Tuesday, December 6, 2011
It Was All A Dream!
"It was all a dream....I used to read National Geographic Magazine..."
I know that's not how the song goes but that was indeed the story of my life. Unlike B.I.G I used to hang pictures of the Sphinx and the Champs Ellyses on my wall...next to my poster of Salt-n-Peppa and Heavy D up in the limosine. Despite my young age I knew that it was quite possible I'd meet them all at some point (and I did). Like most 80's brown babies I grew up reading VIBE, Essence, Ebony and the rest but I had a secret obsession with my dad's Robb Report and National Geographic magazines. I would make mental notes of all the fabulous and mysterious places I would one day visit once I was able to break from the confines of homework and chores.........
I started off not taking no for an answer. I saw no reason why I couldn't see the world even though I had no real income to speak of and barely knew how to get around the block. At 17 I decided Martha's Vineyard wasn't an option for my senior trip since a friends parents had a time share in the Bahamas. I convinced my parents that a week in the Bahamas was a better investment in my future. At 18 a professor told me I wasn't qualified to be a delegate for the school in Argentina for the Model Organization of American States because I wasn't a political science major. I told him I was a better politician than he could ever be and proceeded to convince his boss that I was not only going on the trip, but that I would co-lead the delegation. And I did, the rest as they say, is history. The following fall, at 19, I moved to Tokyo to study Japanese and International Business. Since then I've been to China, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada (yes it counts dammit), Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Croatia, Montenegro, Egypt, Brazil, Dominican Republic.
What I've learned over the years is that the destination is really the journey. The greatest reward in travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted. I live for the possibility to experience a thousand sunsets a thousand different ways, and most importantly, I believe its my life's purpose to bring that experience to everyone. With that said, I present to you the "Adventures in Divaland" logo. It's just a step, but we all know a journey of a thousand begins with just that.....
To me this is much more than a logo, this is something I can look at, along with the stamps on my passport, to remind me where I've been but most importantly where I'm going. There's so much love left to spread over the world to see and I'm just the girl for the job.
-Carmen
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine
o.
Labels:
Argentina,
Brazil,
Canada,
China,
Croatia,
Czech Republic,
Dominican Republic,
Egypt,
England,
France,
Ireland,
Japan,
National Geographic,
Portugal,
Scotland,
Spain,
The Bahamas,
The Netherlands,
travel,
Wales
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tis the Season to be Carmen.....
Le sigh…. The holiday season is
indeed upon us. Time to max out your credit cards, od on pumpkin spice latte’s,
and endure another family gathering where you have to explain to everyone why
you are STILL not married (just me?) Yep! Tis the season to be Car-men (Sandiego that
is)! For those of us who don’t live in our hometown or are looking to escape, it’s time to hit the road. Whether you’re
hastily coordinating the logistics to get to big mama’s house
or frantically scouring the net for those last minute getways, finding the
right flight, hotel and rental car can be a beast, especially if you are
pressed for time and on a budget.
Not to fret my dears, I’ve compiled a list of six smart phone
apps, ipad apps, and websites that help make flying the skies friendly again… You
are now free to haute-strut around the world…..
Before You Go:
- Hipmunk http://www.hipmunk.com/
Hipmunk is a virtual savior for the young broke and fabulous who don’t have time to scroll through flight options we can’t afford, or that leave at god-awful hours of the morning. Flight results are presented in a visual "timeline" that allows people to select the best flight for them at a glance. Hotel results are shown on a map so that people can view where in a destination they will be staying and the landmarks near them.
2. Yapta.com - http://www.yapta.com
Yapta aims to help travelers get a better handle on pricing by
providing easy-to-use tools and information that assures they get the best
value from their travel spending. Yapta allows you to track the pricing of your
desired route and will alert you when it’s the best time to buy. All you have
to do is enter in your email address and your desired trip. It works for hotels
too! It saved me $100 on my trip to Minnesota. No offense to Minessotans (?)
but no one should be forced to pay $100 more to go there…jus saying
3. Trip it – http://www.tripit.com
This is perfect for us who party
til 4am before a 6 am flight and then go to the wrong airport and then blame
our assistant for confusing LGA to JFK on our itinerary….or you know.. whomever. TripIt turns
chaos into order by making it easy for anyone to:
- Organize trip details into one master online itinerary — even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites
- Automatically include maps, directions, and weather in their master itinerary
- Have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities, and more right from within the online itinerary
-
Safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights, or print an itinerary
4. FlightTrack – http://www.mobiata.com/apps/flighttrackpro-iphone
So you managed to wake up in time, run all your errands, and
grab a cab in to make it to the airport with plenty of time to spare just to
arrive to find that the plane was having a bad day and your flight is now
delayed, despite the fact that there is no bad weather in sight. Sweet! You
probably should’ve downloaded FlightTrack, by Mobiata. Using this app, you can
track flights using graphically beautiful maps or you can view the information
in simpler ways. What makes FlightTrack really stand out is its international
coverage – this means exactly what it says – you can track every single one of
your flights worldwide. If you’re travelling on the same flight as someone you
know, you can upload your flight’s status by email, Facebook or Twitter.
