a smaller replica that’s in an outdoor garden in the Carlsberg Brewery. It was actually Carl Jacobson who donated the famous statue in 1913 to the city of Copenhagen!

If you want to see the famous Little Mermaid, you can either walk or take a boat. I recommend doing both! If you walk along with waterside, you’ll have the opportunity to get the best pictures since you’ll be able to get right up on the rocks! (Be careful!! They are very slippery!)

By boat, it’s faster and relaxing, but you won’t get up-close shots since you’re…well…on a boat at a distance!

Traveler Tip: There are LOTS of boat options to choose from at the waterfront canal, Nyhavn. Go with the option that’s 1/2 way down the pier called Kanalrundfart. It’s a bargain compared to the others and just as good!!

 

Who doesn’t love Brew Tours?? Especially at Carlsberg!

Posted in Denmark by

I’ll admit loud and clear, that I’m a gal who loves her beer!! Stouts and Porters are definitely my go-to, but when I’m traveling I just want to taste the local refreshments and see what all the fuss is about. When I was in Ireland, it was the Guinness Storehouse and when I was in Prague, it was a 3-stop free beer tour. A few months ago in Copenhagen, my sister and I decided to check out Carlsberg Brewery.

Travel Tip: Take a cab! We took the Metro and got turned around a few times. Maybe too many beers??

When you first arrive at Carlsberg, head to the Elephant Gate. You’ll see a lot of these signs posted so just follow those and look for “Elefantporten.”

You really can’t miss it! It’s a very tall brick building and at the bottom, it appears as if it’s being supported by four elephants. Each elephant has an initial of Carl Jacobsen’s four children. Neat!

On to the beer tour! You need to find the main entrance/brand store building. Once you walk in, you’ll instantly be hypnotized by all the Carlsberg merchandise you can buy including clothing, magnets, soccer balls and glassware. They even sell the actual beer in ready-to-take cans! Walk up to the sales clerk and buy your ticket to the self-guided tour. They will hand you a fancy sticker and on you go!

Once inside the museum, you’ll see a fascinating timeline of the history of Carlsberg beer. You’ll also get a glimpse of the machinery, delivery vehicles, stables with the famous Jutland horses and even a miniature stature of the Little Mermaid! It’s quite extensive. For more pictures on this part, check out my Carlsberg Brewery Pinterest page.

By far, the most awe-dropping part about this tour was walking up the stairs to a whole floor dedicated to the “World’s Largest Collection of Unopened Beer Bottles.” Seriously people…this is massive!!! Right now, there are 22,346 bottles housed here for you to gawk at. I was even lucky to find a Guinness Stout!

The whole tour took us about 45 minutes, but that’s only because we spend 20 minutes salivating at all the beer bottles mentioned above! It’s fairly quick if you just run from room to room. I do recommend following the timeline and checking out every part of this museum. After the tour, it was time to relax over some delicious Carlsberg beers. You get two free beers with your tour ticket. If you’re lucky, they will have the famous Jutland horse out for you to enjoy!

What brew tours have you been to? Share your stories in the Comment field!

You will NOT believe what Lady Gaga and I have in common!!

Posted in California by

A few years ago my sister, a close childhood friend and I attended Chicago’s Windy City Wine Fest near Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. We fell in love with Cass Winery and made plans to one day do a Girls Weekend and visit the vineyard in Paso Robles, California.

In June 2013, the three of us headed to Paso for a fun filled weekend of wine tasting and sightseeing! We had a few areas of interest on our list, but the one I was most excited about was Hearst Castle!

Hearst Castle was THE place to be in the 1920s and many celebrities and political figures would often visit. Imagine Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Bob Hope, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill playing tennis, swimming in the beautiful pools, watching movies in the theater or walking through the world’s largest private zoo! We saw all of these on our Grand Rooms tour for only $25!!

Fast forward to 2014 and another celebrity has entered this enchanted castle….Lady Gaga! She filmed her new bizarre and perplexing video “G.U.Y” at Hearst Castle. It was fun to watch the video and remember all the spots that I had been…but then I thought “How could they let her swim in that pool!?!?! Clark Gable swam in that pool!! ”

See below for her latest video. I’ve also added some time marks since I’m sure you don’t want to sit through 11 minutes of this!

1:50 mark – Main castle entrance

2:20 mark – First views of Neptune’s pool

4:50 mark – First views of the Roman pool

7:20 mark – Beautiful shot and overview of Hearst Castle

 

It was such a beautifully foggy day at Hearst Castle when we went. The ride up to the Castle was surprisingly long and winding. You really got a good sense of the exclusivity and privacy these celebrities and political figures felt. When you see Neptune’s Pool and the Roman Pool, you truly go back in time!

When I say Folsom, you say Cash!!

Posted in California by

Here’s a little fact about me….one of my favorite actresses of all time is Reese Witherspoon! Even if some of the movies she’s starred in are cheesy, I still love every bit of it and will re-watch them a million times! Legally Blonde (1 and 2), Sweet Home Alabama, This Means War…the list goes on and on! So, of course, when Walk the Line came out in 2005 I had to see it. I knew very little about June Carter or Johnny Cash, but I became an instant fan! Every now and then I feel a little bit country and can’t help singing along to the soundtrack or listening to the Johnny Cash station on Pandora.

