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:

1. 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!

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 30^th 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?"