While You’re there
5. Uber - https://www.uber.com/
So you’ve arrived to
your destination, now what? Uber is a handy car service, which is available for
iPhone,
Android
and via text message, will summon a driver to your location and take you to
your destination for a pre-negotiated fee. This app is perfect for New Yorkers
who’s idea of driving responsibly is remembering to hide your flask (again, just me? ok). No money changes
hands, as the service automatically charges the credit card on file, including
tip. However, Uber is only available in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston
and New York City for now.
6. AroundMe - http://www.tweakersoft.com/aroundme.html
This app quickly identifies your position and
gives you directions to the nearest Bank, Bar, Hotel,
Movie Theatre, Restaurant, Supermarket, Theatre or Taxi, etc. without pulling out a stupid travel guide. Once you’ve chosen which building you’re in most need of, AroundMe
places this location on a map and gives you the most direct route to your intended
destination. So simple, yet so useful, and best of all, you can download
AroundMe from the App Store for free.
Happy travels folks!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The 30th
After
3 planes, 2 continents, 1 flight cancellation and numerous layovers and mental
meltdowns, I was finally flying over the Adriatic Sea en route to the my
promise land, Croatia, when I read this passage:
That’s what I mean by routine, You think that you exist
because you’re unhappy. Other people exist merely as a function of their
problems and spend all their time talking compulsively about their children,
school, work, etc .They never stop to think: I’m here. I am the result of
everything that happened and will happen, but I’m here. If I did something
wrong, I can put it right or at least ask forgiveness. “you are not here any
more. You’ve got to leave in order to return to the present”…
-“The Aleph”, Paulo Cohelo
And that’s what I did…I left
in hopes to return to the present, refreshed, renewed in spirit and prepared to finish walking in my destiny.
The Dalmatian coast is quite simply a slice of heaven here
on earth. To call it one of
Europe’s most stunning escapes is an understatement. The azure waters of the
Adriatic provided the perfect backdrop for my search for self fulfillment, the coastline is punctuated by a series of lively
towns, old castles and city walls, and cute restaurants with the freshest
seafood and GREAT wine, which I partook in many…many times.
I
spent my days lounging by the beach near Hotel Dubrovnik...
I
cruised to Korcula Town, rumored to be the birth place of Marco Polo. This
place is absolutely sublime. It’s set on it’s own peninsula framed by the sea
and the mountains...
I swam
in the Adriatic at Lopud Beach. Which is by far the most beautiful beach I’ve
ever seen...
I
climbed the walls in Old Town and walked through the Strandun also known as the
Placa, Dubrovnik’s main thoroughfare
The
highlight of the trip was my day trip to Montenegro. Montenegro formerly
belonged to Serbia before claiming its independence after the war in
Yugoslavia. Just look at that
view!
Many don‘t understand my
desire to travel alone. Why would you want to celebrate your 30th
birthday in a strange land with people you don‘t know? Why would you spend all that money to
be by yourself, you can do that at home? The answer? I‘m not sure that I‘ve
found one sufficient enough, but I will leave you with the words of Paulo
Cohelo
“Travel is
never a matter of money, but of courage. After weeks on the road, listening to
a language you don’t understand, using a currency whose value you don’t fully
comprehend, walking down streets you‘ve never walked before, you discover that
your old “I“ along with everything you ever learned, is absolutely no use at
all in the face of those new challenges and you begin to realize that, buried
deep in your unconscious mind, there is someone much more interesting and
adventurous and more open to the world and to new experiences. ”
The journey to Croatia
took 2.5 days. I left a stormy
foggy New York on Thursday and did not get there until Saturday, but I know
that’s its by no mistake at all that I arrived exactly when I did. I’m sure it may
take me another 2.5 months, or maybe even a life time, to be able to put in words what this
trip meant to me. I returned to New York with that same spirit that guided me here four years ago in the first place, my inner Carmen Sandiego is ready to leave you all wondering "Where in the world is Ms. Guyton?"
Labels:
Croatia,
Dubrovnik,
Hotel Dubrovnik,
Korcula Town,
Lopud Beach,
Montenegro,
The Adriatic
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