Walk The Line Movie Poster - photo courtesy of Apple.com

Walk The Line Movie Poster – photo courtesy of Apple.com

This brings me to a little story about my recent week in Sacramento, California. It was a work trip (certification class), in a city I’ve never been to, and I was stuck for a week without preparing one bit for any type of sightseeing. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, the best advice I can give you is ask around for guidance or suggestions. When people want to visit Chicago, I honestly won’t shut up about my city (the BEST city in the world!!) and others tend to do the same.

Since everyone in my class knew I was from Chicago they suggested I try Chicago style pizza and the best spot was in Folsom, California. Now, I didn’t tell them this because I felt incredibly ignorant, but what went through my head was “Folsom….as in Johnny Cash Folsom Prison?” I few days later I found out that it was EXACTLY what they meant. Unfortunately, the pizza place was closed so I decided to see what was happening at Folsom Prison. You know…the prison that’s no longer in use and has a nice big museum and gives you informational free tours???? WRONG. I was so very, very wrong.

It started of well. I spotted the entrance via a stone sign and drove in. It seemed safe and I made a note of the welcoming and natural landscaping. Nice touch Folsom, nice touch. “Exactly how a museum entrance should look,” I thought.

Entrance to Folsom State Prison

I parked in what I thought was the museum parking, but quickly noticed that this was also the parking for prison visitors. “Hmm, what prison visitors?” And then I saw it. A van pulled up and let off real prisoners in neon jumpsuits. Here’s what went through my head next, in order:

1. Wait…this is still an active prison? I’m in stiletto heels and totally overdressed for a prison.

2. The prisoners are looking at me in my stiletto heels and know I’m totally overdressed for a prison…but they probably like it. Creepy.

3. OMG, I think the entrance to the museum is where they let out the prisoners.

4. Yes, I am correct.

5. How fast can I run, in my stiletto heels, back to my car if one of the shackles breaks off?

The prisoners were quickly escorted away, clearing a path for me to walk to the museum. Behind the security office, I saw this.

Not what I was expecting, but I went in anyway. There was a nice man at the counter who took my $2 museum fee and told me to look around. The space is very small and there is a lot of stuff so you have to take your time to read all the little informational cards next to each cased item. Of course Johnny Cash posters and newspaper articles are everywhere.

Other than pointing out the Johnny Cash memorabilia, he did mention some additional “highlights.” One was that all the California state license plates are made at Folsom. Interesting. Next, he told me that Rick James was a prisoner there and that the museum houses his guitar. Strange. Here it is.

Overall, for $2 and very last minute planning, it was fairly interesting. It did leave me wondering a bit more about Folsom Prison and the history. I did find some additional information through Wikipedia and then watched a video about some of the history behind his visit.

Photo courtesy of solitarywatch.com

Photo courtesy of solitarywatch.com

Before I left, I snapped a quick shot of the prison. The same shot that Johnny Cash once took that’s now quite iconic.

My pic of Folsom Prison
Johnny in front of Folsom Prison (Photo courtesy of chasinggoodness.com)

Feeling satisfied with my visit, I headed back to the car and back to Sacramento. If you’re ever in the Sacramento area, I would suggest stopping by! It’s only 23 miles away and there is a nice quaint downtown area that you can spend time in if you’re not up for the whole prison thing!

Snorkeling with Sea Turtles!! (…and one scary Barracuda)

Posted in Cancun 2014, Mexico by

It’s very cold in Chicago right now so I’m happy to report that I’m gettin’ the heck out of here and going to Cancun!! I recently got an amazing new job, and a company-wide 2014 kick-off in Cancun is just one more perk! After all the hobnobbing and work presentations I’m hoping for at least one day at the beach, but I know it won’t quite be the same as my first trip to Mexico.

In 2010, my sister and I took our second “Sisters Trip” to Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was the first time we had been to Mexico and the first time either one of us had stayed at an all-inclusive resort. We had a blast at the Ocean Maya Royal resort and immediately headed to the activities desk to view all the suggested adventures. Options included an all-day tour of Chichen Itza (Nope, that was already booked on our own prior to arrival),  Swimming with the sharks (Hell No!! Are you crazy?) and Snorkeling with Sea Turtles (Duh! Sounds amazing, sign us up!).

We booked the tour and had an incredible time snorkeling for the first time, in clear shallow waters, with a handful of sea turtles. All was going just perfectly until we saw it…a GIANT, SCARY, BARRACUDA!!!! AHHH!

Scary Barracuda

Scary Barracuda wanting to eat us, probably.

Luckily it stayed right under a mid-sized boat the whole time, but I sware if the turtles weren’t there it would have had us for lunch. Seriously.

Alright, now for some less-scary pictures of the beautiful and peaceful sea turtles! I didn’t have my go-to Sony RX100 Camera, but I think the inexpensive underwater camera captured some really great shots! If you ever see this type of activity as an option while vacationing, I strongly suggest you sign up!

Enjoy!!